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.