Letter #47 from Russia

Hey fam!

So this week has been really good. My companion is great. Really hard
working, but he's starting to catch the trunky bug... uh oh. haha!
Hopefully it doesn't get worse and I'll get transferred from him before it
gets too bad... haha! I love him though! I love my area. Ulianovsk is an
awesome city! I'm really enjoying the teaching pool that we have. We are
teaching a little baptist family who are wonderful, but I'm not sure if
they'll accept the Book of Mormon. Obviously I'm hoping they do, but they
have to read it first, and I think that will be tough. haha! We are
teaching a lady named Anya and she loves us and thinks we are angels, but
she has a hard time getting to church because of work. She has a pretty
terrible job at a meat stand, a dilapidated old shack... she works all day
to feed her kids, which she doesn't get along with anyway. She had a huge
business that did really well but it collapsed and her life fell apart. Her
husband died around that time as well... man. I feel like everyone who
lives here in Russia could be the main character for a Dostoevski novel.
However! We found a girl named Abigail and she is from Gahna (ghana?),
southern Africa! She is sooo cool and she holds a bible study group every
friday night in her dorm room. She's lived here for four years and she
feels like she is the only one around her who actually lives what they
believe. She always goes and knocks on peoples doors in her building
inviting them to the bible study group and always calling people to wake
them up for church because she knows it's important. She is probably the
the funniest person I've met in Russia. She reminds me of kevin sooo much
too! We taught her the first lesson and the spirit was way strong! It was
so refreshing because she just accepted everything and was even quoting
scriptures from the bible that supported about how God calls prophets and
how she has always felt like there should be prophets today. She said she
knew who we were right when she saw us because she has a "Mowmon" friend
back at home (she has an exotic African accent when she speaks Russian).
When we gave her the book of Mormon to read she was way exited that there
was more of the words of christ that she could read and was totally going
to pray if it was true. She also said she was going to invite her friends
to come and talk with us too. Man, she's too cool! She's super sarcastic
and always laughing and smiling. I wonder if this is what America is like...
This week, we were setting up sacrament, a little later than usual, and we
realized we had no bread because Ramil was sick and he was always the one
who brings it, and so we ran around the prehod... uh... church building...
branch! that's the word I was looking for! We ran around the branch looking
for bread or even really anything to use for the sacrament. Finally we
found some cookies covered with melted chocolate and sprinkles on them...
so we used those. My companion and I were really nervous about that because
we had an investigator at church who used to be a missionary for his other
church and we were worried that he would be offended that we used that kind
of a thing for the sacrament, but in the end there was no problem... haha!
Right now I'm in a city called Toliatti because my companion is going to
Lithuania to get his Visa renewed. So fun to always leave your area... not.

K, well. I got to go! I love you all!

Bye!!

Elder Skvortz!

PS: You still didn't send me Tiffany's address.

Letter #46 from Russia

Hello family!! So I really had a fun time this past week! We just had zone conference and exchanges so that was fun. Also, apparently a new girl in the mission is way good friends with Matt Porter. Her name is Heather Young and she's pretty much a boss missionary. So weird that He is pretty much home already! Soon it's all down hill and we'll be home before we know it! terrible!! I have so much I need to learn and achieve! Two years is not enough!! I got several letters from my old FHE sisters this past week, so I want to say thanks for those!! You guys are awesome! I don't really have any interesting news for this week or anything... I got a tazer pulled on me by this guy. He didn't touch me or anything, He said he uses it to drop cultists... I wanted to punch him in the throat, but I held back.... I don't like it when people threaten me with tazers. So pretty much... I'm done for today. I love you! Elder Skvortz!

Letter #45 from Russia

Hey, I don't have a ton of time, but I wanted to say that this week has been a good one. I feel like as soon as I moved areas, the Lord just blessed me a ton. Seriosuly, I've only been called a cultist once the enitre week. It's been really nice! I don't really understand what happened though, because I'm not doing anything different, but people here just want to meet with us. My companion says that this has happened to him his whole mission, even less than usual lately, so he was confused why I was so excited about it all. People will jst call us and say they want to meet, or I can just call someone and set up a meeting, and for one, they answer... which was rare in Penza. Second, they are down to meet AT A SPECIFIC TIME, which like... never happened in Penza. People were so capricious there. I'm super excited about this new area, it will be a good change. I loved Penza, it will always hold a place in my heart, but I was getting stale there and I'm really happy to be in a fresh situation. We had a lot of good meetings with really good people who sincerely want to know about the gospel, not because we're Americans either, they are just interested in changing their lives. How cool is that! My companion is a great elder with lots of success on his mission, really nice guy, but a lot of negative comments... so I'll have to talk to him about that... I'm in a city where we are the only missionaries, so we're completely alone. We have district meeting over the phone... yeah... all the other missionaries gather at a senior couples apartment and get fed awesome food while we sit at home and listen to them all have a blast... oh well, I'm fine with it... haha!

 

I really love you all! I have to go though!

 

Elder Skvortz!

Letter #44 from Russia

Hello everyone! 

So I'm getting transferred. Like right now. I'm in Samara and i'm at this super terrible internet place... thing. But whatevs. haha! So I'm pretty sad about leaving Penza again, but I feel good about where I'm going. I'm going to a place called Ulyanovsk. It's named after Vladimir Ulyanov, or for those of you who don't know his real name, Lenin. He grew up in this town. I'm going to go to his house too, missionaries always do. Supposedly this town is the prettiest in our mission, it's supposedly a bit better kept because of it's famousness... I'm excited about that. Elder Ross is my new companion. He's loud, and really energetic. I think I'll like him. I can't really concentrate right now... There are Russians yelling at each other behind me and freaking out calling each other idiots. Wow... This is fun. I'll miss this when I go home.

Stas is definitely NOT progressing right now. In fact, he's completely digressed. He was doing so well, but then his wife walked out on him and he went into a super depressive state. We called him the other day right as he was standing on top of a 9 story apartment building contemplating jumping. It was super sad to talk to him over the phone... and super scary because he was in a really sketchy situation.  His life really fell apart. We were able to help calm him down though thankfully and he didn't do anything. Man... if people just excepted and lived the gospel of Jesus Christ, there wouldn't have to be any of these terrible situations... I wonder what my mission would be like if I were travelling all over singing to people and signing autographs and still somehow getting baptisms even though I was gone all the time... Yeah... who needs that.

I felt personally that we really worked hard this week. We pushed ourselves and we worked with members a lot to help our investigators. This week seems like it's been a rollercoaster week. One with really high highs and low lows. I'm really frustrated though because it seems like everytime I find someone golden, they are crazy or the go crazy because satan is working so hard against them! I don't know how to protect them from the world because I can't make their choices for them! I feel like I always get so close to a baptism... and then everything falls. I really hope it isn't punishment of some sort. I really hope this is just how things are working out... but then I look at all of our leaders and they all are such successful missionaries! I need to sacrifice more to the Lord. I need to give him everything... I must be holding something back. And because of that, He's holding things back from me. I'll figure it out. If it takes me until the end of the mission, then so be it! If I come home from my missionary having become a disciple of Christ, then it is all worth it, right? 

Love you all! Got to go!

Elder Skvortz.

Letter #43 from Russia

Hello Family!

I love getting everyone's emails! I never fully appreciated communication with family... until I could't remember what they look like. Just kidding, obviously I remember... some of you.

So this week has been really nice in the fact that although it started off terrible because of the heat, it has gotten much better because of some rain. SO GRATEFUL!! I love rain now, even though it makes it harder for people to stop and talk to you, it feels so nice! The Russian habit of drinking hot tea when it's scorching hot outside is never going to be something I will adopt. They think it's good cuz it makes you sweat more , which cools you off... I think it's... ostrobogulous. 

So Laziz, one of the best members here in Penza is leaving back to Uzbekistan. I love the kid so much and he is so sad because he's really scared about loosing his faith. Pretty sure I'll be skyping with him a lot when I get home to help him keep strong. He's going to be learning Japanese so that he can move there after a few years in Uzbekistan. In fact, he wants to to live with him there, so I probably won't be coming back to America anytime soon. haha! Not really, but they got me a japanese dictionary so that I can learn Japanese through Russian when I get back home. The members here are so funny! And it's awesome because now I can ditch Russian and study Japanese! just kidding... I'll save it for when I get home. 

This week, we made cookies and gave them to our neighbors, well, we put them in front of their door. They didn't get touched for three days. We figured they were just at the dacha for the weekend, but then we came home from church and they had moved to cookies back in front of our door... Rejected. It was pretty awkard. haha! Also, fun fact! Russian windows are designed to open two ways. They they can swing open to the side for full wind coolage, or you can swing them down from the top a bit for partial wind breeze. I don't understand how it works, but I have no interest in finding out, I just thought I would tell you because there isn't really any other exciting news... it's frustrating. We would have had exciting news that Stas got baptized, but he didn't come to church again, and we can't let him get baptized if he doesn't have good church going habits. So sad! I'll probably get transferred before he get's baptized. We all feel like I am the one who'll get transferred because I've been here the longest. oh well. If he get's baptised, I'll know I helped him on that path! Which will be such a blessing! 

We don't really have any investigators that are doing to great right now in regards to preparing for baptism, other than stas. We are working hard, but it seems that the Lord is still trying us. We are definitely having more success than I had last cycle, but things still aren't really picking up. The fact that we had stas was a miracle, but since it looks like it's going to be a while before he can get baptised, the work suddenly seems so slow again. haha! I wish there was something I could do to shake things up so that we all got fired up again! It's just irritating because the government forbids like... everything here, so we can't do things that other missions can do for finding and stuff. Oh well, The Lord sent me here to work, not complain, so there's no point in getting irritated about something I can't change.  The mission is definitely the refiner's fire and theres no way you can come out of a mission like this and not be changed. Well, maybe someone has succeeded in doing it, but you've got to try pretty hard I would say. I'll definitely be different. 

Hey, I've got to go! I love you all! I'm so glad to be here, even though it seems like time is stopped at times, other times seems like it can't seem to slow down! I'm loving my mission!

Elder Skvortz!

Letter #42 from Russia

Hey Family!!

So this week has not been my favorite on the mission. It's fine, I'm still
happy and having fun with my companions, but Stas didn't show up to church,
and because of that he can't get baptized this cycle. So if I get
transferred, I won't get to be there for him. I'm really bummed about that.
He's one of my favorite people I've ever met and I'm frustrated at him for
being so unreliable! However, when I think about his life, I calm down.
He's going through a lot of changes and I can't expect him to come along
perfectly. That's actually the fun part about being a missionary. Each
investigator has their own specific challenges and concerns that can only
be resolved if YOU work hard and YOU work effectively.

Dad, thanks for your advice. I knew it all along, of course. But sometimes
you need someone to remind you of it. In my companionship we've really been
talking a lot about how we can be the most effective in our companionship.
As we kept digging to find the source of the problem, slash find the
solution, it went through a lot of things, ranging from poor circumstances,
personality traits, and desire. Honestly, we worked it down to simply
understanding the atonement. If you understand the atonement and it is real
to you in your heart, you won't be worried about if you are doing enough
because you will automatically be moving forward in the work in the best
way you can to help these people. The atonement is all about other people.
there was no thought in Christ's mind in regards to himself. He didn't try
to take the load off a bit because he felt tired. He didn't skip every
other hundredth person because he felt like "They probably won't accept
this anyway." He did it for every person, with out rest. That needs to be
our attitude as missionaries. We need to do everything we can in this work,
because if we don't then who will?  If you find yourself remembering
yourself too much, that's when you get lazy. You realize how tired you are.
You focus on how much you've already done and how you feel about what's all
happening. If you don't do that, then you'll keep going. It's a lot like a
headache. It's when you focus on it that it gets worse. Only when you
forget about it and move forward does it calm down a bit.

Sorry about the monologue... haha! So this week it has been about 42
Celcius. We are outside all day and my companions come home burned and I
come home whiter. I don't understand.  In our apartment it's been about 35
degrees on average. It's pretty satanic in our apartment. The Sartori's
were appalled at how hot it was. This is with our curtains drawn and a fan
on. We don't know what to do. Oh well, it's coolling down, so we'll live.
 I've got to go. I love you all I hope you are all doing well! Keep the
people of Russia in your prayers! Especially MY investigators because they
are the best! haha!

Love, Elder Skvortz!

Letter #41 from Russia

Hola!!

So... Pretty much... Thanks for all the recipes! I got on to email and had like, 17 new recipes for all these diferent kinds of pestos and tomato basil soups! I'm super excited to Try sister Pedersen's because it was always so good!! Please tell her hi for me, and Nikko! and the whole fam! I love them and I think about them all the time! They will always be a second family to me! 

So Tonight, I'm headed off to Samara... again... haha! As much as I love Samara, it's frustrating being pulled out of your area all the time, especially when it's so hard to get the ball rolling again each time. But whatevs, because right after that I'll be flying off to Kiev. We should be going to the temple, so that's always a blessing to be valued. 

Mary, Russia is extremely different. For example, we did our first real service project the other day, and it was picking up garbage. And we were only allowed to do that for two hours. The government is weird about sects or cults helping make the community into a better place, so it's hard to get permission to do stuff like that. Even then, our mission president doesn't allow more than 2 hours of service each week, or projects, so that would have never been allowed in my mission.  Knocking is typically ineffective in Russia... I can't really explain to you exactly why over email, so you'll have to ask about that when you get home. It involves a word that we don't have in English for some reason because it doesn't exist other than in Russia. There are rarely personal homes here, so honestly we are usually on the streets talking to people.  We rarely get contacts because any church other than Russian Orthodox is considered a sect or heretics. So most people have a hard time inviting people to meet with us because they don't want to loose their friends. I've never seen such prejudice when it comes to religion in my entire life. People who aren't from Russia all think it's pretty corrupt... but I won't go into that. We try to do activities, but the members haven't really been pulling their load on that, so we've decided that is our next project.  Here, I'll just tell you my average Key Indicators: 0,0,1,1-2,4,5,3,0,4,5,2 We usually drop someone if they aren't progressing spiritually after a few weeks, but we're always down to meet if they are ready to try again.

You should share with me how the work is there in Peru! 

This week I learned how to play the accordian at an investigators house. That was fun. Okay, not really, I just tried it for a second... and failed. I'll send you pictures.  So Sister Callister's parents came to Church last week and I gave them a coat that my hozaika (landlady) gave me. They should be bringing it by eventually... Hmmm... what else is new... We sang a sweet version of nearer my god to the in church... Seriously... it was awesome. The branch president stood and flipped out about how cool it was. I'm not trying to brag... but pretty much...nonetheless... it was classy. 

Last off Stas is super awesome!!! I love him! We had a sweet lesson with him and he always has these little proverbs slash moral tales that he tells to demonstrate points and they are always perfect for the gospel! He is super cool! He is a way better teacher than any missionary I've met! But he is so humble! If we tell him anything, he'll through out anything that contradicts it!  We're going over to his house tonight to teach him how to do family night. Pray that his baptism will go through in three weeks!

PS: Mother! It sounds like you're having a blast in Canada! I hope you are! Okay, so according to your explanations, I don't want earmuffs, I want ear warmers! The ones that are in a U shape. Not earmitts either, Russians think earmuffs look dumb enough. I'm just planning ahead. It gets terribly cold in the winter and I don't want to go through it again with out them. They do not come out in stores here during the winter. They don't exist here in Russia. The only place you can find them are in Moscow. I have no idea why, the Russian people are just wierd that way. They think the most important part is your neck. Your ears don't matter. It's totally the opposite for us Americans. So please send me the Ear warmers! Thanks for getting the teeth whitening stuff! My teeth have eroded here... Good thing my plans are to be a dentist. Thanks so much! I love you so much!