Well, hello my lovely family!
(Just so you know, mom, I don't know how well the Skype will work out. The Holmes said that skype on their computer shuts down if they use video. We asked the branch secretary about using it, and the internet isn't working there either. We will figure something out, and it will definitely be on that date.) The weather here has been crazy! Just a few days ago, we were walking around in short-sleeved shirts, and today, we are wearing suits and coats! What is the weather like in Utah? It has been so long that I totally forgot what it was like. Please tell me.
Also, I was sort of hoping that you were planning to go to England with me as like a coming home present, since we went to Yellowstone before Andrew left on his mission, Mexico before Michael left, and we didn't even go to Chuck E. Cheese before I left. (I hope that gets a good laugh) Whatever. I'm here in Russia, and that beats all of the rest, including Chuck E. Cheese.
What interesting things have we done this week? Well, there was a huge windstorm that blew down a fence nearby the apartment we live. It made me think when our fence broke from the mudslide, and we thought it was a tornado. We came back that evening, and people were already fixing it back up.
We have had a lot of interesting conversations with people on the street. Whenever we ask people if they are religious, or if they believe in God, 95% of people say yes, because they were baptized in the Orthodox church, and they show the cross they wear. Then I usually say one of two things: "How did you know for yourself that God lives?", or "What does baptism mean to you?" This really takes people off guard. With the first question, they usually tell about how their grandma went to church, (They always say Бабушка--Babooshka to mean their grandmother, or just any old lady on the street. It's almost like another race of people.) or that they were taught to read the Bible. I still haven't heard someone give a specific moment as to how they knew God to live, or that the Bible is the word of God. Then it opens up to a testimony how I came to know. I know, because I prayed to God about it. I specifically asked whether or not this gospel is true, and I received a specific answer that it is indeed true. The next question, "What does baptism mean to you?", proves a similar point. Some people really don't know what it means, just that it is necessary. One of our investigators, Andrei, even said he didn't know what it meant to him. Then I say how baptism is a very sacred and wonderful ordinance that we covenant with God to follow his commandments, always be representatives of Jesus Christ, or be examples of Him, always remember what Christ did for us, and then God promises that His Spirit, or the Holy Ghost will be with us always. To guide, direct, and comfort us. People are really taken aback, and it really strikes true to them. That is one thing that I have really come to know about this gospel which we share. We just don't say these things because they are good, but we know them to be true. We KNOW them to be true. It is a knowledge obtained by faith, and once we receive that answer from God, we then know for ourselves. One man said that maybe what I said was true, but I said "I know it to be true, because I prayed to Heavenly Father about it, and He gave me the answer that it is true." No one can deny that sort of testimony. Well, we also had a meeting with our investigator, Andrei, and we talked about the Plan of Salvation. He actually said that he agreed with some of the parts, but he wasn't sure if he believed the rest. He believed that there was life after death, but he didn't really know what would be. We asked him to read the Book of Mormon, and then pray to God if it is true. He said that he might. Then we met with a recent convert Dasha. We talked about commandments and why we follow them. I made this comparison on the spot. Say that there are two books on a table, and I read one. I only focus on reading one, even if I want to read the other one. It is like focusing on work, school, or something. It may be a wonderful thing that helps a lot, but without picking up the other book (maybe it is the scriptures) We cannot grow in knowledge. We are stuck, because we depleted our choices. That is like with addictions. We are stuck reading one book, and we can't read another. Another meeting we had was with Igor. He is a really nice man that works in the guard shack in the parking lot of the apartment complex that the Holmes live in. One time, he stops us and asks us what we are doing. He sees us so many times, he was curious. We told him we were missionaries, and that we wanted to talk to him about the restored gospel. So later in the week, we met with him again, and shared more about the restoration. We haven't met with him more recently, but I really hope we can. It reminds me when I was serving in Novosibirsk and teaching Pavel in the apartment, sitting on the floor on old pieces of wallpaper. You teach people in the most interesting of places. Today, we actually did some service, as one of the members was moving to a new apartment. A good number of members came, and it took us about two hours to move from one apartment to the other. It was really good, and we are going to clean around the new branch building tomorrow for service. We hope to move to the new building in the middle of June. Another man we talked to actually watches the Jazz, and he loves them! He was interested when we said we were from Utah. I had never heard anyone hear talk about the Utah Jazz, and I just realized that Andrei Kirilenko is Russian...I can't believe I didn't get that. I just am really happy to be a missionary. There are no greater blessings in life that serving God, and this is just another time to show my gratitude to him for all that He has done for me.
I love you all, and hope to see you on Mother's Day!
Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)
I just love you all!
(Just so you know, mom, I don't know how well the Skype will work out. The Holmes said that skype on their computer shuts down if they use video. We asked the branch secretary about using it, and the internet isn't working there either. We will figure something out, and it will definitely be on that date.) The weather here has been crazy! Just a few days ago, we were walking around in short-sleeved shirts, and today, we are wearing suits and coats! What is the weather like in Utah? It has been so long that I totally forgot what it was like. Please tell me.
Also, I was sort of hoping that you were planning to go to England with me as like a coming home present, since we went to Yellowstone before Andrew left on his mission, Mexico before Michael left, and we didn't even go to Chuck E. Cheese before I left. (I hope that gets a good laugh) Whatever. I'm here in Russia, and that beats all of the rest, including Chuck E. Cheese.
What interesting things have we done this week? Well, there was a huge windstorm that blew down a fence nearby the apartment we live. It made me think when our fence broke from the mudslide, and we thought it was a tornado. We came back that evening, and people were already fixing it back up.
We have had a lot of interesting conversations with people on the street. Whenever we ask people if they are religious, or if they believe in God, 95% of people say yes, because they were baptized in the Orthodox church, and they show the cross they wear. Then I usually say one of two things: "How did you know for yourself that God lives?", or "What does baptism mean to you?" This really takes people off guard. With the first question, they usually tell about how their grandma went to church, (They always say Бабушка--Babooshka to mean their grandmother, or just any old lady on the street. It's almost like another race of people.) or that they were taught to read the Bible. I still haven't heard someone give a specific moment as to how they knew God to live, or that the Bible is the word of God. Then it opens up to a testimony how I came to know. I know, because I prayed to God about it. I specifically asked whether or not this gospel is true, and I received a specific answer that it is indeed true. The next question, "What does baptism mean to you?", proves a similar point. Some people really don't know what it means, just that it is necessary. One of our investigators, Andrei, even said he didn't know what it meant to him. Then I say how baptism is a very sacred and wonderful ordinance that we covenant with God to follow his commandments, always be representatives of Jesus Christ, or be examples of Him, always remember what Christ did for us, and then God promises that His Spirit, or the Holy Ghost will be with us always. To guide, direct, and comfort us. People are really taken aback, and it really strikes true to them. That is one thing that I have really come to know about this gospel which we share. We just don't say these things because they are good, but we know them to be true. We KNOW them to be true. It is a knowledge obtained by faith, and once we receive that answer from God, we then know for ourselves. One man said that maybe what I said was true, but I said "I know it to be true, because I prayed to Heavenly Father about it, and He gave me the answer that it is true." No one can deny that sort of testimony. Well, we also had a meeting with our investigator, Andrei, and we talked about the Plan of Salvation. He actually said that he agreed with some of the parts, but he wasn't sure if he believed the rest. He believed that there was life after death, but he didn't really know what would be. We asked him to read the Book of Mormon, and then pray to God if it is true. He said that he might. Then we met with a recent convert Dasha. We talked about commandments and why we follow them. I made this comparison on the spot. Say that there are two books on a table, and I read one. I only focus on reading one, even if I want to read the other one. It is like focusing on work, school, or something. It may be a wonderful thing that helps a lot, but without picking up the other book (maybe it is the scriptures) We cannot grow in knowledge. We are stuck, because we depleted our choices. That is like with addictions. We are stuck reading one book, and we can't read another. Another meeting we had was with Igor. He is a really nice man that works in the guard shack in the parking lot of the apartment complex that the Holmes live in. One time, he stops us and asks us what we are doing. He sees us so many times, he was curious. We told him we were missionaries, and that we wanted to talk to him about the restored gospel. So later in the week, we met with him again, and shared more about the restoration. We haven't met with him more recently, but I really hope we can. It reminds me when I was serving in Novosibirsk and teaching Pavel in the apartment, sitting on the floor on old pieces of wallpaper. You teach people in the most interesting of places. Today, we actually did some service, as one of the members was moving to a new apartment. A good number of members came, and it took us about two hours to move from one apartment to the other. It was really good, and we are going to clean around the new branch building tomorrow for service. We hope to move to the new building in the middle of June. Another man we talked to actually watches the Jazz, and he loves them! He was interested when we said we were from Utah. I had never heard anyone hear talk about the Utah Jazz, and I just realized that Andrei Kirilenko is Russian...I can't believe I didn't get that. I just am really happy to be a missionary. There are no greater blessings in life that serving God, and this is just another time to show my gratitude to him for all that He has done for me.
I love you all, and hope to see you on Mother's Day!
Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)
I just love you all!
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