Dear Family,
Wow! So much to tell about--I'll start at the beginning of the week, I guess.
Monday - So, as per usual, we all get a letter from the Mission President and his wife, (The McGhies) on Monday morning--bright and early. I had to include it, because it is very serious, even though it did have a smiley face. Hah!
On Tuesday we will not have time between our mission meeting and the YSA meeting to feed everyone. I know you were all hoping for Papa Johns—sorry! We will not even have much time between meetings for food. Please bring a small snack with you to keep you going--something that you can eat quickly between the two meetings. It should not have a strong odor, should no need to be heated up and would not leave a mess if eaten in the meeting room. No borscht, no sausage, no herring, no kholodyets, no plov, no shasklik, no sour cream and onion chips, no shaurma, etc. 😊 Feel free to bring fresh fruit and fresh vegetables or dried fruit and nut mix. We suggest you not bring watermelon, beets or eggplant.All we Seniors had a pretty good chuckle out of this, but the thing the Mission President missed was a Burger King hamburger, which one of the missionaries was eating and it definitely could be smelled in the whole room. He definitely got razzed for it! They wanted everything perfect for Elder Utchdorf's visit--even for the place to smell good!
Tuesday - As I said in my last week letter, we had Elder Uchtdorf in our Stake Conference. So on Tuesday, we were able to meet with him and his wife, plus the Area Presidency for just a Volunteers' Session for nearly two hours. It was so good to hear from someone who has actually served here--Elder Utchdorf was the President of the Europe East Area for one year, then transferred to the Europe West. He understands what is going on and the difficulties we have here as we serve as volunteers. Although we can't actively proselyte, he told us there is no law about touching the hearts of the people. Communicate through the Spirit of Inspiration. Share things about yourself, ask them to help you and show you things. As you get to know people, they will feel of your heart and want to know more. He, also, told us how much the people of Russia have suffered through the ages. In ways that are different than other countries, we can find people to teach. Focus on the membership. Help bring those who have gone astray back to the fold. Let them know the Savior loves them. We, as volunteers, are extended arms of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It is a privilege to be here. He personally told the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. that these volunteers are the best ambassadors for your country. For the people, they need to build their own multi-generational church. They need to stay in this country. Bountiful, Utah, doesn't need more people there! Hah! To prepare the people for the temple, it must come from the inside out. When the people are ready, the temple will come! All such great thoughts from an Apostle of the Lord. We didn't stay for the next meeting, which was when he talked to the YSA and had a question and answer period. I understand it was great. They told us that it would be very crowded and they wanted the space for them, so some of us left.
Wednesday and Thursday - Gpa George and I have been working to put together visits to Bulgaria, Latvia, and Lithuania, in order to take them their Budget cards (since everything is done in cash in all of these countries), and they can't be mailed, go over some of their unfinished audits, as well as any problems they are having. Since we can only leave Russia once within a 90 day period, we kept trying to set up a visit in Istanbul where much training needed to be done and two audits needed to be performed. We were getting so little response from every person Gpa George tried to contact. Finally, we had to just get the tickets arranged to the other three countries, because we leave this Thursday, and we were so disappointed that we had basically been ignored and told, "It's better you don't come now." It was pretty upsetting. Then finally yesterday afternoon, the Mission President merely wrote, "It has nothing to do with auditing, but you will soon find out why you can't come." Then, we woke up this morning, reading the Deseret News and found out they are closing the missionary work and taking out all the volunteers from Turkey, sending them to other missions in the area, or even in North America. We still have no idea what that means for the active branches that are there, or how we handle any of the financial matters there until we get more instructions, but Gpa George and I were so glad that we had the opportunity to visit in Turkey a- few months ago because it may be the last time we get to visit there, and we met so many wonderful people there. We are so disappointed, but we so respect the officials of the Church who are absolutely going to look at the safety of their volunteers and not take any chances with political unrest that is going on there, evidently.
Saturday - We both went over to work to make sure we had all the tickets, hotels, and people lined up for the six-day travel we will do on Thursday. It is a good thing Gpa George is so organized because it is a lot to think about! Then that night, we had a going away pot-luck dinner and report time for two of our Seniors who have finished their missions and are on their way home tomorrow. They have both been such wonderful, hard workers and we are going to miss them. Everyone always gets to show a picture show and talk about their mission experience. It is really humbling to realize how much work is done by the Seniors. I never had any idea that it took so many to accomplish so much! We, also, got to meet three new couples that are just coming in. Truly some great people!
Going home - Office Secretaries, The Griffins
Going home - YSA, Pathways Instructors, The Krimmes
Seniors Group--Incoming and Outgoing (Some Seniors were on Visa trips and not pictured)
Sunday - We went to our regular Rechnoy Ward, and our Russian friend, Fyodr, was there. He came up to us and told us he wanted us to come out again and he would take us to his favorite museum out there. Gpa George said we would do that and this time, we will take him and his wife to a nice restaurant of his choice. He seemed very happy about that. Also, we got a text from Anna, the lady and her family that we went to the restaurant with last week. She invited Gpa and me to a Russian basketball game. They are big sports fans, too, and when they heard we were, they were so excited. However, the game is the exact time when we are on our training trip, so we had to decline the invitation. I told her thanks so much for inviting us, and said, "Hope to see you all again soon!" to which she replied, "We are always open to friendship with kind and nice people like you guys. So sweet! So, that made us feel good. We just keep trying to keep friendships alive and hopefully, we can someday let them know why we are so happy--living the gospel does that for you, right?!
Monday - Today we visited Gorky Park. The offices are all closed for the next three days due to Spring and Labor Day here in Russia. We had heard so much about this park--especially remembering the 1983 Cold War thriller involving the KGB--which hysterically enough was actually filmed in Stockholm. Anyway, the park is so huge that even with a quarter of a million people visiting it every weekend, there is plenty of room to spare. There are so many things to do there--sand volleyball, table tennis, bike rentals, cruises down the river, concerts, street musicians, walking and riding paths everywhere through the beautiful flowers and trees, and a fountain choreographed to music! It is truly a great place to relax for all of us who have been inside for far too long with the cold weather! And we were so excited to see that all the Spring flowers are real now!
Well, better close. We send our love to all of you. Keep up the great work you all are doing in your homes and with your families. Just stay close to the gospel, and even through hard times, the Lord will help us see a rainbow on the other side eventually!
Love,Gma Laura
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