9 June 2012

Dear Comrades,

It is a beautiful evening in Moscow--70 degrees, mostly clear, the air is fresh and the crows are crowing.  But, the morning started full of rain, wind and cold.  The oldsters had planned to visit the Tsar's wooden palace this morning, but the rain deterred we fair-weather tourists.  It's probably a good thing we did not make the trip.  I think we would have overwhelmed the handicapped facilities at the park. (Wait!  There are no handicapped facilities in Russia.  What would we have done?! )

It's also a good thing I did not go because I had to work most of the morning.  Today was the start of the annual Area Review. That is a program in which three senior brethren from SLC go out to the hinterlands and, (mirable dictu!) review things.  The three-some for this year, for us, consists of Elder D. Todd Christofferson, President Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Gary Stevenson, the new Presiding Bishop.

In our case those three general authorities met my three general authorities in Kiev, Ukraine yesterday.  They held a 1/2 Area priesthood leadership meeting this afternoon that was broadcast from Kiev to every country (about ten in the Area) except Russia.  (Russian will get its P'hood leadership meeting next Saturday, broadcast from Moscow.)

The reach of these broadcasts is amazing.  Today's only spanned three or four time zones, from the three Baltic States to Bulgaria, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, and Turkey.  Next week's will cover all of Russia, seven time zones from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.

After being together in Kiev today the six brethren will split into three pairs and start traveling in different directions.  President Schwitzer and Elder Christofferson will do tonight to Moscow and then to St. Petersburg in the morning. One pair will go to Riga, Latvia and one pair will stay in Kiev.  By the time they are done they will have been to every country in the Area except Georgia and Belarus.

They all will eventually make their ways to Moscow, so that by next Friday we will have the 'real' Area Review which consists of an all day meeting in our offices at which the visitors are shown what the Area presidents think they would like to know about the Area.  There will be morning briefings by the three presidents, and the afternoon a parade of Area staff folks explaining the state of things in Legal, Public Affairs, Temporal Affairs, Church History, Family History, Medical, and internet initiatives.  I am supposed to make all this work, but the real test will be Sister Johnson feeding lunch to six general authorities and two other brethren:  me and the DTA.  If that goes well, the whole thing will get an A grade and we will be able to keep our jobs, and Sister Johnson will come down from the rafters.

Last Saturday we went looking, at Travis' behest, for Fyodor (Theodore) Dostoevsky's boyhood home--which (mirable dictu) we were able to find.

A flying rat, eating the bread crumbs we left behind in the hope that we could use them to find our way home.  (Somebody has taken up smoking.)

Maybe our bread crumb tactic would have worked better if we had not spread them so widely.

Travis on one of the longest escalators I have ever been on. 

You remember a couple of weeks ago I showed you the billboard announcing that Sting was coming to town?  We round him on the escalator.

Proof that we were there.  His dad was a doctor working in a poor-person's hospital.  Their home was attached to the hospital.  The joint dates from the early 1800's and is still running.

The gate appeared to be locked, but the guide book said they should be open for business.

Brother Walker, being an attorney saw no problem with trying to break and enter.  We subsequently found that the operators had closed the latch but had not intended to deter visitors.  We got to see the house and contents.  It was interesting.

This is the hospital and Mr. D.'s statue.  I think Crime and Punishment is one of his works.  His hands are clasped oddly.

Travis is trying to mimic the great writer.  He (Mr. D.) left this home at 16 because his dad was unkind.   

We then took another run to Sparrow Hill where we had such a good time a couple of months ago with Earth Day, the dozens of motorcycles, etc.  This 'Discovery Park' (shout out to Becky and Rod) was between the metro and the Hill.  Marlene was impressed.

We have now reached the top of the hill and can see some weddings in progress.  This bright young man was able to attach flowers to his Mini-Cooper, or whatever it is.  The flowers are held on in little bottles with those rubber suction cup sticky thingees that you use to keep scripturess on your refrigerator.

Moscow State in the background.  A bride en route to Sparrow Hill.

Closer, closer.

Ah, the prize (for the guy.)  A chance to watch the RC cars!  (Poor bride.)  He looked about 16.

The forest we walked through on the way back to the Metro.

President and Sister Schwitzer getting ready for the farewell party.  Olga in the background is doing a strange Russian pre-party hair thing.

The entire presidency, waiting with great anticipation for the Russian play about to unfold.
Clocks in the background telling what time it is across the Area.

A newly built home with a mouse, a mosquito, a hare, a fox, a wolf, and a bear on his way to messing things up.  I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why the play's director would pick Alexander for the part of the bear. 

The former house-dwellers singing to the president and his wife.
I think it was Stairway to Heaven, but in Russian.

Parting gifts--a shawl and a book on Russian history and art.

We have learned that a finely made shawl  can be passed through a wedding ring.

This was a bitter-sweet party.  President and Sister Schwitzer have served wonderfully in Russia and have been very kind to us.  We will miss them greatly.

Olga (right) is going to the England London Mission in October.

Marina is the Liahona Director and party and play organizer extraordinaire.