Missionary Wall in Swan Valley

My dear friend just sent this picture to me. This is the missionary plaque wall in the Palisade Ward in Swan Valley, Idaho. We have a teensy ward, no bigger than the branch here in Vladivostok. They are wonderful, loving, faithful Latter-day Saints, and we have a fantastic group of missionaries out right now—plus one whose picture is not yet posted. When that last picture is posted on the wall, I hope to get another picture and will post it here. Missionary work is alive and well all over the world, and our Palisade Ward is happy to be contributing to the great army of missionaries. Hurray!!!

Waiting for Late Arrivals

Schedules are unfathomable here. Even young children go to school from early afternoon to late evening.
Many of our EFYE attendees who work or attend university classes can't get to our apartment until 7:30, but we're supposed to start at 7:00 p.m. Our Jenga game has been a good time-occupier the past few weeks as we wait for late arrivals. Our two youngest attendees came right after their boxing practice along with the taller boy's young (single) mother. This mother and son were baptized before Christmas and came regularly for awhile, then just simply disappeared. Then one Friday night, two weeks ago, she showed back up at our apartment. Color us excited and thrilled at her return. The next week, she brought her son again. We hope and PRAY that they stay forever this time!! Many of our new converts pull this disappearing trick. We always pray that they will come back. Some do; many do not.

Unexpected Transfer 2

The hard-working trio of sisters in Irkutsk need another sister, so we sent them one of our best. Of course, they are ALL the best. We escorted this adorable sister on her first train ride in Russia all the way to the airport, talking every step of the way. She shared stories of her inspiring family at home, and we were blown away by the love and caring her family gives to many, many foster children in their care.

Unexpected Transfer 1

Sister City to Oakland, CA

Okay, nobody told us that Nakhodka, Russia, is a sister city with Oakland, CA!! But it must be true because we saw it on this cool statue-sign as our bus passed it last weekend. Hurray, Oakland!!

Our Job Description

The CES office in Moscow asked us to write a description of what we do here in Vladivostok that they could present to the next couple who will be taking our place next year. I am posting it here for any couples interested in being senior missionaries. Understand, please, that EVERY senior mission is different. This is ours.

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Description of the CES Vladivostok Mission Senior Couple

One important point to remember is that no senior mission is the same, and a couple replacing us in Vladivostok may find their service here to be different than what we are currently experiencing. For example, our experience varies from that described to us by the previous couple who served here. They traveled across the mission frequently, meeting many of the youth and interacting with the Institute and Seminary teachers. We travel very infrequently. Changes in budgets, philosophy, and guidance from the Area Presidency also alter the experience at this level. In general, though, our experience leads us to believe that senior couples largely create or mold their own mission experience, based on desire, abilities, and physical capabilities, as well as direction and influence of the presiding Church Education System (CES) coordinator and the current mission president. Unless a senior couple feels a great need for guidance, that direction is minimal to nonexistent. Senior couples are expected to bring their knowledge of the gospel, experience, and ideas for activities and take care of themselves and everyone within their reach. In doing so, they can be of great service to the mission president, the branch, and the missionaries.

Each CES coordinator is a unique individual and interacts with senior couples in their own ways. They are all deeply committed to the gospel, have great testimonies, know their people, and strive earnestly to help the Institute and Seminary programs prosper in each branch. They love us, but aren't always sure what to do with us.

Each mission president is also unique and has his own method for running his mission. His focus is on numbers of baptisms and taking care of the young missionaries, and he has little time to devote to worrying about senior couples. That's what is great about senior couples. They can actually come, acclimate, and be of great service while requiring little or no effort from the mission president. The gospel is true, and it is the center of all our activities. Beyond that, there is much variety and spice to this life.

Mission Parents: We have so few senior couples (three across our entire mission) that we feel like the mission parents—and we love it! Our primary focus is on serving, helping, teaching, motivating, guiding, and inspiring the young single adults in our branch and, to the extent possible, across the entire mission. It's a tough challenge here, and very rewarding though sometimes a bit heartbreaking. We don't get to personally interact with most of the youth across the mission except for the rare times when we travel. So, we take lots of pictures when we are with them and share on Facebook, hoping they will get to know each other and correspond with one another. (They love seeing themselves and their friends on Facebook.) Our other major focus is on helping the young missionaries---supporting them, feeding them, sewing up and patching their clothing, encouraging them when they are having a tough day, cheering them on during successes, and sharing testimonies to bolster their lessons. Plus, we post pictures on Facebook for their parents and families to see. This is soooo much fun!!

Mornings are ours to do our own tasks, to exercise, to study the language, to read and study the gospel, and to cook and shop. Guess what takes the most time? The missionaries go out at 11:00 a.m. and find people to teach, and our lives get booked up as part of their success. That means that afternoons and evenings are almost always very busy. It's great!

First and foremost, we cook all the time. That means we shop every day because we walk and take the bus everywhere we go, so we can only haul so many pounds of groceries at a time. Vladivostok is built on hills, so we are always walking uphill or downhill. Good footwear is a must as is a good backpack for hauling groceries! We feed meals to missionaries, investigators, new members, and branch members many nights of each week (minimum 6 people at each meal). We cook the meals for zone conferences. We bake cakes, brownies, and cookies for baptisms (25-30 people). We make treats for the Especially for Youth Evenings (EFYE) that we host each week—usually around 25 people. We host a varying group of young adults (4-18 so far) after church on Sundays and feed them dinner after a spiritual thought. CES truly does mean Cooking Every Second.

I suppose a senior couple wouldn't have to feed meals to as many people as we do. We do this by our choice. Perhaps other couples would find other ways to socialize with the people.

EFYE: We host and present EFYE every Friday night where we play games, present gospel lessons, eat food, and have activities. We're very sad if we don't have at least 20 people show up. Missionaries bring investigators to experience life with LDS people (hoping we will inspire them), and we work to help the new converts bond with each other and members, and provide a fun, wholesome atmosphere that is spiritually based, but fun and active. The missionaries are often able to present discussions to investigators after EFYE evenings. Through the activities we host, youth can see that a gospel-centered life includes more than just reading scriptures.

Super Saturdays, Firesides, and Other Visits: Rare treats are when we prepare Super Saturday (SS) activities and a fireside and bring the youth from surrounding cities to Vlad to participate. Then we travel to two other locations and present the same SS activities and fireside to youth in those areas. These are very special opportunities when we get to meet and interact with the youth in remote locations. Locally, and more often, we take a train and/or bus (1-5 hour rides) to several of the closest cities and visit their Institute classes, go to church with them on Sunday, and present an activity—like a movie night—for their youth (and often the entire branch). Activities are a key part of our efforts to entice the youth to become and stay active. Building camaraderie and helping them get to know each other—especially new members—is very important for the success of the gospel in their lives now and for their continuing activity.

Activities: We are guiding and helping the youth to plan, prepare, and produce their own group activities: ping-pong tournament, basketball, volleyball, movie nights, quests, service projects, and perhaps even camping.

Missionary Work: We host missionary discussions in our apartment on a frequent basis. We join in the discussions and bear testimony and share personal experiences and insights, as requested by the missionaries. We attend and help with all baptisms. We provide towels for the floors and those entering the baptismal font, clean up before and after, haul home and wash the towels and baptismal outfits, play the piano for the hymns (because Sister Nelson can), and make treats for those who attend. We carry English practice cards and pass them to people we may talk with on the street or the buses. Occasionally, we actually bring home our own investigators. Rare, but it happens:-) Our lack of fluency in the Russian language hampers our communication efforts on the street, but we smile at everyone, and sometimes people are brave enough to talk with us because we are foreigners.

English Practice: Two nights a week, the missionaries host English practice at the church for Russians who want to learn English. It's a great missionary tool. We attend, help, tell stories, and talk with the Russians who want to chat in English. This is a very interesting experience, a good opportunity to make friends and direct conversations toward gospel topics, and it's the only activity that requires NO FOOD. Woo hoo!

Keep in mind that we have only been here for 6 months. So, this is a short-timer's view of our mission. In a year, we might being saying many different things.

This is a great work, and it is WORK. We are dead tired every night when we finally fall into bed. It is a grand mission, to be serving so many people for so many hours of every day and trying to stay ahead of the wave. God is in this work. He loves His children. He loves His missionaries. He loves us. The gospel is true. We are honored to be in His service.

Herb Garden and Easter Eggs

Last Sunday, two sweet little girls in Nakhodka gave us these little Easter eggs in their own little handmade baskets. We added them to our herb garden for awhile. Sadly, the herb garden has been banished to the outside hanging porch because Elder Nelson is allergic to someone in the apartment. If we don't figure out what it is, he may cough up a lung!! So, the cilantro and basil plants (seeds courtesy of my sister, Trish) are banished for the time being...perhaps forever. Sob.

Shining Our Stones to Bring to Christ

From the pen (keyboard) of Sister Lutz, the sister on the right hand of Jesus in the picture:

"But then, sister Baum unearthed this absolutely beautiful metaphor that continues to blow my mind the more I think about it. Missionaries=brother of Jared. Barges and their tightness=obedience and being a PMG missionary. Waves and winds driving to the promised land=basically just missionary life. And then, what else do we need? Light! Each of us has made little stones in our lives and we have been polishing them up. These stones may be our talents, experiences, knowledge, testimony, or spiritual gifts. So we challenged them to write down the stones they have and pick out which ones they want to use more in their missionary work to brighten things up and make this experience even more amazing than it already is. Then, when they've figured out which ones, to bring them to the Lord in prayer so that He will touch them and bring them to light. Because each of us is unique! God didn't send just little robots out into the world, he sent us in each place because he knew that we would make a difference there if we just gave it all that we had."

Easter Cakes and the Savior

Russians have a traditional cake that a few people make but most people buy. We purchased several at the farmer's market on the square and served them as refreshments at last Friday's EFYE. Elder Nelson presented a lovely fireside evening on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, his arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection. The LDS-produced Christ movies for Easter are available in Russian, and Elder Nelson used them to help explain just how Easter and Jesus Christ are connected. The evening was very spiritual. According to comments we received from some of those in attendance, most people here have no real conception of what Easter stands for. One young man said we need to take this presentation to every branch to teach the people. He even volunteered to accompany as our interpreter.

Cooking Tips

Some sisters have been asking for weeks to learn how to make our brownies. So, last Wednesday evening we hosted a cooking class. Everyone took turns measuring, stirring, and pouring the brownie mixture. A spiritual thought, a fishing game, and checkers made waiting easy. Then we ate the entire batch! Note: Russians don't use measuring cups or spoons as we know them in America, so I'm not sure how their batches will turn out. We tried to help in the conversion process by pouring our cup of sugar into a regular tea cup and a tablespoon of sugar into a regular spoon so that they would have an idea of this particular conversion rate. One Russian and one American licked the beaters.

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

Three sisters went home this week, their missions completed honorably and successfully. Their time to serve here is at an end, and we said our final good-byes. Happy tears. They have served their Heavenly Father, taught of Jesus Christ, loved the Russian people and each other, and worked their very hardest to fill their time here with excellent service.

Bus Friends

We invited our two bus acquaintances over for dinner again. They love pizza, but had never made a pizza. So, we let them dress their own pizza. They had a blast. Very ambitious pizza dressers. And they were hungry. Kept saying, "So tasty, so tasty."

Where do I send my tithing.

Our missionaries always invite new members to join in their discussions with investigators, and those members are powerful testifiers of the truthfulness of the gospel. The man preparing for baptism in this photo will be leaving for work in Brazil soon and asked if he should send his tithing to Vladivostok while he is gone. That was before the missionaries had taught him the lesson on tithing. He knew the truth as soon as he heard it and reads the Book of Mormon.

Shopping with Sisters

We took these two adorable sisters shopping for coats that will keep them dry during the two wet months supposedly coming soon. We all had a blast. They contacted as they shopped and rode the bus, and then we treated them to a Cinnabon at the end of our adventure.

Especially for Youth Evening

April 11, 2014: We had such a lovely evening. Played games, talked about Jesus Christ and His Atonement for our sins and about the meaning behind the egg, and how it represents new life at Easter time. Missionaries, members, new converts, and investigators colored hard boiled eggs and laughed and talked until we finally had to kick them out.

Last District Meeting for Two Great Missionaries

Two of our best attended their final mission district meeting. The Spirit was strong as heartfelt testimonies were born and mission experiences were shared. These young missionaries encompass a glowing hope for the future. They are kind, hardworking, dedicated, SMART, organized, thoughtful, caring, and loving in all that they do.

Kelly Turns 27 Today

Our son, Kelly Mark Nelson, was born 27 years ago in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Can we possibly be THAT old? He is working in Stanley, North Dakota, and is happy, healthy, and enjoying life with new friends and a good job. Parents are happy when their children are happy.

Sister Heading Home Soon

The Relief Society ladies last Sunday. We couldn't all fit into the picture! The lovely sister missionary in the front row, far left, wearing the red shirt and gray sweater, is serving her last full week in the mission field. She is an example to all who know her. Her bright, winning smile and love of the gospel makes her a joy to be around. We will miss her influence, and sincerely wish her well in the next phase of her life. God calls some of the very choicest spirits to serve in this corner of his vineyard. Other very choice spirits live here all of their lives.

Elder Nelson: Baptismal Prayer in Russian

Elder Nelson was honored to baptize the newest member of the Vladivostok Branch. She asked him the night before her baptism and totally surprised him. Priceless!! Of course, learning the baptismal prayer in Russian kept him up all night before the baptism. The sweet missionary in the red and white striped sweater in the picture is from Moscow and is in several Mormon.org videos. She is one of the sweetest people we have ever met. An angel among us.

We gave our new member a CTR ring after her baptism. She is truly golden, and we're especially grateful that her parents allowed her to be baptized. Now, we pray that they will feel the Spirit through her life example and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ for themselves.

And Elder Nelson was awesome!! The baptism went off without a hitch.

Member Home in Sakhalinsk

This was a very memorable night when we were invited to dinner in the home of a member in Sakhalinsk who  shares her tiny apartment with her daughter and two grandchildren. The food was excellent. The talk was entertaining and uplifting, touching, and inspiring by turns. A very special group of people. All Russians but us and kind enough to continually translate or speak in English so that we could understand. Many missionaries have left their missionary name tags in Tatiana's home. Sister Nelson was happy to attach her own name tag to the tree (in the back corner on the right). What an honor!

Artyom Baptism Crew

These are some of the greatest saints in Russia. And a great mission President's wife, AND two FANtastic sister missionaries. The hugs never end when these folks come to Vlad or we go to Artyom. Joyful!!!

Two of the Best Things in Life

Need I say more?

Care Package from Trish

Wooohooo!!! How do I spell S.P.O.I.L.E.D and B.l.e.s.s.e.d to have a fantastic little sister who sends me fun packages full of great stuff!! Thanks TRISH!! She said she was sad because she had to leave out the pink heart-shaped marshmallows to get everything else to fit.

Super Saturday in Sakhalinsk 6

A late arrival was exciting for everyone, and they all got into the act.

Super Saturday in Sakhalinsk 5

Super Saturday in Sakhalinsk 4

Success for the first travelers, then watching as others followed the path.

Super Saturday in Sakhalinsk 3

These pictures are blurry because the action never stopped, but I have to include them anyway. They're the clearest ones I have.

Some voices (older leaders) tried to lead the youth astray by getting them to release their hold on the Iron Rod...sometimes with extra enthusiasm. Another, quieter voice urged them to stay the course. And then there was that beautiful little red-headed 3-year old who just enjoyed having all the people "playing" in her church house. We LOVE these people!!

Super Saturday in Sakhalinsk 2

Blindfolds (walk by faith), rope (Iron Rod), stacks of chairs and hanging material (challenges in life), and the Tree of Life and delicious fruit represented Lehi's vision in the Book of Mormon.