The Key To My Heart . . . and more ice.

        First the good news.   Another women has been touched by the Holy Ghost and accepted the Gospel, here in Krasnoyarsk.  She was baptized last Saturday.  Karen and I were at a Young Single Adult Conference in Novosibirsk so we were not able to attend and so far we have no pictures.  Karen might be able to fill you in on more details in her letter.  But the work is going well.  A young 17 year-old man has also expressed a desire to be baptized. (Hoorah! That will increase the ranks of our Aaronic Priesthood by about 30%. . .if I did the math right.)  He has already attended our Aaronic Priesthood.   He will be baptized on March 9th.  So the work  of the Lord goes on and we are blessed to be a part of it.
        Also some of you have asked about the meteor that hit Russia.  It was about 1,400 miles away in Chelyabinsk.  We didn't fell, see or hear it.
        Last Thursday the temperatures soared into the mid-teens F (today it is actually 24 degrees, the same as Eden, Utah) and so Karen and I decided to take a long walk.   We walked to the end of our street,  Mira Street, where there is a foot bridge that goes part way across the Yenisey River to an Island in the river.  There is an interesting and charming custom in Russia.  Often when couples get married they will write their names on a lock and fasten it to the fence on a bridge or the fence around a church or park etc. and throw away the key.   It shows that their hearts are locked together tightly and it is a hope that their marriage will be strong and lasting.  So we will often see these locks.  When there are a significant number the city maintenance people come along and cut them off with bolt cutters and they start all over again.  Here are some pictures. Surprisingly the river hardly ever freezes over.  The reason is because there is a large hydroelectric dam just upstream from the city.  The water is sent down from the bottom of the river through the dam and is therefore warmer and doesn't freeze until it gets almost out of town.  However it often has a lot of mist rising off the water, I think because the water is warmer than the air.

This is a small portion of the Yenisey River over which they have constructed a foot bridge.

Another portion of the river.

       During our walk we came across some more ice features.  Just before you get on this bridge there is a large concert hall.  During the winter months they flood part of the parking lot and make an ice rink.  Also notice the perfectly built igloo.  These people really know their ice.

Notice the ice wall built partially around the rink.

Inside the igloo.  It was actually kind of warm.

A young boy just "chillin" inside the igloo.  (His mother gave us permission to take the photo.)

This is a log cabin ice house built around a plywood shed where they rent the ice skates.

They carve figures into the ice block and then pack it with snow to highlight the figure.  Clever!

           We send our love to all of you.  We hope and pray that everything is going well for you back home or wherever you are.  We are so thankful that our dear niece, Heather, is progressing after a terrible automobile accident.  She has a long way to go, but prayers are being answered and she is getting the best of care.  Please remember her and her family.
Elder and Sister Noel