Different and yet the same

We attended Church today. It was pleasant walking on mostly dry sidewalks. There hasn't been any snow in a week or so and it has allowed the street workers to get the sidewalks nice and clear, which is a great blessing. Walking on snow-packed sidewalks is difficult.

It was  a lovely day at Church. It was Ward Conference.They have ward conferences back home, too. As I was sitting in our meetings, it struck me again how things in Church are the same in so many ways, even though thousands of miles separate us.

The meetings are in Russian, of course, and Sister Snyder and Elder Samuelson did a wonderful job translating for us. It is remarkable and comforting to me to know that as I am hearing the Relief Society lesson on the power of the Holy Ghost, that the same lesson is being taught in my home ward back in Ludlow MA. The manuals for Priesthood and Relief Society, Primary and Young Men and Young Women's are also the same. The same principals are being taught to our members all over the world. Our members are learning and teaching the same things world wide.

 Families sit together, the same hymns are sung (I cheat and use my English hymnbook, but Dave sings from the Russian one), little ones cry and need to be taken out. The same sweet spirit is felt in the Zelonograd Ward as in the Ludlow Ward. Sacrament is blessed and passed to the congregation using the same words by the young men just like back home.

As we sat together in the Investigator's class today, Roman (can't spell his last name) was teaching and with a few key phrases from Elder S and some sign language from Roman, we were able to follow the gist of the lesson. It was great. (I think we understand a few more words too).

Us, the senior couple and 6 young missionaries, 2 young women and 4 young men all took part in the class, along with some of the young men and women and one investigator. There was a sweet spirit in the room.

One little guy, Slava who is approaching 5, came up to me and called me baboola which means grandmother. His mother, Diana, who works in our office laughed and said the loves the baboolas in the ward. I love being calld grandmother in Russian or English!