Christmas is always different on a mission than at home, but we know it is going to be, so we don't mind it. It is a time to serve others. Four of the missionaries came to our house to Skype their families on Christmas Day. It was fun to hear them visit with parents and siblings. Their families want to know all about what missionary work is like in Siberia, the culture, and the weather. Our computer is in the kitchen and I was preparing dinner so I couldn't leave the room. We couldn't find a turkey so we had chicken and cheesy scalloped potatoes, broccoli (I always give them vegetables because they don't fix any for themselves), salad, rolls and apple and pumpkin pie. They were quite happy with that.

That evening we went to our branch Christmas party. It was a good activity with lots of non members there. They had a skit about the animals in the barn when Jesus was born, the choir sang and we had a white elephant gift exchange. Of course there was lots of Russian food. These people like to have parties and eat.

We have had the coldest winter in 70 years, - 39 degrees here and -50 some places. That is very cold, it hurts your face when you go out. The missionaries watch each other for frostbite. We have 2 to 3 feet of snow on the ground and higher in some places where it drifts. It has warmed up and is only - 9 now. We always wear our trax on our shoes to keep from falling on the ice. The single biggest problem for senior missionaries is falling and breaking a hip. One of our cardinal rules is to never run to catch a bus. Everything right now is slick ice.

We were asked to speak to some English classes at the linguistic university about living a healthy life style. They especially wanted it on no alcohol, smoking, or drugs. Three classes came to our first presentation and two classes to the second. They want us to come back once a month to speak about other topics.

Russians have a very unhealthy lifestyle. Half of the men never reach retirement age. The population is dropping about a million a year. The government is working on trying to reverse that trend. There are more restrictions on smoking and alcohol consumption now. Beer is now considered an alcoholic beverage.

We also told about our family. We showed some pictures of the children on a big screen. They had more questions about our family than they did about the healthy life style. They were very impressed with the number of people at our family gatherings. Most Russians only have one or two children. Many choose not to have any. They wanted to know about their activities and hobbies.

On December 30, our branch building was dedicated by Elder Yuri Gushin, an area authority 70. It was a very special occasion for the branch members and several non members were in attendance. The process to buy and remodel a building is very involved here. A meeting of people, who live in this area of the city, was held so they could vote on whether or not the building could be changed from a store to a church. We thought there could be some opposition but there was none, so the Church bought the building. That happened in 2010. When we arrived here in March of 2012, we heard that the building would be finished that spring or summer. Our first meeting in the new building was October 14, 2012. It is so wonderful to have a nice place to invite people to come to.

After Church on Sunday, Elder and Sister Gushin, Pres. and Sister Gibbons and Elder and Sister Webb, the office couple, came to our home for a meal before they drove back to Novosibirsk, a 4 hour drive. It was such a treat to have them here and be able to sit and visit for a while. Serving a mission has many wonderful blessings that come with it. The big goal is for a Stake here in 2013. We appreciate the letters, e-mail, prayers and support.

Love, Elder and Sister Holmes.