Moving into the new year is great. There's always just new excitement and people (in theory at least) should be more ready to make important changes in improving their lives. It's a good time for all of us to make some new goals, take a new direction, and work harder at the things that we never really thought we would accomplish in the past. We have some great goals in our mission that are really helping us to focus on that. We are all reading the Book of Mormon through 3 times this year, and in each prayer we have been asked to pray for the welfare of those who know not God. All of the Europe East Area is joining in and it is going to be so powerful. We're really excited to see the blessings that the Lord will pour down on Eastern Europe in 2011.
Christmas in Russia is pretty dead. As we were on the streets wishing people Merry Christmas most people just kept walking, or a couple of police even laughed and said that no one celebrates Christmas anymore. Pretty different from what we see at home, huh? We did find a pretty cool family on Christmas Eve though, and hopefully we'll be able to meet with them tomorrow or Wednesday. Good potential.
We actually have a few new investigators this week. One is a really great man that we met on the street who has an illness that has really humbled him throughout his life. He is wonderful and his mom seems to be one of the most patient and loving parents ever. She really wants us to be good friends for her son, who struggles living at home with him mom because of his condition and is in need of good influences. She even gave us a ride to Church yesterday, but didn't come in with us.
I'm really scared of teaching our other new investigator. She is the ten year old daughter of a recent convert. She's a really sweet girl, and reminds me of Sariah, my niece, but I realized yesterday on our first lesson with her that teaching children is way hard! Especially when it's just one. This will be a good...learnin experience. I think I'm really boring to her.
We watched the Nutcracker for Christmas. It was really well done. A group from Moscow came and did a show at the Officers Hall not far from the Church. I feel a little more cultured now, I've attended a ballet in Russia.
Not much else that I wanted to say this week I guess. I've started having weird dreams in Russian about teaching people the Gospel in wierd ways lately...My companion is good to put up with it and listen to all my crazy adventures that I go on while I sleep, like my long chat about family history with Elder Holland. (He didn't speak Russian though...but President Pratt did.)
Well have a great new year and good luck getting back into everything.
So I just realized that New Years was like 2 weeks ago...but today is the first working day in Russia since New Years...so the holidays are just ending for us. This week is "Old New Years" ...I plan on celebrating it too.
OH! I almost forgot! The sisters got us into this crazy service project this week cleaning an old man's apartment. It was probably the nastiest living place I've ever seen. Even beat the stuff scouts do. We were there 4 hours, and made a huge difference, but didn't finish really at all. Elder Miller is a hero...he cleaned the toilette. I love Elder Miller. We all do.
Happy continuing holidays! Love,
Elder Fife
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