One more cow....for Tanya

Tanya loves cows, and I happen to love to paint them....so it works out nicely.  Tanya is a special friend and the very first Russian I met.  I taught her the gospel 25 years ago but she's taught me much more than I ever taught her.  It's been so much fun to remember and honor all of these friendships.

Pavel the Russian Banya Guru...

Pavel is a good friend of mine who taught me to love the Banya.  One of my favorite memories of Russia is when I visited Pavel in the small village where his Mother lives in and together we built his banya on the banks of a small creek and spent the evening enjoying the unique experience of the Russian Banya "village style" with repeated dips in the nearby river.  Since that day many years ago, we've enjoyed many trips to the banya together but none quite so memorable as that weekend in the country.  I miss Pavel and his great family and the Russian Banya.

The Adventurous Backman Family

This leopard reminds me of our good friends from Moscow The Backman Family - Expert hunters of Adventure.  I've always admired the way the Backman family finds adventure.  They are the kind of friends that everyone hopes to have and hitch along with on some exciting trip.  More than examples of how to have fun, the Backman's were examples of service, love and inclusion for all around them.  We were honored to know them during our stay in Moscow.  We miss them.

The Amazing Honeybee - Society's Teacher

My friend Sergey shares an affinity for the amazing honeybee.  I had fun doing this latest envelope for him.  He remembered a talk I gave when I departed Russia 25 years ago that I gave to friends about what we can learn from bees.  I've kept a few beehives over the last 10 years and the more I learn about the hive, the amazing cooperation and communication that goes on in a beehive, the more I think we should all model our lives after the bee's habits.  This envelope has helped be remember my great friendship with Sergey, my love for bees and reminded me of their lessons for me in family, work and church life.

Birds of a Feather...

Boyce Fitzgerald is one of the most interesting characters I've ever met and I feel privileged to have associated with him for the last few years.  He and I served in the Stake Young Men's organization in the Moscow Stake and I loved being around him because of his many talents and his sense of humor.  He was loved and admired my all of the youth in Russia.  Although much older than the I, he exuded a youthful exuberance for "goofing around" that drew the youth to him.  One of his latest talents that I've loved watching develop is his natural knack for photography.  He has blown me away with some of his photos of birds in Russia.  I decided to theme his envelope with some of my favorite birds.  I miss interacting with Boyce.  

Rock of Faith.....

Another mailing goes out to Russia this week to one of our family's best friends.  Our History with the Marchenko's goes back almost 25 years.  I admire the faith and strength of Dima and his family.  From the first day I met Dima, when I interviewed him for baptism 25 years ago, I felt a special connection to him.  When my wife and I had our first child, who spent the first 9 months of his life in Russia, we gave him a middle name of Dmitry to commemorate our deep and lasting friendship with Dima.  I decided to do a painting of the Kiev Ukraine Temple as a symbol of the solid faith I've always admired in Dima and his beautiful family.

Russia's in my Blood....

This week, I've been working on some envelopes for some friends in Russia.  Despite being glad to finish up our tour in Russia after three years, Russia has a way of pulling you back in.  I don't think I'll ever stop loving and longing for the people and places I've learned to love in the great land of Russia.  I miss these great friends and have had a great time remembering the people that will be lifelong friends for our family.

The Baltovsky Family has taught our family so much.  He is the Stake President of the Moscow Stake and has provided so much selfless service and leadership to the growing church in Russia.  We love and miss them so much.  When I asked him what he would like an an envelope, he told me his "weakness" was fighter jets.  I think he'll like this envelope.  

The Twitty Family was another Foreign Service family that lived near us and with whom we became close friends.  They appreciate the beautiful Russian architecture like we did.  I served my mission in Russian with Chad 25 years ago, so it was especially fun to be back in Russia with Chad.  

Masha Petyhkova is one of my favorite Russians.  She is a true example of faithfulness in the face of really difficult trials.  He last name means "Rooster" so I thought this would be a fun surprise for her to get this custom envelope.