What an adventure!  We're off to the YSA conference that is sponsored this year by the Novosibirsk mission.  We travelled to the conference on a Lux Siberian Transcontinental train.  It was practically brand new with all the conveniences.  Our young adults were on a separate train due to the on again, off again schedule!  We shared the same train on the way home and it wasn't a Lux but we loved the company.

In Yekaterinburg, we picked up the Coltons, the CES couple, and continued our journey.  This is a picture of the engine of our train...talk about powerful.  It pulled 18 cars.  The train is powered by electricity.  You can see above the engine, the overhead wires that conduct the power.  Can you imagine putting in not only the tracks, but the wiring to enable electric train travel across the continent of Russia?!  Unbelievable.

The scenery to start out with was filled with forests.  Perm is on one side of the Ural mountains and Yekaterinburg on the other.  This mountain range has such a gentle grade that it seems more like wooded hills.

Russia has so many incredible natural resources and one of the most beautiful is the miles and miles of birch trees.  We were able to walk through a birch forest.

The more eastward we travelled, the forested areas were pushed farther and farther back.  There was so much rich grassland and not any cattle in sight!

We did see some cultivated land.  In the foreground you can see small haystacks...but we are pretty sure this is just cut wild grass.  The yellow area is a planted field.  Many thought that this was buckwheat.  Buckwheat is big here in Russia and depending on how it is prepared, we have developed a taste for it.  Siberia is a perfect place for buckwheat to grow because it grows best where the climate is cool and moist and its growing season is a short, 10-12 weeks.  It doesn't have heat requirements for its development.  You should try some buckwheat sometime...they tell us it is very healthy.

The Siberian Express train didn't stop at all the little towns along the way that our train did on the way back but we were able to see some really beautiful cities in the distance and impressive train stations.  This is Novosibirsk (1.4 million people) with the Ob River flowing in front.  Novosibirsk is in the same time zone as Hong Kong and Beijing.  The mission that was in charge of the conference is head-quartered in Novosibirsk.  We travelled another ten hours beyond this to Krasnoyarsk where the conference was held.

The youth were on another train because our tickets were purchased at a later time.  This is a picture of the platzkart jungle that the youth were travelling in... it is third class, the cheapest way to travel by train. There are multiple bunk beds with tables dispersed throughout the car.  There is no privacy and everyone is mingled together...families, couples, singles, etc.  This is the only affordable way for most of the people to travel the far distances of this country.  The blessing is that these kids didn't care how they got there as long as they could go!

Here at last!  Arriving at the Krasnoyarsk train station.

This was by far the most beautiful train station...and very busy.  Believe me, we were all ready for a hot shower and change of clothes!

Three buses, one a double-decker, loaded up the participants from the two missions that were on the trains.  Now for an hour ride into the mountains to the conference resort.

Gathering conference youth...

The opening session speaker was President Randall K. Bennett of the Seventy, who is a counselor in the Area Presidency.  It is very obvious that these conferences are held so that the youth of the church in Russia can mingle with other members and hopefully find an eternal companion with the same values and standards.  Can you imagine our youth having to travel 4 days on a train to get to spend 3 days with other youth in hopes of finding a person of interest?!  President Bennett told the youth that the church allocated a great deal of money to subsidize this conference in their behalf.  The youth had to come up with 1,000 rubles, approximately $30 to attend this conference.  For some, this was very difficult.

One of the games we helped with was called "speed dating".  They seat the young men and women opposite each other and the men are given one minute to answer a question and then the women have a minute to respond to the same question.  Questions such as:  "What do you think is the most important quality in a spouse and why?"..."If you had just inherited a bundle of money, how would you spend it and why?"  Before a new question was asked, the young men rotated so that the couples were always communicating with different people.  The kids seem to really enjoy this game.  All the games were with the intent of the youth getting to know each other.

During the conference, Michael celebrated his 27th birthday.  Here he is holding his birthday cake with some of the youth from the Perm branch.  We were so thrilled that Michael came.  He thoroughly enjoyed the conference and felt a great deal of love and support from many of the youth.  The red-head is Lena. She is a non-member that has become very good friends with our kids.  She attends FHE on a regular basis.  We are so glad that she decided to attend the conference.

The dances were the kids favorite part of the conference.  Every night a theme dance was held...wow what fun discos!  The first night was a Walt Disney theme.  The Coltons and the Pococks got to act twenty-five again!  It was sooooo fun.

Here are President and Sister Gibbons of the Novosibirsk Mission and their daughter that is attending school in Provo and just happened to be visiting her parents on her break.  It was so fun to meet them. We served with President Gibbon's sister and her husband, Suzanne and Tim Burton, in the Boise temple.  Within the church, the world is ever so small!

Here are some of our kids really getting into it...

This young man was a featured performer at the dance.  He could play that violin like no other.  The DJ would put on fast-paced music and this young man would play along with it and dance as well.  He was amazing.

This is the dining hall and in the evening they turned on the lights.  It was a magical atmosphere.

During the mornings, the kids could choose classes that they would attend.  These classes were on subjects like, "Power and Authority", "Using Revelation and Agency", "Balancing Your Mind and Your Heart", and "Family History and How to Start It".

Afternoons were spent playing games such as water balloon volleyball, target shooting, soccer, and crafts. The weather was very cool but the intermittent rain cooperated enough that the kids were able to
enjoy some outdoor activities.

Saturday by noon, the sun was shining.  Just in time for the highlight of the conference...the baptism of two young women from Kazakhstan.  Kazakhstan is a separate country but is still part of the Russian, Novosibirsk mission.  Because it is Moslem, the missionaries there are not allowed to proselyte, so much of their efforts are service oriented.  There are members of the church there and they can share their testimonies with their friends.  These two young women: Alina (L) and Gulvera had studied about the church for many months and when President Gibbons had visited that area of his mission, they had told him that they wanted to be baptized.  He suggested that they be baptized in Russia at the youth conference.  The church is working with the authorities in Kazakhstan to allow them to share the gospel there.  It was such a thrill to meet these young women and feel of their conviction.  As it turned out, Alina is the translator for Kent's cousin, Alan Anderson and his wife Ruth, who are serving as humanitarian missionaries in Kazakhstan.  Again....the world is so small within the church.  It was so cold that day but these three brave souls shared a very special moment that no one in attendance will ever forget.  It was so sweet, the young man that offered the opening prayer prayed that Alina, Gulvera and President Gibbons would not be cold.  Alina later told us that she seriously felt so warm through the whole experience.

Saturday night, the youth gathered in groups and placed lit candles inside of fabric lanterns.  The heat from the candle lifted the lanterns into the air...along with their wishes for their future.

What a touching sight!

Talks by two area authority seventies, more dancing, good food, games, and lots and lots of together time, plus an amazing testimony meeting ended the conference.  As we said goodbye to young people from all over Russia, I couldn't help but think that the future of the church is in good hands in this country.  We got to spend three intense days with so many young people that have worked hard and have given up much for their membership in this church. We feel so blessed to have had this experience to have our testimonies strengthened and to reflect on our many blessings.

Here we are waiting for our LONG train ride home.  But it was amazing how fast the time went as we played a million games of Phase 10 with our lovable youth!  We got home at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday morning and at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night we had fourteen of our kids here for FHE.  They truly need and love one another's support.