July 22, 2013 Июль, и уже наступает осень в Питре..

Hello all!  This week has actually been super cold!  And rainy.  Like I'm pretty sure everyday its been overcast and cold, but I guess that's the price to pay for living in one of the most beautiful places in the world with some of the most amazing people in the world.  I love it.  It sure beats sweating all the time. 

Unfortunately, I forgot my notes and can't really remember too much of what happened this week...  But it was a good week!  Things really just keep getting better!  Remember that guy we had a lesson with on the bench last week?  Well we met with him this week and he is so cool!  He loves us and is really open to everything.  He is out of town for a bot 2 1/2 weeks (bummer), but he still wants to meet when he comes back!  We met some cool people this week and have got a few potentials that we have been playing phone tag with for a few days, but we're gonna get them!

This we did something that President Clark has really been suggesting and we had language study with a member!  It was so cool!  This is the awesome member that came to help us a few weeks ago when our investigator didn't show up.  He is one of my favorite people ever.  It was so awesome!  We loved it and so did he.  At the end of it, he was already trying to think of when he'd be free to help us again without us even asking.  President has actually really been pushing learning Russian.  He always stresses how important it is and I can't help but agree (of course).  Some advice that we've been given is to "love Russia, love Russian, and love Russians!"  And let me tell you,  I DO!!!  I love all 3 of those things so much!  I would extend that same advice to everyone no matter where you serve.  After you learn to love Russia(n(s)), you can go ahead and start loving the country, language, and people of your mission ;) hahah  Sorry, I couldn't not..

This week something exciting happened... my companion almost died.  I stopped this older man who was wearing a U.S. army jacket and was talking to him, then this drunk guy walked up and wasn't happy with us and called us fascists asked why were even here, and then grabbed Elder Wilkins throat and tried to strangle him!  The I was a little in shock, but the guy we were talking with threw his arm off and told the drunk guy to get away.  That was scary and it was literally right outside our appartment.  Then the next day we were talking to some one else and I see this guy across the lawn stop and stare at us very angrily and then he started walking towards us. I asked the woman we were talking with to turn around and tell us if she knew the guy.  She didn't and he kept coming and boy was he furious.  And way past drunk.  And he was huge.  I told him to calm down and that we were leaving and then he started trying to chase us.  He didn't get close enough to do anything and I'm pretty sure if we would have started to chase us, if we walking not in a straight line he probably would have fallen over, that's how wasted he was.  Still scary.  I just remember when I saw him stop and look at us from across the lawn I got the nastiest darkest feeling and knew that this wasn't going to be good.  We both survived both those incidences and just keep preaching away though, so no worries!

President Clark was at district meeting with us this week.. Man I love that man.  He is so close to the spirit.  I learned so much and felt the spirit so strong and learned from that some ways that I can improve.  While he was there he told us of this guy who walked into the mission office last week, just to ask more about the church and then he was taken on a tour of the stake center (in the same building) and introduced to the assistants.  He came back to have a lesson with them and President Clark 2 days later and they noticed that he had a huge bruise on his arm.  Afterwards President was walking him out and ended up asking him about it.  After he had left the mission office and stuff a few days earlier he was just walking and some guys were having trouble with their car.  He helped them and then afterwards they asked him "were you just at the Mormon Church?"  He said yes and then they beat him up.  President Clark asked him why he came back after that and I don't remember his answer, but I just remember feeling the spirit so strongly during that.  The church has to be true!  Why else would Satan be working so hard to get people against it?  It really just strengthed my testimony though, that there are so many people out here who are so ready.  In fact, in that ward on sunday, where I think there are either 6 or 8 missionaries serving, they had more investigators that missionaries there.  For those serving in other parts of the world, that may seem really lame or unimpressive, but that has not happened here for a really long time.  The Lord is truly blessing our mission.  We are having so many miracles around the whole mission, it is absolutely amazing.  We all, as a mission, are so united to be exaclty obedient and work as hard as we can and the Lord is being SO generous and kind to us.  I know its true!  And I'm so grateful to be a part of it!!

I love you all, have a great week!

Elder Robison