Almaty

We spent half of the week in the city of Almaty which is on the southern border of Kazakhstan. The trip was supposed to be a short one because it was just to go to Zone Conference with our missionaries here in Astana. However, the visa devil struck again and our Mission President and his wife did not get their visa on time and so we had to extend the trip one day. We held the conference on Saturday and it was a good conference. Sister Woolley taught about the pre-earth life and Pres Woolley taught about the history of the Pearl of Great Price. We also did two role plays with Viviane and me answering concerns of someone interested in the Church. The other days were pretty much wasted ... except that we did see 3 funny French movies (dubbed over in Russian). While going to the store I found these flowers that I had never seen before ... wonder what they are!

The other great thing about going to Almaty was that we were able to get a package that had been sent to us by our wonderful friend, Arjeree. She sent it to the mission office in Moscow because we did not believe it would get to us otherwise. Some missionaries coming from Moscow to Almaty brought it with them. What a treat it was for us!! It was full of great surprises and a few items we had asked her to send (since she insisted on sending a package).

Viviane and I both got haircuts before the trip which is not really big news except that Viviane liked hers!! She may have finally found a place to cut her hair and get it the way she likes.

On Monday Viviane was able to Skype her Mom, who is in Tahiti, for the first time. It was so wonderful to see her, talk to her, and spend some time with her. We are so grateful for technology that gives us these special opportunities. Our other Skype event was with Rich Gay who surprised us this morning with a video call. It was fun to hear about his family, our old Stake, and my former group at work.
















A fanciful camel in a park in Astana and a flower clock in Almaty.














Viviane and Elder Jensen try out the shade and some of the skyline of Almaty.

Just a thought .... One of the activities in our Missionary Zone Conference was to think about our own baptism and how we felt that day. I don't remember my baptism! I have asked my parents about it and they don't remember either!! So having failed that part of the assignment I started to think about what baptism means to me. How would I express it to someone in simple terms? Here is what came to my mind ... I was reminded of going to San Francisco on BART and having to go through a very tight turnstile. Once through the turnstile, however, a whole set of new experiences and opportunities were opened to me. Also .... I thought of going through the narrow gate at the amusement park and after having paid the price of admission a wondrous set of opportunities and experiences were available that were not available outside the park. To me, baptism is like these in that it opens the gate whereby we are able to experience the full set of experiences and opportunities in the wonderful world of our Savior.