Jehovah Witnesses and Latter-day Saints

Today on the bus to Zelonograd to attend our Church meetings a couple of ladies sat across from us (facing us). They were pleasant and smiling. One of them leaned over and spoke to me. I smiled and said "English." Oh, she replied and then proceeded to talk in Russian. She reached into her purse and brought out a religious tract. She handed it to Dave and we said "spaseebah" meaning thank you. It appeared to be The WatchTower,  the Jehovah Witnesseses booklets that they pass out. Dave reached into his pocket and drew out a "preeg", which is a handout with a picture of the Savior on it that is used as an invitation to become better acquainted with the Church. She was a bit surprised when we handed her something in return and they graciously accepted it and read it (which was written in Russian).

We have heard that there is a presence of Jehovah Witnesses here and we had a chance to meet two of these lovely ladies today.

KInd of creepy

Every Friday at the office I prepare the FedEx envelope and put all the letters that are going to the STates from the missionaries.  This past week the envelope came back. As I rifled through it trying to figure out why, I noticed that 5 of the envelopes had been opened and then taped, to include one for our grandson Kyler. I'm not quite sure why. The opened envelopes were all Christmas cards.. So, I remailed all of them again this past Friday and will hope they reach their destinations in the States.

Season of Sacrifice

In November our Russia Moscow Mission President, President Sorenson sent out a personal letter to each of the missionaries in the mission, the seniors and the younger missionaries. He encouraged us to consider what  we could individually do that would help us draw closer to the Lord. He referred to this as a "Season of Sacrifice." At this sacred time of year, what could we sacrifice? What could we bring to the table for the Lord that would be a blessing to us and would help strengthen us as individuals and missionaries?  He stressed that there is great power in sacrifice and he encouraged us to consider what it is that we personally might want to sacrifice in terms of either refraining from something that is negative and hindering our progress, perhaps, or doing something new that would benefit us, but maybe is hard. Maybe giving up a bad habit or working on developing a new resolve to improve upon our life in some way. The purpose is to help us draw closer to the Lord and become more like our Savior, to bring more light into our lives by righteous choices.

Because each one of us is an invidivual and our strengths and weaknesses vary greatly, the sacrifice each of us chooses to make will also vary greatly.

What I have chosen is something most difficult for me, but upon prayer and pondering, I feel that this is what is right for me.

I have chosen to sacrifice or give up chocolate and ice cream and candy in all forms for the remainder of my mission. I love sugar and it is not good for me. I have been consuming too many sweets. I'm struggling with my weight since we got here due to lack of exercise (except for all the walking) and being in an office environment all day isn't conducive to burning a lot of extra calories.) I know how much better I feel when I am making healthier choices. Sugar makes me sluggish.

The members of the Church have a sacred book of scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants. This book contains revelations received by latter-day prophets. One such revelation is found in the 89th section of the  Doctrine and Covenants, known by members of the Church as The Word of Wisdom. You may have heard that members of the Church do not drink or smoke. This counsel was given to us in the Doctrine and Covenants. It contains many treasures for everyone concerning our health and well-being. (exercise, sleeping, eating, etc.). It is meant to be a gift to us to help us live healthy lives.

I have come to know that there is a connection between spiritual and physical well beng.
I want to draw closer to my Heavenly Father as I serve my mission. become more healthier through being more obedient to what I know to be true.

Only in Russia have I ever seen.....

The Mitino Mall is a lovely modern mall. But one thing is different from malls in America. There is a security guard at the entrance to the bathrooms complete with the stile that you have to go through. He unlocks it so you can go in and use the restroom. A little different.........

An unwelcome adventure

Here it is ten days before Christmas and we decided to do our Christmas shopping for each other at the Mitina Mall. It was too cold to walk so we took a bus. We enjoyed shopping, listening to Christmas carols in English, had a nice lunch there and then headed home. A beautiful sunny day here but bitterly cold. On our way back, we missed our stop. The bus driver had stopped in a different place and we expected to get off at our usual place except that he didn't stop. We rounded the corner GOING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF OUR HOME!! We got off at the first stop and walked home. Problem - well, there was only a sidewalk for a short ways and then we entered the construction site of the new Mitina metro stop.I can only imagine what drivers whizzing past us were thinking. Oh, those must be crazy Americans who missed their bus stop.  Here we are, icy winds blowing in our faces as we tread carefully over frozen mud and uneven snow-covered ground trying to reach the street which will take us home. It was a freeze-your-face- in -two- seconds cold and the wind was unrelenting. It is actually a balmy 5 degrees without the chill factor which was well be low zero. We were happy to reach the warmth of our apartment. It is going to be a LOOOOONG winter, especially if we keep missing our bus stops.

The Wrong Choice

When we went out to catch a bus to the metro this morning it was below zero. (Three couples) We had to decide whether to take the blue line or the purple line. The purple line is risky because you never know if you'll get a seat or not, and at rush hour, the metro can be VERY busy and crowded. The blue line at Mitino starts there so we are assured of a seat. BUT to get there you have to walk about 5 to 7 minutes to the bus stop to take you to Mitino. That is what I wanted to do.
The purple line in Tushkenskaya means we take the bus right across the street from our apartment. I was outvoted. We took the bus to Tushkenskaya.. The metro was hopping at 7:40 am.  It was VERY crowded. Dave and I got in and I manged to stay in front near the door. Dave was pushed back a ways. I was astonished when, at the first stop, several more people got on. There wasn't any room! They made room! They were pushy and forced themselves on instead of waiting for the next subway which would have come along in 3 minutes or less. I was flattened and couldn't move much. Not fun.
I have heard and been told that you sometimes have to be push to get on. One woman actually got caught in the door as it closed on her. Not a fun ride.
The couples conference was wonderful (which had been our destination and I will talk about that later). On the way back, once again it was rush hour or just prior to rush hour. Everyone was on but me when it started to close. The door started to close before I got on! Dave stuck his arm in between the two doors to force it open again. I rushed inside. I have to admit that Dave's arm squeezed between the doors would have made quite a picture. I'm glad he wasn't hurt.
We have a plan. If anyone is left behind on the metro, the person left behind takes the next subway and gets off at the next stop. The person who has gone on ahead gets off at the next stop and waits for the one following behind. The wait is only a couple of minutes as a rule.
I HATE the metro when it is crowded like that.
I mentioned to my better half that I would rather walk through icy winds to get to the bus stop to Mitino and take the blue line instead of taking the purple line! Until next time, dosvidonya.

This is not the end of the story

It appears that our computer problems are not over. Even though Dave and I both have computers that are up and running (most of the time) our office elder's computers are not..... and they have many things to do to keep the office running smoothly too.
The best news of all? Sergei, one of the computer techs, informed Dave, that oh yeah, I'm getting married in a couple of days and I won't be around.  Not sure when we'll be back. (Evgeny is the other computer tech). OH GREAT.
We have new missionaries arriving on 12/18. It is also transfer week and we will be getting a new office elder who will need to learn Elder Stegeby's responsibilities. How is he going to do that without a functional computer???!!!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story. (however, don't hold your breath It could be a while.)