It Snowed

I can't believe Mitch, Derek and Tyler got called to the same mission, that's crazy!

We went to a food stand this week called были.  It is amazing!  It has huge pancakes that they roll up like burritos and fill with chocolate or caramel!  Tastes like heaven!  Also, I have been listening to a lot of Bruce R. McConkie talks.  That man is a genius.  Also I have been trying to get down the Restoration in under 2 min. so that I can share with people on the street.  Memorizing is so huge in learning a language!

On Oct. 1st it snowed all day.  A little boy threw a snowball at us haha, but just because he asked us if we wanted to have a snowball fight with him and we couldn't because we were heading somewhere so Elder Lyman just told him to throw it at us.  The little kid was so happy haha!  But the next day all of the snow melted.  And now it is way hot again.  The weather is so weird right now.  Some days I go out with 2 coats and then the next day with only a short sleeve white shirt.  Probably will go and buy my winter coat sometime soon.  The only problem is the Reenik (the place you go to buy) is closed on Mondays and that's when P-day is.  We might have to go during a dinner hour or something.

I didn't get to watch conference yet.  We get it this week.  I'm way excited!  The branch watches it in Russian together and the missionaries watch it in English and all the missionaries bring a ton of treats!  Can't wait!  Our baptism didn't happen this week because he had to work.  It's so sad.  They work like all the time but still make no money.  That is why baptisms haven't been happening.  People are just always working.  We plan to have him baptized in 2 weeks now.  I really think this one will happen!

I was reading in the teachings of the Prophet's book.  Heber J. Grants.  He talked in it about never being discouraged.  He used Nephi as an example.  Nephi never got discouraged.  When his brothers went and tried to get the plates of brass and failed twice, he didn't murmur but just went and did and relied on the Lord.  And throughout his whole life he is always trusting in the Lord and never murmuring and never getting discouraged.  I want to be like that.  Never be discouraged.    

Also in Nephi, I find it way cool when it talks about when Nephi broke his bow.  He broke his bow and his brothers murmured, even his father the prophet murmured.  What did Nephi do, did he get discouraged?  Did he just stop and complain to God.  No he went and made a bow out of a tree.  Then what is most interesting, he went to his father and asked where he should go hunt.  It was pretty clear that Nephi was supposed to take over after Lehi.  Lehi was old and now was his perfect time to control.  But he didn't. 

"If you treat an individual as he is, he will stay as he is.  But if you treat as if he were what he could be and ought to be, he will become what he ought to be." - Goethe

That is exactly what Nephi did.  He knew what his father should have been and instead of treating him as someone who complained against God, he treated him as his father the prophet who receives inspiration from God.  And that principle applies to all aspects of life.  That is how I am going to start treating my investigators.  As if they kept the commitments we extended to them and in other ways.

I finally had something at a member house I didn't like.  Fish soup.  I ate it though.  I thought I would never get fed by members on my mission but it has happened quite a bit in Angarsk.

I was in a lesson and trying to say, "No person could write the Book of Mormon without God" but what I said is, "No person could read the Book of Mormon without God".   The guy looked at me way weird haha.  But my Russian is getting a ton better!

We made a cool goal.  For every 3 hours we are on the streets contacting, we want one number.  Our first time doing it we didn't have a number 2:40 in but we saw a man on a bench and sat and talked with him and at 2:50 we got one!

I love it here!  Good job mom on qualifying for Boston!

Elder Wilding

It snowed

Cool castle

The moon

Elder Lyman's 20th birthday breakfast