Heading Home!

We are officially on our way home. We leave to visit Chad & Bethany on their mission in Russia. Then we are headed to the states. We will be home within the first couple weeks of July!!

OUR NEW CALLING!!

We just wanted to announce that we were recently given the call of Temple President and Matron of the Dallas, Texas LDS Temple. We will begin our service November 1st!! See the link...

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/59377/New-temple-presidents.html

Shishli Barbeque

This was at the Valentine branch party and the members really like the Georgian bread. They buy it on the street and it is very cheap. No yeast. They carry it around just like this totally uncovered day or night. They eat it cold with nothing on it not even butter or jam. They sometimes use it to sop up juices in the pan but mainly eat it just as bread. They traditionally tear it apart in big chunks. Everyone just loves it. A Georgian party is not a party without it.

This also is a must for a real Georgian party. It is mainly big chunks of pork barbecued on an open pit fire. It is cooked on skewers. They serve it with pomegranate seeds and sliced onions over it. It is OK tasting.

Only men cook shishli and it is done outside over an open flame. The wood was wet and no lighting fluid, so we didn't eat until after 5 PM when we was supposed to start at 2 PM. Everything was late getting started except the arrival of the people and that was at 2 PM. So a lot of unhappy members.

No Dryer

Most apartments and homes do not even have a washer. We have never seen a dryer in Georgia. Mom put this picture up to remind all of you that we all may be drying our clothes this way in the future the way things are now going in this old world. Look close to the apartment building on the other side and you will see many with their close out on the line. Both of us grew up drying clothes this very same way.

Happy 51st Anniversary!

Last year we celebrated our 50th Anniversary. All of our children and their spouses were there to surprise us and celebrate. We had an amazing time together. This is a slide show our daughter, Shaneen, put together to recap our 50 years together.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pizza by Talmadge

She makes a great pizza from scratch. No pizza board, but she found out that the cookie sheet upside down works great. Do you see that Bethany? Spread the word all thru Russia. The missionaries go wild over it.

Talmadge's Winter Gear

This is what we wear in the winter. She is beautiful even at 69+. The coldest so far is 25 degrees F. Not bad. Snow came one day but melted when it hit the ground.

Winter Gear

The hat folds down over my ears when I go outside. The strap around the neck goes to my must take brief case with passport, many keys to both chapels, branch lists, and many other things to do.

Primary Children - Avlabari

That's all of them. We may be able to get up to 7 or even 9 if we work hard to get all the children active and out at one time. Talmadge works with the 3 newly called primary presidency, but it is very slow going because she can't speak Russian or Georgian. None of the children can understand English. Hard, hard and hard. In the Saburtalo Branch, we only have 2 children possible and most of the time only one or none come. The primary president has been a member only 3 months, no counselors and usually shows the child where the toys are and then she goes to Relief Society.

The 1st Georgian Missionary!!

As you can see from this picture, the mission here in Georgia has been great for me since now I am so tall. When we come home, I will tower over all of you. Not really, I am standing on a wooden box and Dato and his mother are not. It just makes me feel tall.

Sorry, no box. Yes, as you can see, the height is real. Dato is now at the MTC for a month. He will be going to Ukraine and teaching in Russian. His mother is a non-member but excited that he was able to go. Dato is 4 ft 10 in. and his mother about 4 ft 4 inches. I have never met his father. The picture was taken right after I set him apart for his mission. I also gave him his first temple recommend and recommend for a patriarchal blessing. His flight in the air was his first also. He is the first Elder to ever serve from Georgia. Lots of firsts.

Christmas Turkey

In the afternoon of Christmas, we all had a fantastic Christmas dinner with a real turkey we finally located at a grocery store called "Goodwill". No turkey for Thanksgiving, but it was great for Christmas. Thanks to two great cooks, Sister Southwick and Sister Packard. All 8 of these missionaries sure do love Sister Packard. They seem to always be hungry when they come to our place every p-day and also many other days.

Christmas Phone Calls

The highlight of the day was very early in the morning all the missionaries got to call home using our SKYPE. Six of them had SKYPE at home and were able to see and talk to their families for an hour. That way the family could all talk and not just one at a time like on a regular phone. They really did like this. One missionary even had his girlfriend right in the middle up front with his family. You are looking at Elder Peatross's family on Christmas eve for them.

The whole thing was assigned and pre-planned with permission from the mission president.

Christmas Stockings

On Christmas day, we had all the missionaries all day. Even Elder & Sister Packard had a stocking.

Christmas Nativity

Our branch Christmas party started in the chapel with the nativity read, acted and sung by the members. Everyone received a part on the program as they arrived, no prior practice. Sister Southwick and Mom brought a few props. The shepherd staffs are our mops. The 3 missionaries in front are the sheep with cotton balls on their heads. You are looking at nearly half of the audience. Everyone had fun doing it. We all went to the basement after and played games with cookies and drink.

Merry Christmas from Georgia! (click on letter)

Visit of Elder Switzer

Elder Switzer is in the 2nd quorum of 70 and visited Georgia and had a great fireside for all the members. Here we are for lunch in our apartment showing that Mom is still a fantastic host and easy to talk to all levels of guests. Also, we finally got the baby Jesus for the nativity behind Sister Switzer. Cost 20 lari ($15) for the baby Jesus.

Georgian Funeral

Georgian funerals and cemeteries are very interesting and different. They had viewing for two days with no service at all. Then they all go to the cemetery located on steep hillsides. The casket is not closed until just before lowering into the grave. Yes, you are looking at the grandfather in the casket. Misha is a member and located 2nd to the left of the man at the head with his hand to his mouth. He is the only member in his family.

Friends lower the casket with ropes after putting the lid on. I took these pictures with the camera hidden under my big coat. They do not like pictures taken.


This is how a finished grave looks. I don't know who does all this work, but I suspect the family does or has it hired done. It does take up a lot of room.


After the funeral, everyone goes to this big hall to eat and drink. There was lots of food and drink. At least 20 toasts were done, so lots of alcohol was served. Misha's non-member girlfriend and her mother who is a member were sitting next to him and he was next to Mom. At the end of the meal, Mom and I watched the girl filling at least 2 or 3 gallon sip-loc bags in her extra large purse full of food. Most of the people in Georgia are poor. This picture also was taken carefully so others around didn't see me take it.

Oranges!

These are mandarin oranges and we are into the season when they come in by the big truck loads and are very cheep. They are excellent quality and taste. I buy them two kilos for 4 lari ($3) for a large sack full.

San Antonio Newspaper Article

GENEROSITY CARRIES GEORGIAN CANCER PATIENT A LONG WAY

By Elizabeth Allen

Getting hit by a car while cycling is a nightmare any way you look at it, but for Armine Ustian, in Tbilisi, Georgia, it brought her halfway around the world for lifesaving surgery.

After the October cycling accident, doctors scanning the young mother's skull for injuries discovered a golf ball-sized tumor at its base. But it wasn't golf ball shaped. Instead, it was wedged in and among her spinal cord, a major nerve and a vertebral artery.

The doctor in Tbilisi told her mother he didn't think he could do anything about it.

“Frequently in these tumors, it is difficult to preserve the nerve,” said Dr. Donald Hilton, who teamed with fellow neurosurgeon Dr. Arnold Vardiman to remove the tumor last week at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital.

When Ustian, 23, learned of the tumor, all she could think about was her son, David, 6.

“To do the surgery in Georgia is the same as to die,” she said. At best, her doctor said, she'd be paralyzed.

Desperate, her mother went to their church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which put her in touch with Dr. Robert Packard, a retired orthodontist doing LDS humanitarian work in Georgia.

Packard sent photos of Ustian's MRI results through his phone to his niece's husband — Hilton. He also donated frequent-flier miles to get Ustian to the United States, and the doctors and Methodist Healthcare System agreed to waive their charges.

By isolating the nerve in a separate procedure, working in very tiny spaces, and trading off every 45 minutes over five hours to keep from getting fatigued, the doctors were able to remove the tumor and save the C5 nerve.

The minimally invasive technique, done through an 18-millimeter tube inserted in the back of Ustian's neck, is normally used for disc herniations and nerve pinches, Hilton said. Because of the small hole, the large tumor and the high-risk area, the doctors plan to submit a case report on the procedure to a neurosurgery journal.

They weren't sure it would work so well.

“If we had damaged the C5 nerve root ... we were planning on a third surgery and therapy to treat what could have been a paralyzed left shoulder,” Hilton said. “I don't think she will need a physical therapist at all.”

A single mother, Ustian lives with her parents, who are caring for David. On a borrowed laptop, she talks with him daily using an Internet phone application.

Friday, it was midday in Texas and David's bedtime in Tbilisi. The lively child proudly told her about his good grades, practiced his English and blew his mother kisses.

After signing off, tears filled Ustian's eyes. She said she is deeply grateful to the doctors, the hospital, and the nurses for “allowing me to go back to my son. When you are a single parent, this is all you can think about.”

Armine in the News

Dear family and others:

Most of you know the great miracle story of Armine Ustyan. Talmadge and I have felt it was a great experience to be a part of the story. The story has taken two full pages in my journal. It is too long to tell here, but watch the video from Channel 5 in San Antonio and see a fantastic relative of those of you in the family, named Donald Hilton. He told me of more than one time he felt angels over his shoulder guiding his hands. Don and Jana have just been wonderful in taking Armine in their home for both operations (one to block the artery to the brain that the tumor enclosed and other to remove the tumor) and she is still there. Barbara and Jay, you should be very proud of your daughter Jana for her being mother to Armine these many days. At our next family reunion, Sister Packard and I will tell you the whole story.

We love all of you.
Bob & Talmadge in Georgia