Salo and Quail Eggs and Happy New Year

In the interests of supporting my Ukrainian District Leader and international relations I partook of salo this New Year's Eve.  Salo is uncooked pork fat - like what my dad used to call side pork and the Italians call lardo.  The Ukrainians eat it raw - dipped in salt and then a taste of raw onion also dipped in salt and then bread - you guessed it - dipped in salt.  I promised Sherry I would eat anything placed in front of me and I tried it.  It was all good - except the onions are not sitting well.  I am sure my Dad is in heaven laughjing - or maybe saying - "What's the big deal?"  He ate raw onions - I remember him telling me his Dad liked raw onion sandwiches.  My dad used to dice raw oniuons on navy beans.

My DL also presented us with these quail eggs.  His family own 70,000 quail who give 60,000 eggs a day.  Of course, he eats them raw.  That will NOT be happening!  Five quail eggs equal one chicken egg.  Chicken eggs come in packs of ten instead of twelve here in Russia.

Tonight and tomorrow all missionaries are "locked down" in their apartments.  New Year's Eve is the biggest holiday in Russia and a LOT of people get drunk.  The holiday lasts for a week and a half but we're only locked down until the 2nd.  We're watching White Christmas tonight!

Happy New Years!  Eat some salo and think of us!

Our Street/Our Mission

It snowed a little bit today - thought you would like a view of our street out of our fourth story window at 16:30 (4:30 p.m.).  Gets dark about now and gets light about 9:00.

I've been reading some talks given in 2011 to new mission presidents.  Lots of interesting stuff...I came up with five questions for Sherry and I to consider that were asked in one talk or another. 

Why did we want to serve a mission?  

What do we want to happen while we are here?  

Are we giving 100%? 

List all of the good things that are happening.  

What is the purpose of our daily activities?

We have spent some time discussing these topics - our thoughts have already changed as we have progressed and we are certain we will continue to receive direction as we proceed.  It has been interesting to feel the direction of the Lord as we have prayed and worked in our calling.  No one else is telling us what to do or how to do it.  That was frustrating at first but things are becoming more clear as we go along. It will be exciting to see how we feel about these areas as we go through our mission.

CES Christmas Party, Missionary Christmas, & Mom's Happy

Saturday the 22nd we hosted a party for the YSA from our district. We had a "white elephant" gift exchange which was fun.  Don't know how the term white elephant translates but everyone got the idea.  We were happy that President Markelov attended - he is the local leader who works with youth and young adults.  He is the one that will make things happen and we enjoyed having him at our activity.  We are getting to know him and his family and that's a blessing.

The attached pictures show some of the presents we got - some fake mustaches, froggy shower toys, etc.  Elder Stevens doesn't look quite as excited as I am, does he?

Pasha, the young man with the fake mustache, is waiting for his mission call.  

We are working with President Markelov to have him organize a district youth committee and a district YSA committee.  We feel that in order to have long term success the young people need to be involved in planning and implementing activities - to "act, rather than to be acted upon."  President Sartori agrees with our feelings so we're moving in that direction.

In the next six weeks we go to Moscow for training on the EFY we are directing and also go to Turkey for a CES Conference.  We get to ride the night train to Moscow, fly to Istanbul...lots of exciting stuff!

Next week all the missionaries are "locked down" on New Years Eve and New Years Day - we will stay in our apartments and avoid the craziness.  All the stores sell fireowkrs for the celebration - it ought to be fun to watch and hear!

Christmas day we enjoyed a luncheon at our apartment for twenty-four of the missionaries in our zone.  That's about the largest group our little kitchen can handle!  Sherry made stuff for tacos - homemade beans, Mexican rice, meat, cheese...as well as guacamole, nacho sauce, chips, deviled eggs, jello...and Sister Stevens made homemade rolls!  There was PLENTY of food and the missionaries ate well.  The habenaro sauce sent to us by the girls in the office went a long way towards spicing things up!  Thanx!

We read the story of the birth of Christ from Matthew and Luke and the missionaries were asked to make costumes for the various roles they were assigned - Mary, Joseph, donkey, sheep, shepherds,angels,  innkeeper, etc.  It was really fun!  Elder Stevens - who has a wonderful voice - sang a solo after the nativity and we sang Silent Night and had family prayer together before we sent them back into the cold, cruel world!  

In the evening the three companionships from our district came over at various times to Skype with their families.  It was interesting to be on the other end of the Christmas phone call home.  These young men and women are fantastic and dedicated servants but as they talked to their families they became kids talking to Mom and Dad and we got to see a different side of them.  It will take a little while for them to get back into missionary mode, I'm sure.  A few tears were shed.

Attached are pictures of the luncheon and few costumed missionaries...and Elder Stevens and me maintaining quality control on the food which we served.  I particularly enjoy the donkey who in missionary life is our District Leader.  He said next year he would like to be something else!

Mom is putting together the puzzle we got from the girls in the office.  The Christmas Spirit is alive and well in Saratov....

Merry Christmas!

It's Getting Cold

For the first time this evening we wore our winter clothes - or most of them.  My coat doesn't have the liner in and no long underwear for me, yet! This is the first time we went out with our shapka hats.  I tell everyone that mine is genuine Siberian wolf which I killed with my bare hands.  It's a little fluffier than many - I love it.  After wearing it tonight as we walked around town in the 7 degree farenheit night air I REALLY loved it!  Sherry loves hers as well.  The scarf is perfect - thank you Lynn Rose! - there is a certain way to wrap it around your neck so you can lift it over your face and nose - you really need that because your nose gets COLD!  The fun thing is that it will be 30 or 40 degrees colder as the winter progresses - and it will be blowing snow.  We've been told the snow starts in January and will stay through April or May...

Transfers this weekend - we're losing one of our zone leaders Elder Christensen and one of our Sisters Sister Moffett.  Elder Christensen has been in Saratov nine months - it's very difficult for him to leave.  One of the APs is replacing him.  The AP - our new zone leader - is here for his last transfer.  Between now and April 27 missionaries go home - that's out of 70 total in the mission.  Huge changes.  We're starting to love our fellow servants, that's for sure.

Another Package!, Luggage Wrap, Visa Trip & Cool Key

We received a great package from our friends in the office we worked with in Richland.  Lots of goodies - and two very nice scarves!  I was looking to buy one and the one in the box for me was PERFECT!  We're wondering who made the one for Sherry and who made the necklace.  It's beautiful.  I stole the chocolate chips...

In the airport in Kiev they had a luggage wrapping machine.  It wrapped your luggage in plastic wrap to protect it.  We thought that was agreat idea - probably wouldn;t work in the US since TSA goes through bags.  Oh well...

Just returned from our first visa trip - here's pictures of us at the airport and outside the airport in Kiev.  Pretty exhausting trip - the airplanes from Saratov to Moscow was a little scary - my seat did not stay upright so I rode with my seat reclined  on the trip back from Moscow to Saratov - not very comfortable or safe.  Sherry's seat did the same thing when we flew from Saratov to Moscow.  Mostly we saw airports so not too exciting.  Left at 4:50 a.m. and got home at 11:30 p.m. - Saratov to Moscow, Moscow to Kiev and turned around and flew back.

We go to Moscow in January for an EFY meeting and are taking the night train from Saratov to Moscow - 14 hours but we get a kope and can sleep.

Don't think I've ever showed you the keys to our apartment.  Most apartments have cool keys like these - each apartment door has three or four deadbolts and you have to turn the key three or fours rotations to get in and out.  There are also buzzers to get you through gates - the green thing on the key ring gets waved in front of a little pad and it unlocks the gate to get you into the parking lot or foyer. 

Also, did I ever mention that when someone tells you what time something is in Russia they use the twenty-four hour clock?   In case you don't know how that works every hour from 1:00 a.m. until noon is 1 - or 2 - or 3...up to 12.  After noon the time is 12 plus whatever hour - so 1:00 p.m. is 13:00, 7:00 p.m. is 19:00, 11:00 p.m. is 23:00.  It's the way the military tells time.  Cool!

Locks & Love, The Renok and Walking Near the RIver, Cool Doors in the Church, and Friends in Penza

So - it appears that there is a tradition in Russia - or at least this part of Russia - to put your names on a lock and then attach that lock to a bridge or railing somewhere.  At the park near our house in Saratov there are a number of bridges that have locks all over the railings. Kinda like carving your initials in a tree...or maybe spraypainting a bridge?  In Penza we saw the same thing as the attached pictures show.  Pretty cool!

We walked along the river in Penza - it was snowing and there was a cold breeze blowing.  I may have to get out the winter coat and my cool shopka soon!  Also walked through a very large market/renok.  Thought it was interesting that they were selling furniture and rugs - outside in the snow.  The booths in the picture all were selling fresh fruits and veggies.

While in Penza we went to an art museum.  No pictures allowed inside but it was neat.  Right across the street from the museum, the Russian Orthodox Church is rebuilding a temple that was destroyed in 1937.  It will be beautiful!  There is an awesome bell tower with huge bells already installed - and the cross is already up as well.  In the renovations that I've seen, the cross seems to go on before the building is very far along.  Makes me think of when they put the statue of Moroni on our temples.  

There is a picture of the theatre where we went to a play...three hours, all in Russian.  Still lots of fun.  One picture of us inside the theatre and one on the street.  

We went to dinner at a cafe featuring food from Kazakhstan.  Not sure what we ate but most of it was pretty good.  Some sort of stew and shredded carrot salad and a salad of beets and beans.

In the large multipurpose room in the church in Penza they had doors that went up and down to protect the kitchen and storage areas.  Just push a button.  Probably very nice to keep kids out of food and protect the kitchen from volleyballs or whatever.  Keeps the stuff in storage secure, too.  The building was the biggest and nicest we've seen so far - and kept very clean by the members

Here's a few pictures of some sweet members we met in Penza.  A few babuskas/grandmas outside the church, some of the teachers sitting around talking and two students and a teacher.  The teacher with the students is an incredibly gifted teacher.  She was an anesthesiologist but quit that occupation when she got pregnant.  Her husband is a businessman - says he serves as a director of a couple companies.  Great people...she insisted on bringing us some beetless borscht called shchi.  It was pretty good.  This is the sister we first met in Samara at the teacher training and we spent some time with her afterwards.  Since she knew I like meat she also served us some pork steak.

Speaking of borscht - Sister Stevens made a batch last week and it was really good.  Beets and all.  Maybe I'll make some for the grandkids when we get home!!!

Mom is in the kitchen making chili for institute tomorrow, fruit cocktail cake for FHE tonight and some bran/banana/buckwheat muffins for our first visa trip which happens Wednesday.  The taxi picks us up at 6 a.m. - we fly from Saratov to Moscow, Moscow to Kiev, Kiev to Moscow and back to Saratov.  We'll get home by midnight.  Lots of sitting around in airports.  Hopefully this will be the only visa trip we take since the law has changed.  No one seems to know yet.  All we know is the new missionaries have a three year visa instead of a three month visa.

And just in case you think I didn't help Mom I chopped the nuts for the muffins.  And chopped the celery and peppers for the chili.  AND - I'm in charge of clean up.

My missionary companion is the best.  I love her more than I ever have before - she is so positive and solid as a rock.  What a joy to be here with her.  You'll have to ask her how she feels...!

Just got an email from the Connells - the office couple in the mission office - we have a package from the office of our former employer in Richland!  The girls sent us something!  Man, do we LOVE packages!

FHE and Stuff

Here's pictures of our Christmas Tree and a table set up for our FHE lesson, our Gratitude Tree with a few more leaves and pictures of our FHE game.

Our FHE focused on building a firm foundation based on the scripture about building your house upon a rock rather than on a sandy foundation - the rock being Jesus Christ, of course.  After reading a few verses and a parts of a talk by President Monson, our prophet,  we had a activity.  We divided the students into four groups and each group was given six marshmallows, twenty-five pieces of uncooked sphagetti, some fun tac, a yard of string, a yard of tape, a pair of scissors and a piece of hard candy.  Each group had twenty minutes to build the tallest structure that could hold the weight of the piece of candy.  The winning structure is the one with guide wires.  Interestingly the group wth the engineer had the structure that was shortest...

Sherry made pizza for the first time.  I would deem her attempt successful based on how quickly it got eaten!

We found out today that this weekend we are going to Penza with our boss.  We've been wanting to see that city and meet students there so we're excited.  Our boss assures us that the lodging will be better that Balakova which would not require much of a hotel!  He tells us the hotel in Penza is very nice.  We are such spoiled Americans!  We also got more information about our calling to head up the first EFY (Especially For Youth) program in Russia.  We will be over the two conferences that encompass eight missions throughout Russia and a few other countries.  That's an area larger than the USA!  We will head up the conference committee of about fifty and a native Russian couple are being called to assist us. Everyone other than ourselves will be Russian.  The couple assisting us will be called for two years - the first year we train them and then the second year they will be in charge.  The objective, of course, in all that we do is to have Russians lead Russia and not depend on American missionaries such as ourselves.  We're trying to work ourselves out of a job!  I love that!