Well I thought that I would add in the June 1997 edition of the Conversion Chronicle - that is the mission newspaper that comes out monthly. Unfortunately I don't have every single one - that would be awesome!!
So I thought that I would show you one. Usually different people are chosen to write (I too will have my chance later), missionaries that have been out maybe a year, or more - so they will just be hitting their stride in both the language, and in the skills as missionaries.
Plus and here is the best part. Any child of God can expect revelation pertaining to his or her sphere of influence...as missionaries we could expect revelation for ourselves, and for those Russians that we taught. If we were discrict or zone leaders, or assistants to the presidents, then our sphere of repsonsibility increased, as well as the amount or degree of revelation to help those in our sphere. As well as when we were called upon to talk in conference or write in the mission newspaper.
Thus these talks are the missionaries' form of the Ensign, or a General Conference talk. I know that when I prepared my article, I prayed and pondered on what the Lord would want me to say, and then went to work!! Even rereading now, while not a missionary any longer, I feel the spirit.
There are also a few actual bits of news - who was getting baptized, who was leaving and arriving the mission, and sometimes articles like Dr. Huish's in this one on how to avoid summer sicknesses.
Sometimes in my letters home, I would do a pictorial tour of my mission. Here is one picture that I started such a letter with...yes I am actually in this picture - you can see the back & left side of my head. I'm almost in the foreground - in a white shirt, with green lettering, and I have a black strap going over my left shoulder. Here's what I wrote on the back of the picture...
Dear Mom & Dad,
Here's you're start of the guide to Moscow. McDonald's - mmhm. Such good food. And like you can see, there are so many people there. It is always like that.
Unfortunately at this time I couldn't find other pictures in this pictorial tour-letter, so this will have to do. But all through my mission I went and ate at McDonald's. It is weird, and you may not believe me, but McDonald's chicken nuggets tasted better in russia - and the biggest reason was the sweet & sour dipping sauce. That is because the franchises in Russia come from Canada, not America and they have different sauces. I am not lying - but they are better than at home! and I'm out!
