From Russia With Love...

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

Letter #20: From the Mission Field in Russia

Subject: #20
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 23:16:52 +0600
From: Shirley Lynes <gma@jacklynes.com>
To: jlynes@jacklynes.com

Dear Family and Friends,
I can't believe another week has come and gone. Where does the time go? I feel like Jacob in the Book of Mormon where he says that "Our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream". I don't want to waste my time here (or on earth). It just seems that one day is really just like the next. I am at Rosy from 9:30 am to 8:15 pm Monday through Thursday, till 6 on Friday, and from 10 to 2 on Saturday. I am enjoying my classes. The people here in Russia are so nice. Everyone that we meet, whether in class or on the tram or anywhere, just couldn't be nicer. What a load of propaganda we were fed about Russian people. When you see the kind of lives they have had, and the things they have lived through, you have to respect them for being survivors. They really are very special people. And you would be so amazed at how much they look just like us. I am always seeing someone who reminds me of someone back home. They are very guarded with strangers, but if you get to talking with them, they open up and are just as nice as can be. And they have such beautiful smiles, when you can get one to smile at you! And some of them seem to know who we are, and where we live. Yesterday, we took a tram ride, just to see where that number tram goes. Well, it didn't travel its usual route, but was going the way of one we had already tried. We knew we didn't want to go there again, so at the first opportunity, we got off. We knew where we were, and also where Baskins Robbins was! So we walked over there and had hot fudge sundaes. Then we walked a couple of blocks (Salt Lake City blocks!) to get to another tram stop where we could get another tram to come back home. (It seems that after a certain time at night, they change the routes. Of course, the driver announces where the next stop will be, but we can't understand!) So we got on another tram that we were sure would come back here. A couple of ladies got on with us and sat down in front of us. One of them turned around and said something to us, indicating that the tram was going to turn, and not come back here. Sis. Jenkins kept telling her it was going straight, and she kept saying "nyet" and making a turning motion with her hand. As we got near the corner where the tram was going to turn, she got up to leave, and kept motioning for us to follow her. We knew where we were, so we got up and followed her. She walked us across the street (after the tram turned!) and pointed to the right tram stop and told us, sort of, to catch the tram there. She seemed to know where we needed to go. She must have been close to home, because after she made sure we were where we were supposed to be, she walked on down the street. The people here in our complex seem to be getting used to seeing us. We even had one speak to us first yesterday. They will usually respond if you speak first, but they almost never speak first. We took another tram ride this afternoon. The routes are long. It took us over an hour to get to the other end of the line. (One end of the line is just beyond us.) So of course, it took us over an hour to get back, too. We had a conversation with a lady who sat by us. She spoke English, so we actually could talk to her. I gave her a card with Rosy information on it. She has a daughter who wants to learn English. We got off at the grocery store to pick up a few things and then caught another tram to get home. So that took up most of the afternoon. We like taking tram rides so that we can see other parts of the city. We find that we like our part of the city best. And we are not very far from the downtown area of Yekat. We like going over there too. There are two parks that we regularly walk through that are quite nice. The other sister who had been sharing the responsibility for running Rosy has been transferred to Tyumen. That means I'm responsible entirely. It also means that I will be working every Saturday (preparation day) from 10 to 2 pm. So now, we have preparation afternoon! That also means that I will be going to Rosy every day of the week, because we also have church meetings at Rosy. Sis. Jenkins had been working at the mission office in the mornings, but Pres. Hall has told her that she is to be at Rosy every day with me from now on. He doesn't want me there alone. Of course, I'm not alone. Elders are assigned service hours at Rosy. We aren't supposed to be open if there are no elders there. Anyway, now Sis. Jenkins doesn't have to spend an hour on the bus going to the office, 2 hours working, and another hour getting back to Rosy. If I were her, I think I would be glad. She really liked working at the office. We don't have any classes in the mornings right now, but when people find out that she is there in the morning, I think that will change. She is very good at teaching beginning and intermediate classes, and very good with people. Thanks to those who sent me information about woodpeckers. I explained about the woodpeckers skull transferring the vibrations around the brain instead of through it to my student. I also told him that Heavenly Father made the woodpecker to do that particular work and fitted him to be able to do it with no damage to himself. I told him Heavenly Father always knows what He is doing. This week they wanted to know what I thought about cloning. I told them it might be possible with a sheep or cow, and that it might be possible to grow a human body, but that the spirit comes from Heavenly Father, and you can't clone that! I was also asked what the Church's stand was on "interrupting pregnancy". Well, you know the answer to that one. I just said very seriously and very quietly that no, we don't do that. Then I was asked what if you already have two children and find yourself pregnant. I repeated my answer. I was as serious as I knew how to be. I'm afraid "interrupting pregnancy" happens far too often here, as it does in the United States. There is something that I noticed last week when there was a full moon. I haven't really noticed how the sun goes across the sky, but looking from my bedroom window and balcony I could see the full moon come up. Then later in the night I looked out at the moon again, and noticed that it hadn't gotten any farther up in the sky, but had just moved farther west. It doesn't come up and go overhead like it does at home. To see it, you have to look south. Strange, huh. I guess I really am far north. At least a lot farther north than at home! The work continues to move along. We had 34 baptisms in the mission during the month of July. And since we handle the baptism clothing for this area, I know that there were some baptisms this weekend. Please keep praying for us here in this corner of the Lord's kingdom. This week I had the opportunity to see Sis. Rogers, my companion from the SMTC. She came in from Perm to pick up her new companion, a Sis. Reeves from Washington state. She is 65 years old, too, so there is someone else here as old as I am! It was good to see Sis. Rogers again. I hadn't seen her since right after we go here. People in Perm don't come in here for zone conference. Pres. Hall goes to them. It is an overnight train ride from here to there. I think Sis. Rogers & Sis.Reeves will be very good companions. I really liked the new sister. We also got one other new sister (43 years old) who is working in the mission office, taking Sis. Carter's place. Next month we are scheduled to get 30 new missionaries, but none of them will be seniors. Sis. Reeves told me that one week while she was at the SMTC they had 95 new missionaries come in! Maybe the conference talks had some effect on at least some people! Pres. Hall told me that by the end of the year, the entire mission will have been changed this year. That makes it hard not having any long timers. It takes about a year before you have learned the language and what you are doing to be really effective. We'll just have to try harder! On the way home from work today, we stopped in a new (to us) store. I bought a goose down pillow. Right now it is calling my name! We have to be at church by 9 am tomorrow, so that makes for an early day. I need to answer my pillow! It has been a long day. Please don't forget that I love you all very much. Please forgive me if it takes me a while to answer your email. I don't get much time for writing email, but it doesn't take me long to read it! Please keep it coming. I need it. I need to hear that you are all doing well. Thanks for understanding! Maybe something exciting will happen this week that will make my letter next week more interesting! Until next week!

Love,
Mom, Grandma, Greatgrandma, Shirley, Sis. Lynes, Aunt Shirley, sister, cousin, friend, acquaintance, old hag (choose one)