November 26, 2012

Our district had a primary conference on Saturday which we attended. Every primary child, about ten of them, gave a talk and did such a good job! They don't have the opportunity to give talks, scriptures, mottos, etc. every Sunday like we're accustomed to at home so this was a good chance to prepare something and present it to their parents and leaders. They all dressed up and came on a Saturday morning, not one of them missing a soccer or basketball game, I can guarantee it, only because they are not involved in those things. They started to get a little restless heading into the second hour, but I was impressed that they were so attentive for that long. Afterwards, they had pizza and I brought chocolate chip cookies for everyone--always a big hit! We went home with a family who live out in Prebrezhjni where we have been a few times previously. They always take such good care of us. On the way to their home we stopped to buy cake, candy, and our favorite Armenian bread which they always buy an extra loaf to send home with us. It was like Thanksgiving all over again! Brother Izmalkov had ordered fresh salmon from Norway and cooked it outside on his barbecue. It was absolutely fabulous! We haven't eaten fish at all since we have been here. In fact, we are forbidden to eat it because it would make us sick. But fresh fish flown in from Norway is another story!! They even sent us home with a couple of extra pieces which we will enjoy for dinner tonight. We also tasted mushrooms they picked in the forest; they were pickled so not a favorite. We also had vegetables from their garden that they had canned and, of course, various flavors of compote. While the parents fixed dinner, we played Uno with the kids and colored pictures. I taught them how to draw turkeys from their outlined hand. It was a fun evening.

We met with Svetlana, the investigator who we have known the entire year we have been here. The elders wanted to try teaching her again, but she is still unwilling to keep any commitments. She knows the Book of Mormon is true but doesn't want to be baptized. I guess if we continue to keep in touch and be friends maybe she'll eventually change her mind, who knows. She came to District Conference last weekend, the first time to church since probably June. We had a fun meeting last night with a mom and her daughter. The mom is an English teacher, and they both speak very good English. She is a very smart person, and Elder Peterson had fun taking on the challenge of directing the conversation towards gospel principles without her really even realizing it. It's amazing how much smoother conversations go when we can speak in English! She had read the Book of Mormon in both Russian and English but says she gets a headache whenever she reads it. Interesting. She claims to be a member of the Evangelical church and enjoys discussing new ideas--especially in english:) I'm sure we'll see her again but don't know exactly where things will go from here.

In keeping with tradition, we set up the Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and hung the stockings. Yep, while at Metro buying our turkey, we made the mistake of stopping in the Christmas aisle and couldn't resist the two-foot Christmas tree and all the trimmings. It helps to have a little Christmas cheer in the apartment. After all, according to our son Wade, I have 458 decorations at home so I guess 3 or 4 in the mission field isn't overdoing it too much! The English teacher thought we were jumping the gun having it up so soon. If people here decorate at all, it's usually not until a couple of days before the New Year.

We finished the Teacher Development Course in one of our branches on Sunday. It really went great. Several came up afterwards and were appreciative of the course. We had nine attend the class. We begin the class next week in the Komsomolski branch. We hope to get similar results. The real success will be if the teachers put into practice anything we taught. Most of the time lessons are strictly read out of the lesson manual or Liahona with no or little discussion. We demonstrated a few methods they can try like using pictures, scriptures, object lessons, role plays for kids. The whole church protocol is so new to them, and they don't have any previous examples to learn from so it's a hard for them to know how to do things. We can see why missionaries are so important here--not only to bring people unto Christ, but also to support and strengthen the members.

1 - Nastia and Leeza Izmalkov

2 - Syeva Oshepkov

3 - Elona, Alina, Masha, Nastia, Syeva, Syosh, Oleg, Maxim, Nastia, Cveba, Leeza, Veronica, Lena

4 - Kids, Parents, Teachers, Leaders

5 - Olesya, Sister Nina