Zone and District Conference in Novosibirsk

     Along with the other senior couples in the mission, we were invited to travel to Novosibirsk to attend the missionaries zone conference and the first District conference since the District was organized last spring.  So we were able to ride the Trans-Siberian Railroad!  More about that later.  The conferences were wonderful.  The zone conference on Friday with the missionaries was about 4 to 5 hours long.  All the missionaries were asked to work harder and they all made a commitment to do so.  They are wonderful young men and women.  We heard from Pres. Bennett of the Area Presidency and Pres. Gibbons, and their wives.  The theme of the meeting was clear.  Increased effort in finding and teaching.  If we are to become a stake we need to strengthen our branches.
     After the meeting the young missionaries traveled back to their assigned areas but the President wanted the senior couples to stay for District Conference on Sunday.  We were able to meet many of the saints from Novosibirsk.  The conference was telecast to all the outlying branches over special software over the internet.  Again, it was a special meeting.  Pres. Bennett and Pres Gibbons spoke along with their wives.  We also heard from the local area Seventy, Elder Guchin, and his wife.

This is a young single adult choir singing at the conference.

Some of the saints outside the branch building.  It is a private office building the bottom floor of which is  leased by the church for the Novosibirsk branches.

     It was great to associate with some of the other senior couples.  The Holmes have been here about 5 months, but this is their third mission to Novosibirsk, Russia.  They also served a mission in Cambodia and Scotland.  So this is their 5th mission together.  In the above picture you see sister Holmes with Karen.

Sister Webb (Elder Webb was taking the picture (This was taken in the Webbs apartment), Elder and Sister Holmes (5th mission) Karen and I and Elder and Sister Holbrook  (They leave to go home to Salt Lake City tomorrow (Tuesday)

This is the view from Elder and Sister Webb's apartment.  There are high rise apartments all around these few small older homes.  These homes have no running water and are heated by wood stoves.  It is a wonder to us how they survive these Siberian winters.  During the summer they have beautiful vegetable and flower gardens.

Karen and I on a walk with the Webbs after the District Conference.

          Karen and I have wanted to ride the Siberian railroad since we arrived in Russia, and this weekend we finally got the chance.  We left on Wednesday at 10:31 p.m. and arrived in Novosibirsk 12 hours later.  Then after the District Conference on Sunday we left Novosibirsk at 9:43 p.m. and arrived back home in Krasnoyarsk 12 hours later.  We didn't know what to expect at first but we were very pleasantly surprised at how nice the trains are and what a pleasant ride it was.  Of course we slept most of the time since we took night trains both ways.  They do that on purpose so that you can sleep and night and arrived somewhat refreshed in the morning and ready to get back to work.  I included a few shots of the train.  The ride was surprisingly quiet and smooth.  We actually slept pretty good.  They have a nice dining car where Karen and I had breakfast in the morning.

Inside our sleeping compartment.

The train from Krasnoyarsk to Novosibirsk

This was on the train coming back from Novosibirsk.

The hall that goes past our sleeping compartments and leads to the dining car.

Outside the window just as the sun was coming up. These birch and pine forests go on forever.   They seem endless.  The entire time we are traveling we are going through these forests.  There are no mountains to speak of but the forests are vast.

There was a beautiful mist in the early morning.

      So I would say that our first experience on the Trans-Siberian Railroad was very positive.  In two weeks we will be doing it all over again since we have been asked to go back to Novosibirsk for a CES Conference.