Helping Hands Service Project

Our group of young adults in Vlad is small, and several had to work at their day-jobs.
But those who came had a great time helping us pick up trash on this hillside. 

Looking better!

All done!!

All the girls enjoyed wearing the dandelion crown.

Dandelions

We passed these young ladies as they sat weaving a crown out of golden dandelions. Sister Nelson naturally went a bit nuts over their intriguing and beautiful talent! Before we left, the young ladies presented our group with the dandelion crown. Dandelions are used by many of the youth here in creative artistic venues. Our appreciation for the golden dandelion has definitely increased.

Youth in Irkutsk Book of Mormon Photo Shoot

This is only part of the youth in Irkutsk.

Flowers and the Book of Mormon.

Angel and the Book of Mormon.

See the monkeys, copy the monkeys.  Aren't they cute!

We are kittens; hear us roar!

Feets of Glory.

Talked with a Taxi driver.

A delightful group of energetic, enthusiastic, and dedicated youth from Irkutsk.

Irkutsk - Super Saturday - 2

Probably the most impactful lesson from any of our Tree of Life activities happened in Irkutsk. Our CES coordinator, who usually tries to "lead the youth astray and get them to release their grip on the lifeline," changed his tactics in Irkutsk. He started as the voice of a friend, and the youth learned to trust him. But near the end, he "changed" and led them astray. They had learned to trust his voice, so many of the youth let go of the rope when he told them to. Wow! What a powerful lesson they learned. Hold to the Rod, do what you know is right, even if those you love, those you have known, choose to depart from the safe path and try to lead you away with them. Dangers of peer pressure.
President Hales spoke on this subject in the 2014 April General Conference,  "In the pre mortal Council in Heaven, Lucifer rebelled against Heavenly Father's plan. Those who followed Lucifer ended their eternal progression--be careful who you follow!"

Irkutsk - Super Saturday - 1

We put up the Tree of Life in Irkutsk, set up the obstacle course, blindfolded the youth, and everybody had a blast. They knew what was coming because they had seen pictures on our Facebook page. But they went through it with relish and excitement, simply glad to be part of the fun and experience. They were still talking about the lessons they learned the next day when they taught or commented in classes at church.

Irkutsk Zone Conference - 3

Sorry, but we are just not skilled photographers. Our subjects keep moving or turning around! But the memories and rich and well worth preserving.

Irkutsk Zone Conference - 2

Truly sisters in Zion. The sweet sister on the far left is a Russian sister serving in Russia. She is totally adorable.  Young sisters add immense joy and enthusiasm to the mission field. 

Young men, strong in the gospel, need lots of refueling. They all came back to finish off the leftovers at the end of the conference. 

"We have a baptism on Saturday!!" Can you feel her enthusiasm?
The man in the apron, stirring the pot of soup, is the most unique missionary we could ever hope to meet. His favorite words: "I think this would be better."
Our mission president, the man who watches over and cares for all of our missionaries, is the man with the red tie in the back right. 

Irkutsk Zone Conference - 1

Irkutsk is an interesting city. This is the view from our room at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. We were spoiled by staying here. It was a bit like walking into America each time we returned and walking back out when we left. 

The mission president and his wife uplift, inspire, and motivate the missionaries in every way they can find. Giant bottles of peanut butter from America provide delectable incentive for the missionaries to complete memorization projects.

The Russian senior couple prepared a feast of soup, vegetable salad, and fruits for the missionaries during their zone conference.

Conference Highlights - 4

Sister H from Khabarovsk, going home soon, and enjoying her last conference in Vladivostok. She's leaning against our baptismal font. The biggest in the mission. Bread waiting to be cut in the background. I know--more food!

We stayed up until 2:30 a.m. talking while she was staying in our apartment. We adore the young missionaries, but talking with someone our own age and who is experiencing the same type of mission is a treasure not to be diluted by sleep.

Aren't they adorable??

Conference Highlights - 3

We haven’t found a way to capture pictures of the rich spiritual feasting that the missionaries enjoy at these conferences. So, we share pictures of the physical food. But the spiritual feasting is even better, richer, and far more important than all the potatoes, chili, cake, and brownies. They come hungry and go away renewed, energized, and filled with the Spirit of their Savior and increased dedication to their missionary work.

Happy army of young people doing the Lord's work. The two sisters right at the bottom of this photograph are both from Russia and teaching in Russia.

Conference Highlights - 2

Feeding missionaries and making them smile is one of our greatest joys.

Our visiting area representative and his wife are sitting in the lower left of this picture. And one very enthusiastic young elder is holding one of the pots of chili. Did we say we LOVE our missionaries?

Missionaries, mission president and his wife, and visiting dignitaries.

Conference Highlights - 1

Two other senior couples came for the PK conference, and we invited them to our apartment for a quick, one-hour lunch and discussion break. Not quite a senior retreat, but as close as we could manage. Talking with other senior couples serving missions is a total delight. We have so much in common, yet many of our experiences are different. Sharing insights and experiences is priceless. The couple in the middle will be going home in June. The other couple only arrived a month ago. And we are in the middle of our mission.

We make the food for the missionaries who attend zone conferences, and this is Elder Nelson checking the baked potatoes. Cooking 100+ potatoes at the same time takes skill. 

Primorskiy Krai Conference - May 4, 2014

Elder and Sister Cenkance of the Europe East Area presidency came to Vladivostok and were the key speakers at the Primorskiy Krai Conference. Members, investigators, and missionaries came from Nakhodka, Khabarovsk, Ussuriysk, Artyom, and Vlad to attend this special meeting. A hard-headed businessman, Elder Cenkance was not originally interested in religion, but he was very interested in what made the Mormon missionaries and members such happy people. He started reading the Book of Mormon with a pen in his hand to mark all of the mistakes and problems he expected to find in the Book of Mormon. Instead, he was inspired and came to love it. After he joined the church, he was the one who translated the Book of Mormon into Latvian. As these two dedicated LDS leaders shared their individual conversion stories, we were deeply touched by the power and depth of their knowledge and testimonies as well as their determination to raise their children in a Christ-centered home and family. Each of their grown children has served an honorable mission, and one son submitted his mission papers while they were on this trip to the East.

The missionaries sang the traditional Sisters of Zion-Army of Helaman medley with Sister Brinton leading the music. When the missionaries join their voices in this uplifting and inspiring musical number, the roof raises and tears are shed. This is a powerful “army” for God right here in Vladivostok, Russia. This picture shows the branch president’s wife leading members and missionaries in the musical number, “I know That My Redeemer Lives.” Ahhh, beautiful music!

Elder Nelson headed up the “photography” department for the conference. He had lots of qualified helpers.

Securing Our Blog

To comply with Russian laws, we have to make our blog private and protect its contents. Therefore, we will be removing our blog from the public sector and allowing only those who request access and send their email addresses to us to have future access. So, if you would like to continue to follow our activities here, please send your email address to our email address---nelson.lynda@gmail.com. Thank you! Sorry for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,

The Nelsons