From Russia With Love...

a.k.a. Letters from Sis. Lynes in Russia

Letter #17: From the Mission Field in Russia

Subject: #17
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 23:28:59 +0600
From: Shirley Lynes <gma@jacklynes.com>
To: jlynes@jacklynes.com

Dear Everyone!
It's a beautiful day in Yekaterinburg! I know it is early morning where you are, but we have almost finished this day. We have had a fun day. We did a few things around the apartment, then headed out to the American style supermarket to get groceries. Our cupboard was bare, as was the refrigerator. We had fun getting the things we needed. Our friend Sergei 2 from Rosy had said he would pick us up at the store, and take us to see an interesting place he knew about. He is a forester, and took us to a small forest where they have a lot of wooden statues. It was really interesting. I have pictures of these statues. I think you will think they are interesting too. I'll bring them when I come home. It was nice to be there. The air felt so nice and clean, with a lot of humidity. Made me feel right at home. This forest is not very far from our dom. It is actually right here in town. We walked around and looked at the statues and the wild flowers. There are some beautiful wild flowers there. After that he took us to the same reenock that we went to last week. He said it is a good farmers' market. The produce there is wonderful. We got a watermelon that is very good. We got a muskmelon, which I had never tasted before. It is very good and sweet. We got another kind of melon that Sergei said is similar to a cantaloupe. The cucumbers and tomatoes were beautiful, and of course we got some of those, too. We also got some new potatoes, new crop. Sergei said that he doesn't like the new crop ones because they are too sweet. But those were the ones I wanted. Over here, they don't wash the potatoes or carrots much. The dirt was still on them. We have to bring all fruits and vegetables home, wash them, and put them in mild bleach solution for one minute, even the things we are going to peel. We also got some green onion tops (not with the onion bulbs attached) and some dill. Dill smells so good! It is really good in salads, too. Sergei is a very good shopper. He would tell us, "too expensive" and we would go on down the line. He is so good and kind to us. He is about 35, and has a wife and little boy almost 1 year old. He brought his wife and baby to meet us last week. His wife is a teacher, but she doesn't speak English, so he had to translate for us. The baby took one look at Sis. Jenkins and started to cry! Not only did he not know us, but we sounded funny, too! Yesterday we had what is known as a cultural event. They usually call it a cultural night, but we had to have it during the morning. We went to the zoo and to the planetarium. The zoo isn't terribly big, but they had a lot of animals that we weren't familiar with. They had several kinds of bears, including 2 polar bears. One was smaller than the other one. When the big one stood on his hind feet, he was really big! They have a bear that the sign says is a brown bear, but he had a lot of silver looking hair. It wasn't a brown bear like we have in America. There was a Himalayan bear that looked different--he had a lot of neck hair, almost like a mane. They had the biggest vultures I have ever seen. And a white pelican that stood about 4 feet tall, with a wing span of about 8 feet. They had some beautiful cranes that were very slim and graceful looking. They also had a tiger, but he wouldn't come out of his boxwhere he was sleeping. They have a lion family. The male lion was huge! His face looked just like you see in pictures! (Duh! Imagine that!) They had storks, and peacocks, and spotted owls, hyenas and the biggest hippopotamus you ever want to see! He was lying there sleeping. It's hard to imagine how big he would look if he was standing up! It only cost 20 rubles (less than $1) entrance fee. We had less than 2 hours to see everything, because we needed to be at the planetarium at noon. The planetarium is about 3 doors down Rosy Luxembourg St. from us. I have seen groups of school children going there since I have been here. The room where there show you the stars is very small, and you just sit on regular chairs. They are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. The fee there was only 10 rubles, or about 35 cents. One of the elders translated for Sis. Jenkins and me. It was a fun morning. Then we went back to Rosy to work. So we have had a fun couple of days. There were a couple of baptisms scheduled for this weekend. The work continues to progress. There are two branches being combined tomorrow to put it more in line with ward status. They will be able to have a complete staff for all the auxiliaries. They are also making a new branch on the outskirts of the city tomorrow. It seems to be harder for the men to accept the gospel and change than for the women. We keep praying for the work to progress so that the good people here can come to know and accept the gospel. It looks like Sis. Jenkins and I will be staying here in Yekat, at least for the time being. Rosy needs someone to run it, and it looks like we are it. Which is fine with me. I really love the people I work with. They seem like friends. I've only been here 2 months, but everyone that I have met has been so nice and kind to me. Oh, I wanted to tell you----we actually saw a driver put on the brakes to keep from hitting a pedestrian the other day!!!! He had blown his horn, but the person didn't notice him, I guess. That's the first time I've seen someone even slow down for a pedestrian! You have to keep your wits about you! We saw a dandelion, growing out of a crack where a building met the sidewalk, that was over 5 feet tall! And that's no "tall tale" either! We have had a lot of rain, and the weeds just keep growing! We have had so much rain that Sis. Jenkins and I went shopping Friday night and bought me some rain boots. The other day, just when we needed to be starting for home, there was a cloudburst. The streets were flooded in a matter of minutes. The drains in the streets were being filled so fast that the water was coming out of the drain covers like a fountain! Sis. Jenkins already had boots. I've never owned a pair before. When the weather was bad, I just stayed home! And I didn't have to walk that much in the rain and around puddles that much. And I am still amazed at the lack of handrails everywhere. NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!! They have just turned the hot water back on!!!!!! Oh, Joy!!!!! I just went in the bathroom, and the hot water is on!!!! We have been without hot water about a month. We have talked with some elders who say they haven't had hot water in 3 months! We are just thrilled! You never know how much you miss the (hot) water till the well runs dry! Oh, another thing I have noticed is that almost all light bulbs that are for sale are not frosted. They are clear glass. Another thing I have noticed and have not had the opportunity to find out about, is when some of the stucco falls off a building, I see brick construction under it. It seems they think that brick is not finished. Some of the brick laying needs to be covered up. There are some buildings made of brick that look really good, but the ones I have seen where the stucco has turned loose leave much to be desired in the quality of workmanship. And it is so fun to wear our name tags in public. You see people looking at your chest, trying to read and understand your name tag! Sometimes they will ask, but most of the time they just stare! When we get the opportunity to talk with them, we explain who we are and invite them to come to Rosy for free English classes. Sometimes they do come. I hope everything is going well for all of you. We are having fun and working hard. I get a good bit of study time, which I really enjoy. Write me when you have time. I love you all so very much, and pray for you every day. Please keep us in your prayers. Another installment next week!

Love,
Mom, Grandma, Greatgrandma, Sis. Lynes, Shirley, sister, aunt, cousin, whatever. You can call me anything as long as you call me to dinner!