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

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.

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.

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 went back 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.

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 was a 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

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. 

1. 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. 
2. 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.]

At service we told a little bit about ourselves and then they asked questions about America and we talked.  Time flew, because before I knew it was almost 3pm and we had to get out of there.  We got back in time for me to go with Ст. Gammon to the meeting [with Pres. Karneyev]. 

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

October 23, 1996 - Wednesday

Today we taught discussions with the other class on splits.  I thought it went really well.  I'm very thankful for my teachers.  Every day I'm impressed at how well they have taught us.  Also I'm thankful for the gifts my Heavenly Father has given me.  I actually can't memorize very well but I've noticed and it's been commented on that I have pretty good pronunciation.  I hope that it doesn't sound boastful.  But sometimes I look at the other missionaries and they are up there & it is hard not to compare - so I am thankful for that. 

Time to go to bed.  I can't wait for tomorrow because it is my turn to bear testimony on the way home from last class.  I love the Lord with all my heart and I am so thankful that he is helping me with pride.  I need the help big time.  Please know that I love being here and I know I am suppose to be here.  May the Lord bless everyone with love.