Monday, August 8, 2011

Vladimir: First Baptism!

Well Family, Friends, and other people...

Sorry if my delayed reply didn't scare any people. I am quite safe right now in Novosibirsk. There are changes as my new companion, Elder Terry, is leaving for Finland for his first Visa trip, and I will be coming back to Novokuznetsk with Elder Sperry and his new companion (fresh out of the MTC) named Elder Harrison. We were on a bus for 6 hours, which I slept through the whole ride.
 

Vladimir's baptism @ Lotus Spa
 I am so thankful for the many blessings I have received thus far in my mission. First of all...DA DA DA DAAAA!!! I had my first baptism! It was Vladimir, if you remember him from a few weeks ago. He was so ready, and it was very spiritual. For baptisms, we go to this spa called the Lotus and rent out a sauna. It's like a small log cabin inside, and there is a room where the pool is. The water reaches about to my shoulders, which shows you how deep it is. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, and how it guides us in our lives. I told how I prayed to know if I should serve a mission, and the answer I received. I have never regretted this decision.
                      
So my trainer, Elder Washburn, has officially left for home. I still have a long adventure left, Mom, so just don't think about it yet. There are many changes as with the transfer. I will be staying in Novokuznetsk, thankfully, with Elder Terry, who has been out for 12 weeks. He is from St. George. Yeah, this is going to be awesome! Two greenie missionaries in the youngest city in the Mission! Don't worry, because I know that This is the Lord's work. That is just another reason that this is truly His work, because a companionship like this could not work for any other organization. Elder Terry is the missionary in the picture of us on the couch, and I have my arm on his shoulder. He is really funny, and hard-working. When President Rolfe was praying about transfers, he said he got a definite answer that this companionship had to be. He was really specific about that, that this was definitely supposed to happen. So, I am just excited for the work, and we have great investigators!
RIght now I am in the mission office typing this e-mail, but we first wrote e-mails in an internet club. It was hot, there was bad music playing, and many people just gaming. It hurt my head to be in there. Then Vladimir showed us the Biblioteka, which is a library. It was so quiet, and lovely in that place, so that's where we e-mail now.
For excercising, we go to this jogging track that has pull-up bars around. Pretty much it looks like a prison yard. The track is broken up, the bars are kind of rusty, and there is broken glass everywhere. It's awesome.

The first is Nikolai. Well, two are Nikolai. The first was a person who came to English club, a while before I came into Novokuznetsk, and was really interested to learn more about the church. He didn't give his information, but promised to come to church. He didn't, because his work changed. Elder Washburn prayed to find him again, and we did as we were walking home from sports night! Every Saturday night, we play sports with investigators, members, and other people from English club. We got Nikolai's info, and we taught him. We gave him a Restoration packet, and he filled it out completely, which you never find in an investigator. He knows it's true, and we have a baptismal date for him on the 17th of Sept. When we met with him the second time, he came in a white shirt and tie, because he read that you should wear that when you go to meetings. That shows how awesome this guy is! He doesn't smoke or drink, which is a major plus. He is a miner, because his father died, and he had to work to support his family. He is really intelligent, and he likes inventing, drawing, and advertisements. We gave him MormonAds, which he loved. His work schedule is really weird, and so I pray that he will be able to change his schedule, to come to church every week. We committed him to that, and he said he would do all in his power to change it, so please pray for him.
The next Nikolai is a 70-year old man, who has literally NO religious background. That doesn't mean he doesn't believe in God, but just he has no idea who God or Jesus Christ are. We watched Finding Faith in Christ, which was funny since he fell asleep a few times in the movie. But he liked it, and he came to church, which is a major plus as always.

Another person, which should be a baptism soon is Andre, who is 12 years old and his mother is Valia. He is a funny kid, but he is sort of emotional. He wants to be baptized, but he sort of has a short attention span. Just your normal kid.

Vladimir is pretty much the most awesome person I know. He is totally dedicated to the gospel, and he is willing to do all that he needs to do in order to reach the temple. One thing that makes me nervous is that he recently left to Moscow to get married. He met someone on this religious forum, and they talked on the phone and by e-mail, and they are getting married. He told her that he found a new church, and she is open to it, and is being excommunicated from her own religion, but we just don't know what she will think. You can't say to someone here that you can only marry in the faith, because there is just no one. He says things will be okay, and I don't doubt that he will just apostate, but there is a brother named Vania in our branch and his wife was baptized, but is super inactive and not-supportive. It's hard for him. I know that Vladimir wants to go to the temple, and I gave him a picture of the Kyiv temple with the "I love to see the temple" primary song written in Russian on the back. Just please pray for him, that things will work out, because I don't want to lose him.

You know you are truly teaching by the Spirit, because you are teaching someone you love, not just because you want to save someone. You are saving a loved one. I love all my investigators.

After the baptism, Elder Washburn, I, and Vladimir went to this old fort called the Krepic, which was really cool. It meant a lot to Vladimir as we just bonded. I wanted to make sure that I had a good relationship with Vladimir, as Elder Washburn would be leaving, and I would still be here. He is just such a good friend to me.

Elder Washburn, Vladimir, Elder Hoggan

Fort Krepic


I love you all, I love the work
This is definitely the Lord's work.
Prayers are answered.

Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)

P.S. Thank you so much for the letters you send me! I wish that I could reply back with a letter, but it is very difficult, and there literally is no time to do such. I will try to reply, but please don't be mad that I don't immediately reply. I will try.

Novokuznetsk Branch @ "Salon of Salvation"

And for a Christmas package, please send fun little American trinkets, such as keychains, or little things like that. The people love things like that. Also fun American candy, whatever your heart desires. I am in no place to be demanding. There are many people that don't have the luxuries that we have, and we even have a lot less in our apartment.

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