New Area Authority Seventy: Yuri Gushin!

Dear Family

First of all, I wanted to say...YAY! I just recently heard that in conference, there is a new member of the Area Authority Seventy, named Yuri Gushin, who is from Novosibirsk! I served in his branch, and he is an amazing member. You have no idea how I reacted when we went over to a member's house for home teaching and they told us the news. This is just another step closer to having a stake. I hope you got to see him. Now there is a Russian Seventy, next there will be a Russian Apostle!

Well, what happened this week? Oh wait, I was in Novosibirsk again! Just so you know, I am leaving for Novosibirsk today to go on splits with the Zone Leaders. That will be my fourth time going to Novosibirsk since this transfer started. The work of a missionary never stops!
We had trainership meeting, and it was amazing. President Gibbons compared the building of the Salt Lake Temple to the building of the stake here in Siberia. it took 39 years to build the outside. That is like the building of the foundation, or the building of the district. The prophet challenged the people to finish the temple within a year, and they did! President Gibbons firmly believes that there will be a stake here in Siberia, and that it could happen within a year. I want to see the formation of this stake, and I might even ask for an extension to my mission in order to see it. I know it is not my choice, for it is the Lord's will, but that is how I feel about it.
President Gibbons continued about our duties as leaders to receive revelation. We need to be 100% worthy and in tune to receive that crucial revelation. I have never really realized how powerful revelation is. As a district leader, I have definitely received guidance, and it is amazing. The hand of God is literally directing this work, and I have seen it.
We have a new investigator, and his name is Oleg. He was actually taught by the missionaries a while ago, and for some reason they stopped. He has a wife and daughter, and he is a manager for a coal mine. He loves the Book of Mormon, and he has come to church a few times. He is such a nice guy, and we hope to meet with his family. We invited them to church, but they were unable to attend. I really hope that they will accept the gospel, as our branch desperately needs families.
Being here in Siberia, where the church is so young in its growth, I have seen the necessity of programs such as Family Home Evening, and Home and Visiting Teaching. If we fulfilled these callings to the full potential, there would be fewer less active and inactive members of the church. These programs are to save souls, which is our duty.
I hope to start a finding activity, to find families. The church really wants missionaries to use family history to find new investigators, and I had some ideas. We don't have a family history center in Russia, but we could hold a seminar. People here are really interested in their ancestry. I am planning to set up booths on the street, and inviting people to learn more about family history, and about the websites that the church owns. Did you know that you can index Russian documents? Returned missionaries are doing that, and what would be a greater use of time that to help index documents? I really want to get involved in that when I return...in a year's time.
Four days, and I will have been a missionary for a year. Wow how time flies. I can't believe what I have learned and experienced here. There is no greater experience for your life than a mission. I have learned things that I could never learn by myself. I have seen the hand of God literally guide and direct my life. I have seen people change their lives, and how much more wonderful and full their lives are thanks to the gospel. This is literally the work of God. I have literally had a feeling, and when I acted upon it, miracles happened! I have discovered that we are in the company of prophets and disciples. In a way, missionaries are prophets, and their service is their dispensation. President Gibbons called me a "boy prophet" much like Joseph Smith, called to build His kingdom in the far reaches of Siberia. I don't know how this work could be accomplished by someone as young as me, unless God was with him.
God lives, and His Son Jesus Christ is our Savior. There is no other power upon the earth that we can be forgiven of our mistakes and sins. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ DID reveal themselves to Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is literally the word of God. This gospel is true, and I could never deny it. Families will be together forever. Death has no power upon us. I can't wait until we can all meet together again, to live in an eternal family in eternal happiness. My job right now is to try to get as many people as I can to return with me. Please stay faithful to this gospel, because life is nothing without family, and family is everything in the gospel.
I love you all, this gospel is true.
Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)
Старейшина Хогган (Сибирский Посланник)

Siberian Winter