I am going to be Skyping Christmas morning, Dec. 25th at 8:00 AM, which puts it at 6:00 PM for you on Christmas Eve. I am so excited to see and talk to everyone. I can't wait to see how big the grandkids are!
So what happened this week?
WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL....
Last Monday, on P-day, we were playing football in the snow. The very first pass, Elder Patton on the opposing team, the ball is passed to him, I try to intercept it from behind, but the ball slips through Elder Patton's fingers, and hits me right in the face, knocking my glasses off. My face got all swollen and red, my lip was swollen and bleeding, and I wish I had a picture. I wanted a black eye, but no such luck. All was well the next morning. My glasses frames broke, but the miracle of Super Glue came to the rescue, but there is still a big chip in the frame. No damage to the lenses, thank goodness!
I was wearing my big heavy coat I bought a few months back, and oh my GOSH it is hot! The hood is really good, because it takes the wind chill off, and the coat is full of down, so I feel like a giant marshmallow.
We met with Anton this week, and began teaching him the commandments. He is very into fitness, so he doesn't smoke, or drink. He speaks pretty good English, and he keeps saying, "It is easy. The commandments are 1st class," or like kindergarten. I wonder what he will think when we start talking about tithing and Sabbath day observance. Will it still be 1st class?
Then Wednesday, we met with an inactive member. She is little бабушка (Babooshka or grandma. Teach the grandchildren that for me! Grandpa is Дедушка (Dedooshka)). She is an amazing painter. She has actually sold paintings, and they are really pretty. She treated us to some fine Russian dining, namely the fabled холодец (halla-detz). Dad, this is a dish I hope you will never make. Pretty much it is jello, but it is made of fat and pig parts. The jello is lard....then there are meat chunks...it is salty, and she said it wasn't as salty as she would like...it was horrible. That was by far the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten, and I hope to never eat again. I knew about холодец at the MTC, but I still wanted to eat some, just to say that I have eaten it. My companion didn't know what it was, and she gave him an extra helping...Poor him.
We were in a splits, so I was with an Elder Hyde. We had nothing planned for the evening, so we decided to go tracting. In Russia, the apartments are locked with what is known as a domaphone. You key in the house number on this pad, and you can talk to them on a phone that is built in the apartment. They can allow you into the apartment building by pushing a button on the phone. The challenge is getting someone to let you in. Once you are in, you can knock on all the apartment doors. Most people don't really open the doors, but ask through who you are. The first instance, we finally got in, and we knocked on a door at the very top. This old lady spoke, and she demanded to know what we wanted. When she heard we were missionaries, she told us to leave. We were leaving,walking down the stairs, and then she opened the door, and demanded to know who let us in the apartment. We didn't know who it was, and she demanded why we knocked on her door. She seemed to not believe that we were missionaries. I walked up to tell her what we were here for and she told me to not move further. She was angry, and demanded us to leave, we did, and left quickly as she was knocking on another person's door. It was a wonderful experience.
The best part about this week was the Christmas program. It reminded me of home, and I took care to take pictures. I hope you like them! It was so cute to hear the primary children singing the Nativity Song. Elder Patton and I were part of the choir, and the pictures were from the choir seats. The nativity was very well done, and it was wonderful to think that thousands of miles away, my family would do the same thing. It was almost exactly like ours, and I even think they attempted to use a real baby for the Christ Child!
I am excited to see you all, and to see how much the kids have grown.
Christmas is a very special holiday for me, and even being far away from home, I grow in love for the holiday. I have family here in Novosibirsk, and I don't feel homesick at all. The places and people may be different, but the Savior and His love for us is still the same everywhere. That is all that matters, for it is His birth that we celebrate.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas! С днём Рождество (S-gnome Rozh-dect-vo)
Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)
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