From Russia With Love...

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

Letter #75: From the Mission Field in Russia

Subject: #75
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 17:48:51 +0600
From: Shirley Lynes <gma@jacklynes.com>
To: jlynes@jacklynes.com

Happy Labor Day Weekend!! This is officially the last holiday of the summer. I hope you have plans to enjoy it!! It's still muddy here. It hasn't rained in several days, but today is the first day the sun has been seen. The puddles are drying up, and things are getting back to normal. The temperature today has gotten a little warmer, too. It was 11 this morning, and now, at 3:30 pm, it has made it all the way up to 22! I can't believe this is the last day of August! Time just keeps moving right along! I am soon to be companion-less. Sis. Burlena goes home tonight, catching the train at 9:30. She said she will get into Yekat after 2 pm tomorrow. The bus is faster, but she really wanted to take the train. She wanted to take the train from Kurgan to Ufa, but we got a ride with Pres. Hall, which I think was much better! So she will finally get her train ride. In discussing what I was going to do, without a companion, she said that I should go live with her in Yekat and work at Rosy for three weeks, and then go home! That really surprised me. I will be staying in this apartment until the lease runs out on September 18th. I will have a mini-missionary, just someone to sleep in the apartment with me. There is a rule that missionaries can't be alone. Most of the mission I've not had the "companion" experience, since my companions and I have always had different duties and assignments. So basically, I just need a baby-sitter! Or maybe I should say I need a grandma sitter!! This apartment actually has more security between me and the outside world than my home in Aiken has. But rules are rules, and I try to be obedient!! I'm really glad I can stay here, where I'm settled. If I had to move now, it would mean having to pack twice. When I have to leave this apartment, I will only have a few days before I will be going home, so I will just live out of my suitcase. And I still have the washing machine to use!!! See, it doesn't take a lot to make me happy! Hot water, and a washing machine! We had a baptism this morning. I'm glad I got to see one more before I come home. The person who was baptized was a man, probably in his mid to late 30's. He will be a big help, I think. He seems like the Lord has prepared him well. He just has that "look". What the church in Russia needs is more strong men. The men seem to find it harder to change their ways and accept the gospel. I think this man came looking for the elders! The baptism was at 10 am, and my class on Saturday is usually at 12 noon. But today, no one came, so I came back home a little earlier than usual. Since I was home earlier than usual, I took the time to go to the supermarket again. It is an American type, but compared to the ones there, it is very small. Still, I enjoy going there to shop. You can all rejoice with me. We still have hot water!!! Also, the shoes are wearing just fine! So I don't have any big problems anymore. Right now, the breeze has started blowing. Sis. Burlena has the window open in her room, and I have the window open on the balcony. The wind is coming under her door, and lifting the rug right off the floor! I played the music for two sacrament meetings again last Sunday. But in the middle of the sacrament hymn for the second meeting, the keyboard cut out! We are running it on batteries, of course. We have a large battery that works well, with no problems, but someone forgot to bring the connecting wires, so we were using just regular batteries. Sometimes when you are doing that, it seems to get overheated, or something, and will make a loud buzzing noise and then quit. It had cooled off by the time for the closing hymn. And no, we have no electricity in the branch building. The city keeps finding reasons not to let us have power. I wish the city would just give up and quit trying to get rid of us! We're here to stay!! Our branch building is unusual, in that there are skylights down the entire center of the vaulted ceiling of the chapel. See, God knew that the city was going to give us problems, so He fixed it so that we have lots of natural light in what would ordinarily be a completely dark room! I really don't know all the details of why the city won't let us have power or I would tell you. Except to say that this is Russia. That explains a lot of things here. I was supposed to go with Elders Ady and Eldredge for an appointment on Monday, but our district meeting didn't get started on time, and I couldn't make it. As it turned out, the lady they were going to see wasn't home anyway. A lot of people in Russia don't have phones. Not everyone has one, like in America. Sort of like it was about the time my family got a phone when I was a little girl. They don't have the lines and equipment for everyone to have phones. I'm seeing a lot of younger people with cell phones. I guess they don't need all the wires and exchanges for cell phones. I don't know how expensive they are here. Anyway the elders usually can't check to see if the people they have appointments with are going to be there. It causes a lot of wasted time not being able to check and confirm appointments. I went with the young sisters to their branch's RS homemaking (enrichment?) meeting Wednesday night. It was held in the RS president's apartment. It turned out to be a dinner. They made fresh homemade totillas with mashed potatoes for a filling. Not bad, just not what you would have expected. They had lots of good looking and good tasting food. Well, there went the sunshine!! It has started raining, and it has definitely cooled off! The weather really is so unpredictable here! I'm glad I'm not a weatherman here! I'm so glad Joe is sending me the Sunday school lessons. I have "mourned" the fact that I was missing out on studying the Old Testament. There is so much to learn, but there is a lot of "stuff" that I don't understand, so it's good to have a guide to some of the more important things. And as in the BOM, you can't help but "mourn" because of the people's stubbornness. Why can't we just see what the Lord wants us to do? And do it?? And the sad part is that we aren't any better than the Israelites or the Nephites. We sometimes think "how could they do that, and so quickly!" But we are no better. I love the time that we were sent here to earth. When you think that we are here for the "winding up" scenes, in the fullness of times, it humbles you. What did we do to deserve being here now, when the gospel is on the earth in all it's fulness? And what in the world did we do in the pre-existence to merit being born in the greatest country in the world! I look at the people here in Russia, and the hardships they endure, and I am so grateful! I guess if nothing else, I have learned gratitude on my mission. At least, I hope so! I'm certainly grateful for the family the Lord has blessed me with! It's been sort of a quiet week with nothing exciting happening. I don't mind those kinds of weeks, but it makes it hard to write!! Maybe I can think of something interesting to write about by next week. I hope things work out with these young women staying with me. They don't have to do anything except show up, and sleep! How hard can it be? Jahnna, I've mentioned her before (speaks perfect English!), is supposed to stay with me tonight. I told her I just need her from about 9:30 pm to 6:30 am. She said, "Do I have to get up at 6:30?????" I told her I really don't care what time she gets up. I am supposed to be in bed by 10:30, and get up at 6:30. If she doesn't have something else to do, I don't care if she sleeps all day!! I think she may still be in the age of wanting to stay up all night and sleep all day. I hope we can get along! I hope you all have a great week! I intend to!! Till next week!

Love,
Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, Sis. Lynes, Shirley, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, acquaintance, email pal, babushka staying in my own apartment!! (choose one!)