Saturday, July 17, 2010

*We were getting worried because we didn't hear from Kenneth on Wednesday this week!! We finally heard from him on Saturday :)

Hey guys sorry about the late e mail! Right now I am on a visa trip in Russia and we left on P Day. I found out that I am going to be staying in Kazakhstan still! I am really exciting about that because we have a lot of really good upcoming potential! I have been really blessed to stay in one area for so long and hope that I can make the best of it! I am still going to be working with Elder Malanin, but he leaves in one month to go home so that will be strange. Elder Malanin stayed in Kazakhstan and I am in a city called Smolensk with Elder Patnum, another Elder who is serving in Kazakhstan with me.
Well the first news of the week... before I left we had a baptism! Katya was baptized and I was able to baptize her! It was a great experience! He whole entire family came to support her. They are a great family and I think that the Sisters are going to start working with them very soon. Elder Malanin and I will still be working with Katya's brother Semon who really seemed to open up after the baptism. Basically the baptism was amazing... it was such a blessing for me to be able to take part in such a life changing event in someone's life. The Spirit was so strong in that room you could just feel God's presence... I have heard the saying that the spirit was so thick that you could just feel it.. now I know what that really means. A lot of our investigators came to the baptism and I think that they had a good experience as well.
Elder Malanin and I tested out a new baptismal commitment method that President Wooley showed us this past week... we tested it out on Nona. It was quite the experience! Basically, we committed to baptism.. she said no... we taught the Apostasy and testified and committed... she said no... we talked about be cleansed from sin and testified and committed again... she said no... we talked about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and testified and committed.... she said no... we talked about giving her a blessing to help her feel from God the need to get baptized and testified and committed... she said no. Haha it was quite the lesson! She was really mad at the end of the lesson and really hated it... but the Spirit was so strong and I can't even explain how I felt his guidance in what I was saying. Literally, I felt like I just opened my mouth sometimes and some other power was speaking through me! It was crazy and something that I can't even describe! It may have been hard for Nona.. but it was the lesson that she needed and I hope that it opened up her thoughts to really think about the importance of being baptized with the proper authority!
Being in Russia is completely different. I noticed that the people speak completely different than in Kazakhstan.. there is a different accent and they use different words. So, it has been quite the experience! Still my Russian is progressing and I am feeling more and more confident all the time. Right now I am working with an Elder Bybee in Smolensk. He is from Riverton and left on his mission about a month after me. He is the guy who got his call around the same time I did. He is having a lot of problems right now with sicknesses and stuff and can only eat certain stuff.. but he is still such a positive missionary and only sees hope! I think it is bringing him a bit more happiness since we are working together since we knew each other before the mission.
Elder Putnam, while we are here, is basically just working on getting these Elders more investigators! It is really hot and humid outside, but we are basically contacting all day to help them get more investigators. One of the Elders here is a Branch President, so he has other work that he always has to be doing with members and so that keeps them busing doing that and not being able to focus as much on finding... that is what Elder Putnum and I are trying to do for them. Well :) the work is going on and the mission is still flying by! I love you all and am so grateful for your love and support! Remember who you are! I love you!
Elder Weihing :)