Yesterday morning (Tuesday), in our devotional, we met Elder Dennis Neuenschwander, the former President of the Europe East Area, who gave our spiritual thought. Elder Neuenschwander was released has about a year ago, when his wife became terminally ill. She has sinced passed away and he gave a poignant summary of his life during these last days and moments with his dear wife. It was one of the sweetest recollections, I have ever heard. In sharing these private moments with us, he said something that I thought was particularly profound. Somehow the conversation meandered to, not a discussion of, but of an acknowledge of the mysteries of God. Then he made this statement. To me, he said, the mystery of God is how he builds a testimony in man. He went on to talk about experience and how God gives us experience to help us develop, but keeps just the right balance so as not to abridge our agency. Think about that for a moment. Not only is that a mystery, but it is also a miracle. As we have discussed previously in our family, who would trade their troubles for the troubles of another man? Who would take away the trials of our pioneer saints, to have made their lives easier? Who would have relieved Joseph of his suffering, or the Savior's? Not even God. Recall, the Savior's prayer in the Garden of Gethsamane. Each day is gift. Each trial an opportunity for growth.
It's snowing out there today and 5 degrees below freezing. Yesterday, it was dry, no snow on the paths and a balmy 35 degrees or so. We're not complaining, it is easy to walk in new fallen snow. It is a day or two after, when it turns to ice that it gets a bit dicey!!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Family Home Evening at the Shepard's
Tonight was FHE at the Shepard's. Our lesson was on the music. I introduced the group to the Church's interactive music player. If you haven't played with it, try it out at lds.org>gospel library>music> then drill down to the interactive music player. We sang hymns and started Christmas carolling with I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day and Come All Ye Faithful. We ended the evening with Cherry Cordial ice cream ala Baskin Robbins and mom's cranberry NUT bread! It was fun.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
It was a Turkey
A Russian TurkeyWhen we went shopping the other day we bought a 5-pound turkey (a chicken on steroids!) and it turned out to be a real turkey! It tasted like turkey. But it looked like a chicken! We had cranberry jello and cranberry dressing and cranberry bread. (We like cranberries!!). Anyway, it was as close as we could come to a real thanksgiving dinner. The turkey had no fat on it so it didn't look much like its American counterpart. So, as you can see by picture it looked pretty sad. (The blue plate that it is sitting on is a just a little bigger than a salad plate, to give you some perspective. I'll say it before you do: A Russian blue plate special!) However, with the benefit of a couple of hours in the oven, it turned out looking pretty good.
When we woke up this morning, it had snowed about 5 to 6 inches again, but it was very warm. about 38 degrees when we took off for church. By the time we got out of church, almost all of the streets and walkways were slushy or clear. This was our first time to go to church by ourselves. We took the bus to the metro and then switched lines in midtown and then walked about 3/4 of mile from the metro. No mishaps. We got up at 6:15 and were in our seats by 9:20. Sacrament meeting starts at 9:30! We were home by 3:00 p.m.
Mom near our apartment.
Mom with Church behind her.On Saturday night, we reciprocated with Natasha, one of our Russian neighbors. They had brought over a platter of shrimps the night before and last night we took them some warm cranberry bread. I hope they liked it.
We were going to watch an old Hitchcock movie this afternoon, an original of the "Man of Knew too Much." Forget about Doris Day and Que Sera Sera! Well, forget about the whole movie, because the two of fell asleep watching it. Not that it wasn't good, we just fell asleep.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
P-Day
It is overcast today, but a little warmer. More snow is melting from the walking paths and the streets. We took a pleasant little walk to the Brown's apartment to pick up some items that they were giving away. (They were kicked out of their apartment with just three months to go. But they found another one and are moving in today). We got an oscillating fan, some baking pans and a glass pitcher. We walked for about 10 minutes in the wrong direction, then made the course correction and probably walked about 1 hour in all. We washed sheets (as you can see from the pictures), mopped the floors, had lunch, and now mom is making cranberry nut bread and I am going to start on some church stuff (that I didn't get done Friday, because we left at noon to do some shopping).
Mom eating lunch next to our sheets on the drying rack
Our new fan
We cancelled our trip to Rosinka. It was just going to take more time than we had. Remember it takes about and hour to one and a half hours to get anywhere. If we stay a hour or two, that can take 5 hours or more.
But we do have a mini turkey defrosting that we hope to have for tomorrow. Its only 5 pounds. It looks like a chicken on steroids!! I hope it tastes like a turkey!
An example of your mother's resourcefulness; using her scarf as a tablecloth
Mom eating lunch next to our sheets on the drying rack
Our new fanWe cancelled our trip to Rosinka. It was just going to take more time than we had. Remember it takes about and hour to one and a half hours to get anywhere. If we stay a hour or two, that can take 5 hours or more.
But we do have a mini turkey defrosting that we hope to have for tomorrow. Its only 5 pounds. It looks like a chicken on steroids!! I hope it tastes like a turkey!
An example of your mother's resourcefulness; using her scarf as a tablecloth
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving!
Today was gorgeous. Brilliant sunshine...all day. Cold, but sun!! We have no complaints. Chris's luncheon was a huge success. We had two tasty desserts, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, a fruit salad, grandma dorothy's chicken caserole, bread, and juice. A lovely time was had by all. The Russians liked our holiday. Elena, gave as the topic for the morning devotional, thanksgiving. It was great. She was very moved and moved us as well with her sweet spirit. On another occassion I will have to tell you about the spirit of the Russians with whom we work. It is quite remarkable.
Tomorrow night we celebrate Thanksgiving with the senior missionaries and on Saturday, we are invited to join the Rosinka crowd for another Thanksgiving celebration. So while we don't have family, we do have family, and they have been very generous to include us in so many activities.
I almost finished the first cut of the annual calendar. Just a few more entries and then tomorrow we will try to reconcile the conflicts created by two many good things scheduled on the same days. It will be good to have that behind us.
Walking is getting to be a little treacherous, due to the melting and then freezing of the snow. However, this past snowfall is just about gone from the paths that we walk on to the office because there are many crews who have cleared and shovelled the roadways, parking lots and walkways, except for one 50-yard stretch. That one section is still about 3-4 inches thick with ice. Snow is still on the ground everywhere else.
Well, we hope you all have a great Thanskgiving and remember to give thanks for all of our many blessings. I hope its not too much to ask for a blessing to be on our Cowboys. The boys are back!! Go Tony Romo!!
Tomorrow night we celebrate Thanksgiving with the senior missionaries and on Saturday, we are invited to join the Rosinka crowd for another Thanksgiving celebration. So while we don't have family, we do have family, and they have been very generous to include us in so many activities.
I almost finished the first cut of the annual calendar. Just a few more entries and then tomorrow we will try to reconcile the conflicts created by two many good things scheduled on the same days. It will be good to have that behind us.
Walking is getting to be a little treacherous, due to the melting and then freezing of the snow. However, this past snowfall is just about gone from the paths that we walk on to the office because there are many crews who have cleared and shovelled the roadways, parking lots and walkways, except for one 50-yard stretch. That one section is still about 3-4 inches thick with ice. Snow is still on the ground everywhere else.
Well, we hope you all have a great Thanskgiving and remember to give thanks for all of our many blessings. I hope its not too much to ask for a blessing to be on our Cowboys. The boys are back!! Go Tony Romo!!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thanksgiving Eve
I am just finishing up working on the Area calendar for the night. I'm only on February, but I am beginning to move faster than I certainly was when I started. The challenge is working on a calendar where the data resides on a server, not your laptop. It is sloooowwww. But it will be good when it is complete.
Not much time to reflect on the fact that this is Chris' and my first Thanksgiving away from the family. No family, no turkey. But I can smell pumpkin bread in the kitchen!! Mom took it upon herself to organize a Thanksgiving celebration with our Russian collegues tomorrow at the office (lunch). All the trimings but no turkey, but we will have grandma Dorothy's chicken caserole. It should be good. We will miss not being with the family, but we will connect by way of video conference.
We celebrate with the seniors on Friday night (Thai food!(mom's favorite!)), so don't feel too sorry for us. We have lots of fun things to do...but no turkey??? Bah Humbug!!
Not much time to reflect on the fact that this is Chris' and my first Thanksgiving away from the family. No family, no turkey. But I can smell pumpkin bread in the kitchen!! Mom took it upon herself to organize a Thanksgiving celebration with our Russian collegues tomorrow at the office (lunch). All the trimings but no turkey, but we will have grandma Dorothy's chicken caserole. It should be good. We will miss not being with the family, but we will connect by way of video conference.
We celebrate with the seniors on Friday night (Thai food!(mom's favorite!)), so don't feel too sorry for us. We have lots of fun things to do...but no turkey??? Bah Humbug!!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sabbath Day
The alarm clock went off and we were are already stirring. Of course, we went to bed at 8:30 p.m., so tired were we from our 7 hour jaunt to the Red Square! We did well in the cold. Our clothes and boots are keeping us warm. Your face gets a little cool though. But as you have seen on the blog, I use the bandit approach with my scarf and it keeps me quite toasty! Chris's scarf is not as wide as mine. We will have to get her another one, or she can use mine and I can use my ski dickey that I brought. We stayed in this morning, because your mother's cough seems to be getting worse. So we thought a day out of the cold would do her good. With hindsight we probably should have stayed in yesterday. She has had her flu shot, pneumonia shot and a z-pack, so we don't know quite what else to do. We will check in with President Gibbons for a professional medical opinion, when he gets back later this next week.
I have been working on our area intranet site. I have a few features up and running like a calendar, announcements, actions items, minutes etc. I helped another department get started on theirs on Friday and created pages for all of the other departments to get started. This will be a fun project to see develop. I am learning how to use the software slowly, but I am learning. The training resources are scarce, but I have managed to capture the attention of the IT department. They are watching the development with interest, because this is the first project of this type for the Area. They are trying to get me some answers to some of my questions at this writing.
We received a DVD presentation on the Book of Mormon. I don't know if it is new or old, but we have never seen it. We thought we would make that our personal study for today, in lieu of church. We also received a copy of the Priesthood and Relief Society manual for next year, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. We look forward to getting started on that.
We had originally planned a last minute grab for circus tickets for Saturday night, but they were all sold out, so a group of us are going to pick a date for a future performance and buy them in advance. Most cultural events like the circus or ballet go for about 20 to 35 US dollars. Of course, you can pay more, but for the most part these events are quite affordable, even by US standards.
Today, we will try to video conference with Jason and his family when they get home from church (this will be the first time with them) and with the Deragons and the Sanchez family. If anybody else out there has a web cam set up on their computer, just instant message us on windows live messenger and we'll be glad to conference with you.
The sun is trying hard to break through, but without any great success, but even when it shows as just a glow behind a cloud, it really brightens things us here. I know how pitiful that must sound to all of you who live in the land of sunshine 330 plus days a year, but it really does make a difference here!!
Of course, 10 minutes later it is gone!!
I have been working on our area intranet site. I have a few features up and running like a calendar, announcements, actions items, minutes etc. I helped another department get started on theirs on Friday and created pages for all of the other departments to get started. This will be a fun project to see develop. I am learning how to use the software slowly, but I am learning. The training resources are scarce, but I have managed to capture the attention of the IT department. They are watching the development with interest, because this is the first project of this type for the Area. They are trying to get me some answers to some of my questions at this writing.
We received a DVD presentation on the Book of Mormon. I don't know if it is new or old, but we have never seen it. We thought we would make that our personal study for today, in lieu of church. We also received a copy of the Priesthood and Relief Society manual for next year, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. We look forward to getting started on that.
We had originally planned a last minute grab for circus tickets for Saturday night, but they were all sold out, so a group of us are going to pick a date for a future performance and buy them in advance. Most cultural events like the circus or ballet go for about 20 to 35 US dollars. Of course, you can pay more, but for the most part these events are quite affordable, even by US standards.
Today, we will try to video conference with Jason and his family when they get home from church (this will be the first time with them) and with the Deragons and the Sanchez family. If anybody else out there has a web cam set up on their computer, just instant message us on windows live messenger and we'll be glad to conference with you.
The sun is trying hard to break through, but without any great success, but even when it shows as just a glow behind a cloud, it really brightens things us here. I know how pitiful that must sound to all of you who live in the land of sunshine 330 plus days a year, but it really does make a difference here!!
Of course, 10 minutes later it is gone!!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
A Day at Red Square and the Market
So, our day day started with scrambled eggs and fried Canadian bacon (well I guess they would called it Russian) and a piece of toast with red rasberry jam. With that rib sticking meal we headed for the metro. It was the first time we ever changed lines by ourselves and we accomplished the task without a hitch. We rendezvoused with the Prices, five minutes ahead of schedule. Then we proceeded on the metro about 4 more stops until we got to this famous marketplace, though I can't remember it's name. I'll let you know later. The market is all outdoors. As you can see from the pictures, they don't let a little snow interfere with shopping. Mainly there are stacking dolls, coats, hats, chess sets, old antiques (or just old stuff?) and military metals. You can even get an official KGB pin!! Here is Chris sporting her new hat!
Here is my little babushka again in Sabarro's a little later in the GUM (pronounced Goom) Mall on Red Square.
And here she is again, in Red Square
We were going to eat at McDonalds, but we found a Sabarro's in GUM instead. (We had heard that McDonalds was next door to Sabarro's.) It turned out that it was. It just wasn't in GUM. When we finally found McDonalds, we were very happy to have found Sabarro's first. This must be the biggest volume store in all the world. It was huge and wall-to-wall with people.
Here is my little babushka again in Sabarro's a little later in the GUM (pronounced Goom) Mall on Red Square.
And here she is again, in Red Square
We were going to eat at McDonalds, but we found a Sabarro's in GUM instead. (We had heard that McDonalds was next door to Sabarro's.) It turned out that it was. It just wasn't in GUM. When we finally found McDonalds, we were very happy to have found Sabarro's first. This must be the biggest volume store in all the world. It was huge and wall-to-wall with people.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Our Commute
Getting started in the morning for our little Russian commute...or should I say night!!
Boots, our coats, gloves, a hat and scarf and we are off. Slushing through the snow. They start shoveling snow about 6:00 a.m. So you don't really need an alarm clock. The scraping sound is sufficient. This picture was taken at about 7:30 a.m. Today as we were traveling through a little wooded area Chris was startled by a "pack" of dogs that were approaching us. There were four buddies doing what dogs do when they are following each other. They never gave us a second look!! It is still warm. The cold weather is really six weeks away, according to the natives. It has been just about 5 degrees below freezing for about a week now. The temperature hardly ever moves.
Tomorrow we are going to Red Square! Our first touristy thing to do. We are going with the Prices. We will be sure to take plenty of pictures!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Guess Who's Coming for Dinner
Tonight we had dinner with Thomas Monson and his wife. The same Thomas Monson that gets the Thomas Monsons' mail by mistake when they are at home in the Provo area!! This is the same couple that went through the MTC with us. We had a very pleasant evening. We finished our chicken and rice soup, with some really fresh bakery bread and, of course, Baskin and Robbins ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Only one mistake today at the grocery store. Everyone said that you can't get maple syrup at the grocery store!! But you can, if you want to pay $19.00 for an 8.5 oz bottle which I did, not knowing quite what the price might be!!! Almost as good a story as the cashmere sweater that I bought Chris in England, when I thought the pounds were dollars!!
It was good to actually talk to so many of you yesterday. Give us a call anytime between 10:00 a.m. in the morning and 12:00 p.m., Dallas time, and you should get us.
The number is on the first page of the blog on the right hand side.
Only one mistake today at the grocery store. Everyone said that you can't get maple syrup at the grocery store!! But you can, if you want to pay $19.00 for an 8.5 oz bottle which I did, not knowing quite what the price might be!!! Almost as good a story as the cashmere sweater that I bought Chris in England, when I thought the pounds were dollars!!
It was good to actually talk to so many of you yesterday. Give us a call anytime between 10:00 a.m. in the morning and 12:00 p.m., Dallas time, and you should get us.
The number is on the first page of the blog on the right hand side.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
We Are Back!!!
We just got the internet. Who will be the first to call us at our vonage number. See the info posted on the sidebar. Hope to hear from you soon!!!
Sunday Morning Nov 11
Yesterday was full of pleasant surprises. I started the morning by taking my first walk from the apartment to the metro station (about 15 minutes). Next to the metro is a mall and I purchased a couple of surge protectors one for Elder Monson, the couple who were with us in the MTC, and one for myself. I was out by about 9:00 a.m. But when I got to my destination I noticed that the mall was not open. At first I didn’t realize that I was so early, so I started to head back. I couldn’t imagine with all of the people going to and from the metro that it would be closed. It was a puzzlement!! (from the King and I!). Then it dawned on me to check to my watch. The only clock that I had was my cell phone and it showed that it was 9:40 a.m. When I got back to the mall the signs said that it opened at 10:00 a.m. But I was convinced that it was more like 10:40 a.m. and that the cell phone that I had inherited had not been adjusted for daylight savings time. It just felt like 10:40 a.m. Haven’t you ever had that 10:40 a.m. feeling? Well, a phone call to the apartment cleared that all up, so I hung out for about 20 minutes and then made my purchases. I guess I will have to add that to my other daylight savings time story. (Remember New Mexico?, still one of the funniest episodes in my life!!)
On the way back, I stopped off at the grocery store to pick up a few things. Guess what I found? Packaged Baskin and Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream!! My all time favorite ice cream—in Russia! With ice cream in hand I stopped off to see the Monson’s apartment which is just a few apartment buildings from ours and on the way home. There apartment is nothing like ours. It is about the same size but it is entirely Russian. Their apartment will get them used to what they can expect when they depart for the hinterlands in about six weeks. It is what I would refer to as the minimum standard! We are quite fortunate to have found the apartment that we did. Even if it did take four weeks to find it!!
Sister Monson was suffering from an infection in her left eye. It was nearly closed shut. Her husband was out trying to find some medicine at one of the local pharmacies, but with no luck. Our visit was a short one (remember the ice cream!) and I started for home. Later that night, at the adult meeting of District Conference (Elder Brown, another senior missionary, said that he would go out before the meeting started to see if he could find Sister Monson her medicine. When he came back he had medicine in hand, but it was not exactly what the doctor had ordered. The pharmacy didn’t have what the doctor ordered so Elder Brown negotiated a substitute. You see, Elder Brown is a veterinarian. We joked that he ordered the same medicine for Sister Monson that he would have for his horses!! Well it seemed humorous at the time. (Postscript: The medicine seems to be working!!)
Elder Monson had to go to an earlier meeting, so Sister Monson accompanied us to the metro for our first time. We actually took a bus for the first time to get to the metro. Very crowded and unless you have all your valuables in one safe compartment like a purse, zipped up and held tightly in your arm, you don’t have a chance. First of all it is standing room only. Bumper to bumper (people that is)!! One hand is on the rail overhead. The other is free to hold your valuables and your wife!. All of your pockets are completely vulnerable to the cunning pick pocket standing next to you. Everywhere you go there are throngs of people. So you must be vigilant with your valuables.
The bus ride was only two stops, but on my way to the metro ticket counter, I lost a glove. It seemed rather unfair, since in the a.m., when I was hanging out, a little babushka walked by me and dropped both of her mittens, which I picked up and gave back to her. No such luck for me. The good news is the gloves were a light pair. My heavy duty gloves were still safely tucked away at the apartment.
We purchased two metro passes for twenty rides each. You can purchase many varieties of tickets, the most popular being a month’s pass with unlimited travel. But they count the month by the first of month only, so it makes no since to buy an unlimited travel ticket in the middle of the month. The cost is 250 rubles per pass, or 12.5 rubles per trip, or about 50 cents. Finally, a bargain!! On our way home we purchased a bus pass for 20 trips and it cost 260 rubles. Go figure!!
The metro is very fast. If it ever jumped the rails, the passengers would be like splattered paint against one side of the car! They start like a bullet and stop on a dime, so you have to hold on tightly. We traveled in about 25 minutes what would take up to two hours to do by car, due to traffic. It is a terrific system. Very efficient. Some of the stations are quite ornate, like our train stations of old!!
The metro runs very deep into the ground. I took a few pictures of the escalator that brings you out of the station. Very long and very steep. When people are walking on them they look quite funny, as though they are leaning backwards (a lot) when going downhill.
For a two hour meeting, we left at 4:00 p.m. and returned home after 9:30 p.m., including stopping by the store on the way home. Today, we will leave at 9:30 a.m. and return by 3:00 p.m. Today’s meeting will be held in a leased building, because our chapels will not hold all the people. This conference is for two districts, like two mini stakes. We had about 380 people to our meetings last night. It holds about 360!! Today there should be about 800.
(I’m back.) We actually had 830 or so; about a 100 more than the last conference. That is about 39 percent of the total church population in Moscow (There are just over 2,000 members among the 13 million moscovites).
For the people of the Moscow and Moscow West Districts this was a very special conference, because David Bednar, an apostle of Jesus Christ, had traveled several thousand miles to address them. Think of this event as the saints in Corinth or Ephesus might have felt when Paul traveled to address them. It was so important then that they made a copy of his addresses and letters where they are safeguarded to this day in the New Testament. I thought you might like to hear what an Apostle has to say to His (Jesus Christ) followers in our day. I am going to attempt to summarize Elder Bednar’s two addresses. Remember, this is not what Elder Bednar said; it is my best interpretation of what he said. I will do the last one first, just because it is the freshest in my mind.
Address No. 2
After greeting the people and expressing the love that President Hinckley, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have for the Russian people, he addressed the many nonmembers that were present in the audience. He indicated that many people in Russia don’t know too much about the members of the Church, but assured them that when they got to know us they would find out that we are quite ordinary people who testify of Jesus Christ.
He suggested that those in the audience may wonder why we are so anxious to share the gospel. Then he told a story of about two of his boys (he has three). They were playing in front of the house one day (they were little tykes at the time) when one of them fell down and scraped his elbow. He and sister Bednar happened to be looking out the window at the time of the accident. Their immediate response was to rush to the child’s aid, but the response by the older brother caused them to pause and just observe. The older brother helped the younger brother back into the house and began to administer first aid. All the while mom and dad were observing from afar. The older brother proceeded to scrub the dirt from the wound. The little brother began weeping and wailing. After the scubbing was complete, the older brother began to apply the ointment. There was nearly a full tube when he began and it was nearly empty when he finished. It had been applied with great generosity. Then the band aids were applied—lots of them. By the time they had finished the little brother was no longer crying. Then to the Bednar’s surprise, the little brother took the tube of ointment and the remaining band aids outside and began administering to his friends. All he wanted to do was to share with his friends.
When we have spiritual wounds healed, we only have one desire, to share the source of that healing with those we love. Please accept it as the finest compliment that we can give—an invitation to know Jesus Christ.
Then from the Book of Mormon, he drew a comparison of his theme to Lehi’s Dream. In his dream the primary element was a tree, with fruit that was “most sweet, above all that [he] had ever tasted. In 1 Nephi 7:12, Lehi continues…
“And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I know that it was desirable above all other fruit.”
In this dream, the tree represented Jesus Christ and the fruit represented the blessings of the atonement. He defined missionary work as “the result of the affect of the atonement in our lives.” (When I use quotes this is my best recollection only.) If you want to be a successful missionary, become more fully converted, then we will always have people in our home being taught by the missionaries. [And I would add, we will have the same desire as Alma (See Mosiah 28:3).
“Now they (Alma and four sons of Mosiah) were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish…]
He went on to say, “Opening our mouths to share the gospel is the natural consequence of our understanding of the atonement in our lives.”
Then he suggested a related principal, faith. Nephi was commanded to get the Plates of Brass (the record of his people) from his wicked uncle, Laban. In this story, Nephi is told what he must do, but he is not told how he should accomplish it. In 1 Nephi 4:6, it states, “And I was led by the Spirit , not know beforehand the things which I should do.” Nephi and his brothers make three attempts to get the plates. Surely, Nephi was praying to know the will of the Lord, but when did he receive his answer?
Then Elder Bednar defined faith in terms of Action and Power. He said that faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ, always leads to action. There are many times that we may believe, but are not willing to act. Faith requires action.
Then he asked us to imagine that he was in a column of light and that outside that column it was black as night. Next, he suggested that the Lord asks him to move into the darkness and that as he does the light will move. Then he surmised that most of us would like the light to move first, before we would take our first step. We would pray for the light to move!! Then he referenced an oft quoted scripture, Ether 12:6, “…for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.”
Next he quoted Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So, I hope the light moves; then we act (having faith in Jesus Christ that it will move); then we see the evidence of things not seen.
Back to Nephi. Nephi acted based on his faith in Jesus Christ. He did not know how the Brass Plates would be recovered, but on his third attempt, he found Laban in a state that allowed him to obtain the plates. The answer to Nephi’s prayer did not happen while he was in the tent; but only after he had put one foot after the other and was in Laban’s presence.
Then he summarized. Only as we act in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ does the atonement take affect in a manner to give us power. We have strength and power to forgive, to have patience, to serve and to love. Over time, our faith increases with experience. We become more fully converted to the gospel. Our very nature changes, as we become more like Christ. We become new men and new women. We throw off the natural man. We become “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 3:20). This happens not just because we setting goals and trying hard but because we become more than we are presently. We grow and we gain strength, through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Then he made this statement. “The family is the best place to nurture our faith and change our nature. He indicated that we can become hypocrites as we come to church and act one way and still another when we are home with, in this case, our wives and our children. He indicated that anyone who treats either of these harshly or inappropriately, though he has had hands placed upon his head and given the priesthood—he has no priesthood (See D&C 121:37). We may fool people outside of the house, but those who live with us know our strengths and weakness. Don’t our children really know who we are? The home is the best place to exercise our faith and develop power. Righteous actions lead to power through the atonement of Jesus Christ—power sufficient to change our lives.
Doesn’t it make sense that the adversary would spend his energy attacking our homes, our families and the church? [It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. He will be there to fight us every inch of the way (my thoughts).]
Then he concluded by bestowing a blessing upon the congregation. He blessed them with more faith and power that will come as we act upon what we know to be true.
Address No. 1
A member who spoke immediately before President Gibbons and Elder Bednar, suggested that as the church struggles to gain ground in Moscow (and all of Russia), that the Lord had sent in the heavy artillery, meaning Elder Bednar. It was a very poignant moment.
He began (with Dima, our family history director, translating):
I am grateful to bring in the heavy artillery. He suggested that the “heavy artillery” was manifested in two ways; Keys and Revelation.
Keys (Divine Authority, Meaning Priesthood Keys)
He said that when he was called and ordained as an Apostle, by the laying on of hands, that he was given all the priesthood keys. He did not obtain these keys through seminary study; he was called by one having authority following the same pattern that has been followed throughout all of history (Hebrews 5:4)
Revelation (Divine Revelation)
Then he indicated that many believe that the heavens are closed. Some believe that everything that was ever meant to be communicated from God to his children has been communicated. He declared that God has spoken and will do so again. He outline numerous occasions when heavenly messengers have visited the earth in the latter days. It was by direct revelation that divine authority was restored, the keys of the priesthood. (Think of keys as authority to act in God’s name.)
Each Apostle receives all the keys that have been restored. So why did he send the heavy artillery to Moscow? He said, you will know before I do.
Then he shared several times when he has been on assignment and how the keys have been used. He indicated a story about how a man who overcame a word of wisdom problem and how a nonmember married to a member helped his wife back to activity in the church and joined himself, all because the keys were there. Then he asked again, why are the keys here in Moscow? He suggested that for some they need to hear Sister Bednar’s testimony and sat down for her to speak. (Lidia, a young, married woman in our office translated for Sister Bednar).
She indicated that she was from a town of about 1800 people. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she would ever come to Moscow, having grown up in the Cold War era. She said that Elder Bednar said to her before the meeting began that they will be back to Moscow and there will be several stakes we they do come.
There was quite a laugh when Lidia tried to translate her reference to the Bible Belt. One of the brethren stepped up and helped her with a more appropriate translation. This was an English phrase that she had never heard before!!
When sister Bednar finished, Elder Bednar addressed the audience again. He said that he prayed that we would hear more than he would say. That we would have ears to hear things not yet heard.
Elder Bednar had just recently returned from Japan where a Young Single Adult gathering from around the entire country of approximately. There were approximately 2,000 in attendance. He said he took a picture of the gathering and took it back to show President Hinckley. President Hinckley remarked, “David, this is a miracle. When I first arrived in Japan, there were no members, not one.” In the Philippines, he left 6 missionaries. Sister Hinckley remarked, “You can’t just leave them here.” Today, there are hundreds of thousands of members in the Philippines. There are temples everywhere.
Elder Faust was one of the first missionaries to go to Brazil. Now there are hundreds of stakes.
Joseph Smith in the Kirtland told the brethren, “You know no more about the destiny of this church than a babe on the laps of its mother.” (paraphrased) He prophesized that it would one day fill the whole earth. That was only 170 years ago.
Then he talked about the saints as they were driven from New York to Ohio to Missouri, to Illinois and finally to Utah. No aspect of the history of the church was easy. But what happened to this people. Those who fell away, those who did not keep their covenants fell away into obscurity. Those that went west had the fire of the covenant in their souls, despite the hardships and loss of family members. These people had been refined in a furnace of adversity. The lukewarm were lost along the way. They build a firm foundation of strength. Can you see the parallel in Moscow? Some press forward; their friends mock; employment is denied; the adversary rages. But what do we have here? THE FOUNDATION TO BUILD THE CHURCH IN MOSOW. The church in Moscow is not about numbers, but strength. The work has never been easy, so stop wondering why it is so hard! If it wasn’t the work of the Lord, the adversary would not work against it. The costs are high; the work demands the fire of the covenant.
Then he said, “I think I know why the keys were sent to Moscow.” Then he said, “You can do this. He knows you can do this. He will help you do this.
He said that if he is permitted to live a couple of more decades, I will hear people say, “What was it like when there were only two districts in Moscow? What was it like in those early pioneering days?”
Then he indicated that he wanted to talk about the future of strong disciples of Christ. Let me teach you a principle. Then he quoted Mosiah 3:19. We are to respond to the enticings of the Holy Ghost and put off the natural man…to become a saint. Stop doing bad things, those things which are contrary to the will of God and start doing something good. The he talked about the people in the days of King Benjamin (they had no more desire to sin).
Then he said, you hear people say, “Living the Gospel is hard!” Then he gave a stiff rebuke, “False!!” Living the Gospel is not hard. What is so engaging about the world? To see a loved one with no eternity--now that is hard. Death is sad but not hard. It’s only hard if we do it by ourselves. There is a strengthening power in the atonement. Draw upon it.
Then he sighted the Nephi’s breaking the bands that had been put upon him by his brothers. Listen to his pray. “Grant me strength, that I may burst these bands.” Not, get me out of here and hit my brothers!” At the point where he could have quit, he did not. He persisted. Not because of his own strength, but because of the strength of the Lord.
Fighting against a superior enemy is not about numbers; it’s about strength! (See Alma 58) And it is about the atonement, to cleanse us and to strengthen us. Remember both.
This changes everything. Give me the strength to endure my adversity. Let me learn from my illness, if that is what thou wilt have me do. Not as I will, but thy will be done. Do so to become more like Christ. Enduring to the end is not so much getting through adversity as it is becoming more like Christ. (My thoughts)
Did the answer to pray come early? No. How arrogant it is to blame God, when the answer does not arrive on our timetable. This is a lesson to learn for eternity. I will bless you with patience and strength.
In the depths of our adversity, we may cry out that no one understands us. But that is not true. There is One who does…even Jesus Christ. He has suffered not only for your sins, but for your afflictions and your illness. He does understand!! There is no loneliness with Christ in our lives. This is the strengthening power of the atonement. It is available to every member of the church.
Speaking of the pioneers, “The fire in the covenant gave them the strength. They were determined to accomplish that which could not have been accomplished without the strengthening power of the Savior’s atonement.
If you are going about life on your own, it will always be hard. With Jesus Christ is will be demanding, but not hard. He will not leave you comfortless.
He then ended with his testimony. He invoked a blessing of increasing confidence born of the Holy Ghost. He said that we can do it. As we study the Book of Mormon it will transform you, just like the small band of saints in the days of King Benjamin.
Monday
Today, we walked for the first time to work! It wouldn’t have been so bad except that I left my wallet (which had my building pass) back at the apartment, so I left Chris after covering about ¼ of the distance and ran back, got my wallet and caught her about two-thirds of the way to work. The warm days of a week ago are gone. It snows a little bit every day now. The temperature now hovers just below freezing everyday. Today, there was a good wind chill factor that I am sure brought the temperature to the equivalent of 20 degrees F.
At work, with the help of some friends, we have an appointment to have the internet installed in our apartment. We will meet the people tomorrow around noon. But if it is anything like the US, who knows? But hopefully we will be up and running by the end of the day.
Tonight, the Browns, brought home made enchiladas and a cooked vegetable dish that was quite a treat. We ate at the office building in the kitchen area, then the Browns, Prices and Shepards headed for the Metro to have Family Home Evening with the other Senior Missionaries. It is the longest metro line we could take. We are in N. Central Moscow and the Abrams, who were hosting the FHE, are in the S. East section of town. Our journey took 20 stops one way or about one and a half hours with walking on both ends. It took another hour and half to get home. We spent about an hour with the group. We were treated to vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup (homemade here) and brownies. We discussed the things we were taught at conference.
We are home now and we are warm. We left the radiant floor heater at the entry on all day by mistake, but it was a pleasure to take off our shoes and feel the warmth of the floor.
Tomorrow, we are going in an hour early, but we will leave at 11:30 a.m to make our internet connection. We won’t be going back to office until tomorrow.
Sunday Morning Nov 11
Yesterday was full of pleasant surprises. I started the morning by taking my first walk from the apartment to the metro station (about 15 minutes). Next to the metro is a mall and I purchased a couple of surge protectors one for Elder Monson, the couple who were with us in the MTC, and one for myself. I was out by about 9:00 a.m. But when I got to my destination I noticed that the mall was not open. At first I didn’t realize that I was so early, so I started to head back. I couldn’t imagine with all of the people going to and from the metro that it would be closed. It was a puzzlement!! (from the King and I!). Then it dawned on me to check to my watch. The only clock that I had was my cell phone and it showed that it was 9:40 a.m. When I got back to the mall the signs said that it opened at 10:00 a.m. But I was convinced that it was more like 10:40 a.m. and that the cell phone that I had inherited had not been adjusted for daylight savings time. It just felt like 10:40 a.m. Haven’t you ever had that 10:40 a.m. feeling? Well, a phone call to the apartment cleared that all up, so I hung out for about 20 minutes and then made my purchases. I guess I will have to add that to my other daylight savings time story. (Remember New Mexico?, still one of the funniest episodes in my life!!)
On the way back, I stopped off at the grocery store to pick up a few things. Guess what I found? Packaged Baskin and Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream!! My all time favorite ice cream—in Russia! With ice cream in hand I stopped off to see the Monson’s apartment which is just a few apartment buildings from ours and on the way home. There apartment is nothing like ours. It is about the same size but it is entirely Russian. Their apartment will get them used to what they can expect when they depart for the hinterlands in about six weeks. It is what I would refer to as the minimum standard! We are quite fortunate to have found the apartment that we did. Even if it did take four weeks to find it!!
Sister Monson was suffering from an infection in her left eye. It was nearly closed shut. Her husband was out trying to find some medicine at one of the local pharmacies, but with no luck. Our visit was a short one (remember the ice cream!) and I started for home. Later that night, at the adult meeting of District Conference (Elder Brown, another senior missionary, said that he would go out before the meeting started to see if he could find Sister Monson her medicine. When he came back he had medicine in hand, but it was not exactly what the doctor had ordered. The pharmacy didn’t have what the doctor ordered so Elder Brown negotiated a substitute. You see, Elder Brown is a veterinarian. We joked that he ordered the same medicine for Sister Monson that he would have for his horses!! Well it seemed humorous at the time. (Postscript: The medicine seems to be working!!)
Elder Monson had to go to an earlier meeting, so Sister Monson accompanied us to the metro for our first time. We actually took a bus for the first time to get to the metro. Very crowded and unless you have all your valuables in one safe compartment like a purse, zipped up and held tightly in your arm, you don’t have a chance. First of all it is standing room only. Bumper to bumper (people that is)!! One hand is on the rail overhead. The other is free to hold your valuables and your wife!. All of your pockets are completely vulnerable to the cunning pick pocket standing next to you. Everywhere you go there are throngs of people. So you must be vigilant with your valuables.
The bus ride was only two stops, but on my way to the metro ticket counter, I lost a glove. It seemed rather unfair, since in the a.m., when I was hanging out, a little babushka walked by me and dropped both of her mittens, which I picked up and gave back to her. No such luck for me. The good news is the gloves were a light pair. My heavy duty gloves were still safely tucked away at the apartment.
We purchased two metro passes for twenty rides each. You can purchase many varieties of tickets, the most popular being a month’s pass with unlimited travel. But they count the month by the first of month only, so it makes no since to buy an unlimited travel ticket in the middle of the month. The cost is 250 rubles per pass, or 12.5 rubles per trip, or about 50 cents. Finally, a bargain!! On our way home we purchased a bus pass for 20 trips and it cost 260 rubles. Go figure!!
The metro is very fast. If it ever jumped the rails, the passengers would be like splattered paint against one side of the car! They start like a bullet and stop on a dime, so you have to hold on tightly. We traveled in about 25 minutes what would take up to two hours to do by car, due to traffic. It is a terrific system. Very efficient. Some of the stations are quite ornate, like our train stations of old!!
The metro runs very deep into the ground. I took a few pictures of the escalator that brings you out of the station. Very long and very steep. When people are walking on them they look quite funny, as though they are leaning backwards (a lot) when going downhill.
For a two hour meeting, we left at 4:00 p.m. and returned home after 9:30 p.m., including stopping by the store on the way home. Today, we will leave at 9:30 a.m. and return by 3:00 p.m. Today’s meeting will be held in a leased building, because our chapels will not hold all the people. This conference is for two districts, like two mini stakes. We had about 380 people to our meetings last night. It holds about 360!! Today there should be about 800.
(I’m back.) We actually had 830 or so; about a 100 more than the last conference. That is about 39 percent of the total church population in Moscow (There are just over 2,000 members among the 13 million moscovites).
For the people of the Moscow and Moscow West Districts this was a very special conference, because David Bednar, an apostle of Jesus Christ, had traveled several thousand miles to address them. Think of this event as the saints in Corinth or Ephesus might have felt when Paul traveled to address them. It was so important then that they made a copy of his addresses and letters where they are safeguarded to this day in the New Testament. I thought you might like to hear what an Apostle has to say to His (Jesus Christ) followers in our day. I am going to attempt to summarize Elder Bednar’s two addresses. Remember, this is not what Elder Bednar said; it is my best interpretation of what he said. I will do the last one first, just because it is the freshest in my mind.
Address No. 2
After greeting the people and expressing the love that President Hinckley, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have for the Russian people, he addressed the many nonmembers that were present in the audience. He indicated that many people in Russia don’t know too much about the members of the Church, but assured them that when they got to know us they would find out that we are quite ordinary people who testify of Jesus Christ.
He suggested that those in the audience may wonder why we are so anxious to share the gospel. Then he told a story of about two of his boys (he has three). They were playing in front of the house one day (they were little tykes at the time) when one of them fell down and scraped his elbow. He and sister Bednar happened to be looking out the window at the time of the accident. Their immediate response was to rush to the child’s aid, but the response by the older brother caused them to pause and just observe. The older brother helped the younger brother back into the house and began to administer first aid. All the while mom and dad were observing from afar. The older brother proceeded to scrub the dirt from the wound. The little brother began weeping and wailing. After the scubbing was complete, the older brother began to apply the ointment. There was nearly a full tube when he began and it was nearly empty when he finished. It had been applied with great generosity. Then the band aids were applied—lots of them. By the time they had finished the little brother was no longer crying. Then to the Bednar’s surprise, the little brother took the tube of ointment and the remaining band aids outside and began administering to his friends. All he wanted to do was to share with his friends.
When we have spiritual wounds healed, we only have one desire, to share the source of that healing with those we love. Please accept it as the finest compliment that we can give—an invitation to know Jesus Christ.
Then from the Book of Mormon, he drew a comparison of his theme to Lehi’s Dream. In his dream the primary element was a tree, with fruit that was “most sweet, above all that [he] had ever tasted. In 1 Nephi 7:12, Lehi continues…
“And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I know that it was desirable above all other fruit.”
In this dream, the tree represented Jesus Christ and the fruit represented the blessings of the atonement. He defined missionary work as “the result of the affect of the atonement in our lives.” (When I use quotes this is my best recollection only.) If you want to be a successful missionary, become more fully converted, then we will always have people in our home being taught by the missionaries. [And I would add, we will have the same desire as Alma (See Mosiah 28:3).
“Now they (Alma and four sons of Mosiah) were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish…]
He went on to say, “Opening our mouths to share the gospel is the natural consequence of our understanding of the atonement in our lives.”
Then he suggested a related principal, faith. Nephi was commanded to get the Plates of Brass (the record of his people) from his wicked uncle, Laban. In this story, Nephi is told what he must do, but he is not told how he should accomplish it. In 1 Nephi 4:6, it states, “And I was led by the Spirit , not know beforehand the things which I should do.” Nephi and his brothers make three attempts to get the plates. Surely, Nephi was praying to know the will of the Lord, but when did he receive his answer?
Then Elder Bednar defined faith in terms of Action and Power. He said that faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ, always leads to action. There are many times that we may believe, but are not willing to act. Faith requires action.
Then he asked us to imagine that he was in a column of light and that outside that column it was black as night. Next, he suggested that the Lord asks him to move into the darkness and that as he does the light will move. Then he surmised that most of us would like the light to move first, before we would take our first step. We would pray for the light to move!! Then he referenced an oft quoted scripture, Ether 12:6, “…for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.”
Next he quoted Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So, I hope the light moves; then we act (having faith in Jesus Christ that it will move); then we see the evidence of things not seen.
Back to Nephi. Nephi acted based on his faith in Jesus Christ. He did not know how the Brass Plates would be recovered, but on his third attempt, he found Laban in a state that allowed him to obtain the plates. The answer to Nephi’s prayer did not happen while he was in the tent; but only after he had put one foot after the other and was in Laban’s presence.
Then he summarized. Only as we act in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ does the atonement take affect in a manner to give us power. We have strength and power to forgive, to have patience, to serve and to love. Over time, our faith increases with experience. We become more fully converted to the gospel. Our very nature changes, as we become more like Christ. We become new men and new women. We throw off the natural man. We become “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 3:20). This happens not just because we setting goals and trying hard but because we become more than we are presently. We grow and we gain strength, through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Then he made this statement. “The family is the best place to nurture our faith and change our nature. He indicated that we can become hypocrites as we come to church and act one way and still another when we are home with, in this case, our wives and our children. He indicated that anyone who treats either of these harshly or inappropriately, though he has had hands placed upon his head and given the priesthood—he has no priesthood (See D&C 121:37). We may fool people outside of the house, but those who live with us know our strengths and weakness. Don’t our children really know who we are? The home is the best place to exercise our faith and develop power. Righteous actions lead to power through the atonement of Jesus Christ—power sufficient to change our lives.
Doesn’t it make sense that the adversary would spend his energy attacking our homes, our families and the church? [It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. He will be there to fight us every inch of the way (my thoughts).]
Then he concluded by bestowing a blessing upon the congregation. He blessed them with more faith and power that will come as we act upon what we know to be true.
Address No. 1
A member who spoke immediately before President Gibbons and Elder Bednar, suggested that as the church struggles to gain ground in Moscow (and all of Russia), that the Lord had sent in the heavy artillery, meaning Elder Bednar. It was a very poignant moment.
He began (with Dima, our family history director, translating):
I am grateful to bring in the heavy artillery. He suggested that the “heavy artillery” was manifested in two ways; Keys and Revelation.
Keys (Divine Authority, Meaning Priesthood Keys)
He said that when he was called and ordained as an Apostle, by the laying on of hands, that he was given all the priesthood keys. He did not obtain these keys through seminary study; he was called by one having authority following the same pattern that has been followed throughout all of history (Hebrews 5:4)
Revelation (Divine Revelation)
Then he indicated that many believe that the heavens are closed. Some believe that everything that was ever meant to be communicated from God to his children has been communicated. He declared that God has spoken and will do so again. He outline numerous occasions when heavenly messengers have visited the earth in the latter days. It was by direct revelation that divine authority was restored, the keys of the priesthood. (Think of keys as authority to act in God’s name.)
Each Apostle receives all the keys that have been restored. So why did he send the heavy artillery to Moscow? He said, you will know before I do.
Then he shared several times when he has been on assignment and how the keys have been used. He indicated a story about how a man who overcame a word of wisdom problem and how a nonmember married to a member helped his wife back to activity in the church and joined himself, all because the keys were there. Then he asked again, why are the keys here in Moscow? He suggested that for some they need to hear Sister Bednar’s testimony and sat down for her to speak. (Lidia, a young, married woman in our office translated for Sister Bednar).
She indicated that she was from a town of about 1800 people. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she would ever come to Moscow, having grown up in the Cold War era. She said that Elder Bednar said to her before the meeting began that they will be back to Moscow and there will be several stakes we they do come.
There was quite a laugh when Lidia tried to translate her reference to the Bible Belt. One of the brethren stepped up and helped her with a more appropriate translation. This was an English phrase that she had never heard before!!
When sister Bednar finished, Elder Bednar addressed the audience again. He said that he prayed that we would hear more than he would say. That we would have ears to hear things not yet heard.
Elder Bednar had just recently returned from Japan where a Young Single Adult gathering from around the entire country of approximately. There were approximately 2,000 in attendance. He said he took a picture of the gathering and took it back to show President Hinckley. President Hinckley remarked, “David, this is a miracle. When I first arrived in Japan, there were no members, not one.” In the Philippines, he left 6 missionaries. Sister Hinckley remarked, “You can’t just leave them here.” Today, there are hundreds of thousands of members in the Philippines. There are temples everywhere.
Elder Faust was one of the first missionaries to go to Brazil. Now there are hundreds of stakes.
Joseph Smith in the Kirtland told the brethren, “You know no more about the destiny of this church than a babe on the laps of its mother.” (paraphrased) He prophesized that it would one day fill the whole earth. That was only 170 years ago.
Then he talked about the saints as they were driven from New York to Ohio to Missouri, to Illinois and finally to Utah. No aspect of the history of the church was easy. But what happened to this people. Those who fell away, those who did not keep their covenants fell away into obscurity. Those that went west had the fire of the covenant in their souls, despite the hardships and loss of family members. These people had been refined in a furnace of adversity. The lukewarm were lost along the way. They build a firm foundation of strength. Can you see the parallel in Moscow? Some press forward; their friends mock; employment is denied; the adversary rages. But what do we have here? THE FOUNDATION TO BUILD THE CHURCH IN MOSOW. The church in Moscow is not about numbers, but strength. The work has never been easy, so stop wondering why it is so hard! If it wasn’t the work of the Lord, the adversary would not work against it. The costs are high; the work demands the fire of the covenant.
Then he said, “I think I know why the keys were sent to Moscow.” Then he said, “You can do this. He knows you can do this. He will help you do this.
He said that if he is permitted to live a couple of more decades, I will hear people say, “What was it like when there were only two districts in Moscow? What was it like in those early pioneering days?”
Then he indicated that he wanted to talk about the future of strong disciples of Christ. Let me teach you a principle. Then he quoted Mosiah 3:19. We are to respond to the enticings of the Holy Ghost and put off the natural man…to become a saint. Stop doing bad things, those things which are contrary to the will of God and start doing something good. The he talked about the people in the days of King Benjamin (they had no more desire to sin).
Then he said, you hear people say, “Living the Gospel is hard!” Then he gave a stiff rebuke, “False!!” Living the Gospel is not hard. What is so engaging about the world? To see a loved one with no eternity--now that is hard. Death is sad but not hard. It’s only hard if we do it by ourselves. There is a strengthening power in the atonement. Draw upon it.
Then he sighted the Nephi’s breaking the bands that had been put upon him by his brothers. Listen to his pray. “Grant me strength, that I may burst these bands.” Not, get me out of here and hit my brothers!” At the point where he could have quit, he did not. He persisted. Not because of his own strength, but because of the strength of the Lord.
Fighting against a superior enemy is not about numbers; it’s about strength! (See Alma 58) And it is about the atonement, to cleanse us and to strengthen us. Remember both.
This changes everything. Give me the strength to endure my adversity. Let me learn from my illness, if that is what thou wilt have me do. Not as I will, but thy will be done. Do so to become more like Christ. Enduring to the end is not so much getting through adversity as it is becoming more like Christ. (My thoughts)
Did the answer to pray come early? No. How arrogant it is to blame God, when the answer does not arrive on our timetable. This is a lesson to learn for eternity. I will bless you with patience and strength.
In the depths of our adversity, we may cry out that no one understands us. But that is not true. There is One who does…even Jesus Christ. He has suffered not only for your sins, but for your afflictions and your illness. He does understand!! There is no loneliness with Christ in our lives. This is the strengthening power of the atonement. It is available to every member of the church.
Speaking of the pioneers, “The fire in the covenant gave them the strength. They were determined to accomplish that which could not have been accomplished without the strengthening power of the Savior’s atonement.
If you are going about life on your own, it will always be hard. With Jesus Christ is will be demanding, but not hard. He will not leave you comfortless.
He then ended with his testimony. He invoked a blessing of increasing confidence born of the Holy Ghost. He said that we can do it. As we study the Book of Mormon it will transform you, just like the small band of saints in the days of King Benjamin.
Monday
Today, we walked for the first time to work! It wouldn’t have been so bad except that I left my wallet (which had my building pass) back at the apartment, so I left Chris after covering about ¼ of the distance and ran back, got my wallet and caught her about two-thirds of the way to work. The warm days of a week ago are gone. It snows a little bit every day now. The temperature now hovers just below freezing everyday. Today, there was a good wind chill factor that I am sure brought the temperature to the equivalent of 20 degrees F.
At work, with the help of some friends, we have an appointment to have the internet installed in our apartment. We will meet the people tomorrow around noon. But if it is anything like the US, who knows? But hopefully we will be up and running by the end of the day.
Tonight, the Browns, brought home made enchiladas and a cooked vegetable dish that was quite a treat. We ate at the office building in the kitchen area, then the Browns, Prices and Shepards headed for the Metro to have Family Home Evening with the other Senior Missionaries. It is the longest metro line we could take. We are in N. Central Moscow and the Abrams, who were hosting the FHE, are in the S. East section of town. Our journey took 20 stops one way or about one and a half hours with walking on both ends. It took another hour and half to get home. We spent about an hour with the group. We were treated to vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup (homemade here) and brownies. We discussed the things we were taught at conference.
We are home now and we are warm. We left the radiant floor heater at the entry on all day by mistake, but it was a pleasure to take off our shoes and feel the warmth of the floor.
Tomorrow, we are going in an hour early, but we will leave at 11:30 a.m to make our internet connection. We won’t be going back to office until tomorrow.
Friday, November 9, 2007
For the Moms
Here is a little humor that made it all the way to Russia. For moms and enlightened dads.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anSpBUxsgAU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anSpBUxsgAU
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Moscow Calling
Well, maybe not immediately. I am a little anxious about how long it will take to get internet service. I hear on the one hand that there are plenty of companies and that it is very competitive, about 400 rubles a month, or $20 or so. I have also heard that it is fsster than the office internet, which is very fast, so that is encouraging. But nothing ever gets done very quickly in Russia. So only TIME will tell.
We have been officially assigned to the International Branch. The Presidency is concerned about the workload that they have for us and are afraid that a Russian branch assignment might distract our efforts. Chris is thrilled. She has met so many nice people and I have to admit, it does feel a little like home for a few hours a week!!
Here is a little tidbit about the people in Bulgaria. Larry and LaDawn indicated that when you go to Bulgaria they shake their heads "no" to mean "yes" and vice versa. There is a reason for this according to legend. Can you guess what it is? Tune in on the next post for the answer. All you googlers out there should have no problem with this question!!
Tomorrow, the next phase of the mission will begin. We are pretty much packed and ready to move to the apartment. No more drivers for our every need (though we will manage a driver once or twice a month to go to the hypermarket). And instead of LaDawn's great home cooking, we will have to fend for ourselves.
Tommorrow, we also be looking for a coat and hat for Chris. The walking begins on Saturday!! Talk to you in a few days, we hope!!
We have been officially assigned to the International Branch. The Presidency is concerned about the workload that they have for us and are afraid that a Russian branch assignment might distract our efforts. Chris is thrilled. She has met so many nice people and I have to admit, it does feel a little like home for a few hours a week!!
Here is a little tidbit about the people in Bulgaria. Larry and LaDawn indicated that when you go to Bulgaria they shake their heads "no" to mean "yes" and vice versa. There is a reason for this according to legend. Can you guess what it is? Tune in on the next post for the answer. All you googlers out there should have no problem with this question!!
Tomorrow, the next phase of the mission will begin. We are pretty much packed and ready to move to the apartment. No more drivers for our every need (though we will manage a driver once or twice a month to go to the hypermarket). And instead of LaDawn's great home cooking, we will have to fend for ourselves.
Tommorrow, we also be looking for a coat and hat for Chris. The walking begins on Saturday!! Talk to you in a few days, we hope!!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
18th Floor Please!
Don't forget you can see a larger image of the pictures by clicking on them.
The Outside
The front Entrance of the Building
The Lobby
At the Door Off of the Elevator.
The Doors to the Living/Dining Area from the Entry
The Dining/Living Room from Living Area
Living Area from Dining
The Entry from the Living Dining Area
The Bedroom from the Entry
To the Kitchen from the Entry
The Kitchen
The Bathroom
Yes, we finally have an apartment. We have keys and will move in on Friday. We would have moved tomorrow, but we have a heavy schedule of meetings. So the Gibbons were kind enough to keep us for another day. It will be a long walk when it gets really cold, about a mile. But on the other days, we have a built in exercise program of 2 miles every day. Not your average missionary mileage, but don't forget we are seniors!!
We will be picked up by a driver on Friday and go directly to IKEA to pick up a light foam mattress cover that should soften the clean but firm mattress that will be ours for 17 months. We will then go to METRO to buy a microwave oven, toaster and crockpot as well as our groceries. We hope to order the internet tomorrow and a water delivery service (the big upside down jugs!). That should outfit us for the most part. We still need to get Chris a heavy coat and hat and we should be ready to take up residency.
One of the nice features of the house is the radiant heating in the floor. When we looked at the apartment the other night, we were asked to take our shoes off (a Russian habit that we are quite at home with). Then we stepped onto the granite/stone entry and felt an unexpected warming of our cold feet. We felt quite civilized at that point. Again, we will post pictures as soon as we get the internet. Here are the pictures:
We will go dark on Friday and hope to resurface sometime on the weekend or early the next week. So give us a little time before the next post.
Elder Bednar of the Council of the Twelve Apostles gets into Moscow on Friday. He will preside at the adult meeting on Saturday night and District Conference on Sunday. We will be to both of those meetings. We just have to determine how to use the Metro. Just another adventure.
Once we get into our own apartment, we can start exploring Moscow on the weekends. We are looking forward to that and meeting with the other senior missionaries for Family Home Evening. We have a pretty active group that likes to get out and about, so that should be fun. We can even have FHE in our apartment. We have three tables, 12 chairs and a piano!! Maybe we can start a branch!! That would save us a commute on Sunday.
Now that we have an address, they will be able to assign us to a branch. That should happen next week. So we will not be going to the International Branch anymore. Say goodbye to English and Zdrasvooche to Russian.
I should be able to make one more post tomorrow; the next one will be in technicolor!! When we cannot say!!
The Outside
The front Entrance of the Building
The Lobby
At the Door Off of the Elevator.
The Doors to the Living/Dining Area from the Entry
The Dining/Living Room from Living Area
Living Area from Dining
The Entry from the Living Dining Area
The Bedroom from the Entry
To the Kitchen from the Entry
The Kitchen
The Bathroom
Yes, we finally have an apartment. We have keys and will move in on Friday. We would have moved tomorrow, but we have a heavy schedule of meetings. So the Gibbons were kind enough to keep us for another day. It will be a long walk when it gets really cold, about a mile. But on the other days, we have a built in exercise program of 2 miles every day. Not your average missionary mileage, but don't forget we are seniors!!
We will be picked up by a driver on Friday and go directly to IKEA to pick up a light foam mattress cover that should soften the clean but firm mattress that will be ours for 17 months. We will then go to METRO to buy a microwave oven, toaster and crockpot as well as our groceries. We hope to order the internet tomorrow and a water delivery service (the big upside down jugs!). That should outfit us for the most part. We still need to get Chris a heavy coat and hat and we should be ready to take up residency.
One of the nice features of the house is the radiant heating in the floor. When we looked at the apartment the other night, we were asked to take our shoes off (a Russian habit that we are quite at home with). Then we stepped onto the granite/stone entry and felt an unexpected warming of our cold feet. We felt quite civilized at that point. Again, we will post pictures as soon as we get the internet. Here are the pictures:
We will go dark on Friday and hope to resurface sometime on the weekend or early the next week. So give us a little time before the next post.
Elder Bednar of the Council of the Twelve Apostles gets into Moscow on Friday. He will preside at the adult meeting on Saturday night and District Conference on Sunday. We will be to both of those meetings. We just have to determine how to use the Metro. Just another adventure.
Once we get into our own apartment, we can start exploring Moscow on the weekends. We are looking forward to that and meeting with the other senior missionaries for Family Home Evening. We have a pretty active group that likes to get out and about, so that should be fun. We can even have FHE in our apartment. We have three tables, 12 chairs and a piano!! Maybe we can start a branch!! That would save us a commute on Sunday.
Now that we have an address, they will be able to assign us to a branch. That should happen next week. So we will not be going to the International Branch anymore. Say goodbye to English and Zdrasvooche to Russian.
I should be able to make one more post tomorrow; the next one will be in technicolor!! When we cannot say!!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Mission Blessings
We just finished instant messaging with some of our children. We got to see Jessica and Cody, Cameron and Carter and Savannah, via webcam, at our house. It was so fun; they all look so good! Then Eden got on, and showed us a picture of a baby's sonogram!!! We were so surprised, Sarah and Armando are expecting number 3 in June....of course I started to cry. We are so excited to have another special spirit in our family. We got to see Max and hear him say several words too. Sarah and Armando looked wonderful too. Then we were able to instant message with Zack for a few minutes before he left for church. He looks great too! And then we instant messaged with Benj, wonderful to hear from him. He was talking to Annick in Luxembourg, so we weren't on too long with him. What a blessing all of this technology is, that we can keep in touch with all of our family. We are setting the clock for 2:00 a.m. so we can get up and see Jason and his family, on our webcam, as they'll be having dinner at our house with everyone else today. We love and miss all of our family so much, and are so proud of them for all the good things they are doing.
Snow Again!!
We woke up this morning and all of the housetops were covered with snow. Just a little snow collected on the trees and on the ground. It looks very cold outside.
I failed to mention on Friday, that Chris went to the pharmacy (Elder Gish is a retired pharmacist) and bought some medicine for her bronchitis. She was able to buy a Z-pack for about 12 dollars. There is no need for a prescription. The cost at home is $25 for just the co-pay. I think it is closer to $50 without the co-pay. Generally, only generic drugs are available.
I thought I might share with you a few characteristics of the church here in Russia, that I shared with Courtney by email yesterday. There are about 700 missionaries in Russia; about 1100 in the entire Area. About 600 of the missionaries in Russia are from the United States. There are about 200 senior missionaries. As we may have mentioned in the past, there is only one Stake in the Area, in Kyiv (the Ukranian pronunciation for their city is Keeve.) So all of the Area is organized by districts. District presidents report to the Mission President, all of whom are Elders. There are no high priests. So the Mission Presidents have a big job, not only with the missionaries but with the entire membership for the area to which they are assigned. In some cases, they don't have a district president, so the branch presidents report directly to the Mission President. It is a big job.
Well, it's time to get ready for church. It's fast Sunday, so no need for breakfast!! We will chat later. Dos korava! (Transliteration for, see you soon!)
I failed to mention on Friday, that Chris went to the pharmacy (Elder Gish is a retired pharmacist) and bought some medicine for her bronchitis. She was able to buy a Z-pack for about 12 dollars. There is no need for a prescription. The cost at home is $25 for just the co-pay. I think it is closer to $50 without the co-pay. Generally, only generic drugs are available.
I thought I might share with you a few characteristics of the church here in Russia, that I shared with Courtney by email yesterday. There are about 700 missionaries in Russia; about 1100 in the entire Area. About 600 of the missionaries in Russia are from the United States. There are about 200 senior missionaries. As we may have mentioned in the past, there is only one Stake in the Area, in Kyiv (the Ukranian pronunciation for their city is Keeve.) So all of the Area is organized by districts. District presidents report to the Mission President, all of whom are Elders. There are no high priests. So the Mission Presidents have a big job, not only with the missionaries but with the entire membership for the area to which they are assigned. In some cases, they don't have a district president, so the branch presidents report directly to the Mission President. It is a big job.
Well, it's time to get ready for church. It's fast Sunday, so no need for breakfast!! We will chat later. Dos korava! (Transliteration for, see you soon!)
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Stuck in Rosinka
Rosinka is a beautful place but it is somewhat remote. Without a car you are pretty much stuck, unless you want to walk about a mile to a bus station and work your way to the metro. That takes a little more experience than we have at the present. Up until now we have been pretty spoiled and chauferred everywhere.
We slept in this am, ate breakfast, and went shopping at the Rosinka Store. We made a pot of vegetable soup for tomorrow and for when the Gibbons return from Bulgaria. We were invited to administer a blessing to a new member who was visiting President Pieper. We then shared a little ice cream and homemade chocolate chip cookies with them and it was as good or better than Blue Bell. No kidding! It was from Switzerland and it cost about $9.00 for a quart. It was yummy!! So you see you can get anything you want, if you can pay for it. A jar of Prego at the Rosinka store was also $9.00. Of course, if you get to the hyperstores things are much cheaper...maybe half that much!! So enjoy your Prego!!
We watched a movie with Russian voice over today. It was the rocket movie about the four boys who got interested in rockets and won the national science contest. It was a little hard to follow. But there were a few words that we could understand. I called it language practice!!
It was quite a bit colder today. I wore my Hungarian rabbit skin hat! It kept me quite toasty.
Monday is a holiday. If the weather cooperates we may get adventurous and find another senior couple and go site seeing. Otherwise, we will just cool our jets here in lovely Rosinka.
We hope that you are doing well. We think about you often.
We slept in this am, ate breakfast, and went shopping at the Rosinka Store. We made a pot of vegetable soup for tomorrow and for when the Gibbons return from Bulgaria. We were invited to administer a blessing to a new member who was visiting President Pieper. We then shared a little ice cream and homemade chocolate chip cookies with them and it was as good or better than Blue Bell. No kidding! It was from Switzerland and it cost about $9.00 for a quart. It was yummy!! So you see you can get anything you want, if you can pay for it. A jar of Prego at the Rosinka store was also $9.00. Of course, if you get to the hyperstores things are much cheaper...maybe half that much!! So enjoy your Prego!!
We watched a movie with Russian voice over today. It was the rocket movie about the four boys who got interested in rockets and won the national science contest. It was a little hard to follow. But there were a few words that we could understand. I called it language practice!!
It was quite a bit colder today. I wore my Hungarian rabbit skin hat! It kept me quite toasty.
Monday is a holiday. If the weather cooperates we may get adventurous and find another senior couple and go site seeing. Otherwise, we will just cool our jets here in lovely Rosinka.
We hope that you are doing well. We think about you often.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Fairwell to the Gish's
Tonight we had an elegant dinner hosted by President Paul and his wife, with President Pieper and his wife and the Gish's. This is the couple that we are replacing. (Well they could never be replaced!!) I have seen a number of emails come through to wish the Gish's well and to thank them for their service. They have truly touched the lives of many people here in Russia. We had a wonderful dinner. A cooked red cabbage dish that I can't remember the name was excellent. It is made with apples and onions and three spices that are only known by their German names. So the recipe will remain safely with Sister Paul. We had a wonderful Goulash with boiled potatoes and a lovely dessert made from a cheese that I also can't remember the name of. But it was delicious.
What wonderful conversation we had a dinner. We talked about the gospel, the restoration and many other interesting and important topics. Elder Pieper made one comment that I thought was particularly instructive. He indicated that for those outside of the church who feel that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, that they might consider how many false prophets that they are aware of who have prepetuated generations of prophets that followed them. Yet Joseph has 14 prophets who have followed him for nearly 200 years. All honorable men that have followed the teachings of the prophet consistently, not adding or subtracting one part of the gospel or the principles revealed by the prophet Joseph. Many of these principles are just now being understood and put into practice, such as the organization of the Seventy. Just food for thought!
We had russian pizza for lunch, and I must say, it was as good as any pizza I have eaten in the states. That was a pleasant surprise. Maybe we should find an apartment farther away from the office so that we could walk more and eat more pizza!!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Webmaster
Today I a had a little time to check out a fairly new concept called LDS Teams, that allows different departments within the church to create their own web pages within the Church's Intranet. It's a little like creating a blog, except that other individuals can contribute to the blog, such as posting an agenda for a meeting and letting certain individuals add items to that agenda, or posting a calendar that everyone can read and that some people can edit. Another use would be to post forms that are needed to transact business that anyone can print right off the site. If prepared properly, a person could actually fill out a form online and print it off. There are many other features that I have yet to explore. Those of you in business are probably interacting in this manner routinely. Now it is my job to create the web presence for the Europe East Area. I think it will be a lot of fun and certainly a learning experience. And who knows, it might even improve our productivity!!
Just as I was getting excited about LDS teams, we had 5 apartment showings cancel. We continue to get closer on the one just across the street, but there is still a sticking point about registration. In Russia, foreigners are registered based on their place of residence with the local authorities, generally by their landlords. Our landlord refuses to get involved in this kind of activity. If we visit another city for more than three days, we have to register in that city. In the case of a short trip, like to St. Petersburg, for example, this would be done by the hotel. However, when we go in and out of the country to renew our visas we must re-register in Moscow. This will happen several times over the 18-month period. At the present time, the church can register us, but these laws are subject to frequent change. The government's preference is to give this responsibility to the landlord. If the landlord refuses to register us, we have to look for another apartment. That we would rather avoid. We are exploring the possibility of getting a power of attorney, so that we can assign someone in the office to register us, in his name, so he would not have to be inconvenienced. We will persevere!!
Mom stayed home today. She has her annual bronchitis. She sounds like a little seal. She is taking medicine, has a humidifier and wants to go in tomorrow. Tomorrow is our last day with Elder and sister Gish. The office is having a luncheon in their honor tomorrow and later that night at President Paul's home they are having a dinner in their honor. They actually said it was for both of us, one coming and one going, but I think it is for them.
If you haven't checked out Sarah's and Nick's blog lately, there are some great pics to catch up on.
On a sadder note, Andy Gibbons, one of Elder Gibbons' brothers passed away today. He had been very ill for some time. I know that you will join Chris and me in expressing our sympathies to the Gibbons.
Just as I was getting excited about LDS teams, we had 5 apartment showings cancel. We continue to get closer on the one just across the street, but there is still a sticking point about registration. In Russia, foreigners are registered based on their place of residence with the local authorities, generally by their landlords. Our landlord refuses to get involved in this kind of activity. If we visit another city for more than three days, we have to register in that city. In the case of a short trip, like to St. Petersburg, for example, this would be done by the hotel. However, when we go in and out of the country to renew our visas we must re-register in Moscow. This will happen several times over the 18-month period. At the present time, the church can register us, but these laws are subject to frequent change. The government's preference is to give this responsibility to the landlord. If the landlord refuses to register us, we have to look for another apartment. That we would rather avoid. We are exploring the possibility of getting a power of attorney, so that we can assign someone in the office to register us, in his name, so he would not have to be inconvenienced. We will persevere!!
Mom stayed home today. She has her annual bronchitis. She sounds like a little seal. She is taking medicine, has a humidifier and wants to go in tomorrow. Tomorrow is our last day with Elder and sister Gish. The office is having a luncheon in their honor tomorrow and later that night at President Paul's home they are having a dinner in their honor. They actually said it was for both of us, one coming and one going, but I think it is for them.
If you haven't checked out Sarah's and Nick's blog lately, there are some great pics to catch up on.
On a sadder note, Andy Gibbons, one of Elder Gibbons' brothers passed away today. He had been very ill for some time. I know that you will join Chris and me in expressing our sympathies to the Gibbons.
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