Saturday, May 07, 2016

Dear Family,

  It’s 70 degrees today, along with blue skies and warmth. To me 70 degrees here feels warmer than 70 degrees in Utah. I would imagine it’s because of the humidity. Dad and I aren’t going any place new today so not as many pictures. We went to the store and bought the rest of what we need for our dinner. I am making Mother’s Day dinner for four Elders and your Dad.  I asked them what they wanted to eat and Elder Oldham pops up with Roast. So that is what we are having for the 3^rd time this week if you count last Sunday.

  We invited our Branch President and his family over for dinner on Friday. We decided on pot roast and carrots and potatoes cooked in a crockpot since I could let it cook while we were at work. It turned out great and I made rolls, salad with ranch dressing and cookies for dessert. I can’t believe what good eaters Camilla (3) and Deanne (5) are. I can’t remember their baby boy’s name. After dinner the kids were exploring the house. Climbing on the furniture, pulling the cushions off the couch; it gave me a déjà vu moment, thinking I was back home with Sadie. I got climbed on, I got to tickle some girls, pretend to be a wolf, having pillow fights, and the baby finally smiled at me. I was in heaven.

Last Saturday we called Elder Peterson and told him we had a surprise for him and his companion that we were bringing to church on Sunday. He begged long enough that I told Dad to tell him what it was. I had made crockpot roast, carrots and potatoes and we were going to bring some for him and Elder Wickman. They turned around and invited us to dinner, provided we bring the dinner. So, of course, we said yes and I decided I had to make homemade rolls too. I put the dinner in the freezer (bad idea) so it would stay cold during the three hours of church. We walked to their apartment and they made me go up 5 flights of stairs (I made it full steam ahead). Once inside we removed our shoes and could barely all fit. My word it makes me grateful for our apartment. We are certainly living in the lap of luxury compared to the NovoK Elders. I don’t know how it compares to other missionaries apartments because I haven’t seen any. I think their kitchen is slightly bigger than our green bathroom at home. They loved the dinner and especially the rolls, but it was still somewhat frozen so it took longer in the microwave to warm it up.

  We walked to the Marshrutka (mini bus) stop to get home from the Elder’s apartment. It was sort of rainisting. That’s rain and mist combined. It felt more like mist than rain. Anyway by the time we got back to our apartment anything I had previously done to my hair was undone!!

Monday is Victory day here:

Victory Day is a holiday that commemorates the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union at the end of Second World War, known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet government announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin.

Many people attend a local military parade and watch the fireworks at night on Victory Day. The biggest parade is in Moscow’s Red Square, showcasing Russia’s military forces. Most veterans wear their medals as they head to the parade or an event organized by a local veteran organization.

Another tradition is to give flowers, usually red carnations, to veterans in the street and to lay wreaths at the war memorial sites. Neighborhood schools may host a program prepared by the students, featuring wartime songs and poetry.

I would imagine that the strand along the Volga River across from our apartment will be busier than ever. The Russian people are very patriotic and very proud of their military.

Last Saturday the Mission area had a service project. Dad and I didn’t know anything about it. They were discussing it at our district meeting but I thought they were talking about something else they had been planning. So when our Branch Pres. posted some pictures on Facebook I was surprised. Anyway I copied the Facebook pictures. When you see them we won’t be in them. They did a clean-up project.

Sister’s Taylor and Warnick and I went to visit Svetlana again on Wednesday. She said she had lots of visitors over the weekend for Easter (Russian Easter is first Sunday in May). She schedule was thrown off. She told us that she didn’t usually cook fish when she knew someone was coming to visit because a lot of people don’t like the smell. Her cat Whitey was being pretty naughty. He plopped himself in my lap and Sister Warnick shooed him off. She remembered that I was allergic. The cat then jumped immediately to Sister Thomas and starting clawing at her leg and foot. It got her and her tights pretty good. She swatted it so Whitey left her alone. Svetlana said the smell of the fish was making him act up. But she said she had already fed both cats.

She hadn’t got all the way through her reading. She says her eyes are so bad that she can’t read for more than 40 minutes at a time. Reading in 2^nd Nephi had spurred her on to read a book she studied before. It is about 3 inches thick and is about the History of Civilization.  

I said, “Do you get a warm feeling when you read the Book of Mormon?”

 She replied, “Not really.”

“Do you pray before reading?”

“No.”

“If you pray before reading you will feel God telling you it’s true.”

“I’ll try.”

Then she went on to tell us she could find all the answers in the book about civilization and I countered with,  “No you can’t. That book won’t answer your questions. Only God can answer them. You need to pray so that God can talk to you.”

She is a lovely lady and so well educated. I have really enjoyed the time I get to spend with her.

  Dad took me to lunch for Mother’s Day. We went to……no not KFC….Benjamin’s Diner. It is across from KFC. It’s a 50’s diner. PaPa’s kind of music was playing and they had the movie Gone with the Wind showing on a big screen (no sound). We ordered hamburgers and fries. It was really good. We were told that the desserts were good but we were too full after our food. We wandered around the walking street and before heading for home we swung into Baskin Robins. I was disappointed that they didn’t have any Chocolate Peanut butter. I settled for Gold Medal Ribbon and Cookies and cream. Most of the ice cream we’ve had here hasn’t tasted anything like the ice cream at home but this did!!!