Привет
So this week has been great! Our water worked the entire week! Zdorova! We are getting a lot of new investigators, but no one here ever comes to appointments. Like, for reals. Since I've been here, I can't even tell you how many appointments that we have set up with people, at least two or three per day, and there have been around 4 or 5 occasions where we aren't completely blown off. Sometimes they call us if it won't work out, but usually it's just nothing.People here are so busy all the time, or at least they say they are, but maybe if they took the time to plan out their day and keep to their appointments, They wouldn't be russian around trying to get everything done in the last minute... I'm dead serious and making a joke at the same time. I'm the coolest.
I'm not homesick yet. The closest I can say that I've come to being homesick yet is probably yesterday when we went to visit a friend of a member and while my companion and the member were discussing the gospel with the adults, I was occupying Little Daniel who's probably two and a half or so. haha! It was so funny! Russian children are some of the most adorable children ever. If the white handbook didn't say to be so Astaroshna (careful) around them, I'd probably have them all over my apartment right now... haha! But anyway, like I was saying. He was being hyper and stuff and got into my sumka, (bag) and pulled out my photo album and demanded that I show him who everyone was. I was grateful because it kept him quiet so that everyone else could have a spiritual discussion. After we went through everyone, he went through and tried to repeat everyone's names and after would say "Moi Dloog" (Moi Droog means My Friend) It didn't make me miss home, but it reminded me that I have pictures of home... haha! Yeah, I'm not that homesick. He also taught me a few words that I didn't know. I would point to something in the picture and ask "Shto Eta?" and he'd tell me what it was. It was pretty enjoyable.
A drunk guy was doing really weird things to me on the way to the bus here. I'm pretty sure he was already pedophile while not drunk, so you can only imagine what he was like inebriated... He kept putting his hands on my legs while talking to me and would get Waaaaay to close to my face to ask me a question or something. Like, you-don't-go-that-far-in-a-game-of-chicken kind of close. Panyatna? (Are you understanding me?) When I ended the conversation with what little Russian I could fumble out of my mouth and went to talk to someone else, he followed me and was like... hitting on me. Where ever I would go on the bus, he would follow and try talking to me or getting really close to me. It freaked me out. haha! oh man... I need to work on my gift of discernment to avoid those situations in the first place.
Peanut butter here costs about 20 dollars... Uzhastna... Thanks sister Braithwaite for sending me that peanut butter!! Too bad it's already all gone... Other things here are super cheap though! Like clothing! The ties here are sooooo beautiful and like, 4 bucks. Jackpot.
Oh, Tell Michael Dressman to write me! I want to know how life is for him!
Well, I have to go now. I love you all. Life is great here in Russia. I love Mcdonalds here. There are Babushkii everywhere, and they look just like you would stereotype them to look like!
Elder Swartz
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
First Letter from RUSSIA!
Hey, okay, so I have like no time! haha! The computers are SUPER Slow
here, so when they say we have an hour, we have like twenty minutes
because forty of it is loading time! haha!
First off, I can take pictures of my emails and read them later, so
that could work. So if you have any thoughts or stuff, go ahead and
send them to me. Just don't send any info in it that I would want to
know before I email you back because I won't read it until later
obviously.
Sister Katie Nilson is the one going to Italy! Remember!? If you can,
will you somehow tell her family that I love them! haha! And that I'll
write Josie as soon as I can!
Okay, story time! So The plane rides were fun! I love the feeling! I
liked sitting next to russians more than Americans. I don't care what
other people say, the are nicer than Americans by far!! It's just when
you try get them to be mormon that they hate you. haha! People will be
so nice until you say you want to share a message with them. Then they
get really mad and storm off. I think they have just had so much
oppression that they don't like the idea of a religion or a prophet
telling them what to do.
The memebers here are SOOOOOOOOOOO The best!!! Really! We've been
blessed with the best members in the WORLD! Brother Aleksei Gladkov
was talking during the priesthood meeting and when nobody volunteered
to help the missionaries, he said he found talking to random people on
the street about the gospel frightening just like the rest of them,
but the Lord has called them to be our help and at this point he stood
up and pounded on his chest and said that he would shout words of
truth at whoever the Lord wanted him to! haha! I love him! I yawned
and he stuck his finger in my mouth and said that if you don't cover
your mouth that people will spit in it! haha! and if you whistle in
public, money will fly out of your pockets. The people here are so
superstitious! it's worse Russians than japanese people!
We got our time on the email extended, so I'm not running out of time
anymore... haha!
Mother, as long as you write letters before midnight on sunday, you
will be fine! I'm running ou of time! ahh! My comp is awesome! Elder
Blake Benham, went to BYU, from Saint George. Super obedient (District
leader actually) In fact, our mission has like ZERO trunky
missionaries! They are all Green and I love it so much! They all have
such a fire for missionary work and the are all super obedient! Thanks
President Bennet and also President Sartori! It's not that cold yet
here, probably like Logan weather. I'm in a city called Penza (пенза)
It's wonderful here! It smells like Cigarette smoke all the time! The
only time you are free of the smell is when a car drives by and your
nose has the sweet freedom of smelling car exhaust! The driving here
is fine, but in Moscow it was INSANE! Never will I drive in Europe!!!!
There are cats everywhere. MTC Russian sounds nothing Like Russian
Russian. Alcohol on the breath smells like Carrots. Babushkii (old
women) look mean, but they are really nice when you talk to them
(Until you try to give them a pamphlet! haha!) Everyone here has the
same like five names. Aleksei, Dima, Aleksandr, Sasha, and Vladimir
for Guys. Cvyetlana, Anya, Ana, Masha, Nina, Natalya, or Natasha for
women. haha! We didn't have water for two days (Going to the bathroom
was terrible.) When it was finally back on, it was FREEZING!!
Overall, I'm more tired than I've ever been in my life, not
physically, but mentally. Spiritually, it is draining and replenshing
all at the same time. Don't send me jeans, candy, scarves, etc. I
don't need it. I promise. (well, maybe letters or pictures!) The
Mission President and his wife are the sweetest people ever. I will
keep in touch with them forever. For Reals. K, я люблю вас!! (I love
you! [Plural])
Oh, Ochin Buistra! (really quick!) Двоюродная сестра кристий (Cousin
Kristy! Or is it Christy? Cristy?) whom I love so much! Many a months
ago you mentioned you had an old companion living in Самара! You HAVE
to tell me her information!! I WILL CONVERT HER! Horosho? Horosho!
Пока!
C Lyubovyu,
Старейшина Сворц
here, so when they say we have an hour, we have like twenty minutes
because forty of it is loading time! haha!
First off, I can take pictures of my emails and read them later, so
that could work. So if you have any thoughts or stuff, go ahead and
send them to me. Just don't send any info in it that I would want to
know before I email you back because I won't read it until later
obviously.
Sister Katie Nilson is the one going to Italy! Remember!? If you can,
will you somehow tell her family that I love them! haha! And that I'll
write Josie as soon as I can!
Okay, story time! So The plane rides were fun! I love the feeling! I
liked sitting next to russians more than Americans. I don't care what
other people say, the are nicer than Americans by far!! It's just when
you try get them to be mormon that they hate you. haha! People will be
so nice until you say you want to share a message with them. Then they
get really mad and storm off. I think they have just had so much
oppression that they don't like the idea of a religion or a prophet
telling them what to do.
The memebers here are SOOOOOOOOOOO The best!!! Really! We've been
blessed with the best members in the WORLD! Brother Aleksei Gladkov
was talking during the priesthood meeting and when nobody volunteered
to help the missionaries, he said he found talking to random people on
the street about the gospel frightening just like the rest of them,
but the Lord has called them to be our help and at this point he stood
up and pounded on his chest and said that he would shout words of
truth at whoever the Lord wanted him to! haha! I love him! I yawned
and he stuck his finger in my mouth and said that if you don't cover
your mouth that people will spit in it! haha! and if you whistle in
public, money will fly out of your pockets. The people here are so
superstitious! it's worse Russians than japanese people!
We got our time on the email extended, so I'm not running out of time
anymore... haha!
Mother, as long as you write letters before midnight on sunday, you
will be fine! I'm running ou of time! ahh! My comp is awesome! Elder
Blake Benham, went to BYU, from Saint George. Super obedient (District
leader actually) In fact, our mission has like ZERO trunky
missionaries! They are all Green and I love it so much! They all have
such a fire for missionary work and the are all super obedient! Thanks
President Bennet and also President Sartori! It's not that cold yet
here, probably like Logan weather. I'm in a city called Penza (пенза)
It's wonderful here! It smells like Cigarette smoke all the time! The
only time you are free of the smell is when a car drives by and your
nose has the sweet freedom of smelling car exhaust! The driving here
is fine, but in Moscow it was INSANE! Never will I drive in Europe!!!!
There are cats everywhere. MTC Russian sounds nothing Like Russian
Russian. Alcohol on the breath smells like Carrots. Babushkii (old
women) look mean, but they are really nice when you talk to them
(Until you try to give them a pamphlet! haha!) Everyone here has the
same like five names. Aleksei, Dima, Aleksandr, Sasha, and Vladimir
for Guys. Cvyetlana, Anya, Ana, Masha, Nina, Natalya, or Natasha for
women. haha! We didn't have water for two days (Going to the bathroom
was terrible.) When it was finally back on, it was FREEZING!!
Overall, I'm more tired than I've ever been in my life, not
physically, but mentally. Spiritually, it is draining and replenshing
all at the same time. Don't send me jeans, candy, scarves, etc. I
don't need it. I promise. (well, maybe letters or pictures!) The
Mission President and his wife are the sweetest people ever. I will
keep in touch with them forever. For Reals. K, я люблю вас!! (I love
you! [Plural])
Oh, Ochin Buistra! (really quick!) Двоюродная сестра кристий (Cousin
Kristy! Or is it Christy? Cristy?) whom I love so much! Many a months
ago you mentioned you had an old companion living in Самара! You HAVE
to tell me her information!! I WILL CONVERT HER! Horosho? Horosho!
Пока!
C Lyubovyu,
Старейшина Сворц
Friday, September 16, 2011
Destin's Arrived!!
Here's an email chain from Destin's Mission presidents to my parents. :)
I've also included some information that the Mission President sent regarding letters, emails and basic information about where Destin is Serving. I've bolded the headings of each section so if you want to skip something you can.
Dear Parents,
We are emailing you to inform you that Elder Swartz has arrived safely to our Russia Samara mission and we thank you for sending such a wonderful young man. We are so excited to serve with him.
Attached you will find 2 documents and one photo. Enjoy!!
My parents response
Sister Sartori, (The mission president's wife)
Thank you so much for the e-mail concerning our son, Elder Swartz. My wife and I are so grateful for his desire to serve the Lord in the Samara Mission. He, like your other missionaries, is an exceptional young man who has prepared himself well to serve, and I have every confidence that his heart and mind are focused on the task of "losing himself" in that service. You will certainly find him to be capable and willing to accept difficult assignments as he grows in experience. Our prayers and gratitude are with him, and all the Elders and Sisters serving in the Samara Mission.
I speak sincerely, when I say to you and President Sartori, that we are simply grateful to give you our son for this time of service.
With much love and respect,
Destin and Dana Swartz
(Sister Sartori's Reply)
Thank you for your prayers and kind words. We love your son already! We spent the whole day today with him and the other 8 missionaries who arrived. He is so ready and willing to serve. He was so excited to see Elder Broekhuijsen today! They renewed their friendship and are both super-great missionaries who are so willing to do whatever the Lord wishes.
We just love him, can't say more than that. Sister Sartori
The following are the mission rules on letters and emails between the Elders and family and friends. (I shortened it for you all to the stuff that pertains to you.)
P-day is the day missionaries are allowed to email home and it turns out that 30 min. is about
the same time. (Our missionaries are given 1 hour, but are asked to read the Mission President's
letter and report on their personal missionary work with any other comments they wish to share.
So you see, the time for writing family (we encourage family only for emails and only written letters
to friends) is about 30 min. DearElder.com and personally sent letters are still received from
families through the Post Office.
Now--------- some cities are 1 1/2 hour drive away, some are 3 hours drive, some are 5 & 6
hours drive and a couple are up to 7-8 hours drive in the winter months. I tell you this so you
can understand that as important as home letters are - it may take months to get them delivered.
Mailing letters and packages from Russia is MOST DIFFICULT. President and I served for
10 months in the Russia Vladivostok Mission before we were called as Mission President and
wife.... and we only mailed out about 3 times because of the difficulty (which I will not elaborate
on). Now we are here in Russia again and we only use email!!! We have family members who do
not have or know computer email, so we mail an attached letter to some family, have them print
it off and US mail it to our other family members. It is like contacting and conversing in pioneer
times!!
Some of our family and some missionary families will send US Post Office parcels - I will call
them 'one price boxes' and 'international padded envelopes'. The boxes are priced about $23 $45
$55 . I do not know price of padded envelopes. In the boxes I just gave you prices of, you can put
as much as you can inside for that amount. Sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks to arrive, sometimes
it takes 2-4 months to arrive. These boxes can be decorated with crayon/colored pencils on
the ends, labeled correctly (all come to the Mission Office, as none are delivered to individual
apartments) and taped completely shut!! (When our daughter sent us some cake mixes, cream of
tartar and cornstarch, I asked her to wrap EACH individual box with Saran Wrap so there was no
leakage of white powder in case of breakage of the mailed box. Please take any extra precautions
for safety of diplomatic relations.)
PLEASE SEND BOXES AND LETTERS.......THEY ARE MOST IMPORTANT
FOR AND TO OUR MISSIONARIES!! We would encourage and invite you to send spiritual
and uplifting letters, minimizing 'fun' family activites, mentioning spiritual activities and
experiences and ALWAYS POSITIVELY ENCOURAGING YOUR MISSIONARY through
any difficult situations. The Lord is in charge of the Russia Samara Mission and He is watching
over each of us. We know that the Russian Missions are very difficult and our missionaries need
positive uplifting and reminding that AS WE WORK OUR HARDEST TO FIND THOSE
WHOM THE LORD HAS PREPARED TO RECEIVE HIS GOSPEL -- HE WILL BLESS OUR
EFFORTS.
Missionaries are sacrificing two years of their lives to serve the Lord and we encourage them
to do just that..... SERVE THE LORD!! We encourage them to remember President Hinckley's
counsel "forget yourself and go to work" and the other counsel of the Brethren when they
say 'forsake all at home and go forth to serve'.
Two years go by so fast!! We must say at this point - THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND
TENDER SUPPORT OF YOUR/OUR MISSIONARY !!!
To help you understand better our options for communicating with your missionary while he/she
is in Russia. He/she has the opportunity to send and receive e-mail on Mondays (P-Days).
FAQ’s
1. How long does it take to get a letter or package from us (in Utah) to him? We've heard that
packages can take up to 3 months, and that letters might only get distributed on transfer days.
Packages 2-4 months. Letters/packages get distributed when mail goes with Mission President &
Wife, Assistants, our driver (Roman) making a Branch delivery, etc.
2. Should we send personal letters and packages to the mission home, or to his current address in
Tolyatti? ALL LETTERS AND PACKAGES MUST BE SENT TO MISSION OFFICE !! We
cannot guarantee they will get them otherwise - the 'pochta (post office)' in Russia is different !
At least if they get to the Mission Office, we can and will deliver them.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Elder/Sister __________________
Samara Mission
Vodnikov Street 95-1
oblast
443099
Russia
Phone # 8462-310-282
Samara
Russia
Samara
Phone # is not needed if sent through the mail.
Phone # is needed if sent through a private courier.
Letters are international and cost about $ .95
3. Should we address the packages in Cyrillic (so as to not catch the attention of curious postal
workers) and, if so, how do you get it through the US Postal Service with a Cyrillic address?
Packages come addressed in English.
4. How does the pouch system work? We have the ability to send through DearElder.com
electronic letters which get printed off and then put into a pouch that gets sent. How long does it
take for the pouch to get there, and (since it presumably goes to the mission home), how does it
(the letter or package) get from the pouch to our son? Please call the Missionary Department on
their instructions of the pouch. Mission President and Wife, Assistants, Zone Leaders, or Roman
deliver when we have assignments to their Branch, or Zone Conference or anything else. We
check with Office Couple and let them know who is going where and they gather up what mail
has come.
5. How much time does our Son have each week to use the computer for reading and sending e-
mail (on his P-Day)? One hour...with instructions to answer his Mission President first. .... so
about the same time as in the MTC, 30 min.
6. How do you recommend that our son should send us photographs he takes? Should he put the
memory card into an envelope (with hand-written letters to us), and how long would that take to
deliver? Perhaps he should just e-mail them to us. Email them. If the pixels are reduced, several
can be sent at one time.
I realize this is a big barrage of questions I'm sending you. if you don't have time to respond to
all of them, I certainly understand. However, this might be the kind of information that would be
valuable to all parents of missionaries in your mission, and which you could eventually include
in your Welcome e-mail. Thank you. As I answered your email before reading it all, my husband
and I chose to do just that!!...I will be making a copy and documenting this email. May I have
permission to use your questions if we choose?
Thank you for your service and for being so welcoming of our son. We feel very blessed
by not only his decision to serve and his hard work to be as prepared as he can be, but also
by knowing that he has a wonderful, efficient, effective, and loving mission president and
his "first councilor" (you!). You are most welcome!! We feel so blessed to have this humbling
responsibilty to work with these amazing young men and women and to constantly be led by His
Spirit daily. There are so many inspired things happening in our mission -- WE KNOW THAT
WE ARE PERFORMING THE LORD'S WORK. We stress OBEDIENCE to the mission rules
so that His Spirit will continue to direct us. Sometimes our young men and women do not know
the 'why' to be exactly obedient, but they go forward with faith and we are all blessed because of
this FAITH. MUCH FAITH IS NEEDED here in Russia.
What the Samara Mission is like today
We can tell you what the Russia Samara Mission is like today! Today our missionaries
number is 51 elders and sisters, of which 9 are sisters. We have four Senior Couples
(of which one goes home in Sept. and the other in October) now - one Office Couple
training our new Office Couple, one Leadership Couple (also native Russian), and one
CES/Leadership Couple. We are asking everyone... if they will come serve here with us.
Do you know of any couples who are retired and could come? Do you know of any
couples who are thinking about retirement and would like to serve the Lord?
Senior Couples are so valuable and they really help our young missionaries. Their
love, example, leadership, encouragement, support, friendliness, help, ...........and I
could go on and on and on!!........... cannot be measured! We have seen how they
have helped in so many ways- with missionaries, with the church growth, with their
loving examples..........and HOW THE RUSSIAN MEMBERS LOVE THEIR SENIOR
MISSIONARIES!! The Brethren have modified some policies which will help more Senior
Couples be able to serve missions, so we hope to see more peoples’ lives being blessed
by serving a Mission for the Lord.
We served in the Russia Vladivostok Mission in 2009 before we were called as Mission
President and Wife. We loved it!! Khabarovsk (our city we lived in) was supposed to be
very cold, but when you dress for it and walk all over, you just do not get too cold. In
Winter, our low in Samara could be -35 C. It is good our missionaries follow the white
Missionary Handbook and they are inside when it is early. We caution our missionaries
to watch for and protect from frostbite. Now to mention the blessing of this cold.... IT
IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL IN EACH ONE OF OUR CITIES WITH SNOW PILED HIGH
AND MANY DAYS OF SNOW KEEP COMING. IT REALLY IS A WINTER WONDERLAND OF
BEAUTY HERE. The Volga River (which many of our cities are on) is frozen and adds a
serenity of peace and calm. Spring and Fall are absolutely delightful. Russia also has
pollens and allergy season is very real here also. Summer can get hot so we are careful
and take safety precautions.
Samara has a population of 1.2 million people who mostly use transports -- bus,
trolleybus, tramvie and overnight trains between the cities. We have great Branches
and some even meet in our own building, but mostly, we rent buildings to hold church
in. Now the buildings are nothing like in the USA, but they do afford us a place of quiet
worship. The church is in an 'infant-like' stage and we are basically teaching leadership
items constantly and many times our missionaries are called on to be 'shadow
leadership' for the people so they can see and learn in 'action' what to do.
We have 21 Branches in our Mission. Samara Zone/District, (Bezimanski,
Novokuybishevsk and Avrora) Saratov Zone/District, (Engels, Volzhski, Solnechney,
Oktyabryski, Dachney, Zavodskoy, and Trafimoski) Tolyatti Zone/District,
(Komsolmolski, Old City and New City) and Mission District whick includes Branches:
Penza, Kazan, Marks, Orenburg, Balakovo, Ulyanovsk and Izshevsk. Our cities are
from ½ hours to 8 hours driving distance from Samara (depending on the weather for
travel).
This area of Russia was opened to missionary work in 1992 in the cities of Samara
and Saratov . During 1993, Ufa and Rostov were opened; and then over the next
three years, Volgograd, Tolyatti and Engels were added. Ufa and Rostov eventually
became parts of the Yekaterinburg and Rostov Missions, respectfully. In 1996, the
cities of Penza and Kazan were opened to missionary work. However, in January 1998,
misssionaries were withdrawn from Kazan. The next month Novokuybishevsk and
Marks received missionaries. The city of Orenburg was opened in September 1998, and
the city of Balakovo in February 1999. In the year 2000, missionaries were brought
back into the city of Kazan. In August of 2000, the city of Ulyanovsk was opened to
missionary work, and in the fall of 2003 Izhevsk was opened to the restored Gospel.
The church is in an 'infant-like' stage and we are basically teaching leadership items
constantly and many times our missionaries are called on to be 'shadow leadership'
for the people so they can see and learn in 'action' what to do. Great opportunities
to share the gospel and the ecclesiastical or leadership part of the church are in
abundance here. You will see and feel the love of the Russian Saints for you, the
Gospel, and our Savior. Our members total more than 3,600 in the Russia Samara
Mission. There are many who have been baptized and have gone inactive, so
our 'rescue efforts' are constant and loving. Missionaries in the Russian Missions are
so blessed with so many kinds of hard things to do, but so blessed because the Lord
knows His people and there are many here who He has prepared to hear His Restored
Gospel.
There are two constructed church buildings that we own in our mission: Solnechney
and Marks. Many branches meet in renovated rented buildings.
We are NOT the largest mission in Russia (Yekateringburg, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok
Missions are the largest geographically.) We do have two time zones (I believe it might
have been 3, years ago... but we only have one city that we have to adjust time to. We
are the same as Moscow and 1 hour different than Kiev, Ukraine.
In ending, we would like to share this most special information about the Russian
Missions. There are two Patriarchs who live in Utah..one in Bountiful and one in Orem.
They come to Russia every year and give Partiarchal Blessings. They have found that
EVERY TRIBE OF THE 12 TRIBES IS REPRESENTED HERE. Hence, the 'believing blood
of Israel' that Elder Bruce R. McConkie spoke of is here in many numbers. If you
will look at a world globe and notice how far north Russia is and many more of the
countries on this continent, your heart will swell with joy at the many children of our
Heavenly Father's who could be part of the 'lost 10 tribes'.
We are in the latter days and the missionaries are gleaning in many parts of the Lord's
vineyards. We are so blessed to be apart of this fantastic work! ............. Missionary
work is an important tool to find Heavenly Father's children.
We love these choice young men and women and will help them every day in whatever
we can do!! We are in the latter days and the missionaries are gleaning in many parts
of the Lord's vineyards. We are so blessed to be apart of this fantastic work! .............
Missionary work is an important tool to find Heavenly Father's children.
Thank you for your many prayers for your son/daughter serving now. We love these
choice young men and women and will help them every day in whatever we can do!!
Our love to you,
President Ralph J. and Sister Julie L. Sartori
Russia Samara Mission
I've also included some information that the Mission President sent regarding letters, emails and basic information about where Destin is Serving. I've bolded the headings of each section so if you want to skip something you can.
Dear Parents,
We are emailing you to inform you that Elder Swartz has arrived safely to our Russia Samara mission and we thank you for sending such a wonderful young man. We are so excited to serve with him.
Attached you will find 2 documents and one photo. Enjoy!!
My parents response
Sister Sartori, (The mission president's wife)
Thank you so much for the e-mail concerning our son, Elder Swartz. My wife and I are so grateful for his desire to serve the Lord in the Samara Mission. He, like your other missionaries, is an exceptional young man who has prepared himself well to serve, and I have every confidence that his heart and mind are focused on the task of "losing himself" in that service. You will certainly find him to be capable and willing to accept difficult assignments as he grows in experience. Our prayers and gratitude are with him, and all the Elders and Sisters serving in the Samara Mission.
I speak sincerely, when I say to you and President Sartori, that we are simply grateful to give you our son for this time of service.
With much love and respect,
Destin and Dana Swartz
(Sister Sartori's Reply)
Thank you for your prayers and kind words. We love your son already! We spent the whole day today with him and the other 8 missionaries who arrived. He is so ready and willing to serve. He was so excited to see Elder Broekhuijsen today! They renewed their friendship and are both super-great missionaries who are so willing to do whatever the Lord wishes.
We just love him, can't say more than that. Sister Sartori
The following are the mission rules on letters and emails between the Elders and family and friends. (I shortened it for you all to the stuff that pertains to you.)
P-day is the day missionaries are allowed to email home and it turns out that 30 min. is about
the same time. (Our missionaries are given 1 hour, but are asked to read the Mission President's
letter and report on their personal missionary work with any other comments they wish to share.
So you see, the time for writing family (we encourage family only for emails and only written letters
to friends) is about 30 min. DearElder.com and personally sent letters are still received from
families through the Post Office.
Now--------- some cities are 1 1/2 hour drive away, some are 3 hours drive, some are 5 & 6
hours drive and a couple are up to 7-8 hours drive in the winter months. I tell you this so you
can understand that as important as home letters are - it may take months to get them delivered.
Mailing letters and packages from Russia is MOST DIFFICULT. President and I served for
10 months in the Russia Vladivostok Mission before we were called as Mission President and
wife.... and we only mailed out about 3 times because of the difficulty (which I will not elaborate
on). Now we are here in Russia again and we only use email!!! We have family members who do
not have or know computer email, so we mail an attached letter to some family, have them print
it off and US mail it to our other family members. It is like contacting and conversing in pioneer
times!!
Some of our family and some missionary families will send US Post Office parcels - I will call
them 'one price boxes' and 'international padded envelopes'. The boxes are priced about $23 $45
$55 . I do not know price of padded envelopes. In the boxes I just gave you prices of, you can put
as much as you can inside for that amount. Sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks to arrive, sometimes
it takes 2-4 months to arrive. These boxes can be decorated with crayon/colored pencils on
the ends, labeled correctly (all come to the Mission Office, as none are delivered to individual
apartments) and taped completely shut!! (When our daughter sent us some cake mixes, cream of
tartar and cornstarch, I asked her to wrap EACH individual box with Saran Wrap so there was no
leakage of white powder in case of breakage of the mailed box. Please take any extra precautions
for safety of diplomatic relations.)
PLEASE SEND BOXES AND LETTERS.......THEY ARE MOST IMPORTANT
FOR AND TO OUR MISSIONARIES!! We would encourage and invite you to send spiritual
and uplifting letters, minimizing 'fun' family activites, mentioning spiritual activities and
experiences and ALWAYS POSITIVELY ENCOURAGING YOUR MISSIONARY through
any difficult situations. The Lord is in charge of the Russia Samara Mission and He is watching
over each of us. We know that the Russian Missions are very difficult and our missionaries need
positive uplifting and reminding that AS WE WORK OUR HARDEST TO FIND THOSE
WHOM THE LORD HAS PREPARED TO RECEIVE HIS GOSPEL -- HE WILL BLESS OUR
EFFORTS.
Missionaries are sacrificing two years of their lives to serve the Lord and we encourage them
to do just that..... SERVE THE LORD!! We encourage them to remember President Hinckley's
counsel "forget yourself and go to work" and the other counsel of the Brethren when they
say 'forsake all at home and go forth to serve'.
Two years go by so fast!! We must say at this point - THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND
TENDER SUPPORT OF YOUR/OUR MISSIONARY !!!
To help you understand better our options for communicating with your missionary while he/she
is in Russia. He/she has the opportunity to send and receive e-mail on Mondays (P-Days).
FAQ’s
1. How long does it take to get a letter or package from us (in Utah) to him? We've heard that
packages can take up to 3 months, and that letters might only get distributed on transfer days.
Packages 2-4 months. Letters/packages get distributed when mail goes with Mission President &
Wife, Assistants, our driver (Roman) making a Branch delivery, etc.
2. Should we send personal letters and packages to the mission home, or to his current address in
Tolyatti? ALL LETTERS AND PACKAGES MUST BE SENT TO MISSION OFFICE !! We
cannot guarantee they will get them otherwise - the 'pochta (post office)' in Russia is different !
At least if they get to the Mission Office, we can and will deliver them.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Elder/Sister __________________
Samara Mission
Vodnikov Street 95-1
oblast
443099
Russia
Phone # 8462-310-282
Samara
Russia
Samara
Phone # is not needed if sent through the mail.
Phone # is needed if sent through a private courier.
Letters are international and cost about $ .95
3. Should we address the packages in Cyrillic (so as to not catch the attention of curious postal
workers) and, if so, how do you get it through the US Postal Service with a Cyrillic address?
Packages come addressed in English.
4. How does the pouch system work? We have the ability to send through DearElder.com
electronic letters which get printed off and then put into a pouch that gets sent. How long does it
take for the pouch to get there, and (since it presumably goes to the mission home), how does it
(the letter or package) get from the pouch to our son? Please call the Missionary Department on
their instructions of the pouch. Mission President and Wife, Assistants, Zone Leaders, or Roman
deliver when we have assignments to their Branch, or Zone Conference or anything else. We
check with Office Couple and let them know who is going where and they gather up what mail
has come.
5. How much time does our Son have each week to use the computer for reading and sending e-
mail (on his P-Day)? One hour...with instructions to answer his Mission President first. .... so
about the same time as in the MTC, 30 min.
6. How do you recommend that our son should send us photographs he takes? Should he put the
memory card into an envelope (with hand-written letters to us), and how long would that take to
deliver? Perhaps he should just e-mail them to us. Email them. If the pixels are reduced, several
can be sent at one time.
I realize this is a big barrage of questions I'm sending you. if you don't have time to respond to
all of them, I certainly understand. However, this might be the kind of information that would be
valuable to all parents of missionaries in your mission, and which you could eventually include
in your Welcome e-mail. Thank you. As I answered your email before reading it all, my husband
and I chose to do just that!!...I will be making a copy and documenting this email. May I have
permission to use your questions if we choose?
Thank you for your service and for being so welcoming of our son. We feel very blessed
by not only his decision to serve and his hard work to be as prepared as he can be, but also
by knowing that he has a wonderful, efficient, effective, and loving mission president and
his "first councilor" (you!). You are most welcome!! We feel so blessed to have this humbling
responsibilty to work with these amazing young men and women and to constantly be led by His
Spirit daily. There are so many inspired things happening in our mission -- WE KNOW THAT
WE ARE PERFORMING THE LORD'S WORK. We stress OBEDIENCE to the mission rules
so that His Spirit will continue to direct us. Sometimes our young men and women do not know
the 'why' to be exactly obedient, but they go forward with faith and we are all blessed because of
this FAITH. MUCH FAITH IS NEEDED here in Russia.
What the Samara Mission is like today
We can tell you what the Russia Samara Mission is like today! Today our missionaries
number is 51 elders and sisters, of which 9 are sisters. We have four Senior Couples
(of which one goes home in Sept. and the other in October) now - one Office Couple
training our new Office Couple, one Leadership Couple (also native Russian), and one
CES/Leadership Couple. We are asking everyone... if they will come serve here with us.
Do you know of any couples who are retired and could come? Do you know of any
couples who are thinking about retirement and would like to serve the Lord?
Senior Couples are so valuable and they really help our young missionaries. Their
love, example, leadership, encouragement, support, friendliness, help, ...........and I
could go on and on and on!!........... cannot be measured! We have seen how they
have helped in so many ways- with missionaries, with the church growth, with their
loving examples..........and HOW THE RUSSIAN MEMBERS LOVE THEIR SENIOR
MISSIONARIES!! The Brethren have modified some policies which will help more Senior
Couples be able to serve missions, so we hope to see more peoples’ lives being blessed
by serving a Mission for the Lord.
We served in the Russia Vladivostok Mission in 2009 before we were called as Mission
President and Wife. We loved it!! Khabarovsk (our city we lived in) was supposed to be
very cold, but when you dress for it and walk all over, you just do not get too cold. In
Winter, our low in Samara could be -35 C. It is good our missionaries follow the white
Missionary Handbook and they are inside when it is early. We caution our missionaries
to watch for and protect from frostbite. Now to mention the blessing of this cold.... IT
IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL IN EACH ONE OF OUR CITIES WITH SNOW PILED HIGH
AND MANY DAYS OF SNOW KEEP COMING. IT REALLY IS A WINTER WONDERLAND OF
BEAUTY HERE. The Volga River (which many of our cities are on) is frozen and adds a
serenity of peace and calm. Spring and Fall are absolutely delightful. Russia also has
pollens and allergy season is very real here also. Summer can get hot so we are careful
and take safety precautions.
Samara has a population of 1.2 million people who mostly use transports -- bus,
trolleybus, tramvie and overnight trains between the cities. We have great Branches
and some even meet in our own building, but mostly, we rent buildings to hold church
in. Now the buildings are nothing like in the USA, but they do afford us a place of quiet
worship. The church is in an 'infant-like' stage and we are basically teaching leadership
items constantly and many times our missionaries are called on to be 'shadow
leadership' for the people so they can see and learn in 'action' what to do.
We have 21 Branches in our Mission. Samara Zone/District, (Bezimanski,
Novokuybishevsk and Avrora) Saratov Zone/District, (Engels, Volzhski, Solnechney,
Oktyabryski, Dachney, Zavodskoy, and Trafimoski) Tolyatti Zone/District,
(Komsolmolski, Old City and New City) and Mission District whick includes Branches:
Penza, Kazan, Marks, Orenburg, Balakovo, Ulyanovsk and Izshevsk. Our cities are
from ½ hours to 8 hours driving distance from Samara (depending on the weather for
travel).
This area of Russia was opened to missionary work in 1992 in the cities of Samara
and Saratov . During 1993, Ufa and Rostov were opened; and then over the next
three years, Volgograd, Tolyatti and Engels were added. Ufa and Rostov eventually
became parts of the Yekaterinburg and Rostov Missions, respectfully. In 1996, the
cities of Penza and Kazan were opened to missionary work. However, in January 1998,
misssionaries were withdrawn from Kazan. The next month Novokuybishevsk and
Marks received missionaries. The city of Orenburg was opened in September 1998, and
the city of Balakovo in February 1999. In the year 2000, missionaries were brought
back into the city of Kazan. In August of 2000, the city of Ulyanovsk was opened to
missionary work, and in the fall of 2003 Izhevsk was opened to the restored Gospel.
The church is in an 'infant-like' stage and we are basically teaching leadership items
constantly and many times our missionaries are called on to be 'shadow leadership'
for the people so they can see and learn in 'action' what to do. Great opportunities
to share the gospel and the ecclesiastical or leadership part of the church are in
abundance here. You will see and feel the love of the Russian Saints for you, the
Gospel, and our Savior. Our members total more than 3,600 in the Russia Samara
Mission. There are many who have been baptized and have gone inactive, so
our 'rescue efforts' are constant and loving. Missionaries in the Russian Missions are
so blessed with so many kinds of hard things to do, but so blessed because the Lord
knows His people and there are many here who He has prepared to hear His Restored
Gospel.
There are two constructed church buildings that we own in our mission: Solnechney
and Marks. Many branches meet in renovated rented buildings.
We are NOT the largest mission in Russia (Yekateringburg, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok
Missions are the largest geographically.) We do have two time zones (I believe it might
have been 3, years ago... but we only have one city that we have to adjust time to. We
are the same as Moscow and 1 hour different than Kiev, Ukraine.
In ending, we would like to share this most special information about the Russian
Missions. There are two Patriarchs who live in Utah..one in Bountiful and one in Orem.
They come to Russia every year and give Partiarchal Blessings. They have found that
EVERY TRIBE OF THE 12 TRIBES IS REPRESENTED HERE. Hence, the 'believing blood
of Israel' that Elder Bruce R. McConkie spoke of is here in many numbers. If you
will look at a world globe and notice how far north Russia is and many more of the
countries on this continent, your heart will swell with joy at the many children of our
Heavenly Father's who could be part of the 'lost 10 tribes'.
We are in the latter days and the missionaries are gleaning in many parts of the Lord's
vineyards. We are so blessed to be apart of this fantastic work! ............. Missionary
work is an important tool to find Heavenly Father's children.
We love these choice young men and women and will help them every day in whatever
we can do!! We are in the latter days and the missionaries are gleaning in many parts
of the Lord's vineyards. We are so blessed to be apart of this fantastic work! .............
Missionary work is an important tool to find Heavenly Father's children.
Thank you for your many prayers for your son/daughter serving now. We love these
choice young men and women and will help them every day in whatever we can do!!
Our love to you,
President Ralph J. and Sister Julie L. Sartori
Russia Samara Mission
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Last Letter from the MTC
Priviet Cemyee Y Druzya!
So, this past week has been... wow... I've loved it! It's crazy to be in your last week here!!! I have my flight plans and everything! Okay, here's the run down! So first, I leave Salt Lake City at 8:35 AM on monday morning! From there I fly to New York, JFK, arriving at 3:22 PM. Then I take off from New York at 5:00 PM and I arrive in Moscow at 10:55 AM! I don't know if that's their time or my time, anyway, in Moscow, I wait until 9:55 PM to Fly to Smarak Russia. I don't know where that is... but I'd imagine it's near Samara...? I'll be ariving at 11:35 PM. I'm sooooo Excited! We don't know if our visas are ready yet, we find out today if anything went wrong... so that'll be exciting! I signed my papers though, so I'm not to worried... but still, people get left behind all the time because of visas.
So I found out why Elder Holland was upset last week. Just previously, a sister missionary was killed in new york in a car accident. Her name is Sister Bentley. Please pray for her family and friends. Of course they are probably much happier knowing she died serving the Lord, but obviously it was still their daughter, sister, cousin, or friend. It is hard for them right now.
Erika, Thanks for telling me that! I appreciate it! Now I can send you your letters!
I see Elder Howard every once in a while, I snuck into his building the other night to talk with him! haha! I promise i wasn't breaking any rules... that I'm aware of. He's doing well and seems to be loving the MTC. Elder Braithwaite flew out Yesterday... That's going to be me in a week! yeah! It's exciting to be doing everything for the last time, like "This is the last time i'll be doing..." or "this is the devotional I'll see." Woot! Oh, shoot, I forgot to bring my Mission address with me... oh well, I'll send it home to you all! Make sure you put it on my blog so I might get letters sometimes...
"Hi there this is Elder Jones, dont worry be happy"
- Elder Jones
Oh, Tiffany is next to me right now, she wants to say hi!
HELLO SWARTZ FAMILY!!! HOW ARE YOU ALL!? I MISS YOU LOTS! BUT THE MTC IS THE GREATEST PLACE EVER! HOPE THAT ALL IS GOING WELL WITH ALL OF YOU! MAMA SWARTZ- TELL YOUR MOM I'M SORRY I DIDN'T GET TO SEE HER HERE. I HOPE THE TEMPLE WAS GREAT FOR MARY! I HOPE THAT HER PREPARATIONS ARE GOING WELL! WELL, I'M GOING TO DO MY LAUNDRY NOW. LOVE YOU ALL!! :)
I must be off, I love you all! I'm excited to see all of you again after I have served a wonderful mission!
Dosveedania!
- Elder Swartz!
So, this past week has been... wow... I've loved it! It's crazy to be in your last week here!!! I have my flight plans and everything! Okay, here's the run down! So first, I leave Salt Lake City at 8:35 AM on monday morning! From there I fly to New York, JFK, arriving at 3:22 PM. Then I take off from New York at 5:00 PM and I arrive in Moscow at 10:55 AM! I don't know if that's their time or my time, anyway, in Moscow, I wait until 9:55 PM to Fly to Smarak Russia. I don't know where that is... but I'd imagine it's near Samara...? I'll be ariving at 11:35 PM. I'm sooooo Excited! We don't know if our visas are ready yet, we find out today if anything went wrong... so that'll be exciting! I signed my papers though, so I'm not to worried... but still, people get left behind all the time because of visas.
So I found out why Elder Holland was upset last week. Just previously, a sister missionary was killed in new york in a car accident. Her name is Sister Bentley. Please pray for her family and friends. Of course they are probably much happier knowing she died serving the Lord, but obviously it was still their daughter, sister, cousin, or friend. It is hard for them right now.
Erika, Thanks for telling me that! I appreciate it! Now I can send you your letters!
I see Elder Howard every once in a while, I snuck into his building the other night to talk with him! haha! I promise i wasn't breaking any rules... that I'm aware of. He's doing well and seems to be loving the MTC. Elder Braithwaite flew out Yesterday... That's going to be me in a week! yeah! It's exciting to be doing everything for the last time, like "This is the last time i'll be doing..." or "this is the devotional I'll see." Woot! Oh, shoot, I forgot to bring my Mission address with me... oh well, I'll send it home to you all! Make sure you put it on my blog so I might get letters sometimes...
"Hi there this is Elder Jones, dont worry be happy"
- Elder Jones
Oh, Tiffany is next to me right now, she wants to say hi!
HELLO SWARTZ FAMILY!!! HOW ARE YOU ALL!? I MISS YOU LOTS! BUT THE MTC IS THE GREATEST PLACE EVER! HOPE THAT ALL IS GOING WELL WITH ALL OF YOU! MAMA SWARTZ- TELL YOUR MOM I'M SORRY I DIDN'T GET TO SEE HER HERE. I HOPE THE TEMPLE WAS GREAT FOR MARY! I HOPE THAT HER PREPARATIONS ARE GOING WELL! WELL, I'M GOING TO DO MY LAUNDRY NOW. LOVE YOU ALL!! :)
I must be off, I love you all! I'm excited to see all of you again after I have served a wonderful mission!
Dosveedania!
- Elder Swartz!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Letter #8
Ni Hao!
So we got our Russian name tags this week! It's really exciting! Except the other day, all the people going to Samara got called down to the travel office to sign their visas except me. The lady said it was fine that I wasn't called down, but I couldn't help but feel she was just saying that. man, I hope I don't get delayed... That would be quite saddening. Oh well, I'm on the Lord's time, he'll have me where he wants me.
Elder Holland came to talk to us last night! Finally! After 10 whole weeks in the MTC, I got an apostle, and one of my personal favorites, if not my favorite!! and it was totally worth it! It was a very interesting talk by him, it had a different air to it than his other talks. I don't know exactly what happened before but it put him in a mood that I had never before seen him. His talk was amazing because of it though, of course. He spoke of many things, and answered questions that missionaries wrote down for him. I really enjoyed a story that he shared with us about Ralph Waldo Emerson, the man that President Mckay said was the smartest man in america. I don't remember the details exactly so forgive me, there was a calf in his backyard that he was trying to move into it's living quarters but the calf would not move. For those who have never moved a calf before, supposedly it is nearly impossible once it has it's feet planted. Anyways, after many unproductive attempts at trying to move it, he finally asked his house maid for some help. She was a local girl and just helped him out around the house with things. When he brought her outside, she stuck her finger into her mouth, removed it, stuck it into the calve's mouth and gently led where Ralph had wanted it. Well, Emerson was dumbstruck by this and couldn't even say anything to her. He immediately went into his house and wrote these profound words: "I like people who can do things." What supposedly the smartest man in America could not do himself after however many attempts, a simple house maid could do on her first try. Why is that? It is because she was who she was and he was not.
There are people in Russia who are much like that calf. They have their feet planted in the ground and no matter how many times previous missionaries have tried, they have not budged. But simply because of who I am, because of everything I have experienced and everything that I am made of, I will be able to move that person forward and bring them to Christ. Yes, it will only because of the spirit that I will be able to do so, but there is a reason that they don't do the rainbow lessons anymore. They want it personalized. They want MY Gospel that only I can teach. Not, Elder White's, not Elder Black's. Not even Elder Holland's. They need mine. That is why I'm going to Russia.
I've loved hearing from everybody and I'm so grateful for all your help and support! Oh, haha! One more thing, I just hosted Elder Howard into the MTC a few minutes ago. That was fun! I loved seeing him! His mom gave me a hug... haha! It was okay though! It wasn't a problem! He was pretty nervous. It was obviously hard for him to leave everyone and everything, but he told me that that's the reason he was here, because of everything he was leaving behind. Anyways, I have to get off now! I love you all!!
Love, Elder Swartz!
So we got our Russian name tags this week! It's really exciting! Except the other day, all the people going to Samara got called down to the travel office to sign their visas except me. The lady said it was fine that I wasn't called down, but I couldn't help but feel she was just saying that. man, I hope I don't get delayed... That would be quite saddening. Oh well, I'm on the Lord's time, he'll have me where he wants me.
Elder Holland came to talk to us last night! Finally! After 10 whole weeks in the MTC, I got an apostle, and one of my personal favorites, if not my favorite!! and it was totally worth it! It was a very interesting talk by him, it had a different air to it than his other talks. I don't know exactly what happened before but it put him in a mood that I had never before seen him. His talk was amazing because of it though, of course. He spoke of many things, and answered questions that missionaries wrote down for him. I really enjoyed a story that he shared with us about Ralph Waldo Emerson, the man that President Mckay said was the smartest man in america. I don't remember the details exactly so forgive me, there was a calf in his backyard that he was trying to move into it's living quarters but the calf would not move. For those who have never moved a calf before, supposedly it is nearly impossible once it has it's feet planted. Anyways, after many unproductive attempts at trying to move it, he finally asked his house maid for some help. She was a local girl and just helped him out around the house with things. When he brought her outside, she stuck her finger into her mouth, removed it, stuck it into the calve's mouth and gently led where Ralph had wanted it. Well, Emerson was dumbstruck by this and couldn't even say anything to her. He immediately went into his house and wrote these profound words: "I like people who can do things." What supposedly the smartest man in America could not do himself after however many attempts, a simple house maid could do on her first try. Why is that? It is because she was who she was and he was not.
There are people in Russia who are much like that calf. They have their feet planted in the ground and no matter how many times previous missionaries have tried, they have not budged. But simply because of who I am, because of everything I have experienced and everything that I am made of, I will be able to move that person forward and bring them to Christ. Yes, it will only because of the spirit that I will be able to do so, but there is a reason that they don't do the rainbow lessons anymore. They want it personalized. They want MY Gospel that only I can teach. Not, Elder White's, not Elder Black's. Not even Elder Holland's. They need mine. That is why I'm going to Russia.
I've loved hearing from everybody and I'm so grateful for all your help and support! Oh, haha! One more thing, I just hosted Elder Howard into the MTC a few minutes ago. That was fun! I loved seeing him! His mom gave me a hug... haha! It was okay though! It wasn't a problem! He was pretty nervous. It was obviously hard for him to leave everyone and everything, but he told me that that's the reason he was here, because of everything he was leaving behind. Anyways, I have to get off now! I love you all!!
Love, Elder Swartz!
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