We want to talk to everyone we meet

When we returned from Magadan we attended a baptism the next day. This was a sweet lady that Alice loves (and she loves Alice). Her name is Valentina and she is from Artyom. She was baptized in the ocean by Elder Roberts. On Sunday Allie and I travel a little over an hour to attend and support the church in Artyom. So it was great to be able to attend her baptism.

Here is Elder Roberts with Valentina. It was Elder Roberts birthday. He not only got to baptize her but he got to enjoy the "warm ocean water". The ice has been off now for at least a month or more!!!

This is the big sign letting you know you have arrived in Vladivostok Russia. It also lets you know that their mortar isn't the best. Notice the missing stones laying on the ground. Yeah, someone will be by later to pick that up......

I told you we talk to everyone!!!!!

More of Magadan (out of order...of course)

Beautiful downtown Magadan. They love to plant flowers. The city is quite clean.

This young lady's name is Tonya. She is 19 years old and had been a member of the church in Magadan since she was 12 years old. There is no organized branch of the church here. She has been meeting with other members in their homes or at a rented space for 7 years. She reads the scriptures to feed herself spiritually. That makes me not want to take any meetinghouse for granted. We met with the members on Thursday night and had a fireside meeting. Eleven people were there. You know the saying...where ever two or three are gathered. Well it holds true for Magadan. We had a wonderful, spirit-filled meeting with these fantastic pioneers.

This is the little girl under the Savior on the back side of the "Mask of Sorrows" monument. Someone placed a flower in her arms.

This is a massive metal figure of the Savior on the cross. He suffered more then all.

This picture gives you a better idea of the scale of the whole monument. That is Allie and I at the level of the little child. Double click to see it a little larger.

Side trip to Magadan

This is the mask of sorrows. It sits high on a hill overlooking the city. It seems that millions of people were killed by Stallin and this is a memorial. Magadan is known for a place of imprisonment. Up the stairs that Allie and I are on is a door that opens into a replica of a jail cell. On the back side of this monument is a depiction of the Savior with a child crying beneath him. It is a very moving place. Very hard, coarse, and stark. It makes one ponder how fortunate we are to not have lived during such a time of oppression.

Some day I will figure out how to download in order. This is our departure for Magadan from the Vladivostok airport.

Here we are arriving in Magadan with Elder DeLaMare one of the assistants to the President. Notice the "bus" back to the terminal is a horse trailer with windows pulled by an old truck. Yup, it is pretty rustic....but quaint.

Here we are arriving in Magadan on June 24th. Yes that is still snow on the hills.

Just a picture of the sky enroute. It was beautiful to travel there. The flight is 3 1/2 hours due north from Vladivostok. It was in the 50's when we got there. In the winter it is -50 C. Yes that will freeze just about anything or anybody.

This is that incredible line of people that goes and goes. Actually that little white van is called a microbus. The ettiquete here is you wait and take your turn to get on the little bus after it stops at the head of the line. You would be amazed to see how many people can get into one little bus. All you need is a little music and a few clowns and you feel like your at the circus.

This one is for brother Taylor. Check out the spelling on the sign. If you double click on the picture it will be big enough to read. 3 people fit comfortably into this elevator. Yeah, you guessed it....many more can cram in until the alarm goes off that says it is to heavy for it to work.

I thought you would get a kick out of the "English" on the sign. Note not the 3rd floor but the 3 ed floor. It makes sense if you speak with a Russian accent. This is from the hotel we stayed at and the people that worked there were so nice to us.

This is the "disinfected" label on the toilet in our room. Note the small little Russian word that means "disinfected". By the time you read, look up in your dictionary, and decipher the word you really don't care because by now you really have to go!!!

This is the best picture I could take of the public "floor" toilet at the church rented building in Artyom. What you don't get is the smell. Yeah, sorry for the graphic nature of this post. But if you knew Alice you could just imagine what she is saying as she utilizes the facilities. It goes something like, "Oh my, Oh my, Oh my" (no swearing just a repetitive string of Oh my). Artyom is a wonderful little branch. Wonderful, loving people and some great missionaries to work with.

We have arrived in Vladivostok

A beautiful cake for the Strawderman's last day at the office. They will be missed by all!!

The office staff, from left to right Vera, Tatiana, Tatiana. The Tatiana on the far right is a surgeon however, she earns more as an assistant to Vera then she did as a surgeon. Yes, I know that doesn't seem possible.

Here are the Strawderman's getting ready to head home. They did everything. The were Humanitarian missionaries that helped as fill-in Church Education missionaries, regular proselyting missionaries, and as the office couple that took all of the elders on their trips to Korea, Prague, Estonia, etc. for their VISA renewals. In addition, they served as the office couple. As I said, they did it all and they did it so well. We have big shoes to fill!

A pretty little garden spot just outside our apartment door in Vladivostok

The view outside our office window. This is a pretty good sized bus stop. What you can't hear is all of the horns honking. The fact that it is close to our building is great for getting around. Especially if we have bad weather.