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!!


Elder Woolverton & Virginia at her Baptism





Mickey Ds & Playing Scum After Gatorball on a P-Day

 






May 8th, 1997 (my B-Day) at Victory Park in Moscow

 




Watching a Movie over Thanksgiving

 

January 25, 1997 - Saturday

Today was pretty cool.  We went and played "Capture the Flag" in this old castle.  It was a castle partly built by Catherine the Great.  It is older than the U.S.A.  Then we came home, showered and then went to Arbotskaya and had some dinner.  Cool.  bye

[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.

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].



[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).

 
 



Aftobus



 

 
They have Автобуси (Aftoboosi - regular buses) 
 
 
 
 



Tramvai





Трамвай (Tramvai - like the trolley buses in San Fran),



Trolleibus





Тролэйбусси (Trolaybussi - NOT like the trolley buses in San Fran - but like buses but they follow a route under electric wires),

Electrichki

Электрички (Electrichki - usually on the outskirts of cities - Trains that run under electric wires),

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.

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.

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.

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.]

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]

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

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]

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.

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

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.