Interesting Fact 45 - Russians celebrate Christmas on January 7th! I get to have two Christmasi!
Merry Christmas everyone! It was so nice to talk to all of you on the telephone! Definitely the best Christmas present was to hear them voices of yours. First Christmas here in Russia was quite the treat too. Well to first state, this week was absolutely crazy with Elders coming and going in and out of Petersburg. They all were staying at our apartment to. We had 2 big Christmas activities that we had to organize, of which we also had to organize when they would come and how (via airplane, bus, train). It was quite tricky. On top of that, we had two visa trip groups going our to renew their visas, so they had to come in for that. So basically, we had people with us all week. On Saturday and Sunday, we had the Elders from Petrozavodsk (that 7 hour train ride city) stay with us. We all opened packages Christmas morning. On Saturday night, (I already told you about this), we went caroling down on Nyevski Prospect by the Lady Kazan Cathedral. We got a lot of people stopping by and talking to us.
We also tried something new this week called Signboarding. It's doable here, but no one has ever done it, so Elder Hill and I went out with a makeshift sign that says What is Happiness and hit the busy streets. I have never seen so many people smile here so far on my mission. It was so cool. People would come up to us, (rather than us to them) and talk to us. A lot of people had various ideas of happiness, ranging from families, to money, to moms, to smiles. It was so much fun. Because of the snow and the rain slush stuff, it completely destroyed our sign, but it was quite a successful night.
This week, we really didn't have much time to work a lot and teach people, but it was still a great week nonetheless. We did a lot of finding this week at night after our activities and such. Today, before I came to the library to write this, we stopped by a place to eat. On our way, we talked to a few men from Africa here. We gave them an invitation, and we went our ways. A man nearby saw us, and called me over to him and wanted to know what we were doing. I explained to him that we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and that we had a message about Jesus Christ. I asked him if he believed in him, and he said that did but just was never baptized. I asked him if he wants to be baptized, and he said, "Of course I want to." That happened maybe 2 hours ago or so. It was so awesome to see. We exchanged phone numbers. He wants us to call this weekend so I hope all goes well with that.
I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to talk to everyone this Christmas. This Christmas definitely is a tad different, but I know it's a Christmas I will never forget. Being out here has really strengthened my understanding of the true meaning of Christmas. As we celebrate the birth of the Savior, it's important to recognize his humble beginnings, but also his Glorious Atonement. I am so blessed to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior of the World, and we are here to do his work, to bring souls unto Him.
That's it for this week! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Tekulve
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