After
spending the past year becoming very close to new and now dear friends, The
Huffakers from La Jara, Co, exploring the city, attending Sunday Evening
Firesides, Monday evening FHE, numerous activities, or just a rare quiet
evening together visiting or playing a rousing game of Yahtzee, the final day
arrived!! The Huffakers are GONE. We are sad and miss them already, but are so
excited for them to arrive home with their family. It was amazing for us to have this special opportunity
to serve with such a wonderful, loving couple.
The people here will truly miss them.
As we returned from the airport with Elder Gushin and Sister Gushina
they both commented on how hard it was to say goodbye to the Huffakers – we
agree.
The week
seemed to be filled with parties and well-wishers as everyone wanted to gather
in one place or another to say their goodbyes and get their final hugs from two
people who have left an unforgettable mark in Siberia. As we would walk through the neighborhood
with them their neighbors would bring friends up just to see the cattle
ranching couple from America. These two
have become “epic” in the capital city of Siberia, Novosibirsk. Everyone in the city has heard of or knows
the “cowboy from Colorado”. We had an
FHE farewell on Monday evening, dinner with the Mission President on Tuesday, office
celebration on Wednesday, dinner with the Area Seventy (Elder Gushin) that evening,
“surprise” party with the members on Thursday evening, a couple of quite hours
on Friday afternoon (just the 4 of us) and then it was off to the airport early
Saturday am.
Saturday afternoon we took the metro to the
last stop, hopped a bus for about a 30 minute ride to the edge of the city to
visit Sveta. It was her birthday and we
had been invited to come celebrate with her at her Dacha. She is a very special young lady, a little
challenged mentally, but very sweet and so friendly. She lives with her mother and a cat in some
pretty dire circumstance and she was absolutely delighted that we would come to
visit and celebrate her birthday.
Our first
Sunday evening fireside tonight without the Huffakers, we were poor substitutes
but they ate all our treats so in the end it was all good. Next week will be busy – first there is the
annual budget to prepare and submit by Tuesday afternoon and then we are off to
the YSA conference in Krasnoyarsk on the Tuesday evening overnight train. We won’t be back until Monday morning so our
post for next week may come out a little late.
It should be a fun and exciting week.
We love you all.
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| A few revelers at the Office Party Huffakers on the right |
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| One of Sister Webb's famous "CandyBar" posters They had never seen such a thing- it was quite a hit. |
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| Huffaker's Last District Meeting |
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| At the Novosibirsk Airport Headed Home They look pretty happy! |
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| Birthday at the Dacha |
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| Hadn't seen one of these since my mother ran her finger through the one in our basement when I was a kid Some of you should know what this is or are we just older than we think!! |
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| My favorite of the week Sister Webb getting her "Granma Fix" |
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