June 16, 2014 ~ Work, work, work!

This week was pretty awesome.  We had a few days this week where we didn't even have time to eat during the day (it reminded me of when we never ate my first trasnfer in Petro cause we were always so busy:))  We spent like 2 whole days in the park just talking with people.  We met with one eternal investigator and then right after that we met with this one woman who had met the missionaries in the city that morning and they gave her our phone number and she came down to pushkin that day to meet with us.  She is buddhist but also christian... it was really weird, but I really enjoyed the meeting.  She has a 10 yr old daughter who she wants us to teach, so that should be interesting.  Then that night we went to kolpino and met with our favorite Alex!  He is great as ususal.  Yesterday in church, he blessed the sacrament, gave his first talk in sacrament meeting and then gave the gospel principles lesson!  He is a champ!  

Saturday was also super great.  Our lesson with our progressing investigator fell through so we had a few hours to contact and we went to the park and started talking to this guy on a  bench who turned out to be super cool.  We talked with him for a while and at the end he agreed to meet tuesday morning (tomorrow).  Then right after that we went to another park to meet a different eternal investigator and while we were talking to him, some guy walked up and started asking us about our church.  The investigator had to leave anyways (as he said) so this guy took his place and we must have talked to him there for like and hour, probably more.  Super cool guy, the only problem is that he is such a drug addict.  But really really loves god and really wants to change his life.  Then the first guy we talked to called me twice after we left the park, the first time to confirm that we could meet on tuesday and the second time a few hours later to apologize that he had lied to me while we were talking to him.  He told me he was married and had a kid, but then on the phone told me he really didn't, but really is interested in what we have to say and really wants to meet. (probably so that he didn't have to awkwardly admit later that he had lied.  This good though.,  I am really impressed that he was man enough to call and tell me that same day - I think that's a good sign).  

Then we helped the sisters on one of their lessons at a members house with their investigator who is super cool.  He's a really less active muslum, who is really really interested in the gospel.  And he's a professional baseball player.  It was a pretty neat lesson.  We didn't really say anything the whole time, the members really talked most of the time and the sisters managed to get a few words in occasially.  But it was cool cause this guy has real desire.  

Also on pday last week we ended up playing soccer with some of the local kids (not members, just random kids who were there playing) and they destroyed us haha.  

This week I was reminded of how much fun missionary work is!  Just to be out and to talk with people and share the gospel with them.  It's so much fun!  We don't have hardly any investigators right now, but It seems like we've have in the past week met some people who have been/are being prepared to accept the restored gospel!  This week was just fun, cause we were busy teaching and serving!  I hope this next week will be another one just like it!

Elder Austin Robison

I got to ride our investigators bike this week. I was very excited to be on a bike again:)

June 9, 2014 ~ Pushkin!!

Well this week was pretty good.  We hit a little bit of a stumbling block with our main progresing investigator when we talked about tithing... I think she got a little scared, but we already have another meeting set up with her for wednesday.

And Alex is doing great!! He got a calling as the gospel principles teacher!  And he taught his first lesson yesterday and it was great!!! And on wednesday he will be getting is Patriarchal blessing!!!!  We are really excited for that.  Also if you remember back to January, the guy who got baptized in Petro, I just found out that he passed his interview to become an elder and to recieve his Pat. blessing!!!  I have been informed that he is just as strong as ever and that is really great!

This week we had zone conference, the last one with President and Sister Clark. And usually there are translators there for the Russian missionaries since this is like a 6 hour conference... so we get there and I asked president who the translator was going to be (cause all week I had been promising my companion that there would be a russian translator there) and so when I asked president who it was going to be, do you know what he did.  He just stood there and pointed at me.  So guess who had to translate 6 hours of conference... yeah, I did.  Of course I asked some other missionaries to step in and help out when my brain started really hurting, but for the most part it was me.  And then to make it worse, half way through the conference President stops and just praises me to high heavens infront of everyone for my Russian.  And then do you know what he did next.  He asked everyone there "don't you all agree?"  It was so embarassing, but I was grateful that I could be useful for something haha.  

Well I should be getting my real companion this week so the adventures in Pushkin will end, but it's been really awesome!!!  I've loved it here!  And I'm excitd to get to work with my new companion!

Elder Robison

June 2, 2014 ~ Great Week!

This week has been really awesome!!  I really like Pushkin and my temporary companions!  We had a pretty busy week this week, did lots of service and had a few really good lessons.  We did service at the Katherine's palace library which was pretty cool we had to sort some books and but stamps in books and stuff, I enjoyed it.  Then saturday we went to a former investigator's mom's house and did some service for her.  Like getting paint off a floor, but she is a babushka so of course we did it like the most ineffective way possible haha.  Then we washed some windows.  Then she fed us lunch.  Then she asked if we could go with her to her garage and pump up her wheels on her bike.  She mislead us and said it wasn't very far, but that was not true cause we walked for ever to get there!!  we pumped up the tires which took longer than expected, but then she let me ride it a little bit:)  I was in heaven a little bit. 

We had a good meeting with jana this week and she is progressing slowly but surely.  She just is a very closed person and is hard to get her to talk, but she's really nice and there is one lady in the ward who is so awesome and is like her best friend so we are really grateful for her.

We had an interesting really special meeting last night with a member who is active is having a really hard time.  He recently got out of the hospital about 3 weeks ago where he had been for 2 months.  He had some sort of a growth on his brain that he had to have removed.  Besides that, he has recently been divorced from his once active wife and his 8 kids are really suffering because of it.  It's a really long story and it was just a really special meeting with him as we were able to just visit and encourgage and support this guy.  The spirit was really strong and I really can't describe it.  I gave him a blessing at the end and it was also a really special experience.  As we were walking out of the apartment and walking down the street with people smoking and music blaring from other apartment buildings and it was raining and cars were driving by, I was thinking about all that he had said and about our time there and realized that for me that really was like a "holy place" for me, like the church leaders have been talking about recently (I really like the talk by one on the young womens leaders in aprils conference last year (the YW conference actually - don't judge that I also read those talks, there is always stuff that can be applied to both genders) called standing in holy places or something like that).  Anyways I am really grateful for that experience.  

This week we have a lot planned and I am really excited!

Oh and I forgot to report on Bishop Causse coming!!!  It was great!!  He just talked about having a bright perspective on the future of the church here and I learned lots of cool stuff.  And also I got to see my favorite senior couple the Voorhees (Bob and Sue)!!!!  It was so great to see them, I love them so much, but I am so sad cause they are sending them home soon.  Elder Voorhees got some sort of an injury and can't really walk.  So that was really sad to say for real goodbye to them, but they live in utah so they won't be hard to find later:)

Anyway, have a good week!

Elder Robison