Fun One

1 March 2006
"Today was a pretty good p-day. This morning we headed off to Gene's place where we had some practice of the songs that they will be singing at the concert next Tuesday evening. It should go alright, but they have a lot of work to do. We then went and wrote home where things seem to be going fairly well. My brother is having a good time and quite a bit of success. Well, we took quite a few pictures and then we stopped by to Вокзал where we bought tickets for missionaries that are leaving. I found out that Elder Christensen is going to be serving here, and I am way excited about that. He is way funny, and full of energy. I was glad to hear that he will be coming here. Well, we ate at Трио Пицца after which we took a few more pictures and then went to "help" Маша и Аня. We went to English which was actually a lot of fun, and I had a good time there. I was with Elder Theurer and that was fun. We came home and now we are having a good time. I am ready to sleep."

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."

Burst

25 January 2006
"I am ready to die I ate so much today. I feel like bursting. Elder Theurer had a b-day today, and so that meant that we had pizza, and cake and lots for that matter. Well, I also ate some soup just barely so I am going to waddle in and plot on my bed to get some sleep. We started the day out by writing home for a change, and that went well. Things are well at home, and I have noticed how everything seems like a dream there. They tell me what is going on, but it doesn't seem real. Well, I worked on a couple of other little things and then we took off. We went to the branch apartment where we ate and watched Robots. It was cool, and we had a good time. We went out and bought a couple of discs, and found some way cool places to buy them. That is cool, and now we have a lot of discs. We went and waited to start English lesson and things went well there. We came home after that, and now we are just relaxing and having a good time. I am trying to plan and as always that is fun. Well, off to work and plan I go."

Relaxing

28 December 2005
"We completely chilled out today, and had a way good time. This morning we didn't do a whole lot, and then we just headed over to Gene's house where they practiced a bit for the concert on Friday. I went with Anand and Condie to play a little pool. It was fun, and the best part was that it was way cheap. We played for a couple of hours before went to Трио Пицца to grab a bite to eat. There was a cool film. The Incredibles - playing there, and so we decided to watch. It was way funny, and cool. Well, about that time we headed out to write home and that was cool. I didn't have a whole ton to write though as I had just talked to them, but I did what I could. it was a lot of fun, and I had a good time there. We finished the night off at English lesson although I didn't have anyone to teach, and so I basically just listened to Theurer's lesson there. We did some practicing for the concert on Friday and now I am with Boster on exchanges. We are going to be working together tomorrow, and hopefully it will go well. I thought about when I became senior companion and how it was tough. I want to help Boster to relax and just work. It is something I wish I had known earlier on my mission. What a wonderful place to be!!"

Fun P-day

14 December 2005
"Another p-day gone and down the drain. We had a way good time, and had a good time relaxing. This morning we went to Gene's place, and the elders played a bit on the guitar and played some interesting songs. Elder Theurer and I went and walked around the рынок and bought him some boots. I love the weird stares that people always give to us and how they talk about us as if we don't understand them. We found the boots he wanted, dropped off my rolls of film and then went back to Gene's to get our companions.

All of us elders then headed over to a restaurant - The Steak House. It was really good, and I had a real piece of meat. It has been such a long time since I have eaten some good meat. We went and wrote home, and that was good. The family is doing well, and they are getting ready for Christmas.

We quick like wrote home, and all is good that way. We had English lesson this evening, and that was alright. I am not a big fan of English lessons, but it is all good, and part of life. We sat and chatted with everyone after the lesson and that was cool. Back to missionary work tomorrow. We have a lot of work, and we are going to be contacting. I love the work here!"

10 Commandments

28 November 2005
"It was sure an interesting day. It was actually a fairly decent one actually. This morning, we went out and had a good time contacting, with not much luck. We walked across the river, and found that not too many people live there - no one really walks around there even. We stopped by to the store before were able to get home. Here we had собрание округа, and that went well. The zone is doing well, and having a good time. We want to help Theurer and Stapleton, but we aren't quite sure how. Well, we then ate chili dogs made from beans that expired a month ago - that's missionaries for you.

We then went to a meeting with a бабушка that is less active and that went alright. We had a member with us who did not help a lot - he wrote SMS the whole time. We then went to see Афина and we watched some of the "10 commandments" with her. That was cool, and I really like that film. We are happy to be home, and have the other elders gone. Life is better with 2!"

Weird and Excellent Day

22 November 2005
"What a sweet day. This is what we call missionary work!! We had all kinds of meetings on the street, meetings with members and also in the presence of members. Not only that, we talked with a guy who believes everything but won't give us his religion, we talked with a guy who told us that we were going to hell, and we watched, as we taught a lesson, a little kid peeing into a bucket. For all that though, we taught a ton of lessons.

Elder Тайр and I left and contacted this morning, and talked with a lot of people who wanted to talk. It was one of the best days yet. We used the golden questions like were were suppose to, and it turned out way good. Well, we decided to eat some Трио Пицца as that was the best, and easiest way to go. It is like the American stuff, and it is way good.

We then had a meeting with Димитрий and he told us that he more wants us to just meet and he can't give up his faith. He doesn't understand. Well, we then went to see a less active lady, and that was way cool. She enjoyed the opportunity to meet with us, but can't come to church (инвалидка).

We then headed out to see Шавкат, and that was fun. The little one pooped in a pot while the Mom held him, and then during the closing prayer he peed all over the floor. Talk about an adventure. We did meet their neighbor and did the 1st lesson with her. It went way good. Elder Тайр said it was one of his best days on his mission. I love to serve!"

Weakness

21 November 2005
"We had a sweet day today. We were out contacting this morning and that was really good. I had a way good time there. We used some golden questions, and it went over really well. We got a lot of people's attention, and people listened to us. We came home for собрание округа, and had a good time with that. We talked about how we can talk with people better and how we can help them understand our message better. We all ate together and that was sweet. We planned our Thanksgiving day, and that should be cool.

Our first meeting was then with Раиса. That was sweet, and we had a way good time. She is great, and she is reading, and she is trying to understand the Book of Mormon better. She loves to sing and to chat with Маша и Аня. She told us that we can't come w/o them - we are going to just send them soon. We talked a lot about our weaknesses and about why we have them. We hope that she will be able to throw her smoking problem.

We all then went to see Афина and find out how she is and why she didn't come on Sunday. She just doesn't get enough sleep - she says that she is too tired (sounds like excuse for not wanting to go). We hope that she can get over that and that she will start coming. She really wanted to watch the 10 commandments but there was no time at all. Steiner and I then went out to get Theurer as we were on exchanges. Now I am with him, and we will be back together tomorrow. It is awesome to be able to be working and I love it!!"

Cool Babyshka

14 November 2005
"Wow, today was a great day. I don't think that things could have gone much better. We had a meeting with the Хозяйка downstairs this morning, and we got things worked out so that everything will be good. We then headed off to meet with a former investigator named Раиса. She is one of the coolest old бабушка that I ever met, and she understands us so well. She has a great sense of humor, and she is just super cool. One problem is that she can't quit smoking. She is way cool though, and we hope to be able to help her. Well, it went for awhile before we went to Stapleton's and Theurer's house for собрание округа. That was way cool, and we got a lot done before we ate. We had pork and beans with grilled cheese. Elder Stapleton also made some fresh homemade lemonade. Well, I chatted with Elder Nance forever and talked about the zone and about how we didn't work that well last week, but we will do better. Well, after my long talk we went out to see some members Шавкат, Ортык, И Мариям. They live outside the city and we stood there on the bus stop forever. We froze our butts off and were ready to die. Well, we had a good time at their house, and we talked with them about the Book of Mormon. They want to read together, and that is way good. They are an awesome family, and we want to help them in order to get to the temple. Now we are home, and we are on exchanges. I am with Elder Brimley and we should have a great day tomorrow. Oh Russia, the joys of living here! So many amazing people, I love it so much!"