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