Lots of Food – Lots of Rain

Another week of rain... A day without rain in Siberia is very unusual this year! There have been very few days when we haven’t packed an umbrella. Even the locals say that this is a very rainy summer. We are kind of wondering... what summer??  There is one thing different about the rain storms here compared to those in Utah; at least there is not wind to go along with it.

We have had lots and lots of dinner invitations recently. The people here are most kind and generous to us. We love the Russian meals that we have been invited to and the visiting with our dear friends is even better. On one evening last week, we were invited to dinner at a family’s apartment that is on the same floor as our apartment in Izumrudny. The father was in the Russian military and used to fly Mig fighter jets. It was very fun getting to know this sweet family.

We enjoyed having two very fine Elders, Elder McKay and Elder Brinton, the Assistants to the President, come to Berdsk and speak at our meeting on Sunday. They did a great job and we also enjoyed visiting with them at our apartment over a nice Sunday meal. Our Sundays here in Berdsk are counting down :-(  Next week will be the final Sunday for the two of us in Berdsk. The last Sunday that we are here in Siberia there is a special meeting in Novosibirsk with President Lawrence, so we will not be having any meetings in Berdsk that day. President Lawrence is the Eastern European Area President.

District Meeting - No one wears shoes in the houses in Russia

Just another day in Siberia

Very common sight from our apartment

Statue of Lenin in the downtown area of Berdsk

Our neighbors in Izumrudny

Friends we met through the English class visiting us

A nice meal with a very kind family

Russian Mig helmet

Walking through a small city near Berdsk. Yellow pipes carry gas.

NO, you press the button  :-)

Looking out over the Ob Sea

Elder Brinton and Elder McKay - Assistants to the Mission President

After a nice meal at the house of a friend that we met on a Marshrutka

Crashed computer

The hard drive on our laptop crashed last week :-( so we decided to go find another. We are grateful that we still had our iPhones, so at least we did have an internet connection; they are just limited as to what you can do and are also a little awkward to type on. Here is where it gets interesting! We found a laptop at an electronics store here in Berdsk. We thought, no problem, we will just download the English language package from Microsoft and change the language from Russian to English. Well, little did we know that computers sold here with the Russian version of Windows installed will not allow you to install the English package. So now we are faced with many new Russian words on the computer screen that we have never seen before. Thank goodness for language translators on the iPhones :-) One more interesting point; Russian words are generally not very short!!

In the middle of the week, Laura decided to stay at the apartment while I went downtown to go to lunch with a good friend, named Michail. However, the place where we had planned on eating lunch was having some repairs done, so we couldn't eat there. It turned out for the best, as we went back to his apartment to have a nice lunch with his mother. A tasty lunch of Borsch was enjoyed while we had a wonderful conversation. He has been very helpful to us whenever we have needed help finding anything. He is a good friend and his dear mother is one of the sweetest ladies we have ever met.

On our return to Berdsk from Novosibirsk, after our district meeting on Friday, we were asked by a member of our church, from Novosibirsk, if we could stop in Akademgorodok to see her nephew who is in a hospital there. We exited the train at a stop called "обское море" (Ob Sea) and headed into the forest. This was just like walking through the pine forest in our mountains back home. After a nice walk on a dirt trail through the trees we came to this beautiful city in the pines. (Here is another plug for the benefit of technology) We have a program loaded on our phones that doesn't require phone service or an internet connection to direct us to the exact building that we are looking for. It led us directly to the hospital without a hitch. With the new changes coming forth in the missionary program regarding the use of new technology, maybe the young missionaries will someday soon be able to use programs such as this. It works wonderful!

One of the fine young missionaries that has recently been coming to Berdsk each week came to our Sunday meetings for his last Sunday of his mission; his name is Elder Dawson. He is a wonderful missionary and speaks Russian as if he is a native. So for a special, after dinner, treat Laura decided to make tasty fresh raspberry shakes for the elders. The raspberries are on right now and boy are they delicious. There are many ladies around Berdsk with their own little fruit or vegetable stands setup on the sidewalks. Not only are there many places to buy fruit or veggies on the sidewalks, there are lots and lots of little ice creams shops. The Russian people love their ice cream :-) They don't look it though; most of them seem to look very fit.

Flowers everywhere near our apartment

Trekking through the forest

Lots of rain makes lots of green

Believe it or not, this is in the middle of a city

Coming out of a forest shortcut

A nice man that guided us through the forest

Elder Dawson & Elder Berg teaching in our apartment

Church in a bag(s)  :-)

Getting ready to leave our church meeting

Goodbye to Elder Dawson

Wheel repair service project

They come and they go

The experiences of last week included an enjoyable evening spent with Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, who is an emeritus general authority of the church and is now serving as a patriarch for the Russia missions. We were invited to dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant in Novosibirsk with him and the Palmer's, another senior couple in our mission. It was a very enjoyable experience visiting with them.

Another opportunity of that day was to go to the large main train station in Novosibirsk and try to figure out how to purchase long distance train tickets on our own. Yes, it was an experience to be remembered but when it was all over, it was a success! At least it appears to look correct as far as we can read Russian :-) We purchased tickets for the train to travel to a city called, Irkutsk, which is near a huge lake called Lake Baikal. We decided to visit this area at the conclusion of our mission on our journey home.

One thing that is definitely constant in our mission is change... It became time for another change in our Berdsk area and Elder Stoneking was assigned to serve in the city of Krasnoyarsk. We had a nice little going away gathering for our departing elder on Tuesday evening at our apartment and several people came to say goodbye and enjoy some tasty homemade cake. Everyone here loves Laura's cooking :-) We will miss our Elder Stoneking. He is a fine missionary and served the people of Berdsk well.

We received a new elder in Berdsk to serve with Elder Evans. Our newest "missionary son" is now Elder Betteridge. He has been serving in a city several hours south of us called Barnaul. Barnaul is near an area of Russia that is very popular, called Altai. Altai is a mountainous region that many people from Berdsk travel to for recreation. Elder Betteridge's family lives in the state of Washington. He will be serving with us until we leave and we are excited to get to know him. He spoke to our little group on Sunday and did a great job. He also plays the Cello, which he brought along. He played a very nice number for our group on Sunday also.

We traveled to Novosibirsk on Friday for our regular district meeting at the Palmer's apartment. The meeting was uplifting, as always. Afterwards, we went with the Palmer's into the downtown area of Novosibirsk and visited a nice little Orthodox church building, located right between two lanes of traffic. Then we went to a market place called a "Rinok", which has a bit of everything to buy. Laura was soooo happy to find a couple of new blouses. To top off the day, we had another enjoyable train ride back to Berdsk with opportunities to visit with more of the wonderful people of this area.

On Saturday, we met the Palmer's in a city called Akademgorodok which is between Berdsk and Novosibirsk. There is a nice train museum in that city; which we visited and enjoyed with them. We then walked into the city and went to a restaurant that we had found on a prior visit, that has tasty "Shashlik". It was an enjoyable day visiting with the Palmer's. They have become great friends of ours.

Novosibirsk Train Station

Trip home from the grocery store

It's five-o'clock somewhere :-)

Small cathedral between lanes of traffic

Checking out the cathedral

We found the MTC in Russia :-)

At one of the Metro stops

Mission Home is in the distant blue building

Buildings where the Mission Office and Branch are located

The Elders with our good friend Michail

A very sweet lady that has been attending

Good-bye get together for Elder Stoneking

Elder Betteridge and Elder Evans

The Conductor :-)

A Siberian snow blower

This is what you call a real snowplow!

Conductor changed trains :-)

Entrance to the train museum

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!