The latest pictures from Kazakstan. The first baptism in Astona Kazakstan, her name is Vernera. They are still boys underneath that missionary attire. Zone conference in Almaty with Bro. and Sis. Switzer who is over the European missions.
Hey everyone,
Well I am finally a man! I can now legally break the commandments! Ha, I'm just kidding, but I am an adult now, crazy huh? 21 years old is a big deal, although it doesn't seem like much while I'm here. I don't even feel like I was ever 20, and now I'm already 21! Last year I had a really great birthday in Voronezh, this year has been good so far as well. Last night we had English club and we talked about birthdays, we sang a primary song, I played the piano, and the Maxwells gave me a box of Oreos, and one of our members gave me a cherry pie thing and some flowers. It was pretty nice. We had a sleepover at the other elders apartment where we shared my oreos and pie. This morning we made breakfast burritos, so it has been a great birthday so far. The weather is pretty terrible today, cold and rainy, but we are still going to have a good time.
Okay, so the baptism. Saturday morning comes along and everything went as smooth as could be! Everyone showed up who needed to, including one of our investigators named Svetlana. The water was colder than we thought it would be, and Venera is pretty scared of water. I'm glad Elder Hasbiullin baptized her, she really trusts him and he was able to calm her down enough to get the baptism done. She bore her testimony afterwards and it was just the testimony you would want to hear from a newly baptized person. She said she felt like she had wings, that she had flown somewhere, she said she couldn't really explain how she felt, but that she felt really light and happy. That's what I'm talking about! The next day, I had the chance to give her the gift of the Holy Ghost. I feel like I said the words I needed to say, I worried of course, it's always a bit stressful to do that in a different language, but I really feel like I was given the words to say. Svetlana was also present for that as well. She had tears in her eyes at the end of the blessing and told Venera she was jealous of her. The day before, after the baptism, Svetlana went up to Elder Hasbiullin and asked him what she needed to do to be baptized. He told her we could meet with her and prepare her for baptism. We were able to meet with her after church on Sunday and right off the bat she asked about baptism and what she would need to do to be baptized. Her next question was, how do I pay tithing. We have a meeting with her today, at 1:30. I don't love having meetings in the middle of my p-days, but when it is with an investigator preparing for baptism, I'll do it no problem. She's really busy with work during the week so we took whatever chance we could to meet with her. She will be baptized on June 18th, my last Saturday on a mission. I can't think of a better way to end my mission. The work is moving forward. From our humble beginnings of 9 people at the meeting, to the 14 that we had on Sunday, including our new convert, I can honestly say that the work is moving forward. The other elders set a baptismal date for the same weekend with one of their investigators. Things are just going great here. I guess throughout the whole mission things are just going awesome. We have record amounts of baptismal dates (22) investigators on the meeting, progressing investigators, new investigators, things are just cruising. President Woolley is really happy, and obviously we are all happy as well. It's really fun to be involved in this work and see the Lord's hand in our lives and in the lives of people all around.
I already bought myself a little birthday gift. I bought the Russian classic, Crime and Punishment by Fyoder Dostoyevski. I'm not sure if you have heard of it or not, but I guess it's supposed to be really good, and have a lot of symbolism of repentance and stuff. I bought it in Russian of course, it might be a challenge for me to read as it is written in classic Russian language, but I'm excited for the challenge. I have been planning my whole mission on buying two books to take home, a Russian classic, and the first Harry Potter in Russian. I know I'll be able to read that one no problem!
Anyway, time is flying and it is going as good as can be. I will write home 3 more times after today, because the day before I come home I probably won't write. I can't believe it, but it's coming to an end. I'm just so glad we have success and I have motivation to finish strong. I'm so glad to be here in Astana with Elder Hasbiullin. President Woolley will be here in Astana for our baptism on the 18th as well, which will be really awesome. Things just can't get any better. Thanks for all the support and prayers, and thanks for all the birthday wishes. I love you guys! Have a great week.
Elder Geddes
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