Interesting Fact - The blue stamp here in Russia is very important. Any kind of important document (identification, registration, contracts, etc.) require a stamp of the organization and it MUST be in blue ink. Blue stamps are super vazhno, as they say.
I had a great week this week, let me not lie. Although we had to go to Peter, and had a little funny luggage mishap while there, this still was a great week with a lot of teaching opportunities. I guess to start out, our trip to Peter was kind of a miracle too. We have a new convert named Slava, or Byachislav, here in Pskov. About 3 months after his baptism he had disappeared and hadn't been to church for a long time. We had found out that he had been evicted out of his house and was staying at some babooshka's apartment who happened to be very against the church. She was going to kick him out as well if he went to church or did anything church related. During this time, it was very difficult to get a hold of him. Our Branch President had known that this was going on and had a plan to try to find him a new place to stay near members, which he did. All that was needed was a copy of Slava's ID to register to live in a new apartment. Anyway, after 6 weeks of trying to get a hold of him, and not seeing him ever, he called us on Tuesday, right as we were about to leave our apartment to the bus station to go to St. Pete. We had about an hour and a half before our bus left but he called and wanted to meet. He eventually got kicked out of the apartment. But anyway, he wanted and wants to come to church but that was preventing him. So met with him at the bus station, and now he is back. He came to church this Sunday. That was probably the coolest thing that happened this week.
So we get to Peter, and it is 8 o' clock at night and we have no place to keep Elder Sherman's luggage and no food to eat, so we park our stuff right outside the assistant's apartment and sat Russian style eating Armenian bread (lavash) and frozen butter. It was actually very tasty. On Wednesday, I got a new companion, an Elder George! He is a great elder who is kind of hilarious. On Wednesday, when we were trying to make it to a bus back to Pskov, they had no more tickets left. So we had to go across the city with luggage and in the rain to a senior couple's apartment and stay there for the night. Good thing I knew St. Petersburg well enough to get where I needed to go. We probably walked for about an hour, but it just was hilarious to me. Transfer days probably look hilarious to the normal viewer. These missionaries in suits lugging luggage all over the city, and even in the metro, which is the weirdest thing to see.
So we wake up at 5, and left to Pskov, finally! We have had some cool stuff going on. A lot of lessons that were not planned. We just went and stopped by our investigators. We met with the Priobryezhenskiys (The Transfigureds) and a few other investigators this past week. We also stopped by our good friend, Oleg, to cut some more firewood. It's getting darker and darker every week we go. The sun doesn't come up fully now until about 10 in the morning. The Russian black nights begin.
Yesterday was my birthday. Yeah! Mission birthdays are just like any other day. Although, the whole branch knew it was my birthday. The branch president gave me a MP3 disk of all of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir music, which I was really stoked for. I have grown to really really like Motab on my mission, since that is the only stuff we can listen to haha. Another babooshka in the branch gave me a chocolate bar and pinched my ears. I was alarmed. Her hands were cold. And then I taught Sunday School from the book of Ether, which was a lot of fun. Someone had made brownies, and then we took some pictures. Probably one of the funnest sundays on my mission haha.
We stopped by our favorite investigator Sergay and his wife last night. We had one of the most spiritual lessons I have ever had on my mission. It was about the Plan of Salvation and the understanding we can get from it. He is a great brother that has changed so much since I have been meeting with him. I will try to upload some pictures today but I cannot guarantee anything. This is the slowest computer in the library and it throwds is in D's randomly when it is not convenient ddddddddd that just happened on it's own. ddddddddddd so did that.
Anyway, we had a great week and the work continues. I love being missionary even if things don't work out how you want it to, this is still the work of the Lord and his Hand is ever present. The Church is the only true and living Church of Jesus Christ in the world.
Love,
Elder TEkulve
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