Ever wonder where those lost tribes ended up?

As we gaze at the interesting, unique faces of these Moscovites on the metro, one has to be aware of the variety of their origins.  We have heard many times, since arriving here, of the identification of all of all ofthe 12 tribes of Israel here in Russia.  A few weeks before we arrived Elder Russell M Nelson, an apostle of the Lord visited Russia with his wife, Wendy.  Sis. Nelson spoke at a womens fireside and asked Sis. Laurel Lawrence, a gospel scholar. to identify all of the tribes.  As she did so,  Sis. Nelson asked members of those tribes to stand.  All were represented except Levi and Judah and, apparently, they are here but were not there that night. 
"But, the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the NORTH, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers" (Jer. 16:12) 

Our new mission president, Gary Borders, was baptized into the church in his 20s.  When he and his wife received their call, they were dumbfounded to read "Moscow, Russia".  At 65, they were older than most presidents and neither of them spoke a foreign language.  A few hours later, Pres. Borders took out his patriarchal blessing and found a phrase he had previously not understood.  He was told that he would play a role in the gathering of the lost tribes of Israel in preparation for the Saviors return.  He then knew that the Lord knew decades ago that this call would come to them. Pres. Borders said that over the decades he has been involved in lots of patriarchal blessings and has never heard of any tribe besides Ephraim.  Scriptures indicate that the gathering will happen through the decendants of Ephraim.
 Pres. and Sis Borders bore testimony that God knows each of us and our opportunities for service.  he is involved in the details of our lives and all promised blessings will come to pass.

The picture is of Pres. and Sis. Borders and our office secretary, Anya,  in our apartment for dinner.
Wonderful time.

How we shop

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This is our downstairs "Prodooky" milk, eggs, ice cream...  The picture below is the front view of the Prodooky.  All produce is purchased from outside, handing bags through the window to Sasha or his dad, Fameene.  Everyone who works in the store loves missionaries.  We have several in the surrounding buildings and have had for years.  All good examples to these warm, wonderful people.  Its a great time for them to practice their english and us to throw around a bit of Russian.
When we buy big we walk about 1/2 mile to a bigger store (about 1/8 the size of Kroger)  When we want REALLY big we take the bus a few miles to OKAH.  Very new & much like a super wal-mart.  Dick is thrilled to be waiting for the bus with our very heavy bags.








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Sweet goodbye to the Piersons

No, not us.  Ken and Carolyn Pierson (we never found a family connection) from Salem, Oregon are completing their mission this week. They have been serving for 18 months here in Moscow as CES missionaries. Their replacements, the Millars from Hebert City, Utah arrived Saturday and are still a bit jet lagged. .  Last sunday about 100 young adults from the Moscow stake attended a fireside to hear the Piersons say their goodbys. It was a sweet time.

Both Elder and Sister Pierson were very touched by the obvious love shown by these faithful young people.  Sister Pierson has made about 50 baby quilts for the couples who have met through the young adult program, got married and are beginning their families.  They are leading a thriving (25-30) group of faithful latter-day-saint families who are helping build the Lords kingdom here in Moscow.

As we heard the Millars introduce themselves and begin their service, I thought how almost interchangeable we become through decades of service.  We have all done lots of things and loved people and The Lord for a long time.  The Piersons  have built a wonderful foundation and the Millars will comtinue in their own way.  The program and the kids will hardly notice a difference.  What  an amazing church we serve. The picture below is of the Piersons (right) & Millars(left) at our apartment for dinner. 

How to guarantee a parking spot

Moscow was not designed for the many cars that are now flooding the streets.  Traditional traffic laws or even etiquette do not apply. Any available space becomes a driving lane or parking spot.  Amazingly, we have not seen any crashes & we haven't been run over yet, although it has been close a few times.

Parking is ridiculous but we have witnessed one enterprising solution. Outside our apartment building we have been puzzled as the same Prime parking spot was always occupied by either a very old, junky soviet era car or that same car was pushed forward and a new Toyota land cruiser was in that spot.  We finally saw the dance.  When the land cruiser leaves, the guy gets out, pulls on the rope attached to the old car and it becomes the place keeper.  When the LC returns we see him gently nudge the battered wreck forward enough for him to park behind. These Russians are not dumb.

Strength in opposition

While we were in Germany, we had the blessing of  hearing from and feeling the influence and spirit of two powerhouse couples, Henry and Brita Kosak and Manfred and Greta Schultz.  All 4 had been faithful members of the church in East Germany.  All had been born into the church.  They told us that before WWII there were more LDS members in Germany than anywhere besides Utah.
Brother Schultz, we guess is in his mid 70s has been a mission president, temple president, temple sealer, area authority and patriarch.  Most of the people in the group from Russia had received their patriarchal blessings under the hands of Bro. Schultz.

Pres. Kosak, about 50,  had been based in Moscow as CES East Europe area director (Sergei was his assistant).  So all of these Russian  coordinators had worked for him prior to his call as mission president in Germany.  He is also very funny (he loved putting Dicks head in a hammerlock, "Why you not come to my mission?").
Both of these men and their wives are much loved by these people. As we heard their powerful testimonies and observed their shining countenances, we knew we were in the presence of  celestial beings.  All 4 radiate goodness.
During  questioning after the fireside, they were asked how the East German saints were able to maintain their strength and testimony for so many decades with little church contact.  They almost said together, "Opposition!"  They had to remain strong and close to the gospel.
I thought about the joy we find as we embrace and tackle hard things.  When things are tough, we have the opportunity to dig deeper. I read a great quote by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, speaking to  gospel teachers.  "When crises come in our lives-and they will-the philosophies of men interlaced with a few scriptures just won't do.   Are we really nurturing our students in a way that will sustain them when the stresses of life appear?  Or are we giving them a kind of "theological Twinkie"- spiritually empty calories.  President John Taylor called them "fried froth", the kind of thing you could eat all day and yet finish feeling totally unsatisfied."  

Doing hard things can change us and help us find truth as we find new courage.

Lessons from Zion's Camp

We are geared up, ready to take on our missionary responsibilities, and not much is happening.  We We were so excited after our week in Dresden, full of testimony and energy.  We roared through our work, getting the office set up, putting pictures and info of each area and missionary with whom we will interact.  We have put together a so-far fabulous newsletter with the information sent to us (about half responded). We have gone though files, rearranging and throwing.  Sergei has gone on vacation for two weeks, our CES missionaries throughout Eastern Europe are working like crazy lining up teachers and students, gearing up for fall.  We cant nelp them much with that.  Dick & I are looking at each other with little to do.  We will help with YSA & youth conferences beginning next month but for now,  we are skyping, emailing & encouraging from afar.

I'm eager to line up yoga teaching but until our telephone situation is resolved, I can't do much.  This short experience of getting all ready and then finding not much happening made us review many of the lessons the Prophet Joseph & others learned though the experience of Zion's Camp in 1834.

As you may remember, The Lord revealed to the Prophet the need to restore the saints in Missouri to their homes.  They had been driven out and were suffering.  The expedition, led by the prophet was considered a failure by some but for those who chose to see the hand of The Lord, testimonies were strengthened and lessons were leaned that they then brought to future challenges.  We always have opportunities to open our eyes, see, & learn.   Just because we don't see much action on the surface doesn't mean things aren't building underneath.

Each day we pass a construction site that we assume, will be another huge apartment complex.  We have watched the excavation, channeling & laying of gigantic pipes & cables.  Today when we passed all was smoothed over in readiness for the foundation.  We remarked that without the preparation & installation of infrastucure, nothing would work, even though no one sees it.  Our lives and the building of the Lords kingdom is the same.  Preparation & application of learned truths is everything.

Good saints in Lviv

These faithful Russian saints still astound me.  About three hours drive (by the one bus that travels daily) is the village of Lviv.  The branch consists of a faithful elder, his wife, their son & wife & daughter.  Their little home has a bedroom/living room /kitchen. This is also the branch chapel. Each week Bro. Sokol and family don their Sunday best, place the  podium in the middle of the room and church is held.  All 3 hours.  If visitors from Moscow come, they are the speakers, of course.  Sacrament is blessed and passed, testimonies are borne and those who have been in that service testify that there is no sweeter spirit anywhere.  After the block of meetings, these humble saints insist on feeding visitors lunch from their abundant garden.
These dear people have been through almost unimaginable challenges but their testimonies are radiant and powerful.   Last month, new Russian scriptures were delivered to them and they were overcome.  They poured over the pages and wept.  They thirst for contact with the larger church but, at the same time, their hearts are bursting with gospel truths.  We to whom so much is given, consider our ways.

Praying for a Moscow temple

We are so happy as we see the Lords hand in this blessed land.  The caliber if missionaries here is astounding as are the testimonies of these faithful members.  The Keiv temple is bursting and the family history work here in Eastern Europe, they tell us, is among the highest in the church.  As a result, there is a huge need for a temple here.  But available property is limited, especially here in Moscow,  so we have joined our prayers with all of the saints here that The Lord will open the doors and a temple will be built.  St. Petersburg is also being considered, we hear, which would be symbolic, since 110 years ago in St Petersburg,  the land of Russia was dedicated by Francis R Lyman, an apostle.  Moscow is truly the church center but these good people will be thrilled with wherever The Lord puts it.
Moscow is also desperate for a stake center. None of the buildings are adequate for stake gatherings.  A hotel ballroom must be rented each time.
The kingdom of God is firmly planted here and will only grow.  We feel so blessed to live among and learn from these precious children of God.
Despite hours of effort, I'm still picture-uploaded challenged.  Hopefully, I'll figure I out soon & show some of the orders we see each day.  Were having so much fun.

Called to Serve. Russian/Latvian/English all together

IMG_0519_zps96e92f17 called to serve in 3languages.  Same spirit.

White nights

We are now pretty used to twilight that shimmers until midnight.  It never really gets dark before it begins so lighten again.  As a result, we are buying humongous vegetables.  Gorgeous cauliflower, broccoli, fruits are wonderful.  Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and the best cherries ever.  We are making some Russian friends, mostly store people and, of course, church members.  What we lack in vocabulary, we make up in animation & somehow we connect.

Last night we tried the metro by ourselves for the first time and didn't end up in Siberia.  We met 2 couples, one we had enjoyed spending time with in Dresden.  The Bices have served two years as addiction recovery/family relation specialists all over the Moscow mission.  They have done some amazing things and seen so much growth in many people.  They are returning to Utah for Elder Bices knee surgery but plan to return for a 2nd mission.   In Dresden they gave fabulous seminars on marriage to the sometimes uncomfortable Russian couples.  In this culture, one doesn't discuss personal lives.
The other couple we had not met before, Stephen & Anita Canfield.  They are serving a 2nd mission
Creating a program for personal responsibility.  Try previously served in Turkey.  They were part of the first missionaries to help establish a presence for the church there.  They had amazing stories, some they could share & others they keep sacred.  They were able to tell us abt Elder Nelson's visit to Ankara.  They knew they were in the presence of one of the Lord's special servants.  They have seen the hand of The Lord, as we all have.
We had dinner in the Bolshoi Restaurant.  I was in old Moscow, elegant & quaint.  To get there, we passed the Bolshoi theater, we plan to go when we're feeling flush enough to afford the 2-300$ tickets.  I can't believe we are in the land of Tolstoi, Checkov, Rachmaninov,   So much Russian heart.  These are great people & we feel their strength & goodness.
Aaron tells me I can put pictures on here but I haven't figured out how.  Ill have the office elders help me.

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These very fun Russians

We have spent the past week in Dresden, Germany with about 25 seminary district coordinators and their wives from all over Eastern Europe.  We have had so much fun.  They are so dear to us already. We are looking at the future of the church in these countries and it is incredibly bright.  These are some of the best teachers & gospel scholars I have ever seen.  We loved Dresden & our temple session in Freiberg this morning was tender & insightful.  A testimony meeting with heartfelt love for this gospel was treasured & felt by everyone there.
We Americans (there are just4 of us) planned to sing "star spangled banner " for the talent show on July 4 th but  the evening belonged to the Russians.  They regaled us with Russian folk songs & dances, a very funny acting out of a Russian fairy tale & stories from the Berlin mission president, who was the previous CES area director.  Everyone loves him & his charming wife.
We are heading back to our cozy Moscow home now with grateful hearts & a clearer vision of what god wants us to do to help in some small way to buil His kingdom.