It was pretty funny the other evening when we were visiting the branch president at his home--on the ninth (top) floor of his apartment building. It was plenty warm indeed. He sat and visited us while spraying himself in the face with a water bottle every few minutes to try and stay cool. We have also been introduced to a national drink called Kbac (Kvoss) which is a carbonated drink sold on every street corner like a lemonade stand. It's made out of bread, water, maybe a little sugar. It's not a favorite!!! One member family talked us into tasting it even though we've heard from all the missionaries how nasty it is. Another family gave us some they had made from scratch at home. The secret is to drink it really fast in as few gulps as possible to avoid minimal after taste. The Russians love it!
We have been working with the new elders in our city a lot this week. They are wanting to get to know the members, work with the investigators, and seek out inactives. They are hard workers, very efficient missionaries, and have kept us hopping. Yesterday we went out to visit a family who has recently returned to church. We had never been to their home so we mistakenly took the wrong bus and ended up on the complete opposite end of town. Fortunately, we're with elders who speak excellent Russian and are able to get good directions where we need to go. So we set off walking...I thought we were walking to another bus stop to catch a different bus. But, NO, we're walking the two miles at least, uphill both ways, across the train yard, to get to this family's house. And it was hot! But they had a nice glass of Kbac waiting for us when we got there:) They also have geese and lots of chickens.
The other new member we have been meeting with is Segun (Shagoon) from Nigeria. He was baptized at Christmastime in Samara and just got married a few weeks ago. We have had him over for dinner, and he has come to family home evening. He likes to be able to speak English, although he has lived in Russia now for three years and speaks it pretty well. I forget the name of his native tongue, but he has a very strong accent. We have been unsuccessful in getting his wife to come along to church, meetings, or even over for dessert and a social visit. He said that she is very "heavy" and doesn't feel well. We have seen their wedding pictures, and she is heavy. In fact, I told him, "yeah, I'm heavy, too." I had to chuckle a couple days later when he told me his wife is pregnant and I congratulated him. His reply was that he had told me that the last time we met. "Don't you remember, I told you she is heavy?" So it just goes to show that miscommunication happens even when we're speaking English:)
We also met with Sister Antonina this week. She is a less-active member who we have met with a couple of times, and she has been to church a couple of times also. She loves the missionaries and is so kind and thoughtful to us. This last time we were at our home she taught us how to make a traditional Russian pie called pirozhki. The best way to describe them is "hot pockets." They are a small bun filled with potatoes, cabbage, meat, rice, or she made these with green onion and hard-boiled egg. It was fun working with her and learning about one of the Russian cuisines. I don't know if I'll be able to duplicate it myself!
On Sunday I was asked to teach the Relief Society (RS) lesson on visiting teaching. The RS president wanted me to share some ideas of how visiting teaching works in America because it just doesn't happen here. We have been preaching visiting and home teaching all year, and I knew it would be the last thing the sisters wanted to hear about again. So I really prayed to know what to say and how to say it so they would feel encouraged instead of guilty or beat upon. I also brought chocolate chip cookies because I figured if they were eating, they wouldn't be able to debate:) The cookies were a big hit and made the sisters smile! Many asked for the recipe; there is nothing like homemade American cookies here, and they are much more sweet than most of the Russian pastries. So I have a little project ahead of me to convert my recipe to metrics and translate the ingredients into Russian. Ahhh! Anyway, I brought a framed picture of my Heatheridge 7th Ward RS sisters that I took on my last Sunday in the ward, as well as a framed picture of Brother Swenson and his sons, who had been our home teachers for nine plus years. It was a blessing to be able to share stories of how each of them have blessed the lives of our family throughout the years. We are so grateful for your wonderful examples of dedication, sacrifice, and commitment to watch over and care for us! I explained to the sisters that example is the best teacher, and so I realize their disadvantage of not having had examples to lean on for 180 years like the Americans have had in the church. The church has only been in Russia for 20 years. In the same breath, I told them they can't wait for 160 more years to start doing their visiting teaching!! They are the modern-day pioneers who will pave the way and be the examples for their posterity. Even if the sisters show love and care for each other outside of their visiting teaching assignments, the spirituality of the branches would increase tremendously. So our first goal is to get the sisters organized into companionships and assign visiting teachers. It's hard to do your visiting teaching without knowing who you visit teach!:) After the closing prayer, I took a picture of my awesome Komsomolski RS sisters and told them that some day I will have an opportunity to share their picture with my sisters back home and tell of the many things I have learned from them. They are such strong, stalwart women! We really can learn from each other even though we are on opposite ends of the world!
Just a final note...this week marks the one-year mark of our missionary son's service in Iowa! We can't say enough of what a great blessing it is to share our missionary experiences together! He is such an inspiration to us and motivates us to work hard and stay the course. We see firsthand the discipline and hard work that it is to be a missionary. We also see the blessings and growth that come from that! We are grateful for Elder Son (as we affectionately call him) and are so proud of him!
1. Komsomolski Train Yard
2. Mission
3.Kristina and Sasha
4. Sasha
5. FHE Elder Taylor, Segun, Stacy
6. Baking with Sister Antonina
7. Elders Morris and Taylor
8. Komsomolski RS
9. Heatheridge 7th Ward Relief Society
10. Missionary son
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