This week I am very excited to write you all and tell you about all the miracles I have seen this week. First off, I have a new companion Sister Workman. She is different from most of my other companions and we have a lot of similar interests in movies and tv shows. But it will be interesting to see how our working relationship will be. One thing I have learned is that it is one thing to be friends with your companions but being friends does not always guarantee a good working relationship. I'll admit that out of necessity I need to be more proactive in speaking Russian, which is scary because I can't use the excuse that my companion should know because she has been out longer. Sister Workman has been in Russia one transfer less than I have.
Thursday we had our transfer meeting and we got to meet the new missionaries and exchange companions. We had our stake Christmas concert and it was fabulous. The sister missionaries sang "What Child Is This?" and afterwords several people said that we sounded like angels. Most importantly, a lot of people came! Members, inactives, people from english club. It was great to see the hall so filled. And some people stood in the back for the entire program.
The rest of the week we have been hunting inactives and trying to make contact with as many as possible. We have also starting carolling as a district and it is a lot of fun. Sometimes people give us strange or dirty looks but occasionally some people will stop and listen. But lately we have had some success with inactives. We dropped by one lady and she let us in! We explained that we were new in the area and trying to get to know everyone. We were only able to drop off our chocolate bar but she said she would come to church and see off there.
Sunday was a day full of miracles. I was so nervous for Sunday because there was a lot to get done to prepare Valeria for baptism. I poured my heart out in prayer that everyone would work out and that I would have the language abilities to communicate everything.
First off, we attended International ward and Maria was confirmed! She was even able to be confirmed in Tagalog, her native language. I was so happy. Then we had a lesson and talked about her ancestors. She is becoming worried for their salvation and has been thinking of them and wants to do their work for them. She pointed out that since she is the only member in her family doing their work really is her responsibility.
Then Russian church! Valeria AND Anna came! Anna is a lady who came a few weeks ago and no one knew that she wasn't a member. So when our ward mission leader asked if we got her number we were shocked to find out she was not a member. Since then I got her number and have called her a few times. When I asked if she wanted to learn more about the Church she mentioned that she had some questions and said we could meet after the holidays. I found out later from Sister Sorenson (President and Sister Sorenson came to our church) that Anna told Sister Sorenson that she appreciated the calls us sisters made. Really, the phone calls were very short and I had hoped that I was not bothering her.
I'll admit I have been very stressed out about Valeria. She has not been able to meet for two weeks and wants to be baptized. Everytime we tried to meet with her outside of church our meeting would be cancelled for one reason or another. So I was beginning to get worried and our lesson on Sunday would determine how things would work out.
After Sacrament meeting we had our lesson with Valeria and we were able to have a member on the lesson. That member really made all the difference because we had a lot of commandments to talk about with her. But Valeria wants to be baptized and that desire has helped motivate her. We discussed prophets, law of Chastity, Word of Wisdom, Tithing, and the Sabbath Day. We managed to get through all of them and it she really enjoyed learning about them. Afterwards she said that she felt really encouraged and comforted. Valentina, the member, was great. Since she is a convert she had several stories to back up her testimonies and made sure that we did not forget to cover anything. Really, she was inspired by the spirit because as we talked about Word of Wisdom Valentina shared her struggle with giving up coffee and pointed out that it was hard at first. Later in the lesson Valeria said that she will give up coffee and said it would be hard but when we taught her she seemed to accept it and she was willing to give it up. Valentina was also very encouraging and pointed that that at her baptism she did not have a strong testimony about prophets but a few weeks later her branch president assigned her to give a talk prophets. She said as she learned more and grew in the gospel that strong testimony came. All in all I think that Valeria is ready for baptism.
The miracles don't stop there. Two inactives came to church! And one of them was an older lady with whom we meet with about every other week. She has a cane and does not walk well so she would need a ride to come to church. So imagine my surprise when I got to Relief Society and I saw her sitting there. I was ecstatic. Then the lady who said she would see us at church came!
Today we went ice skating as a zone on Red Square. It was a lot of fun and I didn't fall! Afterwards we went to Chili's. While I was at Chilis the phone rang and I answered. Last week we went inactive hunting and stopped by one lady's house. She was not home but we were able to get into her building and left her some chocolate and a liahona. Well, she called us and when I asked if we could meet she said yes! The Lord is richly pouring out more miracles and blessing than I could ever hope for. Truly, the Christmas season is a time of miracles and is perhaps softening some hearts.
That was my week. All in all my weekend was pretty incredible. As I already said Christmas truly is a magical time and a time of miracles. All of this reminds me that this truly is the Lord's work and it comes in His timing. This has also reminded me that God truly hears our prayers and answers them. The answer does not come immediately but it comes. Also, I know that those things that worry us or are of great importance to us are very important to our Heavenly Father.
About the weather! There is more snow now which only started to stick yesterday. I still have not pulled out my winter jacket but it has started to get colder and I wear my boots more often. As to the new native sisters, I would love to serve with any of them. They are all great and full of faith.
Time is just about up. Thank you for your prayers. They are always needed and always greeted with great love from me. Thank you for all you are doing to help me.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Transfers, Kiev, and a Baptism oh my!
First off, I will answer questions about the protest: I have no idea what happened. We got a phone call from our district leader on Friday telling us to stay away from the Center of Moscow and not to wear name tags. As for Saturday (the day of the protest) I have no idea what went on or what the protests were about. I wasn't even in Moscow. I was in Kiev. But more on that later.
It has been an interesting week. First, Maria was baptized yesterday! It turned out to be a great baptism. The only day off she had was Sunday so it happened yesterday after church. She was so excited and although not a lot of people were able to come a good number showed up. A few of her Filipino friends came, a few American members, and some of the Africans. The baptism started on time and her friend, the one that introduced her to the church, gave a talk on baptism. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and I think it went well. I'll admit I prepared for the talk but I had no time during the week to write anything down. But I just looked at Maria as I spoke and the words seemed to flow. After she was baptized she could not stop crying because she was happy. It was a really good day.
Afterwards we practiced for the stake Christmas concert which will be this Thursday. As a stake we are singing O Holy Night in Russia. It's a shame none of you will be there because it is going to sound great.
On Friday we found out about transfers. I am staying in Sokolniki but Sister Rasmussen is leaving and I will be senior companion. I am pretty nervous but now the phone will be my responsibility. I am not training but my trainer, Sister Bullough is training again and this time a native. She is pretty scared and nervous so I told she would be alright. After all, I am still alive. Her response was, "You were easy to train! I didn't really have to do anything!" Sister Rasmussen will actually be serving with Sister Thrall, my MTC companion, and Sister Horspool, who was in my ward at BYU. I will be getting Sister Workman, Sister Horspool's companion right now. Although I have only been in my area for 8 weeks after this transfer I will be the second oldest missionary in the area.
On Saturday we went to Kiev for our visa trip. Because Ukraine changed for day light savings and Russia did not we did not have a lot of time in Kiev. But at least we had time to do baptisms and we were allowed to sit in the Celestial Room. I'll admit that I am very nervous for next transfer for a lot of reasons so it was good to be out of the world and just feel peace for a little while. It was also fun to talk to the elders I arrived in Moscow with. It was also interesting to see how the dynamics and people have changed in the past 3 months.
I'll admit it does not feel like Christmas is about 2 weeks away. Honestly, these next two weeks are going to be very stressful with transfers, the concert, and trying to get Valeria ready for baptism. We have not meet with her in two weeks. First she got sick and then work has kept her pretty busy. Luckily, President told Sister Rasmussen that she can come on splits with me to help with Valeria because there is still a work that needs to be done and if we can't meet this week we are going to have to move her baptism. In my experience, moving baptisms makes baptisms harder. We had a training this past week too and we discussed baptism dates and President pointed out that as soon as you set a date it is like painting a target for Satan. Ever since we set the date all sorts of obstacles have been thrown at us.
So between training, transfers, Kiev, and the baptism not a whole lot has happened. We are continuing to meet with some less actives and trying to track down inactives. I'll admit the beginning of the week had some very hard moments which seem like a dream and I would rather keep them in the past. So essentially that has been our week, crazy and all over the place.
Mission life is going well. There are definitely challenges but so far I am surviving and my President tells me that I am thriving. I know I have changed and progressed but sometimes it is hard to see the daily progress. But long term progress begins with daily decisions. I am doing good and excited to see how things will go. Now is a time where I need to have faith and really trust the Lord. In other news I am two books away from finishing the Book of Mormon and it really has blessed my life. More importantly I have learned more about the Atonement and been working to apply it in my life.
I love you all and I am thankful that the Lord is watching over you in my stead. I know that this is the Lord's work and that He loves all of us and has so many blessing in store for us.
-Sister Daniel
PS:It is official that missionary are going to Turkey. In January one of our senior couples, an Emeritus Seventy, are moving to Turkey to begin preparing the area to receive full time missionaries.
It has been an interesting week. First, Maria was baptized yesterday! It turned out to be a great baptism. The only day off she had was Sunday so it happened yesterday after church. She was so excited and although not a lot of people were able to come a good number showed up. A few of her Filipino friends came, a few American members, and some of the Africans. The baptism started on time and her friend, the one that introduced her to the church, gave a talk on baptism. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and I think it went well. I'll admit I prepared for the talk but I had no time during the week to write anything down. But I just looked at Maria as I spoke and the words seemed to flow. After she was baptized she could not stop crying because she was happy. It was a really good day.
Afterwards we practiced for the stake Christmas concert which will be this Thursday. As a stake we are singing O Holy Night in Russia. It's a shame none of you will be there because it is going to sound great.
On Friday we found out about transfers. I am staying in Sokolniki but Sister Rasmussen is leaving and I will be senior companion. I am pretty nervous but now the phone will be my responsibility. I am not training but my trainer, Sister Bullough is training again and this time a native. She is pretty scared and nervous so I told she would be alright. After all, I am still alive. Her response was, "You were easy to train! I didn't really have to do anything!" Sister Rasmussen will actually be serving with Sister Thrall, my MTC companion, and Sister Horspool, who was in my ward at BYU. I will be getting Sister Workman, Sister Horspool's companion right now. Although I have only been in my area for 8 weeks after this transfer I will be the second oldest missionary in the area.
On Saturday we went to Kiev for our visa trip. Because Ukraine changed for day light savings and Russia did not we did not have a lot of time in Kiev. But at least we had time to do baptisms and we were allowed to sit in the Celestial Room. I'll admit that I am very nervous for next transfer for a lot of reasons so it was good to be out of the world and just feel peace for a little while. It was also fun to talk to the elders I arrived in Moscow with. It was also interesting to see how the dynamics and people have changed in the past 3 months.
I'll admit it does not feel like Christmas is about 2 weeks away. Honestly, these next two weeks are going to be very stressful with transfers, the concert, and trying to get Valeria ready for baptism. We have not meet with her in two weeks. First she got sick and then work has kept her pretty busy. Luckily, President told Sister Rasmussen that she can come on splits with me to help with Valeria because there is still a work that needs to be done and if we can't meet this week we are going to have to move her baptism. In my experience, moving baptisms makes baptisms harder. We had a training this past week too and we discussed baptism dates and President pointed out that as soon as you set a date it is like painting a target for Satan. Ever since we set the date all sorts of obstacles have been thrown at us.
So between training, transfers, Kiev, and the baptism not a whole lot has happened. We are continuing to meet with some less actives and trying to track down inactives. I'll admit the beginning of the week had some very hard moments which seem like a dream and I would rather keep them in the past. So essentially that has been our week, crazy and all over the place.
Mission life is going well. There are definitely challenges but so far I am surviving and my President tells me that I am thriving. I know I have changed and progressed but sometimes it is hard to see the daily progress. But long term progress begins with daily decisions. I am doing good and excited to see how things will go. Now is a time where I need to have faith and really trust the Lord. In other news I am two books away from finishing the Book of Mormon and it really has blessed my life. More importantly I have learned more about the Atonement and been working to apply it in my life.
I love you all and I am thankful that the Lord is watching over you in my stead. I know that this is the Lord's work and that He loves all of us and has so many blessing in store for us.
-Sister Daniel
PS:It is official that missionary are going to Turkey. In January one of our senior couples, an Emeritus Seventy, are moving to Turkey to begin preparing the area to receive full time missionaries.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Just another week
This past week I'll admit that not a whole lot happened.
Last Tuesday was exciting. We got 2 meeting on a day that was not Sunday! It was pretty great although there was a lot of running around because we have district meeting on that day as well. Our last lesson for the night is that it was with an inactive member and her investigator husband. I'll admit we did not have a lot of time to plan so the lesson went all over the place. But a good thing came from it. We ended up gearing the lesson more towards the inactive wife and talked about the blessing of going to church. As we talked I told our families inexperience in Hong Kong and how long it took to get to churchand what an influence that had on my wife. At the end we asked if she would come to church, expecting that she would refuse. Instead she said, "Probably." And she said after listening to my story the 40 minutes on the train didn't seem so bad. In the end she did not end up coming to church yesterday but for that brief moment the Holy Ghost touched her and made her consider how important coming to church and taking the sacrament really is.
The rest of the week I was sick. Despite being sick we still tried to find inactive members and try to make contact with them. Friday was probably the day I felt the worse so I ended up sleeping a lot but on the plus side by Saturday I felt a whole lot better and had more energy to work. Being sick is the worst. You want to work harder because you are sick and don't want to waste time but at the same time you get tired a lot easier. One night in particular I felt weak and then all these negative thoughts popped into my mind. All my weaknesses hit me full force. Thankfully, I recalled a talk from General Conference that I read that day and I analyzed those thoughts and to discover their source. Had I dwelled on them I would have felt discouragement so I tried my best to cast them out and come up with a plan to be better.
The week had a lot of potential but a lot of the people we planned to meet with got sick as well so we continued to try to find and contact inactives. On Saturday I had the opportunity to help someone with their French. A member from Perovo is taking a French class and asked if I could help her. She did really well but I forgot how hard French pronounciation is at first. She would say a word and then she would have me say it. After she heard me she would look at the word and asked, "How do all those letters make that sound?!" She began to get frustrated so I told her about my experiences with French and helped her feel hope. I'll admit helping her gave me flashbacks to the MTC and my first year French class.
Church yesterday was pretty exciting! We went to International in the morning and had a great fast and testimony meeting. During the meeting I looked at our investigator, Maria and she looked a little restless. When there was a break between testimonies she stood up and bore her testimony! She bore testimony about the power of prayer, the Book of Mormon, Jospesh Smith, and President Monson. I was so impressed and so happy because she was glowing. Afterwards we met with her briefly to plan her baptism. Everything is ready to go and she can't wait. I count myself as lucky to have been able to see and be a small part of her conversion process. She is someone I admire because her faith has led her to action. When her friends told her about the Word of Wisdom she gave up coffee and tried the commandment and the Lord has blessed her. Our district leader told us that when he was interviewing her he felt like he was interviewing the Brother of Jared.
Sadly, our other investigator is sick so we could not meet with her yesterday. We are trying to get her all ready for baptism on the 24th (which might end up being the busiest day of my life) of December and we are getting a little bit stressed because there are some things we still need to teach her and she still needs her interview. But this is the time to exercise our faith and continue to pray and do our best to do all we can.
This next week will be a little crazy. We find out about transfers, we have a training on Wednesday, visa trip to Kiev, and culture night. Oh, and our baptism on Sunday! But I have a lot of high hopes for this next week.
I'll admit it is now December but it does not yet feel like winter. It is warmer today so most of the snow has melted. There will be snow on the grass but only on Tuesday did we trudge through slush. It gets cold at night but so far my fall jacket is still carrying me through. I imagine in a month's time I will look back on today as a happy dream of warmth.
Well, that was my week. I am better now and determined to serve the Lord with all my might, mind, and strength. And don't worry, I love the mission but the mission has made me more excited for real life and to see what else the Lord has in store for me. He has a much greater image of what I can become. I know that it is better to look up and to look to the Lord. He really does want to help us and most times all we need to do is ask in prayer. I love you all and am so grateful that you are in my life and I am so happy to know that the Lord is taking care of you. I love you all.
-Sister Daniel
Last Tuesday was exciting. We got 2 meeting on a day that was not Sunday! It was pretty great although there was a lot of running around because we have district meeting on that day as well. Our last lesson for the night is that it was with an inactive member and her investigator husband. I'll admit we did not have a lot of time to plan so the lesson went all over the place. But a good thing came from it. We ended up gearing the lesson more towards the inactive wife and talked about the blessing of going to church. As we talked I told our families inexperience in Hong Kong and how long it took to get to churchand what an influence that had on my wife. At the end we asked if she would come to church, expecting that she would refuse. Instead she said, "Probably." And she said after listening to my story the 40 minutes on the train didn't seem so bad. In the end she did not end up coming to church yesterday but for that brief moment the Holy Ghost touched her and made her consider how important coming to church and taking the sacrament really is.
The rest of the week I was sick. Despite being sick we still tried to find inactive members and try to make contact with them. Friday was probably the day I felt the worse so I ended up sleeping a lot but on the plus side by Saturday I felt a whole lot better and had more energy to work. Being sick is the worst. You want to work harder because you are sick and don't want to waste time but at the same time you get tired a lot easier. One night in particular I felt weak and then all these negative thoughts popped into my mind. All my weaknesses hit me full force. Thankfully, I recalled a talk from General Conference that I read that day and I analyzed those thoughts and to discover their source. Had I dwelled on them I would have felt discouragement so I tried my best to cast them out and come up with a plan to be better.
The week had a lot of potential but a lot of the people we planned to meet with got sick as well so we continued to try to find and contact inactives. On Saturday I had the opportunity to help someone with their French. A member from Perovo is taking a French class and asked if I could help her. She did really well but I forgot how hard French pronounciation is at first. She would say a word and then she would have me say it. After she heard me she would look at the word and asked, "How do all those letters make that sound?!" She began to get frustrated so I told her about my experiences with French and helped her feel hope. I'll admit helping her gave me flashbacks to the MTC and my first year French class.
Church yesterday was pretty exciting! We went to International in the morning and had a great fast and testimony meeting. During the meeting I looked at our investigator, Maria and she looked a little restless. When there was a break between testimonies she stood up and bore her testimony! She bore testimony about the power of prayer, the Book of Mormon, Jospesh Smith, and President Monson. I was so impressed and so happy because she was glowing. Afterwards we met with her briefly to plan her baptism. Everything is ready to go and she can't wait. I count myself as lucky to have been able to see and be a small part of her conversion process. She is someone I admire because her faith has led her to action. When her friends told her about the Word of Wisdom she gave up coffee and tried the commandment and the Lord has blessed her. Our district leader told us that when he was interviewing her he felt like he was interviewing the Brother of Jared.
Sadly, our other investigator is sick so we could not meet with her yesterday. We are trying to get her all ready for baptism on the 24th (which might end up being the busiest day of my life) of December and we are getting a little bit stressed because there are some things we still need to teach her and she still needs her interview. But this is the time to exercise our faith and continue to pray and do our best to do all we can.
This next week will be a little crazy. We find out about transfers, we have a training on Wednesday, visa trip to Kiev, and culture night. Oh, and our baptism on Sunday! But I have a lot of high hopes for this next week.
I'll admit it is now December but it does not yet feel like winter. It is warmer today so most of the snow has melted. There will be snow on the grass but only on Tuesday did we trudge through slush. It gets cold at night but so far my fall jacket is still carrying me through. I imagine in a month's time I will look back on today as a happy dream of warmth.
Well, that was my week. I am better now and determined to serve the Lord with all my might, mind, and strength. And don't worry, I love the mission but the mission has made me more excited for real life and to see what else the Lord has in store for me. He has a much greater image of what I can become. I know that it is better to look up and to look to the Lord. He really does want to help us and most times all we need to do is ask in prayer. I love you all and am so grateful that you are in my life and I am so happy to know that the Lord is taking care of you. I love you all.
-Sister Daniel
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunrise, sunset
Well, another week and passed and Thanksgiving is now gone and it is hard to believe that November is almost over. This week Sister Rasmussen hits her year mark.
Now for our investigators: Maria, our Filipino, passed her baptism interview and will be baptized on December 11! I am pretty excited for her. Her baptism will be on a Sunday so we will see how many people will come just because we only have one baptismal fount and it is a little ways away.
Valeria is doing great and wants to be baptized. We set a date for the 24th of December (News Years is a bigger holiday than Christmas. There are giant Christmas trees but they are New Year's trees) but that might get changed due to other mission plans. But Valeria is great and the more I teach her the more excited I am for her and the more I grow to love her. In our area we have been blessed with some investigators who had been prepared by their member friends. I am lucky that I get to be apart of their preparation for baptism.
Thanksgiving was great. Sister Rasmussen and I went over earlier in the morning to help Sister Hatch get cooking. I'll admit I had a lot of fun just preparing the food and spending time preparing a big dinner. Since we only have an hour for lunch and dinner I need to think up quick meals that are also nutrious. At noon we were all gathered together and ate. It was good. The star was the stuffing (but I'm biased because that's my favorite part). After eating we had dessert and then cleared the table and pulled out the pool table. The Hatch's dinner table is actually a pool table. We played while the elders rearranged some furniture and everyone weighed themselves. Then we got permission from President to watch Cars 2. Since it was the first movie I have seen in almost 8 months it was great. It also reminded me a lot of Elliott and his love for Cars.
Thanksgiving was great but I'll admit that I did not like the days leading up to it because everyone kept talking about it and getting so excited. Anytime we talked to other missionaries all they could talk about was Thanksgiving. It was fine but I did not want to focus so much on Thanksgiving that I got distracted. And of course, Thanksgiving went so fast and then it was back to work as normal. It was very nice
As for other things that have happened this week... we had a zone conference. It was good and I felt more committed to doing better. Afterwards my companion had a slight breakdown so we worked through that and there were a few rough days but things are better now. We are also working on finding and making contact with less active members. One answered the door and let us in and she ended up talking to us for 40 minutes by her door. Thankfully, we know a lot more about her and all in all it was one of the most successful finding less actives has been.
Oh! I almost forgot! I have a nickname. There is an old lady in our ward who is wheelchair bound. She is known for giving everyone nicknames and we went by with the elders and took her shopping. She saw my hair and immediately deemed me "Goldilocks". Then she kept asking where things were and I helped her find them so she changed my name to "Goldibrains". Later on she looked at my companion and decided her name would be "Huck Finn" and then wondered if she should change it to Tom Sawyer but then decided that I would be Tom Sawyer and Sister Rasmussen would be Huck Finn. Later on during our trip Sister Rasmussen became Jane Eyre.
It has snowed a few times but it hasn't stuck for more than a day. It is pretty dark in the morning and we don't see light until about 9 or 10am. But we have pulled out our winter boots, mainly because it is muddy and you get strange looks from the Russians. But the metro is pretty hot and all the Russians keep their coats on even in the sweltering metro.
That has been about it for the past week. It is hard to describe everything. Time is flying by. I am loving my time here and still trying to make every minute count. Time goes by so quickly and is so precious. We also got the General Conference Liahona issues yesterday and Elder Holland's talk was very interesting and made me want to recommit to being better and opening my mouth more.
Thank you for all the emails, letters, and packages. They mean a lot and always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for all your support and prayers. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here but more importantly I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and his Atonement. Without Him none of this would be possible.
Now for our investigators: Maria, our Filipino, passed her baptism interview and will be baptized on December 11! I am pretty excited for her. Her baptism will be on a Sunday so we will see how many people will come just because we only have one baptismal fount and it is a little ways away.
Valeria is doing great and wants to be baptized. We set a date for the 24th of December (News Years is a bigger holiday than Christmas. There are giant Christmas trees but they are New Year's trees) but that might get changed due to other mission plans. But Valeria is great and the more I teach her the more excited I am for her and the more I grow to love her. In our area we have been blessed with some investigators who had been prepared by their member friends. I am lucky that I get to be apart of their preparation for baptism.
Thanksgiving was great. Sister Rasmussen and I went over earlier in the morning to help Sister Hatch get cooking. I'll admit I had a lot of fun just preparing the food and spending time preparing a big dinner. Since we only have an hour for lunch and dinner I need to think up quick meals that are also nutrious. At noon we were all gathered together and ate. It was good. The star was the stuffing (but I'm biased because that's my favorite part). After eating we had dessert and then cleared the table and pulled out the pool table. The Hatch's dinner table is actually a pool table. We played while the elders rearranged some furniture and everyone weighed themselves. Then we got permission from President to watch Cars 2. Since it was the first movie I have seen in almost 8 months it was great. It also reminded me a lot of Elliott and his love for Cars.
Thanksgiving was great but I'll admit that I did not like the days leading up to it because everyone kept talking about it and getting so excited. Anytime we talked to other missionaries all they could talk about was Thanksgiving. It was fine but I did not want to focus so much on Thanksgiving that I got distracted. And of course, Thanksgiving went so fast and then it was back to work as normal. It was very nice
As for other things that have happened this week... we had a zone conference. It was good and I felt more committed to doing better. Afterwards my companion had a slight breakdown so we worked through that and there were a few rough days but things are better now. We are also working on finding and making contact with less active members. One answered the door and let us in and she ended up talking to us for 40 minutes by her door. Thankfully, we know a lot more about her and all in all it was one of the most successful finding less actives has been.
Oh! I almost forgot! I have a nickname. There is an old lady in our ward who is wheelchair bound. She is known for giving everyone nicknames and we went by with the elders and took her shopping. She saw my hair and immediately deemed me "Goldilocks". Then she kept asking where things were and I helped her find them so she changed my name to "Goldibrains". Later on she looked at my companion and decided her name would be "Huck Finn" and then wondered if she should change it to Tom Sawyer but then decided that I would be Tom Sawyer and Sister Rasmussen would be Huck Finn. Later on during our trip Sister Rasmussen became Jane Eyre.
It has snowed a few times but it hasn't stuck for more than a day. It is pretty dark in the morning and we don't see light until about 9 or 10am. But we have pulled out our winter boots, mainly because it is muddy and you get strange looks from the Russians. But the metro is pretty hot and all the Russians keep their coats on even in the sweltering metro.
That has been about it for the past week. It is hard to describe everything. Time is flying by. I am loving my time here and still trying to make every minute count. Time goes by so quickly and is so precious. We also got the General Conference Liahona issues yesterday and Elder Holland's talk was very interesting and made me want to recommit to being better and opening my mouth more.
Thank you for all the emails, letters, and packages. They mean a lot and always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for all your support and prayers. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here but more importantly I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and his Atonement. Without Him none of this would be possible.
Monday, November 21, 2011
And out of a worthless lump of clay God has made a man today!
This week has again been another week full of revelations and getting myself back into shape. We have wasted more time than we should. Granted, we have filled our time with important tasks but reflecting we have concluded that perhaps those were not the best ways we could have spent our time. We have been talking, like always, and starting putting into action plans to overcome our shortcomings. Most of all I keep asking myself, "If I saw myself from another person's eyes would I recognize myself as a servant of the Lord or trust me." Honestly can be hard and I realize how far I still need to go. But I don't let it discourage me. Instead I try the approach the angel used with Alma when he reminded him that he has already come a long ways from the time the angel first appeared to him.
Despite realizing that I have a lot more of myself that I can put into the mission we are stilling seeing quite a few miracles. Of our three investigators, two of them are baptismal dates. Both are progressing and it has been inspiring to see these people change, even after two weeks. Maria, our Filipino, has been talking to her member friends and finding out about the commandments. Before we taught the Word of Wisdom she had heard about it and had already stopped drinking coffee. We never had to ask her to make these changes, she made them herself. When we asked her about this she said something to the effect of if she wants all the blessing of the church she needs to accept all of the Lord's requirements.
We talked about baptism with our Russian investigator and again, she has been prepared by her member friends. Although her friends did not come to church she did and she brought her cousin. We planned to talk about baptism and confirmation and enduring to the end. In the room we taught her there is a picture of Christ being baptized. She asked about baptism by immersion and before the lesson began she asked, "When I am baptized how long will I stay under water?" Notice, she said when and not if. We were much better prepared this week and she asked thoughtful questions. She talked about having a desire to be baptized and she said that you need to have a desire and that having that desire makes you want to change your life. And she made the comment that if you aren't committted to enduring to the end there is not a point in being baptized. All and all I have been so impressed and reminded that the Lord is preparing these people and in case of our investigators it happened because they had member friends who didn't push but also did not shy away from telling why they were different. We just helped her fuel her desire. She said she wanted to be baptized before she started meeting with us and that thanks to our lessons her desire has grown.
In case you are wondering we will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week. P-Day is ending at 3pm today because on Thursday we still celebrate Thanksgiving at our Senior couple's apartment from noon until five at night. We can't wait.
And now for your Russian culture tidbit: Proper Escalator Ediquette (sp?). When exiting a metro or crossing to another metro requires the use of an escalator there is a procedure to follow. If you want to stand on the escalator you must stand on the right hand side of the step. Have a friend you want to talk to? They stand behind you. Also, respect personal space and leave a step in front and behind you empty. When you want to walk up you can walk up the left side of the escalator with ease. Rush hour? Russians will still follow this pattern, so the escalator line can get very backed up. Occasionally, metro workers at the bottom of the escalators will tell people to stand on both sides.
In other exciting news I am almost through Alma! I have come to really love the war chapters. There is a lot of evil but you see a lot of faith and desire for liberty. I also got a hold of the book, "Daughters in my Kindgom" which talks about the history of the Relief Society. Sister Rasmussen laughed at how excited I was and she said I kept looking at it like I wanted to devour it. There are just too many good and inspiring books that I want to read.
Also, I thought I would share my P-Day language study routine. In our apartment we found a Russian Beauty and the Beauty cd (the soundtrack of the musical). I have been listening to it and writing down all the lyrics and translating them. It is good practice because I have to listen and write what I listen and then disect it to make sure the cases agree and make sense. Russian is still coming along and taking Sister Lawrence's advice Sister Rasmussen and I are trying to memorize 2 Nephi 31 in Russian.
Well, that has been my week. Thank you for your emails and letters. Let's see what the Lord has in store for me this next week!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Well, this week I had my birthday! And thank you everyone for your birthday wishes. I'll admit for the most part it did not feel too out of the ordinary. Sister Rasmussen did make me buttermilk pancakes and syrup which was very tasty and I really appreciated it. Then it was off to district meeting and I got a pack of m&ms and it was all good. After district meeting we were supposed to go on a split with Sister Bullough (we called a lady from an old contact sheet and she agreed to meet but we found out she lives in Sister Bullough's area) so we hurried to meet her at the Central Building. On the way there she called and rescheduled for later that night. So while we waited we sat down and began mapping out how we are going to make a baptism for our Filipino investigator work. Then Sister Bullough arrived with her district and they sang happy birthday and I received a wine colored scarf from my former companion. Sadly, our meeting rescheduled again but for Thursday. To end the day we got a call from two elders in our district and for my birthday we all had dinner together and then handed out English Club flyers. All in all it was a good day. President Sorenson also called me as well as our legal advisor, Luba, which was pleasantly unexpected.
Another interesting thing about my birthday: it snowed. The first snow fell on my birthday but thankfully it did not stick. It is getting colder and most of the sisters have pulled out their winter boots. Sister Rasmussen and I are stubbornly holding out until we really need our winter boots and jackets. Don't worry, we keep warm.
Wednesday was a great night. Every month we have the opportunity of hearing from Sister Lawrence. Elder Lawrence is in the Area Presidency and gave a talk in General Conference a year ago, I believe. So far she has talked to us about the role of angels and zion. Everytime we come away with our minds blown, in a good way. She knows her stuff and this past week she talked to us about scripture study and I came away dedicated to having a better scripture study everyday. She compared studying the scriptures to feeding our body because when we read we are feeding our spirits knowledge. She also gave helpful advice on family study and studying the scriptures in pairs. We found out that she and her husband play, "Stump the spouse" where one give a chapter reference and the other has to tell either the theme or what happens. She even gave marriage advice: "Marry someone who loves the scriptures."
Our weeks in Sokolniki are interesting because we have a unique problem. We have a hard time, at least at the moment, meeting with people but on Sunday investigators come to church so our Sundays end up completely full. Most missionaries get meeting but it is hard for their investigators to come to church. We have been blessed lately with investigators who really are prepared for the Gospel.
Church yesterday was really good. Fast Sundays are always special but yesterday the testimonies shared were particularly uplifting. We went to international first and I love the Africans so much. They are so humble and remind me of the Lamanities who, once converted to the Gospel, grasp on to the Gospel and remain faithful. One man, Festis, was baptized this summer and he bore his testimony and I got teary-eyed. He mentioned that he is happy to be in Moscow (most of the Africans here are in tough situations) because he found the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will forever treasure his baptism in his heart. And he said he could not wait to tell his children and grandchildren about how he found the Church.
Then during our Russian meeting all of the testimonies were great. Nothing crazy happened. After church we had a meeting with two members referrals. The lesson went fine and they said they look forward to coming to church on Sunday each week. They like all that we teach them and made comments that it all sounds familiar and feels right in their hearts. The elders in our district also had a great meeting and were called "beacons of light" several times.
I'll admit I have become a little rusty and I have a lot of teaching skills I need to review. Sister Rasmussen agrees and we talked about all the things we have learned in the MTC and which areas we were really good at and how far she have come and all that we have forgotten. So we are using this transfer to whip ourselves back into shape. We recommitted to being 100% obedient and we talk a lot about potential and how to reach our potential.
There is never enough time to write everything. And I know I did not include as many details about life in Russia. The streets are getting colder and the metros and houses are roasting hot. We are starting to see more fur coats and fur hats. So far I have survived but winter has not really begun yet.
Thank you again for all our your prayers. I know that this is the Lord's work and I am grateful for this opportunity to participate in it. The Lord truly does prepare people and I have seen how much happiness this Gospel and this work can bring to others.
Another interesting thing about my birthday: it snowed. The first snow fell on my birthday but thankfully it did not stick. It is getting colder and most of the sisters have pulled out their winter boots. Sister Rasmussen and I are stubbornly holding out until we really need our winter boots and jackets. Don't worry, we keep warm.
Wednesday was a great night. Every month we have the opportunity of hearing from Sister Lawrence. Elder Lawrence is in the Area Presidency and gave a talk in General Conference a year ago, I believe. So far she has talked to us about the role of angels and zion. Everytime we come away with our minds blown, in a good way. She knows her stuff and this past week she talked to us about scripture study and I came away dedicated to having a better scripture study everyday. She compared studying the scriptures to feeding our body because when we read we are feeding our spirits knowledge. She also gave helpful advice on family study and studying the scriptures in pairs. We found out that she and her husband play, "Stump the spouse" where one give a chapter reference and the other has to tell either the theme or what happens. She even gave marriage advice: "Marry someone who loves the scriptures."
Our weeks in Sokolniki are interesting because we have a unique problem. We have a hard time, at least at the moment, meeting with people but on Sunday investigators come to church so our Sundays end up completely full. Most missionaries get meeting but it is hard for their investigators to come to church. We have been blessed lately with investigators who really are prepared for the Gospel.
Church yesterday was really good. Fast Sundays are always special but yesterday the testimonies shared were particularly uplifting. We went to international first and I love the Africans so much. They are so humble and remind me of the Lamanities who, once converted to the Gospel, grasp on to the Gospel and remain faithful. One man, Festis, was baptized this summer and he bore his testimony and I got teary-eyed. He mentioned that he is happy to be in Moscow (most of the Africans here are in tough situations) because he found the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will forever treasure his baptism in his heart. And he said he could not wait to tell his children and grandchildren about how he found the Church.
Then during our Russian meeting all of the testimonies were great. Nothing crazy happened. After church we had a meeting with two members referrals. The lesson went fine and they said they look forward to coming to church on Sunday each week. They like all that we teach them and made comments that it all sounds familiar and feels right in their hearts. The elders in our district also had a great meeting and were called "beacons of light" several times.
I'll admit I have become a little rusty and I have a lot of teaching skills I need to review. Sister Rasmussen agrees and we talked about all the things we have learned in the MTC and which areas we were really good at and how far she have come and all that we have forgotten. So we are using this transfer to whip ourselves back into shape. We recommitted to being 100% obedient and we talk a lot about potential and how to reach our potential.
There is never enough time to write everything. And I know I did not include as many details about life in Russia. The streets are getting colder and the metros and houses are roasting hot. We are starting to see more fur coats and fur hats. So far I have survived but winter has not really begun yet.
Thank you again for all our your prayers. I know that this is the Lord's work and I am grateful for this opportunity to participate in it. The Lord truly does prepare people and I have seen how much happiness this Gospel and this work can bring to others.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Without our traditions ours lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof!
This week was a little bit of a crazy week. I got spent four days in my actual area. Sister Rasmussen had her visa trip and then the day after we had a split with the newly assigned Training Sisters, one of them including my former companion Sister Carlson.
First to answer some questions: Russia recently decided not to follow daylight savings time. The last time they moved their clocks was this past spring and then they decided not to. Some Russians really don't like it. Also, it is starting to get a lot colder here. As we walked home from buying our groceries this afternoon we could see our breath. It has not snowed yet but we are already seeing ice patches on the ground. Next week we plan to go tie shopping and buy some warmer clothes.
Wednesday my companion went to Kiev and to the temple. I was pretty nervous on Wednesday. I was on a split with Sister Workman and I was the senior companion. In the mission age wise only Sister Workman is younger than me so I was not only senior companion but I was also senior language wise too so I was nervous. Thankfully, I said a prayer and the day went just fine.
Friday night we went out and did service for an older member of our church. She was funny and quizzed my Russian. At one point she turned to my companion and said, "Your companion speaks better than you do." Thankfully, Sister Rasmussen just laughed about it and thought it was funny. Then we helped her clean her apartment for two hours. As we left she insisted we take some food. Her food was a little sketchy looking so we tried to decline. Then we insisted we take some cabbage and we accepted only to realize she wanted us to take a cabbage dish she prepared. We took it home but the next day she called and asked if we tried it. That night we heated it up and man, it smelled a little rancid and strongly of vinegar. We each ate a bite. Sister Rasmussen had to spit it out and I was able to get the bite down. We took out our garbage shortly after.
On Saturday I spent the day with Sister Carlson back in Perovo. We were able to catch up and discussed our theories for next transfer. (Three native sisters are coming and we have been trying to guess who will be training them). I'll admit that my heart was a little tender. Just before I left the area started to explode and now Perovo is enjoying a lot of success. I know that I was a large part of it and when I consider who is there I know that they are who that area needs. But as I thought through it I was glad for the time I had in Perovo because when I was there was not a lot coming on so with Sister Bullough and Carlson we did our best and I am proud with my work I did there. It was a good reminder that success comes from the Lord and it helped to humble me.
With Sister Carlson we also had an absolutely wild lesson. We were supposed to have a meeting at 1pm and we were supposed to meet a potential investigator at the train station. We waited and waited and an hour later she showed up with a friend. Her friend brought his guitar and wanted to give a concert. We said we needed to start our lesson in 5 minutes. He played for 25 minutes and while he played our investigator fell asleep. Finally we started our lesson and as we were talking about families the friend interrupted and asked me, "Do you two study Russian together?" I answered yes and then he turned to Sister Carlson, "Then why is her Russian so much worse than yours?" Sister Carlson afterwards told me how upset she got at him for that and how hard she had to try not to explode. Thankfully, I did not get offended and took it as a chance to remind myself I still need to practice my Russian. After the lesson he continued to play more guitar music and gypsy music. It was a circus and I think Sister Carlson was a little frustrated so I reminded her how absolutely ridiculously funny the entire situation was.
Sunday was Stake Conference and it was actually stake conference for the entire Europe East Area. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake City and we had the opportunity to hear from Sister Barbara Thompson, Elder Oaks, and President Uchtdorf. They really knew the area well and gave some great advice. Elder Oaks made an interesting comment about tithing. He told the members that by paying tithing we are calling down blessings from Heaven upon the countries in which we live. There was also a huge empathsis on befriending less active members and attending Church on Sundays. Last of all President Uchtdorf spoke and gave three steps for rekindling and deeping our faith. 1: Have a current temple recommend. 2: Study the word of God daily. 3: Communicate with our Father in Heaven daily.
In terms of our investigators small successes are happening. Our Filipino investigator came to Stake Conference on Sunday and brought a friend! We only had ten minutes before we needed to be in our seats and she wanted a lesson. We sat down and she was anxious to hear what new things we had to teach her. Because we did not have time for a long lesson we briefly reviewed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what she will need to do in this life to able to return to our Heavenly Father. Then she asked us about baptism and told us that she wants to make a change and told us she would like to be baptized by the end of the year. We still need to sit down and plan everything out and due to her work schedule all might be a little tough. But I am excited for her and to help her prepare.
Sister Rasmussen and I are still getting along just fine. We still talk a lot but more of our talks have turned to helping our district or trying to come up with ways to serve members or fellow missionaries. We also have developped a slight obsession for the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack. We have set lots of goals together and are working towards making them happen. Some of them are silly (trying to see how many metro stops we can get to during our transfer together) but most of them are productive to the Lord's work.
Times are still sometimes hard but I just keep in mind that everything will be for my good. I have learned a lot of lessons and have enjoyed seeing some of the ways I have changed already. My testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has grown deeper. I have learned a lot about me and what the Lord expects of me. I still have weaknesses but I have started to exercise my faith in small ways and things that were hard are becoming a little easier. I have learned to dream big and work towards that big by small steps and lots of help from my Heavenly Father.
I know that our Heavenly Father lives, loves us, and answers our prayers. I know that change is always possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ so long as we work our hardest. I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers. Thank you.
-Sister Daniel
First to answer some questions: Russia recently decided not to follow daylight savings time. The last time they moved their clocks was this past spring and then they decided not to. Some Russians really don't like it. Also, it is starting to get a lot colder here. As we walked home from buying our groceries this afternoon we could see our breath. It has not snowed yet but we are already seeing ice patches on the ground. Next week we plan to go tie shopping and buy some warmer clothes.
Wednesday my companion went to Kiev and to the temple. I was pretty nervous on Wednesday. I was on a split with Sister Workman and I was the senior companion. In the mission age wise only Sister Workman is younger than me so I was not only senior companion but I was also senior language wise too so I was nervous. Thankfully, I said a prayer and the day went just fine.
Friday night we went out and did service for an older member of our church. She was funny and quizzed my Russian. At one point she turned to my companion and said, "Your companion speaks better than you do." Thankfully, Sister Rasmussen just laughed about it and thought it was funny. Then we helped her clean her apartment for two hours. As we left she insisted we take some food. Her food was a little sketchy looking so we tried to decline. Then we insisted we take some cabbage and we accepted only to realize she wanted us to take a cabbage dish she prepared. We took it home but the next day she called and asked if we tried it. That night we heated it up and man, it smelled a little rancid and strongly of vinegar. We each ate a bite. Sister Rasmussen had to spit it out and I was able to get the bite down. We took out our garbage shortly after.
On Saturday I spent the day with Sister Carlson back in Perovo. We were able to catch up and discussed our theories for next transfer. (Three native sisters are coming and we have been trying to guess who will be training them). I'll admit that my heart was a little tender. Just before I left the area started to explode and now Perovo is enjoying a lot of success. I know that I was a large part of it and when I consider who is there I know that they are who that area needs. But as I thought through it I was glad for the time I had in Perovo because when I was there was not a lot coming on so with Sister Bullough and Carlson we did our best and I am proud with my work I did there. It was a good reminder that success comes from the Lord and it helped to humble me.
With Sister Carlson we also had an absolutely wild lesson. We were supposed to have a meeting at 1pm and we were supposed to meet a potential investigator at the train station. We waited and waited and an hour later she showed up with a friend. Her friend brought his guitar and wanted to give a concert. We said we needed to start our lesson in 5 minutes. He played for 25 minutes and while he played our investigator fell asleep. Finally we started our lesson and as we were talking about families the friend interrupted and asked me, "Do you two study Russian together?" I answered yes and then he turned to Sister Carlson, "Then why is her Russian so much worse than yours?" Sister Carlson afterwards told me how upset she got at him for that and how hard she had to try not to explode. Thankfully, I did not get offended and took it as a chance to remind myself I still need to practice my Russian. After the lesson he continued to play more guitar music and gypsy music. It was a circus and I think Sister Carlson was a little frustrated so I reminded her how absolutely ridiculously funny the entire situation was.
Sunday was Stake Conference and it was actually stake conference for the entire Europe East Area. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake City and we had the opportunity to hear from Sister Barbara Thompson, Elder Oaks, and President Uchtdorf. They really knew the area well and gave some great advice. Elder Oaks made an interesting comment about tithing. He told the members that by paying tithing we are calling down blessings from Heaven upon the countries in which we live. There was also a huge empathsis on befriending less active members and attending Church on Sundays. Last of all President Uchtdorf spoke and gave three steps for rekindling and deeping our faith. 1: Have a current temple recommend. 2: Study the word of God daily. 3: Communicate with our Father in Heaven daily.
In terms of our investigators small successes are happening. Our Filipino investigator came to Stake Conference on Sunday and brought a friend! We only had ten minutes before we needed to be in our seats and she wanted a lesson. We sat down and she was anxious to hear what new things we had to teach her. Because we did not have time for a long lesson we briefly reviewed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what she will need to do in this life to able to return to our Heavenly Father. Then she asked us about baptism and told us that she wants to make a change and told us she would like to be baptized by the end of the year. We still need to sit down and plan everything out and due to her work schedule all might be a little tough. But I am excited for her and to help her prepare.
Sister Rasmussen and I are still getting along just fine. We still talk a lot but more of our talks have turned to helping our district or trying to come up with ways to serve members or fellow missionaries. We also have developped a slight obsession for the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack. We have set lots of goals together and are working towards making them happen. Some of them are silly (trying to see how many metro stops we can get to during our transfer together) but most of them are productive to the Lord's work.
Times are still sometimes hard but I just keep in mind that everything will be for my good. I have learned a lot of lessons and have enjoyed seeing some of the ways I have changed already. My testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has grown deeper. I have learned a lot about me and what the Lord expects of me. I still have weaknesses but I have started to exercise my faith in small ways and things that were hard are becoming a little easier. I have learned to dream big and work towards that big by small steps and lots of help from my Heavenly Father.
I know that our Heavenly Father lives, loves us, and answers our prayers. I know that change is always possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ so long as we work our hardest. I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers. Thank you.
-Sister Daniel
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