April 3, 2013 Rostov and Volgograd, Russia

The dinner with some of the missionaries at the Rostov mission home was after their zone training meeting.  The other pictures are in Volgograd at the Mother of Russia monument.  The changing of the guard takes place each hour.  They march with "goose steps" with the legs raised high each step.  The eternal flame is where the guards stand at attention.  The statue with the sword raised is bigger than the Statue of Liberty.  The city name during World War II was Stalingrad and the Russians fought the Germans near the city.  The city was destroyed and the name was changed to Volgograd when it was rebuilt.  We flew to Rostov on Thurs., Mar. 28th and had meetings and audits in the mission office on Thurs. and Thurs. evening.  Friday we traveled to Volgograd and had meetings and training with the branch presidents and clerks Sat. and Sun. after district conference.

March 2013 Spring in Armenia

The branch president and his parents invited us and the sister missionaries to dinner at his apartment.  Armenia is famous for their apricots.  The apricot trees were the first fruit trees to bloom in March.  Yerevan has a new and very modern airport.  The painting was a famous Armenian painting that was restored after being damaged in the 1989 earthquake.  It is hanging in the Yerevan Zvartnots Airport.

March 20, 2013 Concert and some activities

The dinner was after the Senior Missionary Council.  We attended our branch activity on March 6, Women's Day.  We had a program and then music and dancing.  Before the symphony concert at the Yerevan Opera House we had dinner with the senior missionaries at Old Yerevan.  The fancy entryway was in the stadium where we attended the Julio Iglesia concert that week.