At the airport
At home
And pictures in our room of some of our favorite people
As wonderful as our experiences in Russia were, it's good to be home.
Monday, September 17, 2012
HOME SWEET HOME
We're back in Utah! Our release date kept moving around and we weren't exactly sure when we'd actually leave Russia, but we finally returned home last Tuesday. After over 25 hours of travel, we arrived home to this:
As wonderful as our experiences in Russia were, it's good to be home.
As wonderful as our experiences in Russia were, it's good to be home.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
CONFERENCES
Wednesday evening we took a night train to Novosibirsk for a zone conference on Friday. The senior couples get to go in a day early rather than get off the train and head straight to the zone conference all bleary eyed--they know these high priest elders won't make it through all the sessions without a good night's sleep. :~) We enjoyed seeing a lot of the missionaries we've served with in the past. It was a lot of fun to meet up with so many of those we haven't seen since they were transferred away from our cities--or at least since the last zone conference. We were impressed with how much some of them have matured in a few short months.
Elder/President Bennett is a member of the new area presidency and has been touring the mission. He and his wife were here for the zone conference. They shared good stories but also, along with President Gibbons, challenged the missionaries to cast off some bad habits and align themselves more closely with the guidelines and rules in the missionary handbook. There were even a few changes, like holding the weekly district meetings at the branch building instead of at the senior couples' apartment and not having a meal after. We were so pleased to see the missionaries step up and agree to follow the new standards.
The young missionaries headed home Friday night, but the senior couples were invited to stay for the District Conference on Sunday. This is the first District Conference since the Novosibirsk District was organized 6 months ago.
People from two of the branches attended the meetings while those in the outlying areas joined in by video broadcast. We've enjoyed seeing the Church grow from 3 smaller districts to one large "Preparatory District" (preparing to become a stake).
A choir of Russians sang during the Conference. Up until now we've only seen the missionaries sing a special musical number.
It was announced that a stake in Saint Petersburg was formed today. The first stake in Russia was formed a year ago in June. We're hoping Novosibirsk will soon be the third stake.
We've spent a lot of time this weekend with the other senior couples. It's been so delightful! The office couple, Randall and Susan Webb, have had us to their home for meals and visiting a couple of times. It's been so refreshing to be with English-speaking peers, however brief.
Sister Noel took the picture and said she would Photoshop herself in. Since we don't know how to do that, we'll just have to wait for her to send us a copy.
This week's Russianism:
There's a lot of English influence here, both British and American. For example, we often see signs that are a combination of English and Russian, like this:
We know it's in English because we can make sense out of the top line and because they don't have R, S, or L in the Cyrillic alphabet. In Russian it says this is a jewelry boutique.
Elder/President Bennett is a member of the new area presidency and has been touring the mission. He and his wife were here for the zone conference. They shared good stories but also, along with President Gibbons, challenged the missionaries to cast off some bad habits and align themselves more closely with the guidelines and rules in the missionary handbook. There were even a few changes, like holding the weekly district meetings at the branch building instead of at the senior couples' apartment and not having a meal after. We were so pleased to see the missionaries step up and agree to follow the new standards.
The young missionaries headed home Friday night, but the senior couples were invited to stay for the District Conference on Sunday. This is the first District Conference since the Novosibirsk District was organized 6 months ago.
District President Ozhereliev
People from two of the branches attended the meetings while those in the outlying areas joined in by video broadcast. We've enjoyed seeing the Church grow from 3 smaller districts to one large "Preparatory District" (preparing to become a stake).
A choir of Russians sang during the Conference. Up until now we've only seen the missionaries sing a special musical number.
We've spent a lot of time this weekend with the other senior couples. It's been so delightful! The office couple, Randall and Susan Webb, have had us to their home for meals and visiting a couple of times. It's been so refreshing to be with English-speaking peers, however brief.
Elder and Sister Webb (Cashmere--by Wenatchee--Washington), Sister Sharon and Elder Bart Holmes (Payson, Utah), Elder Frank Noel (Ogden, Utah), Us (Salt Lake City, Utah)
We were able to snap this picture from the Holmes' hotel window--a beautiful sunset over the river.
This week's Russianism:
There's a lot of English influence here, both British and American. For example, we often see signs that are a combination of English and Russian, like this:
Monday, September 3, 2012
BARNAUL AGAIN
Many cities in Russia have the name of the city in big cement block letters on the outskirts. You can see how big they are--one of the missionaries is crouched inside the Б. Going to see the letters was one of the first things new missionaries to Barnaul wanted to do on a P-day.
Last year when President Gibbons asked us to move to Novokuznetsk, he told us we could go back if we needed to. He was probably thinking of unfinished business or so we could speak in church. We chose to wait and went back last weekend to deliver some items to the senior couple there and as a chance to see our old friends. It was a delightful visit.
As soon as we walked out of the train station, memories came rushing back to us and everything was all so familiar. We felt as if we had just been gone a short time like to a zone conference, not a whole year, and continued to feel that way the whole weekend.
Elder and Sister (Bart and Sharon) Holmes are the senior couple in Barnaul now. To say they replaced us is a bit of a misstatement. This is their third time serving in Barnaul. We went to dinner with them before we left on our mission and they answered so many of our questions about what it was like to serve in Russia. They were planning to return for their third time after we went home, so when we got transferred to Novokuznetsk we told President Gibbons about them. He called and invited them to return sooner. They took him up on it and came back at the end of February. They are so wonderful! They have also served missions in Scotland and Cambodia, but absolutely fell in love with Barnaul. The mission held on to the apartment we had and that's where the Holmes are living now. Going back to the apartment was like returning to a familiar friend. It brought back a lot of the feelings we had when we first arrived, only without all the apprehension.
Before we arrived in Russia we had been told the branch was going to be moving to a new, bigger, nicer building soon. We kept waiting, but the remodeling progress was slow. Now they have a definite date--they have to be out of the old building by September 11, whether or not the new building is ready (we're assuming the lease is up). Saturday the branch members met to start packing things up. We didn't get to see inside the new building, but the outside looks much nicer than it did a year ago. It used to be orange with a big purple stripe running across it.
In Russia schools are open 6 days a week, including Saturdays. September 1 was the first day of school for children in Barnaul. They call it something like the "Day of Knowledge" or "Day of Learning" and the kids all dress up in very fancy clothes. They take flowers and other gifts to the teachers. One thing we like is the big white bows the girls wear. If the girls are wearing pigtails, they have two big bows and there's often more bow than hair! It looks very festive. This picture is the best we could get since we didn't see any children we know personally and didn't know how to explain to total strangers why we wanted their picture.
Saturday night was the opening social for the Seminary and Institute. We've already told you how much they love balloons here. They are used in all sorts of celebrations.
We had only told a few members of the branch that we'd be returning, so most of the members were surprised to see us. There were many tears of joy and hugs all around--as much as possible.
Seated: Tamara, Sister Holbrook, Zina, Tatiana, Masha, Anya
Standing: Lilliya, Tatiana, Sister Holmes, Lena, Sasha, Marina, Riasa, Elena, Galena, Masha, Nadiezhda, Oksana (with Elder Holmes walking down the hall in the background)
Some of our friends even showed up at the train station to see us off one last time. Some of them brought food for us from their garden. There are many wonderful people in Barnaul.
We feel so blessed to have been able to return to say our final goodbyes. We do feel like we got some closure by returning to Barnaul. We’d forgotten how much we enjoyed it and how comfortable we got in such a short time. Last weekend was a wonderful gift. This is one of those times when, try as we might, words can't do justice to the feelings of love and other emotions we experienced there.
This week's Russianism:
While most of the buildings here are right next to the street, almost all of the gas stations are set well back from the road and have a large area, usually grassy, in front of them.
As soon as we walked out of the train station, memories came rushing back to us and everything was all so familiar. We felt as if we had just been gone a short time like to a zone conference, not a whole year, and continued to feel that way the whole weekend.
Elder and Sister (Bart and Sharon) Holmes are the senior couple in Barnaul now. To say they replaced us is a bit of a misstatement. This is their third time serving in Barnaul. We went to dinner with them before we left on our mission and they answered so many of our questions about what it was like to serve in Russia. They were planning to return for their third time after we went home, so when we got transferred to Novokuznetsk we told President Gibbons about them. He called and invited them to return sooner. They took him up on it and came back at the end of February. They are so wonderful! They have also served missions in Scotland and Cambodia, but absolutely fell in love with Barnaul. The mission held on to the apartment we had and that's where the Holmes are living now. Going back to the apartment was like returning to a familiar friend. It brought back a lot of the feelings we had when we first arrived, only without all the apprehension.
Elder and Sister Holmes, Sister Holbrook, and Lilliya, with the branch building behind them to the left
Before we arrived in Russia we had been told the branch was going to be moving to a new, bigger, nicer building soon. We kept waiting, but the remodeling progress was slow. Now they have a definite date--they have to be out of the old building by September 11, whether or not the new building is ready (we're assuming the lease is up). Saturday the branch members met to start packing things up. We didn't get to see inside the new building, but the outside looks much nicer than it did a year ago. It used to be orange with a big purple stripe running across it.
What the new building looks like now
What it's supposed to look like--they've got a lot to finish up in a week!
In Russia schools are open 6 days a week, including Saturdays. September 1 was the first day of school for children in Barnaul. They call it something like the "Day of Knowledge" or "Day of Learning" and the kids all dress up in very fancy clothes. They take flowers and other gifts to the teachers. One thing we like is the big white bows the girls wear. If the girls are wearing pigtails, they have two big bows and there's often more bow than hair! It looks very festive. This picture is the best we could get since we didn't see any children we know personally and didn't know how to explain to total strangers why we wanted their picture.
Saturday night was the opening social for the Seminary and Institute. We've already told you how much they love balloons here. They are used in all sorts of celebrations.
A game during the opening social
We had only told a few members of the branch that we'd be returning, so most of the members were surprised to see us. There were many tears of joy and hugs all around--as much as possible.
Zina, Riasa, Anya
The women after church
Standing: Lilliya, Tatiana, Sister Holmes, Lena, Sasha, Marina, Riasa, Elena, Galena, Masha, Nadiezhda, Oksana (with Elder Holmes walking down the hall in the background)
Some of our friends even showed up at the train station to see us off one last time. Some of them brought food for us from their garden. There are many wonderful people in Barnaul.
Anya, Lilliya, Sister Holbrook, Galena, Artyome, and Marina (Artyome is standing between his grandmother and mother--three generations of members of the Church!)
We feel so blessed to have been able to return to say our final goodbyes. We do feel like we got some closure by returning to Barnaul. We’d forgotten how much we enjoyed it and how comfortable we got in such a short time. Last weekend was a wonderful gift. This is one of those times when, try as we might, words can't do justice to the feelings of love and other emotions we experienced there.
This week's Russianism:
While most of the buildings here are right next to the street, almost all of the gas stations are set well back from the road and have a large area, usually grassy, in front of them.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
ODDS AND ENDS
As we've sorted through our pictures lately we've discovered a lot of "single" pictures--little stories centered around one picture, but not enough for a whole blog, so today's blog is made up of a variety of things we've enjoyed here.
We saw a lot of these in Barnaul, not so many in Novokuznetsk. We wondered for a long time what they are. In some areas there are rows upon rows of these (well, not quite organized into rows, but a whole bunch of them) in empty fields along the walkways by apartment buildings. One day Dave saw a man stand up and climb out of one so we asked what they were. They're like individual root cellars. People use them to store potatoes, onions, etc. from their dachas and access them all winter long. You can't tell from this picture, but there's a lock on it; it's propped open for a little ventilation
These statues (to the left and below) are at on either side of a big archway at the entrance to a large park in Novokuznetsk. They depict the mining that is such a big part of the economy in this area.
We saw a lot of these in Barnaul, not so many in Novokuznetsk. We wondered for a long time what they are. In some areas there are rows upon rows of these (well, not quite organized into rows, but a whole bunch of them) in empty fields along the walkways by apartment buildings. One day Dave saw a man stand up and climb out of one so we asked what they were. They're like individual root cellars. People use them to store potatoes, onions, etc. from their dachas and access them all winter long. You can't tell from this picture, but there's a lock on it; it's propped open for a little ventilation
This is from the Sunday we had record attendance. We loved having 39 people there that day.
Russian men really do sit like this. They won't sit on the bare ground or even on stairs, but this is a very common scene. They can sit like this for a very l-o-n-g time.
An update on the wedding locks on the bridges: Several weeks ago this metal "tree" appeared next to a bridge. There's a note saying it's a gift from a local company, and brides and grooms should put locks on the tree instead of the bridge railing. That's a nice thing, since the railing is too fat for locks to fit around. The tree is filling up very quickly (this picture was taken about a month ago and there are a LOT more locks on it now).
Most of the Russians love to play games. This one involved feeding candy on a string to another person. The catch was that you couldn't see where the candy was in relation to the person because you were seated back to back.
Games at FHE are a must each week. One popular one is "Do You Love Your Neighbor?" When we play it at the church, there's plenty of room to make the circle bigger, but our living room is much smaller and makes the free-for-all a little tricky.
Many weeks we set up a table or two after the lesson and play Uno. Some people never get tired of it.
We had another baptism a while back. It just happened to be scheduled for the same weekend that President Gibbons was in town, so he got to baptize her. The turnout was terrific--21 people, which more than we often get at church.
After the baptism we went back to the church for a short program and food. Dave made his killer cinnamon rolls--always a big hit with the members here.
We were at the train station saying goodbye to Elder Прокопцев who is now home in Latvia. A man (left side) saw we were taking pictures and wanted to get in on the fun. No one has any idea who he is, but we all got a good laugh out of it.
This week's Russianism:
This story is going to be a little hard for the Johnsons to digest. Sorry, but it's true, so get over it. :) There are pigeons almost everywhere in Russia. Apparently during a war the soldiers survived by eating pigeons, so now they're protected. People often sprinkle bird seed on the ground and then you see this:
Or this:
Shortly after we got here we heard about a missionary who got sent home because he kicked a pigeon. We've learned, don't mess with the pigeons!
Next
week our blog update will be delayed because we'll be traveling. We get to go back to Barnaul for a few days
to see our old friends! We hope to have a new post up by
Monday.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
PIPES
They block off the area to be dug, which is basically the whole pipeline except the streets.
Reduced passage for pedestrians
The other side of the metal wall
What the old pipes looked like a few months ago
What they look like today, new and ready to carry lots of hot water! They'll soon be covered up and the sidewalk will return to normal.
This week's Russianism:
Our apartment is on the third floor in the corner of an L-shaped building. On the street level there is a small grocery store directly below us, and the suppliers take in their products through the back door of the store, right next to our entrance. We often see trucks below our window. There isn't a driveway specifically for the store; the trucks have to go through a small parking lot to get to the store. Sometimes the tenants or their visitors park wherever, which causes problems for the delivery trucks. We're amazed at the patience of people here--parking wherever seems to be a national pastime. The trucks back around and squeeze through and get out eventually. No complaints, no yelling, no blood pressure problems!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
WOES AND WONDERS
A year ago when we moved to Novokuznetsk we requested two things for our apartment
that we were told weren't necessary: a room air conditioner for our
bedroom ("it doesn't get that hot in Novokuznetsk"), and a small water
heater for when the hot water pipes get shut down for repairs in the
summer ("the city is redoing the system and the water won't be shut
off"). Both of those statements were wrong.
We've already mentioned how hot it's been here this year. It's ironic that one of the hottest summers we've ever experienced in our lives has been while we've been in Siberia! As in the US, this has been the hottest summer on record here. Ever. Last year there was only one day over 85 in all of July; this year we think there was only one day when the temperature didn't get to at least 85. We've had a few rainstorms come through that have temporarily cooled things down slightly for a day or two, but the temperatures for all of July and the first half of August have mostly hovered in the 90s and even low 100s. However, Novokuznetsk's fever is about to break. The forecast shows that by the end of this week the high temperatures will all be in the low 70s or cooler. YES!
For the last
couple of months we've also had mosquito problems because we chose to keep our windows open rather than cook (if unopened windows are any indication, most Russians don't seem bothered by the heat). However, a couple of
weeks ago our landlady got some screens for some of the windows and we
are
blissfully mosquito free now! The windows had a funny wooden
2.5" lip/wedge
on the bottom which made it so regular screens wouldn't work. We
couldn't figure out how to put up something ourselves without taking the
lip off. The first thing the screen installer did was remove that lip. Staying somewhat cool is much easier with mosquito/fly-free cross ventilation.
*~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *
A few weeks ago we saw a lady open her mailbox and take out a bunch of junk mail. The next day we saw a sign above her mailbox and we wondered if the mailman would pay attention to her request for unwanted ads.
When we got back in town from a short trip last month, we were disappointed to find that our hot water was turned off. Throughout Russia the hot water gets shut down every summer in sections of each city to check and repair the pipes and do some maintenance. Someone later told us that the sign above her mailbox was the notice saying the water would be turned off until July 23, not about junk mail. Most of the time they underestimate the length of time the water will be shut off, so we were pleased that it was turned back on by July 25. Here it is up close for those few of you who read Russian:
Fortunately the previous tenants had left behind a coil for heating the water in the bathtub. Unfortunately, Arline didn't know how to use it and fried it the first time she tried heating the water. Apparently there was a run on coils at the stores because we couldn't find a replacement anywhere; however, the missionaries who live on the other side of town found one and brought it to us.
We have screens and hot water. Life is good.
This week's Russianism:
We already told you that Russians LOVE balloons. They L.O.V.E. fireworks. Almost every Friday and Saturday night we can see (or at least hear) fireworks going off. They shoot them off as part of wedding celebrations or for fun whenever they feel like it. No permit or special training is needed, even though they're just like the "professional" fireworks we have in Salt Lake. Here people buy them and shoot them off by themselves. They don't go as high as what we see in Salt Lake but they are still just as spectacular and fancy. Most of the fireworks we've seen here are set off by individuals, but occasionally, like for the city's birthday, there is a major show. We've seen many of the same fireworks we have at home like "popcorn" bursts, as well as some new ones with flowers and smiley faces. The main difference is that they don't really have a grande finale with a bunch of fireworks going off at once, unless you consider the whole show a grande finale. They just shoot off a constant barrage. It's beautiful and something we'll miss.
We've already mentioned how hot it's been here this year. It's ironic that one of the hottest summers we've ever experienced in our lives has been while we've been in Siberia! As in the US, this has been the hottest summer on record here. Ever. Last year there was only one day over 85 in all of July; this year we think there was only one day when the temperature didn't get to at least 85. We've had a few rainstorms come through that have temporarily cooled things down slightly for a day or two, but the temperatures for all of July and the first half of August have mostly hovered in the 90s and even low 100s. However, Novokuznetsk's fever is about to break. The forecast shows that by the end of this week the high temperatures will all be in the low 70s or cooler. YES!
*~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *
A few weeks ago we saw a lady open her mailbox and take out a bunch of junk mail. The next day we saw a sign above her mailbox and we wondered if the mailman would pay attention to her request for unwanted ads.
When we got back in town from a short trip last month, we were disappointed to find that our hot water was turned off. Throughout Russia the hot water gets shut down every summer in sections of each city to check and repair the pipes and do some maintenance. Someone later told us that the sign above her mailbox was the notice saying the water would be turned off until July 23, not about junk mail. Most of the time they underestimate the length of time the water will be shut off, so we were pleased that it was turned back on by July 25. Here it is up close for those few of you who read Russian:
We have screens and hot water. Life is good.
This week's Russianism:
We already told you that Russians LOVE balloons. They L.O.V.E. fireworks. Almost every Friday and Saturday night we can see (or at least hear) fireworks going off. They shoot them off as part of wedding celebrations or for fun whenever they feel like it. No permit or special training is needed, even though they're just like the "professional" fireworks we have in Salt Lake. Here people buy them and shoot them off by themselves. They don't go as high as what we see in Salt Lake but they are still just as spectacular and fancy. Most of the fireworks we've seen here are set off by individuals, but occasionally, like for the city's birthday, there is a major show. We've seen many of the same fireworks we have at home like "popcorn" bursts, as well as some new ones with flowers and smiley faces. The main difference is that they don't really have a grande finale with a bunch of fireworks going off at once, unless you consider the whole show a grande finale. They just shoot off a constant barrage. It's beautiful and something we'll miss.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
FEEDING THE MISSIONARIES
Once transfers are announced we try to do a farewell dinner and fix the
departing missionary's favorite meal. A few weeks ago we asked all four
missionaries what they'd like us to fix for them, just so we could plan
ahead. We're still a few weeks away from the next transfer but we know
our district leader, Elder Прокопцев, is leaving because he's going home in a week and a half. He remembered we had fixed crepes once while he was serving in Barnaul with us and asked for crepes for his farewell meal, so that's what we served on Friday after
our district meeting. It's a slow process because we can only
fix one at a time and our crepe pan is small, so the missionaries eat
several of them. They LOVED them. But then, what's not to love about
crepes?
Dave spent several hours in preparation and at the stove.
We couldn't offer all the options we usually have at home, but we did as much as we could and improvised. They could choose from ham/shredded chicken, cheese (we're not sure what kind it was), BBQ sauce/mustard/mayo, pickles/tomatoes/corn/mushrooms/cucumbers/onion,
and then dessert crepe options were raspberry
jam/bananas/strawberries/crushed pineapple, with butter/cinnamon
sugar/Nutella/peanut butter/brown sugar/ sgrushyonka (like sweetened
condensed milk). One missionary said "yes"
meaning he wanted everything! Dave obliged.
Elder Turley (Tremonton, Utah), looking over the options and trying to decide what he wanted
They all LOVED the crepes and patiently waited their turns, even though it took a couple of hours.
The other requests are for stroganoff, borsch, and chicken alfredo. Hope we can find what we need. If not, that's ok--the Elders eat everything we fix for them!
This week's Russianism:
Some day we may get used to seeing a car pull up to the curb, the driver jumping out and the car pulling away. If all cars were right-hand drive, we would have figured it out a long time ago. It appears that the cars are about 50% right- and 50% left-hand drive. And yes, that does make it harder to drive and we suspect it's the cause of many accidents. We're glad we don't have a car here. From what we've seen, it appears all the driving school cars are left-hand drive.
Dave spent several hours in preparation and at the stove.
We couldn't offer all the options we usually have at home, but we did as much as we could and improvised. They could choose from ham/shredded chicken, cheese (we're not sure what kind it was), BBQ sauce/mustard/mayo, pickles/tomatoes/corn/
A bag of sgrushyonka
Elder Прокопцев or Prokoptsev (Latvia) hamming it up for the camera
Elder "give-me-one-with-everything" Варанков or Varankov (Moscow)
Elder Fitzgerald (American Fork, Utah)
They all LOVED the crepes and patiently waited their turns, even though it took a couple of hours.
The other requests are for stroganoff, borsch, and chicken alfredo. Hope we can find what we need. If not, that's ok--the Elders eat everything we fix for them!
This week's Russianism:
Some day we may get used to seeing a car pull up to the curb, the driver jumping out and the car pulling away. If all cars were right-hand drive, we would have figured it out a long time ago. It appears that the cars are about 50% right- and 50% left-hand drive. And yes, that does make it harder to drive and we suspect it's the cause of many accidents. We're glad we don't have a car here. From what we've seen, it appears all the driving school cars are left-hand drive.
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