A Wonderful Week

Last week we had many opportunities to meet with friends. Many of them new friends and several that we have known for a short while. What a wonderful week it was!  To start the week, on Monday we had a young friend from one of our English classes, along with her mother come to our apartment and visit. The next day we went to lunch in Akademgorodok with our friends that work in that city. On Wednesday, we had a sweet lady that we met one day on a marshrutka come to our apartment for a wonderful visit, she came along with another dear friend that we met in Berdsk several months ago, who has become a very close friend to us. Then, on Thursday, we were invited to another good friend and his mother’s apartment for a delicious Russian meal. All of our meetings were an absolute joy to spend time visiting with our Russian friends and learn more about them and their culture. Did we mention, “WE LOVE THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE”!

We had the district meeting at our apartment this last Friday. Great food, great company, great meeting; it was a very nice day. We even took the Palmer’s, the senior couple serving in the mission office, to the beach on the sea near our apartment. They don’t call it the lake; they call it the sea because it is huge. Needless to say, we looked a little out of place in our dress but that’s ok, it stimulates good conversation :-)

Saturday was a day that Laura had been looking forward to for some time. She got up enough nerve to have her hair cut here in Berdsk. Thanks to our friend, Nastia, who had the right connections with a good hair stylist, it ended up that her fears were in vain. The lady did a great job on her hair!

On Saturday evening the elders had a young man come to our apartment for a discussion and one of our sweet members from Berdsk was present also. It works out so well when a local member is present during a discussion.  It’s always enjoyable having discussions in our apartment, even though we don’t understand much of what is being said. It’s the feeling that we enjoy!

Sunday was a record for us here in Berdsk. All-in-all, we had a total of sixteen people at our meetings. Some were friends that we have known for a short while and another that we met for the first time. It was great! We had two fine missionaries from Novosibirsk come and talk and they did a great job. Afterwards, we had a wonderful meal at our apartment for a nice sized group. It was great, as always! Everyone here loves Laura’s cooking :-)

To top things off, we received a sweet email during the week from our sister-in-law, Carolyn. She has been so faithful to write us, and she decided to write us a little poem based around some of our experiences. We loved it so much that we decided to share it on our blog.

Elder and Sister Beck, you're called to RUSSIA- what the heck?
So far up north away from home, on frozen tundra you will roam.
Transportation will be a chore, where's the "guide" on this tour?
You've taken trains with wrong connections, meeting folks who need direction.
Your smiles have drawn others to you, when they glance at you two.
The cold and ice have melted away, as you've met kind people every day.
The food you buy is in strange pouches, and the Elder's there are never slouches!
Books of Mormon arrive in piles, from SLC to bring Russians... smiles.
You walk in skirts (or a Sunday suit), pronouncing words has been a hoot :)
Your jackets are never far from you, as you struggle to get above "32"!
New Elders arrive armed with bags, and set out happy with new name tags.
The work is hard but the love comes quick, dedication is the trick.
So life in Russia is really great, but to see you in person we'll have to wait!
Not much longer for your return, to share with us the lessons learned.
Enjoy the sights and people there... and best of luck as they cut your hair!
Adventure and good times are still in store, at every corner and every door.
So while it has been quite the ride, you've taken all of it in stride.
Being there with "no guide" you know isn't true- He is always there for you!
In your hearts and in your mind, the Lord is easy there to find.
A guide to all who need His love, he directs us each from up above.
His work to do has been a task, His help is near if we but ask.
So hop on that train to "who knows where", to bless the people you find there!
The Beck's have made Russia better, while bundled in a coat and sweater :)
Take it all in, with your blessings in bounty... and we'll see you soon in Sanpete County!

Young friend from an English class with her mother

Popular gift of Russian candy

Wonderful meal with our dear friends

Very sweet people

Some of the many flowers near our apartment

The Elders singing to us

View from the walkway at the train station

Delicious drink called "Snowball"

Sister Palmer at district meeting

Elder Nelson enjoying himself

We fit right in at the beach :-)

The beach at the Ob Sea

Hair cut day :-)

Sunday dinner - Always a favorite!

Akademgorodok - Beautiful City

There are not a lot of words to describe last week, but there is a lot of meaning. We had a most wonderful couple from Berdsk come and visit with us in our apartment during the week. This is the lady that we talked to on the sidewalk while eating ice cream a week ago. She and her husband both work in a nearby city called Akademgorodok, which literally means Academy City. This is a very beautiful city built in the middle of a forest with large pine trees everywhere. It is a city with one of the most prestigious scientific universities in all of Russia. Our friends happen to be involved in the sciences. He is a scientist and she is a director of a scientific institute. They are very intelligent and a pure joy to visit with. We look forward to our future visits with our new friends. It is interesting to us how much emphasis and interest there is in education here in this part of Russia. Most all young people are highly involved in furthering their education.

In Russia there are many wonderful customs and traditions. Whenever someone comes to a home to visit, they most always will bring a gift. We are amazed as to how many nice gifts that have been brought to us by friends visiting while we have been here. Another custom and courtesy is that whenever anyone enters a home or apartment, they always take off their shoes and place them by the door. That’s another good incentive to keep the holes in the toes of your socks mended :-)

Sunday is always a very enjoyable day for us here in Berdsk. We get to be with our little group of members and often an investigator or two. This week was no exception, one of our members spoke and one of the Berdsk missionaries spoke also. They both talked about missionary work and they did a great job. Laura has continued her Sunday tradition of having a family meal each Sunday. Each week after church she always has a wonderful meal for the missionaries and our friends. Everyone that visits enjoys the Sunday meal at our apartment. Everyone here now knows the saying that I gave Laura many years ago, “She is a Good Looker and a Good Cooker” :-)

Words of Wisdom in the Mission Office

Fresh shipment of new Books of Mormon

Sweet young English class that we visited

Our little buddy

Morning walk - Our apartment is located in the middle of the picture

Our new friends with a gift of roses for Laura

An enjoyable visit with friends

Tasty treats from our friends

An apple cake for our Sunday meal :-)

Smile :-)

This past week we had a pleasant experience. We had just bought us a couple of ice cream treats and were walking down the sidewalk in the center of Berdsk. We looked up the sidewalk and a lady made eye contact with us and came directly to us and the first words she spoke were, “Where are you from” spoken in English. Well, we had a very pleasant talk with her for quite a while on the sidewalk. During the course of our conversation we asked her how she knew that we weren’t from here. She told us that she saw us in a store and we looked at her and smiled. She also mentioned that a while ago several of the young missionaries passed her on the street and said “good evening” to her, in Russian of course. She told us that those two things are not real common in public. Well, we shared phone numbers and decided that we would meet again and talk. What a very, very pleasant person she is. We have since been in contact with each other; she and her husband are coming to our apartment for a visit on Wednesday. We are looking forward to our visit. We have met so many Russian people that are extremely pleasant towards us.

We also had the opportunity last week to take to lunch a person that we have become close friends with. He was able to bring his sweet mother with him to lunch; she told us stories about survival during the hard times of the world war and after. She was raised in Kazakhstan and later moved to Russia. She is a tiny lady and is one of the sweetest you will ever meet. Oh, how we love the Russian people!

Russia has many celebrations, small and large. They are definitely a people of culture and they are proud of it. This past Saturday it was a cultural celebration in Berdsk with lots of singing and dancing, both young and old. We were invited to attend a performance with a young couple that we met at one of our English classes that we have helped with. She was performing in a couple of singing groups. Everyone here seems to take their singing and dancing quite serious. We have enjoyed watching several performances in Novosibirsk and here in Berdsk, quite a bit more culture than we have experienced in years :-)

Last week was a week of missing home a little. We love the 4th of July celebrations in Utah. We sure missed being with our family and our dear hometown of Mt. Pleasant with all of the activities for the 4th. We heard the fireworks were very good this year. However, we have not missed out on fireworks while here. They are setting off fireworks on a very regular basis. There are a couple of places near our apartment that hold wedding receptions, one right on the lake and one across the street. Fireworks seem to be a regular thing with weddings along with fireworks for the other Russian celebrations.

To finish the week, on Sunday we had a special treat. The family of our young friend that we met on the train when we first arrived came to our apartment to visit. Not only did they come to visit, they brought a nice meal for us to BBQ. So we were able to enjoy a Russian Shashlik again. It worked out perfectly, because we just happened to have another set of Elders from Novosibirsk visiting us in Berdsk for Sunday. We all enjoyed the Shashlik, and we had a great visit with this dear family. Though this is only the second visit we have had with them, they feel like family. We have stayed in close contact with their daughter that left us and went to Texas to work for the summer on a program called, “Work and Travel”. She was so helpful to us while she was here and we were with her many times before she left. We call her our “Russian Daughter” :-)

Here in Berdsk it has rained a lot this spring and summer. Now, on warm days when it’s not raining it kind of looks like it is snowing outside, because of all the cotton from the cottonwood trees. They are loaded with cotton and it blows around in the air everywhere. It is even floating around inside the train as we travel to Novosibirsk. At least it is a warm type of snow, but it’s not as fun getting in your mouth!

Warm snow in Siberia!

Our sweet friend on culture day

The children performing

Young Russian dancers

Our friends from one of the English classes

Our young friend living in Berdsk with quite a story!

Nice people from Germany that we enjoyed a train ride with.

The building with the conference room where we hold our meetings

Cooking Yummy Shashlik

A wonderful family in Berdsk

The Elders singing at the Shashlik party

A Russian Ballet

We have now experienced a Russian Ballet. We went to the Novosibirsk Theater with a few other senior missionaries for the production of Swan Lake. It was an interesting cultural experience for a couple of country folk like us. We enjoyed it and especially the company that we were with; the other seniors here are such pleasant people. We did our usual thing while in Novosibirsk and went to the KFC and had our big city treats, a Box Master (бокс мастер) and a Twister (твистер).

This last week there were several new missionaries that entered our mission. It was fun to meet several of them and feel of their excitement. Our Elder Bunnell that left Berdsk, a short time ago and went to Omsk, came to Novosibirsk to pick up his new companion that he will be training. While in the area, he was able to come to Berdsk for a short visit and say hi to us and visit a few of the members here that he became so close to. He was also able to enjoy some more of Laura’s cooking while here :-)

We enjoy the adventure that it is here. Last Saturday, we ventured out on a Marshrutka ride to a city between Berdsk and Novosibirsk called Akademgorodok. It is a city with many educational facilities, and is the education center of Siberia. The two of us decided to go check it out and also find a place to eat. We actually found a Mexican restaurant while there but decided to eat at a restaurant next to it because its specialty was Shashlik (шашлык), which is like a Shish Kebab. It is very popular in Russia during the summer.

Our Sunday meetings included, Vitali, a member of the Branch Presidency from Nososibirsk visiting us and speaking. We were also able to show the first hour of the recent missionary church broadcast during the time following our sacrament meeting. There are lots of exciting changes coming in missionary work. Oh how we have enjoyed being able to use technology while being here!

Summertime view from the hallway of our apartment

Novosibirsk KFC

Downtown Novosibirsk

Panorama inside the theater

Swan Lake Ballet

Getting ready for the ballet

Our Elder Bunnell visiting us with some new elders

The Berdsk train station

Ballet night

New missionaries have arrived

Still light at 11pm about a week ago