Stay Classy, San Diego

Hello. It was a great week here. Here's the famous weekly rundown. Tuesday was fun. We started off by doing some service at a less-active member's dacha, and it started raining really hard. All we did was move some wood from one pile to another. I don't know if she has a plan for what she wants to do with it, but whatever. Then we went to that Ikea store again to get another mattress for the other sisters. Funny story.. they called us that night and said "we don't really need the mattress" so that was a bummer. We'll come back to that story later. On Wednesday the zone leaders came to do zone training. My MTC companion is one of our zone leaders, and I got to go out with him. That was really fun. We went to an active member's house and taught him a quick thought, and then he talked about all of his problems to us. He hasn't paid tithing in 5 months because he's waiting for the hard times to pass. We explained that he should pay with faith and all will get better but he just said "yeah, I understand... I understand... but I'll just wait" that was a bummer. On the bus home we met some Brits and a Texan guy, that was super fun. Thursday we had service at that beautiful dacha by the lake again for the primary president, and she was really grumpy. She kept getting mad at me! Her weed wacker ran out of the plastic twine stuff as soon as it was my turn to have a go, and she thought I had broken it. Even after I explained to her what we needed to do, she still was treating me like an idiot. I didn't like that. We had lunch at this Mexican restaurant here called Sanches and it was fantasmic. I had some fajitas. It was fun. We found some old Jehovah's Witnesses, talked to them for a while. I guess that they've been hitting our area really hard here lately. Friday my American comp had an emotional meltdown and a slip of the tongue and a twenty minute pouting session in the bathroom. We went back to the Ikea to get our money back. Saturday we had Russian practice, a tough weekly planning session (the Russian didn't want to be involved or do anything that day) so that was tough. On Sunday we had a great lesson from the Elder's Quorum President from the June Liahona. Then we did some talking and walking. Tonight we're going to St. Petersburg and tomorrow morning we'll meet the new mission president. I guess he's great, our zone leaders have already met him. He already speaks Russian pretty well I guess, that's cool. 

Here's my thing for the week. PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH. If you tell somebody to do something, you better be doing it. Don't say to always have a happy attitude if you don't. Don't quote scriptures to correct another's actions, becuase there are an endless list of scriptures that one could use to get you as well. We live in an imperfect world filled with imperfect people. We can't expect perfection from anybody here, only their best efforts. We're all here to improve ourselves and we should be helping each other on the path to perfection. We can't do it alone, no matter how hard we try. That's all, just be careful. When you do those things, all trust, respect, love, etc. that others have for you will start to melt away and will be hard to get back. 

Love you all!

Elder G

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Here comes the sun... and it doesn't ever go away.

It was good week. Let's get down to it, shall we? Tuesday we had district meeting. A few of the sisters were going off the walls, and it was pretty interesting. Some funny things said during that meeting. We got home from that and I looked at my apartment and it was a mess. It wasn't like the mess at home that we would usally have, because the floor here is fake hardwood so the dust is very very visible. It's a lot different than having carpets. I really don't like living in a pig-home (I don't know how to spell that other word, stigh or something) and so I got my team of cleaners ready and we cleaned (very reluctantly) for a few minutes. One companion actually worked, the other just played around with his items that were out, and none of them got put away. So, while he was sleeping, we threw them all on a chair (all the stuff that was his that was spread out all over the apartment) and he didn't like that too much, he gave the old "my mess is an organized one". So now our apartment is cleaner. We went less active hunting and found one that hadn't talked to missionaries in years! It was cool, she just let us right in and we had a good chat with her. We went walking on Wed. On Thursday we went out to a beautiful dacha just outside the city, right on the water of the lake. Did some service for a member there. Sam, be grateful for the lawn mower. That's all I have to say. It was very pretty there, we'll go back again this week. On Friday we contacted as we went searching for nutmeg for some sugar cookies. On Saturday, we gave the sugar cookies to the people at the picnic. WE put on a picnic, had a good turnout and played some fun games. WE played the donut Halloween game, where the donuts are hanging and you can't use your hands. That was a hit, nobody had ever seen that before. We played soccer with some of the kids and it was fun to get my legs moving in a sports setting, not just running. That was a really fun event. On Sunday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about conversion and gave three examples of conversion. Alma the Younger, The young ruler from Matthew, and Laman and Lemuel. It was cool for me to study that topic. I even got to match up with the other two talks, and we didn't even sync up. It just happened. Cool. We also had ward council. This ward is in some trouble. Everybody has different ideas about how it should be done. When and where to have classes, how to divide the classes, all of that. So here's my little thought for this time. Be grateful for everything that you have. Everything. Be grateful for good parents, good family, good friends, food, just everything that you can think of. It's really amazing what you realize that you have when it's taken away from you. I was so blessed to have good friends who supported me and were just pals. Even more than that a great family full of great people that I can always just talk to and get advice from. Supportive in everything, I love you guys! You're the best!

Elder Gwilliam

Why do we fall, Bruce?

It was a good week. Here we go, right into it. Tuesday was fun, we had a service project at a less active's "dacha" or cottage basically. It's like a place where everybody escapes to in the summer, and it's a real bummer. For the wards that is. Attendance hits the all time low for the year during the summer. We weeded for 3 hours. She actually wanted us to not pull out the roots so that they would grow back sometime later, she thinks some of them are pretty. The sisters were there too and we got to have a good time. Lots of snails. We had a meeting set for the night (no show) and we saw a little kitten. I grabbed it. This college aged girl walked by and we asked her if she had food for the cat. She said no, but wanted to see the cat so came and talked to us. We got her number for lessons or english, then these mysterious little girls came and snatched the cat and ran away. Hm... what a great cat, what great timing. We'll see where that goes. We talked to a Lutheran lady on the street, she told us to repent and my american comp really didn't like that. He pulled of his badge, yelled "WE ALREADY DID" then said some other things. She was walking away when he said that, and she came back over and said that our badges don't give us any power. Which is true. And she got all ticked and walked away, and Elder H got all ticked and walked away and yelled that she just threw away her chance at salvation. I wanted to say that he probably just helped her never want to talk to missionaries again, but I bit my tongue. I've gotten good at that, I think. So that was dramatic. Wednesday we had district meeting, and I did a baptismal interview with a young man here who is ready to get baptized. But, the next morning he called the sisters and said he wasn't ready and cancelled for the Saturday baptism. Bummer. He was so excited. We'll see what happens to him. Then we rode on a bus for 1.5 hours to get to a little Ikea office here to buy a mattress for one of the sisters. Turns out, we didn't have enough money with us. Turns out we did, but my companions didn't want to cough up. That irked me. So Friday we did the 3 hour trip again to buy the mattress. Saturday we had language practice with the russian sister, and the office couple came up to see the ward. So it was good. We went out with the elder, we stopped by some less actives and caught a few of them home and willing to meet. That was good. Sunday was awesome. There were 46 people at church IN THE SUMMER which is a record here I think, and 6 of them were investigators and 8 less or non active members. It was awesome! That night we called a Jehovah's Witness on accident and so our russian companion did the talking and the americans did the scripture supplying, that was a fun conversation. Good end to the week.

So this week was strange. We had lessons fall through all over the place. A baptism fell through. And yet... 46 people at church, 6 new investigators in our district in a week (average is 1 or 2) and many other things. We had a missionary night when we were going to go on splits with members not work out. It seemed like everything wasn't working out and it was all bad, but it was a good week. There was some light, and we forgot all about the dark. So that's my thing for the week. Look for the good in things, you'll always find it. Then focus on it. Then it will grow and the darkness will get blasted away. Darkness never defeats light.

Love you all!

Andrew

This Week

Hey y'all. It was a great week here. It went by quick. Here's the famed recap: Tuesday, we had district meeting. It was good, we had to split up the areas in our city because there used to be 2 companionships, now there are 3. So that was fun, I just came with a plan it didn't make anybody want to slap me, so it worked out. Lots of contacting. Wednesday was good. We didn't have an ironing board in our apartment because the sisters who where there before threw it away... so we went to the big supermarket in our area and got one. We walked all the way home with it. My companions didn't want to look silly carrying around an ironing board, so I took it. We ended up having fun trying to get people to talk to us and had a good photo shoot. That night at about 10:40 we got on a night train to the city. Man was it stuffy. And a companion who ate something that didn't make his insides feel to good made that 5x7 room really stuffy. We got to the city around 7, went straight to zone conference. The last zone conference with the Clarks. They spent the first few hours talking about how we can improve as a mission, getting our suggestions and that, then after lunch they gave us marriage counsel. It was cool, they said they like to talk to missionaries about this right before they go home, the last dinner with the Clarks the day before you go home, but wanted all of us to get the knowledge. So, that was fun. Just talked about being good people and what to look for in a spouse. They did a good job of keeping it under control. After that we went to a restauraunt on the main street in the city called 28 American Burgers. I was in heaven. I had a bacon burger and fries, and it wasn't too bad. Closest to American food that I've gotten. A plus, they were playing a Billy Haley and the Comets concert on the TV. Good, American photography and atmosphere there. That night, same night train back to Petro. Friday was a tough day. I was dead tired, and three dead tired people together makes it hard to focus. I just got quiet, my american comp got wacky, and russian got grumpy. It was a strange weekly planning session, I will tell you that much. Saturday morning we went to the church and got russian help from a russian sister who's in our district here, she's super cool. Super bold. She's been a member for 2 years, and she's on fire. It's really cool. She taught us a lesson about Russian. Lots of contacting. Sunday was good. We had our church, and then had a ward council meeting. That was good. We are getting things moving in the branch as far as member involvement. We have a good sized branch for the mission, so we are trying to set up activities and firesides and things like that. It was a good week even though the investigators aren't there and the less actives aren't home. We're doing our best. We basically got white washed. We moved into a new area where the russian hadn't been before, and the sisters who left took the investigators that they were meeting with into their new area because they didn't know the addresses. And honestly, the two elders who were here before, one was on his last transfer and the other has a hard time working and getting on it. Both Russians, they just walked the streets and left nothing for the new missionaries. Frustrating. Hey, this leads into my spiritual thought part pretty well. Don't just do the bottom line. It may be enough to get an A, or to win that game. But in the long run, it won't be enough. It'll be harder for those who come after you in whatever you are doing, or it will be harder for you when you have to come back. When you show up to math class in a year and have to take a test about your last class to see what you remember. If you just did enough, you won't remember. When you get to the playoffs, and you face a team that's a lot better than what you're used to, if you just breezed through and didn't try your best all season, you are in trouble. Go above and beyond. Do it for others. Christ, when He suffered for our sins, went above and beyond for us. He took upon Himself our sins so that we could return to Heavenly Father clean. He didn't need to suffer for our physical pains, emotional earthquakes, or spiritual sadness, but He did. For us. So that whenever we are having a tough time, in any way, we can turn to Him for help. Because He knows how to help and comfort us in every situation. He loved us, so He went above and beyond for us. Be the best you can be! I love you all, you're the best. 

Andrew Gwilliam

 Ironing Board

Goobka bob (russian for spongebob)

The train

Cathedral

Neva River

Beautiful, sunny, mild-climated Petro

All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone

Hey hey hey! I was a crazy week, I'll tell you what I remember. Tuesday we had district meeting, we said goodbye to some people. Monday night we had a lesson with an investigator that speaks english and Elder Saxton got real ticked when he misunderstood what the investigator said to him. Wrecked that lesson, maybe the relationship with missionaries. bummer. So Tuesday we did that stuff and packed. then, Wednesday we had the transfer meeting. We went to the center of the city, meet, said goodbye, and we were off. My comps had interviews with president so we waited for a few minutes. Hours. Then at 6 we had a 6 hour train up to Petro and got no sleep. But Elder Holman taught me how to solve a Rubiks Cube, and now I can do it in 2 minutes. Cool dumb pointless talents. Then we slept... got up a the usual time, and we were dead. We met a member to get our registrations here all set up, then contacted for a few hours. Some sisters left this area of the city to the other half and took all the investigator sheets with them, so now we have nothing and they're killing it. But that's ok, off to work. My Russian companion is telling me to stop emailing so we can get going, and I'm saying no. I need to finish. I have like 30 more minutes. Darn him. We have lots of fun together, I like being with two other companions. It is a little tough with the living conditions though. Small rooms, three dudes, not a good combo. We met with a few of the active members to get to know them, and we had a full day service project and we moved a members stuff to a new apartment. It was really fun. The lady was less active, and she thought we didn't understand a word she said the whole time, but we did. She was embarrased when she figured out that we had been here for months and spoke Russian ok. it was funny. Church yesterday was good. We had about 26 people, and we had a great testimony meeting. I like it when I come into an area and it's testimony meeting right away. It's a good time to just get up there and make yourself known to the ward. it's a good ward and I'm happy to be here.

I realized something this week. Sometimes, we think that we are really bad at something. We think we're just terrible at it. In reality, we aren't bad. My Russian companion told me that he wanted to improve his awful patience. He has great patience. So, I don't really know where I was going with that. I just wanted to say it.

Love you all.

Andrew