Russia

Our daughter Tiffany has been serving a mission for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, for the past 19 months. She served from August 30, 2006 to April 2, 2008 in the Novosibirsk Mission, which encompasses Siberia. Her mission was known as the Siberian Battalion.

On March 30th Jack, David and I began the long flight to Novosibirsk. We made it there, but our luggage did not. We met Tiffany at the airport at about 5 in the morning on april 2nd. It was wonderful to get a hug for the first time in so many months! Hmmm, we actually got lots of hugs!

We got on a little bus/van called a Gazelle. No seat belts, some of the seats were not bolted down, funny little curtains over the windows, and a really bumpy highway took us on a five hour ride to Barnayl. This was one of the three cities that Tiffany served in. That first night we taught two English classes. It was a blast. There were about twenty people in each group. Tiff said the turnout was big because everyone was interested in meeting the Americans. Jack told about a dental procedure while Sasha translated. It was amusing, especially to the Russians. Then Dave had his turn to tell about his activities. He did a great job. However, during the second class when it was his turn again...well....let's just say that he found a great place to sleep and I had to tell a story instead!