Tom & Pat Arave

2010-01-24T23:38:00.001-08:00

2010-01-24T23:29:00.000-08:00

We went to Novgorod again. This time it only took us two hours (it took us four to five hours by train). Kostya, our translators girlfriend, Masha, took us in her car. They also took us to a park that had old Russian wooden houses and churches. Some were built in the 15th and 16th century. The houses had the animals living on the ground floor. The people lived upstairs above the animals (wonder what it smelled like??? Animals!!!). They had two rooms. A small kitchen with an oven and a living area with a table. There was a little area above the living room that looked like a floor jutting out of the wall but there was only about 12 inches from it to the ceiling. It was just half a loft. That is where the people slept. They must have had to just slide into the beds because there was not enough room to stand. They must have had to sleep on straw as mattresses because there was no room for anything else. They must have had to go to bed at 4:30 p.m. because there was no light. In one corner was an icon that they prayed to. It was very interesting.

2010-01-24T23:21:00.000-08:00

2010-01-24T23:14:00.000-08:00

2010-01-24T00:21:00.001-08:00

Old Russian Orthodox Churches. Notice the third slanted tier on the cross, which makes it different from the Catholic cross.

2009-12-08T10:05:00.001-08:00

We were able to go to Finland to renew our visas. We stayed one night at the Dormitory by the Temple. We attended three sessions. It is a beautiful Temple! It was a wonderful experience!

2009-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

The Finland Temple at night...

2009-12-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

This is one of the rooms in the Dormitory by the Temple. One room for women. One room for men. It only costs 7 Euros ( a little over $10.00) per person per night to stay there, great deal!

2009-12-08T09:06:00.001-08:00

Baltic Sea

2009-12-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

Harbor in Finland

2009-10-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Novgorod, Russia to do a project. We traveled on the train there and back all in one day. It took us five hours to get there.

We took the express train back and it only took us four hours. Did I say express???

It has a Kremlin which is a citadel or fortress
in a commanding position in or near a city.

2009-09-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

We have made some great friends in our branch named Larissa and Victor Veselov, they are so good to take us places and to help us. They even speak English. Here are some pictures of a park in Puskin (a small city by Saint Petersburg) they took us to.

2009-09-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

2009-09-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

On the night of the Fourth of July Larissa and Victor took us for a walk by a river running into the Finnish Gulf.

2009-09-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

A machine gun bunker.

Some of the standing water in Russia has this green film on top of it.

When we were walking by the river there were several men fishing on an old rusty barge. I heard this big splash and I wondered what they had thrown in then I looked down at them (we were on the bank above them) and saw a man in the water not in the river but in the filthy water that was on the inside of the barge. I said “look” to Larissa and she grabbed my hand and said, "let’s pray" and started to pray in Russian. The other men were trying to pull him out by this big rope but he kept losing his grip. I think he was drunk. Another man jumped in to help him. They got the first man out but I don’t know about the second one. We didn't pray for him.

2009-09-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last winter Victor and Larissa took us on a "Winter Picnic" to the Finnish Gulf. I can never remember being so cold in my entire life. I never dreamed I would ever be... on a picnic... in the middle of the winter... in Russia.

2009-09-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

We gathered wood and started a fire.

It was so cold and wet that it was hard to get the fire going even with all of Tom and his little helper's hot air.

Then Victor made us some Fir Tree Tea in this teapot he carried with him. He boiled water then put pine needles in the water from the Fir Trees.
It tasted.......well....... interesting to say the least.

2009-09-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is the Finnish Gulf and it is so cold the water is frozen over. The ice is so hard you can actually walk out on where the water usually is.

2009-08-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

Russian National Jamboree 2009

2009-08-15T01:15:00.000-07:00

This is the site where the "Forgotten War" between Finland and Russia look place. Some people from Finland are doing some restoration work here. The scouts did some clean-up work. These headstones were brought back from people in the village (who had used them as stones in their homes) after they heard of the restoration the people from Finland were doing here.

2009-08-15T00:59:00.000-07:00

Flags at Oath Scout Ceremony at dawn

These are the canisters they served the food from.
Oath Scout Ceremony at dawn

2009-08-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

2009-08-15T00:12:00.000-07:00

These five pictures are scouts who are only about four or five years old and are so cute.

2009-08-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

This is the tents where we ate, the volunteers in the yellow, the scouts in the white.

2009-08-14T23:55:00.000-07:00

2009-07-27T16:03:00.001-07:00

This is an old Russian Orthodox Church in the village of Petergof.

2009-07-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

I wanted all of you to see the beautiful park called Petergof (or Peterhof). It was originally the summer palace of Peter the Great the Tsar of Russia. Peter the Great loved the water. He created many canals in Saint Petersburg and wanted every family living there to own a boat. There were no bridges in Saint Petersburg until after Peter the Great's death then his wife had some constructed. He died from pnuemonia which he caught after swimming in the Baltic Sea. Peter the Great's love of water is evident in the beautiful Petergof. It is 1000 acres full of fountains, palaces, pavilions, parks and picturesque views. Today the State Museum-Preserve Petergof is comprised of 20 museums and 4 parks, the creation and restoration of which is a results many years of strenous efforts of architects, restorers, and staff members. It is one of our favorite places in Russia.

This picture is taken looking down on the Great Cascade. You can see the Sea Canal, it is over one-half mile long and goes out to the Gulf of Finland.

2009-07-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

2009-07-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

2009-07-27T11:36:00.001-07:00

2009-07-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

2009-07-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

This picture is taken of the "Umbrella Tree" people would stand under it with or without an umbrella. Water would squirt from behind the benches on the side and get people wet.

2009-06-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

2009-06-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

May 11 was Tom's 56th Birthday and I have been working on this blog ever since and having trouble with it. We had a Family Night with the Elders and friends we have made here in Russia. They sang "Happy Birthday" to him in seven different languages.

1) English of course

2) Russian

3) Chinese

4) French

5) German

6) Ukrainian

7) Tatar (Kazakhstan)

2009-06-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

We took several group pictures and on the last one I said, " Okay, do something funny. Little did I know they were doing "something funny" in every picture!!!

2009-06-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

See What I mean....leave it to the "GUYS"!!!

2009-06-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

One of Tom's gifts was the "Blue Wig" flattering isn't it?

2009-06-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

56 Reasons we Love Tom…

56) Has a voluminous sneeze

55) Always has a smart comeback

54) Helps people feel good about themselves

53) Loves Mexico is working on loving Russia

52) A Leader Among Men

51) Has a Great Memory

50) After almost 30 years of marriage is grocery shopping with me

49) Cracks Funny Jokes

(I keep telling him his jokes are getting lost in the translation)

48) Has an Exceptionally Kind Heart

47) Is Very Organized

46) Is a Hard Worker

45) Has a Selfless Nature

44) Is always willing to “Stop for a Photo-Op”

43) Encourages Me To Take Many Many Pictures

42) Serving Others Is a Natural Part of His Life

41) Goes the Extra-Mile

40) Makes Me Laugh In Any Situation

39) Has a lot of Incentive

38) Set and achieve goals (constantly)

37) Extraordinary

36) Loves Mexican Food

35) A Very Fine Scullery Maid

34) Kind Brother and Brother-in-law

33) An Exceptional Boy Scout

2009-06-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

32) Smart Navigator

31) Creative Map Maker and Reader

30) Only gets lost once a day

29) Is a whiz on the calculator

28) Is looked to for help from others offers good advice

27) Always singing around the house, at the computer, always, always singing

26) Has a good singing voice

25) Sees the Best in Everyone

24) Is Loved and Admired by His Children

23) Makes great potato and macaroni salad

22) A True Friend

21) Great Son-in-law

20) Amazing Builder and Designer

19) Frugal

18) Plays Pinochle Marvelously

17) Admirable

16) Loves Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

15) Remarkable Linguist

14) Experienced Sudoku Player

13) Devoted Missionary

12) Is a good son

11) Loves little children, will be a great Grandpa

10) Wise

9) Is a terrific cook-his specialty- cat food sandwiches

8) Shows Kindness to Other People

7) Smart

6) Compassionate

5) Knows how to Find Joy in the Journey

4) Honors His Priesthood Has a Strong Testimony

3) Dedicated to Service in the Church

2) Loving and Kind Father

1) Exceptional Husband

2009-05-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Living In Saint Petersburg...

An apartment with three or four rooms and a kitchen and bathroom can house three families (or individuals). One young lady I know lives in an apartment that has four rooms (not counting kitchen and bathroom), a family of four uses two rooms, she has a room, and a young man has another room. They share the kitchen and bathroom. She has a bed, refrigerator, chairs, table, wardrobe and maybe a desk in her room. Her room is not as big as the kitchen in the apartment we live in and she pays 5000 rubles which is over $150.00. She only makes about 15000 rubles a month, which is around $500.00. Another young lady shares a room with another lady and they pay 10000 rubles a month. She makes only a few thousand rubles a month. Needless to say by the time they pay rent, buy food and Metro/bus passes they have little money left over. They also told me about some apartments that have the kitchen and bathroom both in one room. That would be very inconvenient don't you think?

2009-04-21T12:41:00.001-07:00

Here is the keys we have to use. The black magnetic key for the front gate. The gray magnetic key is for the two doors going into the apartment building. The long silver key and the black and silver key are for the two locks on the steel front door to our apartment.

2009-04-21T12:14:00.001-07:00

Here is our front gate. You have to push the button to the tattoo parlor for the gate to open or use one of the magnetic keys we have.

2009-04-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

Our front gate, Tom is going out of it. To even get out you have to push a button for it to open.

2009-04-21T12:08:00.001-07:00

The covered walkway from the front gate. Off to the left is a police station and day care or school where the children come from to play on the play area. Straight ahead and to the right is the play area, and tattoo parlor. Above all the businesses are apartments.

2009-04-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

The courtyard with the children's play area right next to the tattoo parlor. As you face the tattoo parlor our apartment is to the left but in the same building just a couple of entry doors down. Then across from our entry door is a photo shop. I don't know how the photo shop gets much business because of the locked gate and the out of way place it is in. It must advertise some where but I don't know where (as if I could read it if I did).

2009-04-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of our apartment.
This is coming out the front door of our apartment building.
We live on the third floor in the back of the courtyard. Even though Nevsky is a very busy street our apartment complex is quiet except when the little kids are playing out on the playground or on Saturday nights when our downstairs neighbors are partying. With our two locked steel doors we feel like we live in a secure fortress.

2009-04-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

As you come in our front door there is a long hall and all the rooms are off to the right. We have so many chairs left here by the landlord we have to put them in any empty place we can find. There are 29 chairs, a couch and a love seat.

2009-04-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

The living room, where we have lots of Family Nights and District Meetings.

2009-04-21T11:27:00.001-07:00

Our bedroom.

2009-04-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

This is our office where we spend a lot of time. Tom is working intently, probably on a Sudoku puzzle.

2009-04-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

Looking out our kitchen window.

2009-04-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is our Kitchen.

2009-04-10T01:29:00.000-07:00

We have several people who like to meet with us to speak English. One day we were with one of them and he was driving us around to look at some things he had built. He was talking to Tom who was in the front seat in English when all of a sudden Tom said "Watch out!" and we went into a big hole in the road. The two of us in the back (myself and another man who is Russian but a professor of English) had quite a bounce. All day when when we parked at the places our friend wanted us to look at he would just leave his car running while we got out and looked around. When we got to an old building he pulled off to the left of the road and just across the road was the Neva River. I was trying to get out of the back seat (we were in a Mercedes sport car with only two doors). Tom and the professor were outside standing in back of the car and the driver was walking around in front when all of a sudden the car started rolling across the road, toward the river. The man in front started pushing on the bumper trying to stop the car. I was trying to scurry between the bucket seats to get to the front seat to hit the brake. Can you image me scurrying any place let alone between two bucket seats. The professor was trying to stop it by grabbing the back bumper. I am not sure what Tom was doing but when he saw the car moving he yelled to the professor “get in the car and step on the brake”. Later this man told us he has never driven a car and had no idea what a brake was. Finally when the driver realized he could not stop it by being in front he ran and got in the car and got it stopped. Then he said “no more speaking English while I am driving, it is dangerous”.

When I got home I had the following e-mail. I wish I could give it to the people here but they would never understand it.

I love this Doctor, who ever he is.

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
'If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:
'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride!'

AND......

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans..
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

It fit our day perfectly!!!!!!!

2009-03-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the modern conveniences we have here in our apartment. Next week you will get to see my infamous stove.

2009-03-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is the freezer in the bottom of our refrigerator. It has doors and a drawer in the bottom. On the door is instructions on what is to be kept in each department.

2009-03-17T05:43:00.000-07:00

This is our washing machine. You put the clothes in the metal basket, clamp it closed and shut the lid. However once it is shut and running you can not open it again until the cycle is finished. It takes about three hours or longer to run a load. The water is very hard and full of minerals and we have brown hard water stains where ever water sits.

2009-03-17T05:36:00.000-07:00

We have no dryer so we have to hang our clothes on a drying rack.

2009-03-17T04:44:00.000-07:00

They have all the pipes on the outside of the walls. They have great toilets though,they flush with the little button on top of the tank and when you flush it I think the water goes clear to the ocean it flushes with so much water and force. America could take a lesson from this.

2009-03-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

The bathtub and washing machine are in one room and the toilet and sink in another. These are the pipes in our bathtub room and they are warm so we use them for towel warmers. High Class aren't we?

2009-03-17T03:44:00.000-07:00

Here is our shower and tub. It is quite an experience taking a shower in it. The hot water heater hangs on the wall and is an inline heater. It runs by propane fire so you when you turn the hot water on you have to make sure it fires. Then the water is scalding hot but if you get to much cold water in the pipe then it is freezing. So you have to keep adjusting until you find a temperature you can tolerate. You can not appreciate the shower hanging on the string until you have stood under it.

2009-03-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

We got to take a visa run with 8 Elders from our mission but not for 10 days to Spain, it was for 7 days to Yerevan, Armenia. The same city we were first called to. We stayed in a hotel and just had a mini vacation, we did go help some Senior Missionaries for 3 days. We had a fun time in Armenia, it was warm, the people smiled at you on the street and the food was good and not nearly as expensive. The big plus was we got to hang out with the Elders they are a bunch of great young men. They taught us a fun card game "Scum".

2009-03-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Mount Ararat taken from our hotel balcony. It is 16,946 feet high (the Grand Teton is only 13,770 feet high). Many people believe that Mount Ararat is the place where Noah's Ark landed.

Here is a quote by Marco Polo I found on the internet (note the spelling and the year).

THERE IS A VERY TALL MOUNTIAN ON WHICH, IT IS SAID, RESTS NOAH’S ARC. THIS MOUNTAIN IS SO HIGH AND WIDE THAT, IT TAKES MORE THAN TWO DAYS TO WALK AROUND IT. THE DEEP SNOW ON its PEAK REMAINS YEAR ROUND, NOWBODY CAN CLIMB IT. ONLY THE LOWER SLOPES…..THE VEGETATION (PLANT COVER) IS SO RICH AND PLENTIFUL THAT, IN THE SUMMER, ANIMALS FROM NEAR AND FAR COME TO FEED, BUT THE SUPPLY (SOURCE) IS NEVER EXHAUSTED.''

Marco Polo, 1295

2009-03-03T11:42:00.001-08:00

We visited the Armenian Genocide Museum, dedicated to the millions of Armenians killed by the government of Turkey during the years 1895 to 1915.

2009-03-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

This is the Monument at the Armenia Genocide Museum and the "eternal flame of remembrance".

2009-03-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

This is the building next to our hotel in Armenia notice the laundry hanging on the balcony. One year when our family was on a trip to Mexico we hung our laundry on the balcony and the hotel called and told us they didn't do that there. So I guess our family would fit right in with the Armenians.

2009-03-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

This is the "Cascade Monument". It was built in remembrance of the independence of Armenia from Soviet rule (communism). It is said to have 800 steps to the top, I started counting them but kept forgetting my count so I will just believe what they say.

2009-02-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

These are some of the women in our English Club, the one on the left is working in a laboratory and studying Nemotodes (did I spell that right Dean?). It is wonderful how we do not even speak each others language (they speak a little English and I can say about six words in Russian) but have formed an instant bond of friendship.

2009-02-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

Does anyone know what the WC stands for on the top of this cute building? It is a "Water Closet" or bathroom in our language. They have these all over the city but this is the fanciest I have seen. They told me some you have to pay to use it but I have never had the nerve to check it out.

2009-02-13T11:05:00.000-08:00

Here is our zone in the Saint Petersburg Mission.

2009-02-12T01:50:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday Feb. 4 we had to leave Russia in order to get our visas renewed. We traveled to Tallin, Astonia. We left at 3:30 a.m. and rode in a van, the first time we have been in a car since we got here. We went through two border patrols going there and it was dark,cold and scary. None of the border patrol looked like the slinky blonds you see on the James Bonds movies. Luckily our driver had done this many times before, he was a member of the Church and spoke very little English: "passport, cold and it's okay" were about all he could say. We were only in Tallin for a little over two hours. It was a nice clean town and the people in the store we went into were very nice and spoke some English. On our return we were on a bridge between the two countries, Estonia and Russia and we were awed by the fortress on each side of the Narva River. The fortress was built when Sweden occupied Estonia many years ago. We were home by 7 p.m. Whatever happened to the visa trips we heard about for 10 days in Spain?

2009-01-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

I know you all recognize this sign even if it says Макдоналдс in Russian instead of McDonald's. I just want you to know that a Big Mac taste the same halfway around the world. It is a sad state in life when you look forward to eating at Макдоналдс or McDonald's.

2009-01-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

We were in the north part of the city about five miles from our apartment and were riding a tram-vi which is a train that is run by electricity and goes down the middle of the road. You have to watch out each side because the numbers don't correspond to each other, so I was looking out one side Tom on the other, we were looking for number 4 I saw number 13 so I thought we had a ways to go but Tom spotted it on his side and said "Let's get off" so I stood up to get off, he stepped out and the doors closed on him and the trolley took off with me still inside. I was a little worried; I had no money, had no idea what our telephone number or address was, and am not even sure I could have found it if I knew the address and I had no keys to get in if I did find it. About a quarter mile later the trolley came to another stop and I started walking back and Tom was walking to meet me. We realized that the 10 minutes separation was our longest for the past six weeks. Tom's gift to me for my birthday was some rubles, subway tokens, a list of telephone numbers and addresses. Later we got an extra set of apartment keys from the mission office. I carry all of it in my identification pouch which is always around my neck.

2009-01-30T07:11:00.000-08:00

Tom's navigational skills are improving, we only get lost a few times a day now. The last two weeks we have been looking up old projects sites (mostly orphanages and hospitals) to see if we are interested in revisiting them. We don't go in because we have no way to communicate with them and one time when we opened a door to look inside the cleaning lady started speaking to us very sternly in Russian so we got out of there very quickly. Almost all buildings have guards. We do take lots of pictures, I am just waiting for the day when a policeman or one of the guards comes up and asks me why I am taking pictures of these places.

2009-01-22T05:19:00.000-08:00

We had transfers this past week and they transferred all the Elders in our District (except Elder Arave of course he is stuck with Sister Arave as a companion, FOREVER). We were an international district: Elder Smirnov from Russia, Elder Wichtermann from Switzerland, Elder Carter from California, Elder Asbury from Utah, and of course the Arave's from Wapello. We were also a multi-lingual district, Russian, German, English, & Spanish. You should have heard us sing in all those languages. We came close to competing with the Tabernacle Choir. They were a fun group to be with. We are going to miss them, not only were they a great help to us in getting adjusted to St. Petersburg, they were very good translators and excellent cooks. They made us a couple of delicious Russian meal at our District meetings.

2009-01-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

This is the outside of the building and a little history.

In 1891, the prominent choreographer Marius Petipa commissioned Peter Tchaikovsky to write the music for The Nutcracker Ballet. Petipa developed the scenario of this ballet, but when he fell ill, it was left to Lev Ivanov to finish the choreography. In 1892, the first showing of the Nutcracker took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St-Petersburg Russia, home of the Kirov Ballet.

2009-01-16T09:52:00.001-08:00

This is one of three balcony box seats
and the balcony seats ran between them.

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This is the ceiling.

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The scenery was painted so vividly!

2009-01-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

2009-01-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Last week we were able to go to the St. Petersburg Nutcracker Ballet. It was so marvelous, from the building, outside and inside, to the scenery and the performance. All of it was breath taking. It cost 300 rubles a ticket, and is sold out every night it is here. Only Russians are supposed to be able to buy tickets but one of the Branch Presidents who works in tourism was able to get us some tickets.

2009-01-07T09:38:00.001-08:00

This little lady living at the rest home was so cute.
When I took her picture, she kissed my hand.

2009-01-06T06:14:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon we went to a baptism for a young man from China who is here studying the Russian language. There is a whole group of youth from China living in the same apartment but they didn't know each other until they came here. Jiang Wei was the second to get baptized since coming here. There were 21 Chinese at his baptism. One of the talks was given by a young lady in Russian and was translated into English by a missionary from Switzerland whose native language is German and was then translated into Chinese by the first Chinese fellow who joined the church. I would call that one international meeting.

2009-01-06T05:57:00.000-08:00

I spoke to soon it is cold now, 9 degrees F. but to the Russians it is -13 C. So that means cold to me in any language. Saturday, Jan. 3 was the busiest day we have had since we have been here. We went to a Christmas Program put on by Ovtovo Branch at a Rest home clear on the very outskirt of St. Petersburg.

2009-01-01T03:30:00.000-08:00

There are 93 rivers and creeks,20 canals and more than 100 lakes in Saint Petersburg. It is sometimes called "Northern Venice", Today the city stands on 42 islands. St. Petersburg was founded in the mouth of the Neva River where it spills into the Gulf of Finland. There are 539 bridges, 342 are in the city itself. There are 22 drawbridges, and eight over the Neva River(one of the bridges is the picture on our blog with the frozen water). Here is a picture of a frozen canal with the building lined streets.

2009-01-01T01:31:00.000-08:00

We have done a lot of walking around the city and exploring the different communities. It is amazing all the buildings and statues. When they were first building Saint Petersburg there was a law that all the houses had to be be built along the streets, according to plan and not at random and the law prohibited any spacing between buildings.

2009-01-01T01:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New 2009!!!! Well a new year has begun, time to start over on our resolutions. It isn't as cold as I thought it would be, cold but not freezing, not yet, it might get colder later in January. We never see the sun, it is always overcast. I am always lost, every time I walk out of our gate, I am lost. I can never remember which way is North, South, East or West. Tom says it is because we never see the sun. I go out and turn the wrong way every time. I am worried if Tom ever leaves me I will be walking around trying to find my way home forever. But believe me I would ask for directions, probably wouldn't understand them but I would still ask.

2008-12-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

The Church of the Savior on Blood designed in the Russian revival style commemorated the place where Alexander II of Russia was assassinated in 1881, he was mortally wounded by a terrorist bomb. It was erected in 1882-1907. Translations of the church’s name vary between guidebooks and include The Church of the Savior on Blood, The Resurrection Church, The Church of the Resurrection of Christ, Church of the Redeemer, Tserkov Spasa-na-Krovi. But I have only heard it called the Church on the Spilt Blood.

2008-12-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

We went exploring the streets of Saint Petersburg today. This whole town is an architectural wonder. Peter the Great was the founder. It was built from a swamp by serfs (slaves) and Swedish prisoners of war.

2008-12-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

December 28, 2008
It is cold today. The Neva River is frozen over. Here are some pictures of the river close to the mission office, one from across the street looking at the bridge and one from on top of the bridge looking down. I can't believe how fast it froze over from yesterday. We decide to take a new way home and after walking about two hours (at least 5 or 6 miles it felt like 500) we finally found a street that led to our street (Nevsky Prospekt). Tom wants you to all know that I dawdled and took lots of pictures while he froze,I want you to know he got us lost because he wouldn't go the way I said. Did you ever hear the reason why Moses wandered in the wilderness for forty years? They say it was because he wouldn't ask for directions. I say it was because he wouldn't listen to his wife!!!!

2008-12-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, December 26, 2008, Tom got out his maps and decided we were going to get around the city so we rode to the end of the Green Line Metro then walked to the end of the Yellow Line Metro about 5 miles. We walked by some apartments on the other side of town and there was a huge rat probably 6 inches that ran in a hole under the huge steel door, I guess that rats aren't deterred by those huge doors. We crossed the Neva River and there were huge blocks of ice in. We then caught a bus that took us to the Mega Mal, the bus was so crowded we had to stand and were jammed up against the other passengers, my face was right in the fur on the coat of the lady next to me. The windows were so dirty we could not see out. Tom said he had been on some bad bus rides in his life when living in Mexico but this was the worst he had ever been on. I felt like one of those cows you see going down the freeway crammed into a semi-truck. Once we were on I thought "what are we doing they could be taking us anywhere and we would not know where we are at". But we made it to the mal and it was huge and very busy. Were we ever glad to get home. Here is a picture of the ice in the river. I tried to take a picture of the rat but he would not cooperate.

2008-12-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

2008-12-26T06:07:00.000-08:00

2008-12-26T05:24:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!! Hope you Christmas was wonderful! Ours was different to say the least we spent an hour traveling to an open house and an hour stuck in traffic in a bus so we decided to walk because the Elders were coming to eat with us in less than an hour and just a few minutes after we stepped off the bus it rounded the round-about and took off sailing down the street and there we were walking.But we walked fast and what would usually have taken us 30 minutes we skimmed down to 15 or 20. But we had a nice meal of tacos with the four young Elders in our district. Then we were able to talk to all of our kids over Skype and see them and Caleb in Guatemala over the phone (we couldn't see him) but using Skype (which is way cheaper than the regular phone). Christmas in St. Petersburg is celebrated on January 6 and some businesses and the government offices are closed from Jan. 1 to the 12, talk about an extended holiday. So it was a different experience to see everyone doing their daily jobs on Christmas. Well again hope you season was wonderful.
We love You!!!!

2008-12-22T06:37:00.001-08:00

For the past two weeks we have rode bus #187 to the mission office, church etc. and on Sundays we go about 9 a.m. catch the bus and get there for Sacrament at 10 but today we waited until after 9:30 and no bus 187 ever came. It was snowing and cold and my feet felt like planks of wood. Finally we went back to the apartment got a Metro map and rode the Metro we were worried because we have never done it coming from this way and usually it takes us awhile to find the station once you get under ground however we did it pretty fast but by the time we got to the Church building we were 40 minutes late. When we got to the Church the building was locked like it always is but usually there is someone sitting on the couch so they push the button and let us in but today since we were late no one was there so we had to push the doorbell there were four of them and we didn't know which one to push. The Church has three floors plus the mission office is on the one side of the first floor and each has a button but we didn't know which button for which place so we just pushed all four buttons over and over again. While we were standing there Tom said "Whatever happened to the slogan-everyone welcome-come in-kneel down-pray". Finally the door unlocked. So we didn't get into Sacrament until 10:50, Church starts at 10:00, needless to say Church went very fast today. After Church we waited around for about an hour to get our water filters from the office couple then we walked the 20 minutes to the bus stop and got on bus 187 but it turned down some side roads and finally stopped and said "all off" (well I guess that is what he said because everyone got off so we did to) and the bus turned around and went back the way it had came. We were a long ways from our apartment so we had to walk another 30 minutes but I think that solved the mystery as to why there was no bus 187 this morning it doesn't come down our street anymore why not I have no clue. So we left for Church at 9 a.m. and didn't get home until between 3 and 3:30 p.m. Just another typical day in Russia!!!

2008-12-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

We go shopping for groceries about once a week. We take a little cart called a "Babuska cart" (babuska means grandmother in Russian). Notice my nice warm hat it was knitted by my friend Maureen Gordon, boy has it been a lifesaver. We either walk about 1 1/2 miles(one way) or ride the Metro (subway) 9 stations (one way)to get our groceries. Groceries are expensive, especially if they are imported, a bottle of Tabasco sauce costs about 274 rubles or almost $10.00.

2008-12-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

2008-12-18T10:26:00.000-08:00

2008-12-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Our apartment is just off the main street of St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospekt, which is very busy with people walking, cars and buses driving all the time. We live just a little ways off it on a walkway called Malaya Sadovaya. To get to our apartment you have to go thru a locked gate which you unlock with a "black" magnet key, thru a little tunnel, then into a courtyard with several apartments and a few businesses. We even have a tatoo parlor in our complex. To get into our building you go thru two doors which you have to unlocked with a "gray" magnet key, similar to the one that you open the gate with. We live on the third floor behind a front door made of steel which has to be opened with two locks using two different keys. We then have another steel door but we have no key for that lock so we just lock in when we are inside. All of this for two people who have homeless men living in their house because they never lock anything in Wapello. If anyone ever came to see us they would ring a doorbell out by the gate and it would open the gate. Then when they got to our building they would punch in our apartment number on a keypad and it would ring a phone by our front door and we can talk to them (that is if we could understand them which we can't) then we would push a little button on the phone and it would open those doors then when they got to our door they would ring a doorbell and we would look out the little peephole and see them, but we have no light in our hall so we can't see anything out there. So I guess it is a good thing we have no visitors but if any of you come to visit we will be sure to open our door (that is if you speak English). Taped on our front door is a paper with Russian written on it and if anyone ever knocks on our door and says they are the police we are supposed to say what ever it says on the paper. But since I can't read it or say it, I am just going to hide, behind those two big steel doors.

First Post!!

2008-12-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

We made it to Russia and are doing great! Here's an update:

At last we have internet service in our home office. We have been having to travel to the mission office to do it, which takes an hour each way. We have also had limited access time there.

We have not seen the sun for two weeks. It gets light around 9:00 and dark at 3:00. They say that in summer it is just the reverse so we will have to close the blinds to sleep. I'll let you know of that when the time comes. I am starting to understand why the alcoholism rate in Russia is so astonishing. It has been overcast all of the time. Two storms, which melted off soon.

The people here are very interesting. There are many tall, blonde, thin people. Andrei Kirelenko would look very typical here. All of the women wear tight pants and tall, spike heel boots, and go by the name of Natasha. Everyone here walks a lot because that is necessary to get around. The women in the spike boots can really cover a lot of ground. We are getting our fair share of exercise too. I'm glad that we did all of that walking before our mission now.

We know how to catch one bus line, ride the metro, and shop for groceries.

Our supervisors, the Irelands, were here last week to go over our proceedures. They are from a little farming community is Southwestern South Dakota. Joe Cannon has been to there home many times, because that is where the branch resides. We can now start to meet with people and review grant applications. We will meet with the mission presidency on Thursday evening at 6:00.

We have now attended church twice and several mission meetings. The missionaries are great to interpret for us. There are several native speaking missionaries that have excellent english skills. There are also a lot of returned missionaries here in St. Petersburg. Most of them have excellent english skills as well. In a church setting we are able to communicate 0K.

The price of food is about double what it would be at home. We spend about $200 per week for groceries. Eating in restaurants, of which there are many in our neighborhood in the heart of St. Petersburg, is totally off the budget. A hamburger and fries costs $10. Potatoes are good and cheap. I like to nuke them and fry up an egg to go with it. I found a source for picante suace, so happiness reigns here. They also have what is called an Armenian tortilla. It's about 2 feet by 4 feet. We cut them up into useable sizes with a pair of scissors. Of course they are made from wheat, so I'll have to wait to get a good corn tortilla. We were just happy to find a store with peanut butter. Transportation is much cheaper than operating vehicles at home. All of the walking should make us live to be a hundred if we don't get run over. Our needs are small. For Christmas I will get a scarf for Pat and she will buy me a hat. These are bonefide needs in this part of the world.

This city, at least the part where we live, is phenomenal. The original city was built by Peter the Great. The palace of Catherine the Great, his grandaughter, is right across the street from where we live. I have never seen so many huge buildings with ornate facades, and statues on them. Most of the buildings are between 5 and 7 stories. The main level is commercial and the other levels are apartments. I have not seen any single family dwellings yet, except for Catherines Palace. There are around 5 million people in St. Petersburg, most of them are trying to get on the metro at the same time as us. We will try to get some pictures loaded up to send out. This area is crisscrossed with canals that tie from one point on the river to another. Lots of beautiful parks, monuments, and cathedrals as well. I have really never seen anything like it before and in such a huge abundance.

The members of the church seem to be very well educated. They are friendly. Each member is a valued asset, there have been around 60 convert baptisms this year. Last Sunday was the primary program. There were only 6 children in the program. They were beautiful. The church owns the building which houses the office and the mission home. There is large chapel and recreation hall, classrooms, and offices as well. It would be of a similar footage to the Wapello building. It uses up 3 floors. All is very new and modern.

The missionary situation here is getting very difficult. There were 136 missionaries here a year ago. There were 68 when we arrived. Since then 6 have completed their missions and returned home, and 3 who were serving local missions have now been called away to full time service elsewhere in Russia. I think that this conversation about us being available to serve in another country boils down to desperation here. They will close three more apartments this week. There are several native missionaries here. The visa trip is to Estonia. It takes a long day over and back. They take a van full, go to a parking lot there, give their money and papers to a man, putter around town for 6 to 8 hours, meet him back at the parking lot for their new docs, and drive home. It takes about 18 hours.

We are finally getting over the 10 hour jet lag. We have had to completely reverse our day. All of the loafing has given me plenty of time to read. I have finished 1000 pages of War and Peace, which is about 1500 pages.

I expect to be able to start to function now that we can commucicate some. So we will now see what kind of trouble we can get into.

We pray for each of you and carry you with us in our hearts.

Love,

Tom and Pat