Church in Russia

January-May, 2017

Church in Russia

     Ivy and I enjoyed living in China so much that we wanted to have a similar experience again, and so we began searching for one. 

     In October we decided to ask if there were any more openings for the following semester for ILP, the program we went through to go to China and teach English. They quickly offered us a spot in Russia for me to be a head teacher. Ivy and I prayed about it, and fasted, and we both felt as if it was right, as long as we did what was right and went to as many temples as possible while there. It was odd, because neither one of us wanted to go to Russia, ever, but after praying about it, it felt right. We know our prayers are always answered.

     Russia! Never had either one of us wanted to go to Russia, and never imagined we would, but then a few months later, exactly a month after we got back from China, we were on a plan to Moscow. It was quite a long flight but very comfortable. The food was great and we even got ice cream! 

     We landed in Moscow with the entire group, were met by Zhana, the secretary from the school we were going to teach at, and then we climbed into a van with some Russians. 

     The van ride was crazy, because an hour into it the van broke down. We were then towed for a while, then a new van was brought, which towed the old van. It also happened to be a freezing cold day, which was expected since we were in Russia in January, but we didn't have a heater and so we were frozen and tired. 

     We eventually got to Voronezh, the city where we would be teaching. It was suppose to be a five hour drive, but it ended up being twelve hours. It was quite the experience for the first day in Russia. 

     We were now in Russia, and we knew not why. We hoped we had made the right decision and we were a little nervous at first, but after the first week there we got settled in and realized we would love the experience. 

     Now moving forward to our first Sunday in Russia! It was quite different than church in China or anywhere else. 

     Our coordinator first told us how to get to Church. He's a member and so that made it more simple in talking about the Church and how to get there. 

     We met with other girls in our group, on a -5 degree sunny morning, and then walked to the bus stop. It's the same roughly at home sometimes, but we don't sit and wait for a bus for twenty minutes outside back home. 

     We saw the missionaries and that was a comforting sight. They don't wear their name tags outside of Church, but you can just tell by looking at them that they were missionaries, even under all their layers. 

     They showed us which bus to get on and then we hopped on with them. A few stops later we got to our stop. It was a five minute walk and we were at the Church. 

     Now this wasn't any regular Church building, this was different and wonderful with a neat story behind it. As we walked up to the building we were all surprised to hear that it was the Church! It was a bright yellow building, two floors tall, with large pillars out front. 

     This building apparently used to be an old Soviet Union theater with a bomb shelter included in the basement. It was bought by the Church and remodeled. It was surprising because from what we've heard all other Churches in Russia were small and quaint, yet this one was large and grand. Compared to the living rooms we met in in China this was marvelous!  

     We hurried and took a picture as our hands numbed. We then cleaned our shoes off (Russians love and require clean shoes), and walked inside. It felt more like a Victorian style home, with a high ceiling, pillars, and beautiful crown moulding. 

     We talked with the missionaries for a bit, and of course one was related to the Atkinsons in Kamas. No surprise there that we made some connection. It was fun to talk to them.

     The missionaries had a small miracle that day; an investigator showed up randomly. He had talked to missionaries over a year ago, and finally decided to go to Church and try it out. It was great to see him enjoy church, and during our stay in Russia he continued to go and was talking of baptism before we left. 

     Now for an entertaining part of the day: We sat down for sacrament and the meeting began. It was in Russian of course, but luckily the missionaries were kind enough to sit behind us and translate everything that was said. 

     Suddenly the missionary translating said that we needed to go up and talk about ourselves and bear our testimonies. We all thought he was kidding, but the entire congregation was staring at us! So I jumped up and went to the pulpit. A lady, who is a scholar at translating, and even translated Jesus The Christ into Russian, translated for us. It was fun to talk, hear her translate, and then talk again. 

     Ivy bore her testimony, saying she knew we were here for a purpose. I strongly believed that, and knew we were there for a reason. 

     It was interesting having the rest of the day be in Russian with missionaries translating for us. The Russian language is somewhat harsh, and often we thought people were in an argument, but they weren't, they were just talking. 

     It was also neat to see a new member of the church receive the Aaronic Priesthood. During the prayer and other prayers, we don't know what was said, but we could feel it. I will admit it was hard paying attention at some points, not knowing the language and all, but it was still such a great experience. 

     We had a great day that first Sunday and we all felt the spirit there in that branch that day. We tried to go every Sunday to Church and only missed one or twice and that was while we were traveling. It was one of the best and friendliest wards we had ever been in. 

     Nearly every week a few times a week there was something going on at the church. There were dinners, movies nights, institute, volleyball and much more. We were constantly there and making friends. We also found out later that one of the ladies there knew my cousin Colby who served his mission in Russia. She remembers being a kid and him teaching her and her family. It's awesome to see how the world is so small when you're a member. 

     Some of the best friends we made there were the missionaries, who were nice to talk to since they knew perfect English. We played activities with them often and had a blast, and still we keep in contact with them over Facebook. 

      It's amazing to see how the Church is the same no matter where we go. The Church is undoubtedly true, and the members are the greatest. It was sad to say goodbye when we left, for the Voronezh Branch is what we would miss the most.