Scott & Kristine's Visit to Moscow

This morning we said our goodbyes to Scott & Kristine at the Domodedovo airport and then took the express train back to the Moscow metro to attend the special 2:00 p.m. meeting to reorganize the Yugo Zapadnaya branch. (I will post some pictures and tell about Scott & Kristine's visit in the next blog.)

Until today, the Yugo Zapadnaya church group has been part of the Kakhovsky branch, but meeting for convenience in the Moscow West Mission office to be more easily accessible for the members living in that part of Moscow. Yugo Zapadnaya is on the red metro line, and the Kakhovsky branch is on the green line. Instead of getting off the metro at Sportivnaya, we will now go one more stop and get off at Universitet and meet in a newly remodeled building. The former president, President Karneov, has been called to be the counselor for the new branch president.

As we met today with both groups, we saw several people who work in the Service Center and Meridian building who are members of the Kakhovsky branch. It was also nice to see Nactya, our dear friend and former translator, who sat by us. After the meeting, we walked back to the metro with Elder Aiken and Elder Blodder.

Here are some photos I took out of the window of the train as we returned from the airport to Moscow, a 45-minute ride.

There are many birch trees . . .


. . . and pine trees in the countryside.

Dachas are small summer homes where people
who live in an apartment in Moscow like to go
to have a garden and get out of the city.

I don't know if this is a dacha or
a regular home, but I thought it looked picturesque.


More dachas. They often do not
have electricity or running water.


Getting closer to Moscow.
See the apartment buildings to the left.


We think the tall smoke stacks in the background
may be part of a hot water plant that
provides hot water into apartments in Moscow.
Train tracks are in the foreground.