Dear Family,
First of all, a shout-out to all the fathers! We hope your day was extra-special! We LOVED all the phone calls--it made Gpa George's day! We surely appreciate the great work all of you fathers are doing in your homes--not only are you being great providers, but you are, also, providing love and teaching of the gospel in the home. I love the quote from Billy Graham that Amy put on her Instagram post: "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." So sad, but true. I know there is no way I could have ever handled seven children without the support of my husband. We didn't always agree on the way we handled the kids, but behind closed doors we talked it over and tried to have a unified front and then support each other in our efforts at parenting. We definitely made many mistakes--but hopefully, there were more good parenting points than bad.
I, also, want to tell Lauren how much we love her and the beautiful and kind granddaughter she is! She is setting such great goals and definitely has the work ethic to accomplish them! It was her 18th birthday on June 14th.
Coming up this week will be Taylor and Ellie's 5th anniversary. We are so proud of the work and energy they have put into these past five years. They have purchased their own home and are now expecting our first great grandchild in August. Can't wait!
And, also, we wish a Happy Birthday to John this week! What a fantastic son-in-law he is! We so appreciate the love and kindness he has shown us through the years and the wonderful husband to Alison and father to his four great kids he is!
Well, World Cup fever is all over the place here! We tried to enjoy Red Square on Tuesday, but we finally just gave up. There are so many people, so much security, and you definitely have a hard time getting around there. We pass by the Spartek Stadium each time we take the bus. This Saturday, as we were going to the evening session of Stake Conference, we saw the place just packed with spectators, horse policemen, and security guards everywhere. Argentina was playing Iceland, and it ended in a draw. Iceland was pretty thrilled about it!
World Cup Fever even inside the Gum!
Everything in the Gum is sooo expensive--but the ice cream is a great deal! There is always line--especially now with all the visitors!
Since coming home from Switzerland last Tuesday, we have just been trying to catch up and get things ready for our Area Meeting this Thursday where we have to present to the Auditing Committee, headed by Elder Golden of the Seventy. We are always glad to have that over with! We are just counting the days until Kent and Natalie, Ethan and Ella, Kevin and Hannah get here on the 29th of June! We have so many activities planned for them--we've pulled out all the stops! We will be having them run every day to something new so they can truly experience Russian life! Hah! We certainly hope you all plan a trip to Russia before we leave in August 2019. We would LOVE that!
This morning, Gpa woke up to a cold shower! We knew that every single summer, the government turns off the hot water randomly in different buildings, to flush the lines, and this can last for up to two weeks! Wow! But fortunately, for us, our landlord told us that when they do it, we can turn on the water boiler that will at least give us hot water in the bathroom for showers and baths. So happy! I can handle that! But think of all the Russians whose apartments don't have a boiler (so many do not!) and they just have to warm water on the stove or do without. Amazing! Also, the government decides when to turn on the heat to the apartments. When we arrived in September, it was already getting cold and our apartment was freeezing! But no heat! Luckily within a couple of days, they turned the heat on. They do this to save money, I guess, because all of the apartments are heated by radiators which have water running through them. Oh, the things you have to get used to in a foreign mission, right?!
We really enjoyed Stake Conference. Our Area President, Pres. Martino, was the General Authority who was presiding. He really talked about ministering and getting ready in our hearts for a temple. A temple will come when the people are ready! Right now, it is sad to say, that the people, in my opinion, have a long ways to go. There were so few people at the Saturday night session, and even on Sunday, the place was certainly not filled. Pres. Martino talked about how other activities are taking over people's lives and causing them to put those activities before coming to church. He, also, said that if each person would minister to inactives and help bring them back, what a difference it would make. Just one person apiece! Anyway, it was all very good.
I'm sending a few pics of a sunset (they truly are beautiful here) and one pic snapped at 10:15 p.m. to show you how light it still is at that time. Sunrise is at 3:15 a.m. and sunset is after 10:00 p.m. But, it just reverses in the winter time, obviously, which just makes the winters seem that much longer.
I, also, am including the Moscow River where we cross the bridge. It is really beautiful now that it isn't ice covered. You just have to stop and look at the beautiful sight!
Lastly, a pic of George and me at Stake Conference with two of the young sisters--the one next to me is from Alaska, and her aunt lives in Olathe, Kansas, and is one of Amy's best friends. Always a small world!
Much love,
Gma
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