Dylan: This is Going to be a Fun Transfer…

This is going to be a fun transfer! I am with Elder Johnson. He is a 6 weeks younger on the mish than me, so we are both going to make a lot of mistakes and grow together this transfer. For also being the youngest on the mish, besides the 2 new trainees, we have the most area and responsibilities. Our aarea used to be a zone and had 4 elders, but because they’ve been trying to shrick our mission, we are the only elders and in charge of 4 different branches and 4 cities.  Once of them is 7 hours away.  It is crazy to be in charge of the missionary work for literally a chunk of the world, haha.  Well, other things: our main branch we are at is Volgograd.  I love the branch already!  Except we have to work on getting the branch to love us, because it seems that the branch lost some trust with the missionaries because they don’t think we work hard or something.  The branch president also took the keys away to the only computer in the branch which is tough because with the new law we really need it to do the work.  But im not worries. We will win the heart of the branch and the branch president like Ammon did with King Lamoni!

This city has a had a hard time for quite a while for finding, but we are determined to turn that around and make it the most popping city in the mission. I found that even though I am not very good with the language, God has blessed me with the ability to find and get peoples numbers with the law change, which is really humbling because my Russian is horrendous, so I don't kmow how he does it, but He truly amazes me. I am trying to share that with all the others missionaries here so we can use this law for our benifit in building his kingdom. 

So 3 min before church starts the branch president comes up to me without any previous notice and tells me that I will be gining a 30 min talk today in church and would be the first to speak after sacrament! WHAT?! hahaah so I pulled something about recieving revelation and becoming truly converted through the Holy Ghost. So that was an experience the grammer was ot correct and I feel bad for those poor members ears, but I was understrandable and got the point across and made it though the whole time. After our 2 hour church we have another 2 hour church for a group it consist of like 16 members and we run all of it. We conduct the sacrament and give talks almost every week and we teach sunday school, and play the piano, and more. It's a lot of work but also a lot of great experience we are entusted with. I love this group, it;s an english group and it consist of university studentsd from all over the worl who came to Russia to become Doctors, and Engineers but little did they know that they really came to be intraduced to the gospel. We have a guy from India, Vietnam, a few from Ghana (helping my brother Elder Mcrae out) and a investigator from the US and other countries from Africa nad around the world. It is really a cool and precious enviorment! Also the person who was suppose to bring the bread didn't show, so all we had was some store bought bannana chocholate chip cookies to use for sacrament. So just know that when you are having your sacrament in your large congregatios on Sundays there is a group of 10 people from around the world with 2 Elders trying to get their act together and conduct the sacrament as we humbly pass out our store bought cookies...

So yeah, it's going to be a fun transfer. Also our apartment is awesome it's crazy old and has had missionaries in it since the biggining of their stay in Russia, and also probably hasn't been cleaned are organized since those 30 years also...so don't worry mom we have taken that task among ourselves. We even made a gym from all thye gym equipment that has been collected from all the old Elder apartments in the zone. We are in a computer lab and have very little time left so fyi. 

This Church is so True, and I love this work with all my heart!

Elder VanBuskirk

Thanks momma!  I love you! Keep up the good work, and keep helping them.  Their lives are being affected for the batter even if you don’t see it.  Thanks for being a great example to me for that, for looking out for others, and always being a good example of charity!!!  Love you tons!!!