Busy Week

Hello everyone, We've had a busy week, and hope yours was also good and productive. Mondays are our District Meeting days which means cooking a big meal for all the missionaries. This last Monday we had the two Elders from Lipestk and the AP's visiting, so we had 12 of us total. It's a little squishy in the living room, but so much fun to have everyone here - we LOVE it! Then for FHE it was our turn for the lesson, so we talked about identifying and defining who we are. We gave everyone a blank copy of a family crest and had them fill in each square with pictures or words to describe different areas of their lives - education, hobbies, talents, jobs, family, values, life experiences, and positive qualities. It was very fun to watch them struggle to list positive things about themselves and then to finish standing up in front of the group and telling us out loud about their lives. So many people think they don't have any talents, or haven't done anything exciting in their lives, or have anything good to say about themselves. This was a great activity for recognizing that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and we are the same but different, and we all are blessed with talents. I posted some pictures of our Crests on facebook last week. Tuesday we went shopping to restock our cupboards with food for the next meal coming up. It was also the day of Shaleen's surgery and, after a little scare, we are so thankful that she is home and recovering. Wednesday we had a cute couple in our Branch and a single sister who is a new convert come over for dinner. Only one of them spoke a little English, so we had one set of missionaries here to translate for us. The couple are in their late 30's and met a few years ago at the Temple in Helsinki and got married. They told us their story and it was so fun to get to know them better. I've already mentioned before, but our goal is to have two "families" over for dinner each week so we can get to know the members of our Branch better. It's so fun. I love these members here. Thursday was P-day so again we have all the missionaries here for a meal - either lunch or dinner, depending on what our plans are. The weather hasn't been very good this past week, a lot of rain, so we stayed in and played games. That's my favorite anyway. I do wish we could get more board games here (in English) so we could have a little variety, but it's still fun. It can get kinda wild and crazy and the rule is, the more cheating the better. You probably have to be here to appreciate that. That night Norm went with a couple of Elders to give a blessing to one of the ILP teachers. She has been having terrible headaches and after having an MRI they discovered a cyst and spinal fluid in her brain, so she ended up going home early. It's a little scary to have serious medical problems here, I'm glad she was able to get home. After the blessing, the guys had a Priesthood Activity at the Branch and I went with the Sisters to a members home for FHE with her two children and her mother. The Sisters gave a short lesson, everyone colored pictures about the lesson, we sang songs, told stories about our lives and traditions, drank some lemon tea, had some kind of coffee cake and then came home. It was a very full and very wonderful day! Friday we had a Humanitarian visit with the Medical Director of a Hospital with several outlying clinics. We have been doing some projects for a few of the clinics and he wanted to meet us and find out about our Humanitarian program. We had our translator and Olga, who works for the Government and finds all our contacts, with us. In the past the Government workers have not been very willing to work with the missionaries, so this was a big milestone in creating a positive impression and getting the Medical Director to be excited about what we are doing. We had to provide some legal papers and "stamped" documents proving that we are legal here and explaining what we do, but it all turned out well and we had a great meeting. It was a success! That night we had English Club, Gospel English and volleyball. I am now the cheerleader for the volleyball games and quite happy with that responsibility. Gospel English is my favorite with a small group of people who read outloud in English and then we discuss the Gospel topic that we just read about. Most of them are not members, so it's our chance (me and Norm) to do a little teaching of our own. It is so very fun. We can get into some pretty interesting discussions on a very non-threatening basis and many of them don't even realize they just had a "discussion" with the missionaries. Saturday we had a city wide service project. Every spring the people all over Russia have a city clean-up day and volunteers go out and clean up the trash, rake the dead leaves and tree limbs, till up gardens, sweep the sidewalks and streets, and make the cities look beautiful. Our Branch members went to a part of town (where we were assigned) and picked up the trash along the sides of the streets. We filled up about 40 bags of garbage, in the cold and rain, and had a blast! We had a pretty good turnout, especially when 10 of us are missionaries, and made a difference in our little spot of the city. Great project! Sunday was Palm Sunday and we had a bunch of new people show up at Church. I guess people feel the need to go to Church that day and just stop in at the closest one they can find. Our missionaries had a hey day talking with everyone. We had a two-hour choir practice after church to get ready for Easter Sunday next week. Makes for a long day but a good Sunday activity. Our weeks are full and our lives are blessed. We love our missionary work and are thankful that we can share these blessings with you. We love each one of you and thank you for keeping in touch with us and letting us know about your lives. There is a time and a season for everyone and it's great to hear about it all. Have a wonderful week. Love, The Frosts