Dear friends and family,
What a
week this has been! How shall I start? Well, I wonder how many missionaries
ever experienced going for days
at a time without any meetings? We would try
to set up meetings withpeople, and then they would just fall through. It
gets really frustrating, going out to talk to people, trying to find people
who would be interested in hearing the gospel, and many people are
really fascinated that we don't drink. (One day, we talked to a man, and
he offered me a cup of beer. I told him we don't drink alcohol, and
we never will. He said "pity") Then out of nowhere, Heavenly Father
makes bare His holy arm, and shows that he is in control of
everything. Our first meeting was on Thursday. We were having weekly
planning, and we were trying to figure out how we can get more meetings, and
more investigators. Then we get a call from a former investigator. Do
you remember Oleg, about two transfers ago? He called us himself, and
set up a meeting for that day. We go over to the branch for our
meeting, and he takes some new Liahona magazines, and then asks us if we
could talk for a little bit. He askes, "What happened after Joseph Smith
saw God and Jesus Christ? We talked about how the priesthood was
restored, and that because of that, the church was restored. He then asks,
"What does the Gospel mean?" We were happy to explain the five steps of
the Gospel, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost,
and Enduring to the End. We couldn't meet any longer, but we set up
a meeting for Sunday.
Then an inactive member, Denis, we met with him
after that. It isreally hard to meet with him, because he lives on a
military base outside the city. Missionaries aren't allowed to go over there.
I called him one day to invite him to a fireside, and he actually
came! After that, he asked that we just call to keep in touch, and so
we did. When I called him on Thursday, he was just about to call us,
and set up a meeting with us. We were more than happy to oblige.
He recently went through surgery on his leg and back, and after
our meeting we gave him a blessing. Later that week, when we called
him again, he said how he felt that blessing really helped him. He is
such a nice man, and we hope to meet with him more, and help him come
to church. Next, we had a meeting set up with a member, and we went over.
We didn't expect it at the time, but her husband was there, and he is
not a member. We ended up teaching him, and his wife was a great help.
We gave him his own copy of the Book of Mormon. He had come to church
a few times, and also other activities, but never met with
missionaries. We planned a meeting later this week, and we hope all will be
well. So we were hoping to have many investigators come to church, but
in the end none of them were able to come. This just shows that
Heavenly Father is still in charge, even when things are rough.
In my
experiences, as I reach my year mark serving in Russia, I realize how
important members are in inviting friends and family to hear this great
message we share. Now having been on both sides, Missionary and Member, I see
the struggles between them. When I return, I am going to do all I can to
invite my friends to hear more about the gospel. I won't be wearing my tag,
but this mission is just the start of my lifelong mission. I ask you to pray
to know specifically who of your group of friends is prepared by the hand
of the Lord to receive the restored gospel, and then invite them. Do
not be afraid to ask, because what would be the worst they say, No?
If they are truly your friends, you would want to share anything wonderful
with them. What is more wonderful than the Gospel? Please do your part as a
member, because it makes a missionary's work so much more easy. I hope
everything is well with the whole family. Every once in a while I feel their
prayers in my behalf. I shudder to think what missionary work would be here
without those prayers. I love you all. I amexpecially excited to hear about
Britton's baptism. I am so proud of him! This gospel is true, for without
this gospel, I have nothing. Life isn't easy, it's not meant to be easy, but
it is possible. Not only is it possible, but it is worth it.
Elder
Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)
I have a few questions to ask:
Who
were the first members of the church in our ancestry? What is their
conversion story? How did Dad and Andrew meet, and his conversion
story? Is there anyone in our extended family that went to a foreign speaking
mission?
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