5/17/15 Spring, Clouds, Poem, More Victory Park

The sisters brought us the tulips, and a friend the cherry blossoms.

Look at the design when a tulip opens, we have a pretty impressive world.

Beautiful Blue Skies and White Clouds - this is the parking lot at Metro, kind of like Costco, but there never are many cars, even now that ice is all gone.  This is the only place we can get some of the things we like to have, including lettuce, the Heinz cream of chicken and tomato soup - the consistency is different, but the taste is the same and with a few adjustments works well in cooking.  The tomato soup may even be better than home.  And they have a candy bar that is like the chocolate covered peanuts.  They had cheddar cheese for about six months, but that has gone the way of salted butter.  Oh well, it was nice to have it while we did.

Mike really looks forward to this shopping trip in particular because it takes thirty to forty minutes on the bus, then across a street, another wide area and finally through this large unbusy parking lot which, in this picture, we are already part way into - so just getting to Metro's front door can easily be an hour.  We get our supplies.  Then we take our bags - he carries the two heaviest, I have the lightest (one of the many reasons I've never been for equal rights for women) and we carry them back to the bus, and from tbus back to our apartment.  That is life for the majority of the people here.  But he does use part of the bus time for study time

 You've seen this church in other pictures -- but now with a beautiful sky instead of snow.  I had a roommate in college who used to say that one of the ways she knew Heavenly Father loved her was because he didn't make the world all black and white.  Which reminds me of the story when Ben Leavitt was little and we would all watch those old movies with Grandma Waite.  After watching one of those old movies, he went home and asked Carol .. "Mom, were you alive when the world was black and white?"

Flower beds are planted anywhere there is a place to plant and everything grows, as the grass in the picture above, without having to be watered.  

Nothing like children in the play areas as evidence of spring .. we liked the girl with her arms out, soaking in the sun, like she is just loving everything.  That is how we feel about our breathtakingly incredible world.

Our Institute Council President's fix for his computer -- it won't boot without the weight on the end. We're trying to figure how he uses all the letters.  He is planning a mission soon.  I had the picture with the face blocked out, but Renat saw it and gave us permission to post his picture.  He is a good kid - and happy most of the time.

Hey - we found a fabric store -- thanks to a friend and his GPS -- he is a translator - Russian to German - but he was selling sunglasses for one of his friends on the walking street where all the little stores are.  They do a lot of sewing and knitting here.  The sweaters, the ones you wear just as tops that are a finer knit and the heavier ones used for jackets are as good or better than those in the stores.   One of the girls in English club that sews told us about the fabric store and where it was.  We thought we could see in the windows to find it, but it was through a door, past another little shop inside and then upstairs.  The bag - at the top says Fabric, then Always Soft or The Best Soft.  You find the fabric you want, get it's  number and go to the cutting board to tell them - they go in the back and get the fabric and cut what you want.  It was good that Maxim was with us because I would have just taken the fabric off the hangar.  

    

      We have a semi-active sister that comes occasionally on Monday night.  We read, sometimes Book of Mormon and sometimes Pushkin - great Russian writer who writes books and also children's stories or poems and she and Mike take turns with him reading Russian and she English and they correct each other's pronunciation.  Her recently baptized 8-year old son often comes with her and is learning English at school so likes to read too.  Mike gave them Cat In The Hat.  After she read it she wasn't sure she wanted her son to read it because she thought it might give him too many ideas.  Never thought about that.  All that to say, here is a fun poem that he has used:

(I'm not sure why some things highlight in the white .. but we can't get it to change ..

Be Glad Your Nose Is On Your Face - Jack Prelutsky

Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.

Imagine if your precious nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you’d be forced to smell your feet.

Your nose would be a source of dread
were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.

Within your ear, your nose would be
an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.

Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place–          
be glad your nose is on your face!
                           *          *          *

        For those of you who like history, here is more on the Cranes Monument at Victory Park and Russia's staggering losses in WW II.   "Cranes Monument is a majestic monument comprised of three 40 meter tall metal pylons, and can be seen from many parts of the city. Twelve silver and white cranes are depicted on the monument representing the country's fallen soldiers."  

       Mike looked up World War II casualties and, including all countries on both sides, over 60 million people - military and civilian included - were killed.  The Germans lost 12 million, the Allies lost 48 million - 21 million military and 27 million civilian.  Of that number, Russia lost 10 million military and 10 million civilian, so their losses were just a little less than half of the total Allied losses and are said to be 6% of their population at the time. In the Siege of Leningrad alone 641,803 civilians died of starvation.  

More on this from Mike's writing:       

        Saturday, as we pressed our way through the crowds at the beautiful Victory Park placed on a hill overlooking the Volga River and the stretching city of Saratov bordered by neighboring green hills, we had reconfirmed that the Russians have that same emotional pride for their home that we have for ours.  We threaded our way through thousands of patriotic citizens at the park to celebrate the Russian victory over Germany in that war that claimed the lives of twenty million of their people—that compared to the still tragic 400,000 of American lives in the same war. 

      What is considered the turning point of the war was the nearly six month battle fought at Stalingrad where the Russians refused to let Hitler’s forces override their homeland.  Saturday there were soldiers in their green uniforms symbolically standing as guardians of each of the monuments and statues. They were in uniform distance  up the steps to the high point of the park where a 40 meter monument with white and silver cranes representing the many who had fallen in that devastating war, is the high point of the park

      It was for us an educational and emotional afternoon as we moved with young members of the Church and their leaders from the branches around the park, looking at the planes and tanks, but also at the visitors who with reverential respect visited the park to honor those who had fallen for Russia.  

     Then this evening our District celebrated their history from 1941-1945 with song and readings.  The oldest folks there are of the generation one step away from those who died in the war, but all of that generation knew of uncles or grandfathers who had lost their lives in the great war.  The Second Counselor in our District Presidency told us there was no family untouched by that bloody and destructive war.  One of the members had posted on the board the promise recognized by everyone here: 

             Никто не забыт ; Ничто не забыто: No one is forgotten; Nothing is forgotten. 

     It was another emotional education for us as we felt the sincere respect these saints have for their fathers and their deep love for this their country.  And our love has grown for these people and their land and for our own.

                                               *                        *                   *                        *

And we'll close today's with another thought from Mike's writing:

  I marvel at these missionaries, some as young as 18, graduating from high school only six months ago, and we see easily discernable vestiges of that youthfulness, but still they bear the burden as the fisher and hunters of the Lord in the gathering process, and it’s a wonder to watch.  The members love them and they become the authority, like it or not, on points of doctrine and Church procedures.  In the quiet of the night they are boys, homesick for the authority of their dads and the consoling reassurance of their moms, but then morning comes and they slip on their well-worn shoes and dusty suits and return to the streets as the emissaries of God, spokesmen of truth, messengers with the promise of that unspeakable gift.  It’s a phenomenon seen at home of course, but more pronounced here in a place where there are so few saints and the missionaries lead the way in bearing the candle on the hill.  

And it is an unspeakable gift: John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

5/10/15 Volga, Tomatoes, Tulips and Victory Day

Spring is here and the Volga is running again

Dixie & Anne Leavitt's granddaughter, David's daughter, in the middle is also serving in Saratov now, we are about seven months into our mission and she has about seven left.   She already is an outstanding missionary, even gets to train the new sister coming in this cycle.

In 2000 this monument was opened for those who are in love.  According to tradition, all newlyweds must tie a ribbon for love, happiness and luck.  Not sure how they get up there to tie the ribbon, but there are a lot.  Maybe that is why it is for young newlyweds.  Still, we may try it before we leave.
 
 This is also the first time we have noticed the lights just under the bridge at the top of the columns.

This gives you a little better view.  We'll try to find a night shot, there is an activity coming up.  Otherwise we are advised not to be out looking around after dark.

Mike has been trying to get a good picture with both a tram-vi and one of the buildings we like - finally got it when we were walking home the other day.

Change of subject here - but we thought it would be fun for you to see the picture on the carton of the milk we like.  The milk is good and we also like  the colors and the cat picture.  One quart is just under 60 rubles, so a gallon is about $4.00.  The eggs and apple are so you can see the relative size of the milk carton.   They have good butter too, but it is unsalted which we don't like except for cooking.  We have found, however that we can take two of their 180 gram packages of butter - about two cups, add a 1/4 tsp of salt, plus a little pinch, and mix it up good with the mixer, our own whipped butter.  We put it in a container in the fridge, cut it into sticks when it is hard - it is pretty good.

Note too, that the blue tablecloth the kids sent at Christmas time matches the butterflies in the kitchen wallpaper -- important things.

And while we're talking about food, look at the tomatoes Sisters Leavitt and Chase found.  They are yum and always plenty to go around.  Theirs weighed almost two pounds.

On May 9th we were able to go with the District YM/YW to Victory Park for their celebration of the 70th anniversary of Germany's surrender to them in WWII.  One of our friends here told us that Russia lost 27 million people during that war.  Aaron said that we often forget how that war affected so many other countries.

We are not kidding when we say that thousands of people were at the park to celebrate and pay tribute to the veterans of that war.  You can see on your right of the picture below where some are carrying flags - everyone was shoulder to shoulder and line behind line going up.  You can see from the other side that it was easier coming down - but it was crowded at the top.   As we got up to the top there were patriotic groups with different colored flags representing their unit.  

Close to the monument at the top stood an older veteran with his wife next to him holding his hand and a flower, probably both late eighties. Their pride in their country, the victory and his part in it was evident and very touching as was the honor and respect shown them by the people going by.  

This is looking down toward rest of the park. 

 As we were walking up, people were putting flowers, mostly red tulips, on the big flat center stones that marked each year.   

They want to be sure that everyone remembers the sacrifices made.  The park is huge and has memorabilia from the war - real trucks, tanks and planes included, even a train.  The kids were climbing all over them, our grandchildren would have loved it. (You can google Victory Park, Saratov Russia and see more pictures, even a video is posted.)

 A circle of flags from around the country - two from Saratov.

Not our picture - but a very good one of the bridge taken from Victory Park 

Our day at victory park was one full of tender mercies - the result of which made it possible for us to see many things, climb to the top of the monument and feel their patriotism, and hearing, as we walked everywhere, different groups performing.  There is something moving about hearing people sing their own national songs.  And we were able to spend time with the seminary age youth and get to know them better.  

Our mission - in fact - has been laced every day with tender mercies and blessings.  I think when we get home and I kneel to say my prayers, heaven will say:  "Just a minute there .. you really did use up a lot more than your share of blessings while you were gone .. come back and see us in a few months." 

So, closing with a couple of scriptures that are simple and comforting:  2 Nephi 9:41 - Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him;  [even though it is narrow, it is straight and it is before us, no tricks or deception]; and Alma 37:44-46 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to the compass...just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow this course, carry us into a far better land of promise...do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way ... it was prepared for them that if they would look, they might live...so it is with us.  The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

5/3/2015 Spring, Walks and a Wedding

       

Going back about  a month - a picture of just a part of Saratov so you can see how huge the city is and how close the buildings are.  The city, 850,000 residents, extends much past this.

In the second picture, what looks like a ski run is just several months of ice and snow.  The temple in the background was closer in a previous post with the sister missionaries standing by it in the snow.

Now, fast forward to no snow and better weather.  This is out our kitchen porch window - it was a little before 7 this morning - glad we took the picture because by 7:30 the wash was taken in.  

As mentioned before, most apartment buildings have stores or offices on the main floor with the apartments above.  The most floors we've seen is twenty.

These stairs go from the sidewalk down the the branch building, but because of the ice, have been un-usable.   You have to be careful when they are dry, but at least you can walk on them instead of slide.  You can see the grass and green plants starting to come out, even in an area like this, which is not planted or tended, it just grows.

.
 The people are out with spades turning up this dark rich soil, planting flowers, trees, grass and gardens where they aren't already growing, we've only seen one roto-tiller,
Two women are working here - we're not sure who owns these little plots of ground that run along the sidewalks, but they seem to share in the taking care of them.

It has been warmer and the trees are getting their leaves.  You have seen a similar picture to the ones below but with lots of ice and snow.

 Mike took this hoping you could see the that the leaves form little canopies going down, thought especially that John Gleave would like it.

 We have started our Sunday afternoon or evening walks, exploring the part of our world that is fairly close.  It is nice because we can just stroll instead of the catch-the-bus pace.  We laugh now because we wondered about being able to get our walking in while we were here.  There are plenty of safe places to walk and plenty of walking to do.  Our travel, along with most of the people here, is buses and walking - you have to walk to get to the buses, walk from the bus which takes you as close to your destination as their route allows, walk to your destination, walk back to the bus, sometimes carrying purchases - sometimes not so light groceries  (Mike has the two heaviest and I have the one least-heavy) -  and walk to get back home.  We're not complaining about the walking, just telling you about it.  Still, we're thinking that when we are back home, we may drive across the street to the Waites or the Haderlies or we'll be so used to it, we'll  just walk up the hill to Bunkers for FHE.  At least we won't have to worry about walking on ice.  As a side note, everyone has the larger, heavier reusable bags.  If you have to get a bag at the store, there is a charge.  We have two red ones and a green one - pretty sturdy.

Here are some pictures from our walk down some side streets.  Again, mentioned before, the age of the buildings plus the extreme weather really beats up the outside, but you often see curtains, plants and cats in the windows.  This was one of our "we're not lost, I just don't know where we are..."  days; but now Mike is able to find our way back home from wherever we happen to be, even if the sun usually sets in the east.

 We were able to attend a wedding last Saturday - a couple that have been part of the older Single Adult class.   The car is decorated simply and traditionally and

 the bouquet of teddy bears was a special thing between them, so it was fun to see them added.  

The cake was probably 4 feet both ways and 6 inches tall - it is a traditional and favorite "honey" cake which is used often for weddings.  The frosting is like a marshmallow cream.  They used a cart to bring it into the building 

The ceremony at one of the government buildings where they sign the documents and then go into another large room where all the guests are seated around the sides, and exchange rings.  As people come up to congratulate them, they often bring flowers, so the bride's arms were full and other people were helping hold them.  The small daughter of one of their friends came with her handful of dandelions, which were as graciously accepted as were the big bouquets of flowers.  

It was so great to be there and see it all.  They will go to the temple as soon as they can - it is a major trip here, either the Ukraine - which still has a bit of unrest, or Finland, which is quite far.  They went from the government building to the park for pictures and a ride in the Cinderella carriage.

Fortunately a couple of the Elders were able to go so we could communicate if we had to,  although you'd all be surprised at how little I talk over here.

Everyone went back to the Branch building where more people were waiting in a well decorated hall for the reception, food and program.  It went from 4:00 to 6:00, then a break for eating and dancing, about 45 minutes, then back to the program and games until almost 8:00.  Fun games and good numbers - some because they were talented, and others because they were fun.  From the stories Grandma Waite told, this must have been what their parties were like in the early days of Bunkerville and Mesquite.  They enjoyed being together and we enjoyed being with them.

This next Saturday, on May 9, they celebrate Victory Day, which marks Germany's surrender to the Soviet Union in 1945.  It became the end of the Great Patriotic war for the USSR, which lost about 25 million citizens in the four years of fighting. TV networks broadcast World War II inspired films, younger generations honor veterans, and in Moscow the festivities end with a military parade at Red Square.  There are lots of banners, posters and flags.  This large poster is on the outside wall of the business building adjoining our Branch building.  Mike has hold of the bag on his shoulder.  The people here love their country as we do ours.  We are grateful for the association with the humble and faithful and fun people we have met here.

So two thoughts if you've made it to the end of  this weeks' long blog -  In Second Nephi, there are scriptures in Chapter 8 that seem to speak directly to our missionaries all over the world:
 8:7 - Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.  8:16 - And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth.  8:22 - the Lord and thy God pleadeth the cause of his people.

and the promise in D&C 19:23

Learn of me,

and listen to my words, 

walk in the meekness of my spirit 

and ye shall have peace in me.

Grateful for you all !!!!  

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