We have now been in Russia for 1 week.  Our days have been very busy.  Between setting up the apartment, computer and trying to get our scheduled organized to fit in exercise, personal study, companion study and language study has been a challenge.  We have been on several teaching appointments with the Elders, which is giving us an opportunity to really get immersed into the Russian language.  Today for example, we met with a member and gave him a lesson on eternal families, then with a new investigator and taught them about the apostasy and restoration of the gospel.  This evening we met with a new member and participated in the new member lesson.  We were so busy we didn’t get lunch and weren’t able to attend the English lessons being given by the missionaries at the church.

We traveled to the mission office to meet our mission President.  We had a great visit with him.  He has got a good vision of what he wants to see accomplished during his tenure here.  He feels that within the next few months we should be ready to form the first stake in Siberia.  That will be an exciting time.  He also gave us two assignments, first to help with a training seminar he is planning for all of the Branch Presidents in the area. And Second, help plan a Russia wide EFY and Young Single Adult conference next August for 500 youth. 

From there we met with the missionaries to help teach another investigator and from there to the English conversation class which the missionaries put on for anyone who wants to come to learn English.  There were about 30 people there.  We talked about role models.  It is fun to help the Russian people learn English.  They are doing a lot better learning English than I am learning Russian.  It is still really frustrating not being able to express myself in Russian but that will come with time.  It was a full day.  We started at 11 AM and didn’t get home until 9 PM.

Barb and Sue Webb on Shopping Excursion

On Friday we had dinner with the Webbs and Gibbons at the mission home.  President Gibbons shared with us some amazing dreams he had about his mission call and the Russian people.  He was innately called to serve as president for a mission in the states.  But at the last minute his assignment was changed to Novosibirsk.  After arriving in Russia, he was touring the mission and visited a Branch building that fit the description of the building he had seen in his dream.  We really enjoyed the evening we had with them and look forward to serving with them to help form the first stake in Siberia.

Saturday was a Branch social celebrating the gifts of harvest.  They sang songs, acted out skits and read poetry about fall and the harvest.  They also had the primary children sing a song about fall.

Weeks seem to be going by too quickly.  Our scheduled has settle into more of a regular routine.  Sunday morning is church at 11:00 until 2:00  followed by a Fireside for the young single adults at 6:30 PM.  Monday is preparation day when we do our bulk shopping, clean the apartment and soon we will be holding a family home evening for the YSA that night. English conversation classes are Tuesday evenings, Institute on Thursday, Friday we have our district meeting and there is usually a Branch activity on Saturday.  Then every morning we are studying the scriptures, studying Russian, Skyping with our kids and exercising.  Then scattered in the mix of the “regularly” scheduled events is visits we make with the young missionaries to visit members or investigators.  Life is busy and great.  We are really enjoying ourselves.

The Branch put on a Mexican Festa that we got some pictures of below.

Banditos that sneaked into the party

Young Man who plays Russian Mandalin