Greetings from Russia!
This past Saturday we moved out of the hotel where we had been staying and got into the apartment we had selected. It has two bedrooms, a spartan kitchen, Bathroom facilities and a nice living room area. We paid first, last and a deposit and filled out the required documents for registration with the city in exchange for two sets of keys. We are very satisfied with our new surroundings.
At some point in the past the apartment was extensively remodeled. It is fully furnished and has a new bed. Out of our window we can see what would be in English the equivalent of Lenin Blvd. There are two lanes in each direction with a wide tree covered walking area in the middle. Most cities in Russia have at least one or more streets using the name Lenin. The apartment is located on the second floor of a building in an older urban area with shops and stores at street level. There is a smaller grocery store just across the street and a larger one just around the corner. Most amenities are very close. The church is only a ten minute walk up the street.
During the summer Yaroslavl held a celebration commemorating the 1,000th year anniversary of the cities founding in 1010 AD. Streets have been repaired, buildings painted and banners still hang on doors and on buildings. A stylized 1000 with the zeros in the shape of onion domes is seen everywhere. We are told there are over 150 old churches in this city of 800,000 +/- inhabitants.
Though it is quite cool outside, we have been told by the locals that this area is experiencing some of the warmest November days in the last fifty years. The apartment heat is provided through the use of radiators that have no adjustment. If you want it cooler you just open a window. We have most of our suit cases unpacked and have set up our computer. We hope to get the internet hooked up soon so we can communicate with the outside world. We wrote a short email last week that, due to lack of internet, did not get sent. It follows and will fill you in on our first week here in Russia. This week’s note will be the same and will hopefully get sent out soon.
During the past week we were taken on a short tour of the historic section of Yaroslavl and took a walk along the Volga River. The Volga looks much like the Columbia River or any other large river with ship traffic. There is a very nice walking area along the river bank. We have been impressed by the many parks and open spaces. There are trees throughout the city and it has a very family oriented feel. Even though it is cold out there are children and families spending time outside of their apartments. The apartment buildings are numerous and usually five stories in height. Higher than five stories requires the installation of an elevator. Most of the apartments we have visited are small but functional. Single family dwellings are a rarity in the city environment and many go to the country where they have a dacha (summer or country house).
Our teachings have been good this past week and we have met many of the members of the branch. We have had many prayers and lessons with a number of investigators. One young couple, from Uzbekistan, has been very interested. We visited there twice, taught about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about the principle of faith. We have invited them to share Thanksgiving dinner with us and the other missionaries on the 25th. We also helped with the English club on Tuesday night and started a Spanish club. Those classes went very well with more than a dozen in attendance.
We did not mention it but we finally seem to be over our jet lag. Our flight into Moscow, back on the 1st, was uneventful other than the lack of sleep. It was good that we had a few days in Moscow to get our legs under us. One thing that we were taken to see in Moscow was their WWII museum. The enormous scope of what Russia endured during those years cannot be expressed in words. They made use of three dimensional dioramas, expertly displayed and haunting to look at. They have done their very best to honor their 27 million dead. We felt privileged to be taken there.
It appears that this is all for now. We have much still to do to get ourselves settled into our apartment. At some point our landlord has promised to bring us some additional chairs and we still need to do some shopping for basics and household items. Thank you again for your prayers on our behalf.
Our love to you,
Elder Mark & Sister Jamie Forsyth
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