A hard week

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was interesting to say the least. I can't wait for next years Thanksgiving, I'll be in heaven. Our Thanksgiving began with us going to a meat market with the branch president. This place wouldn't pass a health inspection in a million years. There are just piles of meat everywhere, sitting on pieces of cardboard, or just on a metal table, all the workers are handling several different types of raw meat, all without gloves, there are random things like calculators and other instruments all over the meat, and they have EVERY kind of meat you could ever think of. There were brains, livers, intestines, noses, tongues, kidneys, other round things, everything. We found one lady who had what she called turkey. It looked like these people may have found a turkey that had been run over by something and then just salvaged what they could out of it. It was also really expensive. We decided to keep looking for other options and ended up walking out of that place carrying probably about a 10 pound duck. I wasn't too sure about duck, but I thought, oh well, lets do it. Our branch president claimed he knew how to do it so we trusted him with it. We went home and made mashed potatoes, which were really good, and I used my gravy packets to make gravy. We also made some cookies. We got to the branch plenty early to prepare for the party. Our branch is just a small room with a sacrament table in it, so there is no kitchen or anything. Dima, the branch president, brought a microwave, with the duck inside. When he opened the microwave it was dripping with blood from the duck. The bird was wrapped in tin foil and Dima said he thought it was probably not done. We ended up carving it up the best we could and finishing it off in the microwave. The members came and everyone brought their assigned dish, so there was enough food. Everyone loved our potatoes and gravy. The duck wasn't exactly bad, but I'm glad we traditionally have turkey. Neither Elder Bressler or I ate a ton, because nothing was way delicious. Of course there were no pies, homemade rolls, freezer jam, stuffing, all that good stuff. I think last year I was just so new that I just thought everything was just way awesome so I hardly noticed the meal (which was way better anyway because we were with the Lowries) but this year I was really missing a real thanksgiving dinner.

The disappointments started on Tuesday when I got back from Moscow. We had a meeting with Pasha set up and he didn't come. He doesn't have a cell phone so we called him at home and he said he just had some different things he had to do. We set up another meeting with him for the next day and again he didn't come. We had a meeting with Bogdon and he said he hadn't seen him for a few days. After that we couldn't get a hold of him at all. We called and called and couldn't get a hold of him. We taught some lessons with Bogdon and he had some problems with the word of wisdom and the law of chastity. I was getting pretty scared about all of this but we just kept trying to testify of the blessings that come with these laws. On Sunday, Bogdon came to church. He had a good time and we had a lesson in priesthood about tithing and at the end of the lesson he grabbed a tithing slip and wanted to pay right away. We tried to set up an appointment with him but it wasn't too firm. We left right after church to Moscow. I leave to Kazakhstan tonight but Elder Bressler was supposed to go back to Kaluga tonight with a different missionary. I called Bogdon to ask if he would be able to meet with the other missionaries tonight and he said he didn't want to meet because I wouldn't be there. He said he wouldn't be meeting once I leave, and that the church is good but its not something he wants to do every week and stuff like that. He said he talked with Pasha and Pasha said the same thing, that this church just isn't for him. I was pretty surprised and confused. I said I would meet with him when I get back and we would talk. How does that happen? How does someone go from absolutely crazy about the church to not wanting anything to do with it? I of course will keep trying to work with them but it just scares me, even if I baptized them, I wouldn't want to baptize them just to see them go inactive immediately after the baptism. There was a young guy baptized in another city in our mission not too long ago and he is already not coming to church, already drinking and smoking again and already partying with girls. It's really sad and I wouldn't want to see that. What's better? If I were to try, maybe I could get them baptized, but would it benefit them if they just turned around and forgot everything? This is where the spiritual stress comes from on the mission. You know nobody can be saved without baptism, yet it says if a person is baptized and then denies it, it would be better off for them not to have known God. Missions just aren't games, this is peoples lives. You can't take the easy way out and say, they can just wait until the spirit world, but people can't afford to make covenants just to break them. I have no idea what to do. We just have to keep trying to meet with them and feel by the spirit what to do. The other scary thing is, President Woolley told me that if we can't average 15 people at the meetings over a certain period of time, they will take missionaries out. It would be way sad, but then again, there have been missionaries in Kaluga for 12 years and we can't get 15 people to come to church? I just don't understand that. So kind of a rough week.

The other reason it has been a rough week is for the fact that I have a transfer. Every time you get news that you will be transferred, it is kind of hard to keep focused on your area. Add to that that I am going to Kazakhstan, it's been on my mind quite a bit. My mission is about to change big time. I will be in a predominantly Muslim country, teaching will change, finding will change, it will all be different. The crazy thing is, I have been thinking about it this week, today I'm going to fly there, I'll come back on Wednesday or Thursday and I'll be in Kaluga for another few weeks. If Bogdon and Pasha are completely gone, it will be pretty tough to keep focused and work hard in Kaluga.

I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing but I'm pretty dang excited to go to Kazakhstan, even if it is only for a few days. President says that I should be back in Kazakhstan around the 21st of December. I'm kind of distracted, as usual when I'm in Moscow. Thanks so much for the letters, and the Christmas money! I am going to put it to good use. Not today, but soon. I know there are tons of awesome things to buy in Kazakhstan, and I hear it's really cheap there. It will be cool when I get to call home soon, I'll have been there for a while and will be able to tell you a little about it. As of now I don't know a whole lot about it but it should be interesting. Next week hopefully I have a better letter to send home. I love you guys!

Elder Geddes

KAZAKHSTAN Bound!!

Hey everyone,


Where do I start this weeks email?? So much has happened! I guess I'll just start from the beginning. On Tuesday night, we had English club. Pasha, Bogdon, and Anton came to it. After the club was over, they just stayed, along with a girl from the club and Elder Bressler and I just preached the gospel. We were answering questions, reading from the scriptures, testifying. It was great. The next night, we had family home evening at the branch which is usually just youth and people from English club. We play games, have treats and have a spiritual thought. Anyway, after that Pasha asked if we would have time to meet with him the next day. The zone leader and his companion came down for splits that next day so Elder Bressler and Elder Brown ended up meeting with Pasha. After the lesson, they were both really excited because they said he was just ready to be given a baptismal commitment. During the lesson, Pasha wanted to demonstrate how he has been getting answers from the Book of Mormon. He asked the question, what do I need to do in my life right now? He opened the book and read Mosiah 2:22 it says something to the effect of, all that I require of you is that you keep my commandments. Elder Brown then opened another scripture in 2 Nephi 31 that says it is a commandment from the Father to be baptized in the name of the Son. Anyway, they didn't set a date because we hadn't talked about it and he wanted me to do it. Pasha wanted to meet the very next day, so Elder Bressler and I planned out a lesson leading right up to a baptismal commitment. By the time we got to the part about baptism, he already knew what was coming. He beat us to it and said, I already know I'll be baptized, it's just a matter of when. We told him the date we had prayed about, December 4th, and he agreed. This is all just great, I was on top of the world, but the thing is, today is the day we are supposed to find out transfers. Within a week of transfers, if you get a call from President Woolley, you know what it is about. Halfway through our lesson with Pasha I got a call from President. I answered and asked if I could call back. I knew something was going to happen though. After the lesson, I called President back and he said, how was your lesson? I told him that we had just set a baptismal date with Pasha. He said, that's great! I'm so happy for you, I'm calling to tell you that you are being transferred to Kazakhstan, you need to be in Moscow Sunday night to give your passport to the office elders. In order to get a Kazakh visa, you have to get a letter of invitation, apply for the visa, do some paper work and stuff like that. I will have to fly to Kazakhstan on the 29th, next Monday, and get registered there. Once in the country, I have to wait for almost a month for the government to give me permission to preach the gospel. Pasha asked if I would baptize him, and President thinks there's a way I can be there for the baptism but it's still not for sure. I will have to return to Russia no matter what at some point, but I don't know if I will be able to make it back before the 4th. I know the right thing to do would be to have someone else baptize Pasha. It would be dangerous to delay his baptism, I wouldn't want to do that, but I really want to be there for it and I really think it would be cool to baptize him. He is someone the Lord has prepared so much! I'll tell you some of the miracles that have happened with him.

First of all, his father is dead, he died from affects of Trenobel or however you spell it, that huge nuclear problem in Ukraine. When Pasha was born, the doctors said he would be brain dead. When he was four years old, he was given supposedly 6 more months to live. He's 20 years old now, doing fine and will be baptized on the 4th. Two months ago, he didn't believe in God whatsoever. He said that one night he just woke up and had this really strong desire to pray. He has been growing little by little ever since then, until he met us and has began to grow leaps and bounds. He came to the first meeting to learn English. I told them from the start that we use religious topics to teach English. He said without even thinking about it he agreed and thought, hmm, strange. The next day he was sitting in our branch thinking, how did I get here? The next week he has given up smoking and drinking and is planning on being baptized! He has found several answers to his questions in the Book of Mormon. Last time we met with him, we taught him the word of wisdom. He looked at it and kind of didn't understand completely, he said stuff like, maybe Joseph Smith received this revelation for just certain people, and that he was going to pray about it himself to find out if it was true. We encouraged him to pray about it and ask if Joseph Smith was a prophet. At the end of the lesson, we got on our knees and he offered a short prayer asking if the revelations Joseph Smith received were true for everyone. He said Amen and grabbed a copy of the D&C and opened to section 128:5 it says something to the affect of, you may think these things are very particular, but it is an order set by the Lord to bring to pass his will or something like that. Anyway, he said, oh, okay, I guess that's my answer. The good thing about Pasha is that when he feels like he gets an answer, he accepts it as an answer. The next day, yesterday, he was at church and said, if you would have told me 2 weeks ago that I would be sitting here today, having given up smoking and drinking, I wouldn't believe you for a second. He says that he has never felt so good in all his life. He says every day this feeling just gets stronger and stronger. He's awesome and is just a happy guy. He and our branch president have already struck it off really well and are good friends. I told him I was leaving and he opened up the D&C again and read, many are called but few are chosen. He said, I guess it's just part of your calling, part of your mission. He was sad but he understood. I just really hope I will be there for his baptism, dressed in white right along with Pasha.

I have mixed feelings about everything because I have always kind of wanted to go to Kazakhstan to serve so of course I am excited about that. I have been in Kaluga for around 4 months and it has absolutely flown by. I was ready for another couple months there. I was also ready for Christmas with Elder Bressler. We have had so much fun together, a lot of laughs and a lot of miracles. Both of us were so excited for Christmas together, and we were both so excited to baptize Pasha and his friends. My replacement will be an Elder from Latvia. He goes home in a couple of transfers but he has some slight mental problems and wouldn't be called exactly the strongest missionary. Of course he's a great guy and I'm going to be praying for him because I know he can do whatever needs to be done in Kaluga. Elder Bressler will have to be strong and be a leader and I know he can do that, but it won't be easy. They have a lot of work and there is a lot of potential. I was a little nervous when President told me who would be coming in my place, but I know the Lord's will gets done, we are just tools in his hands.

I also don't know exactly if I'll make it back to Russia before the end of my mission, besides the small amount of time while I wait for my visa. I know I'll come back before I go home and everything but that will probably be just for a day or so. Do I need to buy the last few souvenirs I need? I'm not sure. I know I'll come home with a bunch of Kazakh souvenirs, that's for sure. Oh ya, my companion will be Elder Kruglyak. He's Russian and he only has 2 more transfers. I hope he is ready to work til the end. He's a good guy, I know him pretty well already.

Anyway, that's about all about me. It's really cold here today, did I tell you I'm in Moscow? We came last night and will just be spending our pday here. Anyway, there is snow here and it is pretty chilly. It sounds like the family is doing pretty well. I'm glad Dad was able to serve so long as Pro Tem, it will be good for him to take a break from that. Liz's family sounds like they are doing great and I didn't even know it was the twins birthday! Those little twirps are going to be driving by the time I get home for all I know. Anyway, things are going really good. We are having a branch dinner for Thanksgiving, I really hope everyone is able to bring the stuff they are assigned so it ends up being a good night. I'm having a great time and really seeing the hand of the Lord in the work right now. Thanks for everything, I love you guys.

Elder Geddes

Investigators!!!

Hey everyone,

Summer seems to be on its way, it is probably in the high 50's or low 60's right now for some reason! We had a pretty cold day the other day but for the most part, it hasn't been too bad at all. Don't worry about my shoes, we still have plenty of time before I can't wear them anymore, it's dry outside so my feet are dry as well. Also, you can't see the damage really unless you look, so as long as I don't look like I found the shoes in a garbage can they're fine with me. Some missionaries like to wear their shoes until you can pretty much see their toes hanging out the end and the heel hanging out the other end. Mine still look pretty descent.

That's really scary about Doug, I hope they find out what is wrong and that it is something they can fix easily. I'm glad to hear that Grandma and Grandpa are doing pretty good though, is their little dog still running around all over the place? How is Daryl and his family? And Ken and Shauna? How is your side of the family doing, mom?

Well I guess I'll get right to the good stuff. This week has been a week of miracles. We were asked to fast at the beginning of this month to find new investigators. When an entire mission fasts for one reason, the Lord answers. We reported 4 new investigators this week.

Miracle 1: Elder Bressler and I are walking one night on the way to take sacrament to an old grandma in our branch. We walk past a couple of kids and I hear one kid say to the other, "No, I don't drink vodka, and I never will" something to that affect. We walked a little bit more and I told Elder Bressler what I heard and we both agreed that we should go talk to him. We decided to go for an english contact, see if he would be interested in practicing English. That often works with the youth here. We told him that we were here as missionaries and that part of our service was helping people with English. He was interested in that then he asked us to tell him a little about our church. We told him a little, got his number then left. He came to English club on Tuesday. After the club was over, we played the Restoration film for anyone who wanted to stay. Two girls stayed and this kid, I'll tell you his name later. Anyway, he said thanks and left after the movie. We decided to call him and meet with him on Saturday. We were there a few minutes before the meeting was supposed to start and he called and asked if he could bring some friends. We said of course and he showed up with two friends. He is 21, his friends, Anton and Pasha, are 17 and 20. Anyway, they said they were there to get some practice with English. I told them that's great and then reminded them that we are missionaries and that the way we help people with English is we talk about gospel topics in English. They agreed and so we began to talk about family. They are all pretty new with English so they didn't know enough to have a real conversation or anything so we were pretty much just teaching them family words and how to create sentances. After thirty minutes we said, okay we have done 30 minutes of English, now we want to do 30 minutes of gospel, in Russian. They all agreed and we began to teach them about the Book of Mormon. They are all interested in church, all took a copy of the Book of Mormon and said they would read. They had lots of questions for us and made a few points that line up exactly with our teachings. We invited them to church the next day and they all came, and they even brought a girl with them. They stayed for all three hours and even when we told them that our last hour was going to be in a seperate room, they just abandoned the girl to the relief society and came with us to priesthood. They participated, answered questions and shared their thoughts and concerns. It was all really great. Towards the end, Pasha started talking about the Book of Mormon a little bit. He said, 'Yesterday we tried the book, it works pretty simply actually. We would just ask it a question, open it up, and the first thing our eyes found was a great answer to the question." I was really surprised to hear that from a 20 year old kid who for the first time in his life held the book. He even shared with us one of the answers he found. He said he did it 7 times in a row and it worked every time. Pasha and the our contact said it worked for them as well. I thought it was pretty funny but at the same time a miracle. I warned them that that technique won't work every time and that sometimes God wants us to work a little harder to get answers and they all agreed. We will be meeting with them as soon as possible, hopefully tonight if we can but if not tonight then tomorrow. The kid that we first came in contact is named Bogdan (as in boat with a g and dan as in dawn) The reason I felt like that was significant was that Bog in Russian means God and Dan or dawn means given. So his name pretty much means God given. Cool huh? It seems like they smoke so that will be an obstacle, but they are already developing a testimony of the Book of Mormon. This group of three friends would provide our small branch with such a breath of fresh air, it would be incredible. We need preisthood more than anything! If we could get these guys baptized we would be in good hands for the future. I can't wait to continue working with them.

Miracle 2: One night, Elder Bressler and I didn't have any lessons and its never too much fun to do street contacting in the dark so we decided to do some mining in the area book, all the work of missionaries from the past. We found some pages and called a few people. One of the ones we called was a young guy named Ivan. He agreed to meet with us. I had actually met with him once before a couple months ago. He wasn't too interested in becoming a member or anything but he listened to us and asked questions so I thought, why not. Anyway, when we met him, we waited for him on the street. I saw him coming with another kid with him. He brought his 20 year old friend Gleb with him. He said hello to us and said this is my friend Gleb, he's really interested in learning about the Mormons. We started walking and talking, Elder Bressler with Ivan and I was talking with Gleb. Gleb had read some good things about us on the internet which is always good. He said he had learned a little bit about us and ever since has just been wishing he could find out more. He said when his friend Ivan called and said he had a meeting set up with Mormon missionaries he just began to burn he said. He was so excited. I started telling him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy. I started telling him about Joseph Smith and the first vision and he said he had already read about it. He also smokes and asked if he could smoke while we were talking. I asked him not to and then explained that we don't smoke or drink in our church. He was so happy and said he has wanted to quit smoking for the longest time because he knows its bad but he just hasn't been able to do it yet. He had a problem come up and wasn't able to make it to church, but we have a meeting set up with him on Wednesday. He wanted to come to church but he couldn't this time. He promised to come next week.

In one week we were able to get 4 young men as investigators, good investigators. Fasting works. I can't wait to find out the results of the rest of the mission. We are going to be working really hard to get these guys baptized. Keep these young boys in your prayers because we all know that Kaluga needs them.

Speaking of Kaluga, I just can not believe I have been here already almost 4 months. That is the craziest thing ever. When I heard I was getting transfered here, I wasn't exactly too happy. Now, I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else on earth. Kaluga is just a nice place to be as a missionary. Lots and lots of work needs to be done, sometimes we have days where we couldn't get one person to meet with us, but at the same time, I just love this city. Of course Veronezh is at the top of my list but Kaluga is a close 2nd place. I'm glad I am content with my city. It's sometimes overwhelming to be one of two missionaries in a city of over 400,000, but at the end of the day you are really able to see the tender mercies of the Lord and see that we are truly blessed to be here.

I am sending my Christmas package home today, I am sending it to Megan's house so that when Mom and Dad come home from Iowa they will be able to bring everyone else's stuff with them. I couldn't decide which ties will go to which guys, maybe you won't like them, but I do know that the black one is Dad's. He'll like that one, it is pretty slick looking. Anyway, I'm also sending home some cheap soccer jersey's I got clear back at the beginning of my mission, mostly I'm just sending them home to protect the other stuff I'm sending so just put them with the other clothes and stuff I have sent. Maybe you could send me a little inventory of things I have sent home for myself so I don't buy any doubles and so I don't forget to buy anything cool. I'm sending some candy as well, share it with the kids but make sure that some of it gets over to Alex. I don't think the babies can eat it though, ha.

There are still things I am going to need to buy here in the next little while, I'm shopping for good deals and trying to spend as little money as possible but I will be spending some more, just so you know. I was able to take money off my card just fine, the machine must have just had a problem that one time.

I think that's about all I can think of. I hope you guys all have a fun Thanksgiving. I am really missing Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorites. Remember that I have been first in line for the past about 16 years? Now who is in front? This will be their last year because next year, I will resume my spot! Anyway, thanks for everything. I love you all!

Elder Geddes

17 months!!!

Hey guys,

Well today I realized I have been on a mission for 17 months, crazy huh? I can't hardly believe it. Right now I am sitting in the office in Moscow. We got up this morning at 4 to catch our bus to Moscow at 5. I have a visa trip tomorrow morning so Elder Bressler and I would have had to come here tonight anyway and tomorrow instead of p-day would have been a visa trip. Friday we have zone conference here so I just got permission for us to come up here today and have p-day in Moscow. Surprisingly they gave us permission. Elder Bressler is a huge war buff so we decided to visit a huge World War II museum. This thing had 5 floors and it was full of really cool stuff from the war. There were a few movie screens that had some footage going from the war, it was so crazy, I don't think I'll ever quite comprehend war. I do think, however, that if I were to be born in a different time, I would want to be born at that time so I could fly planes in the war, I think that would be so awesome! Anyway, the museum was cool, we were with the office elders and a senior couple that just got here yesterday. It was a lot of fun. On the way back we stopped and got a Sharuma, or a Kabob as the Europeans call it. Its that rotating meet stuff that they make kind of burritos out of, bottom line, they're always good and we can only get them in Moscow. I'll probably head out with the AP's tonight and do something, I'm not sure yet. At the museum I bought some really cool propaganda posters that they used to have during the war here in Russia. They were less than a dollar which was the best part.

This past week actually wasn't the best. For some reason some weeks seem to work out perfect and other weeks, nothing seems to work out. We did get a new investigator, a lady who speaks really good english. Maybe she just like speaking English with us, who knows. She did come to church but she hasn't started reading the Book of Mormon. We got a contact of a family of 6, a mom a dad and 4 kids. We had a lesson set up with them and they didn't show up, so I called him and he said, I'll be there in a half an hour. So we waited and after about 45 minutes we called again and he didn't answer. I don't understand how people can tell you that they will do something and don't do it. That kind of thing happened alot this week, oh well, we'll try again this week.

Elder Bressler has been trying to speak Russian all week this week, he's been doing a good job. He speaks Russian until 9:00 and then we plan and then speak English with each other. It's hard to talk Russian because he's still pretty new and stuff and also because he's really funny and we have a lot to talk about all the time but it makes it fun after planning and stuff.

Some funny things happened the last couple days. First of all, we were tracting and we knocked on a door. The way the door opened, I couldn't see in, only Elder Bressler could see. The door swung open and the guy said, come on in! Elder Bressler just stood there and said "...uhh..." I peeked around the door and I'm not sure what this guy was doing, I think he had been in the bathroom when we knocked or something but his pants were not pulled up nearly enough. Elder Bressler saw more than me luckily but it was pretty funny, we just said, we'll come back later or something and then we left. Later, we went to a members house to visit. Her name is Ludmilla. She was baptized last year sometime and she's probably in her 60's and she's a little crazy. Anyway, she had us do some stuff for her, Elder Bressler was putting up a new shower curtain for her and she wanted me to open a bottle for her. She handed me the bottle and it was a bottle of Vodka. I said, Uh, Ludmilla, this is vodka, you can't drink this and I won't open it. She started shouting at me and telling me that she just adds it to some weird stuff and makes medicine out of it. I told her that she would be better off not taking the medicine if it was vodka. She was getting pretty upset with me because she already had some of the medicine made up but she was just running low on it and wanted to make more. I didn't know exactly what the medicine was so I told her I would call the branch president and ask him. He pretty much told me to do whatever I wanted because he wasn't too sure either. I called another lady in the branch and asked her advice, she said that the Lord probably understands that Ludmilla isn't all there in the head and would take care of her. I thought about it and just opened it for her. Probably not the best choice but she said if I didn't open it she would just break the top off the bottle. Kind of sad but at the same time it was pretty funny.

I tried to take some money off my card today and it denied it. I need you to put some of my own money on my card so I can buy some Christmas stuff for everyone. I won't spend too much, I bought some 3 dollar ties today, one for dad, Rob, and all the girls husbands. You'll be surprised what 3 dollars can get you in Russia when it comes to ties. They are probably better than any other ties you guys have. I bought two more for myself as well.

Anyway, I think that's about all I have. Tomorrow and Friday should be pretty fun, I'm excited to see all my buddies again. Zone conference will be great because the whole mission except for Kazakhstan will be there. I'm not sure how much longer I will be in Kaluga, my guess would be at least one more transfer after this one but who knows. Anyway, thanks for writing on such short notice. Love you guys, have a good week.

Elder Geddes

P.S. I really want to learn more about Russian history, especially from the start of communism through WWII and to the end of communism, so if you can find any good books about that kind of stuff, interesting ones though not just history books, that would be cool. It would be good for everyone to learn about it because it's a big part of history in the world. I hope you aren't just forgetting about all of my book requests, like things from Bruce R. McConkie and Joseph F. Smith, and stuff like that. I hope when I get home there is a nice stack of books for me to read! Ha, thanks for everything!