So yes. I went to Petrozavodsk this week. I bet you are wondering where the heck that is, or how to even say it. I took a 7 hour long train north to Petrozavodsk to go on an exchange with the missionaries there. It was a nice little Russian Winter Wonderland there. It was so cool. So we get to the train station, got on the train at platform 9, and not 9 and 3/4. It was kind of an older train, but it was just Elder Sherbina and I in the wagon. They fed us this stuff called Plov and some chicken. Plov is basically just rice, but it's way tasty. We finally get there at 11:30 and we took our nice little walk to the other elders. The next, we go to this little Corrillian Cabin that was pretty far away, and we performed some service there. One Elder and I sawed some wood into small planks and repaired a fence. The other elders cut some wood into firewood. This was all in the snow. So much fun. Probably my favorite service project we have done so far.
Afterwoods, I went with Elder Rasmussen, who is more or less my other half in terms of interests before mission, and we taught their investigaor named Vladimir. He is this little Moses man with a big beard. He has the bible pretty much memorized, and didn't seem the point of the Book of Mormon. Elder Rasmussen, from St. George, bore this awesome testimony about the Book of Mormon and closed with a powerful prayer that left Vlad a little speechless. We left to go back, and had to wait for a bus. The busses there are a lot different. They are just a lot older, and about to fall apart kind of thing. So it was a nice little exciting bus ride back home. The next day, we all go back on the train to go back. All of the elders there left with us back to St. Petersburg. So it was 6 of us all together. 4 Americans and 2 Ukranians. The Americans, we just played Uno for 6 hours and made up our own little rules. Another nice train ride.
We also went to a place called Sestraetsk which is a 30 minute taxi ride northwest of St. Petersburg. That place was gorgeous. It's a nice small town on the bay front. I have a few cool pictures that I haven't been able to send via email effectively, yet. One day I will have it figured out.
This weekend, we had a mission conference as well as a special District conference with Elder Bennett from the Seventy. President Clark, who holds all the keys for the St. Petersburg area as a Stake President, has reorganized the St. Petersburg District to make it a prepitory district to soon become a stake. We are so close to getting a stake here, and it was so awesome to see the support of the members here. After President Clark spoke, everyone stood up to support him. Out of the blue, we all sang Love One Another in Russian. It was so cool to see. The members here are ready, and soon there will be a stake. I hope I am still here in Russian when the day comes. We also had another Mission Conference with Elder Bennett. He was once mission president in Samara, Russia and he helped transform that mission to a very successful one. It was a really cool Mission Conference, and he spoke a lot about change. I learned that there are still things I need to change within myself to be a better successful missionary. We should never be stagnant. We should always change, repent, and do better. Always progress. And most importantly, always love!
That has been my week. It was quite the busy one with a lot of travelling, as was last week. This week I am going back to Vyborg and also doing another exchange with another set of elders in Peter. So my time in my own area will, again, be rather limited. Ha. Well that's about it. I love you family! Thanks for your support and love, and your everythings.
Love,
Your son,
Elder Tekulve
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