Well, we are back in Tomsk. This city is green and beautiful. You would never guess that it could be so green compared to so cold and white. I think that 17 hours of daylight could have something to do with this huge transformation, but we'll take the sunshine when we can get it. Life here is back to missionary standards for sure and we were thrilled to find upon our return that we had NO hot water and NO hot shower after our long trip. (Turned off from 5/8 - 6/7) So that hits today's news headlines.
#3 NO HOT WATER: Well, FYI the hot water in Russia is piped through these huge pipes that are 3-4 feet in diameter and run all over the city in pairs. One for cold, one for hot. There is a lot of repairs that need to be done on the hot water pipes. So they turn off the hot water once each summer and fix the pipes. So don't even worry about it, we will have hot water supposedly on June 7th. I've seen them work and hope that it only takes one month! Moral of the story is: Never take for granted your very own hot water heater. They are SO awesome! Many of the older wooden houses carry their water from these community wells. . . so it could be worse. We've found you can get clean with a few teapots of boiling water and a pan to mix it with cold and a glass jar for pouring . . . any other suggestions?
#2 SOME OF THE 10 TRIBES: We were meeting with a few of our youth this week and learned that one of them that is wanting to go on a mission is not able to receive her patriarchal blessing yet. I don't know if she will make it on this year's list of 11 that can. (again, one more thing not to take for granted) The other youth is of the tribe of Dan. Pretty awesome.
#1 PRESIDENT GALBRAITH'S BACK: We had a super boost at this week's fireside. A former mission president to this mission is now the Kiev Temple President. He wanted to return to each of his former cities and invite the saints to come to the temple. He told of the history in Tomsk 1998, which is when he was wanting to open up this city for the work, and was advised to start elsewhere, but came here anyway. He said he had a special feeling about Tomsk, and now we have a beautiful chapel here, one of the only 2 in our mission. The chapel was filled that night and we had a beautiful choir. It was quite a testimony of the miracles that can happen when God's plan is followed. He said, "Look at you now, look at you now!" It was very tender. He also spoke of many of the congregation's ancestors that have prayed for someone to accept the gospel and do their temple work for them. There will someday soon be a flood of that work that needs to be completed. Their turn will come at last!
Our love and blessings to you all.
Elder & Sister, Ma & Pa, John & Marsha Aland
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