Hi family and friends,
I finally had time today to post a lot of pictures on facebook, so this won't be a picture letter this week. If you want to see what we have been doing this week, look up Michele Frost on facebook and you'll see plenty.
We have had a crazy, crazy week with transfers, missionaries leaving and then returning, extra missionaries coming, the right ones NOT coming, one came for just a few days until another one takes his place, and the AP's came just to . . . I don't really know why. We sent four missionaries off and expected four more but when we opened our door Friday morning there were seven new missionaries. Wow!!!!! I'm so glad I'm not President Woolley trying to juggle all this mess. The main problem is that Kazakhstan has decided to not let our missionaries preach there anymore and they won't give visa's to our American missionaries. So President is sending in a couple of Russian missionaries to try and get signatures from people so the Government will allow the Church to even be in Kazakhstan. Two American Sister missionaries who are already there will stay because their visas are still good. They won't be able to preach but they will be a good support for the members who are there. It's kind of sad because every missionary who has served in Kazakhstan has loved it there. The people are very friendly and receptive to the Gospel, it's just the government that's having a hard time. Maybe this is a weeding out process before we lose Kazakhstan as a part of our mission in July, I don't know.
After the first four missionaries left we had one sister and one elder left here. Well they couldn't be alone nor could they be together, so Norm and I did splits with them. I was Sister Williams companion for two nights and 1 day and Norm was Elder Urmston's companion. The slumber party part was pretty fun. Elder Urmston stayed here in our apartment with Norm and I stayed downstairs in Sister Williams apartment. The rule is lights out at 10:30. So we said our prayers, got in our beds and Sister Williams was sound asleep in about 2 minutes. Well, I don't work that way. I layed there for about an hour before I could finally fall asleep and then woke up three times in the night. The second night I went to bed on time and then snuck out to the kitchen to read for an hour until I could fall asleep. Both mornings the alarm went off at 6:30, Sister Williams got up and got ready for the day and I just kept sleeping. On my! That's why we're the Senior Couple and they are the young missionaries. We just can't keep up with their rules and luckily we don't have to. It's so great to be the SENIOR Couple!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!
With all our extra missionaries this week and no one having any time to shop, we fed them pretty consistently every day. They are so cute about calling and asking if we have food we want to donate, or leftovers we don't want, or any pity in our hearts for starving missionaries. Of course we love taking care of them, but this morning we ALL went grocery shopping together and we made sure they all bought enough food to feed themselves for at least a few days. It was an unusual week so we didn't mind helping out at all.
We're starting to feel a little anxious about getting everything done before we leave ~ only eight weeks to go. That gives me a little bit of a sick stomach. We have projects to close out, trainings to give, files to clean up and organize, an apartment to clean, clothes to get rid of, and souvenir shopping to do (much to Norm's dismay). We're so excited to get back home to our family and friends but thinking of leaving is really hard. Oh well, we'll make it and be just fine!
We love you all. We've heard from so many of you and we love that! Thanks for thinking of us and supporting us through this experience. I can't say enough about how great serving as a Senior Couple is. I hope all of you who are even considering it, will give it some serious thought and do it! This is by far one of the best decisions we have ever made and will affect us for the rest of our lives.
We love you all!
The Frosts
Monday, March 12, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Christmas is Over!
Hi Family and Friends,We had a fun, busy week celebrating Christmas with our Mission, our Branch and starting off the year with a baptism. We're glad all the holiday celebrating is over and we're ready to get back to work. Thank you again for all of you who sent cards, letters, phone calls, and your love our way. We feel more blessed than we deserve. I have included a letter with pictures of our Mission Christmas party and the baptism. I hope you enjoy reading and looking at the pictures. Love you all!
Love,
The Frosts
January 8, 2012
Dear Family and Friends,
Christmas is finally over here in Russia and we can move on to having a great 2012! With having two dates to celebrate Christmas it feels like it goes on and on, but we had a great time celebrating with our missionaries, our Branch members and our friends and family over the phone. We really do love you all and thank you for all the Christmas Cards, Christmas wishes and the love that you sent.
This last week we had our Mission Christmas Party. Norm and I flew to Moscow a few days early so we could help the Woolleys make all the food for the party. It’s a big job and everything had to be made ahead of time and then hauled over to a building that is about an hour away from the Woolleys home. Nothing is ever convenient around here. But it all turned out well and I think we got everyone full and happy. The best part about the party is watching the missionaries all interact with each other. This is the only time during the year that they all get to be together and they love to talk with their old companions and just have fun. They played dodge ball – even Norm and I got into that a little – we had skits, presents swap, lunch, a cool history presentation on all the areas where we serve in our Mission, talks by President and Sister Woolley, we watched the movie “17 Miracles”, had an ice cream sundae bar and then one district at a time left to catch the bus or train to go home. We went on the overnight train with our missionaries, but we were all so tired that we got on the train and all went right to sleep, no games this time. We got into Voronezh at 7:30 in the morning, came home and showered, put in some laundry and then went right back to sleep. We are getting older and older with every trip we make – it’s just about killing us and we need longer and more frequent naps, but we’re still loving everything we do.
We love our missionaries so much, they are so fun, hardworking, obedient and just plain great! Best mission ever!
We had our first baptism for the year on Saturday. A cute little 11 year old boy who’s mother and grandmother are members, his grandfather was baptized two weeks ago and now we’re just waiting for his father to make the commitment. He’s a darling kid who speaks a little English and really knows the Gospel well. Right after the baptism we had a Christmas program and then a lunch at the Branch. It was Christmas Day in Russia! The missionaries did a great job singing and helping out with the program.
We started off the year with a great week and we’re looking forward to another wonderful year – six months of those being spent here in Russia. We love you all, wish you a great new year and send all our love.
Love,
The Frosts
(photos attached to link below)
http://bl158w.blu158.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/ViewOfficePreview.aspx?messageid=26a4f10d-3ad8-11e1-952d-002264c2c0a8&folderid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&n=1408791187
Love,
The Frosts
January 8, 2012
Dear Family and Friends,
Christmas is finally over here in Russia and we can move on to having a great 2012! With having two dates to celebrate Christmas it feels like it goes on and on, but we had a great time celebrating with our missionaries, our Branch members and our friends and family over the phone. We really do love you all and thank you for all the Christmas Cards, Christmas wishes and the love that you sent.
This last week we had our Mission Christmas Party. Norm and I flew to Moscow a few days early so we could help the Woolleys make all the food for the party. It’s a big job and everything had to be made ahead of time and then hauled over to a building that is about an hour away from the Woolleys home. Nothing is ever convenient around here. But it all turned out well and I think we got everyone full and happy. The best part about the party is watching the missionaries all interact with each other. This is the only time during the year that they all get to be together and they love to talk with their old companions and just have fun. They played dodge ball – even Norm and I got into that a little – we had skits, presents swap, lunch, a cool history presentation on all the areas where we serve in our Mission, talks by President and Sister Woolley, we watched the movie “17 Miracles”, had an ice cream sundae bar and then one district at a time left to catch the bus or train to go home. We went on the overnight train with our missionaries, but we were all so tired that we got on the train and all went right to sleep, no games this time. We got into Voronezh at 7:30 in the morning, came home and showered, put in some laundry and then went right back to sleep. We are getting older and older with every trip we make – it’s just about killing us and we need longer and more frequent naps, but we’re still loving everything we do.
We love our missionaries so much, they are so fun, hardworking, obedient and just plain great! Best mission ever!
We had our first baptism for the year on Saturday. A cute little 11 year old boy who’s mother and grandmother are members, his grandfather was baptized two weeks ago and now we’re just waiting for his father to make the commitment. He’s a darling kid who speaks a little English and really knows the Gospel well. Right after the baptism we had a Christmas program and then a lunch at the Branch. It was Christmas Day in Russia! The missionaries did a great job singing and helping out with the program.
We started off the year with a great week and we’re looking forward to another wonderful year – six months of those being spent here in Russia. We love you all, wish you a great new year and send all our love.
Love,
The Frosts
(photos attached to link below)
http://bl158w.blu158.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/ViewOfficePreview.aspx?messageid=26a4f10d-3ad8-11e1-952d-002264c2c0a8&folderid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&n=1408791187
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
A New Year!
Hello everyone and Happy New Year!
We're looking forward to another great year and hope you are too. I've done a little recap of our last month for your reading enjoyment. Sorry I didn't include pictures in this one. For all of you who don't like to read books without pictures, skim through this (or just delete it). For the rest of you, speed read and it won't be so bad.
We love you all so much and thank you again for your continued love and support. It was a FANTASTIC year for us and we plan on this next one being just as great. We wish you the same.
Love,
The Frosts
December 31, 2011
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!
We left Utah in 2010 and now it’s 2012! Even though we have only been here for one year, it’s amazing how fast that time has gone by and how much we have done, seen and learned. We love our mission, we love serving the Lord, we love being with the missionaries, we love the people of Russia, we love the power of humanitarian service and the joy it brings to so many lives. This has been an incredible year for us, one that we will never forget, and one that has taught us so much about giving, doing, and loving the people around us. I’ve said it before but I think it’s worth repeating that we don’t have to leave the country to serve the Lord and help the poor and the needy. It’s right in our own back yards. It’s where we are, it’s where we go, it’s in our own families. All we have to do is open our eyes and our hearts and we can serve someone every single day. So much peace and joy comes from serving others, I hope you will all take advantage of that precious gift and blessing.
December just F L E W by. We were as busy as we’ve ever been and on the road traveling every single week. I’m thankful for our little 30 passenger plane that takes us from Voronezh to Moscow every week. They give us a piece of hard candy and a cup of water and by the time we put our seats back and close our eyes, we’re there. I didn’t mention this to most of you, but last September we were told by the Humanitarian Director that we needed to move to Moscow. They wanted us to go right then, but President Woolley needed enough time to request another Senior Couple to take our place here in Voronezh, so the plan was for that couple to come in February and that’s when we would find a new apartment and move to Moscow. We did tell our missionaries and our some of our Branch members, but the thought of leaving them both was becoming more and more traumatic for me. I love it here, and even though we would have a great experience in Moscow with other Senior Couples, we wouldn’t have the association with our missionaries like we do now. There are no Moscow West missionaries in Moscow. I was also dreading packing and trying to divide the things in the apartment here that belong to the Humanitarian Department and the things that belong to the Missionary Department. We spent about three weeks emailing with the new couple who are coming to replace us giving them as much advice and information as we could and trying to explain what we were taking with us and what we were leaving. Well, two days before Christmas we got a call from our Humanitarian Director who told us that plans have changed, a different couple is coming to Moscow to be the Country Directors and we will stay in Voronezh, still being the Country Directors, until the end of our mission. I guess we will spend about four months training them instead of four days. We were right in the middle of a District Meeting with our missionaries when the call came and we all shouted for joy! The BEST news ever!!!!!
I’m sure all kinds of things will change from now until we finish our mission, but at least we get to stay here so we will deal with the rest. We still don’t know where the couple that was coming here is going, but I’ll keep you posted as things progress.
This month in our Humanitarian work we were able to get our first order of 300 wheelchairs delivered to four different cities in Russia. It was a miracle! We found a manufacturing company to make the wheelchairs to the Church’s specifications, found four
organizations who wanted and needed our wheelchairs, got them all safely delivered and most of them have been dispersed to their new owners. Norm and I went to a hospital who got four of the wheelchairs for a closing (thank you) ceremony and Irina and I got our picture in the local newspaper. (I will attach a copy of the article and picture). It’s written in Russian but it basically says that an American couple, the Frosts, donated the wheelchairs through a foreign humanitarian organization. No mention of the Church at all, but at least it’s a step. Getting the Wheelchair project going here is a HUGE step and it took us a whole year to do it, but – we did it!
We also started the Employment Program in Moscow. The first week we taught all of the Ward Employment Specialists who were then supposed to teach the members in their Stake but they didn’t feel comfortable doing it yet so we flew there every Friday to teach another part of the Career Workshop. We tried teaching over skype the first time but we found it was very impersonal and we couldn’t feel or see feedback or reactions from the people in the class, so we decided to travel there instead. After four weeks of that, we called it quits, and told them that they would have to continue teaching the course on their own. They were very excited about the program just not very confident in their ability to teach it, but that will come with practice.
We have also continued to work on many small projects here in Voronezh and in other cities. It’s harder to work through other people who don’t know how to do all the paper work and get us the pictures and information that we need, but somehow it manages to get done.
Now, so you don’t think that we are these super great missionaries that can do anything, I want you to know that none of this would be possible if it weren’t for Irina. She is one of the greatest blessings we have had here on our mission. She’s an absolute angel and a miracle worker in getting all these things done. She completely manages the NRT (neo-natal resuscitation) program here in Russia, she deals directly with all of our humanitarian project organizations, she dealt with EVERY problem that we had with the wheelchairs and basically she does it all. Everyone calls her for answers to problems, it would do not good for them to call us. If she can’t answer the question she will call us but basically she knows the job as well as we do so she takes care of most of it. All we have to do is show up, smile for the pictures and take all the praise. We give her all the credit she deserves, but she lets the Church take the praise. She’s the best and we love her.
Christmas day was a wonderful, long, day with all 10 of our missionaries calling or skyping home with their families. We were able to meet their families and listen to the excitement of the missionaries as they talked. We had a Christmas dinner after Church, opened a few presents and then played games and had fun while they each took turns at the computer. Then we got to talk on a conference call with Eddie in Africa. Every time we talk to him it gets harder and harder to understand him. His accent is pretty thick. But he sounds great, loves his mission and is trying his hardest to be the best District Leader that he can be. We also got to talk with our own children and my parents, but we talk with them so much anyway that it wasn’t quite as critical as the missionary calls. Not that we don’t love them, Norm talks with at least one of his kids every day, and I talk with mine at least once a month so we keep pretty current on their lives. They are all counting down the days for our return and we are excited for that too, but we still have a lot to do before that happens. Sometime in May we, and Eddie, will return home but we don’t have any definite dates yet. The days, the weeks, and the months are zipping by so fast it will be here before we know it but until then, we will keep working as hard as we can here to serve and share the Gospel with as many people as we can.
I can’t say enough about how wonderful this experience is and still want to encourage any and all of you who are in the “Senior Couple” stage of your life to give this some serious thought. The Church NEEDS couples all over the world to serve and the missionaries who serve with senior couples have a much more positive experience. Whatever the reasons are that are holding you back, ask the Lord to bless you with the answers and solutions to make it possible and it will happen. Miracle after miracle happens here every day because the Lord is guiding our hands.
We love you family, we love you friends! We hope this is a wonderful year for all of you and that you will feel the Lords love and blessings in your homes.
Happy New Year!
Love,
The Frosts
We're looking forward to another great year and hope you are too. I've done a little recap of our last month for your reading enjoyment. Sorry I didn't include pictures in this one. For all of you who don't like to read books without pictures, skim through this (or just delete it). For the rest of you, speed read and it won't be so bad.
We love you all so much and thank you again for your continued love and support. It was a FANTASTIC year for us and we plan on this next one being just as great. We wish you the same.
Love,
The Frosts
December 31, 2011
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!
We left Utah in 2010 and now it’s 2012! Even though we have only been here for one year, it’s amazing how fast that time has gone by and how much we have done, seen and learned. We love our mission, we love serving the Lord, we love being with the missionaries, we love the people of Russia, we love the power of humanitarian service and the joy it brings to so many lives. This has been an incredible year for us, one that we will never forget, and one that has taught us so much about giving, doing, and loving the people around us. I’ve said it before but I think it’s worth repeating that we don’t have to leave the country to serve the Lord and help the poor and the needy. It’s right in our own back yards. It’s where we are, it’s where we go, it’s in our own families. All we have to do is open our eyes and our hearts and we can serve someone every single day. So much peace and joy comes from serving others, I hope you will all take advantage of that precious gift and blessing.
December just F L E W by. We were as busy as we’ve ever been and on the road traveling every single week. I’m thankful for our little 30 passenger plane that takes us from Voronezh to Moscow every week. They give us a piece of hard candy and a cup of water and by the time we put our seats back and close our eyes, we’re there. I didn’t mention this to most of you, but last September we were told by the Humanitarian Director that we needed to move to Moscow. They wanted us to go right then, but President Woolley needed enough time to request another Senior Couple to take our place here in Voronezh, so the plan was for that couple to come in February and that’s when we would find a new apartment and move to Moscow. We did tell our missionaries and our some of our Branch members, but the thought of leaving them both was becoming more and more traumatic for me. I love it here, and even though we would have a great experience in Moscow with other Senior Couples, we wouldn’t have the association with our missionaries like we do now. There are no Moscow West missionaries in Moscow. I was also dreading packing and trying to divide the things in the apartment here that belong to the Humanitarian Department and the things that belong to the Missionary Department. We spent about three weeks emailing with the new couple who are coming to replace us giving them as much advice and information as we could and trying to explain what we were taking with us and what we were leaving. Well, two days before Christmas we got a call from our Humanitarian Director who told us that plans have changed, a different couple is coming to Moscow to be the Country Directors and we will stay in Voronezh, still being the Country Directors, until the end of our mission. I guess we will spend about four months training them instead of four days. We were right in the middle of a District Meeting with our missionaries when the call came and we all shouted for joy! The BEST news ever!!!!!
I’m sure all kinds of things will change from now until we finish our mission, but at least we get to stay here so we will deal with the rest. We still don’t know where the couple that was coming here is going, but I’ll keep you posted as things progress.
This month in our Humanitarian work we were able to get our first order of 300 wheelchairs delivered to four different cities in Russia. It was a miracle! We found a manufacturing company to make the wheelchairs to the Church’s specifications, found four
organizations who wanted and needed our wheelchairs, got them all safely delivered and most of them have been dispersed to their new owners. Norm and I went to a hospital who got four of the wheelchairs for a closing (thank you) ceremony and Irina and I got our picture in the local newspaper. (I will attach a copy of the article and picture). It’s written in Russian but it basically says that an American couple, the Frosts, donated the wheelchairs through a foreign humanitarian organization. No mention of the Church at all, but at least it’s a step. Getting the Wheelchair project going here is a HUGE step and it took us a whole year to do it, but – we did it!
We also started the Employment Program in Moscow. The first week we taught all of the Ward Employment Specialists who were then supposed to teach the members in their Stake but they didn’t feel comfortable doing it yet so we flew there every Friday to teach another part of the Career Workshop. We tried teaching over skype the first time but we found it was very impersonal and we couldn’t feel or see feedback or reactions from the people in the class, so we decided to travel there instead. After four weeks of that, we called it quits, and told them that they would have to continue teaching the course on their own. They were very excited about the program just not very confident in their ability to teach it, but that will come with practice.
We have also continued to work on many small projects here in Voronezh and in other cities. It’s harder to work through other people who don’t know how to do all the paper work and get us the pictures and information that we need, but somehow it manages to get done.
Now, so you don’t think that we are these super great missionaries that can do anything, I want you to know that none of this would be possible if it weren’t for Irina. She is one of the greatest blessings we have had here on our mission. She’s an absolute angel and a miracle worker in getting all these things done. She completely manages the NRT (neo-natal resuscitation) program here in Russia, she deals directly with all of our humanitarian project organizations, she dealt with EVERY problem that we had with the wheelchairs and basically she does it all. Everyone calls her for answers to problems, it would do not good for them to call us. If she can’t answer the question she will call us but basically she knows the job as well as we do so she takes care of most of it. All we have to do is show up, smile for the pictures and take all the praise. We give her all the credit she deserves, but she lets the Church take the praise. She’s the best and we love her.
Christmas day was a wonderful, long, day with all 10 of our missionaries calling or skyping home with their families. We were able to meet their families and listen to the excitement of the missionaries as they talked. We had a Christmas dinner after Church, opened a few presents and then played games and had fun while they each took turns at the computer. Then we got to talk on a conference call with Eddie in Africa. Every time we talk to him it gets harder and harder to understand him. His accent is pretty thick. But he sounds great, loves his mission and is trying his hardest to be the best District Leader that he can be. We also got to talk with our own children and my parents, but we talk with them so much anyway that it wasn’t quite as critical as the missionary calls. Not that we don’t love them, Norm talks with at least one of his kids every day, and I talk with mine at least once a month so we keep pretty current on their lives. They are all counting down the days for our return and we are excited for that too, but we still have a lot to do before that happens. Sometime in May we, and Eddie, will return home but we don’t have any definite dates yet. The days, the weeks, and the months are zipping by so fast it will be here before we know it but until then, we will keep working as hard as we can here to serve and share the Gospel with as many people as we can.
I can’t say enough about how wonderful this experience is and still want to encourage any and all of you who are in the “Senior Couple” stage of your life to give this some serious thought. The Church NEEDS couples all over the world to serve and the missionaries who serve with senior couples have a much more positive experience. Whatever the reasons are that are holding you back, ask the Lord to bless you with the answers and solutions to make it possible and it will happen. Miracle after miracle happens here every day because the Lord is guiding our hands.
We love you family, we love you friends! We hope this is a wonderful year for all of you and that you will feel the Lords love and blessings in your homes.
Happy New Year!
Love,
The Frosts
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