Prague Again

We were asked to take a passport to Prague to get a visa put in it and we were to wait there until it was compleated. Great!! So we left early on a Wednesday and came home later on Thursday. Prague was just as beautiful the second time. This time we rented earphones and had a self guided tour inside the Prague Palace and surrounding buildings. The passport was compleated later on Wednesday night so we had to stay until Thursday.
This time it was my turn to be in front of the cathedral. It was warmer outside than it was inside the cathedral. How did they enjoy church when it was so cold inside!

We were walking aroung the Golden Lane in the old city right by the cathedral and found this little place that served food. We were still very cold from being inside the cathedral so we went in and had hot chocolate and french fries! They were soooo good!

Mud Puddles

After FREEZING cold temperatures we have been told that spring will come. However, the snow has to melt and there is no place for the icy cold water to go, therefore we get great BIG puddles of water. There are puddles EVERYWHERE we walk. The snow melts during the day and then the puddles are frozen during the night. If the puddle is deep it will only freeze on top so we could skate across the top (too dangerous) or fall in (this is not an option) or walk around even if it means going way out into the street! Nothing will stop a Russian.
This is a puddle we have grown fond of. Yes, it has been bigger. There is one just like it on the other side of the street and many more every where we go. This is a great adventure!

This puddle is a park just up from the metro (the last stop on the green line). There is a new mall with a food court on the third floor that looks out onto this park (puddle). I wonder if there is grass and if it will grow? Patience, spring is out there somewhere!

Womens Day

Womens Day is a holiday. There is also a man's day that is called Defender Of The Nation Day. It is also a holiday but we were in Prague on that holiday. I think Womens Day is sort of like mothers day but not on a Sunday. We were invited to one of the branches party to celebrate on a Saturday evening. The holiday was on the folowing Monday. At the party there was a play titled the Frog Princess. It was taken from a fairy tale and very cute. There were also some musical numbers. There were two men that each sang beautiful songs and then a group of sisters that sang some fun folk songs. They were great. The sisters were some of the same sisters that sang at the service project. There was dinner with blenies and then we were taught a fun dance. Yes, we all danced. It was a great evening.
This is the sisters singing some of the fun folk songs. The accordian adds so much to the music.

Elder Dunn and Sister Gale doing a fun skit. Notice the shoes. They are a poor mans woven shoes.

The blue "gifts" are little towels for each sister. The men made them by finishing off the edges of each towel. The blue print is called Gzhel. It is a traditional print and very beautiful. There is a factory just outside of Moscow that makes white porcelin dishes with similar blue hand painted designs.

This is Alene Overly and her husband. It was her birthday so they put this "hat" or "crown" on her head for her to wear for the evening. All the sisters were given "collars" to dress up in for the dance. We had a great time!

Lev Simkin / Dr. Woubeshet Legal Counsel

We had lunch at cafe Pushkin. It was delicious! We went with Lev Simkin who is the Church's local attorney for Russian. He is not a member of the Church but is very kind and really looks out for the Church. He knows many people in high places and know who to talk to get things done. He is Russian and speaks English with a heavy Russian accent. Dr. Woubeshet and his daughter Mastwal were also at the lunch with us. Dr. Woubeshet has a very interesting story. He is from Ethiopia. One of the Church's missionaries was in jail in Ethiopia because of visa problems and they needed someone to get him out. Someone from the church called Dr. Woubeshet and begged him to help. He replied that he was too busy. Then when the caller was almost in tears, Dr. Woubeshet's heart was touched and decided to help. He had never done any work for the Church before this and was not a member. He looked into the visa problem and found out that the missionary had payed for a multiple entry visa but was given a single entry visa by mistake. Dr. Woubeshet told the government officials that it was not the young missionaries fault but that it was the clerks fault . Jail is NOT a place anyone wants to be in Africa. The missionary was released. Dr. Woubeshet was so impressed with the people and the feelings they had for each other he decided to investigate the church. He was baptized a few months later. The day after his Baptism he left for a trip to Egypt and Russia. We had lunch with him only a couple of weeks after his baptism. He is now one of the attorneys for the Church in Ethiopia.
Jim - Lev Simkin - Dr. Woubeshet - Mastwal - I keep forgetting when we go places we are supposed to check our coats in a room in the basement (or ground floor). There is usually a Babushka there to take them. I have tried to take a picture of the babushkas and they shake their head and put their hands up. Also, everyone in Russia carries two bags. The men carry a "man purse" over their shoulder and also a plastic bag full of lunch or shoes, or papers, or something. So at this restaurant (and I am sure all of the nice restaurants) there is a little stool or table (about 12 inches high and about as big as a legal note pad) that is there just to put a bag or a purse on to keep it clean and off the floor. The waiter will pull the little stool right next to you for you to use. This is a very good idea because of all the snow and mud that is tracked in on shoes. Also, there is someone ALWAYS mopping up the floor in EVERY building ALL of the time. After lunch, Lev Simkin took Jim and I to a museum about Russian history. We both really enjoyed it very much.

We took Dr. Woubeshet and his daughter Mastwal to Conference with us the next day. We met them at the metro stop and walked over to the Central building. He was amazed to see so many people at the meeting. I'm sure he had not been to a conference, just a branch meeting. We got him a Book of Mormon in Russian for him to read. I also had one of the missionaries give Mastwal a Book of Mormon in Russian for her to read. She is not a member of the church. She wants to have discussions in the fall after school and after her trip to Virginia. I was talking to Mastwal after the meeting and she said, "all of the people are so happy!" She was amazed at all of the visiting and laughing that was going on before and after the meeting. We will help her make arrangements for her visa to travel to the United States.

This is the coat room at the church. No, there is not a cute little babushka there to take our coats in an orderly fashion. We were some of the first people there so our coats are under all of these coats. The walk way between the racks is big enough for two or three people to walk down on this end. No room now! There are about ten coats under every coat we see here. Dr. Woubeshet took a picture because he had never seen so many coats and people before. We decided to take one too!