SIBERIAN TIMES
So, what happened this week?
Well, our little friend, Andre, just got baptized, making him the youngest member in our branch! It took a while with him, just because he is young and a little immature, but his heart is good, and he is very knowledgeable about the Gospel. He is 12 years old, so in a few weeks, he will receive the Aaronic Priesthood, and be the 1st Deacon. His mother has only been a member for about 5 months, and having her son baptized will be a great blessing in their life.
Talking about the Aaronic Priesthood, Elder Terry and I helped teach Vladimir how to prepare the sacrament, and he blessed the sacrament the first time last Sunday. Just think about it, there are 16 year-old kids that can bless the sacrament, and this 50 year-old man just recently is given the gift that I think many youth take for granted. I know I did. This is the only way that people can repent, through the sacrament. That is a special gift to be able to bless the sacrament, and allow others to repent, and I was so grateful to be able to give it to my investigator.
Vladimir has helped us a LOT in our lessons. He is a stellar member, and he is able to communicate what we wish to say, but can't with our limited knowledge of the language. Vladimir even gave a talk for Andre's baptism. I also gave a talk about the Holy Ghost, and I gave the experience about when our dog Ann ran away. I was very young then, maybe 8 years old. We were looking everywhere, and I was scared, so I prayed that I would find her. I remember feeling very calm, knowing that she would be okay, and VOT! (That's Russian for "look", "behold", or along the lines of that) I immediately found her. It was a small experience, but I still remember it. It was really interesting to give a talk to a kid, and Vladimir did a great job, too, making the talk perfect for a kid. He talked about super heroes, and that Andre would be like a superhero, when he would receive the Priesthood, and that since he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he has 14 million brothers and sisters, that are working together to become greater.
After the baptism, we had sports night, but since it was pourning, it became Game Night. We made oragami, and took pictures. I thought they were pretty funny, so that's elders in Russia, with pieces of colored paper folded into flowers. This is what missionaries do for fun. Awesome isn't it?
One contact we had, Timur, we had no idea who he was, but he came to church! It was out of the blue, so that was pretty awesome, and we will meet with him tomorrow. The missionaries somehow lost contact with him or something, because there is nothing written on his investigator sheet. In every apartment, there is an Area book with information about contacts, investigators, members, former investigators, inactive members, and we fill it in with info about what lessons we taught, commitments they need to keep, that sort of thing. His page just had his name and number. Nothing else. We know that the elders talked with him, but we have no idea what, or when. It was interesting, and I pray for more success.
Nothing much has happened since last I typed, because it was only four days.
To answer the questions, P-day across the world is now on Monday. Every single mission used to pick their own day, based on the area. Now the First Presidency wants every mission having P-day on the same day.The First Presidency has given a list of things that the missions need to change, and that was one of the things. I don't know what the other changes are, because the mission president needs to figure out how he will do them for our mission. It's going to be a surprise.
Elder Terry has been back for a while now. They only spend about 2 days in Finland, and then they just ship them back. They want them back working as soon as possible. Elder Terry is from St. George, and he is a pilot. He flies small airplanes, and he wants to become a commercial pilot. He also loves dirt biking, and likes to race. Pretty much he is awesome, and he is an awesome trainer as well. He is totally dedicated to the work. We have a lot of fun laughing and cracking jokes. One joke we are doing now is that we both decided to stop popping our knuckles. It has been so hard not to do that, and we scorn each other when the other pops their knuckles, and then we laugh. We laugh at our mistakes, because what else can you do? Sasha gave me this great quote that I live, " Я не боюсь быть смешной" It means "I am not afraid to be funny" Because we have to talk to people, and we make mistakes. We can't let our weaknesses get in the way of the work, so we just laugh and get on with the work when we mess up.
I love you all, and I love hearing about what is happening over there back home.
Miracles happen here every day, and I am glad to be part of it.
Prayer works, along with acting on prayers.
I am so happy right now, being here in Russia.
Surprises happen every day, and you just have to watch for them
I love you all! Stay in tune for next week, for even MORE surprises!
Tell Britton only the cool smart kids wear glasses. Does he look like me? I just think that he is going to turn into a miniature version of me. Remember how I would use extensive vocabulary to dictate my pondering, and that I would desire to glance at newspaper clippings to gain a greater understanding of the goings-on in the area about?
Also, mom, I have attached a letter for Elder Dean. Could you send it to him for me? I don't know his address, and I think it would be easier and cheaper to send letters this way.
Well, our little friend, Andre, just got baptized, making him the youngest member in our branch! It took a while with him, just because he is young and a little immature, but his heart is good, and he is very knowledgeable about the Gospel. He is 12 years old, so in a few weeks, he will receive the Aaronic Priesthood, and be the 1st Deacon. His mother has only been a member for about 5 months, and having her son baptized will be a great blessing in their life.
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| Andre, Elder Terry, Elder Hoggan |
Vladimir has helped us a LOT in our lessons. He is a stellar member, and he is able to communicate what we wish to say, but can't with our limited knowledge of the language. Vladimir even gave a talk for Andre's baptism. I also gave a talk about the Holy Ghost, and I gave the experience about when our dog Ann ran away. I was very young then, maybe 8 years old. We were looking everywhere, and I was scared, so I prayed that I would find her. I remember feeling very calm, knowing that she would be okay, and VOT! (That's Russian for "look", "behold", or along the lines of that) I immediately found her. It was a small experience, but I still remember it. It was really interesting to give a talk to a kid, and Vladimir did a great job, too, making the talk perfect for a kid. He talked about super heroes, and that Andre would be like a superhero, when he would receive the Priesthood, and that since he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he has 14 million brothers and sisters, that are working together to become greater.
After the baptism, we had sports night, but since it was pourning, it became Game Night. We made oragami, and took pictures. I thought they were pretty funny, so that's elders in Russia, with pieces of colored paper folded into flowers. This is what missionaries do for fun. Awesome isn't it?
Nothing much has happened since last I typed, because it was only four days.
To answer the questions, P-day across the world is now on Monday. Every single mission used to pick their own day, based on the area. Now the First Presidency wants every mission having P-day on the same day.The First Presidency has given a list of things that the missions need to change, and that was one of the things. I don't know what the other changes are, because the mission president needs to figure out how he will do them for our mission. It's going to be a surprise.
Elder Terry has been back for a while now. They only spend about 2 days in Finland, and then they just ship them back. They want them back working as soon as possible. Elder Terry is from St. George, and he is a pilot. He flies small airplanes, and he wants to become a commercial pilot. He also loves dirt biking, and likes to race. Pretty much he is awesome, and he is an awesome trainer as well. He is totally dedicated to the work. We have a lot of fun laughing and cracking jokes. One joke we are doing now is that we both decided to stop popping our knuckles. It has been so hard not to do that, and we scorn each other when the other pops their knuckles, and then we laugh. We laugh at our mistakes, because what else can you do? Sasha gave me this great quote that I live, " Я не боюсь быть смешной" It means "I am not afraid to be funny" Because we have to talk to people, and we make mistakes. We can't let our weaknesses get in the way of the work, so we just laugh and get on with the work when we mess up.
I love you all, and I love hearing about what is happening over there back home.
Miracles happen here every day, and I am glad to be part of it.
Prayer works, along with acting on prayers.
I am so happy right now, being here in Russia.
Surprises happen every day, and you just have to watch for them
I love you all! Stay in tune for next week, for even MORE surprises!
Tell Britton only the cool smart kids wear glasses. Does he look like me? I just think that he is going to turn into a miniature version of me. Remember how I would use extensive vocabulary to dictate my pondering, and that I would desire to glance at newspaper clippings to gain a greater understanding of the goings-on in the area about?
Also, mom, I have attached a letter for Elder Dean. Could you send it to him for me? I don't know his address, and I think it would be easier and cheaper to send letters this way.
DeAnn,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post on Elder Eborn's blog, same here, you have an amazing son in Siberia.
Rene Eborn