Kitchen Window & Smith River

Here's a springtime look out our kitchen window.  In the first picture the new district offices for the church are right at the bottom - the ones with the blinds closed on all the windows.  That ought to be fairly convenient...

Who wants to jump off this with me?  Not right now...

Crazy Brownies

Sherry, in her on-going pursuit of excellence, has made one of my three favorite cakes - Crazy Cake - on a cookie sheet and turned it into Crazy Brownies.  I love my missionary companion. I think I posted this recipe before but just in case you missed it...

CRAZY CAKE

3 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

6 tablespoons cocoa

2/3 cup oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 cups milk

1.Sift together dry ingredients into 9x13 inch pan. 

2.Make 3 wells in the dry ingredients. Pour milk in one and oil in other and vanilla and vinegar in another. 

3.Mix together with a fork.

4.Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Easter Eggs

For language study night we made Easter Egg cookies.  Sherry used the cool cookie cutter she made and baked about eight dozen cookies.  Takes a while in our tiny oven.  Then the students decorated them.  We also learned the words - and actions - to Book of Mormon Stories and Popcorn Popping.  After we were done the elders came by and took plates of cookies to less active families.

Baptism tomorrow morning.  A nineteen-year-old which is just the right age as far as we are concerned! Our first sports day is tomorrow afternoon.  The missionaries play American football or Frisbee for a couple of hours and invite others to play with them.  Builds friendships and is fun, too.  I think it's good for the missionaries to have something like that to look forward to.  The young missionaries work really hard in an environment that can be difficult at times.  Lots more drinking in the summer time so they get to deal with drunk people a little more than in the winter.  Plus those white shirts and ties stand out!

The district has also scheduled a service project tomorrow cleaning up an area and planting flowers.  We will go to the baptism and probably not be able to make the other activities.

Zone Conference

Today we enjoyed zone conference.  This is President and Sister Sartori's last zone conference in Saratov since they go home in July. Lots of interesting direction given - all of it directed towards the younger missionaries, of course.  We enjoy the spirit and support things as we can.  I got to help with a "breakout" which is an activity that gets the missionaries up and moving.  Here's a picture of a musical number - lots of new missionaries this cycle and lots of new sisters.  Many more missionaries coming - 22 in July!  There's also a picture of our district during our breakout activity...Elders Bateman, Treter, Wall and Malloy.

Sherry was asked to make a treat for them to eat after lunch.  Lunch was KFC sandwiches and wraps - as usual - and Sherry made seven dozen muffins!  It took her five hours Sunday afternoon since we can only bake twelve at a time in our small oven.  She used the last of the pumpkin puree she made last Halloween from the jack o'lanterns we made at FHE!  These were pumpkin/carrot/raisan/apple/walnut/chocolate muffins - and man, were they good!  We used up all the odds and ends we had laying around - they were gone in ten minutes!

We left this morning at 07:45 and had a fun bus ride to the Zavodskoy building were conference was held. Got home at 18:00 after another fun bus ride and ten minutes later our first institute students showed up.  Had class and fed them soup and by 21:00 they were gone.  We're going to bed!

Trip To The Museum

Here's a few pictures of our trip to the museum last week.  There's a current picture of the Volga River and bridge - the ice is definitely all gone.  Another pic of Alexsi a member friend of ours and Elder and Sister Stevens our senior couple friends.  They are from Morgan, Utah and go home in July.  We will REALLY miss them.  Final two pictures are kinda fun ones from the museum.  Lots of old stuff there and I could have posted lots of pictures of that but old stuff is old stuff.

They did have a section about Yuri Gagarin who was the first man in space.  The Russians landed their cosmonauts on land rather than in the ocean like the Americans did.  Yuri landed in Engels which is right across the river from Saratov.   

Summerwear

Here's a picture of our warm weather missionary clothing.  Saturday was beautiful - 70 degrees.  It is going to get a lot hotter and a lot more humid.  We are the only air conditioned missionary apartment in Saratov.  Everyone tells us we will be very happy about that!

We feel like we blended in a little when we had on our winter coats - hard to blend in with white shirts and our missionary badges!

Ballet

We went to see Sleeping Beauty last night. It was REALLY long...and no one died and there weren't any dwarfs, not even sleepy.  And there was a LOT of dancing.

And it was REALLY long.

And no spinning wheel, either.

Salo Brothers

My friend and zone leader, the Mighty Ukranian Elder Davydov informed me that in Kiev they dip salo in chocolate and eat it.  Periodically his parents send him a large package and it ALWAYS has meat in it.  This last package had a zip lock bag with my name on it - about a pound of Ukranian salo. As we all know EVERYTHING is better in the Ukraine - especially the national meat salo. I cooked a few slices and melted some dark Russian chocolate and made us a snack.

Elder Davydov was ALMOST in tears.  Now that we have eaten raw salo and onions and salt AND eaten salo dipped in chocolate we are truly brothers.

I would love to go to Kiev after the mission and visit him and his family.  Probably not gonna happen...

Just for informational purposes when you cook four slices of salo you get a cup of drippings that cook out...so, the remainder is almost healthy.  That kind of logic explains most things about my life.

Activities

Last Friday we had a scavenger hunt for language night.  We gave each student a list - in English - of objects to find around the house.  They filled their bags with stuff and learned a few more English words.  I've got a picture of them with all the things they found.  

Next week we are "speed dating" - really speed conversation.  Learning some conversational phrases.  
Tonight for FHE we had a great object lesson on following the prophet.  We blindfolded Titse - a friend of one of our students Kevin - and she had to walk through a maze we made.  She picked Elder Wall as her guide and as long as she listened to him she was safe.  She made it through in spite of our efforts to get her off course.  The point being - follow the counsel received in conference and you'll be safe.

We played conference bingo and ate about 40 of Sherry's pumpkin-carrot muffins.

After we were done I found out Titse is a Weird Al fan!  We played her favorite song - Eat It - and I'm Too White and Nerdy.  The missionaries aren't supposed to listen to that kind of music so I probably shouldn't have played it but it sure was fun...Weird Al, the universal truth!

Conference

It's interesting what we learn at conference.  I was reminded - again - about the wonderful companion I have.  Occasionally I actually do something...and then I can talk and talk and talk about what I did.  

Sherry, on the other hand, is constantly serving and working - and never says a word about it.

I think I'm the mouthpiece of our companionship and Sherry is the heart and hands.  I know she is certainly the heart and soul of our marriage and our family.

No one who knows us will disagree.  I love my companion.  Serving a mission with her is the best thing in the world.  We know that we are in the exact right place at exactly the right time.  Sherry said yesterday that she can't imagine not knowing the wonderful, faithful people we have met.

It's also kinda nice to hear our leaders mention senior missionary couples and feel satisfied that we are doing what the Lord would have us do.

Life is good.

Balloon Activity

We had a balloon animal/whatever-making activity Wednesday.  This week has been incredibly busy...FHE Monday, Institute Tuesday, Balloon thing Wednesday, District Council Thursday, District Meeting and Langauge Study Friday and Saturday we watch conference and teach some leaders about a reactivation process the district is implementing.  It is wonderful to be busy but every night is maybe a little much!  All these activities include food and that means long rides on the bus to do the shopping. Next week we get our Wednesday Date Night back (we gave it up to make balloon animals!) and Thursday there is no district council so we're going with the Stevens to see Sleeping Beauty at the ballet.  Plus - next Saturday is our 39th wedding anniversary and we plan to enjoy the day together - maybe go for a walk in the park now that the weather is getting warmer.

My friend Miroslav insisted on helping clean up so he put on an apron and helped with the dishes.  

Exciting News/New Missionaries

Here's some exciting news if you are a missionary or related to a missionary or a girl/boy friend of a missionary.  The missionaries can now write home for ninety minutes every week instead of only one hour AND they can write not just to their families but to friends and girl/boyfriends as well.  Still can't write to other missionaires in the same mission or to members of the opposite sex in the same mission - unless they get special permission.

We were told this was worldwide...probably something to do with the changes in age. Maybe they are encouraging relationships in the hope of encouraging marriage.  Whoever "they" are!

The missionaries are still expected to spend the first thirty minutes of their email time writing to their mission president.

We get our first 18-year-old Elder and 19-year-old Sister in August.  In the next few months the mission will have 22 new elders and 8 new sisters.  That's a third of our total.  Plus we just had 14 arrive in the last couple months.  Really changes the dynamics of the mission.  Seasoned missionaries leaving, new mission president, lots of new, younger missionaries.  Ought to be interesting.

Funeral

Today we attended a funeral.  Our Elder's Quorum President passed away unexpectedly at age 45.  I was able to assist our branch president in planning the funeral since I have, unfortunately, WAY too much experience planning funerals.  Russian tradition - mostly from the Orthodox Church is interesting.  Here's a little info...

Their tradition includes a celebration which is called the panikhida that happens on the ninth day of the deceased. It is believed that on the ninth day, the soul has reached God’s Throne. Aside from this, it also marks the start of the period weighing up the sins and virtues of the departed until the fortieth day according to St. Basil the New and the Blessed Theordora. On the last day or fortieth day, it is taught that this is the time when the soul receives the conditional judgement which remains in place until the Great Day of Judgement at the end of time. Hence, the Church traditionally celebrates another panikhida for the soul’s repose of the departed beseeching God to be merciful and give the departed a place of spiritual comfort in God’s presence.

The family usually has a little clelebration on the ninth day and the fortieth day as well as on the anniversary of the death.  The body is usuualy buried on the third day after death.  It is taken to thepersons home - which today was his apartment - and mourners visit.  then the body is carried outside and people file past to pay respects.  The body is lifted into the vehicle - in thios case a bus with a large door in the back - and driven to the cemetery.  The mourners came behind in a rented bus and a few cars.  When we got to the cemetery the body was placed outside the bus and the funeral services were held there.  Those were done in this case in traditional LDS fashion - opening song and prayer, a eulogy by a friend, a brief optimistic talk on the plan of salvation - (where we go after death) and then another talk by one of our church leaders offering comfort and hope and then a closing song and prayer.

Mourners then said goodbye again and the coffin lid was nailed on - with a hammer and nails - and the casket them taken and lowered into the grave.  Mourners then threw dirt on the casket and the workers proceeded to shovel the rest of the dirt over the casket.  Flowers were put all over the top of the dirt and a little metal fence was placed around it all.  Then the son, who is a priesthood holder and a member of our church, dedicated the grave as a final resting place until the resurrection.  The son is 20 years old and one of our students - a great guy.

After the service the mourners go to a restuarant and everyone eats and share stories - and those so inclined drink vodka.  

Another one of our students - Katya - who I don't think has every been to a funeral before -sort of hung back from all the viewing of the body stuff but was very kind to the son.  It was wonderful to see the students support the son since his father's death.

Katya drew this picture of us on the bus ride home. 

The Nutcracker

Saturday we had teacher training for all the S&I teachers in the mission.  We had about fifteen attend.  They are really great teachers and a privilege to know.  After six hours of that (!) we attended our zone cultural night - the ballet Nutcracker.  It was incredible.  Lots of younger kids in the audience - I think the arts are more engrained in Russia.  Here's a sample...

Americanski Pizza

Our experience with pizza in Russia has not been a positive one. The first time we had it we had pizza with pickles and another one with tuna fish.  A few weeks ago the elders bought a couple and they were supposed to be pepperoni...it was some sort of sausage but NOT pepperoni.

The youth decided that once a month our English night would include cooking.  Last night we made pizza...real, American style pizza.  Sherry made our secret pizza crust - which we stole from Christopher  - and some great sauce.  After hunting all over town we found pepperoni at Metro, a big store only an hour bus ride away!  Couldn't find Italian sausage but we did find fennel - so, we made our own!  The kids made one pepperoni and sausage, one Hawaiian, one veggie and one combo.  The pizzas must have been two inches thick because they really piled the toppings on.  Man, were they GOOD!

We started making pizzas when I was a Sunday School teacher for the twelve-year-olds.  We used to have the students bring the meat they wanted and we'd provide the crust and sauce and cheese.  Jeff Roberts - who is about fifty-years-old now - brought bologna.  We've been making pizza with students for 38 years - Sherry was pregnant with Christopher the first time..  If you add cooking for activities and camps I wonder how many pizzas we've made? 

We were exhausted Friday night - very busy week.  Two of our students showed up an hour early and hung out - Sherry put them to work making flashcards for English night.