From Russia, With Love: Week 33

Dear Family,

What a week this has been! I know I am late getting this week's letter off, but as most of you know, we have been gone the last week on assignment and for training.

But first, let me say Happy Birthday to our granddaughter, Hannah! She has such a soft heart for young and old, and always for the underdog! We surely love her!

Wednesday - We went with a group of Seniors on a special tour of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and it was fascinating. It is only a few minutes from the Kremlin. (We were told this is the church where Putin attends.) The original church was built after the defeat of Napoleon, but was blown to pieces in 1931 by the Soviet Government. The site became an open-air swimming pool, the largest in the world because the war interrupted any building there. In 2000, this building was reconstructed to be as much like the original as possible, but has a new lower floor (which was the only place we could take pics besides outside on the observation decks) where there is a beautiful theater for productions and a museum there.

Peter the Great opening the new frontier--this statue was meant for the Americas, but they didn't want it, so the head was changed and kept in Russia with Peter the Great as the champion of the new frontier.

Unlike the Catholic bells which swing back and forth when struck, the Orthodox bells are stationary and just the gong goes back and forth.

We all went to eat at a nearby restaurant, which had a very interesting ceiling.

After, we went through Red Square where they are getting ready for the big Victory day Parade May 9th, commemorating defeat of the Germans (one can only enter Red Square that day by invitation). Lastly, we visited Park Zaryadye, which is just off Red square--it is a beautiful open space with modern architectural buildings and a floating bridge that you can see up and down the Moscow River. We were definitely tired at the end of the day. We had walked over six miles!

George and Boris, who went with our group and is a co-director of Public Affairs for our church. They are standing in front of a painting of the two warriors who gathered an all-Russian volunteer army and expelled the forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1612. These two warriors are, also, depicted on the monument in front of St. Basil's.

Monument to Czar Alexander I, who is credited with the victory over Napoleon. The gardens here adjacent to the Kremlin wall are, also, named after him.

This is where the Kremlin Military stays.

Tomb of the Unknown soldier, guarded 24 hours a day. Changing of the guard is every hour on the hour.

That night, we started our first Russian lessons through the MTC in Provo by Zoom. We are so excited that we are working with Matt Niu--Matt is a cousin to Philip Niu who is married to my sister, Beverly's daughter, Melissa. He served a mission in St. Petersburg, lived in Moscow for a short while, and is now majoring in Russian and International Relations at BYU. One smart guy! And so patient and sweet. We were so excited that he has great faith in us. We laughed when Cameron told everyone that maybe they should be praying for Matt because he doesn't know what he has gotten himself into by teaching us. Hah!

Thursday and Friday - We flew to Riga, Lativa. I really LOVE that place! Old Town, Riga, is so fun to just meander through. The people are so friendly. After meeting with the Counselor in the District Presidency, going over the audit information, and delivering their new cards for their cash withdrawals, we, also, attended a "Meet the Mormons" night at their beautiful chapel. We fell even more in love with this beautiful place and its people.

We noticed many roosters on top of the churches in Riga, rather than the traditional crosses. We learned that a rooster symbolizes watchfulness and vigilance, and keeping watch out for the Lord. Plus, they were often used as weather vanes, setting the tone for Riga, a port city called on by many sailing ships.

The Freedom Monument is a memorial located in Riga, Latvia, honoring soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence. It is considered an important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of Latvia.

The next day, we took two different country buses for an hour and a half journey, and went for a visit at Rundale (Roondallie) Palace. This is a restored palace built in the 1700s, and it has been called the Versailles of the Baltics! Each room of the palace has a story to tell, while the gardens are just heavenly--you never want to leave because they are so peaceful and beautiful!

Some sites we passed on our way to the Palace.

This palace really is located way out in the country. Before entering into the palace, you pass the beautiful horse stables.

Painting of David with the head of Goliath.

I loved how the genealogy of the monarchy that lived here is very proudly displayed.

We now got to go outside, which was just as impressive as the inside. Such beautiful grounds and fountains!

This picture makes me laugh. We thought it was going to rain, so we borrowed this umbrella from the hotel. We (George) ended up carrying it around the entire day with absolutely no rain! But, at least we were prepared if there was rain!