I'm a Volunteer

Привет Привет Привет!

It is so good to write home again.  Having a normal workday on Monday was the weirdest feeling ever.  And not writing until today got us all mixed up.  Therefore I am happy to end the confusion.  

My new suit is........... BLUE!  She is beautiful,  I had to get the legs tailored a little shorter because apparently my legs don't agree with my arms.  I was hoping to grow a few inches out here but for as much as i can tell it is not happening.  This transfer has gone faster than any one I have ever experienced.  It feels like I have been with Elder Staiger for 1 day tops.  As of now the prophecy that the last year goes immensely faster is being fulfilled.  We have to move out of the apartment that I have called home for 5+ months.  7 new sisters come in (or 6 I don't know) and they get our apartment and we get to go live with the other elders in their apartment in Slabada.  The changes are to a much smaller apartment and about 20 more minutes away from the church.  But that is a small sacrifice to make to be able to live with 4 elders again.  It is a blast!

Mr. W.  I am so blessed to be able to teach him.  He loves the gospel and reminds me of why I am out here and that I truly do bring glorious news of happiness.  He believes and is happy.  Every time I talk to him he says something in his Chinese accent in broken English very profound and simple about the gospel and I can't help but laugh and smile.  The gospel is joy and he understands that.

We had splits again in Vlad.  I was with Elder Grey and Elder Memmott.  We met with a kid who knows English and can hear any song and then play it on the guitar or piano right after or that is how it seemed.  The next day multiple districts came up to Vlad for a joint district meeting where we talked about the new law and what we could do and what we couldn't do.  We are going to be spending more time in the church now.  Yesterday me and Elder Staiger started to organize the library while we waited to see if anyone would come in.  It was such a mess and we are still not finished.  3 guys came in and we played ping pong with them because for 2 weeks we can't talk about the gospel with anyone besides members.  That is of course unless they sign a paper stating that they are a "follower" interested in learning more about our church.  We set up a soccer game with them on Friday.

I called Vl who me and Elder Lyman taught in Angarsk haha... he is super funny.  He always yells when he gets excited "OOOH OOOH" haha.  He knows some English but usually a word or two and then the rest is all in Russian. In Angarsk I could not understand anything he was saying but when I called him it all was clear.  But that's not saying much because I knew like no Russian when I first got in country it feels like.

We found a big set up poster of Joseph Smith while cleaning out the library.  We put it out in the front where people can see him when they pass by the church.  I'll send a picture of me by it!  

I love you all and am very grateful for all you do!  If you have any questions or more stuff you want me to include in my email just let me know.

Elder Wilding

The Sweeter the Oats the More Pitiful the Deadman

Hello family and friends!  I am delighted to be able to write you!  I love to read your letters and learn of you!  This week was exciting as ever.  One of my favorite quotes I have ever heard about Russia is this: "Things that just don't happen, happen in Russia" and that is how it often seems haha!

So I am very distraught to announce that I have not yet seen conference.  For some reason in Ussuriysk they had planned to watch it on the 25th or around there.  When I tried to change it it didn't work so I will be going through a least one more time of writing you before I hear the "pleasing word of God".  Although there is a loop hole.  We have already downloaded them all on the computer so I have already watched the women's conference and Saturday morning conference during dinner and after 9:30.  Although that is good, I am sad to say that my journal is lacking because of the conference watching.  But I am recommitted and I am only a few days behind.

We had a miracle and received a new investigator named Sergei.  Maybe I talked about him last letter but he just showed up at church and said he is looking for the truth.  The news for him is that he believes it and wants to get baptized!  We set a date for the 23rd of April but he called yesterday and said he couldn't come to church due to him being really busy.  So we will move that back but our hope and faith is still high and we love him!  He is honestly searching for the truth.  And we promised him he would find it.  He speaks English and I want to say he speaks fluently but he doesn't have the grammar down completely and always says "in the" before everything but he uses the biggest most abstract words that we have no idea how he knows what they mean let alone knows how to use them in a sentence.  Also another miracle about him is that when we met him on Sunday, I lost his number.  And I was in the galls of bitterness because of my stupidity.  But he came to English practice and everything worked out!  We were reading the Book of Mormon with him in English and the part where it says "600 B.C" he read as "600 years before Christmas" haha!  I guess he wasn't actually wrong, but it was hard to not laugh haha.  And when we asked him to get baptized and explained how it would be he said, "You are going to give me a dip haha".

So the title of my email is an intriguing Russian tradition.  I don't think that it is still practiced.  But how it goes is that after the funeral of a dead person everyone gets together and has a big feast.  Some traditional Russian foods are always served at these things such as blini and casha.  Or crepes and oatmeal.  And this is how it goes, if the person who died was a really really good person and everyone was sad that he died then that means that the casha (oatmeal) would be loaded with sugar.  And vice-versa.  If it was a bad guy and no one was all too sad that he had passed - the casha would taste awful due to the lack of sugar.  So the better you were, the more the sugar.  The worse you were, the less the sugar.  Therefore the sweeter the oats the more pitiful was the death of the dead man.  

Oh yeah haha, I never hung up the stuff you sent me for my birthday mom until Elder Roosa informed me that it was the 6th of April and that it was Jesus Christ's birthday.  So we hung it all up haha.  It brightens the place.  Oooh also me and Elder Roosa both have the same birthday and both had a companion in the MTC named Brower.  It is good having a new companion right out of the states.  He is shocked by how cheap everything is haha.  I guess it is something I just got used to.  

Went over to President Zaggoroni's house twice this week.  He played guitar for us both times and had us sing I am a Child of God in English for him both times.  Haha I love it!  He is such a happy man!  He is always so big on that!  You should be happy now.  Not down the road.  Not when you get to heaven but now.  I like that attitude.    

It rained twice this week as well.  I love the rain!  I hear it rains a lot in this city!  I am so happy!  

Roman, a potential we called out of the area book, came to church!  He calls me Elder McKay.  It is fine for right now but when we start meeting with him he will change.  

I am sure more is happening but thanks to the women's and Saturday morning session of conference and also to my own forgetfulness, that is all I remember .  

I love you all!

Elder Wilding

Dacha land

VLAD

Elder Memmott?

Elder Memmott?

Bowling with Elder Crabb

Nice...