June 20, 1997 - Friday

Okay we pretty much screwed off today and yesterday.  We went signboarding today and I freaking suck.  No I did alright but I need to do it more.  Oh I almost forgot but when I called Лидия Залыгин[а - Lidia Zaligina] to talk about her birthday.  I said "Что - тебе двести лет да?" [What - you're 200 years old right?  - Instead of 20 years old.]  She got a good kick out of that.  So did Ст. Schwartz.  In fact he teased me unmercifully. 

Tomorrow we have a pretty full day already.  If everything falls into place.  And we might even have a D with Дима [Dima] the guy that speaks English.  That will be weird to see how we do that.  Service today was draining because the kids were really freaking wanting.  They don't get love or attention very often so they want all they can get.  One little girl, Катя [Katya] (the not so nice one) kept grabbing  me in the balls and they told me пипсик & баначки two words that I don't exactly know what they mean.

[mid-journal chat - pipsik & banachki - hahahaha - two words that I still don't know what they mean.  Both words are shortforms - meaning small versions of the normal words - so I assume that they were calling it little - the picture below is of service, but with the companion after Shwartz - from left to right are Elders Steve Nelson, Ken Bassett, Ben Erickson (my companion) and some really awesome dude from Idaho!  Look at how freaking cool the little kid is sitting off to the side on his own.] 

I had one good contact Васили Филипович [Vasili Filipovich - I'm probably talking about when we went signboarding earlier in the day] - he lives outside the city in Подолск [Padolsk - a city just south of Moscow - almost a suburb - an electrichki - an electric train - carries passengers in every day - about a half an hour ride to Moscow].  It would be cool if we could go out to Подолск and give this guy a D and then go over to a member's house and eat and have a little family home evening!   Well night!

June 16, 1997 - Monday

Well today we got freaking screwed big-time.  First we went to service on a non-normal day, then we got jaked [stood up] at our D with Лариса [Larissa], then we went to Stockman's [a European/Western type store that stocks a lot of stuff that you can't get in a Russian store] and there wasn't a paper - screwed again!  On the way back we were handed these little advertisments for a businessmen's lunch.  Well it sounded like you got a salad, a soup and then a main course - like a burrito or a steak.  Well not so.  You could choose between the soup or salad and then get a burrito.  So we picked the soup.  It was water with a little flavoring and an uncooked - I repeat an uncooked egg floating in the broth.  At least the burrito was good.  Never again will I go to the Чанго [Chango].  It also cost 48,000 [rubles - about 8 dollars - way too much for a burrito and crappy soup!]

June 12, 1997 - Thursday

Today I didn't do much of anything.  We came home from service, I was so freaking tired and I had [a] migraine - so I slept - from after lunch until, we had a D at 6pm, so it was 5.  Took a shower and went to the metro to wait for these people from Ст. Reagan's area.  Well we waited there with Володия Кабанов [Volodiya (a form of Vladimir) Kabanov].  So when they didn't show at 7 - we waited an hour - we went over to Залугин's [Zalugin's] and only Катя [Katya] was home.  So we told her a little bit about the thing on Saturday and we left with a word of prayer.  That was Кабанов's idea, and a good idea it was.  Man Катя's dangerously attractive.  Then we went over to Кабанов's house so we could know where it was and so we could have D's over at his house if we need to.  He's a stud.  I really felt the spirit while we were talking.  Well I...[that's the end of the diary - evidently I went to sleep or something.  bye]

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.

September 26, 1996 - Thursday

Today started good, went halfway bad in the middle and ended great.  I was just tired and my throat & mouth hurt but after a pretty good topical gospel study and then the teacher left for a meeting so we went through the missionary guide.  Then we went out and looked at this eclipse for quite a while.  Then when we got back to the apartment I ran and took a picture with my companions, with my companions in it.  I took a picture of the eclipse.  There that sounds better. 

Tomorrow is P-Day.  Allrighty.  Anyway, I have to go to bed now.  Oh yeah, a really good part of the day was I vacuumed this classroom next door.  These girls came and asked if we knew and told us to thank whoever did it if we found out.  [I've alwys enjoyed anonymous service]