Some women in Russia really carry a heavy load...these are the Russian gypsies.  You can alway tell them because of their long, colorful skirts. They go from car to car, person to person...begging.  The first time I was ever introduced to the gypsies was in the parking lot of the train station and a very dirty little boy came up to me begging for money.  My heart broke at the sight of him out in the cold, scantily clad.  I gladly gave him some money and he ran to his mother who was hiding behind a nearby car and gave her the money.  I went up to her and told her to use the money on her son!  I'm sure that didn't happen.  Later I saw another gypsy carrying a baby and using the tiny baby as a means for sympathy.  The husbands sit in their multiple family car and watch their wives and young daughters beg.  It is so sad to me...it's hard to see how some people live.

The city road crew was out on this particular day.  The snowplows had cleared the roads but the piles of snow along the sides of the road were so high that it was causing trouble with parking and traffic.  So several men were shoveling the excess snow into this front loader and then it would in turn go and dump the snow into a parked dump truck.  It didn't take long to fill up the dump truck, it would drive away and another empty one would appear.  I really wonder where they dump all the extra snow?

 Did you know that there are 53,000 miles of passenger carrier routes in Russia?  I have often wondered how the tracks are cleaned and kept in good condition considering the amount of snow and slush that is on them for six months of the year.  This unique machine to the rescue!  We watched this work its' magic while waiting for our train.  The machine is pushed by a large engine.  The front of the machine funnels the snow towards the center of the track...a blade picks up the snow and puts it on a conveyor belt that carries up and into large bins.  There are several snow receptacles to fill and then the snow is dumped in the Siberian wasteland.  It really was fascinating to watch and now I know how the tracks stay clean and free of snow and debris.  You have to live here and travel by train to wonder about these kinds of things!!!

Someone hasn't gone anywhere all winter!!! and won't be going anywhere soon!!!

If you have been watching the evolution of the step up to our apartment...this is how it has looked most of the winter.  Scared to see what condition it is in under all that snow.

I have to brag about our elders and sisters!  They put together the greatest fireside for our branch.  We had a wonderful turn out...as you can see...almost as many as we get to church.  President and Sister Rust had been there for a visit and they were able to stay and enjoy.  As a zone we wanted to help the branch understand how we all have to work together to build our branch, strengthen the priesthood and prepare to have a stake and a temple!  When we had our planning meeting, we wanted to involve as many members as possible.  We talked of the things we wanted to focus on.  As we discussed options, it seemed that suddenly things started to click.  We asked a new member to speak about how they felt when they were baptized...another new member to speak of their feelings when they received the Holy Ghost...another spoke about his feelings as he has just received the Melchizedek Priesthood...another spoke on doing Family History (as it turns out she had just made a trip to visit her non-member sisters and get information on her ancestors)...the Branch President spoke of the benefits of being a part of a stake and another member spoke on how his family is preparing to go to the temple in May and be sealed.  Each member only spoke for about 3-5 minutes and as they spoke ...the sisters put up a poster that emphasized the step they were taking in getting closer to the main goal...a stronger branch/ward/stake!  At the end, one of the missionaries spoke about how he lives in the first stake that was originally created in Salt Lake City and how proud he is to be a member of that original stake.  He likened that to what pride this branch can feel in helping Yekaterinburg become a stake.  He challenged the members to help the missionary effort...for it all starts with baptisms if we are going to strengthen this area.  The spirit was so strong...the members that participated were so touched and we truly felt that the branch caught the vision of their responsibility in helping to reach their goals.

Introducing Stanislav R. Kovalev, a renowned artist and illustrator of Russian children's books that lives in Perm.  Our recent converts, Vladimir and Irina asked us if we would like to go with them to meet their friend, Mr. Kovalev.  Of course, we were thrilled.  Our time together was way beyond our expectations!  When we walked into his penthouse apartment on the 17th floor, we felt like we were in one of those apartments you see in the movies!

This is a pano of the apartment he and his sweet wife have lived in for 30 years...high ceilings, a loft, books and paintings everywhere, large windows that let in the sunlight and lush plants growing from the balcony and plant shelves.  I could hardly believe my eyes!  The greatest realization of the whole visit was how down to earth and kind Mr. Kovalev and his wife of 52 years are.  This has been his refuge for inspiration.

Wouldn't it be fun to have a library... up in a loft... with an antique bed for relaxing, reading and meditating?  I think I know what part of heaven might be like! 

I was in awe at how many different sized brushes and shades of oil paint were at his disposal!

Everywhere you looked...you saw one of his many creations!

These are just a few of the children's books he has illustrated.

This picture was one of our favorites...not so much detail...but a great deal of symbolism.  The red curtain, symbolizing communism, is slowly but surely being removed from the cross that symbolizes religious freedom.  The fire burning in the background depicts that period of revolution.  Russia knows a lot about religious oppression also!

This painting is going into one of the books he is illustrating.  It will be on display at an art festival in Germany in the coming weeks.  You can see the claw feet that we have shown you on previous blogs, found in wooden carvings.  There is so much detail to this painting.  We also saw his preliminary sketch done in pencil...what a creative mind.

This is a religious icon that has been removed from a church for refurbishing.  He has it held in place with an easel that has a vice.

I feel badly that Vladimir and Irina were the ones taking the pictures, but this shows the lucky group of us that got to come and meet this amazing couple and to soak in their warmth and talent.

March 8 is a BIG holiday in Russia...actually it is an international holiday... Women's Day.  It comes just a month after Men's Day.  I had postings on the last blog of our branch's Men's Day celebration. Our elders gave the women in the zone a box of chocolates and a rose.  What gentlemen!

After our zone meeting, we headed to the church for the festivities.  Several of the men gave tributes to the women and talked about the various stages of their lives.  They spoke of their role as daughters, sisters, wives, mothers and grandmothers.  Elder Pocock was chosen to give the tribute regarding their role as daughters.  He talked of how special daughters are in the lives of their parents and did a power point showing his daughters through the years and ended with a picture of a crown and talked briefly about how they are all daughters of a Heavenly King and how truly special they all are.  They loved dancing, singing, and eating.  The fun ended with lots of Karaoke.  The sisters and I sang a trio to Julie Andrew's "Do Re Mi" from the Sound of Music.  It was the only English song of the night!

This little video clip will give you an idea of how the Russians really get into their dancing and singing.  It was such a great experience to enjoy this holiday with them.  If a video does not show here, you need to log on to the regular blog at elderandsisterpocock.blogspot.com

The Women's Day celebrations just went on and on.  When I arrived at church on Sunday, Nina could hardly wait for me to open my gift that she had made me...a hat for working in the garden. I love it. Now all I need is a garden...I really need to go help in hers when the snow melts!

This is a close up of Nina's crocheted hat, (there isn't a thing she can't make!) a darling Babushka doll filled with pot pourri that Tamara Ustyuzhaninova made and some yummy shower gel from my dear friends Tanya and Lena.

At a recent trip to the outdoor market, we found these spools of the colored plastic that Nina purchases and uses to make my rugs, doilies and now my hat.  The cost of the plastic is equivalent to five cents a yard.  Lots of colors to choose from!  I love how she put splashes of red in with the yellow and black.  Nina needs to go into business.

During Relief Society, the priesthood came in and presented all of the women with candy and a  Russian poem in honor of Women's Day.  After the priesthood left, the sisters talked openly of how special the men of the branch had made them feel.  They commented on how the majority of them do not have husbands in their lives, and how grateful they are for their branch family and the support of the priesthood!  

Sisters Galli and Patterson had invited our dear Elena and her adorable daughter, Victoria to our home for an uplifting message and some fun.  We had a great time sharing our feelings about how the gospel enriches our lives.  Elena is the only member in her family.  She and Victoria are at church every week. Elena has been a faithful Primary teacher...but on this particular day, Elder Pocock issued the call for her to be the new Primary President.  He was concerned about the support she would receive from her husband, but she assured him that the rest of her family know that Sunday is the day she and Victoria go to the branch...no questions asked!!!  Victoria helped me make some pumpkin cookies with chocolate pieces in them.  Just hope so badly that our love is felt...we just can't say enough words in Russian to tell them how much they mean to us!

That evening we had another family over for dinner.  This is a grandmother, Ludmilla, her daughter, Marianna, and Marianna's two sons.  Marianna's husband is Russian but works in America and they are anticipating getting their visas soon, so that they can join him.  Danielle, the oldest son, is concerned about his limited English skills and attends our English Conversation Group each week.  He is wanting to go on a mission and wonders if he will move to America and then be called to serve in Russia!  We introduced them to our family favorite...chicken fettuccine.  Thank goodness they are Italian food fans.  We enjoyed a family home evening on making correct choices.  So fun to get to know the branch families better. I felt badly, Elders Christiansen and Ashjian had to hurry home to make curfew...so we didn't get them in the picture!  Ludmilla was one of the fantastic dancers in the Women's Day video.  A very talented, fun and dedicated family!

Elder Prestwich is taking this picture with Ludmilla, her daughter, Yulia, Elders Dugger, Pocock and I.  Ludmilla is a counselor in our Relief Society...she is so committed to the gospel.  She is the only member in her family but is so loving and kind that the rest of her family supports her in her faith totally.  She shares her testimony with them, encourages family prayer and the Word of Wisdom. She is the ideal grandmother...so helpful to her children and just adores her grandchildren.  The daughter and her husband have just moved into this lovely and large, for Russian standards, apartment.  We are so happy for them.  Ludmilla and her daughter live very close and they spend a lot of time together making quilts, canning and right now helping her daughter get situated in their new home.  We would love to help the daughter's family see how important the gospel could be in their lives.

We headed to Ekat this past Wednesday for Zone Conference...so guess what?  It's hair cut time!!!  Elders Kaiser and Henderson sport their new dos!

On the train to Yekaterinburg...they offered a meal free of charge.  It was unheard of.  We passed because we had made a lunch but the sisters decided to give it a try.  Here we have noodles, a small piece of chicken and a tiny amount of vegetables.  This what I would call ... portion control!  It is true,
in Russia the purchased portions are much smaller than they are in America.  In some things, like weight, they are more health conscious.

For some reason, they couldn't get tickets for all our zone on the same train...so the six of us went on to Ekat an hour before the other four missionaries.  Missed hanging out all together.  The missionaries are allowed to change into casual clothes on the long train rides.  This is when we really get to bond as a zone!

A zone picture with President and Sister Rust.  Back L to R...Sisters Galli and Patterson, Elders Kaiser, Henderson, Dugger, Prestwich, Christiansen and Ashjian.

Perm Zone provided the musical number for Zone Conference.  We sang, "In Humility Our Savior"(in Russian) to the tune of "Come Thou Fount".  We had Elder Christiansen and Sister Patterson do a duet,  and we changed it up with a verse in English.  It was fun...what a great group of singers!

The greatest part of our time at Zone Conference was the spiritual lift and renewed commitment to our efforts and our Savior.  The saddest part of the less than 24 hours that we spent in Yekaterinburg is that we didn't have enough time with the wonderful elders and sisters that have become literally our mission family.  This is the train station in Ekat...the electronic board that you can see to the left tells us what time schedule the train is on and what path, located under the station, leads us outside to our train.  Depending on the time of day...this place can be bustling or totally dead.

Just outside the train station was this guard standing by a police car with a machine gun over his shoulder.  We passed quickly by him.

Well, we hear that spring has arrived in most parts of your world...this is living proof that spring hasn't come to Russia and probably won't until well into April!  Soak in some sun for us!  Until next time....