Still in Almaty and waiting.....

Hey everyone,

Well I got new shoes! They were about 1000 rubles, they are pretty nice and they were a pretty good deal too. I figured that was one of the first things mom would want to hear. I will wear them until about may when it starts to warm up in Astana, then I'm going to put on my good ol' eccos to finish out the mission. I figure as long as it is dry I can wear them, they still look okay. I cleaned them up real good and set them aside. My shoes are pretty warm. They'll serve me well the next few months in Astana. Oh ya, by the way, I'm still in Almaty! We still don't know when exactly we will get to go, but the rumor is next Tuesday or Wednesday. As far as the money goes, I think the picture of our fridge should explain that, ha. We are fine though. We have money now and will be fine. We still don't want to buy a ton of food just to leave it all here in Almaty.

Anyway, I'll start from the beginning. Last week after writing home we all went to the market and I got shoes, then we took a look at the central Mosque here in Almaty. It was pretty cool. They are very simple inside, no pictures, not really anything at all. It was just a really big room that only men are allowed in. There is a different part for women. People were praying there and doing their thing. It was quiet and peaceful. We went into a different room and I witnessed a lady become a Muslim. She had to recite in Arabic a certain phrase, something like There is no other God besides Allah and his prophet Muhammed. Then she signed a paper and, boom, she's a muslim. The man told her that now she should start praying five times a day and coming to the service on Fridays. Pretty interesting.

On Saturday we went to the mountains with the priesthood from the branch... or at least 3 of them. Honestly this branch has some problems. People are so laid back here in Kazakhstan that certain things just aren't important. Only a couple people were there but we made it fun. We sledded down a way steep mountain, I immediately plowed into a tree, giving myself a dead leg for the rest of the day, it is still a little sore now. We got it on film, two different angles so it's pretty cool. We had some shishkabob things that we all probably would have been better off not eating. After lunch we were playing american football. Our elders quorum president walks over to the middle of the field, says he doesn't feel very good, bends over and throws up right in the middle of our field! It was pretty funny. We grabbed a sled and shoveled off the puke. When we were getting ready to clean it up, the guy with the car, who happens to be an American, drives his big heavy suv into our field to pack up the stuff. The snow was way soft and pretty deep so he got his car way stuck! It took around an hour for like 10 or so guys to get it out! I couldn't believe it. It was a pretty good adventure though. We got back to the branch and there were two baptisms.

The next day we were pretty dead tired from pushing and pulling and running and playing the day before. Sometime on Monday, my stomach started bothering me really bad. Tuesday and wednesday we spent about an extra hour inside the house because I felt pretty junky. Last night I was still feeling bad and this morning too. The AP's came and stayed at our apartment last night and we are all going back to the mountains right after this. I asked Elder Harrison to give me a blessing. It was a really powerful blessing, I know I have asked for a lot of blessings, in particular because of this sickness, but my partrarchal blessing tells me to never hesitate to ask for a priesthood blessing. I feel really confident that the priesthood has the power to heal people. I am so glad we have this true principle in our church. It is such a blessing for all of us.

We have been actually doing a lot of contacting the past week. We are trying to get some good contacts and investigators for the other elders when we leave. Honestly it is a little hard to work as hard as possible here when we are just waiting for the go ahead to go to Astana. We are doing pretty well though, I think. We are talking with everyone and getting contacts and having a great time. President will get here sometime today and we will be having zone conference tomorrow. I'm pretty excited for it, especially for the dinner that will come after it. We really have been eating pretty poorly lately. Although, with how my stomach has been feeling, I haven't really had a huge desire to eat a ton of food.

Thanks for writing me last minute, I know my pdays have been messed up lately. I was happy to hear from you guys. I hope you have those babies soon Liz, I can't wait for the day I get to come read my emails and find out I have two new nephews. When I get home, one of my first assignments will be to learn which one is Ashley, which one is Lacey, which one is Miles, and which one is James. That should keep me busy for a little while!

Dad, I'm glad you are enjoying your new job, even if it is a bit boring. It's cool that you are making changes and are able to magnify your calling so to speak. Keep saving up your frequent flyer miles, that would be so awesome to come back with you guys!

And say thanks to Bishop Humble for the letter, I was glad to hear from him. I wanted him to be the bishop when I got home, but Bishop Gambles will do a great job.

Anyway, thanks for the letters and support. I love you guys and can't wait to write you next week from Astana (I hope). Have a great week everyone.

Elder Geddes