Couples Conference in Lithuania

The Europe East area, of which Russia is a part, is the largest mission area in the church. (That should be no surprise considering how large Russia, alone, is.) In addition to all of Russia it includes the fromer USSR states and Armenia and Bulgaria. Last week we attended an area conference for CES couple missionaries, which was held in Lithuania. There were 11 couples there and 3 more couples in Ukraine who were not able to attend because of recent changes in their visa regulations. (Remember that this included only those whose calling is Church Education System or Seminaries and Institutes, as it is also called.) We flew to Lithuania, via Moscow, on turbo prop planes. Almost couldn't believe our eyes. Earlier a couple of our Russian friends had asked us which airline we were going on. When we replied they exchanged knowing smiles and one of them said, "Ah, that's the one we call Russian Roulette!" That was a bit unnerving.

We stayed in a very nice hotel in a quaint, old town which had the obligatory ancient fortress/castle, which you find in most every European city. Our conference was good -- very instructive and uplifting and inspiring. It is really good to rub shoulders with others who are out doing the same sort of thing you are doing. It helps to share experiences.

We arrived back in St. Petersburg around 11:00 pm and were met at the airport by our branch president, who moonlights as a taxi driver. On the way back to our apartment he drove us by this very unique church pictured here, and because we are now right in the middle of White Nights, I was able to take this picture at midnight with no special timing or lighting. This church is very un-Russian. It was built in the Neo-Gothic style for Catherine the Great just as a little, whimsical church where she could stop over on her way from one palace to another.

Yesterday we attended a baptism of a young lady who will be in the branch we attend. She has been taught by several sets of missionaries over several years and finally felt the spirit testify to her of the need for baptism by authority. A baptism here is a wonderful thing. They are rather few and far between in this country. (Our whole mission only had 44 baptisms last year.) The elders and sisters work so hard but find their greatest success in re-activating young members. One of our greatest concerns is keeping especially the young people active. Even many returned missionaries are inactive within a year or so because of the pressures of living in this culture. Hence, the great need for a strong Institute of Religion program. These young adults are where the future of the church lies. We found at the couples conference that our situation here in St. Petersburg was the envy of the other couples because we are just embarking upon opening a real Institute Center, which will be open for a portion of every day to attract the young people there. The only other centers like this are in Armenia and in Moscow (althought there is no couple there at the present time). We are excited about the opportunity ahead of us in setting up this Center and establishing a curriculum that will entice the young single adults to gather there for classes and social interaction. We keep being told that our main objective should be to get the kids to get married (in the temple, of course).