Sunday Dec 5 2010

It has been a very busy week.  I think we only had one evening at home.  Our days start at the office around 8:30am and end between 4:30 and 5:00pm.  So all the extras after the office make for  a very long day.  Without a car we do not get anywhere quickly. So many nights we do not make it home until 9 or 10pm.    But everything we do is so worth it that we just have to go.  So this Monday we went to the Snow Maden ballet after work with the Conlins.  We went to a theatre at the Kremlin.  It was a great event and ballet is a big part of the culture here in Russia. I especially enjoyed it where I took ballet as a young girl and Gene did enjoy it but probably not as much as me.  More a girl thing.  Tues was our one night at home.  The weather turned freezing cold on us.  It was 14 below 0 and that is Farenheit a couple of mornings when we walked to the office.  Our walk is about 20-25 min. You just have to dress in layers and pretend you are Randy on the Christmas story. Wed we enjoyed our night at English club and we had a couple of the kids join us for our spiritual thought so that was great.  Thursday was senior night and it was a wonderful night with the seniors.  We were asked how we thought Christmas would be different this year for us and our families and we all had to answer that question.  It was good to hear how other parents and grandparents felt being away at the Holiday Season and made me understand that it was a little tough on everyone  but that they had found ways to make it a good Christmas.  One couple said they spent last Christmas on Red Square.  Anyway we will think this through and come up with a way to  enjoy our Russian Christmas and make it special and know that our children will do the same.  Friday night was spent shopping for some warmer socks and a few other things.  Nylons do not cut it in this weather.  It is heavy warm socks and everyone wears them.  Keeping warm is the issue not looking good.  Then Saturday we went to Zelenograd where we had a baptism.  Her name is Sevetlana and she is 72 yrs old.  The custest litte Babushka ever. That is what they call grandmas here.  She just couldn't wait to baptized.  Many missionaries who had taught her came to her baptism.  It was a wonderful day.  It is these times that make the sacrifice of service so worth it. Even if you do not get to the grocery store until 8pm in the dark, cold and snow.  And pulling the groceries home it in.  Gene has decided he is going to look for a sleigh to pull our groceries on. All the people with small children pull them on a small sleigh that has a seat and sides and they just sit and ride.  Once it snows that snow will be here until spring.  It never gets warm enough for it to melt. We are loving our mission more everyday.  We have a few aches and pains we wish we could get rid of but that is probably normal.  About as normal as it will get.
Well what a great week in Russia..keep in touch... Gene and Marcia

 
                                             

At the Kremlin going to the ballet

It was a very cold night

this is the theatre

Taking our picture in the mirrors

headed to performance

The next few will be theatre pictures

Leaving for the office on  a very cold morning

Notice the eyes on Gens scarf and eyelashes

The elders have to dress warm also..Aren't they cute?

The next few pictures are the great cookie project.
I have never seen cookies decorated so good

Office tree that I decorated

2 Charlie Brown trees

This is the baptismal font.  Notice the color of the water

Svetlana with the first two elders that found her

Elder Bogdonof baptized her

Elder Cordoza also taught her

Just to reiterate the challenge of shopping
Which of these is black pepper?

If you guessed this one you are right.
It took us 4 trys to get just black pepper.  One was red pepper
one was salt and one was was what we think might be garlic pepper

Big blog this time..