Dear Family,
This past week was a catch-up week. We definitely needed to live a little slower pace. Monday, Gpa George went to work at the Area Office, but didn't stay the whole day. He felt achey and tired. Then on Tuesday, he went in, not still feeling very well, and I went ahead and went to Zone Conference, as he planned to come over after lunch since the Senior Couples of the Zone were going to be on a panel. He came to the Conference about 1:30, stayed about ten minutes after taking about 40 minutes to get there. He was sweating, his nose had been bleeding, and he was so tired, that he just took a taxi home. I made sure he was alright about me staying for the assignment, and then he left.
When I got home about 5:00, he was lying down. I told him he definitely wasn't going to work the next day, so he stayed home. I know it about drove him crazy because he doesn't like to just lie around, but he did it, and when he finally went to work on Thursday, he was feeling much better. He gets nose bleeds when the air is really dry, and we had been so long in the heat in Turkey, then came back to Moscow where there is more moisture in the air, but it affected him, evidently. Also, I think he was just worn out. He feels great now and is back to his normal self, thank goodness! Travelling is actually very tiring, We had taken six different flights in the 12 days, taken public transportation, taxis, undergrounds, buses, etc. to get to the places we needed and wanted to go, but we certainly felt good about our associations with the people we went to see and have received some very nice thank you emails from them. We are just amazed at the difficult circumstances many of them work under, but they still continue to keep their testimonies and keep the branches going wherever they are called!
After returning home (to Moscow), this is the procedure that has to take place: 1. I have to take photos of every page in our 50 page passport book. 2. I have to make a photo of our new Migration Card that we receive at Passport Control each time we enter back into Russia (they take ours away when we leave), 3. I have to make a copy of all our airline ticket stubs to show what countries we visited. Then our Landlord comes and takes our passports (we're not supposed to leave the house ever without our passports, but I usually stay here and George goes on to work), and our landlord has to go to the Embassy Office (thank goodness there are satellite offices throughout the city) and re-registers us to give us the paper that we, also, must carry with us at all times. It is a time-consuming process, and if you don't have a good landlord who is willing to do this for you, you would be out of luck because it must be done within a week of your returning. AND THIS HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE TIME WE LEAVE RUSSIA!!!! It truly makes us feel so grateful to not have this many restrictions and requirements in America. The church was having one of its employees do this for those landlords not willing to do it, but it has become such a major time-consumer. Now they have told all the volunteers, young and senior, that if their landlord isn't willing to do it, they will have to move to one that will. So, many of the people are now moving. We are so happy that we have such a nice landlord. He just couldn't be better! He is about 36 years old, married with two children, and is a Jewish-Russian named Nikitta.
We didn't do any adventure on Saturday because we just wanted to stay home. Hah! George's favorite thing now is to do down in the greenbelt in front of our apartment and sit on the bench and feed pigeons. Hah! I told him that for sure we are getting old! Well, if he can't go watch his grand kids play ballgames, or watch them dance, or be in plays, or any other activities, he said he is just going to watch the pigeons and feed them and enjoy that!
So, Sunday, we went to the International Ward for the first time. What a joy that was! It was the first time we were able to hear Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School, and Priesthood/Relief Society in English for 11 months! What a joy it was to really feel the Spirit again like we used to. We are happy to help out in the Russian Ward, however, and as long as we can be of assistance anyway there, we will certainly do our part, but we continually ask ourselves what we can do more there. The reason we went to the 9:00 meeting at the International Ward was because Steve and Darlene Sorenson, who owned the Dairy Queen with us back in 1981, were coming to Moscow just for the day. They were coming over on the bullet train from St. Petersburg, rest a few minutes with their group in a hotel, then head out on a tour of the Kremlin. We had to time it just right--we only got to see them for 10 minutes, but what a joy that was. I don't think George has seen either of them for 25 or more years! After losing two grandchildren (one to drowning and one to being hit by a pickup-truck) within less than two months, they have been through so much the last couple of years. Due to the great emotional stress and grief, Steve basically had a break-down and has taken these past couple of years to try to get his health back. He is doing better, Darlene said, but we noticed he still doesn't talk a great deal and wasn't his regular outgoing, happy-go-lucky self. We cried together for most of the ten minutes we were together, but hopefully they felt our love for them. They were an important part of our lives for the years we lived in Murray, owned the Dairy Queen, and in the years since as we've tried to stay in touch through social media.
Monday, was Kevin's birthday! Happy Birthday, Kevin! I loved how Angie says, "He's a 49-year-old who still looks 25!" He certainly does! We surely love and appreciate Kevin for the wonderful example and great son, husband, father, and now grandfather that he is!
Tuesday, we had Senior Council. We were so interested in the presentation that James Miller from the Church History Department gave. He has been here for the past 10 days or so, seeing what is possible with church history in a country that has such gigantic privacy laws. He has found that very little can be done and definitely nothing can be sent to Salt Lake, so it is still something that hopefully we can keep praying that the Russian Government will loosen up the laws a little. Brother Miller came on his mission here to Russia, married a girl from Belarus, and speaks excellent Russian, so we are fortunate to have him in the Church History Department in Salt Lake. He pointed out to us that "Saints, Volume 1" has just been finished and is now on your Church Library App under Church History. It is so well written, very much documented even with everything that is quoted, but written so that is more like a novel so that even the youngest readers can enjoy it. I would encourage you to read it as a family. You would love it! There are, also, Church History Topics that explain so many topics that some people are struggling with that only hear the false or only the partial truth about. This is taken from documents, again, that are very transparent and give the full story. All of it was very wonderful! Oh, yes, and we were able to meet the new Area Secretaries to the Presidency, the Herlins--from Park City and a former partner in Deloitte who said he was on the board when John was made Partner. He said we had a great son-in-law! Of course, we knew that! Anyway, we are looking forward to getting to know them better!
Tonight, we are going to a Russian member's house whose wife is a non-member. They have invited us to their daughter's birthday party who is turning three. We have never met anyone but him because the rest of the family aren't members and never come to church. So, we are looking forward to this very much.
We took little Rita some modeling clay for her birthday. Her mother made her some darling things out of the clay and enjoyed it as much as Rita, I think.
Well, better close. I honestly can't write without writing a book each time, right?! Sorry it takes me so long to explain everything. We surely LOVE you all and appreciate the many kindnesses you show us while we are away.
Love,
Gma Laura
PS We are hoping and praying for the very best for Sandy, Dwayne's wife. She will be going through some major surgery soon. Please remember her in your prayers. She has to have a cancerous kidney removed, so we are certainly hoping and praying for everything to go well! She is such a dear person, so kind in every way.
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