Hi everyone,
Lots of crazy random thoughts this week (and some from the week before that I forgot to write about).
From the week before:
Some of the members were way nice and made homemade boozi with us for dinner one day. Boozi is kind of like a ravioli with soy sauce, but not really. It's some meat (like beef or sausage) wrapped up in dough, and they leave a hole in the top. Then they cook it in special pots on the stove. To eat them, they dump soy sauce in the holes, pick it up with their hands, suck the sauce out, and then eat it. It was pretty good and really fun to make.
We visited a member who's been a member for a long time, and she showed us pictures of Elder Springer. I don't know if it's just me, but he looked a little bit like my daddio. At that same member's house, I gave the closing prayer, and I may have accidentally tried to pray in the name of the Holy Ghost. I can just imagine my companion writing to President. "Hi President, so I've got a question. Should I be worried if my companion prays in the name of the Holy Ghost?" Thankfully the member was great. "It happens!" she said. Hopefully it only happens once (and we'll say it's the Russian's fault because Russian can be confusing even after 8 months).
This week:
Sister Dorzhieva, one of the missionaries serving in our mission (she was just on Sakhalin, the island), is actually from Ulan-Ude. She finished her mission last week and gave her homecoming yesterday. It was cool to be there and hear what she had to say. The crazy thing is, she decided on Saturday that she's going to live in Moscow. She left Sunday after church. She got home from her mission, decided to live in Moscow, and then left all within one week. Wild!
We've met with Flip several times, and our auburn-haired recent convert (Auburn) has been a big help befriending her. Flip keeps denying to herself that she has faith or that she's interested, but she continues to meet with us. She told us how one night she couldn't sleep, and she had this big desire to read the Book of Mormon, so she just opened it up and started reading. Then she prayed. (According to her, she didn't "pray," she talked with God, but that's what prayer is.) Sister Cavaness and I both feel that she will accept this message at some point, it's just a matter of time. She is so prepared, and everything is leading her to the Gospel.
The Name Tag Family. We met with them and had a great FHE, and we managed to bring baptism up. They played around the idea of being baptized on the fourth of July. They didn't shoot down the idea right away. They could be close. It seems like the mom's had a hard week, so we need to keep showing them that they're loved (because they are).
We found a less-active 13-year-old boy the other day, and we happened to walk up while their cat was giving birth. We went back the next day and saw the kittens, and they were so tiny and cute. The little boy is cute, too. He loves to tell us all that he knows about the Bible and the Book of Mormon (because he's read the Book of Mormon all the way through and he's "the kindest and the smartest"). He lives with his mom who's not baptized, but they're all way nice, and we can't wait to meet with them again.
Random Russian stuff:
All the women wear nylons all the time. With sandals, under their jeans and shorts, just all the time. Nylons.
That's all I've got time for this week. Have a wonderful week!
Сестра Спрингер
Pictures: Banana chocolate chip muffins (actually banana M&M muffins) and chicken rolls to celebrate a birthday and anniversary! :) You are wonderful! I love you both and hope you had a wonderful anniversary!
Questions (not for blog)--That's what she thinks...:
Do you think you could look up all the cities in Russia where the church is? We had an investigator ask about it, and he was asking about cities that I've never heard of. I can tell him the ones in our mission, but not in the others (like Novosibirsk, which is right next to us).
Liv and Sam, there's a member who speaks Chinese here. He taught us how to say Wo hun how (I'm doing well) (I think that's what it is?). What other good Chinese can I say to him?
Lots of crazy random thoughts this week (and some from the week before that I forgot to write about).
From the week before:
Some of the members were way nice and made homemade boozi with us for dinner one day. Boozi is kind of like a ravioli with soy sauce, but not really. It's some meat (like beef or sausage) wrapped up in dough, and they leave a hole in the top. Then they cook it in special pots on the stove. To eat them, they dump soy sauce in the holes, pick it up with their hands, suck the sauce out, and then eat it. It was pretty good and really fun to make.
We visited a member who's been a member for a long time, and she showed us pictures of Elder Springer. I don't know if it's just me, but he looked a little bit like my daddio. At that same member's house, I gave the closing prayer, and I may have accidentally tried to pray in the name of the Holy Ghost. I can just imagine my companion writing to President. "Hi President, so I've got a question. Should I be worried if my companion prays in the name of the Holy Ghost?" Thankfully the member was great. "It happens!" she said. Hopefully it only happens once (and we'll say it's the Russian's fault because Russian can be confusing even after 8 months).
This week:
Sister Dorzhieva, one of the missionaries serving in our mission (she was just on Sakhalin, the island), is actually from Ulan-Ude. She finished her mission last week and gave her homecoming yesterday. It was cool to be there and hear what she had to say. The crazy thing is, she decided on Saturday that she's going to live in Moscow. She left Sunday after church. She got home from her mission, decided to live in Moscow, and then left all within one week. Wild!
We've met with Flip several times, and our auburn-haired recent convert (Auburn) has been a big help befriending her. Flip keeps denying to herself that she has faith or that she's interested, but she continues to meet with us. She told us how one night she couldn't sleep, and she had this big desire to read the Book of Mormon, so she just opened it up and started reading. Then she prayed. (According to her, she didn't "pray," she talked with God, but that's what prayer is.) Sister Cavaness and I both feel that she will accept this message at some point, it's just a matter of time. She is so prepared, and everything is leading her to the Gospel.
The Name Tag Family. We met with them and had a great FHE, and we managed to bring baptism up. They played around the idea of being baptized on the fourth of July. They didn't shoot down the idea right away. They could be close. It seems like the mom's had a hard week, so we need to keep showing them that they're loved (because they are).
We found a less-active 13-year-old boy the other day, and we happened to walk up while their cat was giving birth. We went back the next day and saw the kittens, and they were so tiny and cute. The little boy is cute, too. He loves to tell us all that he knows about the Bible and the Book of Mormon (because he's read the Book of Mormon all the way through and he's "the kindest and the smartest"). He lives with his mom who's not baptized, but they're all way nice, and we can't wait to meet with them again.
Random Russian stuff:
All the women wear nylons all the time. With sandals, under their jeans and shorts, just all the time. Nylons.
That's all I've got time for this week. Have a wonderful week!
Сестра Спрингер
Pictures: Banana chocolate chip muffins (actually banana M&M muffins) and chicken rolls to celebrate a birthday and anniversary! :) You are wonderful! I love you both and hope you had a wonderful anniversary!
Questions (not for blog)--That's what she thinks...:
Do you think you could look up all the cities in Russia where the church is? We had an investigator ask about it, and he was asking about cities that I've never heard of. I can tell him the ones in our mission, but not in the others (like Novosibirsk, which is right next to us).
Liv and Sam, there's a member who speaks Chinese here. He taught us how to say Wo hun how (I'm doing well) (I think that's what it is?). What other good Chinese can I say to him?