What a strange thing it is to be sitting here thousands and thousands of miles away from you all. I look down at the keyboard I'm using, and the characters are all in Russia. I look outside the window near where I sit, and all the signs outside are in Russian. Everyone is speaking Russian. Everything is Russian. I'm not in Kansas anymore.
I hardly know where to begin. This last week has been a blur of color, faces, tears, and time. It was so strange to say goodbye to friends at the MTC. So strange to submit names for new Zone Leaders, then walk them around showing them how to take care of everybody. Strange to have one last interview with President Childs who I came to love so much. Or to have one last Fast Sunday at the MTC. Everything all comes and goes so much faster than I would have ever expected. Time goes by at such an incredible speed. So often I want to just reach out, somehow slow things down. But it can't be done. Time marches unstopably onward. It was strange to run around Monday morning last week, gathering together the last of our things, running out the door to catch the bus leaving for the airport. Strange to be in a twelve passenger van headed for Salt Lake, looking over my shoulder at the valley which I had known all my life. Stange to walk into an airport, and for the first time, be a missionary in a place where not everyone is a member. People constantly squinted for a better look at our name tags.
And it was incredible to sit next to a person on a plane, and talk about God, and Christ, and the purpose of life, for two and a half hours. Incredible to hear him offer his ideas and opinions, and be able to reply to him with not just opinions, but facts. Incredible to give out a pass along card to someone who was actually interested. Who actually wanted to find out more.
That was on my flight from Frankfurt to Yekaterinburg. The man's name was Steve Peterson. Quite a devout Christian. Knew the scriptures quite well. Had alot of questions. Personal studies paid off, and I feel like I was able to answer just about everything he asked. It was great to be able to clear up some false notions he had. And then bear a powerful testimony. Strong enough to make him sit back in his seat for a number of minutes, unsure of what to say.
We pulled into Yekaterinburg at 4:30 in the morning. Which is 4:30 in the afternoon your time. Isn't that funny? An exact twelve hour time change. And that also means that I just got hit with some of the worst jet lag possible. I'm still tired, and its been four days!
President Allcot met us with his Assistants, then brought us back to the mission home to sleep until a decent hour. Which after a warm shower and what not, meant about an hour of sleep. Then quickly began explination (I can already tell my spelling is just going to go down hill by the way. I can't figure out if I spelled that word right. Russian really plays with your head) of everything the Mission expected of us. And the rules and what not. I don't know President Allcot to well yet. But I bet he'll be incredible. I liked what I saw in the few hours I was with him. No introduction interview yet. But its zone conference this week, so I'll let you know. After the welcome meeting, we were introduced to our new companions, and were sent on our way.
Elder Kimball will be my trainer. He is a great Elder -- Seems to understand Missionary work quite well, really cares for the Russian people, is easy to get along with, etc. He is from Mesa Arizona, middle child in his family. And is tall. About six foot five. The Lord must be trying to humble me. This is my second companion in a row who is at least six inches taller than me. Maybe I'll grow. Someday.
Russia is absolutely crazy. I was expected everything to be really dingy, gray, dirty. And it is dingy. And it is dirty. But there is color everywhere. Its like they tried to make this place happier by just pouring buckets of bright primary colors over anything metal. Or whatever else will hold a coat of paint. I saw a soccer field the other day that was surrounded with tires, all painted in rainbow colors. It was really strange.
That and everything is totally overgrown. There is weeds and grass growing everywhere. Trees are all over the place. Its so green. And contrasted with the cold hard apartment buildings that are everywhere, it really is odd. Its like the government tried to make everything conform. The people. The land. Everything. And it all backfired.
Remnants of the Soviet Era are everywhere. Statues of men standing strong, proud, and tall, ready for a glorious future -- now the statues are cracked, there are weeds growing up around the base. And graffitti on the sides.
Everywhere is appartment buildings. Towering hundreds of feet into the air. And they seem to have no order to them. The nice and neat block system that we have at home is almost non existant in many places here. Trying to find our way in and out of our appartment is a nightmare. So many little turns and off paths here and there to take.
Our appartment is actually quite nice. Its got a washing machine, a stove, microwave, beds (well one matress, i'm on a sort of couch thing), and a great study room. The building is sort of dingy, and the stairwell is a bit grimy, but when you get through our doorway everything is nice and clean.
That's how it is with most people's appartments here. I wish I could understand more of what people are saying. Everyone told me that the language I learned in the MTC would sound like gibberish here. They were right. Totally right. It's complete gibberish. I can only catch a word or two here and there. But I'm learning. Quickly. I have to. Or I will walk around this country like a blind man for two years.
The water here smells like dirt. We are not aloud to drink it. And I don't think I would if I could. We have to buy all our water. No problem with that. And we drink tons of juice. No problem with that. Grocery shopping is wierd here. No huge stores. Just little markets and what not. Shopping in general is like that. Little kiosks and shops set up all over in markets called "reenuks". Apparently some of the biggest cities have Russian equivilants of Wal-Mart.
Sacrament meeting yesterday was quite an experience. There are two branches here in Perm. One is very strong, very active. About 60 something people always in attendance. And the other is a bit smaller, only about 30 people. And Elder Kimball and I are in the smaller branch. But we are going to work on that. We've got a lot of meetings already set up to get this area back up and running.
The members that we have are so strong. Its particularly incredible to meet a person who was just recently baptized. They are so full of fire and life. We had a meeting with one such person named Vira, which in Russian means faith. I really like her alot. She is such a great addition to the members here.
There are so many people here who need to hear the Gospel. I have had the chance to look at life with the lense of worthlessness. I've looked out at the world with the thoughts "all is vanity, vanity, vanity." I know the difference between the light of the gospel truth, and the despair of its absense. These people don't know what they are missing. Life is so much more rich, good, and full, when you know the truth.
We have gone contacting a number of times. Not tracting yet, but we walk around the streets, stop people, and talk to them. I've already placed some Books of Mormon. Incredible expierences honestly. There is always so much to do and so little time. I hate how much time we have to spend on busses. If I could actually understand people that would be fine. But right now I'm limited. I can speak fine for the most part. But when someone replies, I really have a hard time.
There is so much to talk about. I hardly know what to speak about. I apologize if this letter has jumped around a bit. I'm trying to somehow explain an entire country in only a short email. Can't be done. That's probably enough about Russia for now. I'll write more next week.
I am so happy to hear about the Spindler family. Tears filled my own eyes reading of their wonderful experience. And what a blessing for Eric. To see his dad walk into the room in addition to the rest of his family. Just thinking about it makes me well up again. Thank you so much for sharing all that with me.
The light of the gosepl is real. And truly it changes lives. What an incredible experience for you all to be able to see that. And what a blessing it will be for me to see it over these next two years.
As far as email goes. I have quite a bit more email time every week now. And i'm still only aloud to email family only. Sorry friends :( The mail here is pretty slow. It takes about a week or two for my letters home to arrive, but it can take two months for them to arrive here. And boxes can take anywhere from 1-6 months. Most of the time its only a month or two, but things do get stuck every once in a while. Sorry again. Not alot we can do about that.
I love you all so much. I love hearing from you. And I love your support. Next week maybe I'll be able to put together a more concise letter. Love you so much.
Elder Wilson
I hardly know where to begin. This last week has been a blur of color, faces, tears, and time. It was so strange to say goodbye to friends at the MTC. So strange to submit names for new Zone Leaders, then walk them around showing them how to take care of everybody. Strange to have one last interview with President Childs who I came to love so much. Or to have one last Fast Sunday at the MTC. Everything all comes and goes so much faster than I would have ever expected. Time goes by at such an incredible speed. So often I want to just reach out, somehow slow things down. But it can't be done. Time marches unstopably onward. It was strange to run around Monday morning last week, gathering together the last of our things, running out the door to catch the bus leaving for the airport. Strange to be in a twelve passenger van headed for Salt Lake, looking over my shoulder at the valley which I had known all my life. Stange to walk into an airport, and for the first time, be a missionary in a place where not everyone is a member. People constantly squinted for a better look at our name tags.
And it was incredible to sit next to a person on a plane, and talk about God, and Christ, and the purpose of life, for two and a half hours. Incredible to hear him offer his ideas and opinions, and be able to reply to him with not just opinions, but facts. Incredible to give out a pass along card to someone who was actually interested. Who actually wanted to find out more.
That was on my flight from Frankfurt to Yekaterinburg. The man's name was Steve Peterson. Quite a devout Christian. Knew the scriptures quite well. Had alot of questions. Personal studies paid off, and I feel like I was able to answer just about everything he asked. It was great to be able to clear up some false notions he had. And then bear a powerful testimony. Strong enough to make him sit back in his seat for a number of minutes, unsure of what to say.
We pulled into Yekaterinburg at 4:30 in the morning. Which is 4:30 in the afternoon your time. Isn't that funny? An exact twelve hour time change. And that also means that I just got hit with some of the worst jet lag possible. I'm still tired, and its been four days!
President Allcot met us with his Assistants, then brought us back to the mission home to sleep until a decent hour. Which after a warm shower and what not, meant about an hour of sleep. Then quickly began explination (I can already tell my spelling is just going to go down hill by the way. I can't figure out if I spelled that word right. Russian really plays with your head) of everything the Mission expected of us. And the rules and what not. I don't know President Allcot to well yet. But I bet he'll be incredible. I liked what I saw in the few hours I was with him. No introduction interview yet. But its zone conference this week, so I'll let you know. After the welcome meeting, we were introduced to our new companions, and were sent on our way.
Elder Kimball will be my trainer. He is a great Elder -- Seems to understand Missionary work quite well, really cares for the Russian people, is easy to get along with, etc. He is from Mesa Arizona, middle child in his family. And is tall. About six foot five. The Lord must be trying to humble me. This is my second companion in a row who is at least six inches taller than me. Maybe I'll grow. Someday.
Russia is absolutely crazy. I was expected everything to be really dingy, gray, dirty. And it is dingy. And it is dirty. But there is color everywhere. Its like they tried to make this place happier by just pouring buckets of bright primary colors over anything metal. Or whatever else will hold a coat of paint. I saw a soccer field the other day that was surrounded with tires, all painted in rainbow colors. It was really strange.
That and everything is totally overgrown. There is weeds and grass growing everywhere. Trees are all over the place. Its so green. And contrasted with the cold hard apartment buildings that are everywhere, it really is odd. Its like the government tried to make everything conform. The people. The land. Everything. And it all backfired.
Remnants of the Soviet Era are everywhere. Statues of men standing strong, proud, and tall, ready for a glorious future -- now the statues are cracked, there are weeds growing up around the base. And graffitti on the sides.
Everywhere is appartment buildings. Towering hundreds of feet into the air. And they seem to have no order to them. The nice and neat block system that we have at home is almost non existant in many places here. Trying to find our way in and out of our appartment is a nightmare. So many little turns and off paths here and there to take.
Our appartment is actually quite nice. Its got a washing machine, a stove, microwave, beds (well one matress, i'm on a sort of couch thing), and a great study room. The building is sort of dingy, and the stairwell is a bit grimy, but when you get through our doorway everything is nice and clean.
That's how it is with most people's appartments here. I wish I could understand more of what people are saying. Everyone told me that the language I learned in the MTC would sound like gibberish here. They were right. Totally right. It's complete gibberish. I can only catch a word or two here and there. But I'm learning. Quickly. I have to. Or I will walk around this country like a blind man for two years.
The water here smells like dirt. We are not aloud to drink it. And I don't think I would if I could. We have to buy all our water. No problem with that. And we drink tons of juice. No problem with that. Grocery shopping is wierd here. No huge stores. Just little markets and what not. Shopping in general is like that. Little kiosks and shops set up all over in markets called "reenuks". Apparently some of the biggest cities have Russian equivilants of Wal-Mart.
Sacrament meeting yesterday was quite an experience. There are two branches here in Perm. One is very strong, very active. About 60 something people always in attendance. And the other is a bit smaller, only about 30 people. And Elder Kimball and I are in the smaller branch. But we are going to work on that. We've got a lot of meetings already set up to get this area back up and running.
The members that we have are so strong. Its particularly incredible to meet a person who was just recently baptized. They are so full of fire and life. We had a meeting with one such person named Vira, which in Russian means faith. I really like her alot. She is such a great addition to the members here.
There are so many people here who need to hear the Gospel. I have had the chance to look at life with the lense of worthlessness. I've looked out at the world with the thoughts "all is vanity, vanity, vanity." I know the difference between the light of the gospel truth, and the despair of its absense. These people don't know what they are missing. Life is so much more rich, good, and full, when you know the truth.
We have gone contacting a number of times. Not tracting yet, but we walk around the streets, stop people, and talk to them. I've already placed some Books of Mormon. Incredible expierences honestly. There is always so much to do and so little time. I hate how much time we have to spend on busses. If I could actually understand people that would be fine. But right now I'm limited. I can speak fine for the most part. But when someone replies, I really have a hard time.
There is so much to talk about. I hardly know what to speak about. I apologize if this letter has jumped around a bit. I'm trying to somehow explain an entire country in only a short email. Can't be done. That's probably enough about Russia for now. I'll write more next week.
I am so happy to hear about the Spindler family. Tears filled my own eyes reading of their wonderful experience. And what a blessing for Eric. To see his dad walk into the room in addition to the rest of his family. Just thinking about it makes me well up again. Thank you so much for sharing all that with me.
The light of the gosepl is real. And truly it changes lives. What an incredible experience for you all to be able to see that. And what a blessing it will be for me to see it over these next two years.
As far as email goes. I have quite a bit more email time every week now. And i'm still only aloud to email family only. Sorry friends :( The mail here is pretty slow. It takes about a week or two for my letters home to arrive, but it can take two months for them to arrive here. And boxes can take anywhere from 1-6 months. Most of the time its only a month or two, but things do get stuck every once in a while. Sorry again. Not alot we can do about that.
I love you all so much. I love hearing from you. And I love your support. Next week maybe I'll be able to put together a more concise letter. Love you so much.
Elder Wilson
Dear Elder Wislon my friend! Wow such a big blog. well done! so you got to Perm actually, niot Ufa. Gosh Perm is the most gibberish city in our mission I would say. It is true. I dont like the land there and the people. I dont know why.i just dont. Living pretty much away form you now I could understand how you feel being at the other part of the world! You should pray for coming to Ufa!! Ufa is lovely and is a very nice place to live. Green and clean. mostly Ufa is like young people city or "family city " I would say. There are huge markets there like Walmart which are out of the city but you can take a bus riding right to it.
ReplyDeleteHow is your Russian? How is your branch work is going? can I give you a short call?
I would love to hear you and have a short conversation as I m not in Ufa now. But if you leave me your phone in perm I could call you.
take care brother. Gospel will spread our there too with your help and prayers to God.
Love you,
Rustam
Moscow