Interesting Fact #24: St. Petersburg is one of the MOST gorgeous cities I have ever seen. Again, that could very well be an opinion, but I would like to state it as fact.
So I got transfered! Guess where? Right into the heart of St. Petersburg. The area is called Central, which is a most apt name for such. It is absolutely beautiful. I already miss Vyborg, but this is also an amazing change. So I got transfer calls on Saturday morning from President Clark. He has given me a new responsibility. I am a trainer now. I am training a brand new missionary who has been in Russia for 3 days just like how I was 3 months ago. President Clark has given me a lot of trust and responsibility with my new position that I have been called as. I am now Senior Companion, which is nice after surviving the storm that is Elder Balabanov, last transfer. But, I am having my companion right now give a lot of input on what he thinks and what he wants to do. He is a really awesome missionary. Oh yeah, his name is Elder Pace from Fresno, California. The Californian Brigade! He is a solid kid who has a huge desire to work. I feel like I can work at my full potential with him. Needless to say, I am very excited for this transfer. Actually, I am insanely excited.
I am just glad that last transfer was over. I didn't want to make my emails back home sound negative so I never said anything bad (not too bad at least) that happened in them. But let's just say that I don't have to deal with him ever again, and that I am unbelievably happy that I am here in the city with Elder Pace, and I can actually focus on my work, and not worry about the never-ending cleaning up projects I would have to do in the apartment, and trying with all my power to keep the companionship stable and unified. Again, like I said, I have come out being the most patient person I know, which is honestly why I think I got put with him for a transfer, so that I can be a better, more patient, more qualified, and a more hard-working missionary.
Well anywho, I am absolutely excited to be here. I live probably 20 minutes away from the Hermitage and the famous Russian Orthodox Temple that you see when you see St. Petersburg. For our service project, Elder Pace and I will be doing service inside the Hermitage, which in return they give you a volunteer pass. This pass gets you into the Hermitage and all other museums in the whole city for free. Expect gorgeous pictures soon. I am actually on a computer that is normal for once, too, so I can possibly figure out how to send pictures. Ha.
Well, I am definitely going to miss Vyborg too. I absolutely loved our ward (our branch) there. I loved our investigators there, and I loved the members there. I took a few pictures with Edward Arsyonov (who is still committed to get baptized on the 20th of August) and with some people in the branch. But at the same time, this is a new chapter of my mission, one of which I have a lot more responsibility. I know that I am going to love whoever I meet here, and whatever happens. I know what you probably thinking: How is it that Elder Tekulve is training after 2 transfers? I don't know, but my companion in the MTC, Elder Clark is too. The church has changed the whole curriculum and training program for missions so now it is a lot more specific and the training period is longer. I am going to train Elder Pace for 12 weeks now. These next two weeks are going to be awesome. And again, I know what you are probably thinking: How is that Elder Tekulve is training after 2 transfers? Can he even speak the language? I can speak enough to get by. I am not too worried about the language aspect. It will come, and the best way to learn this language is to be COMPLETELY SUBMERSED INTO IT. I have no more older companion, more experienced companion to rely on. I gotta figure it out on my own. Sounds good to me. :)
The weather here is starting to normalize too. It's actually perfect out here. It's no longer insanely hot. I had to pack all my stuff on Sunday and Monday and move down to Petersburg. We took this electric train instead because it's a lot more convenient than a bus, to be completely honest. After that we take a trollybus thing for 40 minutes. As we were unloading my luggage off the trollybus, Elder Balabanov dropped a bag, and the other bag burst open in the middle of the street. That was an interesting 20 seconds as I scrambled to pick everything up. It wasn't really his fault (kind of). I did pack the bag a bit too much. But it just was a funny little experience. Stuff like that happens all the time. Transfer days are known for broken luggage. The thing is though my suitcase is completely fine. I just had to rezip it and realign. It's totally good.
Well, seeing the date today and yesterday just really makes me think of a very important moment in time that happened 3 years ago. I miss Kyle a lot, but I know he is okay. I know he is safe and that he is loved. Heavenly Father prepared a plan for all of us and I know that he is absolutely fine. The more I study about the Plan of Salvation, the more I know that Kyle is alright, and that God loves us all.
I will probably have more exciting things to say next week. I go on my first visa trip in a few days, so I will take a nice fun trip to Estonia. That will be excited to talk about to you guys. Well, I love you. I love you all. I also love this wonderful experience I am having here. I so far absolutely love my mission, and I am having the time of my life. I hope you are too.
Love,
Elder Tekulve
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