Missionary Service of Elder Benjamin Moore: 8 Transfers, 11 companions, 3 Tripanionships, 2 Mission Presidents

Zdrastvooytye Droozye, (Hello Friends)

Well this week sure escalated quickly. I mentioned last week that Elder Hancock was sick throughout the week. Well, a lot of things happened last Monday after emails. He was communicating with the Europe East area doctor, Sister and President Gibbons. Monday night we went to a clinic here in Omsk, got some things checked out and tests run. I don't really want to write about all that happened. (If you really care, ask me to see my journal entries from this week some day.) In the end, the decision was made between him, President and Sister Gibbons, the area doctor, and his parents to send him back home to Washington State. This decision was made on Wednesday, he flew out Friday morning from Omsk. Here are some of the events from the week.

Wednesday night, we went to YSA night at the Walkers. Elder Hancock got to say goodbye to all of the youth. We got to have one more lesson with Christina, one of our investigators, and then it was home to pack his bags.

Thursday we went out for our dinner hour with the District so he could say goodbye to everyone one last time. We went to our Shaurma place. A turkish Doner Kebab type place. So we're standing outside of the little hut talking, and a guy walks by, double takes, turns around and walks up to us. He's drunk. Out of all of us, he picks Elder Hancock, and after chewing us out for being Americans in his country says that he wants to fight him. So he starts going towards Elder Hancock, but Elder Klein and I step in and stop him. So now we're talking with this guy and he gives me a shove and smacks Elder Klein in the face. After him telling us he was going to go to his car and get his gun to come back and shoot Elder Klein, we just left. We're pretty sure he doesn't have a car or a gun, because unlike in the U.P., most Russians don't have either of them.

President Gibbons had a couple conversations with Elder Hancock, helping him feel at peace with going home. He's being given a medical release. President just wanted him to have an easy, relaxing last couple days in the mission. He told him to visit and teach some last people, get some last minute things and just get ready to go. A fur hat and a couple of Russian nesting dolls included. Thursday night, we got to bed a little late trying to get his bags right. Friday morning we woke up at 4 am to leave for the airport at 5:00. Elder Walker came to the airport with us to be my companion once we sent him through security. Vanya met us at the airport and we got him checked in, and sent on his way. Elder Walker dropped me off at the other Elders' place where I joined my two new companions Elders Riordan and Klein. This transfer, my district has gone from four companionships of two missionaries each to two companionships of 3 missionaries each. Luckily the transfer is coming up on in a week and we'll be back up to full strength!

Sunday morning, we woke up at 5:45 to go to the train station and pick up the Office Elders (Elders Prince and Miller) who were coming in to do emergency visa applications for a Sister in my district. So we met them and I went on splits with them for the day. Elder Prince was my companion along with Elder Zhitkov when I first got here, and is one of Omsk's favorite missionaries of all time. We got to the church and all the members were just falling over him. It's pretty funny. Them being the office elders, and knowing everything about everything in the mission told us all about President and Sister Williams who they had a 5 hour meeting with on Saturday when he got into Novosibirsk for the first time. They said he's really fired up and excited about everything, doesn't really know what's going on exactly of course, but that he's going to do some great things here. He'll be doing a Mission tour over the next 3 weeks to see everyone and visit all of the cities. We had a really good lesson with Elder Prince and Miller teaching Dima. We played Jenga, and then related the gospel to just about every aspect of the game of Jenga. It was pretty cool. Russians play Jenga in a crazy way. They can stack it however they like.

President Gibbons and Williams got to meet for two hours to hand off the baton on Saturday morning and that was it. It's now President Williams of the Novosibirsk mission.

The new transfer is coming up next week as well as Visa trip number two! It's already been 6 months since I went to Finland last. This next trip may be interesting...but I'm not supposed to know anything yet so I'll email you about it next week when I actually find out about all of that.

I think the pictures I'm sending will fill in all of the gaps. This is one of those weeks you should later read my journal entries for, because it was a pretty crazy ride.

Love and Miss you all,

Elder Moore