Привет family!
As far as what we do... обычна (I think I spelled that right; means usually) we have lessons with less active or inactive members. We also have lessons with бабушкы that can't come to church. As far as how many lessons I've had with investigators... not too many. But hopefully, that will change soon. We have a huge area we cover now and more investigators now so we'll see how that changes. Yes, we do a lot of contacting, but there are lessons squeezed in there too. We try to space out our lessons enough that we have time to travel to and from lessons and contact on the way or stop by potential investigators or former investigators. Fun, fun, fun.
Well, this last week, I got to anoint for a blessing for the first time in Russian. Unfortunately, I didn't have it memorized yet. It will be next time. Баба Галя had fallen this last week and hurt her side so she asked us for a blessing. It was a very powerful blessing. I've never felt the spirit so strongly when giving a blessing. Elder Waltman said some amazing things that helped comfort her in more ways than just physically. It’s interesting to note how such awesome experiences can be followed by stupid opposition. Needless to say, some guy confronted us later in the day and was strongly opposed to us being here and told us to go back to America. I could have gone without that encounter.
Lately, I've really started to feel the ups and downs of serving a mission. Some days, I'm so excited to do the work and talk to people. Other days, I find myself struggling to push myself out the door or to turn and talk to the person sitting next to me on the bus. It's quite an emotional rollercoaster in a way that I've never really felt before. Before I forget, about the buses here... I don't think I've mentioned this but all the buses here are from Korea I'm pretty sure. Often times, there's Korean already written on stuff throughout the bus and Russian signs have been added to it. Oh and the streets! All the streets in downtown Vlad have been turned into one way streets. I assume that's to help with the traffic because it can get pretty bad. So we'll see if that helps. As a result though, there are a ton of traffic cops out monitoring traffic. They also monitor pedestrians crossing the street. We crossed the street this morning (where there used to be a cross walk; not any more) Luckily, the cop on the corner was busy writing a ticket for someone else and he didn't see us.
As far as Russian goes... Thank you so much for the prayers. It's certainly getting better, just taking time. At this point, I've come to be 'content' with not understanding everything and just realize that it will come with time.
Thank you all so much for your support. You have no idea how much that means to me. I pray for you all the time.
I love you all!
Elder Bush
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Moving
С праздником family!
I'm pretty sure that means "with the holiday". It's what everyone says on holidays. Anyways, Happy 4th of July! It sure felt weird not seeing any fireworks yesterday, although it was the 150th birthday of Vlad this past Saturday. That was a little crazy because there were a ton of people on the streets this weekend. There were several stages set up on the square and lots of really loud music playing. The Russian President came to Vlad this last weekend which was a pretty big deal. There were lots of police everywhere. A Cinnabon opened up here in Vlad this past week so we went and it's actually really tasty. It's right next to the square. Anyhow, to first answer mom's question... how do I do laundry? We have a washing machine that we use. I don't think any dryers exist in Russia so we always have to hang up our clothes. Elder Waltman told me that Russians think they have washing machines and dryers that are combined together because "they spin really fast to dry out your clothes." No, no, no, that's just the spin cycle on the washing machine. That's not a dryer. :)
We moved this last week out of the cockroach infested apartment in 2nd River to the apartment in 1st River where the sisters had been living. They got moved to Sakhalin in the middle of the transfer for a complicated reason I won't take time to explain. So anyway, we're now in a monstrous apartment on the ground floor of our apartment building and I love it! I love not having to climb stairs and having more than two rooms! It's great! Once we unpack and we get electricity in the main room and hallway, I'll get you pictures of it. The washing machine we have in this apartment is tiny, though. I've never seen one so small! I can fit maybe 5 shirts and that's it. And it takes forever to wash things! Almost 2 hours. I need to play with the settings to see if I can shorten the time. So now, Elder Waltman and I cover 1st River, 2nd River, and Baliyava, so we'll be super busy from now on.
Yesterday, Baba Galya cornered us into making chicken with her so we helped her make fried chicken and she taught us lots of words (not that I remember any of them). I took some pictures of her and her apartment yesterday and last week so I'll send those to you. Sorry if the pictures haven't been all that great. I'll try to send more of the city. It's hard because I feel really weird taking pictures in Russia, partly because I don't want to take pictures of anything I'm not supposed to, but I'll try to get more that I think you'll like. I tried to take pictures of one of the cool painted walls but they're pretty much all blurry. I'll send those to you so you can have an idea of what I'm talking about but I'll try to take more sometime if I get the chance.
We had a classical concert at the church this last Saturday. It was really cool! One of the members here has a beautiful voice! She sings opera and I was blown away! She sang “Time to Say Goodbye” (one of the songs Andre Bocelli sings) and it was super good. We also met two girls that came to the concert (one from America and one from Denmark). They were really nice and it was really great explaining things about the church in English. We might have a family home evening with them and some of their Christian group friends at the Magill’s tonight. We'll see.
We stayed in one of the other apartments in Vlad between moving from 2nd River and 1st River. Sister Pratt picked us up there on Friday morning and on our way to the 1st River apartment, we got pulled over by the cops. When they turn on their lights, they always say something through a loud speaker (which no one can understand. Not even Russians.) So the guy came to the window and told us we couldn't make a left turn back where we had turned. Then he realized Sister Pratt was American and asked who speaks Russian. Elder Waltman and I were then told to get out of the car and Elder Waltman went back to the cop car and was told to get in the back seat. I just stood outside between the cop car and the Pratt's car. In the end, he just let her off with a warning. (probably because the cops hate dealing with Americans because they can't spell their names.) She was definitely relieved.
Well, it's been an interesting week. I just realized I don't have my cord for my camera. I think it's in my other bag back at the apartment. I'll send more pictures then next week. Hopefully they'll be good and you'll enjoy the view I have here in Russia. I love you all. Hope your week goes well!
Love,
Elder Bush
p.s. I got letters last Tuesday from Grandma and Grandpa Gee and Bush and from Mrs. Frappier. Thanks so much!!!
I'm pretty sure that means "with the holiday". It's what everyone says on holidays. Anyways, Happy 4th of July! It sure felt weird not seeing any fireworks yesterday, although it was the 150th birthday of Vlad this past Saturday. That was a little crazy because there were a ton of people on the streets this weekend. There were several stages set up on the square and lots of really loud music playing. The Russian President came to Vlad this last weekend which was a pretty big deal. There were lots of police everywhere. A Cinnabon opened up here in Vlad this past week so we went and it's actually really tasty. It's right next to the square. Anyhow, to first answer mom's question... how do I do laundry? We have a washing machine that we use. I don't think any dryers exist in Russia so we always have to hang up our clothes. Elder Waltman told me that Russians think they have washing machines and dryers that are combined together because "they spin really fast to dry out your clothes." No, no, no, that's just the spin cycle on the washing machine. That's not a dryer. :)
We moved this last week out of the cockroach infested apartment in 2nd River to the apartment in 1st River where the sisters had been living. They got moved to Sakhalin in the middle of the transfer for a complicated reason I won't take time to explain. So anyway, we're now in a monstrous apartment on the ground floor of our apartment building and I love it! I love not having to climb stairs and having more than two rooms! It's great! Once we unpack and we get electricity in the main room and hallway, I'll get you pictures of it. The washing machine we have in this apartment is tiny, though. I've never seen one so small! I can fit maybe 5 shirts and that's it. And it takes forever to wash things! Almost 2 hours. I need to play with the settings to see if I can shorten the time. So now, Elder Waltman and I cover 1st River, 2nd River, and Baliyava, so we'll be super busy from now on.
Yesterday, Baba Galya cornered us into making chicken with her so we helped her make fried chicken and she taught us lots of words (not that I remember any of them). I took some pictures of her and her apartment yesterday and last week so I'll send those to you. Sorry if the pictures haven't been all that great. I'll try to send more of the city. It's hard because I feel really weird taking pictures in Russia, partly because I don't want to take pictures of anything I'm not supposed to, but I'll try to get more that I think you'll like. I tried to take pictures of one of the cool painted walls but they're pretty much all blurry. I'll send those to you so you can have an idea of what I'm talking about but I'll try to take more sometime if I get the chance.
We had a classical concert at the church this last Saturday. It was really cool! One of the members here has a beautiful voice! She sings opera and I was blown away! She sang “Time to Say Goodbye” (one of the songs Andre Bocelli sings) and it was super good. We also met two girls that came to the concert (one from America and one from Denmark). They were really nice and it was really great explaining things about the church in English. We might have a family home evening with them and some of their Christian group friends at the Magill’s tonight. We'll see.
We stayed in one of the other apartments in Vlad between moving from 2nd River and 1st River. Sister Pratt picked us up there on Friday morning and on our way to the 1st River apartment, we got pulled over by the cops. When they turn on their lights, they always say something through a loud speaker (which no one can understand. Not even Russians.) So the guy came to the window and told us we couldn't make a left turn back where we had turned. Then he realized Sister Pratt was American and asked who speaks Russian. Elder Waltman and I were then told to get out of the car and Elder Waltman went back to the cop car and was told to get in the back seat. I just stood outside between the cop car and the Pratt's car. In the end, he just let her off with a warning. (probably because the cops hate dealing with Americans because they can't spell their names.) She was definitely relieved.
Well, it's been an interesting week. I just realized I don't have my cord for my camera. I think it's in my other bag back at the apartment. I'll send more pictures then next week. Hopefully they'll be good and you'll enjoy the view I have here in Russia. I love you all. Hope your week goes well!
Love,
Elder Bush
p.s. I got letters last Tuesday from Grandma and Grandpa Gee and Bush and from Mrs. Frappier. Thanks so much!!!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Zone Conference and Reunion with Elder Zamora
Hello everyone!
This last week was zone conference on Thursday. I was so excited to see Elder Zamora! It was so great to reunite after a transfer to talk about some of our crazy funny experiences and to see our improvement in the language. It'll be even more fun when we head off to Korea in a few weeks. Zone conference was a great learning opportunity for me. I realized there's so much I need to repent of and change and improve on so that I can serve as the Lord wants me to serve. Elder Pavlov, one of the Elders in Usserisk who's actually serving as the branch president right now, shared a funny story at the end of Zone conference. He said, "There were a bunch of turkeys that decided to meet together and started that meeting with a prayer. Then during that meeting they learned how to fly. At the end of it, they closed with a prayer and walked home. Elders and Sisters, don't be like turkeys." How true. When we learn such great things, especially those things the spirit teaches us, why wouldn't we want to incorporate them into our lives? Why do things the old way if you know the new way is better.
Before I forget, I got a haircut again like I said. Probably the worst one I've gotten by an American in my life. ;) Elder Waltman really tried though. In the end, I just had to use the clippers and even it all out. It's super short, in my opinion, too short, but President Pratt wasn't mad at me and what are you going to do? It's already cut. It'll grow. I'll send you a picture. I've gotten lots of compliments. Ha-ha!
There appear to be a large number of trees here that make cotton. (I don't know if that's understandable) but the last few days, there has been this cotton stuff all over the ground and floating through the air. Weird. Also, Russian concrete is horrible. I think they put too much water in it. Random I know but I've noticed how things here just seem to be falling apart, even when they're not that old. Staircases turn into crumbled concrete slides, which makes it very hard to climb a big hill to get up to some apartment building to try to see someone.
Yesterday, we met with Baba Galya and it was so cool to see how much my Russian has improved. I could actually carry on a conversation with her and laugh and have a good lesson and everything. The Lord is doing such amazing things through me. She was being really funny yesterday. I just love her so much. I'm realizing more and more how important love is in this work. If I didn't love my Savior, if I didn't realize that these Russian people are my brothers and sisters and have a love for them to share this message with them, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't spend all this time struggling to understand people and talking to random Russian strangers if I didn't have love for what I'm doing. I just pray that love will increase every day.
Matthew asked about the transportation. We use our feet and the bus. That's usually what we use. If I ever go to Khabarvsk, I'll either use the train or take a flight. And obviously Shakhalin requires a flight to get there. Everything else is buses or taxis.
Love,
Elder Bush
This last week was zone conference on Thursday. I was so excited to see Elder Zamora! It was so great to reunite after a transfer to talk about some of our crazy funny experiences and to see our improvement in the language. It'll be even more fun when we head off to Korea in a few weeks. Zone conference was a great learning opportunity for me. I realized there's so much I need to repent of and change and improve on so that I can serve as the Lord wants me to serve. Elder Pavlov, one of the Elders in Usserisk who's actually serving as the branch president right now, shared a funny story at the end of Zone conference. He said, "There were a bunch of turkeys that decided to meet together and started that meeting with a prayer. Then during that meeting they learned how to fly. At the end of it, they closed with a prayer and walked home. Elders and Sisters, don't be like turkeys." How true. When we learn such great things, especially those things the spirit teaches us, why wouldn't we want to incorporate them into our lives? Why do things the old way if you know the new way is better.
Before I forget, I got a haircut again like I said. Probably the worst one I've gotten by an American in my life. ;) Elder Waltman really tried though. In the end, I just had to use the clippers and even it all out. It's super short, in my opinion, too short, but President Pratt wasn't mad at me and what are you going to do? It's already cut. It'll grow. I'll send you a picture. I've gotten lots of compliments. Ha-ha!
There appear to be a large number of trees here that make cotton. (I don't know if that's understandable) but the last few days, there has been this cotton stuff all over the ground and floating through the air. Weird. Also, Russian concrete is horrible. I think they put too much water in it. Random I know but I've noticed how things here just seem to be falling apart, even when they're not that old. Staircases turn into crumbled concrete slides, which makes it very hard to climb a big hill to get up to some apartment building to try to see someone.
Yesterday, we met with Baba Galya and it was so cool to see how much my Russian has improved. I could actually carry on a conversation with her and laugh and have a good lesson and everything. The Lord is doing such amazing things through me. She was being really funny yesterday. I just love her so much. I'm realizing more and more how important love is in this work. If I didn't love my Savior, if I didn't realize that these Russian people are my brothers and sisters and have a love for them to share this message with them, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't spend all this time struggling to understand people and talking to random Russian strangers if I didn't have love for what I'm doing. I just pray that love will increase every day.
Matthew asked about the transportation. We use our feet and the bus. That's usually what we use. If I ever go to Khabarvsk, I'll either use the train or take a flight. And obviously Shakhalin requires a flight to get there. Everything else is buses or taxis.
Love,
Elder Bush
Monday, June 21, 2010
A Week of Exchanges
I finally have figured out how the mail works. All mail, whether it's a package, a letter, or through the pouch, all ends up at the mission office, no matter where in the mission I'm serving. While I'm here in Vlad, I get mail more often because we're at the church throughout the week and Elder Waltman can pick it up. When I serve in other parts of the mission, my mail still goes to Vlad and the assistants will bring it to me when they come to visit at some point throughout the transfer. So that's how it works. Unfortunately, no mail ever goes straight to our apartments but oh well.
So, first of all, I know that the Lord does prepare people for the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last night, we went out contacting and it seemed, as it almost always seems, that no one wants to talk to us. Well, some people were nice to us but most not interested. Anyway, we spoke with one lady walking her dog and she said to us не надо (basically meaning, I don't need your message). So we continued down the street, talking to people as they walked past. I stopped this one lady walking next to us and she started to tell me she's met with us before, so I asked how she liked us. She said she did but didn’t say it very sincerely, and I could tell she just wanted to go. Anyway, while that was happening, I noticed this man walking near us, and he started talking to Elder Waltman, asking him questions. After I finished talking with her, I came to find out that this guy had asked the lady with the dog what we were doing and she told him we were talking about crazy spirits or something like that. Haha! He didn't believe her and wanted to ask us for himself. He ended up telling us that he's been searching for the word of God because he knows he needs it in his life but he hasn't really known were to find it. He's been trying to quit smoking and drinking but hasn't been successful but really wants to. So we told him about the Book of Mormon and the power that book has to change our lives because it, along with the Bible, is the word of God. When we asked when we could meet, he told us his only free time besides after work is on Sunday because the Lord said you need to rest on Sunday. Elder Waltman and I were blown away that he already felt so strongly about the Sabbath day and that it's a day to rest. The whole experience showed me that the Lord puts people in our path, sometimes even people that come find us and it really strengthened my faith and testimony that this is the Lord's work, not the work of 19 year olds.
Oh and before I forget, this transfer, I'm doing the 5000 push up challenge. 5000 pushups in 6 weeks. That turns out to be ~140 a day, which isn't too much, but it hurts the journal writing time. Haha! When we told Baba Galya about it, she was blown away. We told her she should join us and start doing it, and she said, “Ok! I'll start right now and by tomorrow I'll have died.” Love бабушкы. :)
This week has sure been a crazy one with pretty much all of the Vlad district gone to Korea at one point or another throughout the week. Starting Tuesday night, I was with one of the assistants, Elder Наумов. He taught me something valuable in a different way than I've heard it before. On Wednesday, when we were contacting, he turned to me and said, “Elder Bush, if the Savior's second coming was tomorrow, what would you be doing right now?” I stopped, thought, and told him, “I would be talking with every single person I saw, and I'd be telling them about our Savior.” He said, “Exactly! You'd be talking with everyone! So, now go talk to those people over there.” And I did. It really hit me how I need to talk to everyone. That's why I'm here. And to Bro. Savage and Bro.Boyer, I want you to know how thankful I am for all you taught me and I'm striving to work as hard as you did here in Vlad. Bro. Beck, I'm also very grateful for your example and all you taught me. So, then the rest of Wednesday and Thursday got a little crazy. I ended up on another exchange with Elder Fife out in Churkin for the next 24ish hours and then we split back again Thursday afternoon. I got to teach Leonid on Thursday with Elder Fife (he's the paralyzed man) and it was great to see him again. I love seeing the change that has taken place in his life. It's so cool and so real. Then on Friday, I was sort of turned into an assistant, or more like an assistant to the assistants. We went to our apartment in 2nd River and de-cockroached it with Sister Pratt and Sister McGill. I don't know if it really worked, but I haven't seen many since, so maybe our work helped. Then we went to get a bunch of packages from the post office (a huge chore the assistants have to do) and helped Sister Pratt and Sister McGill with an errand. We went back to the office to do office work and make programs for the baptism that was on Saturday. Then back to second river to meet up with Elder Waltman and Elder Jones and Hatch and Daimaru coming from the airport. It was crazy, but it was fun, and I learned a lot and had a great time serving with Elder Наумов.
Last thing... I translated for Elder McGill yesterday in Priesthood and it was really hard! But it was a lot easier than it could have been since Elders Huffman and Kezelle were teaching and thus, most of what I was translating was from the Elders and not native Russians. It really hit me yesterday how much of a miracle it is that I can understand what I can and how the Lord is working through me. I love this work.
Love,
Elder Bush
p.s. If anyone has any questions, shoot them my way. It's easier to know what to tell you about if I know there's something you want to know about. (You can write to me or send questions to my parents.)
So, first of all, I know that the Lord does prepare people for the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last night, we went out contacting and it seemed, as it almost always seems, that no one wants to talk to us. Well, some people were nice to us but most not interested. Anyway, we spoke with one lady walking her dog and she said to us не надо (basically meaning, I don't need your message). So we continued down the street, talking to people as they walked past. I stopped this one lady walking next to us and she started to tell me she's met with us before, so I asked how she liked us. She said she did but didn’t say it very sincerely, and I could tell she just wanted to go. Anyway, while that was happening, I noticed this man walking near us, and he started talking to Elder Waltman, asking him questions. After I finished talking with her, I came to find out that this guy had asked the lady with the dog what we were doing and she told him we were talking about crazy spirits or something like that. Haha! He didn't believe her and wanted to ask us for himself. He ended up telling us that he's been searching for the word of God because he knows he needs it in his life but he hasn't really known were to find it. He's been trying to quit smoking and drinking but hasn't been successful but really wants to. So we told him about the Book of Mormon and the power that book has to change our lives because it, along with the Bible, is the word of God. When we asked when we could meet, he told us his only free time besides after work is on Sunday because the Lord said you need to rest on Sunday. Elder Waltman and I were blown away that he already felt so strongly about the Sabbath day and that it's a day to rest. The whole experience showed me that the Lord puts people in our path, sometimes even people that come find us and it really strengthened my faith and testimony that this is the Lord's work, not the work of 19 year olds.
Oh and before I forget, this transfer, I'm doing the 5000 push up challenge. 5000 pushups in 6 weeks. That turns out to be ~140 a day, which isn't too much, but it hurts the journal writing time. Haha! When we told Baba Galya about it, she was blown away. We told her she should join us and start doing it, and she said, “Ok! I'll start right now and by tomorrow I'll have died.” Love бабушкы. :)
This week has sure been a crazy one with pretty much all of the Vlad district gone to Korea at one point or another throughout the week. Starting Tuesday night, I was with one of the assistants, Elder Наумов. He taught me something valuable in a different way than I've heard it before. On Wednesday, when we were contacting, he turned to me and said, “Elder Bush, if the Savior's second coming was tomorrow, what would you be doing right now?” I stopped, thought, and told him, “I would be talking with every single person I saw, and I'd be telling them about our Savior.” He said, “Exactly! You'd be talking with everyone! So, now go talk to those people over there.” And I did. It really hit me how I need to talk to everyone. That's why I'm here. And to Bro. Savage and Bro.Boyer, I want you to know how thankful I am for all you taught me and I'm striving to work as hard as you did here in Vlad. Bro. Beck, I'm also very grateful for your example and all you taught me. So, then the rest of Wednesday and Thursday got a little crazy. I ended up on another exchange with Elder Fife out in Churkin for the next 24ish hours and then we split back again Thursday afternoon. I got to teach Leonid on Thursday with Elder Fife (he's the paralyzed man) and it was great to see him again. I love seeing the change that has taken place in his life. It's so cool and so real. Then on Friday, I was sort of turned into an assistant, or more like an assistant to the assistants. We went to our apartment in 2nd River and de-cockroached it with Sister Pratt and Sister McGill. I don't know if it really worked, but I haven't seen many since, so maybe our work helped. Then we went to get a bunch of packages from the post office (a huge chore the assistants have to do) and helped Sister Pratt and Sister McGill with an errand. We went back to the office to do office work and make programs for the baptism that was on Saturday. Then back to second river to meet up with Elder Waltman and Elder Jones and Hatch and Daimaru coming from the airport. It was crazy, but it was fun, and I learned a lot and had a great time serving with Elder Наумов.
Last thing... I translated for Elder McGill yesterday in Priesthood and it was really hard! But it was a lot easier than it could have been since Elders Huffman and Kezelle were teaching and thus, most of what I was translating was from the Elders and not native Russians. It really hit me yesterday how much of a miracle it is that I can understand what I can and how the Lord is working through me. I love this work.
Love,
Elder Bush
p.s. If anyone has any questions, shoot them my way. It's easier to know what to tell you about if I know there's something you want to know about. (You can write to me or send questions to my parents.)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thank you
Thank you to all those that are thinking about me, praying for me, and supporting me. I really appreciate it. :) I hope whatever I may write home is exciting/interesting/and strengthens your faith in Jesus Christ.
Six Weeks in Vlad
Well, after 1 transfer (six weeks) in Vlad, I'm still alive! I am so humbled and grateful for the prayers and support and for my family who fasted for me because I know the Lord is helping me. Obviously, I still don't understand everything and sometimes it's hard to catch all of what people are saying, but I'm getting better at it, and I now understand a lot more of what's being said at church. The hardest part about that is when we read from the gospel principles manual, I can't read very fast or understand much because there are so many ginormous words. But the last couple Sundays, I've been able to contribute to the lesson and I know the Lord has helped me do that.
So, first off, there have been some changes in the mission. Up until this last transfer, we had no districts in our mission, just five zones (Vladivostok, Usserisk, Nakhodka, Sakhalin, and Khabarovsk) with a zone leader in each that reported to the assistants here in Vlad. President Pratt felt impressed to change our structure so it will be how the Brethren have asked all missions to be and to relieve the load on the zone leaders. So now there two zones (north: Khabarovsk and Sakhalin; south: Usserisk, Vlad, and Nakhodka) and in each of those cities, there's a district with a district leader. Elder Waltman is now the district leader. (By the way, he is such a great companion. I love working with him.) So I'll be staying in Vlad this next transfer and then we'll see where I go after that. I have loved being in Vlad because I'm around the assistants and the President a lot more often than if I were in any of the other cities. I’m also with the McGills, a senior couple who serve in the mission office. They are hilarious and so funny to talk with!
This next week, Elder Waltman and most of our district head to Korea to renew their visas, so I'll be with one of the assistants since his companion will be in Korea as well. It will be interesting because it sounds as though we'll be doing assistant things in the morning and then working in my area in the evening. I'll let you know how this all goes.
Anyway, I was definitely right about the 150 year anniversary of Vlad and how they're sprucing up the city. They're redoing a lot of the road (which is a huge blessing) and planting a bazillion flowers! And there's more sweet art they're doing on the walls around the city! I'll try to get some pictures at some point, maybe when I'm on the bus. By the way, right now the weather in Vlad is weird. Some days it's smoking hot and other days it's windy and cold.
So I thought I'd share some of my feelings about the missionary work here... I'd always heard that serving in Russia is hard. "Oh your mission is going to be really hard." etc. etc. I'm starting to realize why. In no way am I saying that my mission is the hardest mission in the world and that everyone else serving missions should be thankful because serving a mission period, no matter where in the world you are, is a super big challenge. Russia is just different. And I know I needed to be here to be humbled. It has humbled me so much. The language, the work each day, it has sent me to my knees and caused me to pray throughout the whole day. Sometimes it's hard to keep your spirits up. When we're contacting, we talk to people for hours and person after person just ignore us. That amazes me the most. The hardest part is trying to keep faith that there are people the Lord is preparing to receive our message. Contacting for hours sometimes causes my faith to dim, not dim in the fact that I feel any less that the message we have to share is true and important, but more my faith that anyone in this city will want to talk to us. I don't know if that makes sense but I'm working on it and doing my best to stay positive and strengthen my faith in the work.
I had a funny language blunder this last week... I went to ask someone if they spoke English because I wanted to invite them to English club. I accidently asked, "Do you speak Russian?" The man of course said "Da (yes)". And since I had thought I'd asked him about English, I felt surprised because people rarely ever say yes when you ask them if they speak English. They just say "I’m really bad" or "only a little," or yesterday, some guy said "sometimes." Anyway, so I then asked in English really slowly, "what is your name?" He was super confused and said "I speak Russian not English." Elder Waltman tried not to laugh and Elder Papok who was with us started busting out laughing after I told him what I had said. Gotta love the language blunders. :)
Love you all,
Elder Bush
So, first off, there have been some changes in the mission. Up until this last transfer, we had no districts in our mission, just five zones (Vladivostok, Usserisk, Nakhodka, Sakhalin, and Khabarovsk) with a zone leader in each that reported to the assistants here in Vlad. President Pratt felt impressed to change our structure so it will be how the Brethren have asked all missions to be and to relieve the load on the zone leaders. So now there two zones (north: Khabarovsk and Sakhalin; south: Usserisk, Vlad, and Nakhodka) and in each of those cities, there's a district with a district leader. Elder Waltman is now the district leader. (By the way, he is such a great companion. I love working with him.) So I'll be staying in Vlad this next transfer and then we'll see where I go after that. I have loved being in Vlad because I'm around the assistants and the President a lot more often than if I were in any of the other cities. I’m also with the McGills, a senior couple who serve in the mission office. They are hilarious and so funny to talk with!
This next week, Elder Waltman and most of our district head to Korea to renew their visas, so I'll be with one of the assistants since his companion will be in Korea as well. It will be interesting because it sounds as though we'll be doing assistant things in the morning and then working in my area in the evening. I'll let you know how this all goes.
Anyway, I was definitely right about the 150 year anniversary of Vlad and how they're sprucing up the city. They're redoing a lot of the road (which is a huge blessing) and planting a bazillion flowers! And there's more sweet art they're doing on the walls around the city! I'll try to get some pictures at some point, maybe when I'm on the bus. By the way, right now the weather in Vlad is weird. Some days it's smoking hot and other days it's windy and cold.
So I thought I'd share some of my feelings about the missionary work here... I'd always heard that serving in Russia is hard. "Oh your mission is going to be really hard." etc. etc. I'm starting to realize why. In no way am I saying that my mission is the hardest mission in the world and that everyone else serving missions should be thankful because serving a mission period, no matter where in the world you are, is a super big challenge. Russia is just different. And I know I needed to be here to be humbled. It has humbled me so much. The language, the work each day, it has sent me to my knees and caused me to pray throughout the whole day. Sometimes it's hard to keep your spirits up. When we're contacting, we talk to people for hours and person after person just ignore us. That amazes me the most. The hardest part is trying to keep faith that there are people the Lord is preparing to receive our message. Contacting for hours sometimes causes my faith to dim, not dim in the fact that I feel any less that the message we have to share is true and important, but more my faith that anyone in this city will want to talk to us. I don't know if that makes sense but I'm working on it and doing my best to stay positive and strengthen my faith in the work.
I had a funny language blunder this last week... I went to ask someone if they spoke English because I wanted to invite them to English club. I accidently asked, "Do you speak Russian?" The man of course said "Da (yes)". And since I had thought I'd asked him about English, I felt surprised because people rarely ever say yes when you ask them if they speak English. They just say "I’m really bad" or "only a little," or yesterday, some guy said "sometimes." Anyway, so I then asked in English really slowly, "what is your name?" He was super confused and said "I speak Russian not English." Elder Waltman tried not to laugh and Elder Papok who was with us started busting out laughing after I told him what I had said. Gotta love the language blunders. :)
Love you all,
Elder Bush
Monday, June 7, 2010
Two Greenies (new missionaries) on Exchanges
HOT WATER'S BACK!!!! I didn't realize how much I missed hot showers until Wednesday morning. Warm water is a beautiful thing. I woke up on Tuesday with about 20 bug bites on my arm. I didn't know cockroaches bit... ;) I don't know what bit me, probably just a lonely mosquito. Thankfully, they don't itch much anymore.
So this week, I thought I'd give you a little info in the way of my experiences and then some things I just thought I'd share about Russia. First, I went on splits with Elder Stewart (from my BYU dorm) twice this last week. Once in his area (Nayboota) and once in my area (2nd River). Wow was that interesting. It was such a trial of faith. At least for me because here you have two Elders, one that's been out for almost two transfers (transfers happen about every six weeks), the other only about one, and we are left to ourselves. I've never prayed so much in one day. The miracle is, the Lord answered my prayers, but then he always answers our prayers. He helped me so much. We contacted for several hours in the morning in Nayboota and not much came of it, but I opened my mouth and the words were there. It was AMAZING! In no way am I fluent in Russian, and I hardly understood anything. I'm sure I butchered the grammar. But the Lord helped bring the words to my mind and I was able to do His work. That's a miracle in and of itself. Understanding Russian for some reason is so darn hard for me. Even when people are using words I know, it's really hard. But I can see the improvement the Lord is helping me make and the whole day was such an amazing experience for me. I also have never prayed so much thanking the Lord for His help. Gratitude is invaluable. I can picture Heavenly Father smiling when we tell Him thank you. :) The first lesson we taught that day, that was rough. I tried to let Elder Stewart take the lead as senior companion, but it was just hard. The second lesson was great because we were more prepared to teach, and it was still hard with the language, but through the Spirit, we overcame that barrier and made great strides with a man that hasn't always been as receptive to the missionaries. Anyway, this week was a great learning experience.
So here's some cool side note stuff... Went out to lunch again on the reenok, and I got a haircut. It was terrible. But it's alright. Can't be too picky when it comes to 100 ruble Russian haircuts. (Hopefully I can send you a picture from Elder Waltman's camera.) I realized the other day that every bus in Vlad has these fabric curtain things above all the windows all around the bus. They try to make the buses look fancier but they're honestly just trashy city buses. On some buses, it seems that the driver has gone to great lengths to make his bus fancy. There's fabric everywhere, fancy tassels hanging from everywhere. I love it.
About what we usually eat... Cereal is ok here. I mean cereal is cereal. That's the usual breakfast. Occasionally we have pancakes, German pancakes, eggs, or bleenies, which are basically just crepes but the Russians changed the name. That makes it Russian, not French. For lunch, we often make pasta, or pelmeni, which are like ravioli but with different stuff inside, such as meat or potatoes. We also make booterbrotee (not sure of spelling), which is kind of like a sandwich but only half a sandwich with melted cheese and meat and you eat it with a fork. That's always delicious.
Baba Galya is my favorite babooshka! We meet with her every Sunday and Wednesday and I always love visiting her. There's a drink here called Milkis (I'm not 100% sure what's in it but it's a soda with (I think) milk in it). It's way good. I've also noticed there's some sweet graffiti here in Vlad. Some guys were doing some on a wall the last couple days of sunflowers. They looked amazing! I think they’re doing that because it's Vlad's 150th anniversary this summer ( I think). Last thing, I played basketball on Saturday and I actually did really well! I was making everything! (This doesn't happen ever.) So we always play with this kid named Anton. He's super nice and loves to play with us. He's actually a lot better than most Russians. Most are horrible, like worse than me, which is saying something. Anyway, we were talking and he told me how weird it was when he came to America and all these men smiled at him since men here don't smile at one another. He told me that if you smile at someone else, it means you know them. I thought that was really interesting. Anton also told me it was weird when he first saw missionaries on the street and they smiled at him because he hadn't yet been to America. It's interesting to see the cultural differences.
Well that's about all. Thank you so much for each of your prayers and your thoughts and your love. Missions are hard. But they're so worth it. I know the Lord is my Savior and Redeemer. I'm becoming closer to Him each day because I know this is His work. He wants me here in Vladivostok and I cannot deny the truth of the message I have to share. I love you all so much!! Til next week. :)
Love,
Elder Bush
So this week, I thought I'd give you a little info in the way of my experiences and then some things I just thought I'd share about Russia. First, I went on splits with Elder Stewart (from my BYU dorm) twice this last week. Once in his area (Nayboota) and once in my area (2nd River). Wow was that interesting. It was such a trial of faith. At least for me because here you have two Elders, one that's been out for almost two transfers (transfers happen about every six weeks), the other only about one, and we are left to ourselves. I've never prayed so much in one day. The miracle is, the Lord answered my prayers, but then he always answers our prayers. He helped me so much. We contacted for several hours in the morning in Nayboota and not much came of it, but I opened my mouth and the words were there. It was AMAZING! In no way am I fluent in Russian, and I hardly understood anything. I'm sure I butchered the grammar. But the Lord helped bring the words to my mind and I was able to do His work. That's a miracle in and of itself. Understanding Russian for some reason is so darn hard for me. Even when people are using words I know, it's really hard. But I can see the improvement the Lord is helping me make and the whole day was such an amazing experience for me. I also have never prayed so much thanking the Lord for His help. Gratitude is invaluable. I can picture Heavenly Father smiling when we tell Him thank you. :) The first lesson we taught that day, that was rough. I tried to let Elder Stewart take the lead as senior companion, but it was just hard. The second lesson was great because we were more prepared to teach, and it was still hard with the language, but through the Spirit, we overcame that barrier and made great strides with a man that hasn't always been as receptive to the missionaries. Anyway, this week was a great learning experience.
So here's some cool side note stuff... Went out to lunch again on the reenok, and I got a haircut. It was terrible. But it's alright. Can't be too picky when it comes to 100 ruble Russian haircuts. (Hopefully I can send you a picture from Elder Waltman's camera.) I realized the other day that every bus in Vlad has these fabric curtain things above all the windows all around the bus. They try to make the buses look fancier but they're honestly just trashy city buses. On some buses, it seems that the driver has gone to great lengths to make his bus fancy. There's fabric everywhere, fancy tassels hanging from everywhere. I love it.
About what we usually eat... Cereal is ok here. I mean cereal is cereal. That's the usual breakfast. Occasionally we have pancakes, German pancakes, eggs, or bleenies, which are basically just crepes but the Russians changed the name. That makes it Russian, not French. For lunch, we often make pasta, or pelmeni, which are like ravioli but with different stuff inside, such as meat or potatoes. We also make booterbrotee (not sure of spelling), which is kind of like a sandwich but only half a sandwich with melted cheese and meat and you eat it with a fork. That's always delicious.
Baba Galya is my favorite babooshka! We meet with her every Sunday and Wednesday and I always love visiting her. There's a drink here called Milkis (I'm not 100% sure what's in it but it's a soda with (I think) milk in it). It's way good. I've also noticed there's some sweet graffiti here in Vlad. Some guys were doing some on a wall the last couple days of sunflowers. They looked amazing! I think they’re doing that because it's Vlad's 150th anniversary this summer ( I think). Last thing, I played basketball on Saturday and I actually did really well! I was making everything! (This doesn't happen ever.) So we always play with this kid named Anton. He's super nice and loves to play with us. He's actually a lot better than most Russians. Most are horrible, like worse than me, which is saying something. Anyway, we were talking and he told me how weird it was when he came to America and all these men smiled at him since men here don't smile at one another. He told me that if you smile at someone else, it means you know them. I thought that was really interesting. Anton also told me it was weird when he first saw missionaries on the street and they smiled at him because he hadn't yet been to America. It's interesting to see the cultural differences.
Well that's about all. Thank you so much for each of your prayers and your thoughts and your love. Missions are hard. But they're so worth it. I know the Lord is my Savior and Redeemer. I'm becoming closer to Him each day because I know this is His work. He wants me here in Vladivostok and I cannot deny the truth of the message I have to share. I love you all so much!! Til next week. :)
Love,
Elder Bush
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