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.

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

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.

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.