Because Anastacia speaks such good English, we were invited to sit in on some of the discussions and some of them were in our home. She liked practicing her English and we liked being able to understand. It was wonderful and we got very close to her.
Then came her promised trip to London. Anastacia contacted the missionaries in London and went to church there. She was amazed at how big the congregation was and thought it was great!
Last Wednesday after she got home she met with the missionaries in our apartment and told them she still wanted to get baptized, but she was going to leave on Monday (tomorrow) and would be gone for two weeks to visit her father. She set her baptismal date for Saturday--three days later! We scrambled to make the arrangements and get the word out. Arline was asked to speak on the Holy Ghost. (I forgot to mention that last week Dave gave a talk on baptism for Elena's baptism.)
She is very fun loving, bubbly and outgoing. We're excited to have her enthusiasm in the branch.
We got a few more pictures than usual this time.
Anastacia with the last set of missionaries who taught her--Elder Fitzgerald from Pleasant Grove (left) and Elder Liljenquist from Tennessee (right)
Anastacia and Anya
Anastacia and Anya
Anastacia with Lena, a recently returned missionary, Lena's niece Nastia (nickname for Anastacia), and Liliya, a long-time investigator.
Anastacia with two of her favorite people :-)
This was the group picture after the baptism was over. A few people had left by the time we managed to get everyone to pose.
I'm going to take a slight detour from my "only in Russia" comments to end my blog.
We knew before turning in our papers for the mission that we would miss out on some things, but it didn't really sink in until last week how hard it would be on me to be so far away and unavailable when the new grandchildren arrive. As the birth of a granddaughter approached, I started to realize I was feeling a little disappointed to be missing out on all the excitement of welcoming a new family member. Even just trying to figure out how to find out when she was born was a little distressing to me--I wanted to know as soon as it happened, not the next day. Yes we have Magic Jack and email, but we're not always at the apartment where we can be contacted. I didn't say anything to anyone about my feelings, not even Dave. Thursday night at English Club the Lord let me know that in spite of feeling distanced from my family, He knows and cares and sent me three people to confirm that.
Before English Club started, I was in the kitchen at the branch, helping Natasha, someone from our English group (3rd level), with a paper she'd written in English and had asked for help in making it better. She's a pharmacist, and recently we've been asking her a little about Russian equivalents to medicines, like cold remedies and a strong non-prescription pain killer in case Dave gets a kidney stone. Before we started working on her paper she pulled out a note she had written with some information about a private clinic near our home. It touched me that she had gone to the trouble to find a place we could go to easily for medical help if we need it--we had no idea of what to do in case of an emergency other than call the zone leaders. She even added her phone number on the bottom of the page in case we need her help. Russians tend to be very private and don't readily give out personal information, so that was generous of her. A few minutes later Zeena, a sister in the branch, came looking for me to give me some fresh fruit--a small pail of raspberries and blackberries and a slightly larger one with cherries from her garden, and some "good Russian garlic." Before she even had a chance to leave the room, Olga, a lady in another English group (1st level) came in. We've visited with her once in a while. She's very friendly, but has said she's not interested in learning any more about the gospel. She gave me two bottles of delicious jam she had made from wild berries she'd gathered, one raspberry and one strawberry. We hadn't asked for any of these things and they weren't thank you gifts in return for something we had done. The three ladies did them just to be nice, all on the same night at a time when I was in need of their kindnesses. I felt that the Lord is indeed mindful of my concerns over missing out on the birth and he sent me three angels to let me know he's aware of my struggles.
For some of you it may seem like a stretch to say that these three women gave me gifts that were from God, but I had the strong impression the rest of the night and again the next day that that is what it was. I firmly believe the saying that "coincidence is when God wants to remain anonymous." Thursday night was too much of a coincidence--three unexpected gifts were just what I needed when I needed them, and then came a repeated warm assurance. He's compensating us for missing out on some life events by sending extra love our way.Up until last week, no one had given us anything except the occasional hug. Since then we've also been given a bottle of dried herbs and flowers for tea, more fruit, and today a promise of some raspberry jam. The people here have been so generous now, just when I need it.
By the way, sweet Hadley Jane was born at 11:06 pm on July 26. Mother, daughter and doctor dad (who got to deliver her) are all doing fine. We got to "meet" Hadley through Skype Thursday night and loved feeling like we were a part of things. She is adorable and so sweet. We're looking forward to meeting her in person after we get home. I've taken this picture of her from their blog. That's not plagiarism, that's a proud grandma!
PS I have sent a wish list of "luxury items" to Niki. If you're sending a package and have some extra room in the box, check with her for suggestions (elshortone@gmail.com). She'll coordinate things so we don't get multiples of something we only need one of. She also has our address and mailing instructions.
