We made it!!!!  We landed in Yekaterinburg at 6:40 am, our new time.  It was an hour late, because of fog.  We circled the airport until we were finally cleared to land.  Ironically enough, the alternative was to land in Perm (the city we are assigned to serve), if the fog didn't clear.  We sailed through emigration and customs, which was a real relief.  There we were met by the APs and the mission president and his wife.  A very welcome sight.  This winter has been one of very little snow in this part of Russia but it has made up for it with the frigid temperatures.  It felt like we were snowmobiling in the Sawtooths without a helmet when we walked out of the airport!  They wisked us off to the mission home for a nap and then off for a busy day at the Mission Office.  This evening we had dinner with President Rust(the man on the far right) and his wife(not pictured.) On the far left are the Skows, the mission office couple and the Coltons, the CES couple here in Yekatrinburg.  A new senior couple is scheduled to arrive the last of March.

This is the most senior couples this mission has ever had.  President Rust told us that retention in our mission is around 18%!  We need more couples...sign up now!!! 

Our new mission president and his wife, President Kent and Sister Janet Rust.  We made it through the day on about three hours of sleep in order to try and get on our new schedule.  It is now 10:30 p.m. February 16, 2012.  You are just getting a good start on your morning.  Tomorrow we travel by train for five hours to our assignment in Perm.

You are probably getting tired of seeing pictures of just us, but at this point the only reference is at what stage we are in our progress towards Russia.  Well the day has finally arrived when we have to close the door and walk away from everything we have known for the last four years.  We have loaded all the suitcases and locked the door.  Our daughters, Erin and Kendra drove us from this point to the Boise airport.

So here we are at the airport terminal, saying our final goodbyes to our family.  

We are now at the Denver International Airport awaiting our flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  It's a ten hour flight and then a nine hour layover!!! We arrive in Yekatrinburg, Russia at 4:40 p.m. Mountain Time on February 15. It will be 5:40 a.m. February 16, Yekatrinburg time.  Russia, here we come!!!

Day 5 at the MTC,  February 10, 2012

Our official Russian missionary badges.  On the left is Elder Pocock, the right is Sister Pocock. 

Beneath our names it reads: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

 The above are all the missionaries going to Russia.  We are going to Yekaterinburg, the Stewarts, to our left, are going to Samara, and the Fellows, to their left are going to St. Petersburg...three couples, all different Russian missions, all different flights, all excited, all nervous!!!

 This is our MTC district.  Our instructor, Brother Carrington, is far left.  He was our district's instructor in the mornings.  Next are Elder and Sister Solomon, going to California, and Elder and Sister Robinson, going to Las Vegas, Nev.  Then we're next to Elder and Sister Lindmark, who were going to Sydney, Australia.  There were a lot of learning experiences with these wonderful people.

This is Brother Albertson, who was our district's instructor in the afternoon.  Our instructors were wonderful young men.

Day 1   was filled with introductions, getting acquainted, receiving study material, taking pictures, checking on our inoculations, a tour of the MTC campus, meeting with the MTC presidency, etc ... BUT

Day 2 ...Tuesday the 7th  

was ALL BUSINESS! We had combined lectures as well as district training; scripture study; then we worked on teaching techniques and lesson plans. YOU DEFINITELY RECOGNIZE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES! I have felt the spirit many times in my life but I sincerely feel that there has never been a 12 hour period when I have felt it repeatedly, over and over again...until today.  Bishop Edgley, from the Presiding Bishopric spoke in the evening devotional...amazing speaker!  He talked to us about our differences in backgrounds, ages, knowledge, and skills.  Then he said, "There is a great equalizer...the fact that we have been called and set apart will qualify us for what's ahead."  Very comforting. 2,500 young men, women and senior missionaries stood and sang, "Called To Serve".  What an inspiring day!

Day 3...Wednesday the 8th.

We taught our first investigator!!!  He was an 80 year old man with a wife in a care center with severe dementia who has lost three of his six children.  He was looking for peace!  We had prepared the message of the Restoration but as his story unfolded, we added some of  - The Plan of Salvation.  It was an amazing experience...scary, spiritual, moving, and soul searching all in one 45 minute period.  I kept thinking to myself..."Can I have this special experience in broken Russian?"  6-8 p.m. brought more intense training with a Russian teacher.  For two hours we practiced conversations and reading from a Russian Book of Mormon. (By the way, the first Russian Triple Combination has just been released!)  We have so much to learn. Kent & I both had to have more shots...YIKES! What a memorable day!

Day 4...Thursday the 9th

Today was filled with twelve hours of training and more training.  We love the other senior missionaries that we have met.  It's official...we got our Russian visas today.  Yekatrinburg, here we come.  We now are wearing 

Elder and Sister Pocock badges written in Russian. It is all seeming more real.  The big message for today was,

"We teach people, not lessons!"  The days have been LONG but the week has been SO SHORT!!! I can't believe tomorrow is our last day at the MTC.

Monday, February 6, 2012
Day 1 in the MTC was all that we anticipated! How I remember going to the same hall and saying goodbye to our three daughters who served.  Today...no tears were shed!!!  We were surprised that our badges were in English but the Sister that gave them out said, "But we need to be able to read your name!"  We get our Russian badges on Friday.  About 38 senior couples joined us on this adventure...representing missions to many any areas of the world. Here's another world map...note that I had to stand on tip-toe to even come close to Yekatrinburg. Well, we're off to study, imagine homework on the first day!  P.S. the MTC cafeteria is awesome and the Elders and Sisters are sooooo helpful. 

Preparing to go to MTC

February 3, 2012: We are departing Sunday for the MTC. It is hard to leave home and family behind, but we are really looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime. All our lives we have imagined Russia such a forbidding place, but after the call we have grown to love the opportunities that this mission holds. Tanya, our Russian tutor, has taught us that we can learn new things, and that the Russian people are very lovable. The purpose of this blog is to share our feelings with those we care for. We invite you to check as we relay our progress with this important work.