Dear Family,
We even
took the bullet train over to St. Petersburg for 2 1/2 days and saw so many
important historical places there. There were definitely lots of tears as
we all said good-bye--we took off for Rostov-on-don on Saturday afternoon, and
they all left the next morning for home.
We were
able to attend church in Rostov. We always love attending church in the
different areas. It is just amazing feeling the love of the Saints and
hearing the same teachings no matter where we attend in the world. This
truly is a world-wide church! On the plane going over to Rostov-on-don,
there were a couple of Russian families with some really cute little
kids. We were smiling and kind of playing with them. As their
parents were getting off, one of the fathers asked where we were from and why
were we living in Moscow. Anyway, as Gpa George talked a little to them,
they asked, "Do you have a book or any literature about your
church?" That is a crushing blow to hear that because we can't carry
around Books of Mormon, not even pass along cards. We can only invite
them to the church to hear about it. But, of course, they are from
Rostov, so we didn't know the address that very minute, and we were all
exiting. George told them to go on the internet and learn more about
Mormons--I told George we need to start saying Mormon.org because we want them
to get correct information and not the anti-stuff that is on the
internet. Do you feel our pain? We just feel like our hands are so
tied with all the Russian restrictions. They even told us to throw away
anything that we had more than one of in our apartments because then it
wouldn't look like we are promoting anything. The only thing we can do is
invite them to our church to hear more about the gospel, and that is difficult
to have happen. It is amazing that baptisms are still taking place with
all the restrictions, but we know in time, things will change. We just
returned to Moscow yesterday afternoon, the went to Senior Council last
night. There weren't many there because so many are on Visa
trips.
I can't
believe that in five days our grandson, Carter, will return from his mission to
Scotland-Ireland. I have the privilege of doing the blogs for all the
missionaries in our family--which I do consider a blessing. Although it
is time consuming, it is a rare blessing to read their letters and see their
pictures each week. I love seeing their growth in the gospel, in their
languages (if they are in a non-English speaking country), and the growth in
themselves. We are so proud of Carter (as we have with the other
four grandsons who have served and are now home) and how hard he has
worked. He bore his testimony in his last email of his mission. I
would like to include it in our letter for this week:
Elders
and Sisters, These past two years have changed my life. They have allowed
me to experience the enabling power of the Atonement in my life, and that we
all have access to. Also, the love of our Father in Heaven has for
each of us through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ. I have never
felt more pure in heart and powerful than as I do as a missionary. I am
grateful to have been able to see the gospel heal so many. Let us all
press forward with an eye of faith. I pray we can continue to learn more
of our own perfectly designed plans in this life to help us in the life to
come. Alma 7:7-9.
Isn't
that just beautiful? I looked up the scripture he quoted and was so
struck with the part: " . . . the Lord God hath power to do all
things which are according to his word." I truly believe this with
all my heart. I appreciate Carter sharing that with us.
Today is
our grandson, Jaxon's 15th birthday. What a joy he is! He's so much
fun to be around. Gpa George and I say we don't know whether he'll be a
famous golfer, basketball player, or scholar because he's so good at all of
them, but whatever he does, he works his hardest.
We were
able to attend church in Rostov. We always love attending church in the
different areas. It is just amazing feeling the love of the Saints and
hearing the same teachings no matter where we attend in the world. This
truly is a world-wide church! On the plane going over to Rostov-on-don,
there were a couple of Russian families with some really cute little
kids. We were smiling and kind of playing with them. As their
parents were getting off, one of the fathers asked where we were from and why
were we living in Moscow. Anyway, as Gpa George talked a little to them,
they asked, "Do you have a book or any literature about your
church?" That is a crushing blow to hear that because we can't carry
around Books of Mormon, not even pass along cards. We can only invite
them to the church to hear about it. But, of course, they are from
Rostov, so we didn't know the address that very minute, and we were all
exiting. George told them to go on the internet and learn more about
Mormons--I told George we need to start saying Mormon.org because we want them
to get correct information and not the anti-stuff that is on the
internet. Do you feel our pain? We just feel like our hands are so
tied with all the Russian restrictions. They even told us to throw away
anything that we had more than one of in our apartments because then it
wouldn't look like we are promoting anything. The only thing we can do is
invite them to our church to hear more about the gospel, and that is difficult
to have happen. It is amazing that baptisms are still taking place with
all the restrictions, but we know in time, things will change. We just
returned to Moscow yesterday afternoon, the went to Senior Council last
night. There weren't many there because so many are on Visa
trips.
I can't
believe that in five days our grandson, Carter, will return from his mission to
Scotland-Ireland. I have the privilege of doing the blogs for all the
missionaries in our family--which I do consider a blessing. Although it
is time consuming, it is a rare blessing to read their letters and see their
pictures each week. I love seeing their growth in the gospel, in their
languages (if they are in a non-English speaking country), and the growth in
themselves. We are so proud of Carter (as we have with the other
four grandsons who have served and are now home) and how hard he has
worked. He bore his testimony in his last email of his mission. I
would like to include it in our letter for this week:
Elders
and Sisters, These past two years have changed my life. They have allowed
me to experience the enabling power of the Atonement in my life, and that we
all have access to. Also, the love of our Father in Heaven has for
each of us through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ. I have never
felt more pure in heart and powerful than as I do as a missionary. I am
grateful to have been able to see the gospel heal so many. Let us all
press forward with an eye of faith. I pray we can continue to learn more
of our own perfectly designed plans in this life to help us in the life to
come. Alma 7:7-9.
Isn't
that just beautiful? I looked up the scripture he quoted and was so
struck with the part: " . . . the Lord God hath power to do all
things which are according to his word." I truly believe this with
all my heart. I appreciate Carter sharing that with us.
Today is
our grandson, Jaxon's 15th birthday. What a joy he is! He's so much
fun to be around. Gpa George and I say we don't know whether he'll be a
famous golfer, basketball player, or scholar because he's so good at all of
them, but whatever he does, he works his hardest.
And
tomorrow, July 12th, is Amy's birthday. I so respect the wonderful
daughter, sister, wife, and mother she is. She works so hard at
everything and never leaves a stone unturned. In addition to her very
busy life, she is, also, Primary President and makes sure every one of her
Primary Children feel her love. Happy Birthday to both of you!
Coming in to Rostov at almost midnight, we passed the beautiful new Rostov-on-don Soccer Stadium where some of the FIFA World Cup Games were held.
George and I arriving at the Mission Home/Church on Sunday morning ready for training after church.
The mission secretary and his wife were so kind to invite us over for dinner when training was done. We came by taxi and saw the landmark near their apartments--the tipped over car!
Walking down to the river path along the Don River.
The soccer stadium is directly across from here.
The next day, we decided to take little one hour cruise down the Don River.
We never realized how busy this river was for shipping!
After we finished our little cruise, we walked over to the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It is being majorly renovated, including the bell tower, so the bells are tied up next to it.
Like many other churches, there is a place to wash as you come in.
The cathedral is blocked off due to the renovations, but they have placed many icons in a little temporary shelter attached to the cathedral.
We walked down the path in the Alexander Pushkin Park. It was very hot here--93 degrees, compared to quite cool and rainy in St. Petersburg and Moscow, so it was quite a change for us.
I am going to hate to see the World Cup over with--it has been so fun to see all they have done to prepare for it and make it a great experience for everyone. I just won't miss the crowds everywhere!
That evening, we ate at the restaurant on the 14th floor next door since we really hadn't eaten since breakfast. We were the only ones in the restaurant, although the food was very good and the view was fantastic!
The next morning we headed back to the airport--passing huge fields of sunflowers, which are used for sunflower oil.
Even the airport has fun FIFA displays.
This airport has only been open for a few months. It is just beautiful inside. There is a surround sound and movie that is fantastic--just step inside the circular opening to enjoy it!
And we were off--back to our home--our Moscow home!
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