Central Eurasian Mission - Week 46 - Jan 28 - February 4, 2018



I just had to get into a good position to take a photo of all the Young Volunteers clustered around by our front door.  I mean, I just had too.



This weekend is Zone Conference...and today, being Sunday, we had dinner at our house.  There were three extra missionaries and two extra senior couples - so there was a total of fifteen people for dinner.  I started on Friday and finished preparations on Saturday so only had to cook the chicken on Sunday.  I used the crock pot to cook potatoes for mashed potatoes, made two apple crunch pies, a really good coleslaw (yes, this cole slaw is tasty), three loaves of bread, 28 chicken drumsticks, 4 liter bottles of pop, a bowl of apples, and one of the companionships brought cheesy cauliflower.  These pictures are just of food and people, but Dad and I want to remember the evening.


















It is also Branch Conference this weekend.  On Saturday we had a training meeting with all the leadership of the Branch.  We were in a small room, so I had to take two pictures to get us all in.



Elder Taylor, President Davis, Bro and Sis Holmgren, Sister Taylor, Sister Davis



Brother Hessinauer, President and Sister Willardson, and Dad, the faithful clerk.

Part of the "festivities" of the Zone Conference/Branch Conference was going out to eat at our favorite little restaurant.  I ordered twenty-three skewers of lamb sashleek which were happily devoured.







And.......there is more......the monthly Branch Game Night.  There were a lot of people attending - most were friends who come to English Club.











I spent most of the time at the party talking to a young woman named Жулдыз (Zhuldeez_ who is from a small town named Katon-Karagay which is in the farthest easternmost part of Kaz up in the mountains near China. Check out this link.  We want to go there this summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katon-Karagay_National_Park



The Taylors (from Almaty) came for the Zone Conference.  While they were here we went with them to visit the main headquarters of the Kazakhstan Society of the Blind.  We had a terrible time finding the place where we were supposed to meet.  The taxi driver ended up going around several blocks several times, all the while talking to the director of the society trying to figure out where we were supposed to be.  The Taylors are trying to do a project with a Blind Society group in Almaty and we all needed to talk about various details.
  We would have never found the place on our own.  And, the only sign was not visible from the street.





Snow removal has been intense this week.  I think another snow storm is in the forecast so there is some urgency to get as much snow as possible removed.

This is in the parking lot along the main road.  It really is amazing how the workers can use such big machinery in such small places and often among parked cars....and people, too, walking relatively close by.  And they work at night with flood lights.








I love these two pictures.  The front loader was pushing the snow on the access roads around the school,  and making a huge pile.  Teenagers showed up soon after and played "King of the Snow Mountain." Then later in the day, big dump trucks came and took it all away.



This is a fun one.  On the road, about halfway between the bulldozer and the left edge of the photo, you can see what appears to be a bump.  Since I often walk on that road in the wee hours of the morning, I know it is a manhole that is raised up above the surface of the road - maybe 5 inches.  So, I watched the bulldozer pushing snow ahead of itself and then suddenly it came to an abrupt stop.  I thought, "yep - the blade has hit the manhole!"  Sure enough, next morning there was a piece of wood and a flattened cardboard box covering the manhole - I think the cover was gone.




Yep - here's the hole covered somewhat by a cardboard box.



And another one on the other side of the school.  I knew there was a reason why manhole covers should be flush with the pavement.  Oh....well...




Lots of adventures ahead of us here on the Fringe.