So close yet so far

Bob and I spent the last week in St. Petersburg Russia and got a little taste of what Jess is experiencing. It was a good experience but I love the USA. It was so hard being so close to where Jess is and not being able to go see him. Everyone thought we were crazy to not go visit but we knew it was the best way. We felt some of the frustration Jess is feeling at learning the language. Bob kept saying, "poor Jess, how can you learn a language like this, you can't even sound it out." What we forgot is that the Lord wants him to learn it so he will, plain and simple. There is so much history there, most of it pretty sordid and sad, but histroy none the less. It is like stepping back in time when you look at the buildings but stepping forward when you see all the fashionable women and men there. St. Petersburg is a little more like that than some of the other areas of Russia but I was amazed at the contrast. You still see the babushkas ( the older generation of Russian women) so there was a stark contrast there as well. It was fun to see but I am not sure it was worth the 27 hours of travel we had to endure to see it. I now have a greater appreciation for Jess and what he is going through. This will be a life changing event in his life in more ways than one. Here is his latest letter which we received while there.

Hello everyone,
Well, as usual, time goes by faster every day. I have now been on a mission for over 4 months and I can't hardly believe it. I hope I am growing and learning enough to keep up with how fast time flies. It sounds like you all are busy and happy and that everything is going great. I'm glad you all liked conference, I get to watch it in English on Saturday and Sunday. I can't wait.

I'm glad you and dad are liking Russia, it is a lot different than home but it is a great place. Just ignore the not so good stuff about it because remember, there are some not so good stuff everywhere in the world. By the way, the alphabet is easier to sound out than English haha, it's still really really hard to read because the words are so stinkin big. Reading is something I really want to get good at because some missionaries don't get very good at it and it's a shame. I knew you would love how people drive around here. I hope you get a chance to ride in a Marshutka. They are the vans you've probably seen around. They usually have a number in the window. Those guys know how to drive. They can be taking your money, giving you change, passing someone in between a bus and another car and change the radio station pretty much all at the same time. It's incredible and sometimes a bit scary. I have actually gotten a few souveniers. I think I told you about the plate thing but I'm not sure if I told you about my coin collection. I decided I would like to collect some coins, some soviet ones and some modern ones. They have a coin similar to the state quarters we have. There are 64 different ones for different cities and different events. I mentioned this to one of the guys in our English club and told him I would trade him my state quarters for some of his coins. I had 14 state quarters to give him and he brought me a ton of awesome coins. I told him you like coins, dad, and last night he brought me about 15 more coins and said he wanted to explain what each coin was so I could explain to you when I got home. He's a really cool guy. So now I have some soviet coins, some post soviet coins that aren't in use and some modern coins. Also, a member in our branch gave Elder Hiatt and me an old soviet one ruble coin. I am pretty excited about it. As for you guys, make sure you get a few ties! I love them and have bought 5 since I got here. They are really nice. I'm sure you won't really get to just go wander around by yourself since you don't know the language but try to get your guides to take you on a marshutka and to a reenick if they haven't already. As for the package, send it to the office. I'm not sure if you have already put the address on it or not but for future reference, the international p.o. box is the best place to send packages I found out. I guess it's just a bit faster or something but either way will be fine. Make sure you remember all the stuff you see and do so you can tell me about it, I hear St. Pete's is amazing. By the way, are you sure it was a greek orthodox church? Or was it a Russian orthodox church? I've been waiting all week to find out how you like it here so don't forget a thing, okay?

This week was good, maybe a little frustrating but overall pretty good. With the Book of Mormon lending thing we have been doing, we have had a lot of people accept the book. The problem is that most of them have just been giving it back. We have two ladies that are actually reading it, but we haven't been able to sit down with them and have a real lesson. Over all, I really like this program and I have high hopes for it. Something a little frustrating about the work here is that the members aren't always very cooperative with things. We have started trying to build up an institute program here where on Fridays the members and also non members can meet together and study the scriptures. The teacher is a stud! His name is Sergei and he has been a member for about 5 months or something. We actually made him an Elder last Sunday! We got permission from President Woolley because he really does understand a lot. He loves the gospel. Anyway, he is the teacher but the problem is, nobody is coming. Our branch president doesn't even come to things. Last week it was the teacher, the missionaries, and two girls we are teaching. Last night, we had a branch activity where we watched The Other Side of Heaven. The only member to show up was Sergei. We had lots of people there though because we invited our English club members. Also, the same two girls who we have been teaching came as well. After it was over, we talked with Thien, the Vietnamese guy I met a while ago, I can't remember if I told you about him. He hasn't forgotten that we promised to get him a Book of Mormon in Vietnamese and neither have we. Once he gets that book we will be able to really start teaching him about it. I have high hopes for him. Also after the meeting, a guy named Akram asked if he could have a Book of Mormon. He also asked if we have any other books that teach about our church doctrine. We gave him a gospel doctrines book and set up a meeting for this weekend! He has been coming to English club lately and has just recently started becoming pretty interested in our church. I can't wait to meet with him. We also have one lady that we inherited from the sisters who is completely ready for baptism. She is just too scared. Satan knows she is about to make an amazing choice in her life and has started throwing things in her path to block her. We are just trying to get her to realize that and to realize that once she makes this choice her life will be blessed more than she knows. So overall, the work is going pretty well. There is always room for improvement but I'm excited. We just really need to work on getting the branch more involved. The problem is that nobody really has a calling in the branch. The missionaries have done everything for quite a while. We just got another Elder with Sergei, the other Elders in the branch aren't currently worthy for callings which is a big problem. We just need to keep working with all of them to help them out.

Today is going to be kind of a practical p-day. We have to do some work around the apartment like paint the windows for some reason. Our landlord has a few requests like that for us so we will be doing that and just getting groceries and stuff, it will still be fun though. Plus it's always nice to just relax for a bit. I have felt really good. My stomach is becoming less and less of a problem every day and boy am I grateful! That's cool that Tanner is going to Chile, he'll do good there. Also, I'm glad Melissa is getting married, that's really cool. Any other news with people I know?

Well, that's about all I've got for this week, thanks for all your letters and thanks for all your prayers and support. I love you guys!