Merry Christmas!!

С Рождеством!

It was awesome to see you and talk to you on Skype!  Crazy to think that next Christmas I will be there.  I honestly don't want to leave. I was planning on telling you how we are in Russia and didn't even have a white Christmas but today the snow picked up and we are in the middle of mini blizzard right now.  Who knows maybe we will end up with a foot before it ends just like you.  My Alaska's (my boots) have hardly had any tests this whole winter, but I think these would be warm even in Siberia when it is -40.  Hopefully snow won't stop until Russian Christmas (7 January).  

As I mentioned in my Skype call we have our investigator Nikolai on date to be baptized on the 14th of January.  We found him in the area book, his chart looked great and for who knows why the elders stopped meeting with him.  He looks a lot like Putin and Harry Potter mixed.  Ever since we committed him to baptism he has stopped smoking.  He has tried in the past with no success but he said this time it is easy for him. Prayers have been answered every day and he is on his 5th day already!

We went sledding on what seemed to me like a pretty lousy hill with some branch members but it turned out to be super fun!  We bought sleds for 70 rubles a piece (they tried to charge us 346 for one, but we caught it, it was a problem with a price tag) and those babies flew!  

The Severukins were in our district meeting and we also held a mini MTC for them since them just started their mission 2 weeks ago and didn't have anything like it.  It went well, we have plans to go serve at a orphanage and maybe a few other places.  Actually we took about half a day with the sisters and just walked around town from building to building asking if we could serve.  Most people told us that they had nothing for us to do then we went to a Japanese museum and were met with the same kind of talk, we persisted and the manger lady came down and told us that we could and gave us free tickets to the museum right on the spot!  It was a miracle!  

Thanks for all that you all do!  New Years has a lot more celebrators in Russian and I haven't heard yet but we will probably go home early on New Year's eve.  The branch is having an activity but we can go.  Have a Happy New Year!

Love you all!

Elder Wilding

 Christmas tree making

I was a wiseman

Sledding

Christmas Party

 SKYPE!!!!

 With Elder Lawrence

Sakhalin: Transfer 3

Добрый День  

I'M STAYING!!!  Elder Lawrence from St. George is flying here after zone conference with me and our sisters.  Sister Arrington is staying and Sister Kapralova who is Russian!! is coming.  And also serving on Sakhalin is a senior couple named the Severookin's who are also Russian!  They will start their mission in a few weeks in the eastern half of our mission.  They live here and I have already known them for a while.  So that means that district meetings are going to be held in Russian!!  How exciting and that a lot of papers are going to have to be translated from the advanced English of our leaders into Russian.  I'm excited!

I don't know why and I don't know how, but we haven't gone grocery shopping for like 2 weeks maybe 3 now and we still have food.  We should probably go today but we'll make it even if we don't.  We are leaving Monday (hence why I am writing today) and are returning Thursday night.  9 volunteers are going home on the 7th. This zone conference a ton of time is going to have to be devoted to departing testimonies.  Elder Crabb who I served with in Ussirysk is one of those returning, when we were together he had a little more then I have right now.  Life's crazy.

I got my hair cut.  She told me she was going to try something new and I really had no say... and now I have find of a fo-hawk. 

 As you could see in the pictures when the construction crew was constructing that massive Christmas tree, one of their trucks popped on its side haha, besides that I haven't heard of any other accidents.

We met with an most interesting man - Ки.  His name was in our phone so we gave him a call and finally got to meet.  He was just in Moscow and had a meeting with Putin.  He showed us pictures.  He works in politics and is a very funny guy. 

Last night was the going away party for Sister Bouwhiss and Elder King, talk about a try out!  The place was packed with people.  My sisters that I came in with are in the group that is going home.  Luckily they go early and me late!  

The snow keeps on coming down!  The future looks good.

Elder Wilding

 The tree going up

Haircut

You Could Say That It's Cold

Good Day Everyone!

It has been another successful and fun week.  I'm so glad I am still in Angarsk.  The language it still a struggle but it is coming!  Thanks everyone for the letters, it is a delight to read them all!

This week we had some sick elders.  On Monday Elder De Sandre got sick.  On Tuesday Elder Sumner got sick.  And on Wednesday Elder Lyman got sick.  Luckily, actually by the grace and mercy of God I was spared from the sickness.  Just like I was in the MTC when everyone got sick who was in my room.  Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with good health like I was promised.  It's a huge testimony builder for me and a miracle.  Even with everyone sick I only had to stay in on Monday.  That was okay though because it was only for 3 hours that we would have been proselyting and I got a lot of Russian studies in.  I went out with Elder Lyman on Tuesday and it just like the old days.  On Wednesday Elder De Sandre was healthy again so we went out when the other elders recovered.  Everyone is healthy now and going to work.

I don't know it was kinda weird this week we talked with so many Jehovah Witnesses.  I have been surprised by how many I have met in Russia.  We were walking home with a member and I asked them if they have fallen this winter and it was like magic, right when I said that the member fell haha.  

The temperature dial right before we left the house was between -38 and -39.  When I go out my shopka and scarf just freeze up way bad and I'll try to take a picture and send it next week because it is pretty cool looking.  About every time I go out this week my eye lashes have froze.  It is a really cool feeling.  But right when we go inside everything melts.  My guess is that it got -40 Celsius in the night and that is actually -40 Fahrenheit as well.  It's good though.  I can say I know what cold is.  But honestly when we layer up we are perfectly warm.  We just have to go in stores or others places every once in while.

We had a really good lesson with Egor this week.  He came to the church and we simply read a chapter of the Book of Mormon and bore our testimony of the truthfulness and expounded on the chapter a little bit.  He told us he would read everyday.  He is a really special guy going through some hard things right now and could use the good news of the gospel.  We are lucky to be teaching him.

OK, I know I said this last week but I am actually going to send a ton of pictures this week!

I love this mission of mine!

Love Elder Wilding

Your son at Lake Baikal

Welcome to the throne

Hotel in Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal

Beautiful Blue Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal

Beautiful blue Lake Baikal and my way nice hat

Lake Baikal

Me just loving Baikal

Me and Elder Lyman at Lake Baikal

Just a taste of what it gets like getting gains in the frozen tundra

In center or в центр

In center or в центр

Approaching Santa's ice sleigh reindeer from the front and frozen trees

Tell Bryce I say, "peace"...

New Years

Our way nice set up

Nesting dolls

Christmas Deliveries

Hello everyone!

This week was really fun and we had a lot more lessons then we usually do so we weren't on the streets so much which was nice!  I got your package!  Thank you it was really great!  It was so cool to get all that stuff from you!  Also please tell the Swalwells and Hilmans thank you from me for sending me a package!  

It is about -36 right now so you would think that my allergies would be under control because everything that I could be possibly allergic to is frozen.  Wrong.  My allergies have been going nuts this week.  Worse than it has been in a long time.  But the Lord has been there when I needed Him and when I gave my talk in church I didn't sneeze once and also during district meeting I didn't.  

We have been delivering our pictures of Jesus to the members for Christmas and it is really amazing to see the the look on their face when they open it up and realize that it is Christ, the Savior.  I love delivering it to them.  But one of the members we gave it to was a little too zealous and put it up on his wall as fast as he could without securing it properly and it fell to the ground with a  big bang.  Luckily the frame didn't break or the glass and all there was was a little dent.  That was a miracle in itself.  The only bad part of the lesson was after it when he insisted on giving us something to drink.  He only had green tea (which he thought was OK but we told him it wasn't and he said he would get fruit tea from now on) and we told him we wouldn't drink it, so he grabbed these two little milk cartons out of his fridge and gave them to us.  That milk was either sour or poisonous or something because it was completely awful.  But I somehow managed to get it all down but when Elder De Sandre drank it he thought it was just as bad as I did but he made the mistake of drinking the cup of boiling water that was on the table.  I felt bad for him but it was funny what he said when he just kind of yelled, "oh that's hot" haha.  He had a woman over at his house when we came and she was on the lesson and we gave her a Book of Mormon and she said she would read it!  She also said she would come to church but didn't this Sunday because she was sick.

We bought some orange juice this week.  I missed that stuff so much.  I used to drink so much of that stuff back at home.  We bought 3 containers of it and it wasn't long before they were all gone.  

I think I said in my last letter how I lost a lot of my stuff.  Well, I found a lot of it this week!  Thank goodness, I was starting to think I was cursed.  

We delivered another Christ picture to another member and while we were there they showed us a pictures of their wedding.  I think I now understand why pictures of ancestors or just old pictures looked like they were always mad or not satisfied.  I think in America and other places we have figured out how to smile.  But in Russia some people are still figuring it out.  They did a lot of the same poses that most wedding couples do but they just weren't smiling and it looks kinda funny.  I think that is where the stereotype comes from that Russians don't smile.  Because these people are always going and laughing and smiling.  But just not for a picture.  

I have so many pictures I need to send home so I will end it here.

I love you all

Elder Wilding  

Good Week in Russia, Bad Week in America

Dear family and friends,

It was really great to talk to you on Christmas!  It was something that I really took for granted before.  My Christmas was great and fun!  The weather is starting to warm up here a little bit.  Had a good English practice : Christmas Edition.

We set an baptismal date for Egor this week and if all goes well Yuri will get baptized tomorrow.  Elder Lyman and Sumner are teaching him right now but me and Elder Lyman found him and it is great to see him progress in his faith.  He had to come to church this Sunday if he wanted to get baptized.  We were all worried when sacrament started without Yuri.  But we just placed it in the hands of the Lord and he showed up!   It was a miracle!

Me and Elder Sumner were on splits this week and had an outstanding day.  I swear the streets were prepared for us because of how many people we were able to talk to and share our message and receive their numbers.  I wasn't really sure how it was going to go at first but it was one of the best contacting days I have had on my whole mission!

My Christmas was awesome!  We were hoping and praying that we could do some service on Christmas.  We couldn't find anything and just planned to contact and do what we always do.  But while we were planning Egor called us and asked us to help him with a pemont (repair) on a wall in his house.  When we arrived I saw chunks of broken wall scattered all over the floor and Egor with a dumbbell in his hand smashing the wall.  It was quite a site and he told us in broken English,  "This is man work".  We ended up throwing the broken wall out of his window that is 2 stories up.  It was fun.

On Christmas Eve we bought a ton of Twixes and some brownie mix and made Twix brownies.  I will send some pictures it was a glorious creation and it tasted so good except the Twixes got a little burnt.  We also watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas that I found in Vlad and brought it here and wrapped it up and put it under our Christmas tree like a present.  It was great to watch and feel the true meaning of Christmas.

The weather has been pretty cold but it has started to warm up.  I think the coldest it got was -35.  I just about got frost bite but it was cool feeling a cold that I have never felt before in my whole life.  The nice thing about the cold is that you can just keep on putting clothes to get warm but with the heat you can only take off so much.

The reason my email say bad week in America is because the Panthers lost.  Dang it.  I thought they were going to have the perfect season.  At least we have the Superbowl we can still win.

Sorry this letter is so short!  I'll try to do better!  I am having a great time out here!  I love it!  I wish everyone a happy new year!

Elder Wilding

Siberia

For you Mom

Our Stockings

Thy son

Twix Brownies

Cooking

Thine son

Korea

Korean Temple

*From Elder Wilding's mom:
The Skype that almost didn't happen.

After waiting for almost two hours from the set time to Skype on Christmas Day we received this email :

Dear Parents,

Living here in Russia is an amazing opportunity, each new day brings a new experience and challenges. Today in the USA its Christmas, the magic is all around you.  Your missionary has been looking forward to this day for a long time, that once or twice a year experience to “Phone Home” however the internet here is not as reliable as we would like, and today unfortunately has been one of those days.

If you are receiving this email it’s because your missionary has called us, Elder and/or Sister Anderson and they have been disappointed and frustrated in trying to reach you! We are very sorry for this inconvenience. They Love You! They are Safe! And believe me when I say they wish they could be “Home for the Holidays”. But they are serving the Lord and today Christmas Day they will be acting as a servant of Christ, sharing the gospel with those who need them EVEN more than you do.

Wishing you and your family,

Merry Christmas!

Elder & Sister Anderson

For and in behalf of,

Elder Wilding

We were pretty let down but decided to be positive and pray that he was not feeling worse than we were since he is the one so far away from home.  Then we received this email about an hour later: 
Hello this is Elder Lyman from Angarsk. We've been having some problems. We Your sons will be calling from skype in about an hour to 2 hours.

 He looked SO great and sounded even better!  He is happy and immersed in the Lord's work!  We couldn't be prouder of this boy!  Best Christmas present ever!