Today was interesting. We had district meeting which was a lot of bashing against Pres. Jarvis and his new rule about not going above the ring line at all, even on P-Days. It'll be hard to live that rule. Then we came home and ate peanut butter sandwiches. Well we went and picked up some milk and peanut butter at Stockman's [which incidentally right on the ring line].
Then I slept for an hour and we went to a беседа [discussion] with Евгенния [Yevgenniya]. We got a Russian lesson and then we went over D&C 89 before leaving at 9:00[pm]. It was a great responsibility to teach and testify and make - mistakes. At one point I went off on some thing and I stopped at the end of a sentence and asked Ст. Schwartz "where was I going with that." Then I just testified to her about something. Well it's time to get a snack and hit the sack. bye.
[Post-journal chat - Peanut butter is pretty expensive compared to in America - that's why we had to go to Stockman's to buy it. Stockman's is a pretty big grocery store. Well when I say pretty big, I mean big for Russia. Most of their stores are Circle K size places. Stockman's was two or three Circle Ks put together. It stocked several American, or European items that you can't get anywhere else. They have milk from Finland & it comes in 3.5%, 1.5% & .5% in stead of 2%, 1% & Fat Free like here in the US. The 3.5% makes corn chowder sooooooo goooood. Very creamy.]
8/24/11
May 19, 1997 - Monday
Well we went over to a slightly inactive family. Actually she is the lady who cleans our clothes [Сестра Ягадкина - Sister Yagadkina (which translates to berry)]. Well I'm back from English Class. We gave a 1st D in English after English Class. It was to these two people, Александр и [Alexander ?] Some lady. Well we gave them Book of Mormons and I told them that I would write down some words in English & Russian, like faith love etc. It was really cool.
In the D she said I didn't know the Book of Mormon was true. It was cool because I remember a story about two missionaries tracting and they talked with a guy on the door, well he said the same thing. You can't tell me or know that Joseph Smith was a prophet - he slammed the door and they left. Well the greenie thought about it and said they didn't answer the guy. They went back and the greenie bore his testimony to that man which ended in a baptism. Well that story flashed through my mind and I testified to her. That I did know that the Book of Mormon was true - through the Holy Ghost. It felt really good. Well it's time for bed. Nighty night.
In the D she said I didn't know the Book of Mormon was true. It was cool because I remember a story about two missionaries tracting and they talked with a guy on the door, well he said the same thing. You can't tell me or know that Joseph Smith was a prophet - he slammed the door and they left. Well the greenie thought about it and said they didn't answer the guy. They went back and the greenie bore his testimony to that man which ended in a baptism. Well that story flashed through my mind and I testified to her. That I did know that the Book of Mormon was true - through the Holy Ghost. It felt really good. Well it's time for bed. Nighty night.
May 18th, 1997 - Sunday
Hey how's it going Diary Reading fans. We had a busy day today. Church was from 8:30am to 2:10pm. Well that's how long we were out of the house. After church we ate and I took a nap. I had a killer headache and I was just plain tired. That was an hour and a half.
Then we went to a беседа [besyeda - discussion] with this cool inactive family. The father Юри [Yuri], was really friendly. The wife - Таля [Talya] was pretty pessimistic about things. It sounded like she was mad at Брат Woolsey [one of my MTC teachers] for taking away Катя [Katya - Брат Woolsey's now wife] or just the fact that some of the females go to church to meet men from America. Right now it's time to go to bed & I'm listening to the "Humpty Dance" really loud. bye
Then we went to a беседа [besyeda - discussion] with this cool inactive family. The father Юри [Yuri], was really friendly. The wife - Таля [Talya] was pretty pessimistic about things. It sounded like she was mad at Брат Woolsey [one of my MTC teachers] for taking away Катя [Katya - Брат Woolsey's now wife] or just the fact that some of the females go to church to meet men from America. Right now it's time to go to bed & I'm listening to the "Humpty Dance" really loud. bye
May 17, 1997 - Saturday
Well today we went to the cd reenik. Oh what a lovely place - the birds are always singing - there is always the sun in the sky. I'm now at 63 cds - up 18 from 45. I got a couple that I don't know if I'll like, but what will make great presents to my family.
My companion is keeping busy with the Area Book. [Each companionship is responsible for a geographic area and works with the members and investigators in that area to further missionary work. If missionaries were suddenly replaced then the new missionaries wouldn't know who was in the area, at what stage they were in etc. unless we kept records - ie. the Area Book.]
[Elder Schwartz]'s a good guy. We played chess twice. The first time he got me. But the second time he tried the old "4 move checkmate" thing. Well the thing is if you move your horse out and you can kill their queen after a couple of moves. He's not afraid to trade pieces though. I can see he'll be better than me someday. When he gets good at chess he'll wipe me up.
My companion is keeping busy with the Area Book. [Each companionship is responsible for a geographic area and works with the members and investigators in that area to further missionary work. If missionaries were suddenly replaced then the new missionaries wouldn't know who was in the area, at what stage they were in etc. unless we kept records - ie. the Area Book.]
[Elder Schwartz]'s a good guy. We played chess twice. The first time he got me. But the second time he tried the old "4 move checkmate" thing. Well the thing is if you move your horse out and you can kill their queen after a couple of moves. He's not afraid to trade pieces though. I can see he'll be better than me someday. When he gets good at chess he'll wipe me up.
5/22/11
May 16, 1997 - Friday
Well it's my first day with Ст. Shwartz. My first morning [in a new apartment] and the water is off. It was so cold. You would not believe how cold it was. I did my head first and then face and shaved. Then I got back in and decided to wash the rest of me. It was cold, baby.
We had big biscuits and thick gravy for breakfast. I could only eat 1 1/2 because they were so big. I'm getting a radio and my cd player back from [Ст.] Woolverton. I bought his radio. It's cool. So huge. I love it. Well I guess I'd better study.
We had big biscuits and thick gravy for breakfast. I could only eat 1 1/2 because they were so big. I'm getting a radio and my cd player back from [Ст.] Woolverton. I bought his radio. It's cool. So huge. I love it. Well I guess I'd better study.
May 12, 1997 - Monday
Новый День у меня [New Day at me - I'm sure I was meaning "It's a new day for me"]
Well I talked to my mom and dad, Nick and Grandma yesterday night. Mother's Day had finally rolled around. It was weird again. I basically just talked with them. Not about anything in particular. Grandma Richardson was up because my cousin Kyle was up in Nampa and she hasn't seen him for a very long while. She told me to write him. I told her I just did. Everything is weird. I want to go home. Last night after talking to them Ст. Gammon and I did comp. planning and inventory. Oh it's still the 12th. It's Ст. King's birthday - Woohoo.
Well I talked to my mom and dad, Nick and Grandma yesterday night. Mother's Day had finally rolled around. It was weird again. I basically just talked with them. Not about anything in particular. Grandma Richardson was up because my cousin Kyle was up in Nampa and she hasn't seen him for a very long while. She told me to write him. I told her I just did. Everything is weird. I want to go home. Last night after talking to them Ст. Gammon and I did comp. planning and inventory. Oh it's still the 12th. It's Ст. King's birthday - Woohoo.
Well I found out that I will be in a different Приход [preehod - Branch] next Sunday. Даже Четверг [even Thursday]. I'll be companions with a Ст. Shwartz. I went on splits with him a couple of Fridays ago. He's a pretty cool guy and he's only been out a month more than me. It's great. I finally feel like I'll have a chance to grow. I really want to be a good missionary who works hard, is a great guy and has an awesome CD collection. Right now I don't know if you can do that, but I'll try for goodness sakes.
Well it's time to go to bed. I got a picture from Gilbert. He said "That's what nine months will do to you." He was dressed up like a pregnant girl. He's been out 9 months. Cool huh?
5/17/11
May 11, 1997 - Sunday
Малу и Пьер и Юри [Malout and Pierre and Yuri] got baptized.
 |
| Left to Right - Elder Gammon, Arman, Pierre, Malout, Marina (Pierre's wife), Me, Yuri, (?) |
5/8/11
May 6, 1997 - Tuesday
Well tonight was pretty weird. I'm on splits with Ст. King. We went to a D in his area and then we went to Planet Hollywood. [I wonder if dinner at Planet Hollywood was for my B-Day - May 8th - because the next post after this is May 11th?? So this birthday isn't even mentioned.] It was cool. There was so many good looking chicks. Well we came home and watched tv - nothing interesting.
well night
well night
May 5, 1997 - Monday
Well I f*ing suck. Always have, always will. Anyways we had a D with Евгенний and Марина today. It was alright, but not that good. I hate myself - not really, but I feel so empty right now. I will be comps with Ст. Gammon for another month. Someone up there hates me. I just feel so freaking empty. Nothing really bothers me except the fact I feel so f*ing empty.
At least I took out my $140 from home. Cool huh? I told Ст. Gammon that I would be going to the CD рынок and he said that was fine, but he would be going with and we would use up hours for our P-Day. I told him I didn't really like the idea. We will see what happens. I'm in a really rebellious mood and I don't f*ing care anymore. Ya see - so bite me ya X#&%S?!!
At least I took out my $140 from home. Cool huh? I told Ст. Gammon that I would be going to the CD рынок and he said that was fine, but he would be going with and we would use up hours for our P-Day. I told him I didn't really like the idea. We will see what happens. I'm in a really rebellious mood and I don't f*ing care anymore. Ya see - so bite me ya X#&%S?!!
5/4/11
May 4th, Sunday
Man neither Алла or Евгенний [Alla or Yevgenni] came to church today but the meeting was really good. It was fast and testimony meeting and Сестра Вера [Sister Vera] - "the glue in the bob corner" as Ст. Sefcik likes to say. Ст. Russel and Pres. Карнеев [Karneyev] bore their testimonies. It was really good. So did the "слава тебе" [glory to you] lady. Then I went off with the young men. They kept beating each other. I felt like whacking them also. Ст. King picked on Влад [Vlad] for a little bit. That wasn't very cool.
I have a really good idea for an activity from Ст. Gammon. If everything goes as planned, I will have the young men clean Васили Гарбунов's and Геннади Тен's [Vasili Garbunov's and Gennadi Ten's] cars for a service project. In secret, then we will go eat Dunkin' Donuts and hot chocolate. It should be fun.
[Post journal chat - You know, I don't remember if we actually did anything like this for a service project. I hope we did - it sounds like fun. Maybe later in my journal we'll hear about it. Check out the Location that I saved it on. When you go close enough, you can see the building we lived in and which end of the building. Pretty sweet.]
I have a really good idea for an activity from Ст. Gammon. If everything goes as planned, I will have the young men clean Васили Гарбунов's and Геннади Тен's [Vasili Garbunov's and Gennadi Ten's] cars for a service project. In secret, then we will go eat Dunkin' Donuts and hot chocolate. It should be fun.
[Post journal chat - You know, I don't remember if we actually did anything like this for a service project. I hope we did - it sounds like fun. Maybe later in my journal we'll hear about it. Check out the Location that I saved it on. When you go close enough, you can see the building we lived in and which end of the building. Pretty sweet.]
5/2/11
May 2, 1997 - Friday
Had a cool D with the Басовы (Basovwi). Today is so awesome day [what?]. First yesterday Пьер (Pierre) had his interview with President Jarvis and everything will go forward for the 11th of May. That is so awesome. It was [a] pretty busy day for us yesterday. We went signboarding in the park and I didn't like it as much. Then we dropped off a degree of specifications by Брат Локшин [Brother Lokshin]. When we got home I called Ири Магалевский [Yuri Magalevski - I'm not too sure about the last name] because we had a book he wanted called Наше Наследия, Our Heritage. Well he invited us over right then to give it to him. Well we went over and talked to him until 10:30pm - then went to bed.
Well today I was on splits with Ст. Shwartz. He's a pretty funny guy. We went signboarding and then we had a huge lunch. Tacos. It was 2 hours though. Then we went signboarding again down on the metro by Юго-запедная [Yugo-Zapednaya or South-West] and I talked to two really cool people. One walked around after we talked and read the BOM [Book of Mormon]. Okay, then we left there and went to Алла's [Alla's]. It was so rad. The Spirit was really strong and I thought I spoke really good. It was because the Spirit was there so strong. She opened with prayer and I could just immediately feel the Spirit. We read the D's but she was really patient and she kept trying to feed us soup or to warm up our чай - which might have been real. We committed her to baptism. So we scheduled her to be baptized on the 9th of June. Then we came home and I called Евгений [Yevgenii] for tomorrow. Well it's late so we'll go to bed.
Well today I was on splits with Ст. Shwartz. He's a pretty funny guy. We went signboarding and then we had a huge lunch. Tacos. It was 2 hours though. Then we went signboarding again down on the metro by Юго-запедная [Yugo-Zapednaya or South-West] and I talked to two really cool people. One walked around after we talked and read the BOM [Book of Mormon]. Okay, then we left there and went to Алла's [Alla's]. It was so rad. The Spirit was really strong and I thought I spoke really good. It was because the Spirit was there so strong. She opened with prayer and I could just immediately feel the Spirit. We read the D's but she was really patient and she kept trying to feed us soup or to warm up our чай - which might have been real. We committed her to baptism. So we scheduled her to be baptized on the 9th of June. Then we came home and I called Евгений [Yevgenii] for tomorrow. Well it's late so we'll go to bed.
5/1/11
April 28, 1997 - Monday
[Pre-Post Chat - Okay folks let's remember that feelings about people aren't static...they change, and are fluid. So a pre-apology to Dennis if you're reading this...sorry and I don't feel the same way now. Plus sometimes if I am talking bad about someone I may or may not hide/alter their names to protect the innocent...yadda, yadda, yadda!]
Oh do I...I don't. I definitely won't mind next changes. Unless I go with someone like like H****s or something, then I'm fine. In comp-inventory Ст. Gammon said something like "If we go in and teach Евгенний & Марина [Yevgenni & Marina] by just reading, we are going to bore them to death." Well I'm glad he's so f*ing perfect!! So instead of saying that I just told him maybe we should go over the Ds in the morning and see how you'd teach them.
He's been putting me on splits with Ст. King a lot. Who's a good friend from home, but he's not that hard a worker. When I'm with him I don't work hard either. We were on splits Saturday night and we flipped on the tube. It was my idea, I have to admit. Earlier that Saturday we were on [splits] earlier for the zone blitzing [where all the missionaries in a zone would all to the same area/or a couple of areas and do contacting to help that district]. We went to someones apartment and wasted time until about 11am (from 10am) and then went and walked around for 1 1/2 hrs contacting two people. So you can see why I would never want him for a comp. I thought I would, but I don't.
We have Zone Conference coming up. It should be dang good. We are eating afterward and then having a night of laughter [Вечер Смеха]. Each district is suppose to have a skit. I[t] should be dang good. I've been going over next weeks lesson in the priesthood manual last night. It takes a while for me to translate it. It's alright though. Bye.
Oh do I...I don't. I definitely won't mind next changes. Unless I go with someone like like H****s or something, then I'm fine. In comp-inventory Ст. Gammon said something like "If we go in and teach Евгенний & Марина [Yevgenni & Marina] by just reading, we are going to bore them to death." Well I'm glad he's so f*ing perfect!! So instead of saying that I just told him maybe we should go over the Ds in the morning and see how you'd teach them.
He's been putting me on splits with Ст. King a lot. Who's a good friend from home, but he's not that hard a worker. When I'm with him I don't work hard either. We were on splits Saturday night and we flipped on the tube. It was my idea, I have to admit. Earlier that Saturday we were on [splits] earlier for the zone blitzing [where all the missionaries in a zone would all to the same area/or a couple of areas and do contacting to help that district]. We went to someones apartment and wasted time until about 11am (from 10am) and then went and walked around for 1 1/2 hrs contacting two people. So you can see why I would never want him for a comp. I thought I would, but I don't.
We have Zone Conference coming up. It should be dang good. We are eating afterward and then having a night of laughter [Вечер Смеха]. Each district is suppose to have a skit. I[t] should be dang good. I've been going over next weeks lesson in the priesthood manual last night. It takes a while for me to translate it. It's alright though. Bye.
4/21/11
April 21, 1997 - Monday
Well Sunday has come and gone and I'm still here. I had a dream last night that I was getting off my mission and Ст. Woolverton was still stuck here for 10 days or something. Then I woke and felt "Crap I'm still here". Also Gilbert wasn't to be found when I got home. It was weird.
Yesterday we left at 8:30am, walked up to Евгений's [Yevgeniy's] house and together - the whole family, stroller & kids to Калужская [Kaluzhskaya], where we caught a trolley bus to Конково [Konkovo] and walked to the помашения [Pomasheniya - meeting house]. Well we walked in the door and the lady at the front desk started yelling at him not to bring in the stroller. Said something about not needing kids here in the building. So he left and went back home.
We talked with her for a while and just asked her why she didn't want the kids here - explained to her that our church believe[s] that families are the most important part of the plan. So we ran back to Евгений, but he went home anyway. He said he couldn't sit there in church and enjoy the meeting because he'd be thinking of that dumb (my word) lady. Ст. Gammon said he felt like crying. I felt like hitting her or something. Nothing real violent but I felt pretty mad.
We also had a meeting last night with Слава Балтовский [Slava Baltovski ]. He's a stud. He's the branch mission coordinator. We went over our investigators and then we had a letter, that Ст. Gammon wrote, for Слава to proofread. Then we took the letter and a cake to Евгений & Марина [Marina]. They seemed really delighted to see us and they - Евгений gave us this little book about...a против Книга Мормона [Anti Book of Mormon] actually. It has a lot of American books as it's bibliography, like "Have you witnessed to a Mormon lately?"
8:30pm - just went signboarding - it was so cool. I got three phone numbers and I didn't have any fear to talk to anybody. Then I just called Алла [Alla] and she talked my ear off. I also called Людмила [Ludmila] and she did the same. [Alla & Ludmilla must have been members in the ward].
Yesterday we left at 8:30am, walked up to Евгений's [Yevgeniy's] house and together - the whole family, stroller & kids to Калужская [Kaluzhskaya], where we caught a trolley bus to Конково [Konkovo] and walked to the помашения [Pomasheniya - meeting house]. Well we walked in the door and the lady at the front desk started yelling at him not to bring in the stroller. Said something about not needing kids here in the building. So he left and went back home.
We talked with her for a while and just asked her why she didn't want the kids here - explained to her that our church believe[s] that families are the most important part of the plan. So we ran back to Евгений, but he went home anyway. He said he couldn't sit there in church and enjoy the meeting because he'd be thinking of that dumb (my word) lady. Ст. Gammon said he felt like crying. I felt like hitting her or something. Nothing real violent but I felt pretty mad.
We also had a meeting last night with Слава Балтовский [Slava Baltovski ]. He's a stud. He's the branch mission coordinator. We went over our investigators and then we had a letter, that Ст. Gammon wrote, for Слава to proofread. Then we took the letter and a cake to Евгений & Марина [Marina]. They seemed really delighted to see us and they - Евгений gave us this little book about...a против Книга Мормона [Anti Book of Mormon] actually. It has a lot of American books as it's bibliography, like "Have you witnessed to a Mormon lately?"
8:30pm - just went signboarding - it was so cool. I got three phone numbers and I didn't have any fear to talk to anybody. Then I just called Алла [Alla] and she talked my ear off. I also called Людмила [Ludmila] and she did the same. [Alla & Ludmilla must have been members in the ward].
4/20/11
April 16, 1997 - Wednesday
Well I am tired today. It was P-Day and I felt like crap when I wrote home. But oh well. I probably dumped a little on my family, but I feel better. We ate this olive-green pepper pasta mix and I feel sick now.
April 10, 1997 - Thursday
I'm on splits today with Ст. Маслов [Maslov]. He's a cool guy. He's about 26, he's from Новособирск, Россия [Novosabirsk, Russia - ie Siberia] Josh Jones served there. I think he just went home. When Ст. Маслов left for his mission [Josh] was an AP there.
We went over to an investigator of theirs and read 2 Nephi 31 with him. Then we wentback to go over to Пьер. Well we got over to Тульская [Tulskaya] and we saw Сты. Woolverton & Waterston [?? I don't remember who his companion was & I couldn't read my handwriting so...?]. So we waited & talked to them. We ended going back to my apartment for my stuff & going to a D at 6pm until 9:30 we got home. [The whole experience] was good though because I didn't have a переводчик [translator]. I had to to understand & you know what. I did - mostly - Well night.
We went over to an investigator of theirs and read 2 Nephi 31 with him. Then we went
4/12/11
April 8, 1997 - Tuesday
One month from my birthday. Wow huh? A lot has happened this last month week. We went street contacting a lot. I had some more splits, with Elder Reagan and the APs. This week I'll have some also. I got KISSED at exactly 12pm, Noon on Thursday by some slightly drunk guy name Михаил [Meekhail - Michael]. We also met Евгений [Yevgenii], he's pretty cool. We were supposed to have a D with them, but it didn't turn out right yet. (does that make sense?) Anyways today we went over to a park near where Евгений lives and talked to his wife Марина [Marina] for a little bit. We gave them a Лиахона [Liahona] for them to read. It had the Proclamation to the world. What an awesome word...proclamation.
I just called Ст. Woolverton and he said there wasa lot of a[n] e-mail in the office for me, but we went to the office yesterday and not today so I'll have to get it somehow. Tonight I'm trying to get to bed by 10:30pm - so night dude!
Oh by the way - I got some pretty good mail. One from Vernae with a butt shot even. night
I just called Ст. Woolverton and he said there was
Oh by the way - I got some pretty good mail. One from Vernae with a butt shot even. night
3/29/11
March 29, 1997 - Saturday
Well ladies & gentlemen of the journal...Hi there. I'm back and ready to tell all for a measly few hundred bucks or your undivided attention from here...to the end of the page. Please, please, pretty please.
Today I was pretty hectic and I didn't even do anything again. I feel like I ran around with my head cut off. I went on splits with Ст. Blackwelder to service and then to a meeting with Ст. Gammon. It was with Pres. Карнеев. [Karneyev - He was the District President - which in a mission with no stakes is equal to a Stake President]
[Mini Russia Moscow Mission Lesson - Remember that district means two different things.
I was just thinking. Like a football team. We are all on the team & the Lord is up [in a] box on top of the stadium where he can see the whole picture. He talks to the couch who is the prophet, he also talks directly to the quarterback who is Pres. Jarvis and if we do what he says we will score many touchdowns. Amen!
Today I was pretty hectic and I didn't even do anything again. I feel like I ran around with my head cut off. I went on splits with Ст. Blackwelder to service and then to a meeting with Ст. Gammon. It was with Pres. Карнеев. [Karneyev - He was the District President - which in a mission with no stakes is equal to a Stake President]
[Mini Russia Moscow Mission Lesson - Remember that district means two different things.
- A group of missionaries & the area that those missionaries work in. In the Russia Moscow mission that was usually 6 - 10 missionaries. Each missionary district (at least in Moscow itself) corosponded to a branch. So right now Ст. Gammon & I were in the Yuzhnosokolnichesky district & serving in the Yuzhnosokolnichesky branch.
- All of Moscow (and maybe the whole mission) was one District. In Idaho there are so many Stakes that I cross 3 of them just on my 10 minute drive to work. But I could travel for an hour on the metro and still be in our Mission/District. Think of the Moscow Mission & Moscow District as different jurisdictions like FBI & State Police. They might cover the same areas, but report and are organized under different parts of the same institution.]
I was just thinking. Like a football team. We are all on the team & the Lord is up [in a] box on top of the stadium where he can see the whole picture. He talks to the couch who is the prophet, he also talks directly to the quarterback who is Pres. Jarvis and if we do what he says we will score many touchdowns. Amen!
3/28/11
March 28, 1997 - Friday
I had a full day yesterday. I went on two splits. First I went on a split with Ст. Sefcik, we went out to the обж. and were going to give Малу [Malout] the 3rd, but no one was going to let us in. Then one of the bosses let us in and we went up to Арман & Вержиния's [Arman & Virginia's] apartment but they weren't there. No one. I knew Вержиния wouldn't be there because she was at the office having an interview with Pres. Jarvis.
So I heard noise next door and I knocked (at Алисия's) [Alicia & Jarom's] and Steven answered and got Арман. He forgot we had a D with Малу and maybe even forgot to tell him. But he went and got Малу and we read Alma 32 with him because Арман had to babysit the kids in the other apartment and he couldn't be there to translate so it was basically worthless. Oh well.
Then we met at Park Culturiy and dropped Sefcik off and picked up Ст. Josh King. We went to English Class because no one else was going to be able to make it. After that we waited forever at Парк Културый [Park Culturiy] for Сты. Gammon & Morris. It was 9:30pm almost when they finally came. We got home, ate some cheese & ham sandwiches and went to bed. Ст. Gammon slept in today because he feels like crap. He caught my cold. Yesterday I just felt like crap. I felt like all day I didn't do anything at all of worth. I felt like I didn't be myself at English and I didn't help anybody etc. Oh well.
OK its now 9:30pm at night. We just had a D with a member who moved from Южнозамоскворецкий Приход [Yuzhnozamoskvaretzky Branch]. She is now, I would dare say a JW [Jehovah's Witness]. I think she planned to have a JW there with us but I guess the JW couldn't make it, which is alright with me. At one point I thought my companion was going to get mad at her. She was nice enough at first, but then she started spouting the same stuff the JWs spout - according to Ст. Gammon. I don't know because I haven't listened to them here [in Russia]. It just makes me glad I have a testimony and I know what is true. well night.
So I heard noise next door and I knocked (at Алисия's) [Alicia & Jarom's] and Steven answered and got Арман. He forgot we had a D with Малу and maybe even forgot to tell him. But he went and got Малу and we read Alma 32 with him because Арман had to babysit the kids in the other apartment and he couldn't be there to translate so it was basically worthless. Oh well.
Then we met at Park Culturiy and dropped Sefcik off and picked up Ст. Josh King. We went to English Class because no one else was going to be able to make it. After that we waited forever at Парк Културый [Park Culturiy] for Сты. Gammon & Morris. It was 9:30pm almost when they finally came. We got home, ate some cheese & ham sandwiches and went to bed. Ст. Gammon slept in today because he feels like crap. He caught my cold. Yesterday I just felt like crap. I felt like all day I didn't do anything at all of worth. I felt like I didn't be myself at English and I didn't help anybody etc. Oh well.
OK its now 9:30pm at night. We just had a D with a member who moved from Южнозамоскворецкий Приход [Yuzhnozamoskvaretzky Branch]. She is now, I would dare say a JW [Jehovah's Witness]. I think she planned to have a JW there with us but I guess the JW couldn't make it, which is alright with me. At one point I thought my companion was going to get mad at her. She was nice enough at first, but then she started spouting the same stuff the JWs spout - according to Ст. Gammon. I don't know because I haven't listened to them here [in Russia]. It just makes me glad I have a testimony and I know what is true. well night.
3/27/11
March 24, 1997 - Monday
I just said something funny. I was reading my Russian plaque from my sister & it says "They that trust in the Lord shall mount up on wings of eagles and run & not faint." Well I said [out loud to Ст. Gammon] "they that mount up on ings of weagles." Then Ст. Gammon said "I wanna wide the weagle!!" We [were] both busting out laughing and I almost peed my pants! Yesterday we spent most of the whole day working. That is the first Sunday I've done that. Right now I am writing a lesson for a discussion with Eric. I made my first phone calls today. I called my home teachee and my home teaching companion. They both told me to call them back. It was cool. Well cool when I finally got it done.
We had service today and we always have this old lady that is almost deaf. She is so funny, and cute. It's cool! I can't help but love all old people. We are going to have a butt load of work this next week. The exciting things are that Eric and Arealy are getting ready to get baptized, they have moved into an apartment with two separate beds so they can live the law of chastity. That is so awesome. Well night. My cold is almost over. It feels better today but isn't quite over.
We had service today and we always have this old lady that is almost deaf. She is so funny, and cute. It's cool! I can't help but love all old people. We are going to have a butt load of work this next week. The exciting things are that Eric and Arealy are getting ready to get baptized, they have moved into an apartment with two separate beds so they can live the law of chastity. That is so awesome. Well night. My cold is almost over. It feels better today but isn't quite over.
March 22, 1997 - Saturday
Today we went to Конкого and played Frisbee. It was pretty cool but очень холодно [very cold]. Then we came back and warmed up, ate some stuff and then we had a D at 6pm with Марина Азуппе [Marina Azupe]. We got home from that at 8:30pm and we had a little snack. We are going to go to bed early because we have to get up early for church and I don't want to be tired. Well, night.
Oh Yeah. Ст. Gammon is a dang funny guy. night
Oh Yeah. Ст. Gammon is a dang funny guy. night
3/26/11
March 21, 1997 - Friday
[Pre Journal Post - Transfers were the the 18th and Ст. Gammon is my new companion.]
Tonight was pretty good, we went tracking [tracting]. It wasn't so bad. First we met this pretty nice lady who said we were cute/nice to look at. Actually two different babushki said that. We also talked to 2 guys (Casha & Andrei). We gave them all a preglisheniya and a Joseph Smith pamphlet.
But the real excitement was the first door that opened for me. A dog scares me first of all, and then this guy yelled at us in English and stuff. He told us to go away and something about he knows us Mormons. Then we went on to a further door he came out again. He told us he would call the police. It was pretty exciting because his eyes were so wide. He said "your behavior is very strange." He was the one that was strange, let me tell you. Well time to get to bed.
Tonight was pretty good, we went tracking [tracting]. It wasn't so bad. First we met this pretty nice lady who said we were cute/nice to look at. Actually two different babushki said that. We also talked to 2 guys (Casha & Andrei). We gave them all a preglisheniya and a Joseph Smith pamphlet.
But the real excitement was the first door that opened for me. A dog scares me first of all, and then this guy yelled at us in English and stuff. He told us to go away and something about he knows us Mormons. Then we went on to a further door he came out again. He told us he would call the police. It was pretty exciting because his eyes were so wide. He said "your behavior is very strange." He was the one that was strange, let me tell you. Well time to get to bed.
3/25/11
March 17, 1997 - Monday
Ст. Larson just gave me the bird. (That is so my grandchildren will know about me...whatever).
Today we helped Larsen more to his new apartment on Prospekt Mira [Let's start with Mir - it's the name of the space station and it means both peace and the world. The a means of peace or of the world. Prospekt is street. So it's the street of peace, or the street of the world.] and then took some of Ст. Larson's parent's bags to the same apartment for storage until Friday. Then we had lunch on Ст. Larson and came home, Ст. Larsen is & was with us.
Then we went over to Алисия & Жаром's [Alicia & Jarom's]. All of the investigators were there except Virginia & Eric. It was pretty good, but we weren't expecting food so at first we were kind of disappointed, but it went pretty well.
Okay right here I'm going to rag on Ст. Larsen. Today is not my favorite day. Never mind. He's just not the kind of guy that has any tact. Okay that's as much as I'm going to rag on him.
I also received a letter from Sister Brown who lives in Greece. She is serving a mission there. She's pretty good looking and I wasn't sure if I would get a letter back from her or not. That is pretty dang cool, so I was pretty excited. We have Ст. Larsen & Howes, an elder who is going home in 3 days. We played poker and Ст. Howes won all. That sucks for me. But oh well. night
[Missionary Weekly Planner - up above I mentioned all the investigators from Alicia & Jarom's apartment building were over there except for a couple. So I looked up the weekly blue planner to see who all we had written down, on the backside. So for March 16 - Mar 22 we have...
These were all Africans from Zaire/Congo that lived in the dorm-like building. Except Pierre - he was married to Tatyana
Алисия и Жаром - Alicia & Jarom
Эрик - Eric
Арели - Areily
Пьер - Pierre
Малу - Malout
Virginia is one of the Africans but she had just been baptized, so we would have the new member discussions.
Вержения - Virginia
These were contacts that we would try to set up discussions with.
Алла - Alla
Валери - Valeri
These were less active members that we went and worked with.
Владим Басова - Vladim Basov
Давид Волов - David Volov
Юлия и Татьяна Волкова - Yulia & Tatyana Bolkova
I don't remember who this was, just on the list but not with anything written
Юри - Yuri
Today we helped Larsen more to his new apartment on Prospekt Mira [Let's start with Mir - it's the name of the space station and it means both peace and the world. The a means of peace or of the world. Prospekt is street. So it's the street of peace, or the street of the world.] and then took some of Ст. Larson's parent's bags to the same apartment for storage until Friday. Then we had lunch on Ст. Larson and came home, Ст. Larsen is & was with us.
Then we went over to Алисия & Жаром's [Alicia & Jarom's]. All of the investigators were there except Virginia & Eric. It was pretty good, but we weren't expecting food so at first we were kind of disappointed, but it went pretty well.
Okay right here I'm going to rag on Ст. Larsen. Today is not my favorite day. Never mind. He's just not the kind of guy that has any tact. Okay that's as much as I'm going to rag on him.
I also received a letter from Sister Brown who lives in Greece. She is serving a mission there. She's pretty good looking and I wasn't sure if I would get a letter back from her or not. That is pretty dang cool, so I was pretty excited. We have Ст. Larsen & Howes, an elder who is going home in 3 days. We played poker and Ст. Howes won all. That sucks for me. But oh well. night
[Missionary Weekly Planner - up above I mentioned all the investigators from Alicia & Jarom's apartment building were over there except for a couple. So I looked up the weekly blue planner to see who all we had written down, on the backside. So for March 16 - Mar 22 we have...
These were all Africans from Zaire/Congo that lived in the dorm-like building. Except Pierre - he was married to Tatyana
Алисия и Жаром - Alicia & Jarom
Эрик - Eric
Арели - Areily
Пьер - Pierre
Малу - Malout
Virginia is one of the Africans but she had just been baptized, so we would have the new member discussions.
Вержения - Virginia
These were contacts that we would try to set up discussions with.
Алла - Alla
Валери - Valeri
These were less active members that we went and worked with.
Владим Басова - Vladim Basov
Давид Волов - David Volov
Юлия и Татьяна Волкова - Yulia & Tatyana Bolkova
I don't remember who this was, just on the list but not with anything written
Юри - Yuri
3/23/11
March 16, 1997 - Sunday
Today was church and we had institute after church. night
[Post journal chat - Not much for today's post is there? Evidently nothing really important happened. So let's recap where I'm at on my mission. I've been in Russia 4 months and a couple of days (6 months on the mission). Ст. Woolverton is my 2nd companion in the field (4th overall). I'm serving in my 2nd apartment, and I'm still serving in my 1st branch.
Up until now I haven't been too active in the mission field - partly because of that my Russian hasn't progressed very far either. Well that will soon change - within a week or so are the next transfers and I'm going to get a new companion, Ст. Dennis Gammon from Vineyard, UT. It's pretty close to the Provo area (I think).
I don't like change either now or then, so I'm not really excited to start working hard. Well - we'll see how it goes.]
[Post journal chat - Not much for today's post is there? Evidently nothing really important happened. So let's recap where I'm at on my mission. I've been in Russia 4 months and a couple of days (6 months on the mission). Ст. Woolverton is my 2nd companion in the field (4th overall). I'm serving in my 2nd apartment, and I'm still serving in my 1st branch.
Up until now I haven't been too active in the mission field - partly because of that my Russian hasn't progressed very far either. Well that will soon change - within a week or so are the next transfers and I'm going to get a new companion, Ст. Dennis Gammon from Vineyard, UT. It's pretty close to the Provo area (I think).
I don't like change either now or then, so I'm not really excited to start working hard. Well - we'll see how it goes.]
3/22/11
March 15, 1997 - Saturday IDES of March
Well I made it through Friday night before I had my problem. I just couldn't sleep last night. It's weird - today I feel okay. It's like Satan leaves me alone because I gave in last night.
Today we went to Измайловский Парк [Izmailovsky Park] and I bought this studly looking egg for either Gib, Mike or Dad. It is a scene of the hunt. It's really cool looking. Then we came home and I made some fried rice which turned out to be pretty good. I'm pretty tired though. I'll try to get to sleep early, night.
Today we went to Измайловский Парк [Izmailovsky Park] and I bought this studly looking egg for either Gib, Mike or Dad. It is a scene of the hunt. It's really cool looking. Then we came home and I made some fried rice which turned out to be pretty good. I'm pretty tired though. I'll try to get to sleep early, night.
 |
| Hand Painted Egg from Izmailovsky Park - Moscow |
March 13, 1997 - Thursday
Tonight sucks for some reason. Today I almost had my problem, but I held off at the last minute. We went over and had a D with Малу [Malout], that was good. Eric cancelled on us and so we came home and ate, then left to mail some stuff at the почта [pochta - post office].
[mid journal chat - Eric is another of the Africans that we are teaching the discussions to. He spoke English, french and an african dialect...swahili maybe? Virginia, Eric or another friend would help us with Malout, because he didn't speak English, or Russian very well - only the african dialect and french.]
Then we headed an hour early to English Class so we could practice a song that we are going to sing in church Sunday. I hate singing. I F(^^&%ing suck. That's probably why I'm in a bad mood. That and it was in Russian - I'm self concious about Russian and singing and Ст. Woolverton was teasing me a little.
Then I went into English Class and talked to Sharieef for an hour. It's hard to talk to him because he is learning a lot and his life is pretty bleak right now. No job etc. Then Dennis said some comment that Elder Burghardt made about me being pathalogical. And my converter [between 110 volt/America - and 220 volt/Russia] is not working. I lent it to Ст. Larsen and now it doesn't work. Freak am I in need of some serious prayer. Okay, I just read an article in the Ensign - a balm to my troubled soul. night
[mid journal chat - Eric is another of the Africans that we are teaching the discussions to. He spoke English, french and an african dialect...swahili maybe? Virginia, Eric or another friend would help us with Malout, because he didn't speak English, or Russian very well - only the african dialect and french.]
Then we headed an hour early to English Class so we could practice a song that we are going to sing in church Sunday. I hate singing. I F(^^&%ing suck. That's probably why I'm in a bad mood. That and it was in Russian - I'm self concious about Russian and singing and Ст. Woolverton was teasing me a little.
Then I went into English Class and talked to Sharieef for an hour. It's hard to talk to him because he is learning a lot and his life is pretty bleak right now. No job etc. Then Dennis said some comment that Elder Burghardt made about me being pathalogical. And my converter [between 110 volt/America - and 220 volt/Russia] is not working. I lent it to Ст. Larsen and now it doesn't work. Freak am I in need of some serious prayer. Okay, I just read an article in the Ensign - a balm to my troubled soul. night
March 10, 1997 - Monday
Today we didn't do anything until about 3pm. Then we went and dropped off some mail, bout Zuko for Семеный Вечер [Family Home Evening], and then went to FHE. It was excellent. We had a lesson by Ст. Blackwelder and then we went and ate some stuff. We had a lot of белины and Zuko. We had about 42 there and compared to last time that is about 4 or 5 times as much. Last time it was the missionaries and 3 members. This time it was очен [much] better. Night
[post journal entry chat - I just love it that I'm a little confused about both English and Russian at this time in my mission. Not close to being fluent in either. I hi-lighted and bolded in blue the words that I misspelled in my journal. I assume that I meant "bought" some Zuko. I don't think I was talking "'bout" some Zuko. The other two words in Russian are a little bit more understandable. Блины are the Russian equivalent of crepes. Usually they are a little bit more greasy, but they are so goooooooooooo! Очень has the little ь - called a (soft sign). The miyaki znahk, believe it or not, softens the ending of the word. Both mistakes are probably pretty common. The one that bugs me the most is the "bout." The rewiring of my brain for Russian is causing some short circuits in my English.]
[post journal entry chat - I just love it that I'm a little confused about both English and Russian at this time in my mission. Not close to being fluent in either. I hi-lighted and bolded in blue the words that I misspelled in my journal. I assume that I meant "bought" some Zuko. I don't think I was talking "'bout" some Zuko. The other two words in Russian are a little bit more understandable. Блины are the Russian equivalent of crepes. Usually they are a little bit more greasy, but they are so goooooooooooo! Очень has the little ь - called a (soft sign). The miyaki znahk, believe it or not, softens the ending of the word. Both mistakes are probably pretty common. The one that bugs me the most is the "bout." The rewiring of my brain for Russian is causing some short circuits in my English.]
3/21/11
March 9, 1997 - Sunday
Today went pretty good. We had regular church service and then we came home for a nap and [to] eat some pizza. Then we left for a[n] all Moscow conference that was at a movie theatre we had rented. Well we got there and it turned out that someone else was using it. Another church group uses it every Sunday in the morning. Well a kindergarten class had some прaзник [holiday] and the church group's first time was taken. So they either decided to just steal our time, or the director goofed or decided to screw us or something. Anyways we couldn't meet there.
So everybody went up to Водный Стадион [Water Stadium - it's where we met for large group meetings - like the Mission Conference I had the first day in Russia]. Ст. Woolverton and I stayed for a little with Сты. Whiting, Sefcik & Russel. Ст. Woolverton and I went back home to get some tickets which were our proof that we had rented the "театр." We got back and Whiting, Russel & Sefcik were still there. So Сты. Russel & Sefcik went to a D and we all went and listened to it [meaning the other church's meeting].
[The other church's meeting] was a lot like the rest of the non-denominational [churches] that I had been to. Except for some weird stuff. They stood together and put their arms around each other and started swaying back and forth as they sang. That's not even half of it though. They blessed and passed the sacrament. A woman said the prayer [for] the bread (dried blini [like crepes]) and a guy blessed the win (real). Then about 12 girls & 2 guys passed it to the audience at the same time. A member lady came in and though it was our sacrament and so she took it. She saw us sitting there and thought it was ours. I feel bad for her, nothing is going to happen to her or anything, but I'm sure she feels bad.
Then we went over to Ст. Whiting's to wait for his companion. Ст. Whiting is a funny guy. I like him. He's a cool guy and really funny. He doesn't judge either. He knows what's right and wrong and is a pretty righteous missionary without being hypocritical. It's really cool. well night.
Oh yeah - I peed out the window tonight. It's pretty cool from the 9th floor. night
So everybody went up to Водный Стадион [Water Stadium - it's where we met for large group meetings - like the Mission Conference I had the first day in Russia]. Ст. Woolverton and I stayed for a little with Сты. Whiting, Sefcik & Russel. Ст. Woolverton and I went back home to get some tickets which were our proof that we had rented the "театр." We got back and Whiting, Russel & Sefcik were still there. So Сты. Russel & Sefcik went to a D and we all went and listened to it [meaning the other church's meeting].
[The other church's meeting] was a lot like the rest of the non-denominational [churches] that I had been to. Except for some weird stuff. They stood together and put their arms around each other and started swaying back and forth as they sang. That's not even half of it though. They blessed and passed the sacrament. A woman said the prayer [for] the bread (dried blini [like crepes]) and a guy blessed the win (real). Then about 12 girls & 2 guys passed it to the audience at the same time. A member lady came in and though it was our sacrament and so she took it. She saw us sitting there and thought it was ours. I feel bad for her, nothing is going to happen to her or anything, but I'm sure she feels bad.
Then we went over to Ст. Whiting's to wait for his companion. Ст. Whiting is a funny guy. I like him. He's a cool guy and really funny. He doesn't judge either. He knows what's right and wrong and is a pretty righteous missionary without being hypocritical. It's really cool. well night.
Oh yeah - I peed out the window tonight. It's pretty cool from the 9th floor. night
3/20/11
March 8, 1997 - Saturday
Well yesterday and today (Fri. and Saturday) we kind of took a vacation. We got back from service yesterday and I made granola and then we took a nap. I made corn chowder which I am eating right now and then it took me a while to get to sleep. Ст. Woolverton is pretty sick so it was also because of that. Today we got up at about 10am and ate and went to the CD reenik. I now have 45 [CDs]. 3 more and my case is filled up. I'll list them...[actually I won't because that's kind of boring]. About half of them were the "Very Best of" cool huh.
 |
| CD Reenik - photo taken at the end of my mission. |
I've had terrible gas for the last couple of days. I'm wondering if it is because of the granola. Man it is so good. It tastes so good in milk. I don't think that I get enough fruit in my diet. Well I'm going to close now. night.
March 7, 1997 - Friday
Yesterday we went over to the обж. [dorm/apt building] and had a D with Малу [Malout - french so the t is silent]. He understood a lot but he was there alone, so we talked using easy words and looked up a lot in an English-French dictionary that they had there. Right as it was time to leave is when Armahn & then Virginia showed up.
We left at 5:45 about and made it over to Konkova by 6:50pm [probably English class]. We stayed until about 8 and then went home. There was a new girl there, well a couple. Людмила [Ludmilla] has come a couple of times. She brought a friend named Ира [Ira - short for Irina]. Ира is who I talked to. She is pretty cute. 18 and dangerous. If you know what I mean. She wanted to hear about America and my town. She's from Georgia [the country to the south of Russia] and now lives in Rezyan because there is a war in Georgia. She doesn't like the air here in town.
Людмила always walks us to the bustop because she lives right next to it. Ира went with us on the bus and on the metro. We got off at ours, but she went up to Уневерситет [University Metro stop] to meet her mom.
We left at 5:45 about and made it over to Konkova by 6:50pm [probably English class]. We stayed until about 8 and then went home. There was a new girl there, well a couple. Людмила [Ludmilla] has come a couple of times. She brought a friend named Ира [Ira - short for Irina]. Ира is who I talked to. She is pretty cute. 18 and dangerous. If you know what I mean. She wanted to hear about America and my town. She's from Georgia [the country to the south of Russia] and now lives in Rezyan because there is a war in Georgia. She doesn't like the air here in town.
Людмила always walks us to the bustop because she lives right next to it. Ира went with us on the bus and on the metro. We got off at ours, but she went up to Уневерситет [University Metro stop] to meet her mom.
3/14/11
March 6, 1997 - Thursday
Today I got up at 7:20am and jogged in place for 16 minutes. It helped. Got me warmed up so I wasn't cold and expended some energy. Pres. was right. I even put my hands above my head like he said: the international sign for victory.
We are having lunch with our собран[ие] округа [District Meeting - sobraniye okrooga] today. An AP will be here today also. I wonder which one. Yesterday night we went over to Larsen & Larson's and had some cookies. I played Ст. Larsen in chess twice and lost twice. I am pissed at him. Not really because I lost. Well...not ALL because I lost, but because he is such a poor sport when he wins. He's just a dick. He thinks he is God's greatest gift to the earth and it gets boring. He is really generous though. He gave us some root beers etc. from Mick's and he is always nice. It just last night it built to a head. oh well.
We are having lunch with our собран[ие] округа [District Meeting - sobraniye okrooga] today. An AP will be here today also. I wonder which one. Yesterday night we went over to Larsen & Larson's and had some cookies. I played Ст. Larsen in chess twice and lost twice. I am pissed at him. Not really because I lost. Well...not ALL because I lost, but because he is such a poor sport when he wins. He's just a dick. He thinks he is God's greatest gift to the earth and it gets boring. He is really generous though. He gave us some root beers etc. from Mick's and he is always nice. It just last night it built to a head. oh well.
3/4/11
March 4, 1997 - Tuesday
It's actually 1:10am on the 5th, but it's still Tuesday night. Today was Ст. Paige's last full day in the country. He leaves tomorrow - the big freak. What a lucky punk. I hurt my leg again today. I jumped an ice patch and went down. I laid there for a while, but had to leave because of everyone else kept walking.
I nabbed a lot of tapes and a CD from Ст. Paige. Also today in the Announcements was the President [Jarvis] saying that we shouldn't listen to screw music. And also if we bought any CDs at about $3 - $4, then it is probably pirated and we shouldn't get it. I haven't decided what to do yet. He didn't say not to buy any etc. but he encouraged us not to.
[Mid Post Chat- Can you believe the rationalizing going on here?? You can definitely tell that I'm in with a pretty trunky crowd still.]
I got a letter from Ст. Kindred in Rostov and he said that he was very busy and had a huge area. I also received my deodorant and a letter & pen from Gib. It's a pretty cool pen - it says "Elder Walter Dale Herrick Russia Moscow Mission" engraved on it. I also received another letter from Gib and he told me he was beat up about 2 weeks ago. Then just recently sprained his ankle and had to say in bed for 2 days. He seems pretty fired up about everything and thinks he will be a senior [companion] pretty soon. He has the language down and everything. He asked me if I was fluent yet. Hah!!
Then I got a letter from mom that says everything I heard in a fax I got two weeks ago. Kind of silly. I also got my deodorant though. I bought some here but it is only deodorant and it wears off pretty fast. She sent me some deodorant/anti-perspirant - musk scented.
Well I have three more lines to go until I can sleep [until the end of the page in my journal], and I am going to write a run-on sentence, until I end, bye.
I nabbed a lot of tapes and a CD from Ст. Paige. Also today in the Announcements was the President [Jarvis] saying that we shouldn't listen to screw music. And also if we bought any CDs at about $3 - $4, then it is probably pirated and we shouldn't get it. I haven't decided what to do yet. He didn't say not to buy any etc. but he encouraged us not to.
[Mid Post Chat- Can you believe the rationalizing going on here?? You can definitely tell that I'm in with a pretty trunky crowd still.]
I got a letter from Ст. Kindred in Rostov and he said that he was very busy and had a huge area. I also received my deodorant and a letter & pen from Gib. It's a pretty cool pen - it says "Elder Walter Dale Herrick Russia Moscow Mission" engraved on it. I also received another letter from Gib and he told me he was beat up about 2 weeks ago. Then just recently sprained his ankle and had to say in bed for 2 days. He seems pretty fired up about everything and thinks he will be a senior [companion] pretty soon. He has the language down and everything. He asked me if I was fluent yet. Hah!!
Then I got a letter from mom that says everything I heard in a fax I got two weeks ago. Kind of silly. I also got my deodorant though. I bought some here but it is only deodorant and it wears off pretty fast. She sent me some deodorant/anti-perspirant - musk scented.
Well I have three more lines to go until I can sleep [until the end of the page in my journal], and I am going to write a run-on sentence, until I end, bye.
3/2/11
March 2, 1997 - Sunday
Well today is also weird - well not weird - just a little slow. We had church, came home and ate some more borscht [борщ] that Ст. Woolverton made. Its really good. We also had some melted cheese sandwiches. Then we planned for a half an hour or so and Ст. Larsen called. So we went up there and he [Larsen] cut our hair. On the sides mine is pretty short.
While I was there I was talking to Ст. Larson, notice the o, about surfing. I asked him if he knew any professional surfers. He said who and I asked him about Joel Fisher. He served a mission in Boise, Idaho and was in our ward for a while. I told him a couple of stories about him and he said he used to be in his ward and they surfed at the same places.
Now we are back at the house chilling. And I'm watching "the Rain Man." I'll have to go now to watch it.
[Post journal chat - Larsen & Larson had been companions the same amount of time that Woolverton & I had been. Larsen was from UT (I think) and he was companions with Woolverton when Ст. Barnes & I tracted them out on my first full day in Russia. Larson was from Cali and had been companions with Ст. Paige while I was with my trainer.
When Larsen was cutting my hair he would get to the cowlick at the back of my head and it wouldn't be to his liking so he would cut it shorter. Then he would have to cut the rest of the sides to be the same shortness. Then he would go back to the cowlick and cut it shorter again. He did this a couple of times and I wanted to stop him after the first time. That's why I mentioned in my journal that "On the sides mine is pretty short."
This was back before missionaries had to have a discernible part in their hair - so it was dang, dang, short!! The only other time that I had a really short hair cut was when I had about 2 1/2 months left in my mission, and I buzzed it. 3 weeks after that I had my interview with the President and he said I had a nice short haircut. I said thanks, and told him that I got it cut 3 weeks ago. Yeah...he didn't like it that much.
Now let's talk about borscht [борщ]. This was probably one of my earliest times eating it, most probably my first time helping make it. All through my mission I loved to make and eat it. In Russian борщ is just so much shorter than in English...here is why. бор is bor. A ш has the sh sound, but notice that борщ has a щ. Its a ш with a tail. The tail gives it a little shch in stead of the sh sound.]
While I was there I was talking to Ст. Larson, notice the o, about surfing. I asked him if he knew any professional surfers. He said who and I asked him about Joel Fisher. He served a mission in Boise, Idaho and was in our ward for a while. I told him a couple of stories about him and he said he used to be in his ward and they surfed at the same places.
Now we are back at the house chilling. And I'm watching "the Rain Man." I'll have to go now to watch it.
[Post journal chat - Larsen & Larson had been companions the same amount of time that Woolverton & I had been. Larsen was from UT (I think) and he was companions with Woolverton when Ст. Barnes & I tracted them out on my first full day in Russia. Larson was from Cali and had been companions with Ст. Paige while I was with my trainer.
When Larsen was cutting my hair he would get to the cowlick at the back of my head and it wouldn't be to his liking so he would cut it shorter. Then he would have to cut the rest of the sides to be the same shortness. Then he would go back to the cowlick and cut it shorter again. He did this a couple of times and I wanted to stop him after the first time. That's why I mentioned in my journal that "On the sides mine is pretty short."
This was back before missionaries had to have a discernible part in their hair - so it was dang, dang, short!! The only other time that I had a really short hair cut was when I had about 2 1/2 months left in my mission, and I buzzed it. 3 weeks after that I had my interview with the President and he said I had a nice short haircut. I said thanks, and told him that I got it cut 3 weeks ago. Yeah...he didn't like it that much.
Now let's talk about borscht [борщ]. This was probably one of my earliest times eating it, most probably my first time helping make it. All through my mission I loved to make and eat it. In Russian борщ is just so much shorter than in English...here is why. бор is bor. A ш has the sh sound, but notice that борщ has a щ. Its a ш with a tail. The tail gives it a little shch in stead of the sh sound.]
3/1/11
March 1, 1997 - Saturday
A new month has dawn[ed]. At interviews with [Pres] Jarvis it went good. He said that my last few letters sounded a little down about my problem. He said not to worry about it. That I was a great missionary and that I just needed to improve, not to be perfect. He also added a little bit of psychology into the interview. He said that if I got up every morning and exercise. I would have more energy overall and I would wake up and I would expend energy and be tireder [is that a word?] at night.
Then here's the psychological part. He said to put my hands above my head, maybe do some hand touches while jogging. Raising your hands above your head does something for you he said. Raising your hands is the international symbol of a winner.
I also took the #7 lesson test and passed it [I do not even remotely remember any tests. I assume that I had already taken the #1 - #6 tests, but no mention is made about them before this. I wonder what it was]
Friday we went over to Перь's [Pierre's]. He was pretty sick and we asked him if we could give him a blessing. So Ст. Woolverton sealed my anointing. He blessed him health but also help with his many problems. Then we left because the spirit told Ст. W. that he [Pierre] was too sick even to listen.
well later
Then here's the psychological part. He said to put my hands above my head, maybe do some hand touches while jogging. Raising your hands above your head does something for you he said. Raising your hands is the international symbol of a winner.
I also took the #7 lesson test and passed it [I do not even remotely remember any tests. I assume that I had already taken the #1 - #6 tests, but no mention is made about them before this. I wonder what it was]
Friday we went over to Перь's [Pierre's]. He was pretty sick and we asked him if we could give him a blessing. So Ст. Woolverton sealed my anointing. He blessed him health but also help with his many problems. Then we left because the spirit told Ст. W. that he [Pierre] was too sick even to listen.
well later
2/28/11
February 26, 1997 - Wednesday
Today was P-Day. I wrote 5 people: mom, Vernae, Mike, Kat[r]ina [evidently I forgot how to spell my sister's name] & Mary Repp. She is Ст. King's girlfriend at home. Then we went up to Охотный Ряд [Ahotni Riyad - I don't remember what it means] and tried to get money out of the bank and we mailed some letters.
Coming out of the metro we ran into a group of Elders who had just gone to see the Kremlin. Ст. Starley works in the office and is really good friends with Ст. Woolverton. He knows of the changes coming up in March. It seems that Ст. Woolverton will move up to Филиовский Приход [Filiovsky Branch]. I don't know who I'll be with next, but I don't have to move again.
Then we went to Спортивный Вечер [Sport's Night]. We played volleyball and then a little Амереканский Футбол [American Football]. It's like ultimate Frisbee except with a football. There was also a Sister there who served a mission in St. Petersburg. I asked her if she knows Annanich [a missionary who served in Boise from St. Pete's]. She said yes and she is going to get his address for me so I can write him. That is so cool. Plus I can get on the Internet at a business here in Russia. It costs about $3.60 for a half an hour. It sounds really expensive though. I don't know if I should do it.
Coming out of the metro we ran into a group of Elders who had just gone to see the Kremlin. Ст. Starley works in the office and is really good friends with Ст. Woolverton. He knows of the changes coming up in March. It seems that Ст. Woolverton will move up to Филиовский Приход [Filiovsky Branch]. I don't know who I'll be with next, but I don't have to move again.
Then we went to Спортивный Вечер [Sport's Night]. We played volleyball and then a little Амереканский Футбол [American Football]. It's like ultimate Frisbee except with a football. There was also a Sister there who served a mission in St. Petersburg. I asked her if she knows Annanich [a missionary who served in Boise from St. Pete's]. She said yes and she is going to get his address for me so I can write him. That is so cool. Plus I can get on the Internet at a business here in Russia. It costs about $3.60 for a half an hour. It sounds really expensive though. I don't know if I should do it.
February 22, 1997 - Saturday
I'm on splits for the night with Ст. Russell. He's an OK guy. He was baptized about 2 years ago and he is already on a mission. That's pretty cool. I went and watched "The Nutcracker" at the Kremlin Theatre. It was pretty cool. It only cost 7 dollars and back home it would have cost about $93 more. I kind of had a bad mood earlier today because I had to go on splits and I really didn't want to. Also I've felt not worthy. So I had to pray to lift my bad mood. It worked. But it took until now. Bye
2/25/11
February 21, 1997 - Friday
Wow next week is March. About a month more and I will be with a different comp. Maybe in a different branch. Who knows. We are having pork chops tonight. Mmhmm mmhhmm gooooooooooood!! [I really wrote that many m's h's & o's.] Ст. Woolverton makes really good pork chops. I make pretty dang good gravy I might add. And some pretty tasty mash potatoes. Well I'll write later. We have to go talk to the president of the Branch about some stuff. later dude.
[Post journal chat - I still remember the first time that I had pork chops on my mission. It was the first time that I saw someone making gravy. Dang it was goooooood. It was at a big lunch after church on one Sunday. I remember Ст. Johnson was the one that showed me how he was making the gravy with some rue.
At this time in my mission I've been mentioning picking up the mail and working with the Branch President. I think that Ст. Woolverton was the District leader. I would go to the office to pick up mail when I was with Ст. Barnes as well, but that was just because Ст. Barnes liked to travel. We used to go across town to do service. By "across town" I mean all the way across Moscow.
Metro stops were about 3 minutes apart. Between where our apartment was and service, it was 18 metro stops with two line changes. So it was easily over an hour of just travel time for us to get to the school where we did our service...which was just an hour long. Then it was an hour travel back. So we often would stop by the office to pick up stuff.]
[Post journal chat - I still remember the first time that I had pork chops on my mission. It was the first time that I saw someone making gravy. Dang it was goooooood. It was at a big lunch after church on one Sunday. I remember Ст. Johnson was the one that showed me how he was making the gravy with some rue.
At this time in my mission I've been mentioning picking up the mail and working with the Branch President. I think that Ст. Woolverton was the District leader. I would go to the office to pick up mail when I was with Ст. Barnes as well, but that was just because Ст. Barnes liked to travel. We used to go across town to do service. By "across town" I mean all the way across Moscow.
Metro stops were about 3 minutes apart. Between where our apartment was and service, it was 18 metro stops with two line changes. So it was easily over an hour of just travel time for us to get to the school where we did our service...which was just an hour long. Then it was an hour travel back. So we often would stop by the office to pick up stuff.]
February 19, 1997 - Wednesday
We have a pretty full day even if it was a P-Day. We went to a Polio factory [I really have know idea what I'm talking about here?? lol] and then went and got our mail at the office. I got 2 e-mails and 3 letters. Or maybe just one. The Family and then one from Doug Sterr. So that one or two was cool.
2/24/11
February 18, 1997 - Tuesday
Well today I got up at 6:30am by golly. It wasn't that hard actually. But if I don't get my companion to get up with me it's harder than heck. We studied in the missionary guide. It was kind of weird but pretty OK. Now we got to shave, shower & stuff some food down us before we slide off to the office.
Okay its after D[istrict] meeting. It was pretty cool. Ст. Woolverton had some good ideas on what we should work on. The pouch didn't come in but I got some e-mail from home. My parents just got an e-mail address. Cool huh?
My friend Allen Balzen is getting married on May 24th, '97. About 16 days after my birthday. I want to be home - but I'm not. Oh well. I hope that I get some letters from friends and stuff. I want to hear from Allen & Doug mostly. And of course Melissa & Michelle. But they don't seem too much like the constant writing type.
Okay its after D[istrict] meeting. It was pretty cool. Ст. Woolverton had some good ideas on what we should work on. The pouch didn't come in but I got some e-mail from home. My parents just got an e-mail address. Cool huh?
My friend Allen Balzen is getting married on May 24th, '97. About 16 days after my birthday. I want to be home - but I'm not. Oh well. I hope that I get some letters from friends and stuff. I want to hear from Allen & Doug mostly. And of course Melissa & Michelle. But they don't seem too much like the constant writing type.
2/23/11
February 17, 1997 - Monday
I'm with Ст. Carter tonight. We went on splits. It was cool. Kind of. We walked forever around town trying to find some contacts from Salt Lake City. Then we went over to talk to President ??? of the Central Bank. It's cool. We had a D with Virginia and I did pretty good. night.
February 16, 1997 - Sunday
Well I took about a week off from missionary work. We just didn't do any proselyting from a week ago last Tuesday through a week & a half. On last Thursday we did some work. Had a D and then on Saturday we went to Super Saturday for the younger kids. It was pretty cool. I gave a talk, not very good I'm afraid.
I freaking suck. So I'm going to start getting up closer to when I'm supposed to. Then I'll get tired easier and be able to get to sleep at night and I won't watch t.v. I'm going on splits tomorrow with the APs (Assistants to the President). Yeah, joy. So I'll definitely be getting up at 6:30am. Well I gotta go to bed. night
I freaking suck. So I'm going to start getting up closer to when I'm supposed to. Then I'll get tired easier and be able to get to sleep at night and I won't watch t.v. I'm going on splits tomorrow with the APs (Assistants to the President). Yeah, joy. So I'll definitely be getting up at 6:30am. Well I gotta go to bed. night
2/14/11
February 9, 1997 - Sunday
I was awoken by the phone this morning. It was Брат Vladimir wanting to know when & where we will meet this morning. I have no idea who he is.
February 8, 1997 - Saturday
Well ladies & gentlemen it is 3 days from departure for my trainer. We were with them today and yesterday. Just a little each day. Now I'm on a split with Ст. Hughes because I'm going to a play called "The Ideal Husband." It should be interesting. This last week since I wrote last we haven't done squat. P-Day we wrote letters and shopped a little. Bought a heater so the apartment has been nice & toasty. Thursday & Friday I don't remember what I did, but it wasn't proselyting.
Last night we went over to Barnes' & then to Larsen & Larson's. I lost in chess, to Paige & then to Woolverton. Tuesday night we watched "Money Train." It was pretty cool.
Today, Saturday, Reenik Day, I bought 22 cds. No Doubt, Spin Doctors, R.E.M., too [or two if you're not mixed up about English] really cool alternative discs, the Who, Bon Jovi, Joan Osborne, Cranberries, the list goes on & on. It's amazing. The new Hootie Album that I didn't even have back home. I bought Madonna's Immaculate Collection, I really don't remember the rest.
I saw this cd I really want called Smash Hits and I asked how much, but the guy that ran that part of the tent wasn't there so he didn't know how much. That sucks. That is my favorite. It has all these cool songs on there like "Turn the Beat Around." I also saw a greatest hits of her, Gloria Estefan. But I didn't buy it because it didn't have that on there. Well we are about to go to the play, so I'll talk to you later, bye.
Okay back from the play. It was pretty.....weird. It had some funny parts in it and stuff, but we couldn't follow it because we didn't understand everything. It was from Britian originally. You could tell with all of the cop uniforms and stuff. The stuff would be the British sexual humor like Benny Hill. We decided to leave at 10pm if the play didn't end because we still had to make some stew and eat. Well it got close and the finale came. You could tell that the play was about to end.
The stew took until 11:40pm and now I'm writing in my journal so it can cool down. The stew is dang good though it's like so chock full of everything. It's amazing. We, Hughes helped, made some pretty dang good stuff.
Last night we went over to Barnes' & then to Larsen & Larson's. I lost in chess, to Paige & then to Woolverton. Tuesday night we watched "Money Train." It was pretty cool.
Today, Saturday, Reenik Day, I bought 22 cds. No Doubt, Spin Doctors, R.E.M., too [or two if you're not mixed up about English] really cool alternative discs, the Who, Bon Jovi, Joan Osborne, Cranberries, the list goes on & on. It's amazing. The new Hootie Album that I didn't even have back home. I bought Madonna's Immaculate Collection, I really don't remember the rest.
I saw this cd I really want called Smash Hits and I asked how much, but the guy that ran that part of the tent wasn't there so he didn't know how much. That sucks. That is my favorite. It has all these cool songs on there like "Turn the Beat Around." I also saw a greatest hits of her, Gloria Estefan. But I didn't buy it because it didn't have that on there. Well we are about to go to the play, so I'll talk to you later, bye.
Okay back from the play. It was pretty.....weird. It had some funny parts in it and stuff, but we couldn't follow it because we didn't understand everything. It was from Britian originally. You could tell with all of the cop uniforms and stuff. The stuff would be the British sexual humor like Benny Hill. We decided to leave at 10pm if the play didn't end because we still had to make some stew and eat. Well it got close and the finale came. You could tell that the play was about to end.
The stew took until 11:40pm and now I'm writing in my journal so it can cool down. The stew is dang good though it's like so chock full of everything. It's amazing. We, Hughes helped, made some pretty dang good stuff.
2/4/11
February 4, 1997 - Tuesday
Today we gave two Ds. The 3rd for new members and the 4th D for investigators. It went pretty good. In the D with Virginia [the new member] she seems so much happier. She understood everything about what were talking [seriously - I wonder how bad my grammar is going to get. I assume I meant "we were talking about"]. Also Argily's brother Christyon was there. Ст. Woolverton invited him to hear the discussions. He seems interested.
Then in our D with Алисия & Жаром [Aliciya - prounounce Aleeseeya, Jarom] we used a plastic model of the Plan of Salvation. It went well. I got up early and studied really good today. You know, like I should everyday. well night
Then in our D with Алисия & Жаром [Aliciya - prounounce Aleeseeya, Jarom] we used a plastic model of the Plan of Salvation. It went well. I got up early and studied really good today. You know, like I should everyday. well night
2/2/11
January 31, 1997 - Friday
Today went pretty good. We had a Zone Conference this morning [A district is several companionships, and a zone is several districts]. It was on how to have more effective discussions. At first we were taken aside (all those in there 1 - 3 months in the country), and we had a little meeting on our parts in the discussion and how to effectively study for discussions.
Then I went on a split with Hughes - we went to the office and I picked up money and then went to the post office to mail my letters. Then we came home to my apartment. We met Woolverton & Johnson who changed and we all ate spaghetti and then they left to go to a soccer game. We [Ст. Hughes & I] were supposed to study - well we both fell asleep and then picked up a pop, and a dan cake [? no idea what I was talking about] to watch some movie. I didn't catch what it is called though. Because Ст. Jurvelein called right as it was starting and I had to go answer the phone as the movie started.
Now Ст.Woolverton is back and we are watching a different movie called "Ironclads." Just before they got back Ст. Paige called. He's a cool guy. I like him and will miss him & Barnes & Johnson pretty soon. Barnes goes home on the 12th, and Paige goes home 3 weeks later and Johnson goes out to Nizhny at transfers on the 12th also. It's a pity. well night
Then I went on a split with Hughes - we went to the office and I picked up money and then went to the post office to mail my letters. Then we came home to my apartment. We met Woolverton & Johnson who changed and we all ate spaghetti and then they left to go to a soccer game. We [Ст. Hughes & I] were supposed to study - well we both fell asleep and then picked up a pop, and a dan cake [? no idea what I was talking about] to watch some movie. I didn't catch what it is called though. Because Ст. Jurvelein called right as it was starting and I had to go answer the phone as the movie started.
Now Ст.Woolverton is back and we are watching a different movie called "Ironclads." Just before they got back Ст. Paige called. He's a cool guy. I like him and will miss him & Barnes & Johnson pretty soon. Barnes goes home on the 12th, and Paige goes home 3 weeks later and Johnson goes out to Nizhny at transfers on the 12th also. It's a pity. well night
January 30, 1997 - Thursday
Ст. Parks called this morning wanting to know if Ст. Aldredge [the Ст. that went down to Voronezh when I first got in Moscow] had left a black "Grammar and Illustrations" book. I said that I'd look for one and if I found one I'd send it down. I don't think there is one around, but I'll look. I got up at 9:30am. That's when he called so I had to. He's in Nizhny [Novgorod] and he had me call him back because his phone really sucks there for some reason.
[Post journal chat - It was pretty weird to hear from Ст. Parks again. It was out of nowhere. I never did find that book in that apartment, but later in my mission I did get my hands on one, and I kept it.
Nizhny Novgorod (Нижный Новгород) means "Lower New City." One of the first big cities of the Rus was called Novgorod or new city, and this one is lower/further south than the original. At least it's not called New New City. Who knows where it would stop then?]
[Post journal chat - It was pretty weird to hear from Ст. Parks again. It was out of nowhere. I never did find that book in that apartment, but later in my mission I did get my hands on one, and I kept it.
Nizhny Novgorod (Нижный Новгород) means "Lower New City." One of the first big cities of the Rus was called Novgorod or new city, and this one is lower/further south than the original. At least it's not called New New City. Who knows where it would stop then?]
January 29, 1997 - Wednesday
We had a really good D on Tuesday with Alicia & Jarom. We went and read from the Book of Mormon. We read 3 Nephi 11. I'm sure they read it before, but it was good to read it over with them. They asked questions and we discussed a lot. Ст. Woolverton said they might be getting a little bored so we wanted to get them excited about the Book of Mormon. I read pretty good and I got to explain things and asked one question - I think? That is something that I need to work on. I need to ask questions more.
Jarom shows the exact same characteristics that Grandma Johnson showed. It's hard for him to read, slightly slurred speech, loss of motion skills on one half of his body. I imagine it's pretty hard for him. I don't think he works. That would be pretty scary. Later I was talking with Ст. Johnson & Ст. Woolverton about the mission splitting and then Ст. Burghardt told us at District Meeting that it is official.
I need to crack down and study. I could get a greenie soon and I want to be in charge of myself. I've been doing good with my problem, none since Sunday. It's been cool. Well night.
I think it was what Elder Johnson told me. It kind of scared and excited me. I need to be the best I can be. A darn hard working missionary.
Jarom shows the exact same characteristics that Grandma Johnson showed. It's hard for him to read, slightly slurred speech, loss of motion skills on one half of his body. I imagine it's pretty hard for him. I don't think he works. That would be pretty scary. Later I was talking with Ст. Johnson & Ст. Woolverton about the mission splitting and then Ст. Burghardt told us at District Meeting that it is official.
I need to crack down and study. I could get a greenie soon and I want to be in charge of myself. I've been doing good with my problem, none since Sunday. It's been cool. Well night.
I think it was what Elder Johnson told me. It kind of scared and excited me. I need to be the best I can be. A darn hard working missionary.
1/31/11
January 30, 2011
I was on Facebook yesterday and I had uploaded and was tagging the pic that I put in the Jan 25 '97 post. I was looking for my companion, Marcus Woolverton, on there. I couldn't find him under W, or M for either name. Then as I was scrolling down the list I noticed something that made me very sad..."in Loving Memory of Marcus Woolverton." I guess that I haven't looked up some of my companions lately. Marcus died last year on Jan 16th. It's been a year + 2 weeks since his death. I haven't found out what he died from, but I miss him. I had so much fun with him during our 2 months together. So here's some of our photos together. walt
p.s. - the look he's giving me in the first picture is the look I got during my first tracting experience when Woolverton pulled a gun on me and demanded my companion's watch!!
p.s. - the look he's giving me in the first picture is the look I got during my first tracting experience when Woolverton pulled a gun on me and demanded my companion's watch!!
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| Elder Woolverton & Virginia at her Baptism |
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| Mickey Ds & Playing Scum After Gatorball on a P-Day |
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| May 8th, 1997 (my B-Day) at Victory Park in Moscow |
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| Watching a Movie over Thanksgiving |
1/29/11
January 25, 1997 - Saturday
[Post-Journal Chat - Царицино (Tsaritsina) was 400 years old. It was situated in between two metro stations Царицино & Орехого (Aryekhova), being closer to Царицино. Царь (Tsar) and Царина (Tsarina) are the names for the Russian Emperors & Empresses. So that would be where the castle gets it's name.]
January 23, 1997 - Thursday
[Pre-Journal Chat - Small things added together build up to big things sometimes. Looking back on this journal entry, I can't believe the big things that were going on, but you can see the small things in the previous posts. But - I hope that you'll realize that I improved on my mission starting with my next companion.]
Today was P-Day. Ст. Woolverton went and played Gatorball. He left at 9:30am or so, and I went back to sleep until 1pm. Woke up and did the dishes, then wrote a lot of letters. [Ст. Woolverton] got home at 2pm and we didn't do any[thing] tonight. We watched a show called "Primal Fear." It was pretty good. Pretty suspenseful and good. I wrote a lot of letters today. It was pretty good. Well I'll talk to you later - night.
Today was P-Day. Ст. Woolverton went and played Gatorball. He left at 9:30am or so, and I went back to sleep until 1pm. Woke up and did the dishes, then wrote a lot of letters. [Ст. Woolverton] got home at 2pm and we didn't do any[thing] tonight. We watched a show called "Primal Fear." It was pretty good. Pretty suspenseful and good. I wrote a lot of letters today. It was pretty good. Well I'll talk to you later - night.
1/24/11
January 19, 1997 - Sunday
Right now I'm watching a pretty dumb movie. It's called "A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell." It's not even a B movie. It's like a C or even worse. It's an R movie - for Retarded.
Today we went over to a 20 year old girls house to get Ст. Woolverton's CDs back. Her name is Ira (Ира) and she lives with her mom & dad & grandma. Her grandma and her are the only members. Her grandmother's name is Ira Ida (Ира Ида). They are pretty cool. They are in the Taganski branch. She (Ира) speaks and understands English pretty good [I love it when I see myself speaking poorly - I find it hilarious]. They live outside of Moscow though. We had to get on a train and pay for tickets & then pay for the bus ride back, instead of using our единый [yedini].
They have Автобуси (Aftoboosi - regular buses)
Today we went over to a 20 year old girls house to get Ст. Woolverton's CDs back. Her name is Ira (Ира) and she lives with her mom & dad & grandma. Her grandma and her are the only members. Her grandmother's name is Ira Ida (Ира Ида). They are pretty cool. They are in the Taganski branch. She (Ира) speaks and understands English pretty good [I love it when I see myself speaking poorly - I find it hilarious]. They live outside of Moscow though. We had to get on a train and pay for tickets & then pay for the bus ride back, instead of using our единый [yedini].
[mid-journal chat - единый explanation - yedini means the one or all in one. Moscow's public transportation system is huge. With the единый you can ride all of the following except the Electrichki. It cost about 100,000 rubles(about $18 at the time).
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| Aftobus |
They have Автобуси (Aftoboosi - regular buses)
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| Tramvai |
Трамвай (Tramvai - like the trolley buses in San Fran),
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| Trolleibus |
Тролэйбусси (Trolaybussi - NOT like the trolley buses in San Fran - but like buses but they follow a route under electric wires),
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| Electrichki |
Электрички (Electrichki - usually on the outskirts of cities - Trains that run under electric wires),
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| Moscow Metro |
and the Метро (Metro or the subway - trains that run with the electricity coming from under the train.).
I loved traveling through Moscow. A lot of times we had to take the metro over and then a bus or tram or a taxi to the destination.]
Well it's about 9:12pm. It's after Virginia's baptism. It's a really awesome feeling to go to a baptism. Just being a part of it feels cool. I didn't really went that feeling to end. We spent a couple of hours there and now, we are home. I got in 8 hrs of proselyting today. I'm going to go to bed early tonight, because I am so tired tonight.
1/22/11
January 17, 1997 - Friday
Well I'm still having my problem. I had my interview with the president yesterday. It went pretty good. He knows I have a problem. He said not to let it terribly bother me. I can still have the spirit with me. I need to improve on it. One thing that will definately help, is to stop watching t.v. This is two nights in a row. That is down right wrong and I know it. I need to stop watching t.v. so I can study at night - since I sleep away my study in the morning, that would be a good idea don't you think?
I'm also totally out of money until the end of Jan or the first of Febuary rolls around. Oh yeah, on the 14th, Tuesday, I gave my first baptisimal commitment. It was totally sweet. Gotta run, bye.
I feel much better now. We went and visited some inactives. A sister Tatyana [Татьяна] and her daughter Yulia [Юлия]. They are really nice. Like Elder Woolverton was telling me it was nice to see her (Yulia) as a pretty little woman who was just cute. She's fifteen and a lot of girls start dressing really slutty around 15. She was pretty interested about church too. She asked at least twice if anything new was happening at church. Any new faces etc. Well it's time for bed. Good night.
I'm also totally out of money until the end of Jan or the first of Febuary rolls around. Oh yeah, on the 14th, Tuesday, I gave my first baptisimal commitment. It was totally sweet. Gotta run, bye.
I feel much better now. We went and visited some inactives. A sister Tatyana [Татьяна] and her daughter Yulia [Юлия]. They are really nice. Like Elder Woolverton was telling me it was nice to see her (Yulia) as a pretty little woman who was just cute. She's fifteen and a lot of girls start dressing really slutty around 15. She was pretty interested about church too. She asked at least twice if anything new was happening at church. Any new faces etc. Well it's time for bed. Good night.
1/13/11
January 13, 1997 - Monday
[Pre-Post Chat - So my greenieship ended Jan. 9, and I became partners with Ст. Woolverton]
Well this last week was pretty cool. We (Ст. Woolverton & I) went shopping, and I found out that I have a pretty cool companion. He's from California. Our apartment is pretty cold though. We've been spending the last couple of days trying to find a heater to buy. We've been eating pretty good lately too. Well time for nighty night.
Well this last week was pretty cool. We (Ст. Woolverton & I) went shopping, and I found out that I have a pretty cool companion. He's from California. Our apartment is pretty cold though. We've been spending the last couple of days trying to find a heater to buy. We've been eating pretty good lately too. Well time for nighty night.
1/9/11
January 6, 1996 - Monday
[WARNING - This post contains a rash to certain bodily parts...So Read at your Own Risk!!!
Whew doggy. I'm kind of tired. Well that's because we didn't get to sleep last night until this morning at around 7am. We got up around 2:30pm, took showers, ate and then went over to the Huish's. They are cool people. They are a couple and Elder Huish is Doctor Huish [the Mission Dr.]. My companion has been pretty sick lately and not feeling well. So we went over there to have him checked out. Ст. Ashton was comps with Ст. Moyle who flew home today so he's without a companion and has been hanging with us.
So we get over there and Sister Huish invited us to eat and she whipped up a pretty tasty dinner - just like that. [It was like 2 minutes...without a microwave & it had corn in it] It was a tuna casserole thing with some salad - real lettuce etc.
I talked to Elder Huish about this rash that I had in my crotch. It was after gatorball [see gatorball explanation below] and it sucked. My crotch just sweats a lot and it rubs the way way and if I wear "Long Johns" it develops into a rash. So he gave me this cream for it. We will see. well, night!
[Gatorball!!! - is forever my favorite sport to play. Gatorball is a cross between football and soccer - played with a soccer ball. If someone kicks the ball to you and you catch it, then you can continue to carry it and run with it. You can pass it to someone else as long as they catch it and are not two hand tagged. If someone does tag you, then you have to drop it and dribble with your feet like in soccer.
You can score 3 ways...1) Throw it in for 1 point, 2) Kick it in for 2 points, or 3) Head it in for 3 points. On our P-Days we played hard. We tried to keep from hurting anyone, but sometimes it happened.]
Whew doggy. I'm kind of tired. Well that's because we didn't get to sleep last night until this morning at around 7am. We got up around 2:30pm, took showers, ate and then went over to the Huish's. They are cool people. They are a couple and Elder Huish is Doctor Huish [the Mission Dr.]. My companion has been pretty sick lately and not feeling well. So we went over there to have him checked out. Ст. Ashton was comps with Ст. Moyle who flew home today so he's without a companion and has been hanging with us.
So we get over there and Sister Huish invited us to eat and she whipped up a pretty tasty dinner - just like that. [It was like 2 minutes...without a microwave & it had corn in it] It was a tuna casserole thing with some salad - real lettuce etc.
I talked to Elder Huish about this rash that I had in my crotch. It was after gatorball [see gatorball explanation below] and it sucked. My crotch just sweats a lot and it rubs the way way and if I wear "Long Johns" it develops into a rash. So he gave me this cream for it. We will see. well, night!
[Gatorball!!! - is forever my favorite sport to play. Gatorball is a cross between football and soccer - played with a soccer ball. If someone kicks the ball to you and you catch it, then you can continue to carry it and run with it. You can pass it to someone else as long as they catch it and are not two hand tagged. If someone does tag you, then you have to drop it and dribble with your feet like in soccer.
You can score 3 ways...1) Throw it in for 1 point, 2) Kick it in for 2 points, or 3) Head it in for 3 points. On our P-Days we played hard. We tried to keep from hurting anyone, but sometimes it happened.]
1/7/11
January 5, 1997 - Sunday
Today is a "working" day for the Russians because they got off for New Years Day. So Church isn't until 7pm. We are having a big dinner tonight because Ст. Moyle is flying out tomorrow. Ст. Barnes is going to the Petrovsky Branch today. We've been lazing around all day. It's about 4:15pm and we just played a tie breaker chess match today.
I suck, last night I kept running chess through my mind. I was dog tired, because I'm sick, but I couldn't get to sleep. I had my problem and finally got to sleep. I can't tell if Satan is putting these little things in the way of my sleep or if I am just making excuses so I can sin. Either way I'm a punk.
I just don't feel like doing anything. I don't even want to read, write or do arithmetic. I'm silly I tell ya. I wonder what Gilbert is up to? I have a feeling that he is working a lot harder than I am over there in the land of baptisms. I don't know if I will work any harder in my next companionship or not. It all comes down to the fact that I like to sin. I like to take it easy. I have been. I haven't been studying hardly at all this whole companionship. I'm incredibly stupid.
Today though, I made some flashcards or whatever you want to call them. So I'll study a little on the metros. I need to cut out playing chess, reading newspapers or a lot of books and sleeping in and of course my problem, and I'll do a lot better. Then I need to do things like study regularly, not give in to borderline wrong things and clean up a lot more.
[Post Journal Chat - Looking back on this post I can see that I'm being extremely hard on myself, was depressed and homesick. I'm not trying to blame Ст. Barnes, but it's hard when you come in all charged up and ready to go, and the first two months have these kind of stuff in it.
I remember the first morning when I woke up at 6:30am and wondered when my comp was going to get up. At 6:45, or maybe closer to 7am I went and woke him up. "Hey Ст. Barnes time to get up" and I turned the light on, and then went back into the living room. He might have turned it off, or just slept through it. He didn't get up until 8 or 9.
A couple of morning like that and you stop trying to wake your senior comp at 6:30am. Then you, yourself, stop getting up on time. It's easy to see how it all snowballs huh? - well bye]
I suck, last night I kept running chess through my mind. I was dog tired, because I'm sick, but I couldn't get to sleep. I had my problem and finally got to sleep. I can't tell if Satan is putting these little things in the way of my sleep or if I am just making excuses so I can sin. Either way I'm a punk.
I just don't feel like doing anything. I don't even want to read, write or do arithmetic. I'm silly I tell ya. I wonder what Gilbert is up to? I have a feeling that he is working a lot harder than I am over there in the land of baptisms. I don't know if I will work any harder in my next companionship or not. It all comes down to the fact that I like to sin. I like to take it easy. I have been. I haven't been studying hardly at all this whole companionship. I'm incredibly stupid.
Today though, I made some flashcards or whatever you want to call them. So I'll study a little on the metros. I need to cut out playing chess, reading newspapers or a lot of books and sleeping in and of course my problem, and I'll do a lot better. Then I need to do things like study regularly, not give in to borderline wrong things and clean up a lot more.
[Post Journal Chat - Looking back on this post I can see that I'm being extremely hard on myself, was depressed and homesick. I'm not trying to blame Ст. Barnes, but it's hard when you come in all charged up and ready to go, and the first two months have these kind of stuff in it.
I remember the first morning when I woke up at 6:30am and wondered when my comp was going to get up. At 6:45, or maybe closer to 7am I went and woke him up. "Hey Ст. Barnes time to get up" and I turned the light on, and then went back into the living room. He might have turned it off, or just slept through it. He didn't get up until 8 or 9.
A couple of morning like that and you stop trying to wake your senior comp at 6:30am. Then you, yourself, stop getting up on time. It's easy to see how it all snowballs huh? - well bye]
January 7, 2011 - Friday
So there are a couple of things I wanted to talk about.
First - I forgot to explain the Black Hole Year thing from a couple of posts ago. It means the year where you are entirely in the country. It has a sort of bad connotation. My trainer, Elder Barnes, was at the end of his mission, and a little frustrated with Russia. He was also sick of the smoggy, unhealthy air, and some of the peeps that he hung around with, were as well.
So one of the mission traditions was to count out your Black Hole year. I even had a little calendar that I got from a bank and it had '96 - '98 on there. I marked off each week as it went by and celebrated the end of the Black Hole Year when it was over. So for me, in '97 I would be in Russia the whole year. '96 I was only there for a month and a half, and in '98 I was only in Russia for the first 9 and half months.
Even though I was down about Russia sometimes I guess after a few months I wasn't all that negative. Recently one of my mission companions told me that he enjoyed being my companion because I really liked Russia, and wanted to be there and it showed. That made me feel good.
Second - I also forgot to relate a super funny event that happened in the MTC lunchroom one day. All the time, at least once a week someone would drop one of the glass cups. You would hear it across the big cafeteria...tink...tink...tink...pshshshsh as it bounced a couple of times and then shattered on the floor. We'd all look over at whoever had dropped the cup and laugh at him/her a little. It wasn't a really big deal (because it happened so often) but it had to be embarrassing for that person.
So we are eating one day and most of my district was already sitting at the table. And then we hear it...tink...tink...tink...and...nothing. We all look up and there is Elder Kindred and he is slightly bent over and...he has the cup in his hand! He has actually caught it after 3 whole bounces. He straightens up and holds both his hands up like he's just scored a touchdown. The cafeteria goes wild. Everyone clapped and laughed. It was something pretty small, but it was cool.
night
First - I forgot to explain the Black Hole Year thing from a couple of posts ago. It means the year where you are entirely in the country. It has a sort of bad connotation. My trainer, Elder Barnes, was at the end of his mission, and a little frustrated with Russia. He was also sick of the smoggy, unhealthy air, and some of the peeps that he hung around with, were as well.
So one of the mission traditions was to count out your Black Hole year. I even had a little calendar that I got from a bank and it had '96 - '98 on there. I marked off each week as it went by and celebrated the end of the Black Hole Year when it was over. So for me, in '97 I would be in Russia the whole year. '96 I was only there for a month and a half, and in '98 I was only in Russia for the first 9 and half months.
Even though I was down about Russia sometimes I guess after a few months I wasn't all that negative. Recently one of my mission companions told me that he enjoyed being my companion because I really liked Russia, and wanted to be there and it showed. That made me feel good.
Second - I also forgot to relate a super funny event that happened in the MTC lunchroom one day. All the time, at least once a week someone would drop one of the glass cups. You would hear it across the big cafeteria...tink...tink...tink...pshshshsh as it bounced a couple of times and then shattered on the floor. We'd all look over at whoever had dropped the cup and laugh at him/her a little. It wasn't a really big deal (because it happened so often) but it had to be embarrassing for that person.
So we are eating one day and most of my district was already sitting at the table. And then we hear it...tink...tink...tink...and...nothing. We all look up and there is Elder Kindred and he is slightly bent over and...he has the cup in his hand! He has actually caught it after 3 whole bounces. He straightens up and holds both his hands up like he's just scored a touchdown. The cafeteria goes wild. Everyone clapped and laughed. It was something pretty small, but it was cool.
night
1/6/11
January 4, 1997 - Saturday
Today we went and played football in the snow. Americansky [Американскый] football. It was a blast. This is the third time we've played a team (get together) sport and my team one [won] this time too. It was cool.
Then we came home and I'm starting to get his [Ст. Barnes'] cold. My nose is running like a phosphorescent tractor in a muldoon circus tent. Try them panties on for size. It's final. I am going with Ст. Woolverton this next week. It should be pretty cool.
Well I wrote my president's letter today and we only had 8 1/2 hours of proselyting. That pretty much sucked. Oh well. I hope I'm not really slowed down this week. Fingers crossed.
I wrote my president's letter in English. I'm so much better in English. I actually like to write so I'm going to keep writing in English until I can write in Russian as well and then I might begin to write to the President in Russian. Well night.
[Missionary Weekly Report - Like I talked about above - each week we write our Mission President and we list hours proselyting (actually being out and finding or teaching discussions), service, activation (work with members), hours missed for illness, days reading BOM, and study language etc. It's a way that we can see hard #s and not just have a feeling about what we did that week. We also add a little bit in a letter to the president. Here was mine for that week.
"Dear President,
Sorry for the bad hours this week, my companion was sick during the middle of the week and I think I just caught it from him. Hopefully it won't hit me as strong. We had a good Discussion with a less active member Friday night. I was very impressed - I almost understood everything they talked about. I've seen an improvement in comprehension and it excites me. New Years felt more like normal than Christmas did. It's all weird. thankx"
I had 8.5 hours proselyting, 4.5 hours of service, 3 hours in activation. Personal preparation. I read BOM 7 days, studied other scriptures 3 days, used the Missionary Gospel Study Program booklet - 0 days, studied the language 5 days.
So that's a typical missionary weekly report - mine at least, from 12/29/96 to 1/4/97. I was in the Южносокольнический Приход (Yuzhnosokolnichesky Branch - or southern circle branch) от метро Ясенова (off the metro station Yasenova).
Here is a very cool metro map of Moscow. Yasenova is on the orange line - its the second to last metro stop from the very bottom. That's where I lived for the first 2 months in Moscow. The walk from the metro station to our apartment was about 5 minutes, and there was a steep downhill part right before our apartment building. Until I bought boots I fell almost every single time I went down that sucker. I could almost slide most of the way, but my Doc Martens were too slippery. The boots did much better. ok, bye]
Then we came home and I'm starting to get his [Ст. Barnes'] cold. My nose is running like a phosphorescent tractor in a muldoon circus tent. Try them panties on for size. It's final. I am going with Ст. Woolverton this next week. It should be pretty cool.
Well I wrote my president's letter today and we only had 8 1/2 hours of proselyting. That pretty much sucked. Oh well. I hope I'm not really slowed down this week. Fingers crossed.
I wrote my president's letter in English. I'm so much better in English. I actually like to write so I'm going to keep writing in English until I can write in Russian as well and then I might begin to write to the President in Russian. Well night.
[Missionary Weekly Report - Like I talked about above - each week we write our Mission President and we list hours proselyting (actually being out and finding or teaching discussions), service, activation (work with members), hours missed for illness, days reading BOM, and study language etc. It's a way that we can see hard #s and not just have a feeling about what we did that week. We also add a little bit in a letter to the president. Here was mine for that week.
"Dear President,
Sorry for the bad hours this week, my companion was sick during the middle of the week and I think I just caught it from him. Hopefully it won't hit me as strong. We had a good Discussion with a less active member Friday night. I was very impressed - I almost understood everything they talked about. I've seen an improvement in comprehension and it excites me. New Years felt more like normal than Christmas did. It's all weird. thankx"
I had 8.5 hours proselyting, 4.5 hours of service, 3 hours in activation. Personal preparation. I read BOM 7 days, studied other scriptures 3 days, used the Missionary Gospel Study Program booklet - 0 days, studied the language 5 days.
So that's a typical missionary weekly report - mine at least, from 12/29/96 to 1/4/97. I was in the Южносокольнический Приход (Yuzhnosokolnichesky Branch - or southern circle branch) от метро Ясенова (off the metro station Yasenova).
Here is a very cool metro map of Moscow. Yasenova is on the orange line - its the second to last metro stop from the very bottom. That's where I lived for the first 2 months in Moscow. The walk from the metro station to our apartment was about 5 minutes, and there was a steep downhill part right before our apartment building. Until I bought boots I fell almost every single time I went down that sucker. I could almost slide most of the way, but my Doc Martens were too slippery. The boots did much better. ok, bye]
1/5/11
January 3, 1997 - Friday
Today I found out Woolverton will be my новый напарник [novwie naparnik - new companion].
Здорово да? [zdorovo yes? or great huh? Let me tell you that it was pretty dang weird to me. Remember that he was the one who pulled the gun on me during my first tracting experience. Now I was going to be his companion - and move over into the apartment where the prank had gone down.]
Anyways. We went picture taking with Elder Moyle who is leaving soon and then ate at McDonald's. Came home. Went to a D with this girl named Ana Molodova. I think? She's pretty cool. She skies, speaks English really good [well. Better than I do huh?] She's been a member for more than 5 years. Almost from the beginning. Well it's time to hit the hay. night.
Здорово да? [zdorovo yes? or great huh? Let me tell you that it was pretty dang weird to me. Remember that he was the one who pulled the gun on me during my first tracting experience. Now I was going to be his companion - and move over into the apartment where the prank had gone down.]
Anyways. We went picture taking with Elder Moyle who is leaving soon and then ate at McDonald's. Came home. Went to a D with this girl named Ana Molodova. I think? She's pretty cool. She skies, speaks English really good [well. Better than I do huh?] She's been a member for more than 5 years. Almost from the beginning. Well it's time to hit the hay. night.
January 2, 1997 - Thursday
BLACK HOLE YEAR BEGINS
Welcome to the Black Hole Year Ст. Herrick. New Years was better than Christmas. We went over to Ст. Larsen & Woolverton's and watched movies till about 6[am], went home & slept in our own beds. Got up at 12, ate some granola and went to bed again until 3[pm].
Then I went on splits with Ст. Regan who was on splits with Johnson. [Johnson] & Barnes went to Покровский [Pokrovsky] Приход [Prehod - Branch] for something, to the Шмоков's [Shmokov's]. Regan and I went to Сты. King & Jurvelein's for movies - we watched 'Stargate.' While there Сты. Ault and Hughes came over and I went over to Hughes', who is Johnson's real comp, to spend the night. [And thus the circle is complete]
Today we are waiting for Barnes & Johnson to call so we can get back together. They aren't answering the phone. Сты. Moyle & Ashton called each once asking where they were. I told them 'Barnes' apartment' - they said they called but they weren't there. So I have no idea where my comp. is or where we will meet back up. So in the meantime I am writing letters. I resisted my problem. I don't want to at all anymore this year. That is my one New Years goal. Good night
Welcome to the Black Hole Year Ст. Herrick. New Years was better than Christmas. We went over to Ст. Larsen & Woolverton's and watched movies till about 6[am], went home & slept in our own beds. Got up at 12, ate some granola and went to bed again until 3[pm].
Then I went on splits with Ст. Regan who was on splits with Johnson. [Johnson] & Barnes went to Покровский [Pokrovsky] Приход [Prehod - Branch] for something, to the Шмоков's [Shmokov's]. Regan and I went to Сты. King & Jurvelein's for movies - we watched 'Stargate.' While there Сты. Ault and Hughes came over and I went over to Hughes', who is Johnson's real comp, to spend the night. [And thus the circle is complete]
Today we are waiting for Barnes & Johnson to call so we can get back together. They aren't answering the phone. Сты. Moyle & Ashton called each once asking where they were. I told them 'Barnes' apartment' - they said they called but they weren't there. So I have no idea where my comp. is or where we will meet back up. So in the meantime I am writing letters. I resisted my problem. I don't want to at all anymore this year. That is my one New Years goal. Good night
December 25, 1996 - Wednesday
CHRISTMAS DAY and it sucks being here. Really sucks. But oh well. Last night we went over to these people's house who are investigators. They are pretty cool and they fed us dang good. Then after we went over to Ст. Larsen and Woolverton's. It was just those two and me and my comp at the Сты. [the ы makes it plural - Elders] house but it was all the Сты. in our district. [I don't know what I meant there either?]
At Woolverton's & Larsen's I played each of them twice [in Chess] and beat them and today I played Larsen [and] beat him once & lost once. Oh yeah, I played Ст. Barnes yesterday too and beat him. I usually lose to him.
Then today we came over after we woke up and showered & stuff. We got there about 2:30[pm] or so because I woke up at 12:40. We had stayed last night until 2? and I got to bed pretty late. We got over there and they were watching Forrest Gump we finished that and watched t.v. until almost 8, when after I had called my parents.
I started making supper. It was more like burritos but it had El Paso taco mix and refried beans and tomatoes etc. It was dang good, with Dr. Pepper etc. We went home at about 11 or so.
At Woolverton's & Larsen's I played each of them twice [in Chess] and beat them and today I played Larsen [and] beat him once & lost once. Oh yeah, I played Ст. Barnes yesterday too and beat him. I usually lose to him.
Then today we came over after we woke up and showered & stuff. We got there about 2:30[pm] or so because I woke up at 12:40. We had stayed last night until 2? and I got to bed pretty late. We got over there and they were watching Forrest Gump we finished that and watched t.v. until almost 8, when after I had called my parents.
I started making supper. It was more like burritos but it had El Paso taco mix and refried beans and tomatoes etc. It was dang good, with Dr. Pepper etc. We went home at about 11 or so.
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