Happy Birthday, America!!!  Hope you all are enjoying family, parades, celebrations, barbecues and fireworks!  Happy Fourth of July.  We're celebrating also, just last night we got clear, hot water in our taps.  Hooray!

If you have been watching the evolution of our steps over the last few weeks...you can see that step two of three...is now crumbling!  Yikes!  We're soon back to one step.

Meet the diehards of FHE...the lesson is over, the majority have gone home and this gang just can't get enough of Phase 10!

This week's FHE lesson was on life's choices.  The top word on the erase board is choice.  Go ahead and just try to determine what their important choices were that are listed below...   I know marriage, children, education, mission, profession, where to live, what kind of individual I want to be, what kind of employee I want to be, were all part of their life's choices.  We talked of choices made due to peer pressure, of choices that we make without thinking of the consequences, of how the choices of others can affect our lives.  We emphasized that this life is the test and compared to eternity this life is so short...so let's make choices now that will guarantee us happiness in the eternities. 

This is our dear, dear Tanya.  She is a returned missionary that is so committed to the gospel.  When the missionaries leave to go home...they often leave behind, at the branch, clothing that is in good repair.  If any of the other missionaries or members can utilize the clothing, it's great!  Tanya found two really nice dresses that sister missionaries have left behind and they fit perfectly except they were way too long.  We had a sewing session, cutting and hemming these dresses.  Now Tanya has two "new" dresses for church and work!  Sunday, a member came up to me and gave me a sack with a cute, summer skirt inside.  She said, "for you".  The missionaries translated and this sweet sister had outgrown a skirt that she really liked and she wanted me to have it.  I am wearing it today and I love it!  You know when I came over here, my biggest concern was to have enough warm clothing...now that it is in the 90's with high humidity...I am grateful for hand-me-downs and caring members!!!

When Tanya came over to hem her dresses, we proceeded to set up the sewing machine at the kitchen table.  I plugged it in and...no power!  We moved to another plug...no power!  We finally ended up moving the computers and setting up the sewing center at the computer desk.  Suddenly we wondered about the power to our microwave and fridge.  Sure enough...no power!  While Tanya was here to translate, we went downstairs to report the problem. Too late to do anything.  So we pushed our fridge to a plug that worked...right by our bedroom and bath.  A snack was only steps away!  Thank goodness the electrician came early the next day and all is back to normal.  Russians say "normalna" for every problem and inconvenience they experience.  Apartment inconveniences in Russia are normalna!

Just thinking back to Saturday and Nadia's baptism brings tears to my eyes!  The Perm Branch was so thrilled to celebrate a new member.  Elders Weber and Wimber have taught the lessons with Nadia and Eulia has become such a great friend and support.  Nadia asked Elder Pocock to baptize her...what an honor.  He immediately set out to learn the prayer in Russian. I was so proud of him!  Nadia and Elder P were troopers, since there wasn't any hot/warm water...the font was very cold!  The missionaries heated pots of water to help warm up the font, but I dare say that any warmth they felt came from within not without!

Nadia's family was there to support her.  The program was beautiful...the traditional baptism and Holy Ghost talks were given by YSA friends, the missionaries sang, "Nearer My God to Thee", the counselor welcomed her into the branch and finally Nadia bore her sweet but powerful testimony.  The closing song was "I Stand All Amazed".  Tears flowed freely...the spirit was incredibly strong.

This is Alexandra...my dear friend that lives only about three blocks away.  Elders O'Neill and Flitton have been teaching her.  She loves them and they love her.  She is 84 years old, has read the Book of Mormon, the Liahona, every pamphlet she is given and she calls the missionaries to tell them she wants to meet.  She is steeped in the traditions of her church but has felt the stirrings of the spirit and longs to know more.  The Elders sometimes have to leave to get home before curfew, so I walk Alexandra home, arm in arm.  She talks to me in Russian...and she talks so fast!  I speak a tiny bit of Russian to her and nod and smile but somehow we communicate the love we feel for each other.  The last two times we have met, she brings me a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her dacha. (very small summer cottage where they grow their food storage for the winter)

After the Elders left, I went to get ready to walk her home. Upon returning, I found her looking at the family picture book our children made for us to take on our mission.  She still can't believe we have seven daughters!!!  You are looking at one of my favorite "babushkas"!

Elder Pocock and I have a new goal that we are excited to work on.  Here in Russia, many people have the same first name...or the same nickname... and their last names are so hard to pronounce let alone remember!!!  So we have taken our ward list and we are going to visit, with the help of our four sets of missionaries, as many of the members as we can get in to see.  The active and the less active.    
We want to hug them, take cookies to them, to get to know them, to make sure their address and phone numbers are correct and to take a picture of them so that we can print it in the directory.  This would be so helpful to have a face with each name!  I know that the couple that is being prepared to replace us is going to love this new directory!  Last Sunday Elder Pocock talked to me after church about some strong feelings that he had during Sacrament meeting.  There are men and women who come every week...they come alone...their spouses are not members...their children are not members...and they are faithful in their callings.  Elder Pocock felt this overwhelming concern for the members of this branch.  We have been focusing on the investigators and less active but the members need our love and admiration just as much!  So we determined that we could both... reach out to our members and update our ward list with our visits.  This is Alexander, one of those who is so faithful and alone in the church.  He is such a quiet, sweet man. We found out that he is an avid cross country skier.  It was so fun to visit him, get to know him better, learn of his circumstances and especially... to greet him on Sunday and be able call him by name!!!

We're having another wedding in our branch in October!  Introducing Stepon and Olga and Stepon's mother, Tereza.  You have met Olga before...she is one of my piano students.  Stepon was the branch president a short time ago.  He is one of the first members we came in touch with because he works for the church in lining up apartments for the missionaries, helping with our constant rotation of visas, helps with getting our internet and a million other things that make our life easier.  All are members of the branch.  It was so fun to go to Stepon's home, to meet his mom (who doesn't come much because of poor health), and see the mural that he painted on his living room wall (behind them).  Ironic, Olga's here for her piano lesson...so we'll see you next week.  Love to all!