December 30, 2013 ~ С новым годом!!

Happy new year everyone!! And happy birthday to Dad today!!! 

Well this week was just amazing!!  On Monday we took the long train ride down to St. Pete's for our Christmas devotional.  It was great!!  Sister Clark made burritos for us (cafe rio style) and it was so good!! So much better than cafe rio.  It was awesome!!  We all sat around in the mission home living room and ate burritos and then afterwards all sang Christmas hymns.  I loved it!!  I would sent pictures, but there are other people in the pictures so I guess you will have to wait until next year (gotta love these area restrictions haha).  Then we had an actual devotional thing which was also nice.  Watched the first presidency devotional (I saw it in English this time haha and funny story, President forgot to record it in Russian for the Russian missionaries so my companion ended up translating the entire devotional for this one ukrainian sister who doesn't speak english.  What a champ.) 

THEN we went down to Gatchina!!!  Which just to remind you was my first area!  We got to suprize some of my favorite investigators there and meet with them which was so awesome I loved it!  But then we had to hurry back to Pete and catch our train back to petro.  (This was all Christmas eve - the train came in at 7am and left to go back at 10pm.) 

Then Christmas day was even better!  Our train came in at 640 am and right after that my companion and I made banana bread to take to less actives and then we met at the branch with a few members to decorate for the ward Christmas/new years party and then went to the senior couples apartment to make boxes and wrap the presents for the branch Christmas thing.  It was so fun!  Our senior couple is awesome and we just have the best district ever!  Then we ran by some less actives and other members and investigators and dropped off the banana bread we made (P.S. you may be wondering why members were willing to meet and stuff to help us on "Christmas" - well its because Christmas doesn't exist in Russia on the 25th of december.  I know, its a weird concept to grasp, but it's true.  And the weirder part is coming).  Anyways, came back to the senior couple's a little later and had Christmas dinner!!!  So great!!  And then I got to skype of course which was wonderful!!  I loved it!  it was weird I felt like nothing had changed and that I was just sitting in the family room at home.  So nice.  And the best part.  I assume most of you (I don't actually know who reads my emails) know that Logan is also serving a mission and apparently he has some sort of rockstar mission president cause guess what!  Or don't guess if you already know, but WE WERE SKYPING AT THE SAME TIME AND I GOT TO TALK TO HIM!!!  Miracle!!  So awesome!  And of course I loved seeing the rest (well a lot of) my family as well!  Really though, I loved seeing you all! Oh American Christmas day was so perfect this year!   

Also I forgot that that morning I also opened my Christmas package from home and I guess at the family reunion this year they did some projects for logan and I and I got them and I loved them so much!  I felt like the most blessed missionary on the planet, so thank you all so much!!

Anyways, the rest of the week.  We I still love Petro and my companion is super great!  We met with a couple people and helped a less active with a remont in his new appartment.  And then we had a Branch Christmas/New years party which was fun.  And basically this was one of the best weeks ever.  I loved it.

Also Happy new years to everyone!  FYI New years is actually the biggest holiday in Russia.  I kid not, they do essentially everything we do for Christmas, for new years.  Decorations and food and presents and their version of Santa Clause and everything.  Even the members here.  It's pretty unique hahah, but I like it.  So family,  Starting next year, santa clause can come on Christmas eve and Дед Мороз can come on new years eve:)  Anyways, have a great week!!

Love

Elder Robison