August 20, 2012

This week was transfer week. We are adding a new companionship to our district. Cycle before last, one of the areas was closed since we combined the two branches here and the mission was low on missionaries. We thought it would be October before we would get more missionaries again, but President has decided to put elders back into Komsomolski this cycle so that is good. That means we will have two companionships in each branch. Their areas are each so large that hopefully this will help the missionary effort. We said goodbye to Elder Morris who is returning home to Centerville, UT, today. We were only able to work with him for one cycle, but we feel blessed to have been able to have him for that long. He and Elder Hale were the best Russian speakers in the mission and were both AP's when we arrived here. Elder Morris has been helping us a lot with our language, and we told him that the first couple of days he's home, he can call us on Skype when he's up at 3 in the morning with jet lag which is the middle of the afternoon for us. For as good as a Russian speaker he is, he is an even-better missionary. We are humbled by all of these young men and young women who so valiantly "Arise and Shine Forth!"

We had a bit of a small miracle this last week. We needed help getting to a lab facility and were trying to think of the best option for taking someone with us to translate. We happened to be talking to the elders in our area, and they mentioned that they had just contacted someone on the street that afternoon who spoke very good English. So they called her and asked if she would be willing to help us. She is waiting to get a visa to Germany and so she isn't currently working and said she would have time to help us. We thought that was pretty amazing that a complete stranger would spend their time with us. We contacted her on the phone and made arrangements to go the next morning. Her name is Laina, she's 24 years old, and, yes, she speaks very good English. She said her dad has a car and would be going to work in that direction so they would pick us up and drive us there. So the next morning we went out to the street to meet them, and her dad is Brother Sergei who was a progressing investigator a few months ago who the missionaries lost track of! When Laina told her dad she was going to help us, he remembered who we were and wanted to help us. They both even came to church yesterday! The missionaries are trying really hard to get a meeting with the whole family...mom, dad, Laina, and the 22-year old brother. Laina had met with the missionaries some time ago and so she knows a little about the church. She likes to speak English with the missionaries, but she is also searching for a church. Brother Sergei had some really good experiences with the missionaries but for some reason found some other priorities and didn't continue meeting with them. He has elderly parents who he spends most of his discretionary time taking care of. Bottom line, though, the Lord has put them in our paths again, and we hope we can help them to feel the Spirit.

Saturday we went on a picnic with one of the branches for an activity. They "chartered" a bus that took us out to a nice beach area. It was quite pretty on the river with mountains (big hills) with little villages nestled in the valleys across the river. Cars drive right down onto the beach to choose their spots and some people were even camping in the area. Keeping with Russian tradition, we began the activity by singing a hymn (they brought photocopies) and a spiritual thought. Then we had our picnic lunch of roasted sausages, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, bananas, juice. They just lay out a big piece of plastic for the table and we all sit around on pads. The members were very generous in catering to us to make sure we tried the different Russian cuisines they had brought. We had some unusual string cheese, delicious sunflower seed snack cakes, Kvas (will never learn to like that!), and the typical fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. We were able to visit with some nonmember friends of one of the members who came. The member doesn't want us to talk to them about the church yet, but maybe we can fellowship them as friends for awhile first.

Sunday was a great day. President and Sister Sartori made a special trip to the branch to address some serious issues that are affecting the functionality and spirituality of the branch. Elder Reshetnikov from one of the quorums of the Seventy who lives in Saratov came and spoke also. His talk was so fabulous regarding our priorities and how serving Christ and putting Him first in our lives will ensure that our families and other priorities are put into proper order. President Sartori gave a very direct talk helping us to realize where we need to improve. I told him it's the best "hell, fire and damnation" talk I've ever heard!:) All of us missionaries here had been praying for him all week to be able to deliver his message with the Spirit. He had a very difficult task and handled it with such wisdom. Elder Peterson called it a "masterpiece."

At the end of a very long day on Sunday, we came home and watched President Monson's 85th birthday celebration online. Besides enjoying the wonderful talent, we were reminded of what an exemplary life President Monson lives. He will leave a legacy of a life of service. I was reminded that he was called to be an apostle at the age of 36. Can you imagine knowing that you would hold that calling for most of your life until the end of your life! When I hear church members complain that they're tired and don't want to serve any more, I think of President Monson and realize that none of us can complain about being tired. We just have to "buck up," put a smile on our face, and keep on going. I have a testimony that the Lord sustains us when we are able and willing to do His work. President Monson also practices what he preaches; he often reminds us to acknowledge others with thankfulness. He had prerecorded a video message that was played toward the conclusion of the program thanking everyone who had anything to do with putting together his special birthday event. He is certainly grateful and is always so considerate to express his gratitude. We are so grateful for a living prophet on the earth today.

1-4 New City Picnic
5     Komsomolski Branch leadership; President and Sister Sartori; Elder Reshetnikov