Returning with HONOR!

Hello everyone,

Alright, well this will most likely be the last email I write as a full time elder. Wow, I really never thought I would write those words. I always had a theory that other elders finish their missions, but you yourself never finish yours. I think that theory was wrong, but we'll see, I'm not done yet :) Time is only speeding up. I'm trying to get everything done that I need to before I have to leave this place, see everyone I want to, see everything that I want to, buy everything that I need (or don't need, you'll see when I get home) and most importantly, finish preparing Svetlana for her baptism this Saturday. She is so great.

I'll start off by telling about her, since she's most important right now. We have finished teaching her everything she needs to know before baptism. She has accepted everything without a problem and often times, before we even explain things, she just understands. More than once it has happened where we ask her a question, something like, "Svetlana, what is faith?" And she'll answer with these kinds of answers, "well, faith to me is like when you just know something, even though you can't see it, or hear it, but you know it is true." She always comes up with these Preach My Gospel answers which really makes missionaries happy. She has already had her interview, she passed with flying colors, and in a lesson we had with her on Sunday after church, she asked me to baptize her. I didn't know what to say. It will be a real honor for me to baptize her, help her get through the gates leading to eternal life. I do feel a little bad about how I will baptize her and then just leave a few days later. I feel like I've just put on her training wheels and I'm already taking them off. Of course she will still have great missionaries here helping her along the way, but it almost feels like I'm abandoning her. I hope she doesn't feel like that. She's so ready, I love this lady, she's just great. She has a great understanding of the gospel and will be such a great addition to our small branch here. I am so happy that I will get to spend a few minutes on Saturday in a baptismal font, participating in this life changing event with her. You'll all have to wait until I get home to see pictures of this baptism, but don't worry, that will only be a week :)

My companion is a little nervous actually, for what will happen when we leave. He is really good friends with pretty much everyone in my mtc group, and has spent his whole mission so far with us. When Elder Player and I leave, a greenie will come in my place and an Elder who has only been out a couple of transfers will come in place of Player. I'm not sure what the game plan is, but it will be a lot of pressure on Hasbiullin to be the leader, if not the babysitter, and keep things moving here. He has already been here now for 3 transfers and isn't sure if he can handle 2 more, but I know he'll be fine. He's a good missionary and will be a great trainer. It will be a big change for him, but it will help him grow even more.

I still can't say that I have fully accepted the fact that I'll be home soon. I don't think it will click until I get on that plane from Moscow to New York. These two years have gone by fast, really fast. Yet at the same time, it seems like I have been gone forever. I am a little nervous for all the changes that are coming, but I'm excited, and I think I'm ready. The mission has taught me a lot of things, and I think it has given me a good starting point for the rest of my life. The scary thing about the whole thing is that my whole life has been planned up until the mission. Everything just pointed to the mission and I never thought of what would happen after. Well I left on my mission, I knew I had two more years that I didn't really have to think too much about what would happen after the mission, and now I'm sitting in Astana, my last p-day on the mission thinking, well, it's about to begin. I know I'm going to have a lot of surprises, but I know that the mission has prepared me for anything that comes my way. I'm ready.

I'll never forget these two years, the good times, the bad times, the hard times, the really hard times, and all the blessings. Somehow having the energy to keep going, somehow having the answers when I need them, somehow learning more when I thought I couldn't learn any more. There are lots of things of course that I can't explain, but all I know is that I'll never forget my mission, and the people in Russia and Kazakhstan.

I can't wait to see everyone, that will be one of the greatest moments ever. Thank you all for all your prayers and support for me throughout the past two years. I couldn't have made it this far without it. I love you all and I'll see you next week!!

С любовью, Старейшина Геддес

P.S. I know this might not have been the most detailed email, but I mean come on, I'll have all the time in the world to tell you everything next week :) Oh ya, and Elder Hasbiullin and I were in a car wreck this week on a bus! We got rear ended by a different bus and it shattered out our back window. We didn't even feel anything really, just heard it. The best part is that the bus driver just kept on driving his route, ha, didn't even really stop for anything. It was cool.