Miriad of Activities

 Sunday Dinners

Two Sundays during the month we have the missionaries to dinner and the other Sundays we invite branch members.  This is Nurzia (on right) with her daughter Mira and Mira's daughter Merey.  Djastalap, Nurzia's husband, didn't come because he was helping our Elder's Quorum President do some projects in his apartment.

This is the Vanner family.  We rent the car from them.  We had them to dinner in July and they returned the favor and invited us a few weeks ago.  Gosha (on the right) was to be in the MTC on the 4th of September, but the Church is having problems getting his visa.  Alyona, Gosha's fiance', is waiting for her call.  We understand it's in the mail.  Sergey, the father, is not a member.  Ina, the mother, is a little dynamo.  She is early morning seminary teacher (over the  internet), Primary President and Choir accompanist and leader.  Masha is 14 and a delight.  Seva is the youngest and a fun little boy.

 Picking Apples
The first counselor in our branch presidency has an apple orchard in addition to both he and his wife working.  He came to town early Saturday morning and took some of the missionaries and we took the rest and went out to his orchard, about an hour and a half away.  Sisters Talakh and Nelson had gone to Astana to help them with registering their branch with the government.  We picked the golden delicious apples, emptied them on the ground and then put them in crates later.

 Young Women Activity

The YW had a cupcake decorating activity.  From the left are Masha, Astique, Nursulu and Armenui.  Astique and Armenui are sisters.  The YW had weekly activities during August.  Now that school has started they will have them only twice a month.

 They did a beautiful job on these cupcakes.  Anne has been doing training with the new YW presidency and they invited her to the activity.  At the end they presented her with two cupcakes and a card expressing their appreciation for all her training efforts.

Sabina was set apart for her mission and asked the two of us to be there since her parents couldn't because they were working.  We were honored to provide support for her.

First Music Night

Sister Blomquist came up with the idea of having a music night.  We have a very musically talented group of missionaries in Almaty right now.  The following pictures are of our missionaries that participated in this first event.  Here Sister Williams is playing the guitar and singing.

 Sister Nelson played a flute solo and accompanied several others on the piano.

 Elder Beckh and Sister Blomquist sang a duet.  Both |Elder Hansen and Sister Talakh have wonderful voices and will be presenting at the next music night.

 Murat, one of our guests, got up and danced to "Let it be" doing some Elvis type moves.  Then, he extended his hand to Anne and got her up and danced some swing with her.  Rick is so sorry that the video of Anne's dance with Murat didn't turn out.  Anne was very relieved.  The woman on the right was also a guest and had her young daughter with her.

 Alexey, another guest, is pictured here with Elder Beckh.  He works basically one month on and one month off.  When he is off, he spends a lot of time with our missionaries.  He lived for 3 years in England and speaks with a British accent, which Rick really enjoys.  He came to our English Club when we were able to have it.  He's also an amateur photographer so we have him take pictures of branch activities.

 Birthdays

It was not only Anne's birthday on Sunday, the 9th, but it was Elder Hansen's as well.  When Anne opened the door, she was so pleased to see what Sisters Williams and Blomquist had left for her.

 Sisters Talakh and Nelson came by later in the morning, surprised her, and gave her these three, very large, long stemmed roses.  She had to shorten the stems because we don't have a vase to put the long stems in.

 Rick also bought flowers for her and gave them to her Saturday night.

 Elder Hansen's Birthday

We celebrated Elder Hansen's birthday on Sunday night by inviting the missionaries over for cake and ice cream just before they went in for the night.  Anne secretly found out that Elder Hansen really liked German Chocolate cake.  She couldn't find German chocolate so she baked her very good chocolate cake and put the typical coconut, pecan special frosting on it.  Elder Hansen was very happy!  After three tries to blow the candles out, the other elders helped him.

Elder Hansen turned 20 and said he felt old.  Anne turned 71 and said she felt young again.
















Anne's Birthday Celebration

 Anne asked to take the missionaries to dinner for her birthday present.  On Monday, we took them up the gondola ride to the hill overlooking Almaty, next to the TV tower (in the background) is a restaurant overlooking the city.  Most of them ordered steak and said it was the best they'd ever had.  Starting with Rick in back, Anne, Elders Hansen and Beckh, Sisters Talakh, Nelson, Williams, Blomquist, and Elder Brinton.

Sister Blomquist made a very good chocolate cake and the sisters filled the top with candles.  Anne blew them out with one try.

The elders gave Anne this two hump camel and the sisters gave her the Kazakh female to accompany the male that Rick had been given for his birthday a few days earlier.  Now Rick thinks he can say he's ridden a camel.

    

Kazakh Countryside

Young Single Adults
We hosted a social for the young single adults in the branch, but most of them had to work or couldn't make it.  We had lots of fun playing games with (from left) Katia, Gosha and Alyona.  Gosha is leaving in September for a mission to the NY NYC Mission.  He and Alyona became engaged recently and she is planning to leave in January to serve a mission.  There were 9 YSAs from the branch who attended a YSA conference in Russia the week after this party.

Branch Lake Service Project/Picnic
The branch arranged for a large bus to take members, missionaries and non-members to a large lake (Kapshguy) about an hour and half north of Almaty so we could pick up trash and clean the beach.  There were about 30 people who attended.  Elder Nalimov, in the blue head kerchief and Sister Nelson, right, were good helpers.  They had already emptied their bags once.  As you can see, there were some pretty full bags after they finished this section.

Baktiar and Farida drag a full bag across the beach to be emptied.  Rick is on the right, just coming back from dumping our bag.  We all worked for over two hours and the difference was amazing to all who watched.

There weren't any picnic facilities, so we made do with what we had.  Beginning left, Sisters Nelson and Talakh, Elder Nalimov and Sister Blomquist helped prepare salads for the lunch.

Andrea (leaning over the pot), the Elders Quorum President was in charge of making plove, a rice/carrot/meat dish.  It was all done over an open fire in a huge cast iron pot.  It took about 4 hours for everything to cook, but was really worth the wait.  It was some of the best plove we've eaten.

We couldn't resist showing the innovative wind shield the brethren put up.  They found this old car hood and a piece of old rebar and were able to keep the wind from blowing the fire out.  Sister Talakh can be seen on the left.

At the end of a long, hot day, the group gathered for pictures.  There were lots of sunburns to go along with all the smiles and happiness we enjoyed together.  One of the sisters bought baseball caps which Rick and Anne were happy to use.  In addition, Anne used her rain umbrella as a shield from the sun, but still got some sunburn.

P-Day in the Mountains

The missionaries arranged for a tour of several interesting sites in the mountains east of Almaty.  The first stop was an ostrich farm.  Several branch members came and a former missionary and his family were visiting, so they came also.  Rick lifted Badar up so he could get a better look at the ostrich.

The next stop was near a raging river.  Elder Beckh couldn't resist climbing out on a limb over the river.  Anne was very nervous, but managed to take this shot.  We were all relieved when he was back on solid ground safely.

Another highlight was climbing up an unimproved, steep, steep path to view a waterfall.  Rick and Anne made it up about halfway (about a half hour climb) and then decided to take their time getting back down.  This little waterfall along the path was good enough for them.

The last stop was the beautiful lake nestled in the tops of the mountains.  We ate lunch and enjoyed the scenery and the peaceful surroundings.

This mama donkey came running down the road looking for her little colt.  A young boy had come by with the colt earlier.  He was training it for trail rides.  Her braying could be heard all over the valley.

A young boy came back up the road riding this donkey at a gallop.  On this trip, we saw several donkey carts hauling goods to market or taking people back home from the little towns we passed.

Before we left, we took a group picture.  It was a fun day for all of us.  The mountains were beautiful and cool and the company was the BEST!

Rick's Birthday!

The morning of Rick's birthday, we walked out the door for our morning jaunt and all these cute posters were taped around the doorstep.  The thoughtful sister missionaries remembered his day and wanted to let him know how special he is to them.  The Elders presented a creative birthday card to him later in the day.  We are so blessed to serve with these amazing servants of God.

All the missionaries joined us in the evening to celebrate Rick's birthday.  We enjoyed blueberry pie (Rick would rather have that than cake) and ice cream together and sang Happy Birthday with lots of enthusiasm.  This was the big 7-0 and will be a treasured memory.
(From left back:  Elder Brinton, Sister Nelson, Rick, Elders Hansen and Beckh.  From left front: Sisters Williams, Talakh and Blomquist.) Elder Nalimov had left that day after serving faithfully for two years.

Hodge Podge

Founder's Meeting

The Church's charter as a religious organization expires at the end of October,  therefore, we got involved in a rechartering process.  This involved getting 50 Almaty citizens, members and non-members, to sign a document saying that they favored the Church being in Almaty.  A Founder's Meeting was held with an announcement of officers and people came up afterwards and signed the document.

Imangaziev Family to Dinner

Myrat was the branch president here before President Dautov.  He now serves as 1st counselor.  This family was the first Kazakh family baptized.  Maxat, back left, is a returned missionary and going to school at BYU Hawaii.  He was just married here and then sealed in the temple in Hawaii.  Sabina, back right, goes into the MTC on Sept 4th and is going to the Temple Square Mission in Salt Lake City.

Sisters Help Bake Pinch-Me-Cake

Sisters Talakh and Williams wanted to come over and learn to make rolls.  After the dough was ready, they decided to make Pinch-Me-Cake instead.  Since it was P-Day, the Elders came also and it was all gone before they left for the day.  Wow, it was good!!!

Our Morning Walk

As we start out our morning walk, we are often greeted by one or the other of the security guards for the building.  Sultan (pronounced Sooltan), left, is the head guard and Islam is his assistant.

Next we see the maintenance man who sweeps up the street in front of our building.  He is very good with his long, straw broom. He always has a smile and is tickled to see us.  He often giggles when we talk to him.  We gave him an English Club flyer.  We hope to see him there some day.

Next, just on the corner, before we cross the street to Ramstore, is a dedushka (grandpa) who is selling his home-grown produce.  We buy from him frequently.  He also always smiles and waves to us.

This is one of our favorites.  This little babushka (grandmother) sells apples, flowers and booties that she knits while she sits there.  You can see them on the sidewalk.  We have bought several pair for baby gifts to be given in the branch.  We bought apples from her once and Anne baked an apple crisp and took her a serving.  She was very tickled and shared it with those that sell around her.  She waves at us with both hands and has a big smile for us when we walk by.  She tells us, "Thank you!" in English.

On the other side of Ramstore, as we walk down the street toward the park, we greet the grounds keepers, Ngman, left, and Balzhan.  Balzhan always shakes Rick's hand, both coming and going to the park.  We are only able to exchange greetings.  We alternate between Russian, Kazakh and English.  They were surpised the other day when they asked us in Russian, "How are you?" and we replied, "Jzuksa!" (Kazakh for "good").

On August 3rd, Balzhan stopped us and pointed to his passport with the date of August 3rd on it and saying something about Anglieskey Klub.  We weren't sure what he was saying.  So he pointed down the street and said Anglieskey.  So we followed him and met three ladies (two of them are pictured to the left).  The young one on the right graduated from university a short time ago and knew some English and was interested in coming to English Club.  She asked if she could bring her sister.  We told her, "Of course!"  She then told us that August 3rd is Balzhan's birthday.  We laughed and told him, "Happy Birthday!"  Later that day, we took him some dessert to celebrate.

After we leave them, we walk down through the park which we pictured before in the City of Flowers post.  At the bottom of the park is the entrance to the underground, brand new Almaly Mall.  It is beautiful.  As part of an opening promotion they displayed several trash art sculptures.  This one is a warrior on a horse.  If you look closely you will see that it is made out of old machine parts.  It is pretty cool.

Then, a little further on is this wire sculpture that is also neat to look at.

On the Way to Metro

One day, we missed our turn going to Metro supermarket (like Sam's Club).  No big deal, we decided to take the next turn.  It was just taking two legs of a triangle to get to our destination, instead of one.  Big mistake!  We had to drive through about 4 miles where rennicks lined both sides of the street.  This hadn't been a problem before because it was on a week day.  It was Friday and it was jam packed one both sides of the road.  It took us 30 minutes to make it through this area.

New Sisters

Two new sisters arrived in Almaty on August 2nd.  This is Sister Blomquist and she is  Sister Williams' companion.  She is from Holiday, Utah, and is excited to be here.

Sister Nelson arrived also and is Sister Talakh's companion.  She is from Riverside, California.  She knows Hebrew, is majoring in Ancient Near- Eastern Studies and minoring in archeology.  She has been on a dig in Israel and unearthed a jar herself and helped with an alter.

We feel like our family is now complete with 8 missionaries here in Almaty.

Wedding & Girls Camp

The branch celebrated the wedding of Nastia and Vova.  They were married in a civil ceremony, required by law, with only family and close friends attending.  Two days later, on Saturday, the branch had a wedding party (we would call it a reception) for them.  On Monday they left for Kiev to be sealed in the temple.  At right, they have just arrived at the branch and their nieces and nephews are their attendants.

They were proceeded down the aisle by the nieces who tossed rose petals.  The room was decorated with balloons and bows and flowers.

After we arrived, Rick was asked to perform a ring ceremony and give them a marriage blessing.  He's had lots of experience and did a beautiful job.  Sister Williams (right) and Sabina held the flowered arch for the ceremony.

The stand was decorated with satin covered chairs for the couple and their mothers.  Tamara, the branch Relief Society President  and Vova's mother is on the left and Marianna (right), the first member in Almaty, is Nastia's mother.

There were many dances and musical numbers for everyone to enjoy.  Sister Dautov is performing a traditional Uygur tribal dance.  President Dautov is Uygur.  The young women performed a traditional Kazakh dance and there was a fun line dance as well as dancing for couples. We have posted two videos below of some of the dances.

Vova and Nastia danced to one of our favorites, "Unchained Melody".  The younger children enjoyed blowing bubbles while they danced.  They loved being a part of all the festivities.

After all the dancing and games inside, we went outside to enjoy the refreshments.  The cake was truly a highlight as the sparklers were lit and it looked like it was about to take off in flight.  The evening was cool and pleasant as we ate the wonderful meal and desserts.  It was a perfect party for a perfect couple!

This video is the National Kazakh dance and is being performed by Sister Dautov and Sabina.  It was amazing to watch in person.  Sabina will be serving a mission at Salt Lake Temple Square beginning in September.  Sister Dautov has been teaching Kazakh dances to the young men and women in the branch.  Many of them performed at the celebration before the dedication of the Kiev Temple.

This video shows a traditional wedding dance by the bride and groom.  It was lovely to watch and Rick was especially impressed with Vova's ability.

BIRTHDAYS

We celebrated Elder Beckh and Sister Williams birthdays at English Club.  Their birthdays are two days apart, so we surprised Sister Williams.  All of the English Club participants enjoyed being a part of the fun.  We served cake, which Sister Williams made, and ice cream.  We had celebrated Elder Beckh's birthday at district meeting the day before and enjoyed having his cake after lunch.

YOUNG WOMEN CAMP

Rick and I were asked to go with the girls to their "camp" which was held in the Dautov's country home.  From left are Arina, YW President, her daughter, Deanna, Sabina, 1st Counselor, Austik, Nursulu, Adelia, Armanui and Masha.  Rick and I each did a spiritual presentation and gave the girls gifts to help them remember the things we talked about.  (Austik and Armanui are sisters.)

One of the activities the girls did was a life page.  They selected pictures and embellishments and each made a page of their hopes and dreams.  It was so nice to see the finished products with each girl focusing on being married in the temple, raising righteous children and getting an education.  These are truly exceptional girls who have strong testimonies and set the right example for those around them.  Each of them is very accomplished in their abilities and talents.  Several of them speak very good English so it's nice to be able to communicate with them.

Arina prepared all the food for each meal.  She did such a wonderful job and everything was s-o-o-o good!!  She's promised to teach me how to make plov, a traditional Uzbeki rice dish.  Hers is the best I've ever tasted.  She was so considerate of what Rick and I would eat and planned each meal with things that we could enjoy.  The whole experience was a blessing for us and we appreciated being able to get to know the girls better and also their leaders.


NEW ELDERS ARRIVE

We have been blessed to have two new missionaries join us.  Elder Hansen, from Chicago, above, and Elder Brinton, from Roy, Utah, right, were switched from the Moscow West Mission and have been serving in Novosibirsk.  They bring a fresh approach to the work here and their enthusiasm is catching.  Elder Hansen is the district leader and conducted district meeting the day after he arrived.  We appreciate having them join the other four in trying to build the Lord's kingdom and strengthen the Almaty Branch.