So this week, we had to go back to St. Petersburg! I was sitting in a bus for almost 15 hours total in a 2 day period. Went to St. Petersburg on a 5 hour bus, and then got my visa renewed in Estonia again which was about a 5 hour total trip, and then another 5 hour trip afterwards back to Pskov. A lot of our meetings we had set up for the week had feel through so we did a lot of finding, which means a lot of walking and knocking. My companion hasn't gotten used to the extensive walking we do in a mission so he is pretty sore. He is really excited to just rest this Preperation Day. I keep on apologizing to him because I won't let us rest when we need to be proselyting. The only really time is at lunch, dinner, and bed time. He is a champ about it. I really like serving with Elder Berrett. He is a great companion and hilarious as well. We have really opened up these past 2 weeks and now we are the buds! He doesn't let his severe allergy to the sun stop him either, which just completely impresses me. He can take something that's such a big trial and turns into something so happy so joyful. A lot of people come up to him and ask him if his a cowboy. It's actually a great finding method too. People are curious and want to know what this young man is doing with a black cowboy hat, a shirt a tie, and gloves speaking in a strange unfamiliar accent. I would be curious too. It's pretty funny when I tell people that we are from America. It's like saying some Chinese missionaries were called to serve in Philomath, Oregon speaking English in a thick accent and preaching to the Philomathiates. Pskov is definitely a lot bigger than Philomath, but the idea is the same. It's a small city here in Russia, and it's not every day that there are these two American missionaries trying to talk to people on the streets and smiling whilst walking.
We found a really great potential family to teach this week. We were walking to the branch, and we walk past these kids who looked Hispanic and they came up to us and asked if Elder Berret was superman because of his cool hat. The next day, we stopped by that apartment to talk with their dad and he is a very sincere and humble man. His family is really living in trying circumstances but they are really trying to make ends meet. He has 6 kids and they all look Hispanic but they are very Russian, all with Russian names. We stopped by them last night and it was just a great little gathering. We haven't taught them yet because they didn't have time to sit and talk, but they want us to come back next Sunday. When we planned to return to that place, we called it Little Mexico.
Most of our lessons really did fall through this week, so unfortunately I don't have much to add about a great teaching moment or lesson. Although, when we were in Peter, we were sitting the metro on our a way to the Bus Station, and I sat next to an old man. I began to talk to him and he was really nice and open. I asked him about his family and he started telling about his family really quietly. He stopped and started weeping about someone who passed away in his family. He was difficult to hear because of the metro noise and the quietness of his voice, but I knew I just needed to talk to him about God's plan for us and how there is a meaning of life and a place where we rest from our worries, labors, and cares after we pass away. He continued to cry a bit, but the message softened him. I didn't have much time because of the Bus time we needed to make, but I left him with a pamphlet and had to run out. I said a little prayer for him that he might find the missionaries again and let them talk to his family.
I love being a missionary and sharing these good tidings and this message. I love it here, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
Love
Elder Tekulve
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