So everything is on track for Elena to get baptized! Pretty Exciting. Man I get so nervous about this last week because Satan really can throw like... anything at them. I know she is going to have so many random things that will happen this week that will tempt her... Oh boy! I really just have to trust her and the Lord adn hope that wehave done all we can to prepare her. She is way excited to be baptized though! We almost had to move her date back a week and when I suggested it, it seemed like she was ready to leap at me like some predator animal. She denied that option and we searched every possible option until we found one. So she's getting baptized this saturday! Please pray for her so that she'll be able overcome any challenges or concerns that may arise.
Mom, we deep cleaned our apartment this past p-day as well. It was horrifying. I'll end it at that. haha! Also, we had our first snow here too! But it was barely anything and it didn't even stick. The snow prolly won't stick here until a week or two. Then we'll fall into the yearly depression... haha! I'm nervous for it, but I know it won't be as bad. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be last year, so I'm sure it will be fine this year too. I'm just going to miss the sun for 7 months...
So this week, my companion and I were coming back from a long day and there was a hobo right next to our door. He was planning on sleeping in our stairwell to escape the cold. I asked him if he had a home, and he got defensive and said he did. He was probably worried we'd get mad and kick him out, like all the oher people do. When we asked him if he wanted anything to eat, he seemed confused. He said he'd take some tea, so we went inside and got him a cup of herbal fruit tea that we had. We sat and talked with him for a good half an hour. His name was Sasha. He was thirty years old and his father died a month before. He had lived with his father his entire life, and after his father died, he lost rights to the apartment and got kicked out. After living on the streets for a while, he had pneumonia and his kidneys had failed. He said he would die soon unless he could find out how to change his circumstances. He told us how grateful he was that we weren't mad at him for sleeping in our stairwell. He said most people get mad at him, and the nicest don't say anything. He said we were the first ones ever to offer anything. It was very interesting to speak with him. I sensed no mental handicap whatsoever, but it was obvious that the past month had been rough on him and started to slow his wit. What a terrible situation he was in, and there was nothing we could do to help him. All he had was a cup of tea, failing health, and a conversation with two foreigners he did not know. We gave him a bit more food and we tried to offer him a blanket, but he said he was fine and refused it. He said he was used to falling asleep sitting with his head in between his knees. I didn't sleep that night. He was coughing most of the night and I couldn't do anything to block it from my hearing. I used to think that these situations were so rare. That they were really just things that people talked about to tug on heart strings in movies or books. The fact that I'm surrounded in it everyday here. It's so... I can't describe it.
Well... that's probably it I guess. Russia is still Russia. I can't change that. But I can at least make a difference for the people who meet me hopefully.
"We can't save anyone, Jesus does that. All we are called to do is step into their lives and love them right where they are."
Love you all.
Elder Swartz.
No comments:
Post a Comment