St Petersburg

Posted By burtons on May 25, 2010

I will be brief, maybe.
This week we went to St. Petersburg.  We have a new couple there that needed some training and we had a project on Strengthening Marriage and Strengthening family, so we could do both at the same time.  We flew out of Moscow on Monday and arrived in the afternoon.  We were picked up at the airport by the translator and we taken to the old mission home where we stayed during the week.  We had hoped we would get to St. Petersburg as it is the jewel of Russia.  It was built on a Swamp under the direction of Peter the Great in the early 1700’s.  They built a series of canals to drain the water off and build many Western European buildings.  there are many beautiful things to see there.  We were able to visit a very few.  
 
We sent Tuesday with the Hazlewood’s, our new couple in St. P.  they are from New Mexico and have done one stay-at-home mission on a Navajo Indian Reservation working on employment.  We worked through some of the legal requirements for doing projects in Russia.  They had already been out to see some projects and were excited to get started.  They will get all of their allotment of money spent in about two months at this rate!!!!  We helped them enter a project on CHaS, our method of requesting and approving projects and had a great visit with them.  Later that day, the Lee’s flew into town from Pocatello.  Sister Lee is the specialist that teaches the Strengthening Marriage classes.  She is a licensed marriage counselor, and got started doing this while she and her husband were in Ukraine serving a Humanitarian mission.  While they were there the Ukrainian government passed a law that their social services department needed to start working on decreasing the divorces in their country and helping families gain good skills.  She was the right person in the right place. The church has sent her several times to Ukraine to teach seminars to government officials and social workers.  Her roll is to train their professionals in working with couples and families.  She uses the church materials, but in a nonsecular way.  When she does these trainings for the church, she trains trainers but also give short presentations for groups.  We shared the old mission home apartment with them.  It had a kitchen and the driver took us shopping. 
 
 The apartment was within a 10 minute walk of the Hermitage, a fantastic museum housed in nine buildings. Sister Lee’s seminars were in the evenings so we were able to do some sightseeing in the mornings and early afternoon’s.  On Wednesday, the mission president allowed us to use the mission van and driver, Igor.  He took us to a Palace in a town just a little way from St. P.  It had  a beautiful park and the palace was something too.  It was build during the reign of Catherine the Great.  We only had about 2 hours there, because we were also going to the Peterhof palace as well.  There we had two and a half hours to see the fountains and gardens.  We did not have time to go inside.  Dad had been there previously and said the palace was similar to the one we saw earlier is the day.  I wish we had had more time.  On Friday we spend about three hours int he Hermitage.  The collection there is enormous and varied.  The part we were able to see is a series of five palaces hooked together with walk ways.  Our guide/translator took us through the Egyptian room, the Roman rooms which had hundreds of Roman statues copied from the Greek originals.  Then we toured rooms that were restored to  their original state.  they have beautiful inlaid wood floors, doors, cabinet fronts.  The rooms were works of art in themselves.  The last area we visited had art work from many European masters, our translator’s favorite being Rembrandt so that is the area we headed for.  We were able to see very little of what their is to see, but what we saw was amazing.  We were glad we got to go.
 
One of the highlights of the week was meeting with other senior couples and the Mission President and his wife.  They more I see of these mission presidents, the more I am amazed by their diligence, their service and their sacrifice.  The mission President is from the Ukraine.  He and his wife have been members for less than 20 years and yet their spirit is so wonderful and their testimonies so strong, that one is in awe of them.  We went to dinner with them before one of the seminars and he asked us about how we had reacted when we got our calls to Russia.  Most of the women have a similar reaction to mine.  (That was comforting)  Then we asked them to tell us about their call.  He began to tell us how they had been interviewed about being a mission president and he broke down.   I have never seen a wife support her husband the way she does.  Its not that other wives don’t support their husband’s, it’s just the way she does it.  I wish I could have understood what she said because I think I could have really benefited from her strength.  Last night he was telling about receiving his call to the Mission Presidency and his emotions got the better of him.  She took his hand and quietly finished telling the story.  He was comforted and as he regained controlled to made a little joke.  He is more comfortable making these little jokes than he is sharing his feelings.  We are really blessed by meeting these people. 
 
We had a wonderful week and flew back home on Saturday afternoon.  Today we had a Moscow wide meeting presided over by President Schwitzer, first counselor in the Area Presidency (and soon to be Area President).  We have had two districts in Moscow and today they combined them into one.  The purpose of this is so that our district can function as close to a Stake as possible.  They organized a high council with the senior high councilor being from the international branch, the next ten high councilors being from the other branches and the last one being the newest Senior missionary Elder.  We know several of these men.  They new president is from our Arbartski branch and was the president of the old Moscow West Stake.  I think he is over 30, but I am not sure.  His wife is a returned missionary but he was too old to serve a mission when he joined the church. they have two children, a little girl who is 16 or 18 months old and a new baby boy.  he has been a member of the church just over 5 years.  The strengthen of these new converts is amazing. 
 
We are having exciting times here and our loving our mission.
Love, Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, DeVere and Arva

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The Lord will provide

Posted By burtons on April 9, 2010

We have had some good experiences this past week and so has our mission.
As you know, a week ago last Monday there was a terrorist attack on the Metro.  As a result we as missionaries were asked not to wear our tags and the young missionaries were not to do their regular contacting.  President Cranney , our mission president, assumed that all statistics that they collect weekly would go down.  At Zone conference this Tuesday we learned that just the opposite happened.  We have been having an average of 19 new promising investigators each week.  Last week we got 25.  Truly the Lord will provide.  Let me share an experience that our missionaries had.
DeVere got to go on splits last Friday and had a great experience.  He visited to a family in the Branch where he and his companion taught a lesson on bringing the strayed lambs back to the fold.  The next Sunday in testimony meeting the mother of the family, Sister Volkov, talked about loving our brothers and sisters and seeking them out.  She showed a list she had written with several names on it that she was going to prayer over.  She was sure the Holy Ghost would guide her to the family or person that was ready.  Then she intended to call these people and invite them to come back to church and maybe over to her home.  The second half of the companionship had an even more amazing experience.  As they were waiting in the Metro for DeVere and his companion to return, a man come running up to them and said, “Do you have a Liahona?”  This man had met missionaries before and had read the Liahona and he felt he needed that magazine again.  Even more amazing is the fact that at that time our missionaries were not allowed to wear their tags because of the bombing in the Metro earlier in the week.    This man still recognized missionaries.  It was truly a miracle.  They did not have a Liahona with them, so they gave him one of their Books of Mormon.  It was the Elder’s good copy so they hope that when they can get with him again they can trade for the man’s own copy.  It was a double miracle.  DeVere and his companion were getting ready to leave the family’s house where they were teaching when they were asked to stay for a bite to eat. That made them 20 minutes late meeting the second set of missionaries.  If they had been on time, they second set of missionaries would not have been waiting in the Metro, and the man who was seeking help from the Liahona would have been missed.
At Zone conference, Sister Cranney gave a wonderful lesson on correcting people over whom we have stewardship.  She first cautioned us to remember that it is not our place to correct persons over whom we have no stewardship.  She also taught that we pick and choose our battles, so we can be more effective.  She shared how her daughter had done several things that morning that she might have corrected her on.  However, none of them were really so important that they could be worked on at a later time or not at all.  She knew that she was going to have to have her daughter give up her favorite shirt, because it had become too tight for modesty.  That is the battle she choose as being the most important.  Sister Cranney  then shared the story of a friend whose two years old son had run out in the busy street.  Frightened and in anger, the mom had run out in the street, grabbed the child, spanked him soundly and put him on a chair.   Her actions did not had the desired results.  At the next opportunity, the two year old was again in the street.  He got the same treatment the second and then third time and this consequence  was not working.  The mom prayed for a way to help her little boy learn to stay away from the street and in the night, she got an idea.  The next day,  she and the little child sat down at the kitchen table to play together.  Each of them had an egg that they decorated to look like themselves.  The mom had a mom egg and the little boy had a little boy egg.  (Mom helped with the face).The egg people played in the yard (on the table) which was next to a busy street and were having a great time .  They laughed and sang and did many fun things.  but then the little boy egg ran out in the street and a Tonka truck just happened to come by and smash the the little boy egg.  The mom and the little boy sadly cleaned up the egg and then the mother painted tears on her egg person, because she was so sad her little boy egg was broken. He never ran out in the street again.
Sister Cranney went on to teach us that you never correct in anger, if you want to be effective.  And prayer for inspiration on what and how to correct those over whom you have stewardship.  And give yourself time to choose a time that will be appropriate. It was masterful.
Yesterday, we had a baby shower for one of the girls at the service center.  The DTA’s wife , Lisa Stapley, and the Controller’s wife, Alex Whitesides,  organized it.  They asked us to do some games.  I bought several things that  you need for baby and Lisa Stapley bought a few things, we put them on a tray and covered them up.  Then we uncovered them for about 10 seconds, and asked the guests to write down as many as they could remember.  It was a new game for our Russian sisters, so we uncovered it again for a few seconds.  One of we Americans still won.  The other game was the “Guess what the baby food is”.  I soaked the labels off some baby food,  put numbers on the lids and had them match the food to the number on the bottle.  Everyone had a great time.  As the party ended several of our Russian Sisters came up to say what a good time they had had, and that was a tradition they didn’t have in Russia.  they said they all came to see the mom and baby and bring gifts on the day they got home from the hospital.  I’m glad we have the tradition we have.  I was still ready to go to bed when I got home with my babies.  They do stay in the hospital a little longer than we do .
We are working hard on a conference  we are having in Turkey so are stay in the office pretty long hours.
Happy in Russia
Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, DeVere and Arva

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Moscow Metro Bombed by Terrorists

Posted By burtons on March 31, 2010

By the time you read this post, the bombing of the Moscow Metro Trains will be news all over the world.  At this point we believe all of the missionaries are safe.  They have been ordered to stay in their apartments until further notice from the mission president.  We don’t think any church members have been injured or killed, although that will take a little longer to determine.  At this hour, we are have heard that three stations have been bombed, but there could be more before it’s over.  At least 37 people have been killed with others being injured.  We are safe, and we will stay that way.

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Hello from Russia

Posted By burtons on March 31, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,
Now that our computer is working again,  I hope we can keep in touch.  I am sorry to have not written for such a long time. 
 
We just started daylight savings time here this week.  This is the day I get mad at Benjamin Franklin.  I have lost an hour of sleep that I really need.  But one must remember that if he hadn’t thought of it, someone else would have.  The sun is now coming up directly opposite our east window so our apartment gets hot in the morning.  I am going to buy some curtains to help with that as soon as I can get to a store that sells curtains.  (I hope I can find some!)
 
Yesterday was a wonderful day! ! !  We had the family history conference to go to at 1:00.  It takes almost an hour to get to the church, between the walk and the metro so we headed out at noon.  It was a beautiful Spring day, the birds were sing, the streets and sidewalks were running with water melting from the snow, puddles everywhere.  But best of all were all the families in the Park.  Children were on bicycles and scooters,  moms and dads were pushing their babies in buggies and strollers, and little ones were wielding shovels in the melting snow or floating little boats in the rivulets along the edges of the sidewalks.  I just loved it.  I would have loved to have sat down on one  of the benches and watched the children play.  (I may have had a hard time finding a bench to sit on. ) 
 
We got to church with a few minutes to spare only to find out that we were suppose to be their at 2:00.  That was OK though, because we  hadn’t eaten much before we headed out, so we went to a shopping center nearby and ate in the food court.  When we returned to the church we were invited to prayer meeting where they went over the agenda for the meeting.  They had more planned then time allotted, but that was OK.  They were only about 7 minutes late in starting the conference and they stayed with their agenda.  After some opening remarks and an overview of the breakout sessions, and a short game,DeVere spoke on the Spirit of Elijah.  He spoke for about 7 minutes and his translator spoke 7 minutes.  All together they spoke 15 minutes.  (When they asked us to give talks, we have to cut the time in half, as you have to compensate for a translator.)  We then attended the break out session.  We went to the one where they demonstrated the new family search program on the Internet.  Everything on the site is written in English, but according to the presenter, there is a place on the site where they can see the instruction in Russian.  The participants were very excited to see the program.  They are so enthusiastic about all aspects of the gospel, and try so very hard to do everything just as the Lord wants them to.  They want a temple so badly, and a stake and we really hope that both of these desires can be fulfilled.  We pray for those blessings daily. 
 
The other break out session we went to was about collecting data from family and from achieves.  The presenter had had some very good fortune.  He had noticed in a picture he found, that his grandmother was not wearing a scarf.  This meant that see had been wealthy and probably from the ruling class.  Sure enough he was able to connect here with one of the pre-revolution ruling families and meticulous records had been kept.  He has one line that goes back to the 1200’s.  Amazing.  Other people have trouble even finding grandparents’ Names.  It was a great day.
 
At 6:00 all the senior couples had been invited tot he international branches Relief Society birthday party.  We had a great time there as well.  (Laur, Have I ever told you the Bonnie Kunzler’s brother Bradley is here with the military attached to the Embassy?) We were already at the church and as the conference went over time by 30 minutes, the branch needed a little help setting up. They had such a good turn out that they ran out of tables.  We had a speaker, then ate delicious barbecues and played a hilarious game. The emcee would call out an item and we would have to look in our purses, pockets or back packs and race to the front.  We were divided up into 8 teams.  The first three teams to bring the item got points.  After 10 items had been requested, the points were tallied and three teams got to pick prizes from the prize basket.  Our team was third, but we got to pick first because they were trying to build up the suspense.  It was just fun. We walked home in the dark, like we do so often and only stepped in four or five deep puddles.! ! ! 
 
Today we had been asked to speak in the Taganski branch about our mission.  Most of the members did not know about the work we do here.  The Taganski branch meets at 2:00, so again we got to walk through the park.  I love it.  We had not given ourselves enough time to get to the church so we were late getting there,  After Sacrament service and the youth speaker, I spoke my 15 minutes and then DeVere started his talk.  As he was speaking, a disturbance started outside the building.  Several members left to see what was going on.  Just as DeVere ended his talk, the disturbance died down.  We later learned that it was a demonstration against the church by a few persons wearing masks and wielding clubs who had permission from the city government for the demonstration.  There were two police officers there as well.  But there was no violence. and they left peacefully.  Because we have been dealing with this sort of thing around conference time and as we built the temple, I felt calm, but it really bothered the members.  Some even took their children home.  They were worried about staying at church with them.  But as DeVere says, this kind of protest usually brings blessings with it.  We have had several baptisms in Twin because people wanted to know more about that church they were protesting against.
 
We have a new district.  Transfers were a week ago Thursday.  We have five different missionaries and three the same as last district.  These young people just amaze us.  They are so valiant.  We had district meeting in our apartment at 7:30 AM. The Branch mission leader came as well this time.  After he left to go to work, I fed the missionaries cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, juice and fruit.  We really love having morning district meetings.  It starts the day well and then we can just go to work and stay.
 
Well, enough already.  We love you all. Keep us informed about all you are doing.  We love hearing from home.
Mom and Dad, Grandpa and grandma,  DeVere and Arvap.s.  Please forgive all spelling and grammatical errors.

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More Russian Surprises

Posted By burtons on March 31, 2010

We have been to Prague and Riga on passport runs and to Volgograd to look at NRT projects (Neonatal Resuscitation Training) since we wrote last.  That was an experience.  We were to fly to Volgograd, a two hour flight in late afternoon with three other couples.  After we had been in the air for over 3 hours, they diverted us to Rostov where we deplaned.  After about an hour, we were offered a bus ride of twelve hours to get back to Volgograd.  (They do not fly between Russian cities.  You always have to go back to Moscow to go to another Russian city. We even met one young man returning from Vladivostok to Virginia. He came through Moscow instead of going East.)  We were lucky in that the mission home is in Rostov and the Mission President and his wife open their home to everyone.  They allowed us and the other three couples who were with us to stay in the mission home.  (They are a Russian couple who joined the church in the early 1990’s)  )  The next day, we were driven to Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) by the mission driver,  That was another experience.  We had been warned that he drives very fast.  They were not kidding.  He was going over 100 miles an hour during part of the time and this on Russian roads.  He passed at times when we didn’t think he would possibly make it.  One of the Sister’s who happened to be in front of the van said she has driven with worse drivers.  She has been going on NRT projects for 5 1/2  years and is a seasoned veteran.  I couldn’t believe that I felt calm as well.  I bite my nails all through Salt Lake every time we go.  It was interesting to go into the different hospitals.  Most of the ones we saw were very well equipped with excellent staff.  They don’t worry as much about privacy as we do.  One of the doctor’s wanted us to go into a labor/delivery room that was occupied, with not so much as a bye you leave.  We declined.  In another hospital, only the three doctor’s in our group went into the labor area and they just looked into the rooms and did not go in to any that were in use.   While in Volgograd with went to the tallest statue in the world.  It is of Mother Russia wielding a sword and signaling for the people of Russia to fight against the foe.  It commemorates the Battle of Stalingrad in which 80,000 Russians died.   It was one of the decisive battles of the war with Germany (Patriotic War in Russia.  World War II at home.)  There are several statues leading to the large statue.  It is a fine monument and I am glad we were able to see it.  – Arva
 
Today is Sunday.  We were speakers in a branch in the southern part of the city where we spoke about the humanitarian mission of the church.  Just after I started to speak, a commotion arose just outside the building.  Some protesters arrived, armed with a permit and with two police officers, and they commenced yelling outside the chapel door.  It got louder and louder until some of the members went out to see what was going on.  The group consisted of 3 young men with masked faces and carrying clubs.  For the most part, they were ignored.  I went on speaking, and the members closed the doors and waited for them to leave.  Once they left, several families with small children left the building and went home to keep them safe.  This is the only time this has happened, according to the members who have been here for a long time.  We must be getting close to having the first stake announced in Russia for Satan to focus attention on us now.  I expect it will be followed by some very positive events for the church here.  We are safe, and we send our love.   DeVere & Arva, Mom & Dad

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Service project, war memorials

Posted By burtons on February 5, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Another week has come and gone.  We had some great experiences this week.  I have to admit though that I can’t remember what we did on Monday.  So I will have to start with Tues.

Tues was Zone conference.  That is a real treat.  We get to spend part of the day with those marvelous young Missionaries.  We get very attached to our districts and because we now have enough missionaries, we got to keep this district for three transfers.  We only had one or two changes in the last 18 weeks.  We go to district meeting two time is a six week period; some times three times.  Then we see them each Sunday at church.  Our whole district is assigned to one Branch.  It is the largest branch in Moscow and has almost a ward feel to it.  We have six Elders and two Sisters in our district this time around.  We usually get the largest district as we have the second largest apartment among the senior couples.

The topic for this conference was the true vine.  President Cranney taught us that Christ is the true vine.  He used the analogy of a grape vine that must be pruned ruthlessly to make it bear good fruit.  We are the shoots which must be trained so that we can bear good fruit. He used Jacob chapter 5 and John chapter 15.  May I recommend that you read and study John 15.  It is the Savior’s final instructions to the apostles before Gethsemane.  I think you will really enjoy feasting on those words.

At Zone Conf. they also played Jeopardy.  It amazes me what you can do with a computer now days.  The game taught metro safety, senior couples, mission contact information and a couple of just for fun categories.  It was a spiritual and social feast.  These meetings really help our young missionaries recharge their batteries, and get ready to go back out on these cold Moscow streets. Another marvelous part of Zone Conf. is that the Zone Leaders prepare and give instruction to the rest of the missionaries and they do such a great job. They are really being taught the principle of stewardship.  I don’t know what other missions are like, but we must have the cream of the crop here, because these young people are spiritual giants who are only going to keep increasing in wisdom, knowledge and leadership skills.  Another good part of Zone conference is lunch.  The last two times the branches here in Moscow have prepared lunch for us.  This month we had borscht.  Yum.  I am hoping to learn to make it while I am here.  Another soup to add to my repertoire.

We have had our coldest week so far since we have been here.  It has been between – 14 Celsius and -21 Celsius this week.  -14 is  about 7 degrees Fahrenheit and -21 is about -6 degrees Fahrenheit.  Pretty cold.  I am so glad I have a warm Russian coat.  Marlene loaned it to me and it has saved my life.  The fur around the hood keeps my face from freezing.  DeVere and I are surprised that we don’t feel the cold like we thought we would.

Wednesday we went to work early and we had a beautiful walk.  It was really cold and the moisture in the air had frozen and fallen to the the ground.  The sidewalk just glistened as if glitter had been sprinkled all over. The air was full of sparkles that brushed you cheeks and grabbed the back of your throat as you breathed it in.  The trees had sparkles on them as well and the whole world  looked like a Fairy Tale landscape.  The Happy Ever After kind.

Wednesday we went on a project visit to a town about 2 and half hours from Moscow.  We got a car thanks to the insistence of the Branch president in the town we visited.  It is a very small Branch.  Average attendance at Sacrament meeting is six.  But president Cranney says Pres. Vladimir is one of the strongest members in this area.  He wanted us to help buy new windows for a maternity hospital.   We got to the town earlier that we anticipated, (No traffic jams, very unusual, so we toured the sports complex that Sister Natalya works  and of which the Pres. Vladimir oversaw the construction.  It was amazing and when you consider this town is only about a quarter of the size of Twin Falls, it really makes you think.  Beautiful swimming pool, indoor soccer field/basketball court/volleyball court, dance studio, Chess room, ping pong room, weight room, tread mills and much, much more. (It is a regional facility for the Moscow Oblast {State}.

At 11:00 we met with the assistant director of the region (county) and he expressed his wish that we would be able to help.  We then toured the facility.  They definitely need the new windows.  They need 40 more windows to complete their remodel of the clinic, we hope we can provide about half that.  They are expensive.

After the visit we were invited to the president’s home for lunch.  We went to their tiny apartment and visited while the president made a vegetable soup, which he served with bread and cheese and compote which is a drink they make with fruit, sugar and hot water.  We were about done eating when his wife sister Natalya came home.  She was absolutely thrilled that we were still there.  She sat down and talked with us for a long time (all of this with a translator) and when we had to go, she about cried.  They so need more members out there.  They meet in the president’s home for church.

On the way home, our driver took us to see a monument to some young soldiers who slowed down the advance of Hitler’s Army for enough time for the army from the Asian front to get to Moscow.  There were 28 of them and they were all killed eventually.  I will try to attach a photo.  He then took us to the grave site of these young men which has another monument.  He also took us to a beautiful church called New Jerusalem that was bombed during the war and which they are restoring.  I would really like to see this site in summer and again when it is finished.  It was huge.  It had been a monastery and was build in the 17th century.  Our driver is very proud of his Russia and you could just see it as he took us to several more sites that afternoon.  He says we are the first missionaries to see the monuments.  He said it was “exclusive”.  He must have learned the word for the occasion because he speaks about as much English as I speak Russian, hardly any. But he is fun.  We thoroughly enjoy his teasing and trying to communicate with us.

Saturday we had a District (Stake) service project.  In Oct all the senior couples gave 1000 rubles to the district RS to buy some gifts for the residents of a boarding house;  it is kind of like a nursing home.  With this money the RS bought a wash cloth, lotion, booties socks and a comb for each of the residents.  We were suppose to deliver them before Christmas, but because of the fear of Swine flu the boarding house was quarantined until recently.  We metroed and walked to the home and then sang.  We seniors did three hymns from the hymn book in English and then we sat down with the residents and listened as the Russian members sang tradition Russian songs.  The residents loved it.  They sang and clapped and in the end some of them got up and danced.  It was wonderful.  We would so love to have the translation of these songs.  They all tell stories.  One sister told us that some of them were about the war and some of them were just funny.When the singing was done, we handed out the sacks with the gifts in them.  We could only take a few at a time, and the residents had this look on their face wondering if they were going to get something.  When we would hand something to them their faces would light up like a Christmas tree.   What a special day.  Afterwards all the senior couples but the Overly’s who were able to come, came over to our house for a light lunch.  We are so blessed with wonderful friends both from home and here in this wonderful nation.

We continue to enjoy our mission.  We have new adventures almost ever day.  We have two new couples and it is fun to see what we must have looked like when we first came and how shocking we found things and how nervous we were.  Now we just enjoy the adventure and wonder what will happen next.

We love you all and pray for you.
Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, DeVere and Arva

AfterAfter the visit we were invited to the president’s home for lunch.  We went to their tiny apartment and visited while the president made a vegetable soup, which he served with bread and cheese and compote which is a drink they make with fruit, sugar and hot water.  We were about done eating when his wife sister Natalya came home.  She was absolutely thrilled that we were still there.  She sat down and talked with us for a long time (all of this with a translator) and when we had to go, she about cried.  They so need more members out there.  They meet in the president’s home for church. the visit

we were invited to the president’s home for lunch.  We went to their tiny apartment and visited while the president made a vegetable soup, which he served with bread and cheese and compote which is a drink they make with fruit, sugar and hot water.  We were about done eating when his wife sister Natalya came home.  She was absolutely thrilled that we were still there.  She sat down and talked with us for a long time (all of this with a translator) and when we had to go, she about cried.  They so need more members out there.  They meet in the president’s home for church.

On the way home, our driver took us to see a monument to some young soldiers who slowed down the advance of Hitler’s Army for enough time for the army from the Asian front to get to Moscow.  There were 28 of them and they were all killed eventually.  I will try to attach a photo.  He then took us to the grave site of these young men which has another monument.  He also took us to a beautiful church called New Jerusalem that was bombed during the war and which they are restoring.  I would really like to see this site in summer and again when it is finished.  It was huge.  It had been a monastery and was build in the 17th century.  Our driver is very proud of his Russia and you could just see it as he took us to several more sites that afternoon.  He says we are the first missionaries to see the monuments.  He said it was “exclusive”.  He must have learned the word for the occasion because he speaks about as much English as I speak Russian, hardly any. But he is fun.  We thoroughly enjoy his teasing and trying to communicate with us.
Saturday we had a District (Stake) service project.  In Oct all the senior couples gave 1000 rubles to the district RS to buy some gifts for the residents of a boarding house;  it is kind of like a nursing home.  With this money the RS bought a wash cloth, lotion, booties socks and a comb for each of the residents.  We were suppose to deliver them before Christmas, but because of the fear of Swine flu the boarding house was quarantined until recently.  We metroed and walked to the home and then sang.  We seniors did three hymns from the hymn book in English and then we sat down with the residents and listened as the Russian members sang tradition Russian songs.  The residents loved it.  They sang and clapped and in the end some of them got up and danced.  It was wonderful.  We would so love to have the translation of these songs.  They all tell stories.  One sister told us that some of them were about the war and some of them were just funny.When the singing was done, we handed out the sacks with the gifts in them.  We could only take a few at a time, and the residents had this look on their face wondering if they were going to get something.  When we would hand something to them their faces would light up like a Christmas tree.   What a special day.  Afterwards all the senior couples but the Overly’s who were able to come, came over to our house for a light lunch.  We are so blessed with wonderful friends both from home and here in this wonderful nation.
We continued to enjoy our mission.  We have new adventures almost ever day.  We have two new couples and it is fun to see what we must have looked like when we first came and how shocking we found things and how nervous we were.  Now we just enjoy the adventure and wonder what will happen next.
We love you all and pray for you.
Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, DeVere and Arva

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This Week in Russia

Posted By burtons on January 22, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

We are still here in Moscow, and it is cold. It is now colder than at home. We got a lot of snow in December and it is still with us. We have received a little snow in January which is a good thing because it covers the ice and packed snow, so that we have a little traction when we walk. We found some things to put on our shoes that really helps with walking on packed snow, but are not good on ice and the tile in buildings. So we have to decide if we will be on packed snow more or ice and tiled floors. Every day as we walk to work, I cling to DeVere with all my might. I’d have fallen eveyday since it snowed if I wasn’t holding on. I hope to get through the winter without falling, but most of the missionaries have fallen , so I haven’t much hope. In Moscow they have street sweepers, We saw them everyday all spring, summer and fall. Every morning they take their brooms made with twigs (the brooms truly look like witch’s brooms) and sweep the sidewalks and the side roads. They made the neighborhood clean each morning. Now that it is winter their brooms have turned to shovels and ice scrapers, and they shovel the walks every day. On the days it does not snow, they are chipping and scraping the ice off the sidewalks and even the side roads. On days when there is just a light snow, they get their brooms back out and sweep the sidewalks. When the snow piles get deep enough, the city brings a front end loader and a truck and carry the snow and ice off. (Actually, during the rest of the year they use the front end loader to put the piles of trash in that they gather and would takehe trash to trash containers. We kind of got a chuckle out of this as we thought it was awfully expense equipment for hauling trash. Now we see that there was method in their madness. They have the equipment they need for getting rid of the snow.) We really appreciate these hard working men and women. The beginning of this week was hectic. We have been helping with a report on all the projects from 2005 through 2009. We needed to have the cities, states (oblasts and provinces) for each project. We generally didn’t have trouble finding the city, but the oblasts and provinces were a challenge. So was the spelling of the towns and oblasts. The same town would be spelled several different ways as we English speakers are not always familiar with the alphabets in the countries here. It took the four of us several weeks to put this all together, but Frances finally pushed the send button at 6:00 o’clock Wednesday evening. We are glad it is done. Saturday we had a real treat. The young Sister Missionaries invited us to go with them on their monthly cultural activity. We went to a theater that caters to children. We saw the opera Thumbelina. It was amazing. As we walked up to the theater we saw men making snowmen with chain saws. The snow was cut in big blocks and several men were making round blocks for snow men. When we came out we saw the the snow men were a maze for the children to walk through. The opera was amazing. The scenery was creative and very effective. The costumes were fun. The frogs were my favorite, but the field mouse was good, too. And they really sang opera. Those beautiful full voices and very high and very low notes. The opera was a little over two hours long with a 15 minute intermission. The children were mesmerized. I couldn’t help wishing that we had something at home like this so our children could be exposed to good sing and good dancing, and the theater experience. We have one other project we are working on. The Area Presidency has asked the senior couples to find out what we can about all the returned missionaries in Moscow. As we are in the largest branch we have a long list. We are taking pictures of them and finding out where they live, what their church callings are and their matital status and employment status. In Russia there are more sister missionaries then Elders. Several reasons for this. More sister members is probably the biggest reason, but all the boys must serve two years in the military, and if you leave University you probably can’t get back in or you will have to pay the total cost for yourself, very difficult here. (No student loans here and very few grants if you leave and try to come back.) The 19 year old rule doesn’t work very well here, so Elders can go on a mission until they are 27 years old. DeVere spoke in sacrament today and I was asked to bear my testimony. Its a good thing I had a good translator, otherwise I wouldn’t have even known I was suppose to bear my testimony. In Primary they are practicing for the Primary program which will be in two weeks. I wish I had a Russia Primary song book so I could sing a little bit with them. I have learned the chorus of Follow the prophet, but that’s about it. They do not have many primary songs that have been translated yet, but I recognize all the tunes. Today they worked on a child’s prayer. We take so many things for granted. We have grown up with so many of the songs, but they are all new here. Earlier this year they were trying to get the tune and the timing right on one of these songs and I finally just hummed really loud and they got it. They are a great people, very talented and very smart but more importantly they are very valiant. It makes you get an understanding of the scripture the first shall be last and the last shall be first. They may had have to wait more then 150 years for the gospel to spread in this land, but they are so valiant and so spiritual that you just feel that they were some of the elect spirits in the spirit world.

We love you all and pray for you each day. We can use your prayers in our behave as well,

Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, DeVere and Arva

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New Years Day Moscow 2010

Posted By burtons on January 13, 2010

We are tired tonight.  The New Years Party lasted all night, but by 8:30 this morning, they had eaten a breakfast of fruit and cake, cleaned the apartment, and left for home.  All night, you ask?  Yes, but if they stay till midnight here, they cannot get home before the Metro train shuts down for the night.  They would be in big problems if they got put off the metro train in the middle of a cold sub-zero night in Moscow.  So they sang and played games all night.  At one point, we had at least 24 of Moscow’s young single church members here in the apartment.  We were stacked in like bricks in a fireplace.

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Christmas, Vitaly and Anna’s Wedding

Posted By burtons on January 13, 2010

Dear Family,
We have had a wonderful week, but one that was very different from other years.  This year I had no last minute shopping to do and no last minute wrapping.  Well, not very much at least.  I didn’t get all the missionaries socks wrapped, so had to quickly do those before they left our apartment, last Tuesday.  A good thing I did was memorize Luke 2:1,3-12.  The sad thing was I was supposed to get all the way to verse 19.  I guess I still have a little time to work on it.
The Lord has really been blessing this area lately.  We had 30 baptisms in 2009.  I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but its more than before, I understand.  But what we can really see is a difference in the number of lessons the missionaries are teaching.  That has gone up a lot from when we first got here.  These missionaries are getting some wonderful training here.  Our area Presidency is really inspired and is sharing great gospel principles.  Because there are so few stakes and districts here, the authorities get out a lot and this really strengthens our branches and our missionaries.  We were in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, for a Zone conference and Pres Schweitzer taught the missionaries to testify of the truthfulness of their message with each contact.  He told them not to wait to testify until they are teaching a lesson, but be bold in testifying at every opportunity.
Thursday, Dec. 24, we spent the day with all the other missionaries in the mission.  One good thing about having a small area in your mission is that we can all get together at the same place for some wonderful activities.  The young missionaries came at 9:30 in the morning to set up the church and to practice for the program. At 11:30 we seniors showed up and the activity/party officially began.  After the opening song and prayer games were played, snacks were provided, visiting went on.  (I don’t know what games were played as I was one of the boring people who just visited.)  At 1:00 the President played the movie “A Wonderful Life” which even some of the old missionaries hadn’t seen and none of the young ones.  It had Russian subtitles so our Russian missionaries could enjoy it.  Most of the Missionaries liked it.  We then had some musical numbers and then we ate. Sister Cranney had meatballs with a variety of sauces to pour over them, steak fries, fruit and vegetable trays, chips and salsa and bean dip.  and Juice and water.  After we ate, each of our districts presented a skit.  They were hilarious.  Our district sang the 12 days of Christmas but of course changed the words to make it about missionary experiences.  One district sang a traditional Russian song about a Christmas tree in the forest and hammed it up especially when the tree got cut down.  One of my favorites was a skit done in silhouette about two unborn babies talking to each other and wondering if there was life after birth.  One thought there would be, but the other one couldn’t imagine seeing with his/her eyes or eating with his/her own mouth.  I am going to try to get transcripts of some of them.  They were great.  One of the districts did one with a spiritual message about giving at this Christmas time.  One thing I am learning is that the church is going to be in great hands, as we get older.  These young people are men and women of strength and testimony.  Pres Cranney gives each of them leadership experiences.  I think all the young men will be district and Zone leaders before they leave.  He is turning all of them into leaders.  Or maybe it is that we get the best of the best here in Russia.  I doubt it though.  The youth of the church are the most valiant who have come to earth so far, at least as a group.
At the end of the day, pres. Cranney showed a video that he had helped write and produce.  I would like to share what it was about.
It was about Mary and Joseph, that period of time after their betrothal and before their marriage.  It started with Mary’s return from visiting Elizabeth. She had just received news of John’s birth and the knowledge that Zacharias had regained his speech when he followed the instructions of the angel.  She invited Joseph over to tell him about Zacharias to see if he could believe that angels still spoke to men.  She also needed to tell him about the angel that had visited her and see what his feelings would be.  She first told him of the birth of John and about Zachariahs visit from the angel and asked Joseph if he believed about the angel that had visited Zacharias.  Joseph said he did believe.  Then with courage, which his belief gave her, she told him of the angel that had visited her and about the coming of the Messiah, finally conveying to him very subtly that the Messiah was on the way.  Of course, Joseph was confused and disappointed, and in despair when he left her.  He then was visited by an angel to help quiet his doubts and concerns.  He returns to Mary to let her know of his acceptance of his call to raise the Messiah and teach him the ways of a good man of the earth. (The actress did a great job of portraying Mary’s joy, trepidation, fear and joy again. The actor did a great job of showing his love for Mary, his mental and spiritual anguish and his acceptance of his role; he did not portray Joseph as ecstatic.  Maybe that would come later.) I don’t think I saw the actors touch each other once in the presentation.  I noted it.  One line that Joseph said at the beginning of the movie that he was not sure he should see her before the wedding.  Jewish customs were very different at that time of arranged marriages. It was a powerful experience to see how these two very human, but very good people accepted the great calls that were given to each of them.  I think it also showed that each one was willing to do the Lord’s will and that were each able to support the other.  Many great lessons taught in a very short video.
Yesterday, DeVere and I went to a reception of a young couple we have met here.  Young people, especially young men here, are as reluctant to get married as many of our young men at home.  But at last we got 2 of our young single adults married.  (The groom is 34 so is past YSA age by USA standards, but that is not uncommon over here…  different culture)
In Russia you must be married by the state.  So the young couple went to the government offices to get married.  We got to see the video of the ceremony.  Because during Soviet times it was illegal to get married in a church, the government had made an attempt to make the government office very nice.  The room was large and spacious and well lit.  The groom had paid for a stringed orchestra to play as they walked into the room.  They came about half way into the room and then stopped.  The official asked two short questions to which the answered yes. Then they sat at his desk and signed their names about 4 times each.  The marriage certificate was in a nice leather looking folder.  Then they went to another part of the room and had an exchange of rings and that was it.  I am not sure if they were married on Saturday or if that ceremony took place earlier in the week.  I’ll ask them when they get back from the temple.  Here in Russia and in other country’s where couples must be married civilly before they are married in a church,  couples may go to the temple within 30 days of their civil ceremony and get sealed in the temple,.  They don’t have to wait a year for obvious reasons.
The reception was help at our church.  They had a theme of creating a new family for eternity is space.  The chairs had white slipcovers over them and numbers on the first chair as if we were going on an airplane or space shuttle.  When the bride and groom arrived, we all stood and clapped for them.  They had a young lady for the emcee and she announced different activities as if she we a flight attendant.  Of course, we understood nothing, but as a colleague from work was there who went on a mission to New York, we got to know a little of what was going on.  Anna and Vitaly had played foosball each time they came to young single adults and the foosball table was in the room and they played a game.  They also played a game where you had to tie a group of people together with ribbon.  I couldn’t get the gist of that game.  Then different people came and made speeches and gave flowers to them.  I think the first person may have been her grandfather, and her mother spoke and then 2 or 3 others.  Then there was a video presentation.  They had made several little skits with friends and family.  The one I can remember was where Vitaly had to bribe his way into Anna’s apartment house be giving the concierge several piece of candy (40) and then he had to cut out a heart with the help of a friend and at last he got to the apartment where he kissed Anna as many times as pieces of candy.  (This is out of order; these skits came before the actual video of the ceremony.)
Finally it was time to eat.  The RS had helped put on a lovely buffet with salads, fish, fresh fruit and vegetable, and bread and rolls with meat inside.  After all had eaten, they had a dance.  It was very nice.  We don’t know what happened after that, we went home. We asked Boris (our colleague from work) if this was a typical reception and he didn’t know because he hadn’t been to very many.  We know that in some ways it was not typical because there was no alcohol or toasts, and that is typical of Russian weddings.  It was raining so I don’t know if they went to famous spots in Moscow and had their pictures taken there.  That is typical of Moscow weddings and we saw a wedding in another town once and they did the picture-taking thing there as well.
Well, this is a little longer than I planned on.  I hope it makes up a little for my dearth in writing lately.  We did go to Ukraine a couple of weeks ago and met some of our wonderful Humanitarian missionaries there.  We also about froze to death in one of our hotels and in the train going between towns.  The trains have attendants and they asked us if we wanted tea or coffee, which we politely declined.  They were worried about us as we sat bundled up in our compartment, but I remembered I had some hot chocolate packs in my suitcase so we asked for hot water.  The attendant sent DeVere back and said she would bring it to us, which she did in very nice glasses in pewter cup holders.  When we got to Dneprop, no one was there to met us so this lady found someone who could speak English to come and call our missionaries.  The attendant kept trying to talk to us.  She is learning English from her six year old and I know a few works in Russian so we did have a short conversation.  We said we would be fine but they didn’t leave us until our Elder’s arrived, and then they had a discussion about the church.  She wouldn’t take a Book of Mormon, but she did take a pamphlet about the church.  As she got on the train that had started to move she kept calling to us, “Drooga, Drooga”  ”Friends, friends”.  I must say that I felt as if I were her friend, she had been so kind to us and had genuinely tried to help us.  How I wish you could meet these good people and see how the Lord works in the lives of all his children to bring out the best in people.  One of the hardest things about a mission is knowing that you will never get to know these people well and knowing that that will be a loss in your life because they are so warm and have so much to give.
I promise I will stop writing now.  We love all of you; we pray for you and appreciate having so much support from home.
We love our mission and we love the Lord and our testimonies are growing.  Russia is a great place to serve.
Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, Arva and DeVere

Dear Family,

We have had a wonderful week, but one that was very different from other years.  This year I had no last minute shopping to do and no last minute wrapping.  Well, not very much at least.  I didn’t get all the missionaries socks wrapped, so had to quickly do those before they left our apartment, last Tuesday.  A good thing I did was memorize Luke 2:1,3-12.  The sad thing was I was supposed to get all the way to verse 19.  I guess I still have a little time to work on it.

The Lord has really been blessing this area lately.  We had 30 baptisms in 2009.  I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but its more than before, I understand.  But what we can really see is a difference in the number of lessons the missionaries are teaching.  That has gone up a lot from when we first got here.  These missionaries are getting some wonderful training here.  Our area Presidency is really inspired and is sharing great gospel principles.  Because there are so few stakes and districts here, the authorities get out a lot and this really strengthens our branches and our missionaries.  We were in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, for a Zone conference and Pres Schweitzer taught the missionaries to testify of the truthfulness of their message with each contact.  He told them not to wait to testify until they are teaching a lesson, but be bold in testifying at every opportunity.

Thursday, Dec. 24, we spent the day with all the other missionaries in the mission.  One good thing about having a small area in your mission is that we can all get together at the same place for some wonderful activities.  The young missionaries came at 9:30 in the morning to set up the church and to practice for the program. At 11:30 we seniors showed up and the activity/party officially began.  After the opening song and prayer games were played, snacks were provided, visiting went on.  (I don’t know what games were played as I was one of the boring people who just visited.)  At 1:00 the President played the movie “A Wonderful Life” which even some of the old missionaries hadn’t seen and none of the young ones.  It had Russian subtitles so our Russian missionaries could enjoy it.  Most of the Missionaries liked it.  We then had some musical numbers and then we ate. Sister Cranney had meatballs with a variety of sauces to pour over them, steak fries, fruit and vegetable trays, chips and salsa and bean dip.  and Juice and water.  After we ate, each of our districts presented a skit.  They were hilarious.  Our district sang the 12 days of Christmas but of course changed the words to make it about missionary experiences.  One district sang a traditional Russian song about a Christmas tree in the forest and hammed it up especially when the tree got cut down.  One of my favorites was a skit done in silhouette about two unborn babies talking to each other and wondering if there was life after birth.  One thought there would be, but the other one couldn’t imagine seeing with his/her eyes or eating with his/her own mouth.  I am going to try to get transcripts of some of them.  They were great.  One of the districts did one with a spiritual message about giving at this Christmas time.  One thing I am learning is that the church is going to be in great hands, as we get older.  These young people are men and women of strength and testimony.  Pres Cranney gives each of them leadership experiences.  I think all the young men will be district and Zone leaders before they leave.  He is turning all of them into leaders.  Or maybe it is that we get the best of the best here in Russia.  I doubt it though.  The youth of the church are the most valiant who have come to earth so far, at least as a group.

At the end of the day, pres. Cranney showed a video that he had helped write and produce.  I would like to share what it was about.

It was about Mary and Joseph, that period of time after their betrothal and before their marriage.  It started with Mary’s return from visiting Elizabeth. She had just received news of John’s birth and the knowledge that Zacharias had regained his speech when he followed the instructions of the angel.  She invited Joseph over to tell him about Zacharias to see if he could believe that angels still spoke to men.  She also needed to tell him about the angel that had visited her and see what his feelings would be.  She first told him of the birth of John and about Zachariahs visit from the angel and asked Joseph if he believed about the angel that had visited Zacharias.  Joseph said he did believe.  Then with courage, which his belief gave her, she told him of the angel that had visited her and about the coming of the Messiah, finally conveying to him very subtly that the Messiah was on the way.  Of course, Joseph was confused and disappointed, and in despair when he left her.  He then was visited by an angel to help quiet his doubts and concerns.  He returns to Mary to let her know of his acceptance of his call to raise the Messiah and teach him the ways of a good man of the earth. (The actress did a great job of portraying Mary’s joy, trepidation, fear and joy again. The actor did a great job of showing his love for Mary, his mental and spiritual anguish and his acceptance of his role; he did not portray Joseph as ecstatic.  Maybe that would come later.) I don’t think I saw the actors touch each other once in the presentation.  I noted it.  One line that Joseph said at the beginning of the movie that he was not sure he should see her before the wedding.  Jewish customs were very different at that time of arranged marriages. It was a powerful experience to see how these two very human, but very good people accepted the great calls that were given to each of them.  I think it also showed that each one was willing to do the Lord’s will and that were each able to support the other.  Many great lessons taught in a very short video.

Yesterday, DeVere and I went to a reception of a young couple we have met here.  Young people, especially young men here, are as reluctant to get married as many of our young men at home.  But at last we got 2 of our young single adults married.  (The groom is 34 so is past YSA age by USA standards, but that is not uncommon over here…  different culture)

In Russia you must be married by the state.  So the young couple went to the government offices to get married.  We got to see the video of the ceremony.  Because during Soviet times it was illegal to get married in a church, the government had made an attempt to make the government office very nice.  The room was large and spacious and well lit.  The groom had paid for a stringed orchestra to play as they walked into the room.  They came about half way into the room and then stopped.  The official asked two short questions to which the answered yes. Then they sat at his desk and signed their names about 4 times each.  The marriage certificate was in a nice leather looking folder.  Then they went to another part of the room and had an exchange of rings and that was it.  I am not sure if they were married on Saturday or if that ceremony took place earlier in the week.  I’ll ask them when they get back from the temple.  Here in Russia and in other country’s where couples must be married civilly before they are married in a church,  couples may go to the temple within 30 days of their civil ceremony and get sealed in the temple,.  They don’t have to wait a year for obvious reasons.

The reception was help at our church.  They had a theme of creating a new family for eternity is space.  The chairs had white slipcovers over them and numbers on the first chair as if we were going on an airplane or space shuttle.  When the bride and groom arrived, we all stood and clapped for them.  They had a young lady for the emcee and she announced different activities as if she we a flight attendant.  Of course, we understood nothing, but as a colleague from work was there who went on a mission to New York, we got to know a little of what was going on.  Anna and Vitaly had played foosball each time they came to young single adults and the foosball table was in the room and they played a game.  They also played a game where you had to tie a group of people together with ribbon.  I couldn’t get the gist of that game.  Then different people came and made speeches and gave flowers to them.  I think the first person may have been her grandfather, and her mother spoke and then 2 or 3 others.  Then there was a video presentation.  They had made several little skits with friends and family.  The one I can remember was where Vitaly had to bribe his way into Anna’s apartment house be giving the concierge several piece of candy (40) and then he had to cut out a heart with the help of a friend and at last he got to the apartment where he kissed Anna as many times as pieces of candy.  (This is out of order; these skits came before the actual video of the ceremony.)

Finally it was time to eat.  The RS had helped put on a lovely buffet with salads, fish, fresh fruit and vegetable, and bread and rolls with meat inside.  After all had eaten, they had a dance.  It was very nice.  We don’t know what happened after that, we went home. We asked Boris (our colleague from work) if this was a typical reception and he didn’t know because he hadn’t been to very many.  We know that in some ways it was not typical because there was no alcohol or toasts, and that is typical of Russian weddings.  It was raining so I don’t know if they went to famous spots in Moscow and had their pictures taken there.  That is typical of Moscow weddings and we saw a wedding in another town once and they did the picture-taking thing there as well.

Well, this is a little longer than I planned on.  I hope it makes up a little for my dearth in writing lately.  We did go to Ukraine a couple of weeks ago and met some of our wonderful Humanitarian missionaries there.  We also about froze to death in one of our hotels and in the train going between towns.  The trains have attendants and they asked us if we wanted tea or coffee, which we politely declined.  They were worried about us as we sat bundled up in our compartment, but I remembered I had some hot chocolate packs in my suitcase so we asked for hot water.  The attendant sent DeVere back and said she would bring it to us, which she did in very nice glasses in pewter cup holders.  When we got to Dneprop, no one was there to met us so this lady found someone who could speak English to come and call our missionaries.  The attendant kept trying to talk to us.  She is learning English from her six year old and I know a few works in Russian so we did have a short conversation.  We said we would be fine but they didn’t leave us until our Elder’s arrived, and then they had a discussion about the church.  She wouldn’t take a Book of Mormon, but she did take a pamphlet about the church.  As she got on the train that had started to move she kept calling to us, “Drooga, Drooga”  ”Friends, friends”.  I must say that I felt as if I were her friend, she had been so kind to us and had genuinely tried to help us.  How I wish you could meet these good people and see how the Lord works in the lives of all his children to bring out the best in people.  One of the hardest things about a mission is knowing that you will never get to know these people well and knowing that that will be a loss in your life because they are so warm and have so much to give.

I promise I will stop writing now.  We love all of you; we pray for you and appreciate having so much support from home.

We love our mission and we love the Lord and our testimonies are growing.  Russia is a great place to serve.

Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, Arva and DeVere

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Missionary Thanksgiving Cake

Posted By burtons on December 1, 2009

Thanksgiving is an American holiday.  In Russia, it is a working day, and nobody pauses to give thanks for the blessings of a good year or freedom to choose.  So on Thursday, the senior missionary couples each invited the missionaries in their district to Thanksgiving dinner.  We could not find a turkey anywhere, so we settled for chicken.  Our sweet potato dish really came from a very sweet, green pumpkin (it also provided pumpkin pie).  Mashed potatoes and gravy with hot rolls and dressing made the Thanksgiving feast seem authentic, even to the two Russian missionaries.
 
The mission president had suggested that the young missionaries needed to help furnish the meal, and so they did.  The sister missionaries made some great cinamon rolls, brownies, and pie.  Some of the elders brought juice.  But one elder brought cake.  I give him credit for trying, but it turned out to be a great example of what happens when a church is missing one or more of the principles of the gospel in its doctrine.  It also demonstrated that it is not enough just to be sincere in what you do.  It is the most memorable cake I ever sampled, and I think everyone else felt the same.  Afterward, even the missionaries declined to take it home for a late snack.  That has to be a first!
 
The cake was not sweet. . . it tasted like a bland mixture of flour and water with no spices, baking soda, milk, eggs, or other normal cake ingredient.  It was about an inch thick and very heavy, so heavy that I’m quite sure there had to be some sand in it.  Less than half its thickness was actually cooked, and the rest consisted of the kind of dough that sticks to the top of your mouth.  I give thanks that we didn’t actually have to eat the cake.  I threw it out the 16th story window for the pigeons to eat, and noticed later that several of them appeared to be grounded, unable to fly.  Hey . . . there’s an idea for Sunday dinner.  It would be kind of a re-enactment of catching the quail that the Lord sent to feed the Children of Israel in the wilderness.
 
Missionary success has really improved in the past few months.  There are regular baptisms now, and the missionaries have more people to teach than they have had for a very long time.  We seem to be on the beginning edge of some wonderful success in this part of the world.
 
We will be traveling again soon.  First, we will make our third trip to Riga, Latvia as passport couriers.  After Christmas, we need to travel to provide encouragement and training to a missionary couple who live in one of the cities in Siberia (not the best time of year for this).  Late in January, we will be going to two cities in Ukraine to do the same thing. 

Christmas is celebrated here on January 7th . . . not December 25th.  I think we will celebrate it both times.  New Years happens twice.  Russia changed its calendar at some time in their history, and they celebrate the “new” New Year on January 1st like everyone else we know.  However, the “old” New Year is on January 13th, so everything shuts down between the old and new New Years for a two week celebration.  We have been told to make sure we have enough money out of the bank to get us through because the banks are closed the whole time as are many of the other businesses.  The ATMs run out of money and are not replenished until the holiday ends.  We’ll make sure we have enough food to last, too.
 
We are expecting winter to really strike with a vengeance one of these days.  So far, it has rained a lot and nearly every day is cloudy, but not much snow or freezing yet.  The daylight is getting very short.  We leave in the morning as it is beginning to get light, and walk home in darkness at 5:00 in the afternoon.  This will not begin to improve until Dec. 22nd.  We are now paying for the long days of summer when it did not get completely dark at night.
 
I have attached some photos of a recent project we did with a psychiatric hospital.  We furnished new mattresses and pillows for the residents.  The old mattresses were beginning to rot, and the pillows were 15 years old.  Such simple deeds bring much good will toward the church, and the staff members were most grateful.  More recently, we have visited an assisted living center and an orphanage where we hope to provide some assistance.  Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

The Burtons

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