Just a note

Hello Friends!
          Just a quick note.  Occassionally my mom mentions certain pictures.  To protect their privacy and obey Russian law, we can't post any of their pictures.  In an effort to catch up I didn't do a ton of editing so sorry if some of your curiosity can't be satisfied!

Sunday, February 05, 2017

Dear Family,

Well, the Elder’s moved our dinner back an hour so I’m starting my letter early. Usually I sit down to write after they all leave for home after Sunday Dinner. Today our AP’s are out traveling with President and Sister O. They really hate missing Sunday dinner, so I kindly sent them a text with a picture of the apple crisp I made. Elder Buchanan, in particular, loves apple crisp. But I did make a crock pot chicken pot pie that you spoon over biscuits. He has a phobia about things made with a white looking sauce. (not the taste, just the color) So since he was going to be gone I decided to go for it. We also have some roasted vegetables and salad.

Monday we got to see a lot of the Elders and Sisters. This is their P-day so they write one. Several of them use the computers in the office. President O came in with some changes to his power point presentation for me to do. He is always apologizing to me and I keep telling him it isn’t a problem. Changes are easy. Then he came in on Tuesday with a couple more. Wednesday was our zone conference where he was going to show the PowerPoint so by Tuesday the changes were finally done. Dad has some editing software on his computer so he is in charge of getting the pieces of video or audio that President wants and then puts them on a thumb drive for me, then I put them in the PowerPoint.

Wednesday the Volunteers got to the New Bezi building early so they could have breakfast together. Dad and I went with President and Sister O. Ramon drove us. We had three Russians at zone conference. Pasha from our branch in NovoK, Dema from Orenburg and Jonathan from Avrora. Jonathan will be leaving soon for a mini mission to Penza. I think he will be gone for 2 to 4 weeks.  President is trying to encourage Dema and Pasha to go on a mini mission. You’ll have to see if you can pick them out in the picture I send to you.

The zone conference was awesome. President focused on Repentance. There are so many of our Russian brothers and sisters fall away soon after baptism. President thinks that some of that may be because they did something wrong and then think they are a failure. Dad and I were talking to him about this and he wonders how many of the Volunteers truly understand this gift. He hopes that through learning more and teaching it they will understand it better.

One of the assignments we had to prepare for the conference was to read an Article from the November Liahona (Ensign) from 2011 titled “The Diving Gift of Repentance” by Elder Christofferson. One of the things he said that hit me was “Pretending there is no sin does not lessen its burden and pain. Suffering for sin does not by itself change anything for the better. Only repentance leads to the sunlit uplands of a better life. And, of course, only through repentance do we gain access to the atoning grace of Jesus Christ and salvation. Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it. It points us to freedom, confidence, and peace. Rather than interrupting the celebration, the gift of repentance is the cause for true celebration.”

Another thing that really struck me was when President Ottesen told us that taking the Sacrament after repenting makes us just as clean as coming up out of the waters of baptism. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Who of us doesn’t need to repent each week, each day? Who hasn’t got mad at a sibling or loved one. Who hasn’t had uncharitable thoughts toward another during the week? To be able to repent of those things each week as we partake of the Sacrament is one of the greatest gifts our Father in Heaven has given us.

We combined Zone Conference and Zone Training so the AP’s each spoke. Elder Quarnberg talked about being diligent. He had everyone stand and line up and come by and look in a box. He said, in there we would see what effects our diligent the most. In the box was a mirror.

Elder Buchanan spoke about Desire. His definition of desire was “An emotion strong enough to make us do something we wouldn’t normally do.” They both did a terrific job. The elder and sisters who were leaving for home this Tuesday bore their testimony at the end of conference. Sister Howe said one of her favorite quotes was “When you hit rock bottom out find out who your rock is.” All of gave wonderful testimonies but that just struck a cord with me.

Sister Warnick said during hers that one of her life changing experiences was when she was serving in Avrora with Sister Thomas. Shortly after coming there the Avrora Branch President apostatized. He and his wife were visiting all the members and trying to take as many with them as they could. President Schwab told those two sisters that they needed to get out and talk to the entire ward member they could.

One of the wonderful Sisters in the Avrora branch is named Kreshenia. She has dreads and colors them blue. She is the one who plans a lot of activities, like the snail races. Anyway the former branch president went to talk to her. He talked and talked, showing her all the anti-Mormon literature that he had. She just listened and didn’t say anything; they were friends of hers. Then he asked her how she could just sit there and say nothing after listening to everything they had to say, all the proof they gave her. This was her response: The only way I would EVER not believe in the church and its teachings is if God himself would come down in the flesh and tell me it wasn’t true. Nothing else would make me leave the church. Sister Warnick said she felt, right then and there, that she wanted a testimony as strong as Kreshenias. It was a wonderful conference. Who thought that Dad and I could sit in a meeting for 6 some hours and love it?

I give my NovoK Elders a treat every Sunday and today I have them a chocolate bar filled with mint. Elder Miller told me I was the best Grandmother ever!! It has snowed all day today. As we were leaving Lilya put on her fur coat and hat and reminded me of a teddy bear. She is short, round and her smile lights up the room.

For the last while I’ve been helping out in Primary on Sunday. I came in on the 3^rd hour to just sort of watch the kids play. They were having a combined meeting of the Priesthood and Relief Society that Maria went to. There was a disagreement between Veronica and Deanna. Veronica was speaking to me in Russian. I kept telling her I didn’t understand. She kept trying, using hand motions but I still didn’t get it. They got mad at each other a little. Then Deanna accidently made her sister fall into the Lego thing she made and ruined it. She cried very loudly. Her Mom finally came in and made her feel better. I felt bad but she didn’t want me to help her. I finally got them all to play a matching game.

Saturday, our branch president invited Dad and I to their home for lunch. He was in Samara so picked us up. We told him to go by McDonalds and bought lunch for everyone including happy meals for the kids. They never do that or hardly ever go to McDonalds but they love it. We take so much for granted and they have so little. The kids all got Batman masks and were super excited. They put up a jungle gym sort of thing in the kids room. It is super cool. I’ll send pictures.

Tuesday is going to be fun (not). We are going on a visa trip and they plan on leaving at 4:30 AM. The earlier we get to the boarder the faster we make it through.

I love you all,

Mom

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Dear Family,

I love Sunday’s!!! I love going to our little NovoK branch and feeling all the love they have for Dad and I and each other. They are truly some remarkable people. Sister Vera’s daughter is in the hospital because of a problem with her eyes. She told me Doch (daughter), hospital and pointed to her eyes. I said, Ya, which is I only it looks like a backwards R, then I made the sign of praying with my hands and she said Spaseeba, which is thank you. Vera’s husband, Lavon came today. He is a less active that has become good friends with our mission president.

President and Sister O came to NovoK today and took part of the second and third hour and did their family home evening about putting on the armor of God. They have actual full size fake armor. I went into the primary so Maria, President Krievov’s wife could go into the meeting. Dad came in a little later and helped. This is tough because of not speaking the language. I heard Deanna complaining that I didn’t understand Russian. They all had a snack and then we got out a memory game that Sister Krievov brought. Her daughter, Deanna, was laying out the game. Three other kids decided they didn’t want to play so started playing a different game. Deanna got mad and she and Veronica were arguing and Deanna hit Veronica. Veronica went out to tell her mother. I was surprised I wasn’t fired.

Meanwhile, Camilla, Deanna and I started on the memory game. We had a great time and eventually Veronica and Madison started to play with us. All was quiet for a while. I had brought a treat, marshmallows. The kids loved them. They continued to play pretty well together, so it was quiet when Maria came in to help clean up.

Elder Buchanan, one of our AP’s, is a diehard Patriots fan. He is trying to get Dad and me to support his team. I finally told him that I was rooting for the Patriots just because I didn’t want to hear him cry and complain for a solid month if they didn’t win. He was okay with that.

This week was a busy one. President is getting ready for zone conference next week and I’ve put together two PowerPoint presentations for him. The last one was 62 pages long and there are pictures and also 3 different videos embedded in it. It’s on Repentance.  We had some stuff to read to prepare for our zone conference on Wednesday. One of the things was a talk given by D. Todd Christofferson titled “The Divine Gift of Repentance” from the November 2011 Liahona. One spot that really hit me was this:

When prophets come crying repentance, it “throws cold water on the party.” But in reality the prophetic call should be received with joy. Without repentance, there is no real progress or improvement in life. Pretending there is no sin does not lessen its burden and pain. Suffering for sin does not by itself change anything for the better. Only repentance leads to the sunlit uplands of a better life. And, of course, only through repentance do we gain access to the atoning grace of Jesus Christ and salvation. Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it. It points us to freedom, confidence, and peace. Rather than interrupting the celebration, the gift of repentance is the cause for true celebration.

With our Mission goal of becoming a Stake in Samara, repentance is a big message. So many new converts will fall back into an old habit or do something that makes them think all is lost and quit going to church. President is hoping by helping our Volunteers to really understand this principle they will be able to pass it on to members, less actives and non-members alike. We need to have 99 Tithe paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders as one of the conditions of becoming a stake. We need to bring back our less actives and support our members by encouraging them to pay tithing and set a goal to go to the Temple.

Dad and I both feel very blessed to have the knowledge and skills to be able to help and support President and Sister O and all of our Volunteers. It’s like I spent the last 20 years working to get ready for our mission. I know they don’t look forward to our leaving. Dad and I have both put together a How To Handbook to help the next Office Couple or Office Elders transition in.

Also this week I found, enhanced and printed off a lot of Kyiv temple pictures. Sister O put them in frames. They are going to give them to the Volunteers to leave with the members of their branch. I also helped her with some primary stuff she wanted done.

This week we had the AP’s, Elders Quarnberg and Buchanan to dinner today along with the Avrora Elders, Elders Nedelev (Russian) and Kennedy. I made Taco soup, cornbread, I fried tortilla chips, and banana cake. Also some sliced cucumbers in vinegar, well, Dad made that.

I heard a few cute things this week. At church today I gave my NovoK Elders a treat. (I bring one for them every Sunday) I brought each of them two, frosted, banana cupcakes. Elder Miller was eating one of his and he looked at me and told me, very intently, that he would die for one of my banana cupcakes. I just laughed and told him he needed to raise his standards a little.

The other one came from President Ottesen. Last Sunday the AP’s had a meeting with President O after our dinner. President told me that his conversation went something like this:

President, “Elder Quarnberg how was your dinner with the Stewarts?”

Elder Quarnberg, “You know President, I’m kind of a Mama’s boy, and being there with the Stewarts, with Sister Stewart for Sunday dinner almost brings me to tears.”

President said he looked a little choked up. All I could saw was AWWWWWWW.

I was up in the second apartment that is by the President and Sister O apartment, helping Sister O go through stuff that had been left in it as Sisters and elders come and go. Anyway while there I found some letters that Elder Johnston left there and one was addressed to Dad and I. He was telling Dad and I how much he loved us and what a blessing we had been in his life. It was a beautifully sweet letter. I don’t know why he didn’t give it to us himself. If I hadn’t gone up to help Sister O I would have never found it.

It was time for me to head to the walking street, last Tuesday, by myself, to get my hair cut. I jokingly told Dad he needed to come with me and he said he would if I wanted him to. Part of me wanted him to and another part of me scoffed and said to get a grip and go by myself. I went and got back just fine. I showed her a picture of what I wanted my hair to look like and she gave me a shorter version of it. Oh Well.

I love you all greatly; keep those emails and Facetiming/Skyping coming!!

Love,

Mom

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Dear Family,

Another week has flown buy. We just finished dinner with 5 Volunteers. We had our normal two, the AP’s, Elders Quarnberg and Buchanan plus Sister Howe, who is going home on February 7^th and two Russian Sisters, Sisters Grishina and Sister Petrova (I think). Sister Grishina will be going home to St. Petersburg on April 25^th. Sister Petrova is a mini missionary who is only here for one week. She is here from Saratov. She said she always wanted to go to an American Home and felt like coming to dinner at our apartment was like that. As she was leaving she did tell Dad that her brother was as big and round as he was but he is only 17 (Dad just laughed).

Sister Howe has to eat Gluten and Dairy free. She can’t have eggs but she can have mayonnaise. I made her my roast and I cooked the carrots there instead of in brown sugar and butter. I made corn but didn’t butter the pan or cook the corn in butter. I used Gluten free flour to make gravy. I have a French bread recipe that doesn’t have dairy in it so I tried to make that with the Gluten free flour and it didn’t rise. I thought maybe the yeast was bad so I tried it again and it still didn’t rise. So I made it with regular flour and it did just fine. I found a recipe for Gluten and dairy free cornbread so I made that. It turned out okay. Then I also made a pasta salad and a green salad and had some canned pears as well as some fresh ones.

For dessert I found a recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. It doesn’t have any flour or dairy in it. The biggest ingredients are Powdered sugar and peanut butter. You do bake them. She seemed to like them. I also made regular Chocolate chip cookies.

Last Tuesday I went to the hospital/clinic. Our mission doctor thought I should have my blood sugar checked so we can keep track of it. The insurance company made an appointment for me and Elder’s Buchanan and Rasmussen came with me. It was a really nice facility. You had to put booties on (like you wear at a temple open house) when you come in. I’m so glad the elders were there with me. We figured out where to go and the doctor was waiting for me. She asked me my height and weight and I told the elders to plug their ears. After filling out paper work and asking me some question she took me into an exam room. The Elders stayed out. I took my top off and she felt my arms and neck. Then I was asked to lie down on the exam table. (Mind you this is for a diabetic check) She did an ultrasound on my neck. I couldn’t figure out why they were doing that but of course I couldn’t ask her.

After getting dressed I went back in the other room and she told me that everything looked great. Then she sent us out the door and Elder Buchanan said we were supposed to come back Tuesday for the blood test. I told him my email said I was supposed to have my blood checked that day and that they asked me to come in fasting. So we went back to the deck where we showed our papers and they had us call our insurance company who gave permission for the blood test. We went back upstairs for that. I signed something giving them permission to give my information to Elder Buchanan. He will pick up my results from them. Anyway I was pleasantly surprised at the conditions of the hospital/clinic.

Dr. Taylor called me to follow up on my experience and he explained that the Russians love their ultrasounds and they probably looking at the blood flow in my neck. I was glad to have that question answered.

Elder Briggs (Wendy’s co-workers son’s best friend) came to the office for splits with the AP’s. I sat as asked him how things were going. So he told me about an experience he had (he’s been out since October). Several months ago he pulled a muscle and just kept going. It just wasn’t getting better and after several weeks. It was decided that he needed to go to a clinic and have it looked at. While there he met an English speaking worker. He said he spoke almost perfect English. They talked quite a bit. Within a week of that visit his problem started to clear up. He kept thinking about the person he met and he and his decided he needed to go back and talk to him again. That person is now his investigator. It is simply amazing the lengths the Lord will go to get to his people. Elder Briggs said he would have preferred a still small voice instead of pain.

So that was interesting. Eventually they left and we made sure we saw who ever came to the door. They are going to install a camera so we can always see anyone coming to the door. Right now if they get past our window without us seeing them we can’t tell who is at the door, so this will help.

Dad and I Skyped with Elder and Sister Bryson who are a senior couple coming on February 21^st. This will be their third mission and the second one to Russia. They are doing a Leader support mission. Our other Senior couple, the Bowlers will also being arriving on the 21^st. They are an Education couple. Dad and I are praying that some senior couple will be inspired to come to Samara to take mine and Dad’s place. I don’t want to leave them without help or have to call two Elders to work in the office.

We had a birthday party on Friday which I was supposed to make a cake for. I was saying my morning prayers Friday and it popped into my head that I forgot to make the cake. So I made a cake and got it frosted. Dad and I bought pizza for the office. Friday was President Blinkov’s birthday but early in the month it was Sister Anna’s (housing), Sister Lena’s (accountant) and Monday will be Riesa’s (cleaning lady). President Blinkov’s wife made cake too and the Elder’s brought drinks. They all seemed to really appreciate it. We sang Happy Birthday to all of them.

The AP’s finally remembered to bring their Christmas socks with them to work and we took pictures. They bought us socks for Christmas. They are so sweet. Dad and I went to KFC just off the walking street for lunch on Saturday and then Dad got his hair cut. I made an appointment to get mine cut on Tuesday.

President Krivov, our branch president came to the mission office on Friday. He was telling me that the Ottesen’s were babysitting for them while he and Maria went on a date for the first time in two years. He told me that his oldest, Deanna said she didn’t want to stay with the Ottesen’s she wanted to stay with Sister Stewart. She hardly talks to me at church but I guess, at least I’m someone she knows.

We had Zone training on Wednesday. The training was put on totally by our zone leaders and Sister Training Leader and it was one of the best I’ve been to. They gave us three goals which we later voted to adopt. 1.) Help build the Samara Russia Stake. 2.) 10 baptisms in the first 100 days of the new year. This one was voted to move higher because we’ve already had 2 with another 2 scheduled. 3.) Commit to talking to people on transports. The interpretation of the law has changed somewhat so now our Volunteers can talk to people on the street and in their homes if they are invited to.

Elder Miller, our NovoK Elder was asked to do a little training. He talked about asking questions so you can learn about people and situations. He had us move our chairs in a circle and did an exercise where two people stood up and you could only talk in questions. If you paused or made a statement you were out. It started with Me and Elder Lytle. He started by saying “We should start, which was totally a statement so I told him he was out. Then I made it through a few more Elders. We didn’t understand that the questions needed to build on each other so a lot of our question were random. When Dad was up no one could get him out. His comeback question was always “Why do you want to know.” Anyway it was pretty fun.

Sister Howe, our Sister Training Leader did part of the training also. She asked us why we need stakes and told us it was for refuge, defense, and to strengthen each other.

I’m sending you Christmas sock pictures and pictures of us heading to the walking street.

Love you all,

Mom

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Dear Family,

This week started out great. Monday Morning Sister Taylor Thomas, who went home Dec 16^th skyped Dad and I. It was so fun talking to her and seeing her face. She told us that she and Elder Drake Oldham are dating!!!! Elder Oldham was one of our AP’s that ended up getting deported. We were all in the same district for a while. He would say something really nice and appropriate about Sister Thomas and she would say something to me about him. I got the inside scoop when I was talking to Sister Warnick (former companion to Sister Thomas) about Sister Thomas and she told me that Taylor was going to Utah. So I pulled a mom trick and pretended to know more than I did:

Sister Warnick – “Sister Thomas is going to Utah this week (she lives in California).”

Me – “Ya, she’s coming up to see Elder Oldham.”

SW – “Oh you know about that do you.”

Me – I just grin at her. Meanwhile my mind is running amuck. I can’t believe two of my favorite people like each other.

Then I emailed Taylor and told her what I did with sister Warnick and to spill the beans or I’d be emailing Elder Oldham (empty threat). She didn’t answer me for two weeks, then she skyped us and told us everything!!!!!!

Then I found out that Sister Graham, who went home in December, is emailing Elder Pletig, a German Elder who went home in November. They even mentioned the M word. Wow! Then today at church I was in the Primary with Sister Howe, who goes home Feb 7^th, and we were talking because she has a boyfriend who just returned from a mission and is sort of waiting for her. She is kind of hoping he dates others before she comes home. She is kind of interested in Elder Hemrick who went home in December. It’s like Wendy’s South Carolina mission group when they came home. Most of the time these Elders and Sister don’t form attachments until their Mission is over or at least they don’t act on them. We did have an emergency transfer because of that situation a couple of weeks ago.

Thursday morning, around 6 AM or so the power went out in our apartment. It probably lasted around 2 hours. I was just starting to think I’d have to gather my things and get ready at the office, assuming they had power. The lights next door to us were out but the street lights on the Volga were on. The power came back on and Dad and I got to work on time.

It’s amazing how much static is in the air. The humidity stays high but everything dries out fast. My hair is always flying away if I don’t coat it with hair spray. It’s a good thing we have wood floors because if it was carpeted you’d be constantly giving each other static shock and it would probably be enough to stop your heart. In the summer it takes all night and all day for the clothes to dry after washing them. Now they are almost totally dry in a few hours. The air just sucks out all the moisture.

The static also causes other problems. Imagine me trying to sneak a candy bar while everyone is working away in the office:

·         I open my candy drawer and take a snickers.

·         I quietly open the wrapper. Not really trying to hide yet not being too obvious about it. (Okay, embarrassingly enough it’s my third one (fun sized)

·         I reach quietly underneath my desk and put the wrapper in the trash. Well try to.

·         The wrapper seems to be attached to my skin.

·         I flick the offending wrapper into the can, it refuses to cooperate.

·         Another Flick, not successful.

·         Now I’m practically dancing with all the arm flapping I’m doing, it will not come off.

·         After a wrist cracking flick it finally leaves my fingers.

·         Wow, that was difficult

·         10 minutes later I look down and notice the wrapper didn’t make it in the can but is resting on the floor.

·         I pick it up and start the whole process all over again and I have to ask myself, “Is it worth it?”

Dad and I left work an hour early to go to the market; I’m out of so many things. Sister Ottesen is traveling so we haven’t been to Metro. The market that is closest to us is undergoing a remodel and they haven’t stocked their shelves. Anyway the other small market is like three blocks away and when you are carrying your own grocery bags it’s two blocks too many. Anyway we went there and just finished checking out when our clerk yelled at someone trying to go out the door. She pushed this man and was yelling. She and made him open his coat and pulled a large bottle of alcohol out of his inside pocket. She then locked the front door so he couldn’t leave. We figured we would be there until the police came. About 10 minutes later a woman wanted out so they unlocked the door. Dad and I grabbed our stuff and went out at the same time. I was worried we get caught up in everything and since we don’t speak the language we wouldn’t know what was going on.

Since we didn’t go to Metro this week I didn’t have anything planned for dinner. I ended up cooking some beef and potatoes in a BBQ sauce in the crock pot. I made corn, homemade French bread, some canned fruit. For dessert I made some cake cookies. I took a cake mix and put less liquid than it called for. I wanted to make a sandwich cookie. I flattened a piece of dough and then put a piece of chocolate fudge on it, then flattened another piece of dough. I cooked it but the chocolate melted out all over. The next batch I sealed the top and bottom together. The Elders really liked them.

Elder Buchanan bought himself a cheap Taser. He said he was going to try it on himself. I asked him how that went when they got to our house for dinner, but he said he totally forgot to do it. That’s our Elder Buchanan. I did ask him what he’d do if being tasered made him lose control of his bodily functions. I also told him it could stop his heart. I’m having Dad call him and read the dangers I found on the internet to him. His companion wasn’t too sure about it so maybe he’ll talk him out of it.

Church was great today. We had our RS president bring her son. I’ve never seen him there before so I don’t know if he is a non-member or a less-active. Then Levon was there. He is Sister Vera’s husband who is less active. Dad counted about 25 of us including 6 Volunteers.

Well, I love you all.

Mom

Sunday, January 08, 2017

Dear Family,

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you thanks for all you did for Grandma’s funeral. Kelly, reading my message, Wendy and Stacy, working on the video and Brian, making sure we were a part of everything. We love you all so much and I knew that you all would take up the slack for me. Stacy asked how I was doing since Grandma died, in an email the other day and I told her that mostly Dad and I are okay. I spent the day after Grandma died being mad. I tried not to let it show but later that night Dad asked me if I was okay and I told him I had been mad all day. He just said, yea, I know. Anyway by the next day the anger was gone and the gratefulness was there. Heavenly Father gave Dad and I some peace and what a blessing it’s been.

This week was extremely quiet. The Ottesen’s have been gone; they were daring and took a train to Saratov. They had a compartment to themselves. The AP’s were traveling until Thursday. It is a holiday week for Russia so none of our Russian speakers were in the office. We didn’t have any deliveries either because of the holiday. In fact one day this week, I hadn’t slept well, so I didn’t go into the office until noon. Friday we had district meeting and so the office filled with voices again.

The Avrora Sisters had their assignment change a little so they are going to come to NovoK twice per month on Sunday and every Thursday. It will be nice to have some sisters. Tell Dani to keep practicing her hymns on the piano. If she goes out of the states they will be in desperate need of piano players, possibly in the states as well, depending on where she is located. I know our branch is always very grateful to have a Volunteer who plays. If we don’t have one, we sing acapella and sometimes that goes way wrong. We have a little CD player but that takes so long to set up they don’t usually use it for the songs just the prelude music.

Dad and I went for a walk on Saturday along the Volga. It was a relatively nice day. It wasn’t windy and it was about 25 degrees when we went out. It was snowing, small little tiny crystals. It’s been snowing for about three days straight but finally seems to have stopped. Looks like you guys had it worse than we did. Joel Facebooked a temperature in Brigham City that showed -18 plus tons of snow.

Today Dad got to bless the sacrament in Russian. He’s been working on blessing the bread. He got a thumbs up from President Krivov on his first try. This was a pretty wonderful experience for both of us. The Avrora sisters came today.

Sister Shumway is training one of our new sisters but she doesn’t need help with the language because she is a native Russian. They came to help Maria in Primary. Dad suggested that I go in with them instead so Sister Krivov could actually attend Sunday School and Relief Society. She was pretty excited about it. She has been in the nursery/Primary forever. There were just her three kids today. I definitely had a headache when it was time to go home. I played with the little boy for a bit. Then we all played Foo. One of the girls has a soft ball. She throws it to someone and says something and the person who got the ball either pretends to eat it (if it was something edible) or says Foo and throws it back to them. Mine was a chocolate book so I ate it.

After I write this letter I will start dinner. We are just having the AP’s over today. I’m making a chicken casserole. I can’t do anything in any sort of white sauce because Elder Buchanan has a phobia about that. He said one day he went in the kitchen where his Mom was cooking dinner. She was making an Alfredo sauce. He looked at and thought it looked disgusting and has not been able to make himself eat it again. So I always make something in a brown or red sauce for him.

I decided to make a pear cake using a cake mix I already had. It was a fruity cake. I mixed it up but I was finding these things that looked like balls of paper in the batter. I started pulling them out. I couldn’t figure where they all came from. Then it dawned on me that they were blueberries. I was happy it wasn’t balls of paper. Anyway after mixing the batter I sliced some canned pears and laid them on top. Then I put on a topping that is flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter. It sort of makes an apple crisp topping. You bake the whole thing. It tastes pretty good. This way I don’t have to frost it. I also made some homemade French bread.

I’m really ticked at the little market we always go to. They have been remodeling for months now. Slowly thing are disappearing from the store as the remodel expands. Saturday we went in and there wasn’t any butter, eggs or sour cream. Most of the produce was gone. Workers were inside and making what looked like new cases for the stuff. Mean while we can’t get the stuff we were used to getting. I hope they finish up soon.

Love,

Oma

Sunday, January 01, 2017

I wish you all a Happy New Year.  I hope yours was great. Just think, by next New Years Dani will be celebrating somewhere new and exciting.

Hi, we only had Sacrament meeting today for church. Instead of doing that on Christmas Day our branch decided to do it on New Years Day. For Russia that is the main holiday. All of the volunteers last night and tonight have to be in by 6:00pm because of all the alcoholic celebrating that occurs.

 This week has been really busy. We had 8 new sisters come in, Volunteer transfers and a visa trip. There were tons of Elders and Sisters in and out. The AP’s are amazing to be able to coordinate all of the comings and goings. On top of all that they have to make sure everyone has a companion at all times.

With so many new Sisters and 6 sister’s that left in Dec, even our younger sisters have to train. Sister Holley and Shumway, who came in last July, will be the oldest sisters in the mission by April 1. Even Sister Clark, who came in October, is training.

This week should be quiet. The Russians have a long holiday that began today and goes to the 9^th, for both New Years and the Russian Christmas. I’m not sure who all will be in the office.

Elder Nedelev (native Russian) was asking me about whether or not it was possible to move a button on his hat. I just told him sure but that he’d have to sew through the fur. I didn’t think any more about it until I saw Sister Howe with the hat. She was going to Sister O’s to get a needle and thread. He was probably hoping I’d fix it for him but he didn’t ask me and I didn’t think about it.

Our Landlord was in and out this week rebuilding our shower. There is a shower and tub combo but they also have a stand-alone shower. Dad noticed a crack in the floor of that one. He took it all apart a couple of weeks ago and ordered a new base. Fortunately we had the shower in the tub so we could still get clean. The people plumbing the shower reversed the hot and cold water. We told his wife (she speaks English) but we will probably just leave it because it would be too big a project to change.

Okay, a couple of interesting things happened to a few of our volunteers. Elder Buchanan was super gluing something and managed to glue two of his fingers together. I looked like he was flashing everyone the OK sign. He asked for my help and I told him he needed some sort of solvent. I googled it and found out he needed finger nail polish remover. I called Sister O and she had some. It was a successful separation.

Over on the other side of the mission are Elders Wickman and Reusch. Elder Wickman is one of my former NovoK Elders. Well they were cooking something on their stove top and when it was done they went to turn off the knob. It turned past the stop point so instead of going out the flame went higher. They turned the knob and it came out along with the stem. In trying to get the knob back where it was supposed to go they were taking the front part of the oven off. The gas flared higher and started the stove on fire. Some of the counter top was burning. They were a little panicked and didn’t know what to do. They went and got their neighbor and he turned off the gas shut off valve. So the fire went out but they are now minus a stove. Plus I’m sure everything probably smells like smoke. Dad and I are so grateful that no one got hurt and they didn’t burn down the apartment complex.

We are having the AP’s and the Zone leaders over for dinner. One of the zone leaders is new, Elder Vandermark. He was once one of my NovoK Elders. The Zone leaders have moved into their apartment in Bezimansky which is a lot farther away. They used to live with the AP’s in the second apartment. This apartment is right next to President and Sister Ottesen. This used to be empty but they moved a couple of Elders in when they couldn’t find an apartment.

The Zone leaders used to come to dinner every Sunday but will probably only come on Fast Sunday. It’s about an hour’s bus ride away so it really takes too much time to come every week. The AP’s are moving to a new apartment when they can locate their apartment keys. But it is only a few blocks away. It’s hard find apartments for the Volunteers because of when we get new Visa’s or transferred to a new apartment they have to get re-registered and the landlord had to be at the registrar’s office to do this. So when they find that out many of them won’t rent to us.

Yesterday Dad and I stayed home most of the day. We did walk out on the frozen Volga River. The wind was really blowing out there so we didn’t go far. Dad went on to the market but I was too cold so went home to our apartment. We heard fire-works going on until late at night. I even heard some at 4:00 AM. We did see our first Russian ice bather. Well we didn’t really see but hear them. They had a shield of cardboard around them. I guess they have a tradition of cutting a hole in the ice and taking an icy plunge. I think it would get worse or colder when you got out. The wind was blowing so I hope they made it back home without getting frost bite.

Fast and Testimony was great at Church today. Our investigator, Mike came just as sacrament meeting was over. He didn’t know we only had that today and was disappointed. Elder Miller told him that they had talked about a shortened day.

There will be pictures of us on the frozen Volga and other various pictures.

We love you all,

Mom

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Dear Family,

Merry Christmas!! Happy Birthday Sadie!!!!!

Wow, what a week. I’m so happy for Mom to be back with Dad. I know it was a joyous reunion. They were always together so it was hard when they were separated. Thanks so much to Nancy, Raymond, Bob and LuAnn for all their loving care of Mom. It’s hard being away but with all of them looking after her it was easier, for me at least. Thanks to them from the bottom of my heart.

Tuesday we had an office party lunch and I’m going to send you some pictures but since they are of Russian people please to share them on social media. Roman bbq’d chicken and then we had bread, corn tortillas, vegetables, fruit and juice. The AP’s made brownies and Sister O and I made a cake. It was very delicious. That night we all went to the Ballet. We and the Ottesen’s bought them for the office. We gave them each two tickets except for the Klimovs who we gave three tickets because they have a handicapped son.

The Nutcracker was amazing. Since there weren’t any words we understood everything. I was thinking how much I’d love to be there with all our daughters, daughter in law and granddaughters. We faced timed with Wendy, Sadie and Grandma, shortly after we got back from that.

Wednesday I felt like a dark cloud was following me around because I couldn’t be there with Mom. By Thursday I felt pretty much back to normal. I started my personal prayers out Wednesday night by asking Heavenly Father to watch over my Mom; this has been the first thing I’ve said in every prayer for years now. Then I remembered that it was her turn to watch over us. Anyone knowing Mom knows she is definitely watching over us.

Thursday I was just blessed with peace. Seriously, Heavenly Father knew what I needed and blessed me with it. I am still at peace. Because I know, beyond any doubt where Mom is and that she is happy, how could I not feel peace. It’s hard for those of us left behind but having this knowledge makes it easier for me to accept. I left work early and made some chocolate and peanut butter fudge. I didn’t have my candy thermometer so I had to test a little of the mixture in a bowl of ice cold water. When it felt like a soft ball I knew it was ready. Everyone loved it.

Friday we had district meeting. Orenburg Skypes in with us. They are part of our district but are about an 8 hour bus ride away. After the meeting I give the rest of my district somethings I bought from Metro, such as Nutella, Peanut butter, popcorn, hot sauce and salsa. It’s amazing what you can get excited about. I even sacrificed my Christmas socks and gave them to my Avrora Sisters.

Next week we have 8 new sisters coming in and 1 sister and 2 elders leaving; Elder Johnston is one of them. He is Dad’s mission father and a really fine young man.  Almost every sister we now have will be training. In May, the two sisters we had come in last July will be the oldest sisters in the mission.

Friday, Dad and I walked up to the walking street to take pictures. They have it lit up for New Years (Jan 1). Their Christmas is Jan 7^th but it’s not a big deal. New Years is when they pass out gifts. We got some awesome shots. We went out to dinner and then went home.

Saturday, I started cooking. We were having a Christmas Eve party at our branch starting at 3:00pm plus we were having the Ottesen’s , and Elders Buchanan, Quarnberg, Johnston, and Lytle over for dinner on Christmas Day. I made sandwiches for the Branch party and a pear cake that was topped with stuff that’s like an apple crisp. It is really tasty. Then I made rolls for Sunday. I also put together a meat loaf to bake on Sunday. We also had salad (from the Ottesens) Vegetables, Baked potatoes and fudge to eat. Everything tasted great. I always worry when I make something I haven’t made before. While I have made meatloaf before I used a new recipe.

Dad and I were going to take a break and go walk on the ice on the Volga River and then go to the market. We were just waiting for the laundry to finish (it beeps when it’s done and doesn’t quit until you turn it off). Dad was vacuuming when I thought I heard the doorbell. A few minutes later when Dad shut off the Vacuum the doorbell rang again. We weren’t expecting anyone, so Dad went and looked out the peep hole. He saw a policeman. He came to the kitchen to tell me and he called Oleg to find out what we should do. We’ve been instructed not to open the door. Oleg told us by law we don’t have to open the door to the local police and if they wanted to see us they could leave a summons on our door or in our mail box.

We decided not to leave our apartment for a while. Dad looked out the peephole a minute or two later and they were across the way at another apartment talking to a woman. Then Dad saw them head upstairs. There was a policeman and what he took to be a plain clothes policeman. They never left us a summons. We didn’t leave until it was time to go to the Christmas party.

The Elders did great decorating for the party. We had a food table that was chuck full. Everyone ate as we watched part of the Churches Christmas devotional. About half way through that they stopped it and did, like a, talent show. The Men got up and sang Silent Night, Sister Ludmilla got up and said something, with power and authority. Dad says after listening to her you feel like you’d march into battle with her. Each of the kids said something then elder Miller sang after which Elder Lee played a musical number. The group sang another song and then it was over. It was really fun. Sister Vera had made one of her famous cakes!!

Christmas Morning Dad woke up (I was already up) and wished me Merry Christmas. That was the first time I had thought about it being Christmas. It’s so different with doing all the things we normally do. I did manage to surprise Dad with Cashews and a new Russian jacket. He wasn’t too happy because we had agreed not to buy presents. I just looked at him and said how many times have you done this to me?  He was grateful and I got a kiss!

We just opened and read all your Christmas cards. They were greatly appreciated. I enjoyed Nica’s Testimony and her Hale Theater experience. I love that Grace and Lauryn are following in my and my sisters tradition, claiming to be the favorite daughter or in their case Granddaughter. I really loved all the art work and words, please know how much we love and miss all of you.

Love,

Mom

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Dear Family,

Thank you all for going to see grandma. I appreciate your efforts and I’m sure she does also.

Wow, we’ve had an eventful week.  It’s been so cold. Last Monday was -13, Tue -14, Wed. -17, Thur -18, Fri -20, Sat it warmed up to -16. Today the low is -8. Needless to say you don’t go outside unless you are bundled up to your eyeballs.  We walked to and from work every day and to the market on Saturday.

So many Elders and Sisters were in and out of the office because of the 11 leaving and their companions. Plus there was a mini Transfer happening because we had 5 sisters and 6 Elders going home, so we had to move people around. So it was very busy. Monday, Sister O and I went to the Bezi branch building. It’s taken 10 years for this building to get open. There has been one problem after another preventing it from being finished (It used to be a mini mall). 20 foot ceilings, its beautiful; three floors and no elevator. Anyway we figured out that it would work for us to have our party/conference there.

The very small kitchen is on the second floor. I knew that meant that I’d be up and down the stairs several times. Wednesday Sister O and I, Elders Lytle, Hemrick, Buchanan and Quarnberg went and sent up tables and set them; got the crock pots set up, worked on the sound and video system. Sister O has been frying hamburger, and freezing it along with cooking pasta and put it in zip locks and into the fridge. She is amazing. I asked if I could do anything and she said she had more time than I did and to just make a cake.

Then Wednesday night was the dinner at the Ottesen’s for all the Volunteers leaving for home. I made a big pot of taco soup for that and a huge apple crisp. I brought chips and grated cheese. Sister O made rolls, rice and chicken enchiladas. We topped the apple crisp with ice cream. Dad and I had to carry all of the stuff we were bringing to the Ottesen’s apartment. It was really nice to be there with all of the returning volunteers. We’ve grown very close to a lot of them.

Then Thursday was our Christmas Zone Conference. President bought 75 cinnamon rolls and Sister O bought juice. Everyone got there by 8:30 AM, we got there at 8:00. They mingled while we stashed the food upstairs and got them into crockpots. We made fruit cups and Sister O and Riesa, the cleaning lady from the office, made a huge pasta salad. Some sister had already cut up vegetable for us for our vege tray. Sister O made a huge bowl of ranch dip.

We started the conference with Sister Ottesen speaking and then President. We had several musical numbers. Then all the Volunteers stayed down stairs for watch the Christmas video and some others while we got lunch ready. Sister O had made something like 15 loaves of French bread. She had it sliced and garlic buttered then wrapped in tin foil. We put it in the oven in the morning and it was just right for lunch. Sister O really wanted to give these guys a home cooked meal for Christmas.

After lunch we reconvened and each of the AP’s spoke. Then it was mine and Dad’s turn. Our topic was how to live a Christ centered life and have a Christ centered Christmas. I don’t have a copy of my talk at home so I’ll send it to you later. I started then Dad talked about two Christ like attributes, Obedience and Bravery. Dad doesn’t have a talk written out he just uses bullet points. He did a great job. Then I finished by giving them 5 things they are doing now and if they continue to do will help them stay closer to Christ their whole lives and then I bore by testimony to them. Several people came up and told us what a good job we did.

Then the Ottesens started a game. It was the Samara Zone verses the Toliatti Zone. They asked Book of Mormon, President Ottesen and Mission questions. There was a present for the team who answered correctly. They kept going until everyone got a present. Then Roman (our driver) brought in Subway sandwiches. All the volunteers loaded up their backpacks into the Roman Van and then taxied to the Ballet. We went with the Ottesen’s in the Van.

Swan Lake was beautifully done and since there was only music we didn’t have to worry about translation. Here is what the internet says about the story:

Swan Lake

The story of Swan Lake is woven around two girls, Odette and Odile, who resemble each other so closely they can easily be mistaken for the other. Originally their roles were entrusted to two separate dancers, but as there is only one brief fleeting moment when they are seen simultaneously, it has long been customary for a single prima ballerina to perform both parts, differentiating them by characterization and general style. The action takes place in Germany in the distant past.

Act I

After a glittering musical introduction, the first scene is set in a splendid park, with a fairy-tale castle in the background. Prince Seigfried and his friends are seated, drinking, and peasants enter to congratulate him on his coming of age; meanwhile, his tutor Wolfgang encourages them to dance for the young Prince's entertainment.

A messenger presages the arrival of the young Prince's Mother. She follows to pronounce that her son should now marry, choosing a bride from the young women to be presented to him at a ball the following evening. She leaves and the rustic dancing resumes until darkness suddenly falls and a flock of swans appear. The Prince has an idea of shooting one of the noble birds and, armed with a crossbow, sets off with his friends and heads to where the swans are heading.

Act II

By the banks of a lake by moonlight, a flight of swans glide past, led by their own Queen. The Prince's friends are eager for the chase, but he begs them to leave him, and whilst he is alone the Swan Queen comes to him in the human form of Odette and tells her story.

She is under the spell of an evil magician, Von Rothbart, and reveals that by day she and her friends are turned into swans. Also persecuted by her stepmother, that subjection will only end when she marries; until then she has only her crown to protect her.

The whole swan group arrives and they reproach the Prince for attempting to deprive them of their beloved leader. Odette intercedes and the Prince discards his crossbow. He and Odette dance, professing their love. The entire flock joins in; and the act ends as an owl (the wicked stepmother) flaps heavily above.

Act III

It is the following evening and in a luxurious hall in the Prince's castle preparations are underway for the feast. Wolfgang orders the servants around; guests start to materialise; and finally, the Princess-Mother and her entourage. A sequence of turns commences until the Princess asks her son which of the women he favours. 'None', he replies to her annoyance.

At a sudden fanfare Baron Rothbart enters with his daughter Odile, whose resemblance to Odette strikes the Prince. Odile herself dances enticingly, followed by an elaborate sequence of national dances by the company. The Princess-Mother is pleased to see that Odile has caught her son's favour. The young couple themselves conjoin together and the Princess-Mother and Rothbart advance to centre-stage to announce a betrothal.

With that, the scene ominously darkens, an agitated version of the principal swan theme is heard; a window flies open noisily and through it can be seen a white swan replete with crown. Horrified, the Prince pushes Odile away and rushes out amid general confusion.

Act IV

The girls, including Odette, gather around the lake. Odette is heartbroken. Prince Siegfried finds them consoling each other. He explains to Odette the trickery of Von Rothbart and she grants him her forgiveness. It isn’t long before Von Rothbart appears and tells the prince that he must honour his word and marry his daughter or both he and Odette will die. Prince Siegfried refuses. A fight follows, Odette and Siegfried die in each other’s arms. Von Rothbart’s evil spell is broken by the power of Odette and Siegfried’s love for each other and Von Rothbart is destroyed by the swans, who are released from their enslavement.

The theatre is gorgeous. It the one we went to with Sister Schwab. The Volunteers seemed to love it. Afterwards we took a group picture but the one the guy took with our camera was all blurry. Sister Ottesen’s was marginally better. We didn’t get home until about 10:00 AM. It was so hard to say goodbye. We got up at 6:00am to skype with Brian and Grandma but the Ottesen’s and AP’s were up at 2:30 to pick everyone up and get them and their luggage to the airport.

Friday still had Elders and Sister in and out. Everyone had been coming in all week to pick up their Christmas packages. Normally they get them at Zone Conference but I woke up one night and thought “how are they going to take those boxes to the ballet and then get them home. So President and Sister O decided to have them pick up their packages either before or after the Ballet.

I decided to go simple for our Sunday dinner so Saturday I put together another pot of taco soup. I also make corn bread and a cake. The bag said it was an orange cake, I’m not sure I could taste orange. Most the cakes I’ve made have turned out dry. I read on-line that if instead of adding whatever moisture they tell you, like milk or water, add that same amount of either sour cream or mayo. I tried it with sour cream and it made a big difference. I can’t believe how moist it is. I also fried up some flour tortilla chips which taste great. I had grated cheese and sour cream also. We invited the NovoK Elders over for dinner along with AP’s and one Zone leader. The other one left for home and another one hasn’t been assigned yet. Well Elder Quarnberg and Elder Lytle had an appointment so they didn’t come. Elder’s Kennedy and Nedelev (Russian guy) were on splits with Elder Buchanan. So we had them and the NovoK Elders.

Today the Bezi Sister came to NovoK with us. Our Elders set up several appointments for them after church. Our branch loves having the sisters there. We took a picture of Dad and me in front of the Christmas tree.  The Elders told me they have two baptism dates set. One date is for Lena, who has been coming with her granddaughter on Jan 7th. The date is for Anatolli’s wife, Lena on Jan 27^th.

Saturday there was a baptism in Orenburg and another one on Sunday. There is a baptism set in Saratov for a guy that was meeting with our Zone leader out there. They were doing a behind the walls thing and joined a health club. Elder Poulton and his companion were working with a weight trainer. After a while they invited this guy to church and he went out and bought all new church clothes and came to church. He stayed the whole time and even went to an activity afterwards and then wanted to be baptized. It’s really amazing to see how the Lord is working to bring to Gospel to people.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Dear Family,

This week has flown by. I went to Metro with Sister O. She was buying food for the Christmas Conference. We went to the new Bezimanski Branch building on Wednesday to check out whether it was viable or not to hold conference there. I should work great. Friday after district meeting we were all going to go to Stalin’s bunker but we found out it was only open on Thursday. Bummer.

Sister Thomas came into town yesterday. She will be leaving for home on Friday along with 10 other volunteers.  She is one special young lady. We’ve adopted each other as grandparents and granddaughter. She is sick and asked Dad for a blessing.

We ended up feeding dinner to 8 volunteers and one Russian today. I had a potato bar. I made a chicken and gravy mix, A chicken and spicy red sauce, and Chili for topping off their potatoes. I also grated some cheese and made salad and rolls and my sweet, buttery carrots. Two of the sisters brought cookies and I made a banana cake. Everyone seemed to love it and went back for seconds.

Dad went out Saturday while I stayed home and cooked. He took pictures of the Hover craft ferry that takes people back and forth to the Island. There is too much ice on the river for the regular boats. There are people ice fishing now even though some of the bank doesn’t look frozen solid. He took a picture of the market that we shop at when we don’t go to Metro.

President came into the office on Wednesday afternoon and sat down in one of the AP’s chairs (they had gone on splits).

Pres. O. “You know I’ve run into the darndest thing, I was talking to the AP’s and telling them we need to get together on Sunday (this was last Sunday) to talk about some stuff. I told them I wanted to get together that evening.”

AP’s, “President, we are really busy, that wouldn’t be a good time.”

Pres. O “We really need to get together.”

AP’s “We are really busy.” Pres. O just looks at them.

AP’s cave, “We are going to the Stewart’s for dinner.”

President just laughed and said Okay. Then he calls Elder Pacheco, who is the Branch President at the Bezimanski Branch and leaving for home on December 16^th.

Pres. O, “Elder Pacheco can we get together this evening (last Sunday) to talk.”

Elder Pacheco, “I can’t this evening, I’m too busy.”

Pres. O, “Elder Pacheco we need to talk about who the new Branch President should be.”

EP, “I’m really busy, well, I’m going to dinner at the Stewarts.”

We all had a great laugh over that.

After Jhonatan’s baptism program a Sister from Avrora Branch announced that there was going to be a concert at theater not too far away and Elder Kennedy was going to play for it. Watching Elder Kennedy’s face, I knew that this was news to him. The concert was last Wednesday at 1:00pm. Two volunteers, Sister O and I all walked there. We were sure where the hall was and it ended up being 10 blocks farther away than we planned. Well, only 4 blocks really but it felt like 10.

It was snowing sideways so we all bundled up. I should have known better. The Sisters were moving pretty fast and my pride made me keep right up with them. By the time we went up the 72 steps to the walking street and then went about 6 more blocks my hair looked like I had kept my head uncovered. It was soaked with sweat. I looked great for my first visit to this hall.

We were a little late and found Elders Kennedy and Dorius sitting near the back. He hadn’t gone on yet. There were several people singing, all in Russian. They looked to be senior citizens and performed well. My favorite was an old guy who sang “O When Those Saints” in English with a gravelly voice.

It was all over and gifts were given to the performers when Elder Kennedy was announced. He played Russia’s Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C# Minor, op3, No 2. Rachmaninoff wrote this piece when he was only 19 years old; he was a famous Russian pianist, composer and conductor. Elder Kennedy was simply brilliant. When he finished, the crowd erupted in applause and shouts.

One older guy stopped him. He had a military bearing and several medals pinned to his suit. We found out later that he was 100 years old. His hair was still dark but thinning. He was so impressed with Elder Kennedy that he gave him a kiss on his neck. He kept thanking him. Elder Kennedy told us that this man used to play both the piano and organ. The Volunteers made some friends that day.

Our Christmas zone conference should be awesome. The volunteers will get a home cooked meal, spiritual uplift, presents from home and then they get to go to the ballet and see Swan Lake!!

Love you all tons,

Mom