President Gibbons is a man of power, called of God.

Hey, subscribers of the Siberian Messenger!

I have been really blessed thus far in my mission experience thus far in my mission. The Mission President, President Gibbons, I testify that he is called of God to be our mission president.

He has gotten rid of everything that is not Preach my Gospel and the Missionary Handbook. He has completely transformed the mission and things are awesome! What amazes me, is that when he interviews people, he has never used a translator. He is learning Russian, so that he can serve in Russian. It is difficult, and it humbles me that this man, who has so many things to do is willing to learn this language. Every time I talk to him, I feel his love for me, and it makes me more excited about this mission. He is going to do the most amazing things for Novosibirsk.

I wish that I could show pictures, we are still trying to figure that out. Novosibirsk in the fall is beautiful. There are many trees and the leaves are beautiful. It has been very cool, but not very cold. I have been happy and healthy all this time.

I haven't seen conference yet, but next Sat. and Sun. we will be able to see conference.

I had a "missionary moment" that is common in every mission. You just can't be a missionary without burning something when you are cooking. We were making cookies, and Russian ovens don't have specific temperature measurements. We put the cookies in and went in the other room. Seven minutes later, I get this feeling, "What about our cookies?" I run into the kitchen to see smoke pouring out of the oven. We hastily try to get all the smoke out of the apartment, and we look at the cookies. They are charcoal. Don't worry, there was no damage, and we are okay. It was just an interesting adventure,

Did I ever tell you that Elder Voronkov is a vegetarian? Well, he is, and it is interesting to see him cook. He uses sour cream in everything! When he was making salad, he cut up the vegetables, and poured a bunch of sour cream with it. To me, salad is a lot of leafy vegetables with a small drizzle of dressing, not soaking in sour cream, so it was kinda strange to me. I have found a compromise, which I put it on slices of bread, and it is quite tasty.

Elder Newenschwander (however his name is spelled) from the Quorum of the Seventy, came to Novosibirsk to give patriarchal blessings. He is German, but he can speak really good Russian. It is amazing to see the different tribes that are in Novosibirsk. Some people are actually from the tribe of Ephraim, which amazed me. I am excited to be able to help find all the tribes of Israel here in Novosibirsk.  Elder Newenschwander also talked about setting up the church in Russia twenty years ago and how frustrating that was.  He talked about how we all have to remember that this is the Lord's church and He is in charge.  We just have to do our best with our stewardship and the Lord will do the rest.

President Gibbons and his wife sat in one of our lessons, and he helped teach, in his limited knowledge of Russian, and his Spirit is powerful. It was amazing. I could actually feel his power. I hope that I can have that power when I teach. That is the power that senior couples have in missionary work. Their testimony is of years of trials and faith. I am just a kid, with little experience, but I have a testimony.

President Gibbons testified in sacrament meeting about the miracle of the loaves and fishes. He said, "I only have one loaf, and no fish. How can I feed the multitude?" Through Jesus Christ, despite us being "one" person, we can feed the multitude and all will be filled. That was a real faith builder, because I saw President Gibbons as a man of power, but he felt that he was weak. But he knew that through Christ, he could serve, and I know that I can, too.

There was a fireside, which we attended, and I translated for Elder and Sister Huffaker. Just think, I have been out here for 4 months, and I can translate. Maybe not perfectly, but I can. It was fun, hard, and a real testimony builder to me. I don't know how I could do that  with my lack of training, but I know God is constantly helping us.

In closing, God bless you all.

Please pray for the people here in the Novosibirsk mission.

Please pray for the missionaries.

This gospel is true.

I love you all.

Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)