BLESSINGS

Several months ago we wrote about some of the tender mercies we've had shown to us here. We continue to have little blessings showered on us all the time.

*We'd lived in Barnaul for a few months and one day we passed a man who lived in the complex. We said "Здравствуйте" (hello) and started to chat with our tiny bit of Russian and his limited English. After a minute he suddenly asked if we spoke German. We don't know why because we hadn't said anything about German. His parents are from Germany so he speaks fluent German. A couple of weeks later we were at a Subway-type restaurant and he walked up and said hello to us. Arline was recovering from food poisoning and it was the first time she had felt like eating in several days. It was our anniversary, so we were trying to celebrate, but we didn't know how to order what we wanted. He asked if he could help. Arline told him in rusty German what we wanted and he ordered it for us in Russian! We never saw him again because we were transferred right after that, but we sure enjoyed our anniversary meal because of him.

*When we first moved to Novokuznetsk we saw them building something across the street. We guessed that it was going to be an office building of some sort because it was three stories high, but speculated about all the other things it could be used for, including being a larger space for the branch to meet in. After several weeks Dave noticed a sign that the store was hiring. It had the logo of one of our favorite grocery stores in Barnaul. A couple of days later a big sign went up on the same building for another store we used a lot in Barnaul, kind of a drug store without the pharmacy. It is so easy to run to the store now. If we had arrived a few months later, we would have taken them for granted.

*There is a Formica-covered board just like the counter in our kitchen. It's the wrong size to have been taken out of the counter for the sink or stove, so we don't know what it's for. It's the perfect size for Dave to use when he kneads bread, like it was made just for him to do that! He kneads a LOT of bread, and the Russians are very impressed. What the Russians don't eat, the missionaries do.

*We had a long, warm fall and then a mild winter here. The coldest it every got was -35F, and that was only for a few days. We'd been told that it always gets to -40F and have heard stories about temperatures dropping lower than that. We seldom had to go out when it was really cold. In spite of walking on snow-packed sidewalks, we didn't slip and slide around a lot. Temperatures this spring seemed much warmer than a year ago, even though the thermometer said they were about the same. It's amazing what perspectives can be gained in a year.

*On our first visa trip we were pleased to run into our neighbors from home, Kent and Barbara Michie, who were serving a temple mission in Helsinki. They finished their shift about the same time we finished our session, so we visited with them. They had a car and took us on a scenic tour of Helsinki (Kent had served a mission there 40 some years ago). Their schedule was the same the next time we went on visa, so we went to dinner together. Then they went home the following week. On our next visa trip we found some new friends. Not people we'd known before, but Arline struck up a conversation with one the sisters and it turned out she and her husband replaced the Michies. They're even from Utah! When we went on our fourth visa trip, we suggested going to dinner. There was also another American couple who are serving a CES mission at the temple that day, so the six of us went to dinner and had a delightful time. It's so nice to communicate without having to rely on a translator!

*When we got on the plane in Moscow on one of our visa trips, we saw a couple with familiar looking tags also going on their visa trip. It was President and Sister Rust from Yekaterinburg. We visited with them briefly before going our separate ways because of different schedules and hotels, but it was nice again to talk with some other English-speaking adults for a little while. We feel like we're making friends wherever we go.

*Many of the clerks in the post office and shops recognize us. Instead of being bothered that we don't speak Russian, they are very helpful and go out of their way to do what they can for us.

*Our next-door neighbors in Salt Lake are moving. We know the people they sold their house to and are glad we they're such wonderful people. And their kids are among our cutest grandkids. We couldn't have picked better new neighbors!

*Skype and Magic Jack. We are able to stay in touch with our family. That's not to say we won't love being able to hug the grandkids (and meet the three new ones) when we get home, but we feel a little less removed from them since we get to see them and visit with them once in a while. And we get such a kick out of the fact that Arline's mother is so excited to get calls from her missionary daughter!

This week in Russia:
Last week we had a double zone conference. Mission conferences for the whole mission are no longer allowed, but it is permissible to have a double zone conference, so we did. The fact is, presently there are only two zones in our mission (a third zone will be added next month when Kazakhstan becomes a part of our mission). It was fun to see many of the missionaries we've served with in the past.

President Gibbons took the four senior couples to dinner at TGI Fridays and invited newly called Seventy, Elder Gushin and his wife, to join us.