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.