Central Eurasian Mission - Week 50 - February 26 - March 4, 2018

The Russian Orthodox "Assumption Cathedral"



This has been on our radar for about a year...but there wasn't a lot of urgency because....well, we've visited Russian Orthodox Cathedrals before.  This one was built and then dedicated in 2010 (I think I read that someplace.  Nevertheless, this is not an ancient cathedral).  I'd told the Sisters that we'd like to go there with them sometime, and they called us and said, "Let's Go!"  One of the purposes, besides sightseeing, was to find a ring for Sister Nelson to buy.  I'd bought two rings on previous trips to Russia.  They are silver color and have a very old antiquated style of Cyrillic writing engraved on them.  The words say something like "Jesus Protect Me" or "Jesus Loves Me".  I couldn't find anyone who cold read the script.  The rings I bought were a bit too large, and in the ensuing years I lost both of them - one in Warren's first apartment in Atlanta and the other in the gym of the Lakeview Stake Center in Lake Oswego when I was at an orchestra rehearsal....I took it off and...... ......

When we were in Karaganda, months ago, I bought one at the Cathedral there.




So, Sister Nelson wanted a ring like mine, and we were on a "ring mission".

It was really warm that day ( about 24 degrees F!!!!) and I only wore my down jacket, my windbreaker, and regular gloves rather than my ski mittens.



We're walking up to the entrance.









Miraculously, the first door we tried was the correct one.  It is absolutely gorgeous inside.









There was one worshiper, a man, who was going around the interior and stopping at each icon (the picture of a saint is an icon) and bowing and crossing himself three times at each icon.  He did not approve, that we three women had no head covering (Dad had taken his hat off) and he said, in charades, to please put on a hat.  He just kinda looked at me, but said nothing (I was older than he).

But, we must not forget the other goal of this outing.....the ring.  Pointing at my ring,  I was about to ask a young woman - in perfect Russian, really, I can say this - "where can I buy a ring like this"  But she understood, because of my pointing index finger, what I wanted and before I could even use my careful crafted phrase, pointed to this sign:  Lower Church, Icon Market which in colloq English is  Gift Shop in the Basement.



Down we went - the Sisters were giddy with excitement (no, not really)



....and into the gift shop.  There were all kinds of books and icons (pictures of saints) and jewelry.



Sister Nelson tried on all the rings, but they were all too big.  The sales clerk said they'd have more at Easter time.  So they'll go back and see if a new shipment has arrived.  I hope they have a different style, too, because the ones she looked at were way too plain - not enough curves on the letters.



Here we are leaving, and in the distance is the entrance arch through which we came.



and this sign



which reads:

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

March 21.

A special Lenten Service

will be performed -

The standing of

St. Mary of Egypt,

which includes the complete Canon of

St. Andrew of Crete and

the life of St. Mary of Egypt.

Beginning of Worship

at 5:00 pm

We'd really like to go to this service, but....I know...from experience.....that there are no pews or chairs used in Russian Orthodox Church services.

On our way home we went to the Eurasia Mall which is huge!!  We had good reports that you could buy popcorn kernels in one of the little booths.  We tried in several booths but couldn't find the right one.  Then.....off...in...the ..distance, we could see --LUCKY DONUTS!!!!  It wasn't popcorn but just as good.  We got - like - a powdered  donut filled with Nutella, which I think had been thickened with some powdered sugar.  They were about $1.25 each.

The funny---or sad---thing is that later in the week, Dad went back to the mall and found the popcorn place and bought six 100g packets.  Then, he went upstairs to the food court to get an ice cream cone.  When he left, he must have been in an ice cream coma, because he forgot to take the bag of popcorn with him.  He went back to look, but never found the bag.  

We met with Zhandos again this week.  He is the overly energetic man who wants to do a project with LDS Charities, but doesn't really listen to what we say.  Whatever....Anyway we'd ordered some stuffed little toy camels and we'd received a phone call via one of the missionaries,who Zhandos had called (we don't know why he called the missionaries) and they told us that the camels were ready to be picked up.  So we went to get them......ahhhh.... turns out what he said was that he'd bring the camels to us if we were home.  So, there we were, at a workshop where most of the workers are deaf and we can see the plastic bag of camels behind a locked door.  Someone called Zhandos, and through a game of charades, we knew Zhandos was coming.  Actually, we did NOT want to talk to him without a translator but we were doomed.  We waited about 45 minutes.  He got there and gave us the camels and then proceeded to talk to us about his idea for a project via a phone call with his nephew who speaks marginal English.  It was pretty bad.  But we got our camels, and when he contacts us again, we'll go with our real translator.

The Holmgrens, a family from church, is an Embassy Family - Brother Holmgren has some sort of high ranking job there..  This is the family that invites all of the missionaries for dinner at least once a month.  Sister Holmgren also works there in the Community Liason office.  She was in charge of organizing a Craft Fair where Kazakh artisans were invited to come to the embassy and set up and display their crafts.  We were invited to attend!  Here's Old Glory through the fence.



Well...there are two entrances to the building - both with fences and guard shacks.



We went to the correct entrance and, with just a bit of difficulty got up to the gate.  Let me tell you, the language difficulty is ever present.  I said we were here for an "exhibition" which did not work.  Dad got "Craft Fair" on his phone app and that worked.  After checking our passports thoroughly and and asking us the names of all of our grandchildren, we finally got in.....but they took our phones!!!  So I have no pictures.  But it was a great craft fair.  Nice jewelry, great embroidered women's jackets, rugs, bowl from Turkey, you name it, it was there.  And it was kinda expensive.  Was it because the crafts were really high quality or because the attendees were Americans?  We found a bunch of really old soviet era post cards and bought one.  It'll be the last picture in this week's blog.

We went to our favorite shashleek place for  lunch with Elders Bullock and Crawford.



Our little Branch here in Astana is really tiny.  It really should be called a Twig.  On a good Sunday we have......maybe 5 Kazakhs, 7 missionaries, 13 Americanish people, 1 Filipino, and 2 South Africans....about 30.  On Saturday, in an attempt to encourage unity, the Relief Society had an activity - we went bowling and had a great time.  So -  all of you women out there who are in Relief Society, you need to support the social activities because that is how you get to know people and eventually become a Ward Family or, in our case, a Twig Family.  I have to admit that I occasionaly thought I would call Jessica or Bev to see if they were going....if they were, then I'd go too - -not exactly the right attitude.                                          There were ten of us.  We were all bad bowlers.













Here's a fun picture of a lane, one over from us.



and changing their shoes...out of focus.



Afterwards we went across the main road to a big mall and had KFC in the Food Court.



We can tell spring is coming - in bits and starts.  One day it'll be 20 F and the next 3 F.  This coming week the weather is going to be weird.  Tonight it is supposed to snow all night.  Monday highs will be in upper 20's.  Tuesday it is supposed to rain with a high of 36 F.  Then on Wednesday it'll be cloudy and windy with a high of 12 F - I can hardly wait to walk outside on Wednesday morning after all the rain saturated snow freezes again.

Parts of the parking lot, behind our building, melt during the day (I don't understand how there can be melting when the temperature is 15, but there is liquid water), and there are little puddles next to the packed snow.  It is treacherous in the morning.



Here is the postcard we bought at the Craft Fair.  Yes, the crows and spring will come!