Scary

11 April 2006
"Today was a pretty sweet day other than I was dead tired. So we started the day with a meeting at a members house. We were doing home teaching with Анатолий Смолькин and that went well. So that was alright other than the fact that he repeated the Lord's prayer at the end. Well, I got back with Elder Christensen and we headed to see Раиса who is doing well. She had a good time with us, and I am going to miss seeing her. We then did one of the scariest things that I've done yet on my mission - we bought my train tickets home. It was a really weird and I feel weird. We went and looked at an apartment for sisters who are going to be serving here. We had a meeting then with Баба Нина and that was cool. I enjoyed it, and I love her a ton. She is an awesome lady. Well, then we went to the branch apartment where we had a meeting with Владик. He is doing alright, but needs some help. I love the guy to death and am going to miss him. He is truly awesome. We were then at the branch apartment for a bit before we left. Things are alright there, but I was dead and now I want to sleep. I almost forgot that I gave 2 blessing today and the spirit was very strong. I blessed Сестра Макарова and Люда Герасимова. It was awesome!"

Exchanges

10 April 2006
"Another day gone, and it also just flew by. So this morning we got up and had a good time. We studied and all that good stuff before we went and did our contacting. that went well, and we had a good time even though we didn't have much luck. We headed to собрание округа where I slept for a bit before we started our meeting. The meeting went alright, but nothing all that great. We grabbed a bite to eat before we went on exchanges. I went off with Anand and we headed out to the country to find some former members. We found out they had all moved or else they are против. We came back into the city where we stopped by to the apartment for a minute before we headed to our FHE with the Филипповы. That went fairly well, and I enjoyed it a lot. We chatted forever and I showed them a bunch of pictures from the mission, and all in all, it was a lot of fun. I felt really good there, and I enjoyed it. We are now home and I am headed to bed. Another day ahead of us tomorrow."

New

14 March 2006
"Today was a sweet day and I had a good time working. Well, we had to go on transfers this morning and so I was with the new guy - Elder Olsen and we went out contacting this morning. It was a lot of fun and we had some good success and talked with a lot of people. I had several memories come back of what it is like to be a new guy. There are a lot of things that have changed especially how I look on things right now compared to when I only came. The main reason is that I understand everything that is going on. Well, we went to see Раиса and that went well. She is doing pretty good and will try to read the Book of Mormon every day she said. We gave our passports for registration and then we came home and grabbed a bite to eat. We then switched back and Christensen and I went to see Максим who is doing well. We had a good time laughing with him and so that was cool. Well, we then ended the night with a meeting with Владик. That went alright but I guess that he has started to smoke again. He is really trying but just can't get rid of the habit. We had a good meeting and are going to be praying for him to stop smoking. We are now getting ready for p-day and hopefully all will go well that way, but we never have any idea what to do."

Spinning

21 February 2006
"Today was certainly a good day. We had a lot of work go down for us and Elder Theurer is way cool. We did some good studying this morning and then we headed out to do some contacting in the snow. My head was and has been spinning all day. Contacting went alright, but nothing amazing. We talked with several people and greatly enjoyed that and then we went home, and ate some really really good stir fry that Elder Theurer made. It was one of the best things I have had in a while so that was cool. We then went to a meeting with Людмила - I was there with Schwab a few weeks ago. That didn't go as planned, and she doesn't want to talk about the church so that was interesting. Masha was with us, and she helped save things. Well, we stopped by to a couple of addresses and so that was cool. We ended the night with Felix. He is an awesome guy who has big doubts about the church and the Book of Mormon. It was insane. We talked a lot about there was a break off from Jerusalem, and why it happened. He got offended on people in the branch. We then came to the center and Elder Steiner and I are back together. Like I said, my head is spinning, and I need to sleep."

Pride

20 February 2006
"As we can see, I forgot my journal but I want to write everyday so I am here writing. I came to the other elders house tonight and I am with Elder Theurer on exchanges. He is a good elder and it is cool to be with him. So today we started out well by having a good study and relaxing a little. We then headed off to do some contacting. That went alright, but it could have gone better. We stopped by to grab some food for lunch, and then headed home for собрание округа. That went good too, but nothing amazing. We attempted to make some macaroni and cheese but that didn't happen that great. We tried to make 2 kg of noodles and that was way too much. After we ate, we chilled a bit before we headed off. Elder Тайр and I came back this way where we decided to stop by to a few addresses. We didn't have much luck, but just a couple people lying to us and saying that they weren't home. We went to see Наташа and that went cool. This lady is way awesome, and we chatted about a lot with her. We read 4 Nephi and talked about how much the people changed and what caused the change. Sometimes pride is the easier choice, but in the end, it doesn't bring happiness. I hope that she can feel better and start to come again. Аня Ф was with us and so we walked with her home before coming home ourselves. We are just eating and getting ready for tomorrow. Hopefully the day will go well."

Symphony

14 February 2006
"Today was another good one. We had a fairly decent day. I was with Elder Boster today and we had a good time studying and working together. He is a pretty cool elder and he wants to do the best he can. So we went contacting this morning, and that was cool. We met a Buddhist and I think that it is the first time on my mission – I have no clue what they believe in, or what they do. Well, we then met with Раиса and she is doing well as always, and she is a great бабушка and I love her to death. I wish that she would stop smoking. We came home, ate, and then we went out to see Баба Нина. She is doing fairly well, and she is a great lady. I love her to death and she is a good friend of mine. Tonight we went to the symphony and that was pretty good. It was cool, and people sang and enjoyed everything that way. We came home a little early and I am trying to work things out for tomorrow, and I guess we shall see how things go. Ст. Стайнер told me that Ирина К. Is also having problems and that we need to work with her and Тома. I hope that we can help them, and that all will be alright that way. I feel like it is my fault although I know that is not completely so. I need to rely on the Lord and just work. The Lord will bless those around us."

What

13 February 2006
"Today was an insane day. We had some crazy meeting. So this morning, we went contacting and had quite a bit of luck. We talked with several people, and it felt awesome to finally be out contacting again. We headed out to the other elder;s house where we had собрание округа which went pretty good. We had some good practice there, and learned a lot. After собрание округа, we ate as a district, and then we went on splits. I am with Elder Boster here in our area. Well, this is when all the fun really started. We decided to stop by an inactive member, and she is interesting. She led the lesson basically and wouldn't really let us say a word. I made the mistake of telling her that we were headed to see a lady that she knows. She invited herself there. She insisted that to pray you must stand (that's a first for me on my mission), and she wanted to only read from the Bible. We were at Любовь Заря's place with her, and also Анна Ф was with us. It was alright, but we couldn't really teach. We finally got out of there, and had a good laugh. We then went to a meeting with Шавкат and that was interesting as always. He talked a lot about nothing and we were confused. He is also an interesting guy and has a lot to say."

Fasting

4 February 2006
"Talk about another sweet day - that is what we had today. This morning we were once again with the APs on splits. Things didn't seem like they were going to well but then 2 meetings worked out for us. One was for Elder Schwab and I, and we went to help Баба Нина told me over the phone that she didn't want to come to church anymore, and that she would not tell why. Well, Elder Schwab is a great elder and so he bore testimony to her of the truth, and the spirit was very strong. She committed to try to activity no matter how hard it was going to be. It was away awesome. Well, we then went and ate at Трио Пицца and that was really tasty. We ran to our house and then to change comps back. I fell on the meeting with Гарик (meeting 2), and that went fairly well. We thought we should have a meeting at 2 but the contact didn't show up. We went to the store, and then came home before we went to собрание миссионеров. That went decent before we went to sport. Well, we switched comps and Elder Anand went with me while Elder Steiner translated an audit. Sports was good, and there was a ton of people there again. I am dead, and I started fasting at 6 for Владик. It is hard, but it is sure worth it. Fasting brings great blessings."

Running

3 February 2006
"Today was a way sweet day. I am so tired, but we ran all over the place and we worked hard. This morning we got in to the city, and we came home. I wanted to sleep, but instead we went to the branch apartment and paid for it. We came home, and had a bunch of planning. I planned with Elder Schwab and then I planned with Elder Steiner. We had a good 2 hour planning session and we talked about all of our investigators and how to help them. It was nice to have a good planning session for a change, and it should make for a good week. Well, we then headed off after a good meal of hot dogs and mashed potatoes to a meeting with a doctor we had met several weeks ago. That was pretty interesting because he wasn't there. Well, we then went in search of a lady that Elder Schwab taught when he served here. We found her, and that was good to chat. She really likes to talk, and to talk about random things, but it was alright there. We quick like ran off, and we went to Андре's before we quick like ran to the branch apartment where we had a meeting with Владик. Talk about insanity. He talked about how it is written "Gods" in Abraham, and read a ton from the Bible. Elder Schwab and I basically just chilled not saying much, but in the end, things went well, and he is doing well with all. The Lord is blessing us to be able to teach such a person. I love to serve the Lord, and help his children."

Reading

12 January 2006
"Today was sure a long day. We did almost nothing. We didn't have anything planned and so we kind of just walked around. Elder Ананд is not really sure how to be senior companion, and so we didn't have much planned. We did go out contacting this morning, and that was cool. We talked with a lot of people and had a good time that way. We then came home for lunch, and had ourselves пельмены sandwiches. I started to read Harry Potter in Russian, and that was cool. We headed off to hunt down some members, but didn't have any luck. No one was home, and if they were, they didn't want to meet with us. We came home after a few hours and had dinner - I just read. We headed off to the scripture study class, and that went well. Well, Mark 9 really kicked my butt, but other than that it was good. We then had молодежный вечер which would have been cool other than Маша и Аня вместе. We had a cool time playing and all, but it could have been better. Now I am back home with Steiner have a good time and tomorrow we should have a good day. I hope that all will work out as we want."

Good P-day

11 January 2006
"Another quick day passed by. It was a good one at that, and we had a good time relaxing. It was p-day and so we chilled this morning and didn't do a ton. We did clean the apartment finally, and so the house looks a lot nicer. We gave Маша a blessing for here test that she is going to have and then we hit up the рынок. We didn't buy really anything - just some pasta. It is no wonder that I haven't felt good the past few days, as we haven't eaten anything healthy. In fact today I have barely eaten anything. I think that I need to start eating better, but I don't know how. After the рынок we went to the other area to check out discs. There wasn't anything too amazing, but we found one store that had some good stuff. We wrote home and the family is doing well. Not much going on that way. We had English lesson and that went well.
We finished the night by meeting with Владик. He is doing well, and still trying to find out truth. He seems to accept most of the teaching, and accepted the commitment for baptism. The main thing is that we need to help him quit smoking and drinking. He drinks rarely so that will be a lot easier. He wants to quit smoking but hasn't gotten his faith up to do it yet. President Макаров helped out wonderfully. Tonight I am in Арбекого with Elder Ананд on exchanges. I need to help him know more what to do. He is a great guy."

Exchanges

29 December 2005
"Today was pretty sweet day with Boster, and we had a good time chattin. He is such a good guy, and he wants to do the best he can as a missionary. He is not quite sure what to do, but he is a great guy. Well, we talked about how to do better that way, and how he can work more effectively. He is really to do it, and is going to try.

We went and contacted a bit. That went pretty well, and we had a good time. We stopped by to a huge magazine and looked around for a bit while we tried to decide what to eat, and what else to do. We went home and grabbed a bite to eat. That was good, and it gave us some good time to talk. We then started our day of trying to meet with people by stopping by to some members. Of course no one was home, and we just chatted a little bit with some people there close by. We did meet with Герасимовы's and that was cool. Люда и Настя are sisters, and they are way cool. We read 4 Нефий with them, and it was cool. That is a really awesome chapter about the power of pride. We then ran over to the branch apartment where we had молодежный вечер. It was way cool as we went out on the square and played tag on the ice rink. It was insanely fun, and we all had a good time. Everyone was watching us and thinking we were crazy. We just laughed and enjoyed ourselves. I am ready to die now I am so tired. Tomorrow should be a fun day again."

No Temptation

10 December 2005
"Today we had an interesting meeting with Афина. We talked about knowing the truth and about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon every day. She said that she wasn't ready for baptism because she has a pull to do wrong. We talked with her about how this temptation will never leave and that she needs to be strong. It was interesting hear her wish to get baptized only when there is no temptation. I think that we all wish that we could have something like that but it will never happen. Also, her cousin Роза was there and she is the cutest little girl ever - she is 9 and is tiny. It was so awesome to be there.

This morning we went contacting with the APs and that was cool. We also ate some German Pancakes that were tasty too. I was with Котов and we talked with a ton of people. They then left, and we had our sports time. That was pretty cool as we walked up a big hill, and looked out over the city. It was cool, and the view was amazing. We hurried and made it on собрание миссионеров which was sure interesting. It seems that people are really starting to hate how things are going in the branch because they are voicing a strong opinion. They don't completely understand the importance of strengthening the branch by doing all that they can. I am not sure how to help them, but we need to do something to get them more excited, and so that there was excitement in the branch."

APs

9 December 2005
"Today was sweet other then the fact that the weather is really terrible. All this snow came down, and now it is melting. There are huge puddles, and we walked through them, and we got our socks and shoes super wet. It was sure crazy, and not that much fun to walk through, but I guess that is part of life.

We stopped by and got the APs this morning at the vokzal and then we took our walk home. We had waffles for breakfast, and that was way cool. We then studied and prepared for our days. It was certainly interesting, and we also planned for the next week and set goals. We finished planning, and then we head to Трио Пицца to get some lunch, and that was way awesome.

Elder Nance and I were together, and we contacted for a bit, and it went way awesome. We found several new people and we talked with a ton. We then had a meeting with a member that went well. We talked about the Melchizedek Priesthood, and about how we can work to receive it. We then had another meeting with шавкат - that was interesting. We first had to get out to the древня where he lives, and in all the water, that was interesting. There we had an interesting meeting - Шавкат blamed his wife for all the problems, and she blamed him. They just blame each other, and solve nothing. Shavkat is a good guy, but he doesn't want to listen. If they would just have FHE and family scripture study and prayer, life would be so much more enjoyable for them. it is sure interesting how such things can bless people's lives so much. It is something that has to be done to greatly bless lives.

It was way awesome with Nance today. He is an awesome elder, and we are such awesome friends. I am going to miss him and Bennett as they are leaving home. We just talked about all the good time that we had together, and the great people that we served with. I can't believe how fast time is going, and it is sure insane. I need to start focusing more, and really kick in the last few months on my mission. The last ones are the ones I will remember the most of all."

Exchanges

4 May 2005
"It was a great day. Well, it was a nice break from all the walking that we've been doing. We played b-ball this morning like always, and then we came home and got ready to go. Well, we went to Saratov and then we ate before writing home. We wrote and then came back and played a little ping-pong before teaching a lesson about missionary work. We then stopped by to a couple of addresses with little success. Well, tonight I am home with Elder Johansen as we are on exchanges. He is the zone leader, so hopefully he can help me work better. He is a good guy, and so we'll see how all goes!"

Exchanges

10 January 2005
"We're on our way out of Saratov to Samara right now. We just are getting ready to sleep. Today, after собрание округа. I went with Paulsen for exchanges. It was way fun and we worked well together. We stopped by to several people, and then we went to get on the train. We stopped by to a family and the husband was drunk. It was sad and I wanted to help them, but I couldn't really."

Fun Day

13 December 2004
"Well, I’m in the hole! Actually I am with Elder Smith – the zone leader – on an exchange. Today we didn’t do much, but we did have fun. District meeting went way good, and I enjoyed it. We then ate together. It was fun. After that, we stopped by and got my film and then we tried to stop by to people. We went home, and I made some cookies and then we went to FHE. It was a lot of fun, and I played Dominoes. It was way awesome to see families together. Well I am here with Elder Smith now and I am realizing something about a missionary – it’s not how well you speak, its what faith you have, and how well you work. Something that I really need to work on, and so I will do my best to do better!"