Have to brag AGAIN...grandchild #23, Annie Fern Post, was born to Lori and Zach on April 7, 2013. She is welcomed by sister, Ella, and two older brothers, Elliott and Abram.  So exciting! 

Aching to hold those new babies...so Victoria, Vecka, helps fill my empty arms.  Every Sunday when I get to the church she comes running down the hall and into my lap.  I'd love to take her home with me as grandchild #24 but I don't think Lena would go for that.  

This Russian winter is all about "bait and switch".  First it snows...then it's 12 degrees C, which is 52 degrees F...then it snows again. Make up my mind!!!  The crazy temperatures and harsh conditions are so hard on everything.  While we were walking to do an Elders' apartment check, we came across part of this brick pillar that had fallen off.  Several buildings, fences and stores are in need of constant upkeep due to the severe weather.

This is the entryway to our building during the thaw!

This playground went from a winter wonderland to a swimming pool in just a couple days.

The evidence of a long day on the streets!!!

Russian winters aren't just hard on buildings, fences and sidewalks...they cause havoc with elders pants!  I put a piece of white paper in the hole to show you what I am trying to repair.  This elder goes home in a month and just wants to wear the old suit during the "mud season".  I put a piece of dark fabric to reinforce the hole and zig-zagged the pants together...not pretty but I think it is going to hold!

Another pair of pants for repair...this elder was hopping over a big puddle and ripped a hole in his suit pants.  Whatever would we have done here in Perm without the mission home sewing machine!  This pair makes the 16th pair of pants I have either shortened, lengthened, taken in, let out or repaired while on my mission.  It's my second full time job.  Good thing I love these Elders!!!

We begged Reisa for a picture...she is such an amazing member.  Her daughter is Tanya, who speaks proficient English and has helped us translate when we teach institute.  Elders Prestwich and Hope were on splits and we joined them for a long-awaited visit.  Reisa is an amazing cook, just finished an apartment remodel job, and is so faithful to attend her meetings and the temple.  Love this sweet woman!

On the bulletin board of the branch, we proudly show some of our wonderful youth.  The top two pictures are young men serving their required year in the army.  The other four are missionaries from our branch.

This is Sasha Vironkin...he just served a short-term mission to Chelyabinsk.  We are so excited to have him back.  He is now serving in the Young Men's presidency!  He loved his mission.

We just got this picture over the email this week.  It is of Elder Weber (L) and Elder Sumenkov (Igor).  Elder Weber served here in Perm some time ago...and if you have followed the blog, Igor is one of our YSA that has been preparing for a full time mission.  He is now serving a short-term mission with Elder Weber in Chelyabinsk. We really love these two young men.  It is so rewarding to see how their testimonies are strengthened and their love for the Savior shows in all that they do.

At zone meeting, we celebrated Elder Christiansen's 21st birthday!  He goes home in May along with two others of our great zone.

I wanted to show you how creative our elders have to be as they contact on the streets.  Elder Christiansen and Elder Ashjian show this poster and ask the people...does 3AMOK mean "lock" or does it mean "castle"?   The people guess and then the missionaries point out that depending on where the accent is placed...it means either one or the other.  Without knowing where to place the emphasis...you don't know the meaning.  Then they liken this to questions of life...and how if we don't put the emphasis on getting these answers from a prophet, we aren't going to get the right answer for us.  Then they discuss how important it is to find real truth.  Great work, guys.

Recently we had an "Invitation Sunday" where the members were encouraged to bring their non member friends to get acquainted with what we believe.  We had eight investigators attend.  The block was filled with very special speakers, lessons and music.  The elders set up the table and chairs for the light luncheon that was served afterwards.  Elder Pocock caught a great picture of all of them waiting for Priesthood and Relief Society to end...Elders Hope, Krivov, Ashjian, Henderson, Christiansen and Prestwich.

Elders Prestwich and Krivov invited us to visit a family.  Challenges abound with some family conditions in Russia and we try to strengthen them and teach them values.  We are cautioned that our communities and our countries are no stronger than our homes!

We just ended our eight week session of English conversation group.  We had a great group...such nice people wanting to better their English skills.  Here we see Elders Henderson and Hope teaching the beginning group.

After the 45 minute lesson, the beginning...intermediate...and advanced groups meet together for a story in English, a song in English, a spiritual thought and prayer.  Here Elder Henderson is giving a story in English and Tanya, an English teacher at a Police Lyceum, is translating it into Russian.

We had a delightful experience on transport the other day.  We were riding a bus to an appointment when a nice lady sitting across from us noticed that we were speaking English.  She suddenly began talking to us in very good English...asking us all kinds of questions and helping us in determining our stop. This lady pictured below came on the bus and sat beside her.  They talked to each other about us...that we were missionaries, that we were from America, that we had a large family and immediately this sweet lady adopted us.  It so happened that we got off the same bus stop and she walked and talked with us.  Because we were missionaries, she immediately assumed we were of the Russian Orthodox Church and she was trying to get us to follow her.  We knew where we had to go to our appointment and she thought we were lost and needed her to show us the way to the church.  She was delightful...but this is where not knowing the language very well can cause miscommunication.  Finally we were able to help her understand, but before we parted we became fast friends.  It was so nice to have someone so caring and concerned...most of the time on buses we get stared down by some pretty solemn people.

The Relief Society had an activity where the sisters learned some handwork that creates a beautiful flower design.  It is called ribbon embroidery.  They had a great turnout and everyone enjoy learning a new craft.

The finished product...beautiful!

Right after the Relief Society activity...we had a surprise party for our dear friend, Yulia!  She turned 21 and has just completed her papers for a full time mission!  This branch is so lucky!

Lots of friends...food...and fun!

The cutest candles ever...they spelled "Happy Birthday" in Russian, of course.  This is how you pronounce Happy Birthday in Russian...."S Dnem Rozhdeniya".

Yulia felt such love and joy...she is a great young woman.

Olga has been saving up for a new front door and it is finally installed.   When she told us we were so excited for her and now we could go over and finish applying the wallpaper up to the new door.  We were in for a bit of a shock...this door fit very differently than the last one and there is a lot of work to be done before the last of the wallpaper goes up.

You can see here what I mean.  So we spent the next 2 hours filling in the holes and covering the brick with "mud".  The metal bars that they used to stabilize the door are not flush with the wall.  It required a lot of filler...we will have to let it dry and then see where we go from here.  It never is as easy as you imagine it might be!

We got an Easter package from home and look at these cute decorations that our grandchildren have made and decorated for us.  Thank you so much...Easter in Russia is May 5...so we are all ready for it!
Inside the package were ingredients for our favorite cheese ball and a family favorite... caramel popcorn.  Can't wait to make these.

Family Home Evening this week was well attended.  In fact, we had six members and seven non members present.  The elders taught the lesson on Forgiveness.  Great lesson...great group!

This is Erena.  She was in our advanced English group and we invited her to attend family home evening.  She came and brought with her this beautiful doily that she had made to thank us for the
invitation.  So thoughtful...she wants to continue coming.

A fun activity that we have played after the lessons, is Charades.  Elder Pocock caught some of it on his IPhone and we thought you might like to hear the Russian language spoken by natives.  This is what we listen to all day long.  

Sisters Galli and Patterson are so excited about their new investigator, Nina (in the orange top).  She speaks some English...has a daughter that married an Italian and lives in Italy.  Nina has so much energy and is an eager learner.  Irina (red blouse), baptized in January, is a newly called branch missionary and she is great in helping Nina to understand different principles of the gospel.  There is nothing like another Russian member sharing their testimony and what it was like for them to accept the gospel and live it.

Every time I witness this, tears come to my eyes!  This is Leo...he is from China.  He is living in Russia and going to school.  Our missionaries found him on the streets of Perm.  Elder Prestwich and Krivov were teaching him in English...he has limited skills in both English and Russian.  The President made contact with the mission president in England to see if they could work out some teaching sessions.  Today while we were waiting for Leo to get here, I heard one of the Elders from England say that when he read that his call was to England and that he would be speaking Mandarin Chinese...his parents didn't believe him at first!  I can see why, but there must be a large gathering of Chinese in England.  This is Leo's third skype session with missionaries in Birmingham, England that speak Mandarin Chinese.   We have received so many witnesses through this experience:  Modern technology is truly helping to spread the gospel and this is truly a world wide church.  At present, we don't have missionaries in China but Elder Pocock searched lds.org and checked out the "meetinghouse locator"...typed in Leo's city which is in the middle of China...and there was an English speaking branch right there in his home town!!!  This church is true and will spread across the world with God's help and the help of his missionaries!  This has been such a spiritual experience and all we are doing is witnessing it in our apartment.  The miracle of the whole thing:  here is a Chinese man, learning about the gospel in Russia, via skype with American missionaries in England...that speak Mandarin Chinese!!!  This is not a coincidence...this is God's work.

We walked out of our apartment and our neighbor had a bright, cheerful "welcome" mat.  Isn't it ironic it is in English...we're hoping she is saying it to us.

The next three pictures show some fun extremes in Russia:  an outhouse on the edge of a cliff...

Russians so wanting to soak in some sun...in April 2011 they were much more successful than in
April, 2013!  One thing I can say for the Russians, they don't let the weather get in their way.  They
still enjoy life.

Taken today, April 11, 2013...hope you can see that we are getting a lot of new snowfall. The bait and switch goes on.  Until next time...

Have to brag a little...

This week we were blessed with grandchild #22...an adorable baby girl!  Cara, Kyle, Ollie and Milo are thrilled to welcome her to their family.

Welcome back to Perm...

These past few days have been filled with more sights and sounds of this huge city.  Two dear friends, Olga and Nadeshda invited us to spend our P-day morning at two of Perm's fascinating museums.  All of the ancient animal replicas and skeletons on display have been discovered in the vast Perm Oblast region.  Here is a replica of a baby mammoth ... the preserved original is in a museum in Moscow.  

Our recent episode with a meteor in Chelyabinsk, Russia is not the first.  Here is a piece of a meteor that fell closer to Perm on August 30, 1887.  The flat, dark side shows the affects of the heat upon entry into the earth's atmosphere.  We took a picture of the plaque describing the meteor blast in English:

More models of prehistoric mammals that roamed the lands of Russia.

They had about five replicas of creatures that were found in the Perm region that haven't been identified anywhere else in the world!  This is one of them.  Fascinating!  It was a free admission day and many schools were taking advantage of the learning experience for their students.

The next museum was about a 20 minute walk.  In the distance is Perm's Opera House, renowned for its' productions.  Beautiful ice sculptures still dot the town.

Loved this beautiful, old brick building and then as we walked on, we found that it is a school of learning...

and was actually much larger than we had imagined...all three buildings are connected.  Wish I knew  how old this building was...it had definite signs of wear and aging.  Perm was first mentioned as a village in 1647.  The city was officially founded on May 15, 1723.   Love the old architecture!

The second museum is located in the mansion of Nicholai Meshkova, a shipping magnate, that built this beautiful home facing the banks of the Kama River.  The home was built around 1889.  Just touring this unique home was as fascinating as the collection of historical items inside.

Meet Nicholai Meshkova...this picture hangs in the entrance of the main floor.

Elder Pocock took this picture across the street from the mansion with his back to the Kama River.  It is beautifully maintained and what a view it has!

Inside we saw many of the original furnishings.  In the corner is a porcelain fireplace that was in really good repair. No amount of money was spared for the furnishings.

Historical reliques were on display...here you can see handmade wooden farm equipment and children's toys.

Various tribes are represented in Russia...these are some of their traditional dress.

Notice the wearing of the marble steps over the years...

We met a group of children that wanted to speak English with us.  We would talk for a while, then view some more of the museum, and then we would meet up again and they would have another list of questions about America for us to answer.  They were absolutely delightful...with very impressive English skills also!

This was one of those museums that you needed to have a full day to read and explore all of the displays.  It was so fun to go back in time with many headlines involving the United States and Russia from the days of our youth.  After the museum...Olga and Nadeshda joined us at our apartment for a hot bowl of homemade soup.  We talked of the many sights of the morning and how our two worlds have interacted over the course of history.

For us, shopping in Russia has been all the way from delightful to very frustrating.  We know the alphabet and can sound out the Russian words...but we often don't know what they mean!!!  Hence, we can see a store and unless it has visible windows or we go inside and see the merchandise or we have our Russian/English dictionary with us, we don't know what the store offers.  We have four levels of stores right below our apartment.  Level five of the building is where the apartments begin.  We frequent the grocery store but haven't been to the other levels...so we went on an adventure right in our own building.  One floor is filled with wedding apparel.  There wasn't such a thing as a simple wedding gown!

Another level specialized in shoes. The steletto heel is all the go over here.  These are the dressy partial boots that they wear.  However do they manage the icy sidewalks in these shoes?  I guess practice makes perfect!  We were thrilled to discover a place to print our photos, and a store where I can buy sewing supplies (I've been walking to a store six blocks away and here I have it right under my nose!!!)

All along the streets you see these little shops.  Right in the center is a little window that opens and you place your order.  If you enlarge the picture, you see a word that looks like it says KNOCK with a backwards "N"... but in Russian it states Kiosk...which is what they call these little shops.  These stores vary in their products from magazines to bakery items, to drinks and cigarettes, to sweets of all kinds, to fruits and vegetables.  It is a very handy way for people to purchase needful items to take home all while they are waiting to catch their bus.

I love their seasoning stands.  Here you see a variety of seasonings and if you want, say an "Italian mix" or a "Mexican flavor",  the owner works his magic and takes some of this and that and mixes up a fantastic creation of spices to be added to your recipe!

Hopefully the following video will help you invision life at the market place.   This particular one shows what we can purchase at the produce and fish building.  If you look closely, you can see how fresh some of the fish are because they are still gasping for air!  The vegetables and fruits are amazing.  Close by there is another huge building that has all kinds of poultry and beef.  The cuts look amazing but we are cautioned to purchase only packaged meats.  

This video, oh I hope this works, will show what is available to buy in the outdoor area of the Renock.  These people set up their little cubicles each day...except for their day off on Monday!   Rain or shine, -30 degrees or 110 degrees...they are out there selling their wares.  Elder Pocock walked a straight line by the rows and rows of cubies, with his IPhone, to give you a feel.  We are only passing by some of the clothing areas...there is so much more you can purchase. You are seeing approximately 1/10th of what is available.  Elder Pocock and I have purchased my coat, Elder Pocock's hat, hand-knitted socks for all of our grandchildren, a purse, a shoulder strap briefcase, sun-glasses, kitchen and bathroom rugs, a large rug for the living room, shampoo, lotion, paper supplies, light bulbs, pans, dishes, nylons...you name it we have found it at our outdoor market.  Many people come here because there is the option of dickering with their prices...we're not very good at it...but the venders are very friendly and kind and the merchandise has proven to be of great quality.  Hopefully this gives you a feel for a shopping day in Russia.

We have displayed many of the beautiful Russian Orthodox churches in Perm.  This one is located close by our apartment and is scheduled for renovation.  

Not far from the Russian Orthodox church above is this Jewish synagogue.  You will note the Star of David on top and at the roof line you can see the menorah.  The main floor is the bank where our dear friend, Dima, works.  In order to make rental space more affordable, often they have a store or bank on the first floor and then a church or apartments on the upper floors.  You can see that this is for a small congregation.

We were off to visit a family in the branch and decided to take a different route...a short cut!!!  Yikes, I didn't know that the short cut would entail climbing a million stairs.  I kept telling myself, "I can do hard things".  And as if the stairs weren't bad enough...we faced the muddiest roads ever!

For a few days the temperatures soared into the low 30's!  With the drastic change in temps...the snow melted fast and the "mud" season was in full swing.

Suddenly the most dangerous place to stand was close to the curb.  Look at that splash!

When we are walking to a meeting, I honestly am so thankful for the splash guard that is alongside some of the busier roads!!!  At this particular intersection a little, elderly lady was walking with a cane and trying to avoid the mud and potholes filled with water.  I helped her across two streets and it wasn't easy.  The elderly really face hardships with the harsh weather conditions here in Russia but they are tough and determined.

Suddenly we are all wishing for snow...it is so much easier to walk in snow than mud.  But we all realize that we have to go through the "mud season" before we can truly get to spring!  Bring it on....

Here Elder Henderson is trying to see out the bus window in order to know if this is the bus stop we want or not!  We have had to start counting the stops or catch glimpses out the front windows and when the doors open,  in order to get a perspective of where we are when travelling to meetings.

The snow has melted and our step is revealed...oh no, more deterioration!!!

The Relief Society sisters have set a goal to feed the missionaries once a month at the church.  They rotate through the sisterhood of the branch.  We are so blessed to have these fine sisters who prepare a delicious meal and take such pleasure in serving us.  I might add...they are great cooks!

Elders Prestwich and Dugger are looking for a suit.  Both want to take a Russian suit with them when they go home.  They asked Elder Pocock and I to come with them to give them honest opinions on the fit and color.  Some time ago, we went with another Elder and helped him buy his suit at the outdoor market, but these elders had found a really nice store not far from our apartment.  The selection was pretty good...the trick was finding a Russian suit that isn't shiny.  Many suits have a distinct shine to the fabric and this isn't appropriate for a missionary.  I have to say that the suits here are quality.  Both young men found a suit to their liking...and Elder Duggers was even on sale!!!  I had to shorten Elder Duggers pants but they both seemed pleased with their purchases.  It looks as though Elder Pocock's suits are going to make it to the end!

Elders Christiansen and Ashjian invited us to visit a wonderful member, Svetlana.  We went to her work place for the meeting.  You may have guessed from the bottles on the table and the picture behind her that she works for Xango...that's right Xango is in Russia and is doing well.  We had a great lesson in helping Svetlana strengthen her testimony.  She has only been a member for a little over a year...her family and her circle of closest friends are constantly criticizing her for her beliefs.  They wear her down and she needs the support of missionaries and branch members to help lift her and encourage her.
She is a very giving person who wants so badly to remain strong and faithful.

On the way up to her office, I fell on the stairs.  I don't need snow and ice to fall when I have uneven stairs.  If you notice, the first stair is quite deep and that sets your pace...but then when the next stair is half the depth...you quickly loose your balance and down I went, face first!  No worries...I bounced back up.  We have climbed many uneven outdoor steps and I have been aware of their differences but this staircase caught me off guard.  So much to watch out for!!!  It seems there are absolutely no building codes in Russia.

Another thing to watch out for...falling snow and I don't mean snowflakes!  Thank goodness this area was blocked off.

If you look closely you can see a fellow on top of the building hoisting big clumps of snow to the ground below.  Between the third row of windows down from the roof,  you can see the falling snow in mid-air.  There must be some concern of leaking with the warmer temps and the quick snow melt on the flat roof tops.

Perm Zone after the transfer changes.  Back row...Elder Hope from Rigby, Idaho,  Elders Christiansen, Elder Henderson, Elder Krivov from Samara, Russia, Front row...Sisters Patterson and Galli, Elders Prestwich and Ashjian.  We lost Elders Kaiser and Dugger.  Three of these fine missionaries go home at the end of this very transfer...more about that later.  We still have lots of work to do!!!

We must have complained too loud about the mud because this past week it has snowed everyday.  But with that snow came amazing sunsets...

and beautiful landscapes.  We hear it is suppose to warm up to the low forties by the first of next week!  Goodbye pristine snow...hello more mud!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE...we are so thankful for our Savior.  It is a privilege to invite people to Come Unto Christ.  Russia celebrates Easter on May 5.  We'll be thinking of all of you this weekend!