Saturday, April 30, 2016

Hi Everyone,

Well, a week ago today, Dad and I branched out and decided to go see this really big statue. Fortunately Dad checked it out on google and new how to get there. Disaster would take place if I ever decided to take the lead. With my underdeveloped sense of direction, who knows where we’d end up?

The forecast was for rain to we took off around 8:00 am to go sightseeing.  It took us around 20 to 30 minutes to walk there. People were still out in force cleaning up the landscape. I love walking the streets of Russia; each block is a discovery. You can go by crumbling building on a portion of it and the rest are some beautiful structures. There is always something new to discover.

On the way to the Freedom Statue we passed the Iversky Women's Monastery. Across from the Monastery was Zhigulevsky Brewery.

The monastery was Founded in 1850, the Iversky Women's Monastery, or nunnery, was once home to more than 500 nuns. The group of buildings which faces the Volga includes chapels and a 70 meter belfry as well as accommodation for the sisters, is largely a late 19th and early 20th Century creation. The monastery was closed in 1925 and used as a residence for the workers at the Zhigulevsky Brewery across the street. Parts of the monastery were destroyed in the following years. Reopened in 1991, the monastery has been the subject of a huge refurbishment effort that has it looking pristine once again.

Continuing on the walk to the statue we ran across a bronzed (or some metal) statue of a cat sitting on a window sill over a heating unit. There are some real shiny spots on the cat and monument where people touch it as they go by. 

The Russians say the device (radiator) was invented in St Petersburg 150 years ago. The sculpture was crafted by local artist Nikolay Kuklev, who used the cat to create an impression of coziness and comfort. It is commonly claimed that the Romans invented central heating, but the Samara Company did some research which it said showed the radiator itself first appeared in 1855 in the then Russian capital, St Petersburg. Its inventor, an ethnic German of Italian origin named Franz San-Galli, named it the "hot box" and patented it in Germany and the US.

There is a statue of a sailor by the Volga that is the same. It is of a sailor and his knife hilt and compass and a few other things are shiny. We saw some joggers touch it as they went by. It’s supposed to bring you luck.

The Freedom statue was amazing. This is how the internet describes it.

Taking pride of place on top of a grassed slope above the banks of Volga, which proudly proclaims the city's name painted in large, red letters, the dominant feature in the square is the Monument of Glory. Considered the 'symbol of Samara', the statue was built in honor of Samara's aviation workers during the Second World War. Hence the sexless figure at the top of the column is sporting a set of wings. The pedestal is some 40 meters (131 feet) high while the worker himself is an additional 13 meters (42 ½ feet) tall.

A few feet away sat another beautiful church. It was the St George Cathedral.

At the north-eastern corner of the square stands the small but attractive Cathedral of St George. A recent creation, the church was built in 2001 under the guidance of architect Yury Kharitinov in honor of the older and larger incarnation that was destroyed during the Communist era. Fitting with the general purpose of Ploshchad Slavy, the Cathedral of St George is devoted to Samara's war dead.

  We didn’t go inside this building but it was certainly impressive. There are quite a few stairs leading up to the Freedom Statue. We went up to the top where there was an eternal flame as part of a war monument. It was very impressive and the view was incredible.

  Last Wednesday was amazing. The sister came to the office and we left about 2:00pm. We took Marshrutka (mini bus) 297 which took us up by Svetlana’s home. On the bus I sat by Sister Warnick and Sister Thomas sat across from us. All the missionaries set goals to contact people on the bus. Sister Thomas did that with real finesse. She was speaking English with a woman. First they chatted and then she told her about the book she was holding, the Book of Mormon. She bore testimony that she loved this book and the message it contained. She was smiling and happy and her testimony shone out of her eyes. The lady said her daughter went to their church but she didn’t take the Book. She did get off with us at our stop and the Sisters invited her to English club.

  I finally got to meet her (Svetlana). She is an 86 year old woman. She is incredible. She has a hard time getting around but is still able to live on her own. She was a professor of English for 30 years. She still studies English as well as lots of other stuff. Her home is filled with books. She showed us 60 books she had on art. She said her family and friends tell her she doesn’t need to study anymore now that she isn’t teaching. Svetlana said if she quit studying it would leave a big hole in her chest.

Her father was a communist and an atheist. He refused to let her mother baptize her into to any church. She says she grew up without any choice in what to believe. But through her love of learning she has looked into many things. She said she has always believed in the sciences and natural laws. She believes in God but when she hears about something of a more spiritual happening she automatically starts questioning about how that could happen. I could see that quite often during our visit she would go into her head and not listen with her heart.

  Svetlana really loved conversation but she is usually the one dominating it. It is hard for the Sisters to even start the lesson. She is so kind and I can see that she really loves the Sisters. It was Sister Thomas and Sister Johnson teaching her at first but now it’s Sister Thomas and Sister Warnick.

The Sisters met her on a park bench when she heard them speaking English. She immediately started speaking with them in English. In fact all of the lessons she has with them are in English. She has two cats. A 16 year old black cat named Blacky and an 8 month old white cat named-----you guessed it----Whitey. As you know I’m allergic to cats. I’m usually okay for a while if I don’t touch them and then touch my face. Well Blacky was an angel and just lay by Svetlana the whole time. Whitey, however, was a whole other story.

  After she had us come in, we took our shoes off and went in the living room. I was sitting by a small table that Whitey was on top of. He was batting at my watch so I slipped it off and put it in my purse. Sister Warnick was saying a prayer when Whitey decided that my lap looked comfortable. As he snuggled there I had to raise my feet up on tip toe to keep him from sliding off. When the prayer was over I had no place to put my hands except on Whitey. He got tired of lying there and took a swipe at my hand and scratched me. It didn’t really hurt but I was worried about an allergic reaction. Svetlana made her get down and she jumped up on Sister Thomas and proceeded to claw down her knee through her tights. Later Sister Thomas told us that she hadn’t pulled her skirt down over her knees because she had blood dripping down it. After that the cat left the room.

  Svetlana tells the Sisters that it is easier for them to believe because they were born in the church. She asked them if it would be easy for them to become atheist.

  

  As we discussed this topic I bore testimony to her that it was all about choice. We choose to believe or to not believe.

She told me that she never had a choice.

I responded with, “Not as a child but isn’t it great that you do now!”

The Sisters finally got to give her a lesson on the Plan of Salvation. She is so quick and smart and remembers the things they teach her. In fact when they give her somethings to read she asks them to ask her questions about it to help her remember.

  The Sisters had another appointment so we had to leave. The Sisters want me to go with them every Wednesday when they teach Svetlana. I said I’d love to but I needed to check with President Schwab to makes sure that was okay. The Sisters told the Elders at our district meeting that I really did great. I just know I was praying like crazy that I would be able to connect with her and say something meaningful. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!

  The story doesn’t end here with a successful missionary discussion. Oh no! I have to expand on my good fortune, NOT! The Sisters were running late for their next meeting so they flagged down Marshrutka 297 and it was crowded so I got in the front seat with the driver. I was pulling out my 23 rubles when the sisters poked their heads in the window.

“Do you remember the bus stop?” they said.

“Yes,” I reply.

“Just say (some Russian word for my stop),”

Looking at them straight in the eye I smiled and said, “Do I look worried to you?”

“No”. They said. Later they told me that I did look worried. They were feeling bad about abandoning me in Russia without being able to speak the language.

  I didn’t feel worried at all. I knew I’d get back home. I remembered my bus stop. Anyway the bus took off and we were on our way. After a while I could see the Volga River and what I thought was the market by our apartment so I got off. I started toward the market but it didn’t take long before I realized that I wasn’t where I thought I was.

  I remembered Dad’s sage advice, “If you are ever lost just head for the Volga and you’ll be able to find your way home from there. It was really strange because here I was, somewhere I’d never been, can’t talk to anyone, don’t know where it’s safe to walk but I wasn’t scared. I just said a small prayer to help me get home and not be afraid and Heavenly Father immediately blessed me.

  It really was a miracle. Anyone who knows me knows I have no sense of direction. I took off going down-hill toward the river when I decided it looked like I might not be able to get through at the bottom. So I turned left and headed a few blocks down one of the busy side streets. Striding out with confidence and trying to look like I belong there. No one gave me a second look. After a few blocks I turned left again and started walking.

  I got a text from the Sisters worried about me and they told me to call if I needed help. I texted back that I was good. When I got to the end of the street there was, what was named, Super Market. It’s nothing like the super markets in the US. I recognized it because Dad and I had walked close to it on one of our early morning walks.

  I called Dad to tell him what happened so he wouldn’t worry about me but it ended up that he was still at work talking to President Schwab. He didn’t even know I was missing. I got home safe and sound.

  The water is really rising here with the spring melt. There are some mini basketball/soccer courts down by the sand that are completely covered with water. The spring flowers are up and ready to pop. Plus things for kids and little food and souvenir stands are popping up all over by the river.

Another interesting tidbit is that most of the Russians here prefer Trump over Clinton. Mike our investigator at NovoK says that Trump is strong and decisive. He said Hillary is living in a fantasy world. Interesting, we kind of just keep our opinions to ourselves about politics.

  Thursday morning we went for our walk and went right because we went left yesterday. It was a beautiful morning. As we were walking we passed a couple of black young men. We haven’t seen many of them in Samara. Anyway Dad was trying to figure out what language they were speaking as we went by them. We got to our turning point and headed back. As we got to the young men Dad heard them speaking English. We got a little ways past them when super brave and fearless Dad said should we go over and talk to them. Hesitant and not so fearless me said reluctantly, OK.

  We walked toward them and they looked curious about us, maybe a little nervous. Dad walked right up with his hand out and said I heard you speaking English. As we were shaking hands he told him we were from America. That really surprised them. They were Frank from Angola and Phillip from Kenya. They are here attending school in Aeronautical Engineering. They too prefer Trump to Hillary.

  We walked and talked for a while. Dad told them we were Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were living in Russia for 18 months. Phillip said he went to one of our communions once, he meant Sacrament Meeting. They were cool and walked a ways with us then left. Yea Dad!!

 Dad and I went to the walking street today and went Christmas shopping. We went into a shop and none of the workers spoke English. We informed them we didn’t speak much Russian. That didn’t stop the shop keeper from trying to sell us everything in the store. It was kind of funny. We were able to communicate. She was very happy we came in; lots of beautiful treasures. We went to a Rinock the Elders told us about. It’s kind of like a flea market. Lots of food stands as well as a ton of other stuff. 

  I love you all. Please find strength in the Lord for everything you face in life. If you fight for Him, He will fight for you. Even if you don’t fight for Him, He is on your side. You are his child. You know what you would do for your child can you just imagine what He will do for His.

2 Nephi 6:17

17 But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contendeth with thee—

Love,

Mom