Wonderful week!

Dear family,

First of all I have to join all of you and lets give Daniel a rousing HAPPY BIRTHDAY song! I bet that none of you have even thought about this, but Daniel's birthday this year is a bit of a milestone for us. We now have all eight of our children of LEGAL ADULT AGE!! That is amazing when I think of all the years of parenting that represents. I'm not sure what that makes us (Don't any of you even think of using the word OLD!) but it does seem like something to at least make note of. Maybe the closest thing is watching the odometer on a car roll past 100,000 miles ???? ;0) Quick! . .Take a picture! . . And on we roll! We do feel like we are rolling along at a pretty fast clip and we are really enjoying the journey. Serving here with all our wonderful missionaries makes us feel younger, not older! Lately we have felt very settled and at home here. We are enjoying the people so much. We can't comment yet about the Siberian winters. Amazingly, we are still having a beautiful fall. The days are mostly sunny, cool crisp fall weather and very comfortable with our lighter coats on. When we walk in the evenings we often get too warm. I had expected by mid November to be well into winter, so this has been another pleasant surprise. Russia is full of them. The members have warned us that the weather has not been normal and the real cold is right around the corner.

Anyway, We have had a very busy and wonderful week. Last weekend we traveled to Tyumen, one of our smaller branches. Dad drove and we had Elder Kaiser and Elder Gladkov, our assistants, with us. It rained the whole trip, which doesn't cushion any bumps, unfortunately, but we had a wonderful ride as we visited and planned. It is sweet to see the growth that comes to our missionaries as they serve so closely with Dad and learn from him. They are like sponges and love to hear his stories and ask many questions and seek advice. Elder Gladkov is Russian and is such a handsome, impressive and humble young man. His father is a strong member but his mother is not a member. He loves her so much. Dad has written several letters to her in Russian, telling her what an outstanding young man he is. He is hoping to help soften her heart. I often think, when I hear him so powerfully bear his testimony, here is the future Russian "President Uchdorf". I would not be a bit surprised.

In Tyumen we authorized a new apartment for the additional set of missionaries (sisters!) that Dad has put into that city and then helped them move their things in. We now have sisters serving in every city. The branches are all so happy to have them. The sister missionaries are very effective here. Many people will let them in or engage in conversation with them, while they are hesitant about the Elders, because they look so official or FBI-like in their suits. The sisters also sometimes have an easier time creating an emotional connection with people. So we are happy that our compliment of missionaries has been increased and we now have enough sisters for each branch. Now we just need to work on senior couples!

We attended the Tyumen zone meeting on Saturday where they were considering their zone goals for the rest of the year. Four of the missionaries are new to the city and branch. One goal under consideration was how many baptisms they would get. There was a very big discrepancy in the proposals given. The zone leader was concerned about the adverse experience of continually setting ambitious goals that are not reached. Finally Elder Gladkov suggested we pray, knowing that Heavenly Father knew what our goal could be. A very sweet prayer was offered and then we continued to each pray and ponder for several more minutes. When we began to hear each person's impressions, it was sweet to know that we had all felt that six baptisms were possible by the end of the year. That will represent a truly consecrated effort. The feeling of unity was so strong. We will be praying for this faithful zone.

We returned home late Sunday evening with a full list of To Dos for the next day. About halfway through the morning, as Dad was reading the incoming missionary letters, he felt troubled about one sister. He called to check on her. She has been here about six weeks. She is Russian and her mother is not a member and very against her serving. Her father died when she was young. She has no brothers or sisters, her mother is her whole life but has been very mean and manipulative to her. The mother had written that she was having health problems and it was all because of the daughter leaving her all alone to serve a mission. The stress was "causing" her bad health. This of course was very hard on our missionary. Dad felt impressed that we needed to go visit them in Chelyabinsk, about a three hour drive. She said no, that she could wait for a blessing until we come in three weeks. He told her it was not her choice, we were coming. We arrived in time to spend several hours with the two of them, found a hotel and then returned in the morning to spend several more hours. We talked with the four of us together, Dad interviewed each of them privately while I talked with the companion, and then Dad gave each a blessing. It was very strengthening to the trainer, who is an amazing sister, but still very young herself in the mission. They have worked so hard and been truly obedient, but have not found anyone to teach in a month of hard effort. It is difficult not to feel discouraged, especially when she is training a new sister who is struggling. She appreciated the support.

The new sister was blown away that anyone would care enough about her to drive all that way just for her. She tearfully said she had never experienced love like that in her whole life. She said she knew she would be able to stay and finish her mission. We expressed our confidence in her and our love for her. She just soaked it up. It turned out to be an incredible witness for both of us that The Lord is directing this mission. The inspiration Dad received to go visit the Sister made all the difference.

As we drove home I thought how sad - to never have had the experience of having a parent drop everything to help you when you need it. It is just what we all instinctively do for our children. It was a first for her. We have been praying since for The Lord to bless their efforts and reward their dedication. About four nights later Dad called to check on them. The Russian sister was just bubbling over with excitement. They had miraculously found TWO different people that day who were both receptive and wanted to be taught. They were on cloud nine and doing great. We are grateful for the Lord's answer to our prayers and theirs. The Russian sister told Dad that it was one of the greatest experiences of her life to have the two of us drop everything and drive so far to see her because we love her. She said no one had ever shown her that kind of love. She said she will never be the same, knowing that we would do anything to help her. She just kept bubbling with happiness and excitement about her new feelings of joy on her mission.

We got back Tuesday, late afternoon and the To Do list was still waiting in order to be ready for the Wednesday and Thursday Mission Leadership Council. Just as we were going to head to the grocery store for major shopping, Dad got a call from another trainer who was very worried about his new companion. This Elder is from the Ukraine and is also a new convert and is not getting much support from his parents. He was very discouraged and worried that he is holding up his companion from doing all the work he is capable of. (Luckily they are here in Yekaterinburg!) I told Dad to go and I would scrounge around and figure out what meals I could make with what I had in the house. Just before Dad left he checked email and there was a request from a family in South Jordan Utah who have adopted four sibling children from an orphanage in Ukraine a few months ago. They were scheduled to be baptized on Saturday and he needed someone who could speak Russian with them to help make sure they understood everything right. Dad quickly called our Russian assistant, Elder Gladkov, and took him to meet with Elder Baboshka, who was thrilled at the prospect of teaching by Skype with Elder Gladkov. Having the opportunity to engage Elder Boboshka in the teaching of these children was a miraculous answer to his needs at this time. Again, The Lord is involved in everything we are doing.

Our Russian elders teaching by Skype

So Saturday morning, (Friday night in Utah) the two Russian elders and their companions came here to Skype with these four children, three boys and their sister. It went well and was a wonderful and encouraging experience for our new Elder. The children loved speaking Russian with the missionaries. Dad also spoke with them and they thought it was really cool to see an American dad who could speak Russian. Dad suggested, mostly for Elder Boboshka's benefit, that we have another Skype session the next day to report about the baptism and teach about the Holy Ghost. So the Elders returned last night to sleep here for the early call this morning. They taught the children about the gift of the Holy Ghost. The parents are so grateful, they have asked for another session next week. It is a tender mercy from The Lord for our Ukrainian missionary. He is filled with the joy of teaching. Dad told him he can now say that he has had 4 baptisms, which made him grin from ear to ear. Elder Boboshka loves Dad and feels a special relationship with him. He expresses his love every time they are together and Dad always gives him a big hug. He bears a strong and humble testimony as a new convert himself.

The Wednesday and Thursday Mission Leadership Council went well. (Even the food, which I felt received a "loaves and fishes" blessing!). Our missionaries are new to the concept of counseling together, as guided by the spirit, as a mission council to address the needs of the mission. They are learning a lot as Dad guides them through the process. We spoke about the goals for 2013 which have not been reached. We analyzed why. We formulated ideas about what we can and cannot control and specific ways we can address what we can control. They left with assignments to do with their zones, and a plan of how to prepare to return to the December Mission Leadership Council where we will set the goals for 2014. We feel that the focus on being consecrated missionaries, being clean, and using the Book of Mormon as our primary finding and teaching tool is really laying the foundation for a great year. In October, every single one of our key indicators was the highest or second highest for the past 18 months. There is a feeling of optimistic anticipation among our missionaries that the miracles will continue "if we just do all that we can do" ( a promise from Preach My Gospel).

OK, I've left the funnest day to tell last. It was yesterday anyway, so it belongs at the end. We were invited by one of the young adult members to attend a Russian folk dance performance. We went with the Godfreys, the senior office couple. I expected it to be a professional group and was a little surprised when we got to the university auditorium to find a rather small crowd of about 200 and what appeared to be a group of family with friends performing. They weren't dancing at all at first but were singing Russian folk songs that sounded very Slavic and in a minor key that took a bit of getting used to. In between each song was a long narration in Russian telling about the ancient history of the Slavic people, their battles with the Mongols, their wars and battles, the trials of the women and children who stayed at home, their sacrifices for the mother country, their marriage traditions, etc. After a few minutes, Dad and I were wondering how soon we could tactfully slip out.

A beautiful Russian song about their history

But then an amazing thing happened. We began to feel the love these simple earnest people have for their old customs and history. We began to hear the beauty of the close minor Slavic harmonies. They spoke a great deal about the Savior and their love of the family. They began to dance doing the men's competition dancing you've all seen with folded arms and legs kicking out in front. (But this was the REAL thing, not the BYU folk-dancers!) They also did amazing sword dancing. We loved it! We loved the people, the dear parents in authentic costumes who were singing their hearts out as their little children ran onto and off the stage, and all around the auditorium. It was like a gigantic family night. It was so authentic and so fun! We clapped wildly after each song. Their videographer came over to film us clapping and smiling.

Fancy footwork!

Real swords! Don't try this at home!

Wonderful dancing, the same music we danced to later

A great one for the boys to try

Afterwards we visited with the branch members who had come. After they left we lingered as the dancers spread out through the audience so we could thank the older man who appeared to be in charge. We expressed how very much we had enjoyed the evening. He surprised us by inviting us to come and dance with them. He motioned to us to follow him to the outer foyer, where we discovered that they had begun to teach a big circle dance. The accordian player was playing a rousing Russian melody as about 40 people danced. We joined in, much to the amusement of the Godfreys. It caught us by surprise that the music started getting faster and faster and then that we traded partners all around the big circle! As Dad passed me he, he tucked his badge into his suit coat pocket and said, "I'm not sure this is legal!" He was a bit worried about all the photographers taking pictures of us. After that they did a big snake dance where the line circled and wove in and out, all around the hall. We forced the Godfreys to join in. It was a blast and not that hard: you just had to hold on tight to not get whipped off when the line made a sharp turn. Everyone was laughing and sweaty. Every dance was at least ten minutes. At that point Dad was ready for us to bow out, but the leader wouldn't let us. He insisted that we learn the next one, which was like a Russian version of the Virginia reel. I was paired with a big man, Deniis, and Dad was with his wife, both main performers in the concert that had just finished. They led us skillfully through the complicated steps and patterns, weaving in and out, around and through the long formation of dancers. It seemed to go on forever, but what a blast! After that we thought for sure we would leave, but the leader put everyone back in a big circle and said how much they wanted to "thank our wonderful American friends" by ending with a traditional dancing game. They cheered for us and of course we couldn't leave. This was like mingle, with the women in the middle of the circle of men, dancing to the music. When the accordion music suddenly stopped you had to quickly duck behind the nearest man in the circle. Whoever was left in the middle received a traditional scolding with fingers pointing at them in unison, and good humor, and then it all started over with the men dancing in the middle until the music stopped and they all scrambled for safety. No one was ever eliminated. It was repeated over and over with much laughing and chanting of scolding and shaking of fingers. Everyone was red-faced with exertion and totally sweaty. What a fun time! Dad actually really got into it and enjoyed it, but every time he passed me whirling with his partner, he said, with a big smile, "this has to be against the rules." And we did not realize that it was still not the best part of the night!

Our dance partners

As people were putting on coats, I asked Deniis if we could get a picture with him and his wife. As we did that, all of the other performers gathered around and wanted to be in the picture and know who we were and where we were from. They wanted pictures too. They thought Dad looked like a college professor. We explained that we were missionaries from America and Dad put his badge back on (the cameras were gone). The more we talked, the stronger the spirit became. The older grandmother, who was the leader, introduced us proudly to her daughter and son in law and little grandchild. She told us that they were a group of people who love the old traditions, who believe in Jesus Christ, and who want to keep their families strong, filled with love and free from the evil contamination that fills the world. I told them that we also believe in Jesus Christ, and we know that if we follow His teachings our homes and families will be strong and filled with love. They asked about our family and were amazed at its size, and that we could look so young with so many grandchildren! They were amazed that we love Christ so much that we would leave our beloved family and live here for three years. As we shared our hearts about family and Christ, the woman in the group who spoke some English said to me, "we see that your eyes are filled with light. We want to meet with you and become acquainted and learn about that light". She gave us her phone number so we can connect. We left with hearts so full of gratitude and wonder at the events of the evening, feeling so thankful that we didn't slip out after the first few songs, so glad we didn't leave after the program when all the members did, so thankful that we tried to express to the man how much we enjoyed the program, and that he invited us to join in the dancing, so happy that we kept dancing, even when we were tired and ready to leave. We would never have known what we would have missed. We left marveling at the wonderful events of the evening, thankful that The Lord had literally placed these sincere Christlike people in our path, and excited to develop friendships and trust that will allow us to eventually teach them the Gospel.

What wonderful people!

Well, I know this was long, but I hope I've shared our experiences with enough detail that you can feel the gratitude we feel for the wonderful opportunity to give our whole souls to this work. We are humbled at the frequent answers to our prayers and the guidance we feel as we strive to fulfill our stewardship here. It is an honor to serve our Savior and play a tiny role in bringing souls to Him. We love being missionaries! We are so grateful for all of you and we feel your support. We know our family is being watched over and blessed as we serve here.

Lots of Hugs and Kisses !!!
Mom


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