Our missionary name tags in Russian.

Chad and Bethany in front of the MTC the day before we left for Russia. Bethany was still praying for help with the Russian language as this photo was taken.

Hey everyone,

We have had such a very busy few weeks we have not had enough time to really spend time and write to all of you. In fact, we haven't written to any of you. If you get this a few times, I apologize.

It does take a bit of time to record and write what transpires each day. One of the things I have not written while here in Moscow is that the first few days here were quite sunny and beautiful with a few inches of snow on the ground. For the past 4 days it has snowed all day. The flakes are small because it is quite cold but it is not too windy. It is also humid here which was a surprise to me so those of you in the Texas area know how cold it can get when the temperature drops and the humidity stays high. So, when the wind does blow, they call it a "lazy" wind which interpreted means that the wind doesn't blow up, down, or around you. It blows "through" you.

Photo taken in front of a car covered in snow. The most snow in Moscow for over 40 years

Two guys shoveling snow off the roof of a 4 story building.... scary!

There are about 15-20 million people here in Moscow and just consider having enough snow plows, tractors, trucks, equipment, and sand/salt to keep all of the roads clear enough for all of the cars and buses to travel safely on. Just imagine DFW multiplied 5 times. It is pretty amazing.

I mentioned to Mike that about 70-80% of the women here wear some sort of fur. This can be a complete fur coat, hat, scarf, hood, glove, boot, etc. You name it, they have it in fur. I lied as well to Mike. It really is about 90-95%. Oh, and all of the women (90%) wear high heeled boots to the knees. Although it is a fashion statement, both the furs and the boots are a necessity. It took us 2 days and we bought both Bethany and I a pair of boots... sorry folks, no knee-highs for me.

We also walk everywhere we go. We walk at least a few miles each day. Hopefully this will help us lose the 10+ pounds we gained in the MTC. The Metro train and transit system is amazing. 10-12 million people ride the metro EACH day. These former underground bomb shelters that have been converted to transit systems are all over the city and although were built in the 40's are very efficient today. They have made them somewhat ornate with a strong European art, with marbled archways and statues. It is clean as well.

Remember, we are not here in Moscow to give you a travel log or spend the bulk of our time writing to friends and loved ones. We are here to serve the Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ. We will be traveling a little periodically because of the Visa requirements and I don't mean my credit card requires that I travel from country to country. Russia requires that our Visa be renewed each 90 days. Therefore, we are required to leave the country every 90 days and then return with a new 90-day Visa. On those trips will keep you posted as to where we go and what we do. Our first trip will be to Istanbul, Turkey for a Church Education System (CES) conference for 3 days. That will be an interesting place to go. I will be interested to see what that place will be like.

Oh by the way, if you ever saw the "Borne" movies with Jason Borne... the scenes that were in Russia by the river with the ice and snow or if you saw "Get Smart" that was in Russia... I don't know either of those films were actually filmed here in Moscow but they sure look like it. Anyway, in those scenes, on the Moscow River.... is literally where we will be living. We live a few apartment buildings off the Moscow River next to Red Square in the old part of downtown Moscow. We will be moving into our apartment (700 square feet) by mid-week. Wish us luck. We will be furnishing it the best way we can on a limited budget.

We sincerely, appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming. This work is so important and so needed here in Russia with these wonderful people.

Love,

Elder and Sister Packard