Well I'll just get right into it. Every week I
feel like they come up with some new restriction; this time it's a big one.
-They are taking down MLS in Russia in 2 weeks,
so we will have no way to keep all any documents saved or do tithing, etc. We
also have to get these papers out to every member within those two weeks and
they have to fill it all out, and if they don't do it and turn it in, then we
have to take out their records... So you can imagine there are a lot of
inactives and they do not want to sign all these documents, and even the more
active ones it's a struggle. So we've been with the branch presidents trying to
help them put everything on MLS before then. We just found out yesterday.
-Also apparently they are going to make it where
you can't keep any records of Russians, so this means that even if the members
go to Ukraine and then go on Family Search to fill in their temple work they
won't be able to do it there or anywhere. So we will see more about that later,
and how that will all go down. As in the words of one of a member in the
district presidency here, "Satan really doesn't want the church to be here
in Russia."
-On Monday we had to go through the branch again
and take out all Liahonas older than 2 months and a ton of other materials and
shred them, and make all the BOMs and put stickers on all other materials we
have. It took all day, and it broke my heart when some members walked in and
they were shocked because they made
it the volunteers’ responsibilities and not the members so they didn't
understand why we were doing it and got all mad and so forth.
- I had my first full week with my trainee and I
think he got the real experience of a Russian mission, because we went finding
all day and it was FREEZING and we stacked up our schedule with potentials to
meet with and all of them did a no-show! Besides this one guy last night whom I
found as a random number on the phone, because our phone has tons of contacts
from all the people we've found since we've been here and before, but no one
ever picks up or meets with us. So I decided to clear out the phone this week
and called and went through way over 200 people, and just got wrecked over the
phone! It was so funny. However out of all those contacts I told my companion
toward the end that this I had faith in this contact having no idea who she was
and she actually picked up and then said that she would go to our service
project at the church that night, and she actually came! And our only meeting
this week was another guy who I just found on the phone who wanted to meet with
us!
-We went to church in one of the far branches,
and for Sunday school the teacher was trying to teach about some crazy false
doctrine about the creation. It was just his idea but he was teaching everyone
as if it was doctrine. And then everyone started to argue and bible bash and it
was getting real ugly; it is something else to see Russians going off in an
argument. Well, we had them cut the lesson short.
I know some of you think that that probably
doesn't seem like a good week, but I feel that it was. I believe that even
though all these problems and obstacles are coming for the Russian people that
it only means that God has something big planned for them. I don't know
how much longer they and we are going to have to wander in the wilderness and
how much worse it will and could get, but I know that there are miracles
coming, big ones, lots of them, and God is only testing these people and us and
our faith. And that some day, hopefully sooner than later, His work and
blessings will slam open! The worse it gets, the closer I feel it is. So we
must do all that we can until then.
Elder VanBuskirk
Wow, how many missionaries do we have from our stake right
now? I think from Volgograd to where we live it’s like 12 hours difference, so
I think I’m the furthest!
What in the world? That new volleyball court is crazy!
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