Week 20 - February 7, 2018

Dear Family,

Happy Birthday to Anne yesterday!  We surely appreciate all the fun and hard work Anne adds to the Copeland family.  She is truly a great daughter-in-law, wonderful mother and wife, and is always serving.  

Hope you all got your Copeland Family Calendars that she worked so hard on.  We are still waiting for ours.  I can't function without mine!  I had to make one on a piece of lined paper that looked ridiculous!  We don't have a printer here in our apartment or I could have just printed one off!

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are all Baltic countries that are part of the European Union, so they use the Euro.  Any country that uses the Euro is much more expensive than the other countries that use their own currency, sad to say.  We have certainly found that out as we have gone through these different countries.  But, it was nice not to have to change money in each country as we did in Turkey and Armenia.  We have so many envelopes with different currencies that we have to take each time, it is pretty funny!  We were so impressed with the beautiful chapels that each of these three countries had.  Lithuania's was absolutely wonderful (it looked like an office building), Latvia's was even bigger and newer (a huge two-story building that looked somewhat like an office building on the outside, but Estonia's looked and seemed more like a chapel you would see in the states.  They were all the nicest chapels we have seen as we have been traveling in the Europe East Area.  All of these buildings are owned by the church.  That is the reason they are so nice.  In countries, like Russia, where we can have no ownership, we just have to rent where space is available, and the outsides and areas aren't always the best.  But, the church does its best to fix them inside as nicely as they can to fit the needs.  In Estonia, they were actually going to add on to  their chapel starting the next day, and among other things, was going to add a big gymnasium so they could have activities there. 

Vilnius, Lithuania

After leaving Armenia, we boarded the plane for our next stop:  Vilnius, Lithuania.  Looking out the window, we could see that we were getting into a snowy climate!

We took the bus from the airport which dropped us off just on the other side of the Green Bridge, which crosses the Neris River.  We could see our hotel, the Hotel Congress right across the bridge.  


(By the way, the lettering on one side of the river says, "I Love You," and the other side says, "I Love You More!")

We decided to take the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus because the weather was so cold with lots of rain.  It was a little difficult looking through the rain spattered windows, but at least we were warm and not getting wet.  We like to do this in new cities to get an idea of where everything is that we want to see.  We ended up riding it around the city three times in a 24-hour period!  Hah!

Presidential Palace--Official office and residence of the President of Lithuania.  This year is a big year--the 100th anniversary of their independence and restoration of their statehood.

This stone and brick wall was a key element of the defensive system of Vilnius at the beginning of the Moscovite-Lithuania Wars in 1503 and 1522.  

The Gediminas Castle.  The tower is the remaining part of the Upper Castle.  The wooden fortifications were built by Gediminas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania.  The brick castle was completed in 1409 by the Grand Duke at that time.  It is undergoing some work to make it safer inside, so we weren't able to go there.

Feast of Muses is the symbol of the Lithuanian National Drama Theater

Cathedral Square is the main gathering point and place of all the celebrations in Villnius.  We didn't take the time to climb to the top of the bell tower, but we did go inside the beautiful Cathedral.  

Another beautiful church we visited was the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.  

It took 30 years to finish this church.  Of course, someone needed to pay for all of this excess, and a Lithuanian man, Hetman Michał Kazimierz Pac, gathered the necessary money.  

The church was built to celebrate a victory against Russian forces. H-Pac insisted that he be buried under the door-step of St. Peter and Paul’s. His tombstone is visible on the exterior with the caption, “Here lies a sinner.”

Notice the fishing boat chandelier.

Over 2,000 sculptures appear in the interior of the St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Vilnius.

A huge organ, also, follows the pattern of all white.

Vilnius with its very European streets!

Gates of Dawn, completed in 1522, is the only remaining gate from the city's original defensive walls.  As was common at the time, an image of the Virgin Mary was placed above all gates to protect the city.  

This site is revered by both Catholics and Orthodox faiths.  It remained opened even through the Soviet occupation.  Many people walking underneath say a silent prayer.  

Our bus driver said this little lady is 80 years old and has been walking these streets for 40 years.  Judging by what is going on, I think she is getting some money assistance by a fellow passer-by.

This is part of the Vilna Ghetto, which was a World War II Jewish ghetto established and operated by Nazi Germany in the city of Vilnius.  During the some two years of its existence starvation, disease, street executions, maltreatment, and deportations to concentration camps and extermination camps reduced the Ghetto's population from an estimated 40,000 to zero.  Only several hundred people managed to survive  mostly by hiding in the forest surrounding the city, joining Soviet partisans, or sheltering with sympathetic locals.

The Jewish Synagogue of Vilnius

Our hotel, the Hotel Congress--very good location, close to the Old Town and important city sites

The view out our hotel window.

On the last day in Vilnius, we visited the Museum of Genocide Victims.  Here is a monument made of rocks from all over Vilnius, as a salute to the entire country's sorrow with the genocide that took place. 

Memorial plaques honoring those who perished tile the outside of the building.

The Museum of Genocide Victims began its bloody history when this former gymnasium became the headquarters of the Gestapo during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania in 1941.  It was then re-occupied by the Soviet Secret Police--the KGB--when the Nazis left in 1944.  The KGB stayed until 1991 when Lithuania became independent from the Soviet Union.

This former headquarters of the KGB (and before them the Gestapo, Polish occupiers and Tsarist judiciary) houses a museum dedicated to thousands of Lithuanians who were murdered, imprisoned or deported by the Soviet Union from WWII until the 1960s.  All of the museum was so somber, but the basement where the cells and killing was done, is almost too much to take! 

The holding cell where the prisoners' "papers" were processed.  No one got out of this prison alive.

Padded cell and straight jacket

Ten to fifteen prisoners would be put into this tiny space.

Peep holes

Tiny courtyard for outdoor exercise with prisoners dressed in very little during the extreme cold.

Freezing water put in a basin with only a small stand-on pedestal.  Of course, when the prisoner would tire, there was only one place to go--in that terribly cold water.  

Hallway to the doors of the prison.

Socks of one of the prisoners.  Notice how many times they had been repaired.

Gas masks.

This part just absolutely tore me up--all the children who died during this time.

This plaque tells about the unbelievable suffering they went through.

Over 1,000 prisoners were executed in this room between 1944 and the early 1960s--about one third for resisting the occupation of the Soviet Union.  The items under the glass were personal items of some of those who died here.  Their bodies were lifted through the slanted wall above and loaded on trucks to be hauled away.

In all, a million and a half Lithuanians died during the 50-year occupation time of the Soviets.  I will never forget this place!

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Attending church in the different countries was so uplifting. This past Sunday, we were in the Estonian Branch and they had fast and testimony meeting.  It was fantastic!  There were people bearing their testimony, one after another.   Such a special spirit there.  I was most touched by the Senior Sister from Montana.  This is her and her husband's second 23-month mission to Estonia.  They love it so much there!  They are MLS Missionaries and do so much good.  She gave her testimony all in Armenian, very slowly, but from her heart.  Everyone was touched!  I asked her how she had learned.  She said she just worked on phrases to bear her testimony with and practiced over and over.  It meant so much to her and the people.  I feel that I need to try to do the same and at least learn a few phrases so that I could try bearing my testimony--even if it's short--in Russian.  All of the Senior Couples here in Moscow have each been assigned to visit a different Russian Branch at least once each month.  Gpa and I have been assigned the Ramenskoye Branch, which is about an hour train ride outside of Moscow, so by the time we take the Metro to the train, etc., it will probably be about 2 hours to get there.  The Elders only go there every other week, so we will have to coordinate with them so that we can be there when they are in order to have translators.  You see why we need more Russian?  But, I will tell you, as we have traveled all over, I don't know how these areas would function without Senior Missionaries--or any area for that matter.  There is so much work to be done by the older couples, leaving the Young Elders and Sisters to do the teaching.  As President Monson said, "We need many, many, many more Senior Couple missionaries."  I really see that to be true, for sure!  

Last night, we had the very first  Russian member to be baptized speak to us in Senior Council.  His name was Andrei Semenov and he was actually an orthopedic surgeon, who now works for the church as an interpreter.  He told of so many miracles that happened to get the first Russian Branch in Vyborg, Russia, in 1990, after decades of prayers by Church members all over the world.  With its humble beginnings, the church has spread all over Russia.  It certainly hasn't been easy, but as he says, this country is represented by all 12 tribes, and the work must keep going--even slowly as it is, because that's what the Lord wants.  I feel like we here are all "place holders," trying to help the members here in any way that we can and not lose them, until the government regulations lessen up so that more teaching can take place.  

When we returned to Moscow Monday night, we had been told that we might not be able to get in because of the huge snow storms that had taken place, but fortunately we were able to.  Seriously, I have never seen snow like that pile everywhere!  They just don't have anyplace to move it to with such a large city, so the roads, sidewalks, and bridges are all snow packed.  As we walked home from Senior Council last night, we did so very carefully because it was so slippery.  You just can't be in a hurry to go anywhere!  

We're back at work and Gpa is now planning for the big meeting for March 8 and 9th when Salt Lake sends out its representative for a meeting with all the auditors, so all three AAAs and Gpa will be involved, and Gpa has to plan it all.  There is never a dull moment!

Thanks for the wonderful family that you are!  We keep saying that we have worked ourselves out of a job.  You all are doing such a great job with your families--we surely LOVE and miss you all, though!

Love, Gma Laura