Valiant Volunteer in Moscow: Week something or other (and a half)

Привет!

Here's the 10 day lowdown-

Thursday we attended our last temple session for a long time. It was sad, but hopefully I can help others make it there while I am unable to. Friday we had the tie draft, and the tie I got was made for a 9 year old it seemed like. It was short but I made it work. I got paired with Elder Graham at the park, and we were a little disappointed with our numbers, so we stopped a few times on our way out of Retiro and handed something to everyone we talked to! Sunday I gave a talk in Russian on Hope and Courage, and we were released as zone leaders. I gave Elder Franckowiak a blessing for his chronic migraines and we called it a day. Monday wrapped up In-Field Orientation and at 4:30 Tuesday morning, my Saint Pete boys took off. We sat on temple grounds until we left at 9. Our flight left at 12 and we landed 5:45 Moscow time in some really, really muggy weather. The flight was really nice though, because I was able to speak to the flight attendant in Russian, and when I couldn't figure out how to say something in Russian, we switched to Spanish! Gift of tongues is real, fam. The McGhie family, APs, and some Vladivostok missionaries passing through picked us up. We went to the office and there was Elder Lester! I missed him from Provo. We stayed in an apartment with 14 elders, and went back Wednesday to do paperwork and training. We also headed to Red Square and St. Basil's. The McGhie's took us to there home for dinner and we met their family. Their oldest daughter is 22 and lives with her husband in Provo. Nate is 18 and is leaving for BYU and will do two years before his mission. Sage is 14, starting freshman year, and has good taste in music. Jake is 9, and does card tricks. Macey is 4 and a ball of energy. We interviewed with President and went to the APs apartment. Next day I met my trainer, Elder Morris. He's a few weeks younger than I am and this is his fourth field transfer. He's only served in our area so far, which is called Sokolniki. He's from Mesa and played baseball. Super cool guy, we get along well. So our area, Sokolniki, I originally thought was only a slice of the city center. Turns out we have the ENTIRE center ring of Moscow (Bolshoy Theater, Red Square, Alexander Garden, Gorki Park, etc). We have one of the largest wards/branches (some have only 5 active members). We had about 50 at church and there were some members out of town. Tuesday we had district meeting at the Taylor's. He is the medical professional for all Russian volunteers, and she is the mental health specialist for the Europe East area. They are great, and they fed us, so win-win. Senior couples rock. We had two lessons planned for the night but they were both no-shows, and since we can only teach in church buildings, it's not like we could knock on their doors. Next day, we met with a man named Victor. There are a TON of Victors. Aaaaaand my first lesson with a real Russian investigator was on chastity. With a 60 year old man. Good stuff haha. After that we went to ВДНХ Парк (Budunuhuh Park) which is basically Soviet Disneyland. Lots of fountains, rides (which we avoided), museums, and an aquarium. Yesterday was fast Sunday and my first Russian church meeting, so it was a doozy. But I was able to bear my testimony and catch the occasional word for three hours. We had a lesson right after church, and then went to the Jensen's apartment. they are the senior couple over YSA. Elder Morris and I, along with a companionship of sisters, have been specially assigned to reactivate YSA members. We got fed tacos, planned some activities, and went home.

It's different here, but not as much as you might think. Think NYC, but Russian. Trees everywhere in the outskirts, busy people, etc. The metro stops here are crazy. They are all marble and filled with statues or modern art. Very clean. My language has rocketed already. I can read just about anything, though I may not understand it, and I can pick up the general gist of what people want to communicate. So what we found out Saturday, in terms of what we are doing, is that our purpose is now twofold. Yes, we are still supposed to increase the kingdom of God. But our big focus will be reactivation and retention. They want us to create lasting relationships with people. We will be doing a lot of service, lots of member lessons, and reactivation work. We will also be teaching investigators. That's about it. Keep the Saints of Russia in your prayers!

Любовь,

Elder Wilkins

Here's a barrage of pictures from the last two weeks:

Spain:

Westlakers!

And from Moscow:

(Side note: It is illegal to post pictures of Russian citizens on any social media site, etc. Therefore we have been asked to remind all readers of Jake's blog to NOT download any pictures off the blog. Thanks for helping us with this! But how cool are these pictures!)