Happy P-Day!
This week was a fantastic week because we didn't have any distractions, travel, leadership meetings or conferences! We got to spend the whole week just going to town in our area. Consequently, it was one of the most successful and busy weeks of my mission. I don't know why our area has so much going for it right now, but it does, and I'm not going to complain! This whole week has just been running and gunning. We've had to make time to eat and study because there just wasn't any. Every weekly planning, before we get started we just make a list of all of the people we've interacted with, met with, or taught. When we do this we realize how many people we really interact with. We had meetings with Alexander, Maxime, Georgi, Lyosha, Ivan, Victor, Ilholm, and quite a few less actives. Things are just rolling along. I guess I just want to mention a couple of the people we're working with now.
Georgi is a twenty four year old guy. He lives in a small apartment with 4 or 5 other guys. It's a pretty crazy place. We met him on the street late one night and he was drunk. He said to call him when he was sober. So we eventually did. Went over to his place and he was a completely different person. He is Christian, and has a clear understanding of his own beliefs, which believe it or not is not the most common thing here. When we would talk about principles or something else, it would make sense to him. He asked all the right questions. He asked all the questions that can be answered by the lesson of the Restoration. We're definitely on the right path with him.
Ilholm (
Ильхолм) is a 55ish year old man from Bukhara Uzbekistan. He is a math professor at a university here in Novosibirsk and lives in the apartment building right behind ours. We see each other all the time on the street between our house and the Metro. Probably about twice a week. Ilholm is a devout Muslim, and has written a book about it. He has been inviting us over for a while and yesterday we finally got the chance to go. After a pretty horrible, aggravating and draining meeting with a Less Active member at the branch, we worked our way to Ilholm's house. His apartment is very well kept, and he had a big silver platter set out on his coffee table full of fruits, and cakes, and tea for us. (I really think that Americans should jump on the tea parties band wagon... they're awesome). He's just a wise man, who understands culture, religion and science. I love having conversations with people that get it. Our conversation revolved around his Muslim faith, our Christian faith, as well as science, culture and ethics. I learned more about the Islam faith in our visit than I had in my whole life. They are actually very close in values and beliefs with Christianity. Though he is so devout and set in his beliefs, and won't make steps to accept Christ as his savior, it was still a meeting that really fulfilled our Missionary Purpose. To have greater understanding and peace between cultures and faiths. We talked about how all things denote that there is a God. I wish the American school system taught more in depth about cultures and religions. As we come to understand each other, peace will follow. It was a great and inspiring meeting.
As far as my mission has gone thus far, it's an absolute dream to have meetings set up more than a day in advance and have them work out. Even when we call people the night before to set up meetings, they have no idea what they are going to be doing or if they can meet or not. You'd think I'd have learned how to plan in pencil by now because about every day this week in my planner is full of scribbles and side notes and back ups to my back up plans. Good planning is simply not a part of the culture here. We do what we can, and the Lord makes up the rest. We were definitely guided this week when we met up with a Dimitri at a cafe in the center of the city. He ended up only being interested in talking to us as Americans. The cafe (Which translated to ForkSpoon...) was the place to be I guess. We ran into a friend of ours who came to English and youth night regularly. We got to sit and talk with him. When we were getting up to leave, we saw a young couple who had been taught regularly and were working towards baptism. We got to talk with them for a bit. Those encounters definitely weren't coincidences.
Tonight we fly to Omsk where we'll be until Thursday doing exchanges with a couple companionships. We got an update on the train/plane travel. It's now by the discretion of the mission president. So trains may still be in the mix. President wants to use air travel over train though whenever available. So that's exciting, because trains are the best!
My P-Day next week will not be on Monday, but on Tuesday. President Bruce Porter (of the area 70) along with Elder Callister (General Sunday School President, and author of The Infinite Atonement. He spoke in Conference!) Will be here from the 25th to the 27th. A member conference on the 26th and a Zone Conference on the 27th with both of them with their wives. I know we just had him, so we're lucky to have him back so soon!!
Hoping that you all have a great week.
Missing and loving you all. It's getting into the Holiday season already, so I hope that we can remember the deeper meanings of them all.
С Любовью : With Love
Старейшина Мур : Elder Moore
These are the pictures from this week.
Free Hugs
Cinnabon last P-Day
Hot dogs
Our Area Member map
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