From Russia With Love...

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

Letter #55: From the Mission Field in Russia

Subject: #55
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 21:51:10 +0600
From: Shirley Lynes <gma@jacklynes.com>
To: jlynes@jacklynes.com

Greetings from melting Siberia!!!! It feels like spring! It has been cold this week, but today there is warmth in the air. I just checked the thermometer, and it is +13!! I haven't seen temperatures like that since September! I even saw a couple of boys on their bicycles! That's something you don't see when there's snow on the ground. There is still some snow lying around, but with temperatures like this, it won't last much longer. I hope I'm not speaking too soon! There is just a different feel to the air today. Sis. Borlena says she can tell the weather has changed. She can feel it! I hope she's right. The biggest news in the family that I've heard is from Eric. I don't have any more details than you do. I got the same email the rest of you got. I know everything will work out well for them. I have just a few minutes between classes, so I thought I'd get the letter started. I just finished the beginner class, and I had three new young men come. Thankfully a regular student, Victor, was there to help me with the translating. The new ones know the alphabet, but not much more. The elders spoke at a vocational school this week and invited everyone to come learn English! One was very interested, but I got the feeling the other two just came with him. They were very nice young men. I'm glad that Victor was there, though. It's so hard to teach when you don't speak their language. I've told you about Victor before. He is the one who brought a New Year's party to class back in January. Today he brought me some postcards from around the area. I thought he had brought them for me to see, but he said they were a present! I have the advanced class in about 30 minutes. But sometimes the people show up a half hour early! Today, though, I think many people are out enjoying the warm weather! I only had four in the first class this morning. We have a fireside tonight for the young people. Last week it was for the adults. The sisters have written a skit to put on tonight called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Nauvoo. We are still trying to get everyone enthused about going to the temple dedication. We want everyone who can to go. It will be such a special event. We have to go to Yekat again on the 23rd of this month for another zone conference. Back on the marshoot! That's a miserable trip, but maybe this time it won't be so bad, if it's not so cold. We can't take the train; it costs too much more than the marshoot. We'll be all right. We should be getting used to it by now! We have heat, and hot water again. We don't know for how long, but right now we have both! I'm grateful every morning that I get up and the hot water is still on! I know that it will be turned off for the summer, but I don't know when. The cabinet from our kitchen wall is again sitting on top of our refrigerator! Our landlord put it back up last week, but he came back today to repair the wall. He said it would not hold if he didn't repair the wall. So the cabinet is back on the frig. I guess he'll be back next week to put it back up. He is very good about fixing things that break. He and his wife seem interested in keeping the apartment in good condition. We had the fireside, and the young people seemed to enjoy it. Now they want to stay a while longer and watch another film. I told Elder Porter I would lock up when they are finished, but I only gave them 30 more minutes. I hope to be finished with this letter by then, and go to bed. (PS: They decided not to stay but went on home.) One of my students brought me a book today. It's called Russian Language in 10 Days! I'm supposed to be able to speak Russian in 10 days!! I'll give it a try. My problem is that I can learn what I need to say, but I don't understand what they answer back! I know I haven't tried hard enough, but I am teaching English and speaking English all day long! Excuses, Excuses!! On Wednesday while I was waiting for my advanced class to start, I was looking out the window, and saw this group of young people heading for our building, and I though, Oh, Oh! And they WERE coming for class. There were seven, 15 & 16 year olds! Elder Porter was in the branch apartment (they had just finished teaching a discussion to Stephen!) and they spoke to him like they knew him. He said that he had spoken at their school but had lost touch with them. So it was a good class. They can all speak English. I guess they have studied it in school. I had 11 people total there. I've had new people several days this week. I hope you all enjoyed conference last weekend. I sure do miss seeing it! Sometimes you don't know how much something means to you till you don't have it anymore. "You never miss the water till the well runs dry." But by next conference, I will be back! I've learned to appreciate a lot of things that I used to take for granted. Like hot water, central heat, washing machines, dryers, supermarkets, a comfortable chair and bed! Little things mean a lot!!!! How are you doing on your scripture reading? I don't hear much from most of you about it. Does that mean you're not reading, or just not writing about it? Almost every day one of my students, Irina, comes to class, and when class is over, we read the Bible together. She has a New Testament that has English on the left page, and the Russian on the right. So if she doesn't understand it in English, she can check it out in Russian, and understand it. It is so good to read with her, and to see her enjoyment. She read the word mercy one day, and said that it was very "tasty" on her tongue. I don't think she has read the Bible much before, and she is really enjoying it. We read (she reads, I help with pronunciation) thirty to forty-five minutes almost every day. We started with Matthew, and are almost finished with Luke. I may have told you about her before, I can't remember. Have you found any of the promises in the Book of Mormon? Sis. Borlena and I read it together almost every day. We are almost finished it. I can assure you that reading it together will bring peace into your home. I have also been transferring my markings from my old set of scriptures into my new set I bought while I was at the MTC last year. Until I can get all the markings transferred, it is still easier for me to find things in the old set. I have been using the old set since about 1982. My BOM looks like it, too! I bought a nice quad, but I think I prefer the Bible and the triple combination better. It's easier to hold and to carry. Maybe I'm just not accustomed to it yet. It has been sort of a quiet week with not much new happening. I'm still not going out much. Although the ice has melted in a lot of places, the side of our building where the outside door is in never in the sun. Sis. Jones just told me that although it looks like it has melted (when you look out the windows) outside our door is still solid ice. She was warning me to be careful tomorrow morning. And I will be! I love you all and pray for you all every day. I hope you know how much you mean to me! Please take care of yourselves. Be good! Until next week!

Love,
Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, Shirley, Sis. Lynes, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, acquaintance, email pal, babushka looking for spring! (choose one)