Welcome to Perm's Ice City... It is a traditional festival that they have annually around their Christmas, January 7.  Artists work for weeks preparing the ice sculptures.  Here we have a city sculpted out of ice in the background with singers entertaining the crowds.  It was so fun to see them dance and sing "Jingle Bells" in Russian!

Every year Perm selects a country to pay tribute to.  This year it is Holland.  Here Lena, Tanya, and Elder Pocock stand in front of ice tulips.  The biggest challenge is not keeping the ice from melting...it is keeping the snow off the sculptures!

You can see that we were getting snowed on while attending the ice display...we were glad because the temperatures were a bit warmer!!!

They had one snow sculpture.  Click on the picture and hopefully you can see the detail.  This was the only display in snow... all the rest were in ice.  So much detail...so much work!

This had to be my favorite...it was gorgeous.  You can see how tall these long, stem roses are.  With the light shining from the inside...it helped to highlight the details.  So beautiful.

Leading up to the huge Christmas tree in the center of the Ice City is a walkway that you can go through that depicts a famous cathedral in Holland.

It was such a sight with the lighting, the light snow falling and the intricately carved ice designs.

This couple on stilts was a real popular attraction.  How they ever stayed upright on the snow and ice, I will never understand!

Several horse-drawn sleighs took families for a ride around the Ice City.  We arrived in Perm in February, 2012 and by the time we got to the displays, they were dismantling them.  This year we were so grateful to be a part of such an amazing display of art and such a fun celebration.

This is our second counselor's family...Valery, Auxana, and Ona.  We went to enjoy their company and
celebrate the holidays with them.  We have seen many Christmas trees draped with long ice cycles in homes where we have visited.  You may wonder how Auxana can wear a sleeveless blouse in minus 20 degree weather...but the hot water, radiator heat keeps their apartment very comfortable.  Valery wants more than anything for Auxana to embrace the gospel and have their family united in one faith.

Here is Valery's grandmother Ona.  The little daughter is named after her.  Grandma made her way out of her bedroom to greet us.  She hasn't been well, so it was wonderful to see her up and around.  She is 88 years old.  Always a treat to visit this great family.

We had to get a picture of this man...we were celebrating Tanya's birthday and he came by our table.  Don't know his name...but he would make a great Grandfather Frost, don't you think?  Apparently he is quite the athlete here in Perm...a pleasure to see him!

Congratulations Tanya (R) and Happy Birthday.  It is a tradition here that the person celebrating the birthday invites and pays for the birthday dinner.  Tanya treated us and other friends to a tasty meal and
then an evening of games.  It seems like it should be the other way around...us treating Tanya! Thanks for a wonderful evening.

Lubov, the Family History specialist, invited Elder Pocock and I to share some of our experiences with Family History.  She is trying to get people involved in the program and prepare names to take to the temple.  My involvement in Family History has been more in the area of writing histories of ancestors and I shared how to go about doing that.  Elder Pocock had his trusty computer and talked about the satisfaction of helping to complete the puzzle of connecting families together.  Whenever Elder Pocock isn't doing missionary work, he is working on his Family History!  Lubov is very motivated and committed to Family History.  She blesses this branch.

It's done.  Nastia has finished her very own creation.  Wish you could see the details of the dress better...pockets coming off of the princess lines.  She did a great job.  She told me she bought more material for another project...she's excited about sewing.  It was so fun to teach her a lifetime skill!

Family Home Evening this week was entitled: "Hot Soup and Hot Topics!"  We had a great group... and we discussed how to make meaningful goals for 2013.  We reminded them that unless a goal is written down and then worked on, it is only a wish.  Many of them have so many challenges that despair limits their progress.  How we hope that we motivated these great young people to feel that they truly can set and REACH worthwhile goals!

. 

After FHE, we rolled up the rug and Sasha taught a modified cha-cha.  Not too many know how to dance, but they were very interested in learning.

The day after FHE, we packed up and left for Ufa on assignment from President Rust.  Ufa is a sixteen hour train ride...but President Rust has found an airline that flys there for less than the train ride.  From Perm it takes only an hour to Yekaterinburg, an overnight stay in Ekat, and then another hour on to Ufa.  I wasn't very excited about flying in such a small, prop engine plane...but we arrived safe and sound.

Welcome to Ufa...we were here Thursday through Monday.  Our main assignment was for Elder Pocock to meet with the branch clerk in preparation for the sixth month audit.  While we were here, we also inspected missionary apartments, attended zone meeting, missionary coordination, branch council, got asked to speak in Sacrament meeting, attended their Institute class, visited with their Branch Presidency, sat in on discussions and member visits and hugged the missionaries!  We loved our time here.

These three missionaries have previously served in Perm with us...L to R Elders O'Neill and Flitton, and Sister Robins.  The Elders are now the zone leaders in Ufa and Sister Robins is training a new sister missionary.  We have such great memories with these missionaries...it was wonderful to be able
to work with them again even if for a short time!

The Ufa Zone: L to R, Elders Hatfield, Artyukhov (native Russian), Sisters Rodgers, Petersen (new missionary) Sisters Patchett (new missionary), Robins, Sister and Elder Pocock, Elders Flitton and O'Neill.  This church is so blessed to have great young men and women who have such a desire to share their testimonies.

Ufa has a beautiful branch building.  The church was able to purchase enough property that the building could be all on one level.  We loved the open floor plan.  What a blessing to have their own place to meet.

When we left the branch on Sunday...after all the after-the-block meetings...this little tyke was at the front of the building shoveling snow.  The snow reminded me of that soap "Ivory Flakes".  It was so powdery and drifted so easily, makes for easy removal!

We told the missionaries to keep us busy while we were in Ufa and they did!  We loved visiting the members with them.  Here we have Sister Reisa.  She has been a member for ten years and is so very faithful.  Her daughter and grandson live with her.  It was sweet to see how kind her teenage grandson was to her.  Seriously, this little woman is a bundle of energy!

We had the privilege of participating in a discussion with a wonderful sister...Nadezda.  Sister Rodgers, who is only in her third transfer, is training Sister Petersen.  Because we have so few missionaries in this mission...they have to step up to a great deal of responsibility very fast!  They are both somewhat insecure with this very difficult language so a great returned missionary from the branch, Kirill, has been sitting in on their lessons and assisting where needed.  Nadezda met the missionaries on the bus and immediately started to read the Book of Mormon and meet with them.  She shared the stories of the BofM with her granddaughter and come to find out...some time ago her granddaughter found a Book of Mormon in a trash can, retrieved it and started to read it!  So now they are able to discuss these eternal principles together.  The granddaughter isn't ready to meet with the missionaries yet...but Nadezda gets the discussions and then mets with her grandchild.  Nadezda is already a missionary in her own right.

We found it really cold in Ufa...even the dogs have to bundle up!

Just down from our hotel was this beautiful Pravoslav cathedral.

Ufa appeared to be a newer city and it even has a freeway...something we haven't seen except when we were in Moscow and Finland.

This enlarged picture is dedicated to Elder Pocock.  When we arrived we were told, "It isn't IF but WHEN you will fall on the icy streets or sidewalks."  We have been so proud of ourselves...didn't fall last winter...hadn't fallen yet, UNTIL we went to Ufa.  At the bottom of this hill, you get a glimpse of the branch building.  This sidewalk is sheer ice with a thin layer of powder on top.  We had to walk down to the branch and back up to our hotel multiple times and this is where Elder Pocock met his demise!  Seriously, I don't know how these people maneuver these sidewalks in the winter.  One trip up the hill we helped a little, old (much older than us) lady with a cane get up this hill and then across the main street and up another hill to the neighborhood grocery store.  And the amazing thing is that many of their apartments have very small refrigerator space...so they have to make multiple trips to the store every week or carry large amounts of groceries on public transport.  We are so spoiled.  When I think of how we would go to Costco...fill our carts to the brim...load it into our cars...drive into our garages (with garage door openers!) and then deposit our groceries into our fridge in the kitchen and the extra one in the garage!!!!  Even in Perm, Elder Pocock and I are spoiled because we have a little grocery store right at the base of our apartment building...so we only have a short distance to go multiple times a week.  Count your many blessings!

This is our hotel...

The hotel room had a kitchenette.  We were excited to get to a little store and purchase some groceries.  We saw a pizza...it looked so tasty, so we bought it!  When we got back to the hotel, we realized that there was NO OVEN, just a stove top!  Well, as I have said before, where there is a will there is a way.  We cooked our pizza on very low heat in this covered pan.  The first round it worked beautifully...the pizza was delicious.  Second time around, we stunk up the whole room...unedible!

Elders Flitton and O'Neill practicing their door approach before contacting their neighbor.  

We found Ufa very festive.  They had a lot of holiday decorations around the town. Here you see some of their ice sculptures from afar.

Ice sculptures are a common thing in Russia.  Ufa's ice display was more modest than the one in Perm.  It was geared more to children.  Here is a sculpture of CPO 3!

We loved Ufa.  The people that we met, the cleanliness of the city, of course, being with our missionaries!, the branch leadership, being able to sit in on discussions, it was just a wonderful four days.  We have reported our visit to President Rust and will now be going back early in February to complete the audit with the branch.  It was so satisfying to be able to visit another branch and see the strength of the church in another area in Russia.  We are so grateful for the younger generation of Ufa who will continue to carry this work forward and build this area.  Russia is an amazing country, with such hardy and determined people.  Please continue to pray for the missionary work in Russia.  We truly love these people and want them to embrace the truth!

Today, January 7, 2013, is actually Christmas Day in Russia.  Believe it or not.  The following blog is dedicated to New Year's when Grandfather Frost came to bring the children presents!  If you're confused...join the club!  We were invited to Nadya and her family's home for dinner on New Year's Eve afternoon.  I snapped this picture of Grandfather Frost on the television.  He's wishing everyone a "Happy New Year"!

Here we are by the family tree with Mela and Feda, Nadya's children.  Needless to say, they were excited!  Usually they spend the holidays with her parents, but this year they decided to stay in Perm and have their celebration at home.  They were so thoughtful to allow us to join in the fun.  Nadya made the felt ornament garland hanging in front of the window.

An amazing dinner was prepared for us.  We had roast duck, baked with apples and plums...yummy!

A traditional Russian beet salad and shredded fried potatoes, both of which I really liked.  She also had their traditional New Year's caviar and sardines.  I am going to have to acquire a taste for caviar and the sardines...well let's say it was an adventure.  Nadya went to so much work and we loved sharing the afternoon with them. 

While dinner was being prepared, Elder Pocock and Feda engaged in a fierce game of "Battleship" that we gave the kids for New Year's.  

Look what Nadya and Mela created for us.  It's a candy tree...so tempting!

After dinner we rolled, cut, baked and decorated sugar cookies.  I can't imagine how many sugar cookies I've made this holiday and each time it has been such a joy to introduce this fun experience to my dear friends.  Mission rules were that we had to be in our apartments by 6:00 p.m. on New Year's eve and all day New Year's to prevent any confrontations with those on the street who were celebrating a little too much.  So when we had to go...we left the remaining dough and cookie cutters for Mela.  The next day we got a text from Nadya telling us that they had the neighbors and their children over baking and decorating cookies until 2:00 a.m.!!!  Now that's my kind of celebration.

As we left, Mela demonstrated the great ice slide outside of their apartment building.  The children come down the slide on a kind of snow saucer...and boy do they fly.  The ice goes from the slide clear across the playground until you hit a pile of snow.  I want to try it sooooo badly, but decided I better act my age!  New Year's eve and day were so incredibly restful.  We spent the day doing some deep cleaning and studying but we were also blessed with a great nap and the mission president loaned each companionship a copy of "It's A Wonderful Life" for our entertainment.  A nice quiet New Year's!

New Year's Eve and New Year's are BIG holidays and this is why we were asked to stay inside!

The day after New Year's we went to visit our dear friend, Olga at her mother's in Ugocomsk!  We have been there a couple times in the summer, but this was our first experience in the winter.  Before our adventure, we had to take a fun peek at the newly installed flooring in Olga's apartment.  Doesn't it look amazing?  This flooring is linoleum but looks exactly like laminate.  Her place is so clean and modern looking.  If you have been watching the evolution of this studio apartment, you are probably as amazed as we are.  Where there is a will, there is a way!  She is now saving up for some cupboards and a desk.  More pics to come...

An hour bus ride on icy roads brought us to this frozen lake at Ugocomsk covered with snow and the village nestled in the hills.  Looks like a Christmas card doesn't it?

Many in the little village, take the shortcut across the frozen lake to get to and from town.  It was sooooo cold here!  My nose felt frozen when we got from the bus station to Olga's mom apartment.

Olga's mom lost her husband when her two daughters were ages one and two!  She raised them as a single mom and taught school.  She is a workaholic at age 81!  We keep trying to help her understand 

how important the gospel would be in her life.  She is very supportive of Olga's newfound religion!  We are developing a lasting relationship with her...and oh, how we love her daughter.

During the holidays, many of the businesses, the city buildings, banks, schools, etc. close down...January 1 through the 9th.  During his vacation, Dima, our young single adult friend called and asked if we wanted to go on a tour across the Kama river and see what is on the other side?  It is amazing that we have lived here for eleven months now, and we have never been across this bridge.  We have several young single adults that live in that area because it was built as primarily university housing that is now open for anyone to rent.  There are also dorm type apartment complexes.  This is a picture that we took during the summer, but it shows one of the two bridges that span the Kama River.

As we crossed the bridge, it felt like we were in a very different world.  The area is so forested and the housing is nestled right in amongst the trees.  It seriously looked like we are driving over the Cascades in Oregon.

This is a picture from the car of Dima's apartment building, surrounded by pines.  

This country really believes in central heating.  This photo shows one of many huge plants that heats water and then circulates it around to all of the large apartment buildings in the community.  The hot water is then flushed through radiators in the various apartments to heat them.  Our apartment is very comfortable except when the outside temperatures are extreme.  The biggest downside is that you have no thermostate to control the temperature of your apartment.

This is a great picture showing the large pipes that carry the hot water to the various apartment buildings.  They have to go up and over the intersections of the community.

This shows the pipeline hooking into the dorms in this area.

Farther on down the northern side of the Kama river is a huge dam and power plant.  We stopped to take pictures of the ice fishing that was going on.

You can see the augers they use to drill the holes in the ice.  Some of the men had plastic around them to try and protect them from the wind.  Can you imagine sitting there waiting for a fish to bite in minus 20 degree weather?!

The little town that is by the dam is called Giva.  While we were driving through the community, we saw this small Muslim mosque.  Dima said that there are quite a few Muslims between Perm and the city of Ufa.  Our missionaries have to line up an interview for a Muslim investigator with the mission president before they can begin taking the missionary discussions.

Dima and I by a monument and eternal flame that mark pre-revolutionary history.  There is a lovely museum that is located near here and we hope to be able to get back on a P-day when we have more time.  We are finding Russian history most interesting.  Thanks Dima, for helping us to see what lies just across the river and out of the city!

Lessons, visits and now a birthday party at the branch for Val...he's turning 60.  Lim is his wonderful wife.  In Russian, it is the tradition that the person having the birthday puts on the party and it was a wonderful party.

On the wall behind our two comedians, is a poster displaying Val through the years.  It was so fun to get a glimpse into his life.  His sister attended along with his first wife.  Like Lim said, "One big happy family!"  This mother and daughter team, Ludmilla and Mariana,  did a fun comedy act to help Val celebrate!

Saturday, January 5, 2013 was an incredibly special day.  Last week on the blog, we talked of our visit to Lubova...an enchaning eight year old, that was anticipating her baptism right away.  Well it happened but not without the efforts of the whole branch.  It all started out early Saturday morning, when four of our elders and two priesthood holders from the branch walking through the snow, up and down the hills and into Laressa and Alexei's home.  They carried Laressa out to the road on a stretcher.   Laressa is paralyzed from the waist down.  Members of the branch that have cars met them at the road and took Laressa, her family and the elders to a members home that has their own banya...or bath house.  The elders chopped wood and they heated the water and Relief Society sisters lovingly bathed Laressa and washed her hair.  They don't have plumbing...so this was a luxury.  While this was going on...the branch had an incredible activity for all the children of the branch and their invited guests.  Here they have a traditional story that revolves around the Christmas tree, Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden (that is Grandfather Frost's granddaughter that assists him in delivering the children's presents.)  It was so well planned, so well attended, the children dressed in their Sunday best or a costume (not sure about that tradition).  They had a wicked witch, a rooster, and a fox all playing a large role in the story.  The children loved it and Lubova and her brother Yarik were at the party while their mother was being attended to.

At the end of the party, each child shared a poem with Grandfather Frost and then he gave them a stocking filled with fruit and goodies.  Some of the Relief Society sisters had made forty beautiful stockings for the children in attendance.  I can't begin to tell you how memorable they made this activity for the children.

This is our second counselor Valdimer, (Grandfather Frost), his wife, Svetlana, and their two daughters, Maria (the Snow Maiden) and baby, Ana.  She was in the hospital a year ago when we arrived because she was born prematurely and there were huge concerns for her survival...but as you can see she is a beautiful little gal.  They are a very faithful family!

Well, after the children's party (yolka), we were to have Lubova's baptism.  When we checked the font, to our dismay...the water pressure was down to a trickle and there was no way she was going to be able to be baptized!  Hoses were brought in and water from the basement lines was turned into the font...and the members, missionaries and even children were filling buckets of hot water from the kitchen and restrooms to fill the baptismal font.  Well, it was an hour late but it happened!!!

Three of the four members of this little family are now members of the church and Laressa was there to see it happen!  After the baptismal talk, the baptism and the talk on the Holy Ghost, the Branch President announced the closing prayer.  Elder Pocock asked to speak with him a moment and then the President announced that Lubova would be confirmed then and not on Sunday.  Elder Pocock helped him understand that convert baptisms have to be confirmed on Sunday, but children can be confirmed right after baptism and with the situation with Laressa...it was something that should be done right then.  In this branch...there are very few baptisms at age eight...most baptisms are taken care of by the missionaries because they are convert baptisms.  This is what this work is all about, helping each other to move the work forward in the best possible way.

Sasha, one of the young single adults that is preparing for a mission, baptized Lubova.  We were so proud of him.  CONGRATULATIONS LUBOVA!

Laressa loved being out of bed and at the branch with the saints.  The sisters greeted her warmly.  While we were waiting for the font to fill, several of the branch sat together and sang from the hymn book. Laressa loved that!  They served a light lunch after the baptism and you could just see the joy on her face as she enjoyed the food and the companionship.  How I wish that she lived in a home that was more easily accessible so she could come to church more often.  Every one of those missionaries expressed to us how much the experience of that day had meant to them.  Truly, when you are in the service of your fellowmen, you are in the service of your God...and they felt that.

It truly was a day that the Perm Branch will never forget, and neither will we.  A very special day in Perm, Russia!