Last P-Day went super well. Once we got to the church i was able to send a bunch of pictures that i was behind on and email everyone. After that we went shopping and got some good food. I was excited when i found some kind of pear juice. I actually really like it and it tastes like pears. I also realized that sparkling cider tastes like carbonated pear juice.

We rode the bus somewhere into town. It was my first time on the bus but it wasn't anything too crazy unless a car would pull in front of the bus and we almost hit a few so the bus driver slammed on the horn. We arrived at the train station where a woman who was previously interested in the gospel was working.

The woman's name is yelyena and she had attended english group at age 17 and was super interested in the gospel but her parents wouldn't sign the paper so when she was 18 the elders called back and she said she was super busy but to call back. Nobody had called back since and she is now around 20 and works as a hairdresser. Elder Barney had called and talked to her and she told him that she was a hairdresser which was funny because elder barney was going to get a haircut on the same day so he told her that and he got a haircut. She was really nice and said she would come to english class the next day.

Family night was good. I gave the spiritual thought and shared the scriptures D&C 46:11-14 and 82:10 and talked about spiritual gifts and some will know of christ and others will believe on others which will be enough then i talked about the other scripture and how we need to next do as the lord says and he will hold his promises. Afterwards we played this popular game where someone hides a pen in the room then everyone comes in and sits down when they see the pen. We also played a game where there is someone in the middle with their eyes closed and they have a tube in their hand. Everyone has a number and the person in the middle calls out two numbers and those two people have to switch spots before the person in the middle can hit them with their eyes closed. It was a very good Preparation day and i hope we get some new investigators from it.

On Tuesday after studies we went to district meeting. We talked about being positive and only saying good things about loving the gospel and the members of the church to set a good example. We had some great conversations and it was good for district bonding. Afterwards we called some people before dinner then headed over to English practice.

At English practice we had several new people whom had somehow found out about the group. They came in and one said that he was recommended for the advanced speaking group. I said that if he could say that then he was welcome into that group. Elder Barney and I were in charge of the easier group today. We played the game psychiatrist and they thought that was pretty fun. Unfortunately, two of our potential investigators didn't show up for good reasons but they said they wanted to come and will try for next week. We are super excited. I was able to invite some of the new people to the picnic that was on Saturday.

On wednesday we went to Baba's again and helped her with her garden. I have some pictures this time to show. We also met with a man named Vladimir and he was super nice. He said that he respects all religions but he doesn't really have one he is leaning towards. We are going to try and help him find the gospel with a lot of inviting.

Thursday was a very interesting day. We made it to the other elders' apartment at 730 then our companions left to Vladivostok for a training meeting and i was left with Elder Ostler for the day. Elder Barney is now the new zone leader here. Elder Ostler did our studies together and after lunch we left to our first appointment. We couldn't figure out what bus to ride so we asked someone and he said any of them so we hopped on a random bus.

On our way to meet a member for our lesson, the man called and cancelled our lesson. Eventually we made it to the right location for meeting the member but we weren't sure we were on the right bus still. The member, Sister Perfiliva, invited us to her house so we could give her family a lesson instead. We practiced our lesson for our next investigator, Lev, but we applied it to her and talked to her about her questions.

Afterwards, we went and had a lesson with our investigator Lev. The lesson went as planned and we taught the first half of the third lesson, the gospel of Jesus Christ. We split it in half so next lesson we can focus more on baptism. During this lesson Lev said that he wants to read the whole Book of Mormon before he is baptized. Next time when Elder Barney will be there to explain more clearly, we will try and get a baptismal date set.

We called a taxi after our lesson and right after we called, our next lesson was cancelled too. We went around looking for people we could find to meet and invite to the picnic activity on Saturday so we might find some more potential investigators. We weren't too successful but I have given out lots of invitations to members, to members to give to their friends, to nonmembers, less actives, etc.

I thanked Sister Perfiliva for helping us and asked her what we could do to help her. She thought about it and said she would have to think and then i asked her for a referral. She said that her friends are tricky and i asked her to keep thinking and she said that she would have to do that. I then offered some invitations to her to give to her friends to come to the picnic and she accepted them. I think a lot of the time that we don't think to ask people about service opportunities because we can make assumptions a lot.

Elder Ostler and i lead the discussion in english group on Thursday and it went well. We had some more new people and talked about going places, what we wanted to do and some of our favorite things at the places. It was fun and i think Elder Ostler really enjoyed leading it.

Elder Barney and I had a really good planning session on Friday. We have filled the whole week up with things we will be doing and want to work better with our goals. It is really good to not only plan every day but to know what your goals are for the week and what you want to get done so that the shorter plans and goals can be clearer to achieve.

Saturday was a great day. We had a picnic and played several games with everyone. We had a good turn out and 4 of our investigators were there. Some games we played were tug-o-war, guess what flavor of baby food we were tasting, and a game where your team mates toss balloons and you have to pop them to fill a container. It was a really good activity for members and investigators.

We had a few lessons after the picnic. I had a very spiritual experience in one of the lessons and i was able to guide and teach the lesson with the help of elder barney. I have never taught so much in a lesson so well.

In another lesson we taught lev and his wife. They both are really great people and i can see them becoming better and better. They said that we are helping them become better. I can really see their desire grow as they continue doing what we tell them too. I am so grateful for the investigators and members here and the experiences i have had.

Sunday was great. We had more people show up at sacrament meeting than we have had the last few weeks. One of our investigators, Lev, stayed for Sunday school again but this time we didn't even have to ask him to come, he told us. Elder Bryson and the Branch President, President Shadrohen, passed the sacrament to show that any of the priesthood holders could pass the sacrament. I think that it brought a reverance to sacrament meeting.

We also talked to Sergei on Sunday for a while that night. We had a good conversation about why he wasn't sure about baptism. Elder Barney and I shared several experiences. I feel like he really needed it. We have taught several lessons and shared a lot of spiritual things but those experiences felt like they did something extra.

Elder Barney and I are getting along great still and he is going to help me tell someone how to cut my hair today (finger length on the top and 8 mm on the side) hopefully it goes well. We are making good progress with our investigators and they are great, amazing people. I wish everyone well. -Elder Elwood

 

The pictures below are as follows:  a temple of another church in russia - he was disappointed that the car drove through his picture.  A ward picnic with investigators.  the next two are of a bridge with locks where couples put a lock after they are married representing staying together forever.  A sister in the ward and her son that is being taught the discussions.  jacob playing ping pong with his companion and investigator.  The couple missionary that is serving there.  next two Baba's garden that they help with.  and the last is a picture of the missionaries and investigators and members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2, 2013 weekly letter

Everything has gone well in the last week. Not everything was easy but we were successful in working hard. Last pday was pretty good. We had the opportunity to give both of the sister missionaries blessings because sister braithwait's eye was all swollen and you couldn't see her eye and the other sister asked for one when we got there because she was having an allergic reaction. The next time we saw them, they were almost all better and now they are back to normal.

I spent some time writing a response to a few emails i printed off so i can type them faster today. It is hard for me to get myself to take a nap because i always feel i have something to do which is nice because i get things done.

We went and bought a dvd player with a screen. They are super hard to find in Russia because who would really want one anywhere when you can get a tablet, laptop, etc. We found one and it was kind of expensive but it was the last one and the only one we can find anywhere.

We had family night at the Bryson's even though they were gone. We had a song, a thought and then some dessert. We played mafia and i don't really know how to play but it was also in Russian so i was super confused. It makes me wonder if the game was made by the Russians.

I didn't understand the game very well so it kind of messed with it a little bit because i wasn't understanding. I would say things in Russian and everyone was dying with laughter by the end of the game. I really don't know why people think i am so funny. It blows my mind sometimes. In fact, we had to resing the last verse of the hymn we ended with because it was super fast and hard even for the elders who have been here a long time and i kept slaughtering the words and making everyone laugh again.

While reading the Book of Mormon this week, i have gone back to the start several times while continuing with my daily chapter because i understand more and want to mark things i've missed. I take the time to look up deeper meanings to words and phrases and use resources like preach my gospel to explain things better.

I have been working on grammar and going through a grammar book this last week. I am finally understanding things and elder barney is very helpful at explaining things and that is one of his strengths, grammar.

We went to a place called Country Pizza on Tuesday with the district for lunch. It was good for Russia but any place in the USA would have better pizza and this was there best so it was interesting but fun. At least they didn't use mayonnaise (that is how most Russians make their pizzas and salads here). Afterwards we had our district meeting and talked about using the Book of Mormon. We also went to baba alovteena's house again to help her with her garden and chop wood.

On Tuesday's English group night i was supposed to give the story. Elder Barney said i should try to make it funny and i told him a few stories beforehand. I couldn't really think of anything else so i ended up telling a funny story about a friend and they thought it was super hilarious. They were slapping their heads about how oblivious i can be sometimes.

Sister rumnyatseeva brought me a bag of various delicious fruits this week. She had thought it was strange that i didn't eat much, didn't like eating, etc. She found out that i only like fruit so she brought me a bunch randomly one day. I thanked her a bunch but told her she doesn't have to get me gifts. She is very giving to everyone.

We had a few times this week where elder barney and i would study the same things during personal study without realizing it. We would study the same chapters of the book of mormon and preach my gospel because our purpose was the same. However, we tend to get different things out of it. I remember on wednesday we had studied the same things for the same purpose but i ended up planning a lesson for another investigator and we had two really good lessons planned by the end of companionship study.

Another miracle that happened was the lesson i had come up with during that study. I was planning for the same thing that elder barney was but then everything i was reading made me think of uri uta. We have taught him once since i've been here and nobody has really gotten anywhere with him. We called him and invited him to have a lesson at the church. When he showed up, we toured the church and he thought it was really nice and was surprised. Afterwards, we had a lesson and everything i had planned had been going well. The lesson also went well and we used the scripture i found in personal study. It was ezekiel 37:15-20 and i explained how the bible talks about the book of mormon and how they will work together. The lesson went well and we think we can get him to church soon. We also had a hole of time that day that we didn't know what to fill it with and we called him and he just happened to be available at that time.

The walk back to our apartment was very fun. When it rains here, it floods. There is no draining system so the water just goes all over the streets and everywhere you walk. The puddles are huge.

We went to the Shatilov's house on Friday and gave them a Book of Mormon challenge. We watched a video, talked to them about sharing the gospel and we all wrote our testimonies in a separate book of mormon to give to someone. We asked them whom they would like to share the gospel with and finally it came down to their son/brother. They will have to slowly work with him but they really want to develop a better relationship with him. Their family is very nice and they are also super giving. They didn't have much but they had something prepared for us to eat when we got there. The people here would give you anything if you asked for it.

During English on Thursday all of the people talked about me for about 20 minutes and then i finally found an opening to change the subject and they were kind of disappointed. They were so interested in how i was a manager of a restaurant. One woman couldn't believe how i could be 18 and manage a restaurant and know how so she kept asking questions, another wanted to know what i did there, another was interested in how much i made and if i would learn russian recipes and there were several other kinds of questions.

I went tracting for my first time this week. Basically, you find an apartment building and then start ringing numbers till someone answers their domaphone. When they answer, we talk to each one saying we are missionaries until someone lets you in. After that, we went in and started at the top by knocking on doors till someone answers then we offer them the gospel and see if someone will accept. We weren't in luck but maybe that will lead to something in the future and it was a good experience so i am glad elder barney was willing to take me.

We had a lesson with sergei and during weekly planning we had planned out a super spiritual week of events to keep him studying, praying, fasting, preparing, etc so that he might receive an answer. We don't know how well it will work but he will be reading and giving us a lesson. I am really glad for the inspiration i have received since i have been here. The ideas are fantastic.

Elder Barney and I called some people out of the area book last night and we found 3 people we are going to meet with and maybe get some new investigators. One just happens to be a hairdresser and elder barney was planning for a haircut today so that is convenient. She has been very interested in the gospel but was too young to learn because her parent wouldn't sign a paper and then when she was 18 they called but she was busy and there has been no contact since then. She has been super interested so hopefully everything goes well. I am super excited for our new potential investigators.

This week has been great. I have worked hard with elder barney and made new goals to improve. We play catch with a frisbee in the morning now to make exercise more effective. I hope everyone is doing great! -elder elwood

letter from 5/19/2013 this is last weeks letter and this weeks is just before this one

Finally I have time to write my weekly letter! I really haven’t written in two weeks though because I haven’t had a chance where I was allowed to because we skipped P-Day. I am just going to try and fill you in on all of the details of everything that has been going on.
The MTC was great and Brother Rutter told us some stories and was with a lot before we left. He is very nice and gave some great advice. I was able to finally get to Sunday and get through that. There was one meeting after the other about leaving and we had tons of pictures to take.
The next day, we got up at 4 and said goodbye with a handshake to the other sisters going to Novosibirsk and hugs for the elders of course. Our ride over was crazy. We were taken to the train station and we talked to people a little bit on the train but most everyone is Mormon or avoids us like the plague. Then we got to the airport eventually. We boarded our plane and we were off to Los Angeles!
Los Angeles was great and I had a window seat on the way there. It is amazing how big the city is and you can tell on an airplane at night because of all of the lights. Once we got to Los Angeles we got on a bus to get to another part of the airport. This man kept staring at me and eventually I said, “How are you?” then he wouldn’t look at me anymore. The other elders and sisters saw and said it was really funny.
We made our phone calls in the Salt Lake City airport and it was nice to have a conversation with family on the phone. Your arm and ear gets sore from pressing the phone so hard to your ear to hear but it is a funny experience. We boarded the Korean Airline and we were in for a treat. They have weird security. Well, weird everything really but you would be pampered to live there.
On the plane, I had the opportunity to sit by a girl from China. I asked if she spoke English and she said she did and then Sister Baum and I were at full attention. I sat next to the girl and Sister Baum was assigned the seat to my left. We talked to Flora about the gospel, gave her a Book of Mormon, talked to her about her culture, what she is doing, taught her some lessons and asked to be friends. We now will be emailing her about the gospel and I just found out that in one of our areas here in Russia that we have a member who is from China so he speaks Chinese. Hopefully something comes out of this. She was really nice.
About the flight. The flight attendants from Korea dress a lot different and it is kind of strange but most people actually find it cool or interesting. We were served weird food and the pop cans were in Korean which was crazy. I loved the meal where it was all fruit and a crescent roll. They kept bringing juice by mean and offering it and I am pretty sure that is how I survived the trip. I had mostly pineapple and guava juice. They have a lot of these juices in Russia too. They had really cool screens that could play games, watch movies, anything really. We weren’t supposed to use them as missionaries and our flight was 13 hours.
Sister Baum and everyone else slept most of the time. After you are done talking with people around you then as a missionary you can read and study a little bit or sleep. I studied a little bit but couldn’t fall asleep. I was stuck in the middle of a cramped row staring at the back of a seat for the last 10 hours with a few minor breaks. I didn’t sleep for 3 days but it was an adventure.
Eventually we arrived in Korea and it was interesting. The culture is different but the most interesting thing was the bathrooms. They have tiny toilets, more normal size toilets, remote control toilets, places to put your kids, etc. In fact, Elder Fletcher was too afraid to use them and I had to talk him into it because where else would he go.
Sister Baum was able to talk to someone going to Vladivostok in the airport and share some gospel lessons. We were waiting to find some food and it wasn’t great but I tried white hot chocolate with caramel. When we got on our last plane to Vladivostok, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a man from there. He started a water bottle company two years ago and just got back from vacation.
I talked to the man about his beliefs and eventually gave him a Book of Mormon. I am not really sure what became of all of that but I hope it has a small impact or seed to grow for the future. Once we made it to Vladivostok, we met Elder and Sister Brinton. We met our companions briefly and we were already getting pictures. I am pretty sure I wasn’t smiling in a single one because of the lack of food and sleep.
The Brinton’s were very nice and things were crazy trying to get everything done. We had small devotionals and meetings about training and they took care of us at their lovely home. It was nice to shower after a few days and shave since I shaved right before I left but was a caveman when I arrived. The next day it was time for us to all leave to our areas! I had to repack and leave half of my stuff at the mission office and take one suitcase. We rode by bus 2 hours away to get to ours.
My new area is called Ussuriysk in English. Good luck with that one. My first day was great and I didn’t always know what was going but it went well. In fact, I almost never knew what was going on. I like our small new apartment and it is nice for it to be warm, small and cozy.
I have figured out how to do a lot of hard things already and learning words. My favorite way to learn is to read signs and find words that sound almost exactly the same. I have been able to study and plan really effectively because I have a real purpose and lots of things to study for. My purpose for doing things seems so much more real when it is in the field and it feels good.
We have had some good language studies as well and we went over how to make a language plan through preach my gospel. We have a lot of good goals in store! We went and helped a buhbooshka named Baba Alyevteena and she loves to talk. We helped her in her garden and shave gave me a nickname the first day as Oleg because she couldn’t figure out my “hard” name. Apparently it is good that she gave me one though because she doesn’t do that often with a lot of people and so she probably likes me already.
It was very funny to see her and Elder Bryson (Husband of the senior couple) argue in English while she was arguing in Russian. Elder Bryson is funny and likes to make jokes. I met him in English classes when I first got here. We were teaching Russians how to speak and talked about fruit. Well they were in for a treat because that happened to be one of my favorite subjects and they found that out fast.
So far I have been able to give lots of spiritual thoughts in Russian and I love to plan out what we will be doing during the week. We have talked about all of our investigators and I have had lots of ideas about how to help all of them and am excited to get to know all of them. It is really nice to apply things that I have learned throughout my life to my mission. There are a lot of things that we learn and wonder when we will finally get to use them and now is the time.
I am really excited to work hard and want to work hard to the point that everyone hears our names because we work hard and are annoyed of hearing about us. I want Elder Barney to leave at the climax of his mission. The president set up a competition for this month to see which area can get the highest percentage improvement for sacrament attendance. I want to strive for this!
I have had the chance of extending the baptismal commitment; quote the first vision, etc. It didn’t necessarily go as well as it could of but it planted ideas in the heads of the investigators. We are really close with one of our investigators named Sergei and I asked to meet on Sunday with him and Elder Osteler since the other two elders went to meetings. We struggled but were able to have a good lesson. He will be baptized as soon as he feels God is there and I asked him if he had been praying and he said yes and after further questioning I found out that he thanks God but does not ask for answers. I challenged him to do this and have been praying for him since. I told Elder Barney about our experience and hopefully something happens soon.
I have been able to cook different things so far and it is so nice. I have cooked chicken and French toast and made things when we have almost nothing. Today I am going shopping with a list so I can cook lots of things for Elder Barney. Surprisingly there are a lot of nice things to cook with here in Russia. They also have a lot of dairy and fruit products so I won’t die for now.
God has blessed me so much already and I can definitely see all of the blessings. I have felt so inspired and strengthened to do everything I need to. I just need to have faith to keep going. I have tried contacting a few times and it hasn’t been successful yet. One man said he was not interested in Russian then in English “ya gansta” and we also had someone who drove by in a car and said “Yankees go home” but his English was so bad that we couldn’t stop laughing later.
Sunday was great. We had several meetings and I didn’t understand much but it was good for me to practice Russian. We had a few teaching appointments and worked hard. I spoke in Sacrament and was able to do more than my testimony which is what I was asked to do. I don’t have much more time to write but things are great. Thank you for all of the emails. Happy Birthday to Dad and Hyrum!
About my companion:
Who is your trainer? Elder Barney
Where is he from? Draper, Utah
What have you learned from his so far? He gives great input, flexible and very nice
What does it look like? Small and feels retro to me like stuck back in the times with a few newer things of our time.
How is the weather? Rainy and sunny. I love it
How is the food? The food is alright so far and it is good because I can cook
How are your investigators? They are great! I am excited to teach them the gospel.
Are you in a ward or a branch? Branch
Now that you are surrounded by natives, how do you find your Russian? Alright and able to say more than I think but not super well.. yet!
How is your apartment? Small but cozy! I like it. The bathtub/shower is hilarious but I will be cleaning today!


Thanks for everything! –Elder Elwood

busy busy

Last week on P Day we went shopping and i found tons of different foods so for the last week we had a lot of great things to make and that has made eating a lot easier for me. Elder Barney was very helpful at finding foods especially since i would be cooking for him to eat it. They have a lot of yogurt and juices here and it is interesting. The stores are definitely a lot smaller here. I cleaned the apartment for a while because it was really dirty as in "dirt"y and throughout the week i finished it and had deep cleaned it so our house is really clean now which is nice and i reorganized things so that we have more room. We went to Family Home Evening at the church and were surprised at the amount of people who showed up and it was great to have the members so involved in cleaning the church.

Elder Barney and I have great discussions at night sometimes about different experiences. That is how i know we are getting along so well and i am thankful for him. I have found that some days i am really good at giving thoughts and ideas that i have and then sometimes i have days where i mostly just learn and don't feel the need to say as much. Both of those kinds of days are important for learning.

We have continued to help Baba Alovteena each week when she really needs it and she really likes us to come over. I think it is more than just the service because it seems like it would get lonely in her little place by herself. She gets along with me really well because i am quiet and she likes to talk. We have had English practice (group) at the church and we have worked on how to use past, present, and future verbs. It is funny to hear their favorite verbs because they think they are easy or sound funny.

I have found a lot of interesting books, pamphlets and materials this week in our apartment. It is very useful when teaching and i love using them. We have had some great lessons this week and we had a lesson with a man named Lev who apparently hasn't taken lessons that seriously in the past. He was nice and i told him how great a man he was and we needed more men like him at church. He came to church and committed to baptism but not with a specific date yet and he found a liahona at the church and was looking at it so i told him he could have it. I really hope for some progress from him.

All of the Elders and Sisters left to a piano concert this week put on by sister Brinton and her daughter who just got off her mission. It was just Elder Ostler and I left here and we had some fun and funny experiences trying to communicate with people and answer the phone. We had a good lesson with Sergei about the difference between the light of Christ and the holy ghost and how the holy ghost can work through the light of christ and it was good to have members present to help us out. Elder Ostler was fun to be with and he even ate all of the food off of both of our plates when we were at a members house. We both had just eaten and i didn't want it so when she left the room he just ate as fast as he could. There was so much food. I don't know how he did it but then she pulled out two big bowls of ice cream. She took half of my ice cream because we were asking to share one bowl between elder ostler and i. She made elder ostler eat the huge bowl of ice cream by himself. I was trying not to laugh. He is a great elder.

We helped clean the church this week and helped lots of members who called with their problems. We went to sports night and they all thought i was really good at Frisbee. I really enjoy playing with the great members and being able to learn what they are like and connect with them. We have good experiences together. I have had a lot of other experiences but it is hard for me to share them all so i have to summarize my week. It was very spiritual with good lessons and it was fun also but i have to keep working hard. I feel we get a lot of important things done and i have had some good experiences, a lot which i haven't been able to mention because of time. We met a less active members and i invited her to a siberian tiger activity soon where we will get to go and see ten tigers. She was super excited so hopefully we can get her active again.

Love you all! Elder Elwood

 

almost off to russia! Two weeks left at MTC

This week has been a good one. Our P Day is now switched to Tuesday and our new schedule till we leave is really great. I talked to everyone and got them up at this morning so we could get everything done early. It is also good because apparently it gets crazy on Tuesday. We ate with brother seitz on wednesday's Pday up at the temple. It was fun and it is nice how much our teachers and all of us bond.

My laundry on pday didn't wash right. One of the washers i used was broken so it super soaked all of my colored clothes. I had to put them in a dryer then separate them into four separate dryers and then hang some of the thicker clothes over my vent for a while.

Elder Price's birthday was fun. I have pictures i will be sending. I prepared a bunch of stuff from the last month that we could give him as gags, gifts, and for fun. The stuff that i sent back home, i didn't want to waste or throw away and there were a lot of things i found so i thought it would be good to send home before i leave in two weeks.

Our new schedule allows an extra half hour in the morning to get ready and then we have planning, sport, an extra half hour, an hour before bed and then lights out almost every day. It is great. We thought we wouldn't be able to use the field but they opened it this week during early morning and later at night. This is when i know the lord knows both needs and wants because the field had just barely opened but wasn't opened that early or late before. Teaching on Wednesday was great. We had foreigners from Russia and the lesson went really well. They were so nice and funny we got pictures with a man and his son. I hope to send those soon too.

One of the days here, I had a plan, study, teach cycle with one of the teachers. We had a really good lesson. In my companionship, we have been trying to commit oleg to baptism by teaching to his needs. We have been working at it a while and wanted him to understand the big picture of the gospel so he would take the first step and be baptized. The teacher said i really knew how to do everything, it was more of a matter of doing it. Sometimes that is a weakness in my companionship with elder price. If one of you is off task then you can't plan the lesson. I told him i've been working at that and he gave me some tips to talking to elder price again so that he can help us plan better.

I've been pushing him a little at a time and it has been working.

During the actual lesson with oleg, i was able to get him to commit him to baptism through the spirit helping me. The teacher being my companion asked if we should commit him to some kind of reading during the lesson. We had been giving him similar commitments for a while with other things tied in and i felt like i wanted to give him another commitment. I asked him first if it would be alright then i said, "We are holding a baptismal service on May 9th. Do you feel that if we helped you, you could be prepared for baptism and be baptized?"
Then he was thinking for a minute and i told him we would help him. He then responded and said that if he prayed and felt it was right then he would. I asked him to pray right there in a kneeling prayer which we had discussed more of why we kneel. He prayed and i asked him how he felt. He said he felt really good, like when he reads the book of mormon. We had been struggling to get him to share experiences when reading and if he had felt anything so then we knew he had been feeling the Holy Ghost. We explained to him that the feeling was the Holy Ghost and he said that if he kept feeling that, he would be baptized for sure.

In our lesson, we talked about the struggle Enos had with God. We had previously dropped off a note and lots of questions and things to help him read on the chapter of Enos. He had read so we went over a lot of questions and related it all back to him. I know a lot of things we did were skills i had acquired through the spirit, through the mtc and before the mtc with Brother Manning. The spirit was there and it guided our lesson.

Frisbee has been really fun to just play catch. It is good for meeting people in our zone especially the newer ones. All of the new districts think i speak russian and am from russia because they haven't heard english. I finally have the first vision memorized in russian and when i've quoted things we have said in lessons and such, that was also in russian but i put what it would be in english.

We went and taught some new districts how to use the computers this week when they came in because that is our calling. It is fun to speak Russian to them mixed with broken english and watch them understand slowly what i ask them to do. I think the new districts are really nice so far. However, apparently some of the younger districts in the zone have already told them lots of stuff about me. I am like some kind of legend around here. Anytime i walk by or someone else does and sees me then there is some kind of comment or conversation about something i didn't even knew they knew about. It is great because i want to get know the people around me. Sometimes they know my name and heard something about me and they've seen and talked to me but haven't made the connection between name and face yet.

I finally got my room key this week after waiting a month. It was right at the front desk so it is good to have that back in my pocket. Alright so here is my funny story. I was going to use the restroom briefly during studying one day. As soon as i started using the toilet, i got a crazy bloody nose just all of the sudden. By the time i got things slowed down, the urinal water was dark red, blood on all my clothes including inside my pants, on shirt, tie, etc. There was blood on the sink, floor and paper towels. Two elders walked in and one said "I sure hope that is from your nose or something". It was way funny. Then i went back to class (we are allowed to go to the bathroom without companion as long as we are on the same floor as adjusted by the branch president and only for the mtc). It looked like i had killed someone in the bathroom or been stabbed apparently. I told elder price that we needed to go back to the residency after pausing in silence in the classroom and everyone looking at me, wondering what had happened between going to the bathroom and now. It was a really funny experience telling Elder Price what happened and everyone else wondering what happened.

I got my birthday package and wishes the other day. I refused to open it the day before my birthday which just about drove the elders crazy. I had one of the sisters reach inside and get Elder Price's water bottle then i had the whole district sign it. Thank you so much for sending that. Thank you for the birthday wishes, cards, notes, presents. I love the frisbee and have already used it but decided i am going to save it for russia to be careful since the field has some. Thank you for the food. With the new schedule, we have way late meals and they close the cafeteria 10-15 minutes after we get there. There is literally almost no food left when we get in there so the treats are great. Thank you grandma and grandpa pace for your letter and everyone else in the family for small notes, cards, etc. I received so much mail and such that I won't have time to respond to a lot of it so i want all of you to know i am grateful for the things you did.

On my birthday, i woke up and was the first person out of bed. I always am so it was funny because i got a bunch of the elders up early on elder price's birthday and he just wanted to sleep. I really wanted to be on time to everything on my birthday and wondered why elder price was being so slow that day. I figured the elders all planned something the night before when i happened to not be in the room and was getting some other stuff done. Finally i get elder price back to the residency so we can grab a few things and i saw all of the elders hiding in the dark from the whole zone before i even walked in. They were wearing and using all of the stuff from elder price's birthday and the stuff my family sent in the package that i set out for the district. They needed to use everything because there were so many elders. I decided the sisters wouldn't get to celebrate as much because they used everything. The elders sure do get excited sometimes haha. We had an amazing lesson on my birthday to Nikita about repentance. I met all of my goals in the lesson for teaching but now we just need to work on timing our lessons better. I pushed elder price and finally got some more effective companionship study in. Everyone from the zone and districts were really nice and i got sung to all day. I am not sure why my birthday was so spoiled. Maybe it was because i wanted the attention the least. I wrote the districts thank you cards for all they did that day.

I practiced a talk in russian on sunday just in case i might have to give it on the topic of baptism since we are randomly picked to talk each week. I practiced more than usual and told everyone i was going to speak. I felt like i was going to, i wrote it in my planner and said a prayer. Then in sacrament i got called to speak. I was ready and probably the only one so far who was excited to speak. The topic was baptism and i had prepared it with preach my gospel and the scriptures. Everyone said i did a good job though i am not sure they understood anything. During the talk, one of the new elders leaned over to elder price and asked if i was from russia or where i was from. I am not sure exactly what he said but i am pretty sure it was yes.

Another funny story that you might have been waiting to hear. I got another huge zit on my back next to the old twice as big one. I knew that maybe one elder would be nice enough to help and i asked elder coulter. He said he helped his brothers all the time with this kind of thing and he has tried to help me. We haven't been able to get it doing much better and barely got anything out so we are going to go to the health clinic today just in case.

The devotional on sunday was good. It got us enthusiastic about missionary work. Then we watched a movie about Joseph Smith. I had never seen this movie before. It was really good and had parts of the Joseph Smith movie in it. I had people write thank you notes to the people working on sunday and then had them send the napkins with the notes on them through the dish area on their trays.

I studied my patriarchal blessing yesterday. I found some interesting things in it and i think it was good for me to read it. We also got our name tags in russian yesterday. Mine was voted the coolest and it is pronounced Elvood. The new schedule yesterday was just really nice. We went and played catch with some people in one of the newer districts. They were like "What? Do you play Ultimate or something?!" and i just responded "da" and they were like "oh" in a way that made it seem like it made a lot more sense in their head. I was able to show them how to throw a little bit because they wanted to know how but didn't really understand how.

Everything has been going well. We are finishing up our laundry then off to the temple and then hopefully will have some extra time today to get things done. Love you all and i hope i can get some pictures sent soon. -elder elwood

switching desks with the sisters

Last week on p day, we got everything done pretty fast and went to the temple. The temple was fast too. We do all the different things we can while we are there each week. We enjoy the peace that comes from attending. I started writing letters to the elders in our district for when we leave the mtc. I wrote a few of the elder's girlfriends because they wanted me to and then a couple more got excited when they read the letters and thought they were funny so now i just started writing a few of them. I tried to match their writing styles and personalities so they could connect. The elders really like what i write and think it is hilarious so it makes me feel good to see them like that.

The teacher fell for our joke with elder price in the boot and crutches. It was funny. He had everyone write him a letter and we were fake crying. He said he was so proud of the district and no one has ever gotten him. His dad said he had it coming for so long. We decided we won't play too many jokes and keep them on the down low but it was fun.

I have been preparing lessons in russian for each sunday. I haven't talked yet but i am sure i might before i leave. We have been called as portal masters which just means we show the new districts really quick how to use the computers but it is good to meet the new districts coming in today. We have a lot going to our mission even though we don't have a ton at the moment. Our mission is the biggest in the world. There is a map you can look at, at the mtc that shows the mission areas.

Our companionship has been getting stronger. We have been teaching some really good lessons and relying on each other. We have been doing some roleplays that have helped a lot to tell us about the lesson beforehand. He even suggested we wake up early and go running each morning which is funny because i was thinking that might be good. He loooovvvveesss sleep so i was surprised he suggested it. I am always up earlier and laying in bed so it is nice to go running. One of the other elders likes it so it is good to do it in the morning but very cold.

We have been working hard and staying on task. Things have just been going really well. I've been praying but the thing that helps with praying is reading the scriptures, pondering, and working for the things i pray for. I pray to know my weaknesses, for strength to overcome, for the spirit, for an open heart and mind, for interpretation and gift of tongues, for my companion, for other people specifically, for knowledge, etc.

We have been teaching our investigators about the big picture of things so that they know why it is important to take the first steps and that they have that desire. It has been good teaching and learning through the spirit.

Sundays have been nice. Here is another funny story of the week. I put my feet on sister picketts chair when she is gone sometimes. She always teases me about it and gets after me for it so i left her a note on sunday. "Dear sister pickett, i am sorry for putting my feet on your chair. I got you a new desk. -elder elwood" then on her companions desk "dear sister white, i hope you don't mind but i switched your desk with your companion -elder elwood" They both told me later that it was so funny but they also thought "that sneaky turkey! It would be funny to get him back. Oh (sister white) let's switch his desk with yours!" this is where it gets better. They pick up my stuff off my desk to switch it. Then they find another note on my desk. "If you would like to switch with my desk then that would be fine(: -elder elwood" they said they died laughing and wondered how i knew they would do that.

The devotionals have been good. There was a choir and a few other speakers. It is just really spiritual and good. I learn about different things each time but a lot of the time it is a confirmation of testimony. The movies on sundays have been really good too. It has just been really spiritual around here all the time. I have been working on my russian cursive, grammar, speaking, etc.
I found a bunch of stuff in the free box again and there was some party stuff that will be fun for elder price's birthday. I think it will be good with what we have. Good luck to everyone! -elder elwood

Elder Jacob Elwood's Birthday April 27th!

Hi several have asked about what jacob wants for his birthday.  He doesn't really need anything but he loves loves jerky.  You could also send chocolate chip cookies and then snacks that aren't sweet.  Like you could send him corn nuts, nuts and he does like corn chex.  They get a lot of treats as the missionaries are always getting things.  Just a note of birthday wishes would be great!  His addresses are listed on this blog.  Also be sure to read his letter from this week!  thanks for all your support.  Elese