Saying Hello and Goodbye in Astana, Kazakhstan - 7 June 2009

Wow!! What a mission!!

We are down to the final few days and it has been very difficult but exciting to welcome Elder and Sister Shaw, who will replace us, and to say goodbye to some very dear friends!!

But before we get to that, we want to let you know that we are still waiting on customs. Surprise!! Surprise!! We were hoping to get the equipment through before we leave, but we're sure Elder and Sister Shaw can handle everything. All of the documents are in and it is still a waiting game. Hopefully, we will hear tomorrow!!

The good news is that we said goodbye to the old computer and finally said hello to the new one after a six week wait!!

We had our computer tech, Mira's brother, Kazbek, come and set it up for us and put on all the programs. One of them happened to be in Russian so he had to get the English version and come again the next day!! We appreciate all the work he put in to get the computer up and going!! He is a fine young man and we will miss him!!

Frank Tetreault, our friend and Air Astana pilot, took us out to lunch at Astana Park. We had a wonderful time visiting about our plans for the future. He will be leaving to go back to the US a week after we leave!! We hope to keep in touch! He made our stay in Astana that much more enjoyable because of all of the cultural events that we attended with him. It was wonderful to get to know him and his wife!

This little "babushka" cleans our entry way and stairs into our building plus the elevators. She does such a good job and is always pleasant and happy to see us. She is going through some difficult times, but we wish her the best.

We picked up Elder and Sister Shaw bright and early Saturday morning!! They are excited to be here and eager to learn everything they can about what we do. Their first responsibility, though, is to get over jet lag which they are trying to do!!

Our last Sacrament Meeting in Kazakhstan was pretty emotional for all of us!! The Spirit was very strong and many tears were shed. It was hard saying goodbye to Zhanna, who we love so much!! We will miss her terribly but we know that the Shaws will love her and she will learn to love them!!

We will never forget Zhannagul Beckenbi and her testimony and sweet spirit that she has. She is the only native member in Astana and hopefully there will be a branch here someday!!

And now we turn the reins of this assignment over to Elder and Sister Shaw from Rexburg, Idaho!! They will do a wonderful job!!

This mission has changed us in a lot of ways...

This is how we looked when we came out into the mission field

AND...

.. .this is how we look now!! But we think that a couple of weeks home and lots of rest and we will be back to normal!!!

Our time has come to an end here in Kazakhstan! This has been the greatest experience of our lives. We have grown in so many ways!! We are blessed for having had this experience and because of it we will never be the same. Our Heavenly Father has truly blessed us and our family!!

We will see you all in three days!!

Love,

Elder and Sister Welling