Our highlight this week was definitely Zone Conference. We were together with nine other companionships and President and Sister Sartori on Thursday and Friday. We met in the Komsomolski building which is one of the branches in our district so it was just a short bus ride away. We start at 9 in the morning and finish around 5 in the evening. It’s a long day of sitting, but it is good to feel the spirit of these fine sisters and elders and to hear counsel from President and Sister Sartori. As part of the missionaries’ training, role plays are an important part to practice what we’ve been “preached.” It gives us an opportunity to see the missionaries in action and to practice our teaching and contacting skills as well because we are included in the role plays. We realize the HUGE importance of impactful teaching in missionary work. We are so much more effective missionaries if we are better teachers. We appreciate the opportunity given to prospective missionaries in our own home ward to teach. It is vital! President Sartori gave wonderful instruction on the Atonement and on personal revelation and also gave a demonstration on proper shoe shining techniques. He emphasized the importance of looking like representatives of Christ in the way we dress and in our personal appearance. The missionaries prefer to save their rubles and cut their own hair and President wants them to pay attention to appropriate haircuts—even if they are self done! Of course, another highlight of the conference was lunch: KFC one day and pizza the next – it was a treat! The last portion of the conference is testimony meeting. Our first two days in Russia were spent at a Zone Conference three months ago, and I noticed an interesting occurrence identical to our conference this week. Missionaries who bear their testimonies every day are emotionally bearing their testimonies in a manner much different than they do with investigators. I haven’t exactly put my finger on it, but I think part of it might be because they have a chance to personally reflect on their testimonies and how their mission call affects who they are becoming. A mission truly does give us opportunities that cannot be experienced any other way. We learn how to submit our will to the Lord and to rely on Him for everything we do and say. It is that reliance on Him that motivates us to teach others how they, too, can have help in their lives through Jesus Christ. It is a great work, and we love being missionaries!
We had another holiday this week—Women’s Day! Which means flowers and more chocolates for women! Russians do love their chocolate! What’s not to love! The Komsomolski branch had a party that we dropped into after Zone Conference on Thursday. The men prepared the food which was mighty delicious. The brother in charge was Brother Vageeg who is the same family who had us over for the Armenian feast on New Year’s Eve, so you can believe the food was tremendous and plentiful. They made pork chops with some kind of barbeque sauce on it that was delicious. You eat with your fingers which was somewhat problematic for Elder Peterson because he has a weak front tooth and isn’t supposed to bite into anything that would put stress on it so he had to be creative in his eating technique. Then they put on a karaoke DVD and people were singing Russian love songs. It is very spirited music, much of which is accompanied by accordion. Each of the women was given a box of chocolates.
Elder Peterson has worked very hard this week on a talk he gave in Sacrament Meeting Sunday about the Book of Mormon in his life. He gave the first half by himself in Russian and then had someone help him translate a couple of stories and then finished with his testimony in Russian. He did a great job and really invited the Spirit to the meeting. He told about his dad giving him a small Book of Mormon when he went away to college for the first time. Through the influence of good roommates and the Spirit, he began to read it. As the book itself promises, after reading and praying to know if it’s true, you can receive an answer through the Holy Ghost. He put the promise to the test and received a confirmation of its truthfulness which lead him to serve his first mission in the Montana Billings Mission. He also told of giving our sons the names of Book of Mormon prophets, Nephi and Lehi. Just as Helaman explained to his sons with the same names in the Book of Mormon, their names were to remind them to follow Jesus Christ. When they thought about their names, they would remember their heritage of prophets named Nephi and Lehi who had gone before them and lived lives of faith and righteousness. We are thankful for our stalwart sons who have lived up to their names and who continue the legacy either with their own sons or in the mission field. We also love our daughters who live similar lives of devotion and commitment.
Sister Peterson played a beautiful piano solo that brought the spirit to all present. She has such a passion and touch for music that all can feel her interpretation and are inspired. Her talents are really appreciated here. It is a great bridge for her as she learns the language. She also looked really great today. Her hair is getting longer and she says she is not cutting it until she gets home…we will see.
We enjoyed our walk in the forest this week. The sun felt good while we walked on newly fallen snow in mere 10 below Celsius. We stopped to watch woodpeckers fly from tree to tree and peck for whatever they could. There were many kids sledding down hills and even a couple taking wedding photos (with coats nearby!) It is all evidence of a loving God who cares about us through His creations. We have been admonished to take note of the positive things about our surroundings and the things we love about being here. After all, everything is about attitude, right?!
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