Things are happening

Boy, we have caused a stir around here. It seems the Area Presidency really wants the youth emphasized. So all of a sudden, two weeks ago in our church meeting, which meets at our intitute building on Sundays, the Branch President gets up and announces that the branch is moving to another building on June 14th because this building is to be a youth center. So we will now start having a family home evening on Monday, classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and the building will be open all week long for the youth to come and study, play games, socialize, and talk. This will begin in about two weeks. I thought they might wait until January when a new building is to be finished, but, just like that, they are gone. That means instead of a 15 minute walk to church, it will now be two twenty minute walks and a metro ride, but that is ok, as we now have our own building to decorate and supervise. We have about 70 active youth and hope to get that over a hundred before we leave. We are also going to work with the missionaries to contact all the return missionaries who have gone inactive.

Two weeks ago we started a family home evening for any youth who did not have a regular home evening they were attending. We had two Elders and two youth show up the first night. This past Monday we had two Elders, six youth and us, so it is progressing. One of the six was a non-member. We will miss the next Monday as we will be in Lithuania at our convention but another missionary couple will hold it for us.

I am constantly amazed at the many things there are to see here. Two weeks ago we went up north with the other two couples to the very old city of Vyborg. It was full of history and historic buildings including a fortress that was built to stop any invasion. The top of this place was 240 steps straight up. Sweden built the original town and then it became Finnish and now Russian, since World War II. The next Saturday we are going to Peterhof. It has famous fountains and is a palace. I am sure by the time we leave, there will not be a palace or cathedral we haven't visited. And there are a huge number of them around. The picture below is looking through an old, bombed-out building in Vyborg to the clock tower beyond, which still has a working clock. There was a young man dressed as a monk standing there showing people around and telling the history.

It is facinating to be around these people. To think, when I was in grade school we were being taught to hate the Russians and that they were going to bomb us at any time. Now we look at them with such different eyes and wish somehow we could get them all to listen to the message we have for them. That will get better for us as the language becomes better.