A great missionary teaches friends. You have to love the people you teach.

Well, this is interesting. My family has not replied to my e-mail yet. I thought my Mother would be all paronoid, and want to know why the e-mail was late, almost thinking about flying to Russia just to make sure her little boy was okay, and then reading it and finding out that his companion is only 12 weeks into his mission, and then REALLY think about flying to Russia! But I guess my family is having too much fun at the cabin that I have never been to. (Note from Aaron's mom:  We did get back from Island Park, and we did email Aaron, but I guess with the time difference and he being able to email Tuesday night instead of Wednesday morning, he didn't get it.  I just don't want anyone to think I'm a neglectful mom!  :)

Well, here is the Siberian Message from the Siberian Messenger.
Right now I am typing this e-mail in a library in Novosibirsk...again I am in Novosibirsk. It's funny how that happened. The new mission president, President Gibbons has arrived, and he is really cool. We are going to have training here in Novosibirsk, probably since there is a Zone Leader Conference and since the Novokuznetsk Zone has four missionaries, it is the smallest Zone in the mission, we hitch a ride too. The picture of the BIG statue, I don't know who it is supposed to be, but the new elder is Elder Harrison, who is being trained by Elder Terry. He's cool, just a newbie from the mission field. It is so weird to be only out for 6 weeks and see such a difference in me and him. I remember how scared I was about everything. I had no idea where we were going, and I had no idea how to talk to people, but now I just think, "Deladna", which is the Russian way of saying, "Whatever".

So the big news is that we may have TWO baptisms this month!! The first is little Andre, who is the son of Valia, one of our recent converts, about four months ago. He is twelve, and kind of a punk, but he is a good kid, and he wants to be baptized, so that's great! The second is Nikolai, my good friend Nikolai. We had a baptismal date for him about the 17th of September, but President Rolfe said that we should try to get him baptized sooner and we agreed too. So we changed it to the 26th of August. I pray that everything goes well with him, and that means I could have two baptisms, and it is only my second transfer...WHOAH...He is so cool, and we are really good friends.
I think that's a sign of a great missionary. We teach people, not lessons. A good missionary teaches people, a GREAT missionary teaches friends. So you have to love the people you teach, and that helps the spirit come as well, because who doesn't want to help their friends?
As we have been traveling across the country from Novokuznetsk to Novosibirsk and back, and then back to Novosibirsk again, we haven't had a lot of time to teach or contact people, but we find time and our efforts have paid off.
We have one investigator, named Vecheslav, who is really awesome! The big group picture is Elder Washburn's farewell party, which was Vecheslav's birthday as well. Vecheslav is the big guy on the left with the really big smile. That is what makes him so cool, because people in Russia don't normally smile that much. If you remember him, he came to our large goup discussions, and last time we met him, we taught him the Plan of Salvation. He said that he felt something, and he prayed for us...Twice! He knows that prayer is important, and he wanted to pray for him and his friend Vlad, who was in the lesson as well. He prayed for help in their work, and their families, so obviously this guy is golden. We wanted to commit him to baptism yesterday, but it was raining really hard before English Club, and he couldn't come before English to talk. Nevertheless, we will commit him, and we think that he could be baptized before the end of our transfer, so pray for him, and we will pray for him as well.

Elder Washburn's Farewell Party (Vecheslav on far left)

We have a contact, named Vitali, who we think was contacted by Elder Washburn on his way home. That's my Dad! (It is common lingo to call your trainer your Dad, and Elder Terry will be my Stepdad since he will finish my training) We met with him, and we talked about our families. He has a family, and he really loves them. I showed him my family pictures, and he asked if all were "Veryooshi", or "Believers". It means that you all are members of the same church. He also asked if they drink or smoke. I said no, and he said "Malatzi", which is "good job" He has really good teeth, which is a good sign in Russia. Good teeth means that they probably don't smoke or drink, and good personal hygiene is a sign of an understanding of what's important. Many people in Russia don't learn about the importance of brushing your teeth, so they have really bad teeth. That is probably why Russians don't really smile. But Elder Terry and I felt really good about him, and he talked about how he heard the Mormons were a "sektant" which is a sect, or a cult. He says he doesn't believe that, and that we are really good people with good family values. So it's kind of amazing that both Elder Terry and I understood what he said, even though we are still very very new in the language. That is just another sign that this gospel is true.
Lastly, I have a message for the young men in our ward, stake, and surrounding areas. Tell them this is from Elder Hoggan, a youth like them, serving a mission:
Serve a mission. Serve a mission. There is no excuse that you can have to not serve a mission. If there is something that may keep you from serving a mission, fix it. Prepare yourselves now physically, mentally, and spiritually to serve a mission. I have only been in Russia for 6 weeks, but I have received so much from this experience. I could not comprehend how my life would be if I was not serving a mission. I know that you have been drilled by parents, Priesthood leaders, Bishops, Stake Presidents, Apostles, and even the Prophet of the church "serve a mission, serve a mission". Here is another person drilling you. Please serve a mission, because your life can't afford missing the opportunity. There is so much joy in serving, that it is impossible to describe. Please serve a mission. Your Father in Heaven has given you so much, and all He asks is to give up a little of your time and He will open the way for you to receive even more, to the point that you can't hold all the blessings given to you. I know that to be true. If you have any doubts, ask your Father in Heaven, because I did that too, and I received my answer, "Serve a mission" The Spirit never deceives you, and I have never regretted that decision.
I love you all, this Gospel is true.
This is the Lord's work.
Miracles do happen.

Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)

P.S. Mom, I am concerned about two friends. Remember Alek, the convert in our ward? How is he doing? Also, I have a friend, Zach Freitag. I have not heard from him if he is serving a mission. Could you tell me how both of them are? Being here on a mission, I want these same blessings for my friends, and I rejoice when I hear that my friends get their calls. Did you know Michael Godfrey got his call to Texas? I was so happy to hear that! So please tell me about those two. You could probably reach Zach Freitag through Kristina McMillan. If they are not, tell them that Elder Hoggan commands them to serve a mission. Thank you! I love you!