Family Home Evening is so important!

Dear family and friends:

This will probably be the most important e-mail I have ever sent, and so I want to save the most important thing for last.

First, on Monday we had Family Home Meeting at one of our member's apartment. We had two investigators there, Lana and Sergei. They are a couple, soon to be married. We talked about the Word of Wisdom, and the father of the family (the member) testified how he was able to overcome smoking and drinking through prayer. A missionary committed him to see if God would help him or not to follow this commandment, and he did. His family has been sealed in the temple, and his son is waiting to be sealed with his wife in the temple. Just so you know, Family Home Evening is probably the most important thing you can give your family. It is a commandment to have Family Home Evening. It almost brought me to tears to see this family, so strong in the gospel, because they regularly had Family Home Evening. They cherished this time together. So any family that is reading this blog, have Family Home Evening!

Also, I had my first splits this week. During a transfer, our District Leader plans splits in order to train and work with every elder in his district. His name is Elder Bonous (Banoose), and he is awesome! I have never met anyone else that loves reading books, singing, musicals, and dancing like him! Yeah, he was in Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, and Children of Eden, like me! No he wasn't at my school, but he did those musicals in high school, and Children of Eden at BYU. I really appreciated that training, and I hope to take what he taught me and become an even better missionary.

Another amazing thing, there was a baptism this week! His name is Pavel, and he is in his late 20's, black hair in a ponytail, and he is taller than me! Elder Stewart, who is about 5ft 4in baptized him, and it completely worked! He was a really great guy, and he is already preparing to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. It is amazing that missionaries are finding these people, who have been prepared by the hand of God to accept this message. In Novosibirsk, they actually have a font, instead of a sauna like in Novokuznetsk.

That Sunday, the Branch President asked me to bear my testimony about my family. I of course told them about how I have 10 nieces and nephews, and that got a big laugh. Then I told them about how all the men in my family had served missions, and how I saw what great blessings they received from their missions even today, that I knew I wanted to serve a mission. I also talked about how we are sealed as a family for time and all eternity, and that I receive blessings from that even today. I was so grateful for those blessings, that my family is forever. That is why I am in Russia right now, so that all of these people can be sealed to their families, and eventually we will all be sealed together, as one giant family. These people are literally my brothers and sisters, and I love them all.

We also have started a choir. Sister Webb, one of the senior missionaries, is making a choir with all of the members in Novosibirsk.  We had practice and though only about 12 people came, it was very fun. Also, there was one choir member who actually knows how to step dance...almost like clogging! He taught me a few steps, and we talked about how maybe we could do a dance for a talent show, if I don't get transferred. I don't know right now, but we will see. 

Now for the most amazing news ever. I have known about it for a few weeks, and I think now I am going to share it... Ever since being in the MTC, I felt that I was being prepared to be a part of something big that would happen in Russia. I had no idea what it was, but I knew that it was going to be big. President Gibbons has prayed about this for a while, and no one can hide the excitement about what is going to happen here...We are going to have a stake in Novosibirsk. A Stake in Siberia. Just think about that for a few moments. It may seem small to people in Utah, since our cities have multiple stakes, but in Siberia right now, no one has the authority to distribute keys for the leadership positions in this mission. Only the mission president can. With a stake, they will have a stake president, a patriarch, wards, bishops, all of that. This Siberian Stake is not just a fantasy, but will become a reality. The Mission President sees that this stake will be built and established before many of us leave to go home. That is what I have been prepared for, to help build a stake here in Novosibirsk, Russia. Every time I think about it, it just makes my heart race with excitement!

So what I ask from you people reading this blog, is to pray for us that we may find people to build this stake. We need to have about 99 active tithe-paying Melchizedek priesthood holders, and 5 wards in order to build a stake. Please pray for these people. Please pray that we will be able to build this stake. My dream right now is to see this stake established before I leave. I could think of no greater honor, than to say I helped build a stake in Siberia.

That is the big news. A Siberian Stake!

Please pray for us.

I love you all.

I love this mission.

This gospel is undoubtedly true.

Elder Hoggan (The Siberian, Stake-Building, Messenger)