Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Our Advanced English Conversation Group students invited us to attend a meeting with a visiting US Consolate at the Gorky Library in Perm.  Kent and I decided that it would be a great learning experience, so we got directions and set out the day before in search of the library. It was a beautiful day and of course, I had my camera...so you will see some of the sights of our travels.  Here is a large carving of Lenin.

This very ornate building was used as a model for the palace in Dr. Zhivago.  If you look closely, there are multiple busts of a young woman along the top.  It was the daughter of the owner and they had replicas of her through the years on the outside of their mansion.  That is quite a tribute!

I had to snap a picture of the trees budding out.  Oh happy day!

This shows a lane of unique Russian architecture.  Note the multi-colors.

More fascinating and colorful buildings.

Another tribute to Lenin.  As you can see, people are loving the outdoors.  After such a long, hard winter, they are delighted to be out in the sunshine.

The grassy area is where the ice sculptures are created. (we had those on our blog that first week we were here) As you can see, Perm is surrounded by multi-level apartment buildings.  Their parks and grassy areas are such a treat because children don't have yards to play in.

Another huge statue!  You can get a feel for the size of this when you see Elder Pocock in front.  We heard that the center character represents Mother Russia with her soldiers represented on your left and her laborers on your right.

At last we found the Maxim Gorky library.  This is named after a famous Russian author.  We took a wrong turn and 2 hours later we found the big green apple out in front.  This is to represent the fact that a library gives opportunity for people to come and taste of knowledge.  We attended the Consolate meeting the next night...it was most interesting.  We asked about the visa situation where the Russian government requires us to leave the country every three months.  He stated that the two governments are working on extending that...possibly soon it will be every six months.  This would truly help cut the travel expenses of the Russian missions. We learned that Perm, Russia and Louisville, Kentucky have been sister cities since 1994.  They share ideas and learn from one another's strengths.

Introducing our newest missionary:  Elder Weber, center, from North Carolina.  He took the place of Elder Latimer and serves with Elder Silva.

Introducing Igor...a remarkable young man from the branch.  He is soon graduating from the University and will be putting in his mission papers.  In Russia, you can't go to school for a year, leave for a mission and then return to your studies.  If you do this, you loose all your credits. You must complete your requirements for the degree and then go.  Igor came to help with a discussion and he stayed after and talked to us for three hours about his life.  This young man has never known his father...he helped raise his baby sister.  Many times he was left to take care of his six month old sister when he was just four years old...and for days at a time!  When the neighbors realized this, the baby was hospitalized and Igor was put in an orphanage.  His mother was never able to care for them and she was killed at a young age.  Through the years, he has longed for a better life and joined the church just a little over a year ago.  He is in close contact with his sister, who is studying in a nearby town. Some members of our branch just went to the temple in the Ukraine and Igor had prepared the paperwork for them to do his mother's temple work while they were there.  He is always to FHE and such a help in the missionary discussions.  He is one of Heavenly Father's valiant!!!

The days are getting so much longer.  It is the end of April and it is light when we arise at 7:00 a.m. and it looks like this at 10:00 p.m. (taken out our apt. window) Perm is the most eastern city of Europe and they tell us that because we are so far north, it won't be long and we will have very few hours of night time...the internet tells us that at the summer solstice (around June 21), we will have only 3 1/2 hours of night.  Then around the 21st of December, we will only have around 6 1/2 hours of the sun.  It's a whole new world!

April 18, 2012

Meet Andre', our dear friend.  Andre' attended many FHE gatherings and discussions in our apartment.  He is a very sensitive and caring young man.  His kind nature pulled him toward the gospel and the needs of his family.  We took this picture the night before he returned to the Ukraine to see his parents.

Introducing Nadia and her youngest daughter, Anna.  They are active members of our branch.  We went with our zone leaders on a rainy day to visit this sweet family.  They live quite a way from the bus stop.  Nadia saw us while on her way home and she gave Elder Pocock and I a ride while the elders had to jump puddles all the way to their apartment.  While we were waiting for the elders, Anna (12) showed us the many creations she had made with salt dough.  This particular one was completed with her young women's group.  She is a friendly, enthusiastic gal that loves to share her talents and her love. She gave me this delightful plaque. Nadia has two other daughters...Katia (29) lives with them and is active in the branch and she has another daughter that is married.

 Here's a closeup of the hedgehog Anna gave me.  I named him Taylor, after our sweet dog that we left behind with Emily.  She has a dozen of these little creations and many are much more intricate.

When we left their apartment, it had stopped raining and the air was so clean and fresh.  As we walked to the bus, out of nowhere this huge Russian Orthodox monastery appeared.

   

No this isn't Russia...this is springtime in our front yard at Meridian, Idaho.  The Boise temple has a tradition of letting people come and dig up the bulbs at the end of the season.  I braved the rain and mud and got a few for my beds.  I was anxious to see what they looked like...thanks Erin for the pic.  I now have a little of the temple grounds in my front yard.  

This is how we watched General Conference, April, 2012.  The English speaking missionaries were in the Relief Society room and the branch members were in the chapel with the big screen and a translation in Russian.

Between sessions, we ate our lunches...talked about our favorite speakers...and mingled with our sweet branch members.

These are my two dedicated piano students.  Nastia is in the back and Ola in front.  They are picking up the notes, and the timing really well.  As with most students, the left hand is the hardest. The keyboard is tiny but they are learning a lot and they are so excited each week to get closer to playing a hymn.

Well here it is...Masha's wedding dress.  Masha is our Primary president, returned missionary and truly a friend to everyone in the branch.  She is getting married on May 26, 2012 to Slava. They will be married by the government (which is a requirement) and then they can go to the temple.  She met Slava at a Young Single Adult Conference.  They hold these every summer so that the youth of the church can mingle with other members in selected missions.  Masha found a picture of the dress of her dreams and asked me to help her create it.  The bodice is made out of diagonal strips of fabric...then Masha sewed on the lining and layers of netting.  The extra piece wraps around her waist and drapes over the net skirt.  The exposed netting is going to be puckered with pearls and the way too big fabric flower will be replaced with a creation that we are presently working on.  We just wanted to be able to put a picture on the blog so you could see what Masha calls her "princess gown".  If she is thrilled, that's all that matters.

Met our friend, Michael.  Michael is from Nigeria. He joined the church a little over a year ago, while he was here is Russia.  He came to Russia to get an education and hasn't been able to get the classes that he needs.  He has applied and been accepted to Utah Valley University in Provo, Utah.  Right now he is having visa problems.  We had him over for dinner and laid out some plans to assist him in his quest to get to America.  He is studying economics and wants to return to his family in Nigeria when his schooling is complete.  His mother died nine years ago and he had to quit school and take care of his 6 younger brothers and sisters for two years while his father worked.  It just so happened that last week in our English Conversation Group, one of the group told us about a visit to Perm by an American Consolate.  He is speaking at a large library near by...so we are going with Michael to see if there is anything this gentleman can do for this great young man.  Michael speaks great English! Keep him in your prayers.
                                                 
The same evening that we had Michael over, the sister missionaries had this young family come to our home for a discussion.  Michael sat in on the discussion and bore his testimony to them.  This is Nadia, and her six year old daughter and 13 year old son.  Six years ago her husband was killed in a terrible car accident that took the lives of seven men.  One was the husband of her best friend.  She is doing such a fine job raising her children by herself.  She is an incredible lady...she wants to be baptized but is wanting her son to accept the gospel and be baptized with her.  Her son plays a Russian instrument called a Balalaika.  It is like a guitar but the body is in a triangular shape and it only has three strings.  He played several songs for us and is truly amazing.  He just played at a competition and placed first.  She is inviting us to go to his spring concert. When the sisters asked him about his feelings towards God, he said that he was atheist.  This concerns his mother greatly.  The sisters gave a beautiful lesson on the Plan of Salvation.  He feels that he will see his father again.  Here is another to pray for.  They have been through so much and Nadia feels so much peace from the gospel's message.

As you can see, there is much to do and many to help.  We are so thankful for this opportunity to try to ease the burdens of some of Heavenly Father's children in far away Russia.

Welcome to Spring in Perm, Russia!  We are so excited that the snow is melting, but with the warmer temperatures brings muddy sidewalks.  They don't have a drainage system so this is what we walk through until the moisture evaporates.  Kent and I both brought a pair of BOGS (huge waterproof boots) and we can walk right through the middle of all the muck without a care! We certainly aren't fashionable but we are dry.

Another sign of spring: this gentleman is using his rake made from branches, to sweep up all the cigarette butts and garbage along the sidewalk.  The temperature hit 52 degrees this week and only two days after this photo was taken...all the snow and ice along the fence was gone!

On Thursday, April 5, we had the missions' CES couple visit our area.  We invited them to go with us on a walking tour of part of the city.  The weather had been beautiful and we were so excited.  Well, that morning we woke up to a major snow storm and 5 inches of new snow...but we went anyway!  They took a picture of us by the Kama River.  The city of Perm is built along this river.  If you look closely you can see one of the two bridges that take you across the river to another part of the city.

Right by the river is this old Russian Orthodox church that has been turned into an art museum.

This is looking across the street and southeast from the church and the river.  This boulevard is called Komsomolski Prospect and we live just seven blocks from this location.

On the walking tour, you follow green lines that are painted on the sidewalks.  These lines guide you to historical sites in the city.  They had markers in both Russian and English.  Needless to say, we had a little trouble seeing the lines with all of the fresh snow.  Below Elders Colton and Pocock are checking out  a huge brass statute of soldiers that were being honored for taking possession of this area during the Bolshevik Revolution.  This is located in a park along the river.  I am sure that it is beautiful during the summer months.

This is another picture of the Kama River from this park.  As we walked along this path, we came to realize how the older part of Perm was developed right along the river banks.

This sweet, elderly man was working so hard shoveling snow.  He lives off of a pension of about $100 a month and has to do odd jobs to supplement his income.

This is the original train station.  If you look closely you can see the sign that reads: Perm I.  The newer
train station that we leave from is called Perm II.  This station could be beautiful but seemed to be in need of a great deal of repair.

This is a picture that we took off of the marker along the walking path because we couldn't get all of the home on the camera.  At present, the home looks just like this.  It is beautifully maintained.  The Kama River is across the street.  Think of the view from those upper windows.  Originally this was built by a wealthy shipping magnate.  It is now a historical museum.  This is a side of Perm that we have never seen.  It was a bit chilly but a delightful morning getting acquainted with the town we call home.

On Saturday, April 7, the branch had a spring cleaning day.  Everyone was invited to come help spruce up the building after a long, hard winter.  Here the sisters are cleaning the windows of our Relief Society room.

Our Elders are shoveling the snow and ice from around the church and off the steps.  It was amazing how quickly it melted when it wasn't packed two feet deep!  Can you tell they are loving the sunshine?!

Even the font got a special scrubbing.  Now we need to fill it and put it to good use!

Here are some of the clean up crew.  The entire building is tile because of the mud and debris that can be tracked in.  There is a lot of area to mop!  The branch encourages everyone to leave their muddy boots in the entry and bring an extra pair of shoes or slippers for church. After the clean up, we had sandwiches and hot chocolate.  The building just sparkled on Sunday!

Look at our front door.  We were so surprised when we went out on Tuesday morning to find our front door attacked by hearts.  We're pretty sure our sweet sister missionaries left these to enjoy! Another great week in Perm.

I played kind of an April Fools trick on you...I'm late getting out our blog!  Sorry!  The following pictures are from the week of March 25 - 31, 2012...but I am just now posting them on April 3.  I wanted you all to see the outdoor market: it is called the Renok. People rent these spaces and set up their merchandise every day ... snow, rain or shine.  This is a close up showing the variety of things available.  

Hopefully you can see that the shops are in long rows.  They have large malls and modern stores, but the
people love to go to the Renok because the prices are better and they are negotiable.

Can you imagine putting all of this up every morning and taking it down and packing it away every night?  The Renok is open seven days a week!  It is an adventure every time we go there.

Tuesday, March 27, all the missionaries in Perm boarded a train and headed to Yekatrinburg for a multi-zone conference.  We snapped this picture of a little village along the route.  It looks like a winter landscape.

                                         Our Perm Zion Zone with President and Sister Rust.

These are all of the senior couples in the Yekatrinburg mission.  Left to Right: Elder and Sister Meng,
Elder and Sister Jensen, Kent and I, President and Sister Rust, Elder and Sister Schow, Office Couple, Elder and Sister Colton, CES.  The Mengs arrived from Utah just prior to our senior couple conference.

Just outside of the mission office is a row of small, individual dwellings.  Here you can see one of them and in the distance are the towering apartment buildings.  We have seen very few homes in either Perm or Yekaterinburg.  Most people live in apartments.

This is the Russian Orthodox church called "The Temple on the Blood" located in Yekaterinburg.  It was built over the site where the Czar, Nicholas II of Russia, and his family were executed.  This part of history is incorrectly told in the Disney movie, "Anastasia".  It has been proven through DNA that Anastasia, her three sisters, her younger brother, her father, the Czar, and her mother were all executed.  The bodies of Maria and Alexei (the son) were found sometime later in the Ural mountains.  This may be where they got the idea that one of the girls survived. It is a sad but fascinating part of Russian history.

This is a close-up of a statue that is located behind the large cross.  It depicts the Czar and his family.

In Russia, everyone is required to be married first by a government official.  We are told that after the ceremony, the bride and groom go to various churches and prominent places to have their wedding pictures taken.  While we were at the "Temple on the Blood", this bride and groom were having their pictures taken. They had rented a Hummer limo to carry their wedding guests from location to location for the pictures! Members of the church are also married civilly and then they are able to go to the temple and be married as soon as they can afford the trip to either Helsinki, Finland or Kiev, Urkrane.

As we travelled back to the Mission Home, we passed this very unique, historical building in the busy
downtown area.  The conference was a great experience.  We were energized and enlightened about our
duties. We all went our different directions but with one purpose...to love and lift the Russian people.

When we ride on the bus, we have to pay 12 rubles each = $.40.  The conductor gives us a ticket.  They have this thing about getting a 'lucky" ticket.  When the first three digits equal the last three, you have a lucky ticket!!!  We had to show you our first lucky ticket.  There are no prizes, just the hope of a great day in Russia.