Youth Conference

Russian Lunch!

Mashed potatoes, big sausage (tasted just like baloney) cucumber, tomato, cabbage, dill, salad!

Love the sock and sandals :)

They cleaned the church for their service project.

Youth Conference in Vladivostok, Russia

For youth ages 14-18.

20 came from the 7 cities in the mission.

I think 5 of the 20 were investigators.

Elder Manzhos of the Area 70 was our guest speaker. He is from the Ukraine. He lives in Moscow while on assignment. He also came to meet with the Personal Relations People. We can do three things. Hold open houses, do service and wear the "helping hands" t-shirts and work to strengthen part-member families.

They fed us great meals. Russian borshe, meat & pasta, & the traditional salad.

They put mayo on everything.

And fruit juice is the drink of choice.

They have fruit & juice breaks.....not the typical Mormon punch & cookies.

It's great!

They love to take group pictures so every event we attend, including church, they pause to take a group photo.

We are loving every minute. The work is progressing. Each night we get reports of 5 new investigators each day, and at least 3 baptismal dates each week. So the work is beginning to blossom here in the Far East!

Grandbaby #12

Baby boy (no-name) Pratt, son of Jared of Summer

Born July 20, 2009

8lbs 30z 20" long

Chubby bubby

Welcome to the world

Summer & Baby Boy

We are so excited for them and are anxious to skype when she gets home from the hospital.

We are so thankful that mom and baby are happy and healthy.

The Mission Call Opening

Last night for FHE we were invited to the opening of Elder Bogdanov mission call. He is the one with his back to us in the picture. He is currently serving a mini-mission here but just got his full-time call. Lot's from the branch came to watch him open up his call.

We thought it would be just a minute so we had our driver waiting for us. One hour later....after singing, testimonies, guessing where he was going, a skit etc etc etc he opened his call...

He's going to Moscow! Reports Oct. 13th to the MTC in Provo.

(Another sister in the branch also got her call and she is going to the Ukraine. They report the same day.)

They put on a skit before he opened his call. It was pretty funny. You had to be there.

Khabarovsk Zone Conference

This is a typical room where we meet for church.

Khabarovsk Branch

The Sartori's & Us. I look terrible. Just off the plane from Sakhalin into more rain in Khabarovsk! They are a wonderful Senior Couple from the Granger, Utah area. He is a former Stake President. They are the CES couple but they work with the missionaries, have FHE at their apartment, give tremendous shadow leadership to the branch. They have been here since Feb. 2009

President Karus and his family (minus his 12 year old daughter who is taking the picture)

He is the Branch President in Khabarovsk. They have been members for 10 years or so. He joined the church in Alaska when he went there for school.

They are both architects. The youngest boy, Sasha, is two and he had complications at birth so they have lot's of medical concerns for him.

Khabarovsk Zone Conference

Elders Busico, Camp, Temus, Cranney, Abubakirov, Spencer & Beecher

Us & The Sartori's

Farewell Elder Abubakirov

Elder Abubakirov is from Khabarovsk and is going to serve in the Russia Rostov Mission.

He came back with us to head to the MTC in Provo for a month.

Then he'll head to his mission

Luckily for him he already speaks the language.

There are 4 serving from our mission right now and 2 more just got their calls. One is going to the Ukraine, and the other Moscow.

Another Sister just returned from Temple Square Mission.

It was neat, Mike was able to set him apart.

Elder Camp (from Orem), Elder Abubakirov, & Elder Busico

Sister Abubakirov a great member and the missionaries mom and his grandma. His grandma is a muslim.

Members, friends, missionaries, investigators from the Khabarovsk Branch

Sakhalin

Sisters from the Sakhalin Branch. left to right

Jan Noble, Dees Jones, me & The RS President ?

The 1st two sisters are Americans from Texas. Their husbands work for Exon Oil.

They were great. They brought us dinner. Choc. Chip cookies, homemade rolls, chicken salad.

They do a lot for the branch. Brother Noble is the ward mission leader and he is a power house.

They call the new converts to be Branch Missionaries and he goes out with them 4 & 5 times a week on lessons with the Elders. A great way for them to learn more of the gospel, stay involved by having a calling and strengthen the branch and members alike.

Sakhalin Zone Conference

Elders Beecher, Waltman, Hall, Fiedler, Comstock & Spencer

Sisters Kovaleskaya & Kapustina

Pres & Sister Pratt

It was raining cats & dogs when we arrived into Sakhalin. The plane way swaying back and forth as we landed. It was a little scary. We didn't have an umbrella and we got drenched waiting for our luggage and the taxi. They land on the landing strip and you walk off the plane in the rain. They load the luggage on a open flat bed trailer. So it gets all wet.

This is the parking lot. The puddles were huge and deep.

My raincoat, jackets, boots, & umbrella's are all in my shipment which has not arrived from America yet. Who knows when we will get it.

But all is well!!! We are wash & wear. Everything dries out just fine.

The Three Amigos, freezing cold & wet. Waiting for the Taxi which took 45 minutes to get to us.

You've gotta love Russia!

Road Trip

Getting ready to board the train on our way back home from Khabarovsk = lovely 12 hr ride

We left at 9:00 pm and arrived home at 8:00 am

The train car was very nice with 2 beds. I slept about 4 hours. Maybe next time I'll sleep the entire ride.

A view of Khabarovsk from the church building window.

The church was on the 7th floor so we had a great view.

We stayed in town close to the Amir River. It was huge like the Mississippi.

A war memorial close to our hotel.

A small Russian Orthodox Church just up from the river.

The larger one was a few more blocks done the street.

We didn't have time to get to it.

The weather was nice. Lots of bugs flying in the air. As long as you kept moving they didn't land on you. They say in August the mosquitoes are terrible.

We will need to get some repellant when we go to the YSA conf in August.

News from Chile

Elder Tyson Pratt in Chile!

He was made a trainer today!

What an awesome responsibility. We are so proud of you Elder Pratt!

Elder Pratt - Chile

Our Little Bunny! All Grown Up! We Love You Tyson!

Happenings in the Mission

Here we are at the airport in Artyom picking up the new missionaries, and sending Elder's DeLaMare & Nikiforov home. Elders Jones, Daimaru & Waltman are new, New AP's, Spencer & Beecher, along with President & Sister Pratt

Zone Leader's Council at the Mission Home

(President Pratt.....where is your suitcoat???)

President Pratt with Elder's Nikiforov & DeLaMare our trainers!

(They left for home on July 11th)

Fruit & Juice Break during Zone Conference....the white box on the right is the Baptismal Font.

Multi-Zone Conference

7-8-09

Artyom, Nahodka, Ussuriisk, Vlad 1 & 2

3 of the 4 couples in our mission.

The Magills, Us, Hendersons, Woodens

Views of Vladivostok

First view of Artyom, where the airport is. This is when we were flying in from Moscow. Artyom is about an hour north of Vladivostok. (2 hours with traffic)

Vladivostok is a port city. They call it the San Francisco of Russia. We are also called the Far East. This is one of the inlets. It is foggy.

Another view of Vladivostok. We have had a couple of clearer days. But I didn't get a picture on those days. Maybe later.

This is my view our my office window at the Mission Office.

This is a view out Mike's window...the ocean is behind the buildings in the distance.

The Mission Office

The church rents out parts of 2 floors in an office building. The church is on the 3rd floor and the mission offices are on the 4th floor. These are some of the stairs we hike each day, multiple times going to and from the office.

There is no official sign posted on the outside of the building but it is posted outside the entrance of the office and church floor. We have to buzz to be let in. "Smile, you're on candid camera!"

This is my office. I have a nice view of the bus station, clover house and a busy intersection of the city. It's fun to see all the comings and goings. It's quite noisy if I open the window.

The President's Office! He can see the ocean out his window, however, it has only been clear a few days. We have had drizzling rain and fog. But when the sun comes out he has a cool view!

New Missionaries!!!

Elder Daimaru from Sandy, Utah

Elder Jones from American Fork, Utah

Elder Waltman from Idaho

It has been one year since American Missionaries have come to our mission. With all the visa problems they quit sending them here. But now that has been solved for a time. Everyone was so excited to get new Elders. We have 5 more coming in August, 7 in September and 2 in November. So all is good.

They are so excited to be here and we are so thrilled that they arrived safe and sound.

Lessons with the Missionaries

My 3rd teaching appointment. Brother Peter Alexander Vladimere? & his wife Lydia?

I need the Elders to write out their names for me. He is a member and she is not. They had a lovely home. Quite large compared to the other appointment we had. She had also fixed tons of food. It was his birthday on the 9th and we were here on the 8th. He said God had sent us to him on for his birthday. He was so happy. He was super excited when we told him it was my birthday that day. The Elders taught a wonderful lesson on the blessings of being a member of the church. I felt impressed and bore my testimony in Russian to Sister Lydia. There was a wonderful spirit there. I think we will become great

I asked the missionaries if I could accompany them on teaching appointments. So I have been on three so far. The first one was at the church with Elders Klemetson & Nilsson. They taught 1 Sister & 1 Young Women. Both members. It was service.

On Tuesday I went with Elder's DeLaMare & Spencer to Sister Roxanna's home. She is from Armenia. She has been a member a couple of years, and her daughter Dianna was also the young women we taught on Sunday. They live in a tiny apartment, about the size of my hallway back home. She fixed tons of food for us. Her husband is not a member and her nephew & friend were there. They are not members.