Carry On!

Elvira exemplifies the faithful saints.  She and her husband joined the Church 15 years ago and were sealed in the Temple.  After he died of cancer, she raised their two children alone.

She speaks good English and is infinitely patient with we "foreigners" who work with her in the office.  We can't say enough about her wisdom.

Although trained as an architect, she prefers being employed by the Church as a visa worker.

In the Church she is the District and Branch YW leader, an Institute Teacher, Branch pianist, a dedicated VT, and constantly looking for missionary or reactivation opportunities.

We will miss her and all those like her.  Our prayers are with them.

Soviet

Those who grew up in the USSR (CCCP) say that they felt a pride in their country, they felt lucky to be Russian.  In the "Young Pioneers," they sang songs, gave service, and were taught good values:  take care of the elderly, be an example to the young; slogans promoted "equality and justice for all."

One sister said it was a shock to realize that the world didn't see it the same.  She added, "Of course, it was forced and we didn't know about the killing, etc."

Today, we think they should still be proud to be Russian.  They may not realize it, but they have more choices than their grandparents.  The way we see it, they can choose a material life, or one based in Faith.

ReBar

This rebar covers all the Office windows or the balconies.  Nearly all lower-story windows have it.  We thought the rebar was a hold-over from the Soviet Era, but people say that, no, that felt like a safe time.  We were told that if a crime was committed, the suspect just "went away," they "disappeared."

The rebar became a necessity during the aftermath of the soviet collapse when there was no order and everyone's property was up for grabs, so to speak.  But we sense an era of trust is re-emerging.

Salad

Salads are both similar and different. A cold salad with vegetables is common as a first course or as a side dish at a meal.  However, they're not the tossed green salad we tend to expect.  A salad here means something more like a potato or chicken salad mix.

The salad will almost always be mixed with mayo and will contain meat, sometimes more meat than in the entree.  The combinations are new to us:  potato salad almost always has canned peas; a beet salad may contain fish, and so on.

Addresses

The addressing system is sensible enough. Each large building has a street and number, sometimes posted plainly such as this "dome" by the office.  Someone's address may be Tatesheva 125  Apt. 70.  It gets tricky, however, because several buildings may fill the center of large blocks.  In this case, the actual street Tatesheva is a block or two away.

Contacting

Remember the twins we sometimes pass on our walk to school? They came with their mother last week to our house to meet the missionaries, and then, very kindly reciprocated.

(Elder Stewart, a twin himself, plays puzzles with them.)

Last Days

We're scheduled to return home this Tuesday, February 23, and we speak in Sacrament Meeting on the 28th.  After we're released, we'll post a few more items to finish out our blog.