Samara News

Made it on the train to Samara...helping new CES couple get settled...lots of luggage to move, stuff to buy...and it all takes a lot of time going everywhere in taxis!  Tonight taking two taxis with luggage to their new apartment and then going grocery shopping and to IKEA on Thursday with our boss who is coming up for a couple of days.  Probably home again to Saratov on Friday.  Maybe!  We'll see what happens...

End of May we have a couples conference...so we'll come back to Samara for a few days then to meet with our fellow senior couples.

This is also transfers weekend so missionaries are coming and going everywhere...crazy...mission driver and mission van are busy which makes getting the new couple settled harder.  

A Day at the MTC & Mexican Hat Dance

Great activity today...we went to the Mexico City MTC for some training...Sherry made burritos with homemade shredded chicken and Mexican rice and beans...and nachos with homemade cheese sauce...the kids had no idea how many days it took her to make them.  She works way too hard but no one can stop her so I just try to keep up.

The kids learned a few Spanish phrases, played a bunch of games and did some missionary roles playing as well.  They even took a tour of Mexico via the internet and learned the Mexican Hat Dance from Elder and Sister Reed.  You really ought to see that video...

Wholesale Renok & Easter Dinner

Our boss, Zhenya, takes us to a wholesale renok occasionally to buy large boxes of cookies and crackers for institute and for activities.  Here's a picture of the outside of the renok.

Easter - April 20th this year - was also our fortieth wedding anniversary.  This is the "Ruby" anniversary so please mail the rubies to one of our kids and we'll pick them up in August.  Of course Elder Childers has a companion more precious than rubies so he's good.  Send rubies for Sherry.

We were busy all day on Easter Sunday so we were invited to a friends house for a traditional Easter meal which we enjoyed on Monday.  We had a delicious pork roast which is not a traditional part of the meal but they knew we like meat!  The roast was marinated overnight in orange juice!  Tenderized it and it was very moist.  Good idea! We also enjoyed kulich which is a sweet bread and pashka made from curds.  And LOTS of Easter Eggs.  We played a game where you hit each others egg on the pointy end and if your egg cracks you lose...the last one with an unbroken egg is the winner.

The picture shows our friend who is a medical student - she lived in America for ten years before moving back here to attend school.  Her mom - also in the picture - is a doctor.

Our Honeymoon

Most people would not see the relationship between this picture and a honeymoon.  I bet our family can see the relationship - particularly Christopher and Jennifer!  To make a long story short - which I rarely do - due to mechanical problems with their car Christopher and Jennifer spent their wedding night with their car on the back of a tow truck!  We told Zhenya the story after we hit a large Russian pothole and put a hole in the oil pan!  To put that in context - a large Russian pothole is REALLY large!  There are a LOT of Russian potholes...the roads generally are terrible.  We ended up taking a ride in a Russian tow truck (the driver was embarrassed that his truck was dirty and Americans were riding in it - we were the first Americans he had ever met.  We've ridden in a few American tow trucks and this one was spotless in comparision!) AND an 2 hour long taxi ride AND a 7 1/2 hour bus ride home from Toliatti to Saratov.

We rode near the back of the twenty passenger bus.  We bounced around and by the time we got home we were tired and sore all over.  We've spent today recuperating...all we did is walk to the renok and buy some fruits and veggies and stuff for soup Wednesday.

Zhenya's car is in the shop and he will take the train to Samara this weekend and pick it up.  He gets to drive his Lada the rest of the week.

We love his Lada!

Doing What We Love

his weekend we attended a Seminary and Institute conference in Toliatti.  I got to teach a few minutes with Zhenya translating...I love Zhenya and when he translates I am completely at ease.  Of course, he could be saying whatever he wants...I'd never know...but I just feel comfortable.  He knows me well enough to know what I'm feeling as well as what I'm saying.  He had me discuss my favorite scripture...like it's possible to have a favorite.  I talked about verse 25 in Joseph Smith's History...I have a testimony of the Savior - I know it and I know that God knows it and I can't deny it.  Pretty simple, really.

We also had to dance and got to see a couple of our missionary buddies.  The girl I am dancing with is fifteen and teaches a youth Sunday School class of her peers.  She is a great teacher and a sweetheart.  Sherry is dancing with some young guy I had to have a little talk with afterwards...

Soup, soup and more soup

We make soup every Wednesday for the students to eat before institute class.  We started that a month after we arrived in Saratov.  We have made a LOT of soup!  My companion is getting bored making the same old kinds of soup so this week she made potato/cheese/broccoli/bacon soup.  Even with all the green stuff floating around in it I liked it...so did everyone else!

Next week we are going to use those alphabet noodles I bought in some kind of alphabet soup...