Going Home!!

Baptism!

Farewell to my Sister and a Hopeful Dream

 

Sara is going home!!  I'm really sad, actually.  I'm not sure exactly why, either.  She will still email me, I know, but I feel like she is leaving my mission for whatever reason.  It's really weird. 

So, this last week, our investigator, who had dropped off the face of the planet, called me!!  We met yesterday before church.  We didn't have a member there, because we felt he would be uncomfortable even with the Members he has made friends with.  He explained to us that after New Years, he had resolved to never smoke, drink, or party again. He went to his Mother's place in order to avoid all that stuff over the holidays, and he thought he had.  But some friends got a hold of him, and he went to a party a few days after New Years.  He said he had never gotten so smashed with alcohol in his life.  His friends had to take him home to his Mother.  He lost his phone, so we couldn't get a hold of him.  He continued to hang out with friends that lead to temptations to continue these kinds of behaviors, which he said lead to worse consequences that he had never had from partying or smoking before.  He felt that God was punishing him for stepping off the right path, and he didn't think he could return.  Not long ago, however, he decided to fast.  He didn't think that he could last 24 hours without food and drink; he had never fasted before.  But he discovered that the longer he went through the fast, the easier and even more enjoyable it became.  Not too long after, he had a dream.  In the dream, there was a person, he didn't know who it was, but he thought it was either me or Elder White.  This person was trying to help him.  Then he was with a group of a bunch of people.  They were all excited for a trip, and he was going with them.  He thought he was going to the temple.  

He wants to do better, but he feels really bad for the big mistake he had made.  He had quit smoking even, but he fell back into it all hard.  We didn't set a baptismal date with him, we felt that we needed to just help him understand he can be forgiven, and we asked what he was going to do in order to live his life in a better way.  We are going to meet with him on Tuesday.  I really hope we can help him.  He is the most prepared man I've taught on my Mission, he just has some problems.

That's my story for the week.  Take pics of Sara coming home!!!

Love you!

Miracles Happening All Over The Place!

 

Well, Coming up to the end of this year, we just keep having more and more Chooda's (miracles) happening ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!! Elder Braun and I now have 3 investigators on date, one came to the baptism last week and said he wants to get baptized earlier than the 6th of December.  Two weeks ago, we had 2 baptismal dates in the zone.  Last week at this time we had 7, now we have 9 after having two people get baptized last Saturday.  We are just seeing so many great things happening, I don't even know what to do or say.  Yesterday, Elder Braun and I went down to a place called Dzerzhinsk, which is in the oblast of Nizhny, and had sacrament in an apartment.  That place just got opened about two years ago. We also went into a city called Bor which is being opened right now, and just went around and talked to people about our church and stuff.  It was a lot of fun.

On Mon

So Everything is going great!

Right now, me and Elder Braun, have 5 on date.  All of which have been invited to be baptized in the past 2 or 3 weeks.  Just last week,on Wednesday, we walk up to a guy on a bus stop, start talking to him, explain who we are, why we are here and swap numbers.  We call him on Friday, and invite him to the baptism some other Elders were having.  He comes, meets with Elder Braun and another Elder (on splits) after words, and he wants to be baptized! 

These kinds of miracles are happening ALL over the place!!!  It's really crazy.  I don't feel like I, or we are doing anything special.  God is just blessing us like crazy! 

All 5 have a long way to go though.  So we have to work hard and diligently with them.

Zone Leader!

 

Well, I got transfers and I'm gonna be a zone leader now!  They are sending Elder Sehnert back to his first area to die.  I'm getting Elder Braun, who has only been a zone leader for one transfer, so were both fairly new at this.  They are shotgunning the zone leaders old area and bringing it into my area, so I'll still be with all of our investigators.  President wants us to go on a lot of splits, and they are also opening a new area in our zone, just outside of Nizhny, so we gotta help with that.  There is a lot of crazy stuff that's gonna go on, it's gonna be a crazy transfer.  

Temple Blessings

Have I got a story for you!!! 

A lady from our branch decided she wanted to go to the temple. She prepared and went to Sweden. The problem was, there wasn't anyone there who spoke Russian to help her through her first time. She goes and by happenstance there is a Russian lady in the temple that same day who has been before!! She helps her through and everything works great. This other Russian woman lives in Norway, and was planning on going on vacation with her family to Egypt or something. But she got the impression she needed to go to the temple instead. So, instead of going on vacation, she goes to Sweden and helps our ward member through the temple. After talking, they find out that they are both from Nizhny Novogorod!! What is crazier, is that this woman who lives in Norway married a Norwegian with the last name of Olsen. WHAT!?!?  I need to find out if she is related to our Olsens!!!  

Baptisms and Transfers!

 YAY!!  Sara is training!!!!!  I'm so happy for her, I've wanted her to train!!!  She'll have lot's of fun :)

As you guys probly know, I'm in the most successful are I've ever been in my entire mission.  We have L and his family who will get baptized, we set another baptismal date with a different guy last week, and we will be getting another family referral this week. 

And I'm leaving on Tuesday O.o

I'm getting transferred, mid-transfer.  Not even, it's the second week of the transfer.  I'm going to go to a place called Nizhny-Novgorod.  Which is cool, it's the third or fourth largest city in Russia, and I've wanted to serve there my whole mission.  But NOW!?  Ya, I'm way bummed.  But that's what life is, and that's what happens.  They're bringing a missionary into the mission who had to get surgery done on his eyes in America, after he served two transfers in Russia.  He's been home for 3 months, and he's coming in on Tuesday. He's going to come to Lipetsk, and Elder Burton will become the new district leader and second counselor here.

Well, I've had a lot of members come up to me this past week and express how they feel about me leaving.  Most aren't very happy, haha.  One lady asked how they would function here without me.  Of course they will function fine, but I was happy that I had such an influence that the members are going to miss me.

Ok, Love you guys!!