Hi everyone,
What a wild week this was! This was the week of my training where I
was in charge of all planning and teaching situations. I don't know
how, but I survived, and I definitely learned a lot about missionary
work, focusing on needs, listening, and the importance of
companionship unity.
We're defeinitely in a finding stage here. Comet said she's no longer
interested, and most of our other investigators don't have desires,
their phone is stolen or not working (grr...), or they're never home.
That made for lots of fun times when I had to find a back-up to our
back-up because all our plans fell through. Like I said, I learned a
lot this week. It's so great that I have a companion to help me out
so I don't have to think of everything on my own.
Owl still has a baptismal date for the 28th of March. We finished the
first two lessons with her, but she asked us who Joseph Smith was
yesterday... We might have to go back to square one. At least we
still have over a month to work with her and help her prepare for
baptism.
We visited one of the member babooshkee who is so dedicated and always
comes to church. She was home sick, and when we went inside, she was
all bundled up in bed, snuggling with her cat. I love the babooshkee!
Yesterday it rained all day, and there was a little bit of snow on the
ground, but today is sunny and the snow is almost all gone! There's
still some mud, but it's so warm. Sister Watts and I decided to
forego our Russian coats today for our lighter, more American-like
coats. Hope everyone at home is enjoying the short-sleeve weather!
(I actually don't know what it's like at home right now, but I assume
it's warmer there.) I washed my Russian coat today because it had
splatters up and down the back from the water that was sprayed by cars
as they drove by. It was so dirty that somebody on the street
commented on it. Gotta love walking everywhere!
One of the other cities in the mission has seen 5 baptisms this month,
which is great. We're on track to reach our baptismal goals for this
month as a mission, even if we haven't had any baptisms here in
Nakhodka. We're all united in the Lord's work!
Random Russian stuff: (still haven't come up with a cool acronym)
Last week was Masloneetsa, a pagan holiday where the Russians cook
bleeni (Russian pancakes, like crepes) to represent the sun and the
coming of spring. We had 3 investigators feed us bleeni, and Sister
Watts made some for our district. It was so yummy (but very oily, and
I think my face is suffering the consequences). Today is also a
holiday, something that's specifically for men, so if you're a man,
happy holidays! (Also, I can't believe I forgot to write about
Valentine's Day last week and the week before. Oopsie! With Day of
Holy Valentine! And Happy President's Day!) So many holidays!
Did I ever mention that I ate liver? It was over a month ago, on
the bus on the way to Vlad for zone conference. Yep. I did. On a
sandwich. Yum.
Hopefully that all makes sense, my mind was all over the place, and I
know I'm forgetting something that I'll write about next week. Hope
everyone has an awesome week!
Сестра Спрингер
Tell Opa Happy Birthday for me!
We asked Ashlin why she uses nicknames for her investigators? Here's her reply:
Sister Watts told me that we're not allowed to use their real names
(because of issues with privacy and other Russian things that are just
better to err on the side of caution). It's also the reason why we're
not allowed to take pictures of governmental buildings, schools, or
the people (except the members and investigators when we leave the
city). We just have to be careful. If I could use their real names,
I definitely would, but that's all that I know about it.
What a wild week this was! This was the week of my training where I
was in charge of all planning and teaching situations. I don't know
how, but I survived, and I definitely learned a lot about missionary
work, focusing on needs, listening, and the importance of
companionship unity.
We're defeinitely in a finding stage here. Comet said she's no longer
interested, and most of our other investigators don't have desires,
their phone is stolen or not working (grr...), or they're never home.
That made for lots of fun times when I had to find a back-up to our
back-up because all our plans fell through. Like I said, I learned a
lot this week. It's so great that I have a companion to help me out
so I don't have to think of everything on my own.
Owl still has a baptismal date for the 28th of March. We finished the
first two lessons with her, but she asked us who Joseph Smith was
yesterday... We might have to go back to square one. At least we
still have over a month to work with her and help her prepare for
baptism.
We visited one of the member babooshkee who is so dedicated and always
comes to church. She was home sick, and when we went inside, she was
all bundled up in bed, snuggling with her cat. I love the babooshkee!
Yesterday it rained all day, and there was a little bit of snow on the
ground, but today is sunny and the snow is almost all gone! There's
still some mud, but it's so warm. Sister Watts and I decided to
forego our Russian coats today for our lighter, more American-like
coats. Hope everyone at home is enjoying the short-sleeve weather!
(I actually don't know what it's like at home right now, but I assume
it's warmer there.) I washed my Russian coat today because it had
splatters up and down the back from the water that was sprayed by cars
as they drove by. It was so dirty that somebody on the street
commented on it. Gotta love walking everywhere!
One of the other cities in the mission has seen 5 baptisms this month,
which is great. We're on track to reach our baptismal goals for this
month as a mission, even if we haven't had any baptisms here in
Nakhodka. We're all united in the Lord's work!
Random Russian stuff: (still haven't come up with a cool acronym)
Last week was Masloneetsa, a pagan holiday where the Russians cook
bleeni (Russian pancakes, like crepes) to represent the sun and the
coming of spring. We had 3 investigators feed us bleeni, and Sister
Watts made some for our district. It was so yummy (but very oily, and
I think my face is suffering the consequences). Today is also a
holiday, something that's specifically for men, so if you're a man,
happy holidays! (Also, I can't believe I forgot to write about
Valentine's Day last week and the week before. Oopsie! With Day of
Holy Valentine! And Happy President's Day!) So many holidays!
Did I ever mention that I ate liver? It was over a month ago, on
the bus on the way to Vlad for zone conference. Yep. I did. On a
sandwich. Yum.
Hopefully that all makes sense, my mind was all over the place, and I
know I'm forgetting something that I'll write about next week. Hope
everyone has an awesome week!
Сестра Спрингер
Tell Opa Happy Birthday for me!
We asked Ashlin why she uses nicknames for her investigators? Here's her reply:
Sister Watts told me that we're not allowed to use their real names
(because of issues with privacy and other Russian things that are just
better to err on the side of caution). It's also the reason why we're
not allowed to take pictures of governmental buildings, schools, or
the people (except the members and investigators when we leave the
city). We just have to be careful. If I could use their real names,
I definitely would, but that's all that I know about it.