This week we finally went to Moscow!... On the 3.40 in the morning train....
Conference was really great. I really enjoyed seeing everybody once again. Every conference gets stranger and stranger however as more and more of my friends bear their final testimony's (also known as the Last Will and Testament of mission life.) This time Elder Barker and Elder Turner both gave their final testimonies, seeing as they will both be leaving the mission in the foreseeable future. It is always strange when your friends leave the mission, especially ones that you really got to know. Other than that conference was pretty uneventful. I was rather sick. Then again, I always feel rather sick at conference. Maybe I'm allergic to the Central Building. This might be a problem, because that will be my next building in my new transfer.
Speaking of new transfers, I got one. For the next two weeks I will be staying in Ryazan as Elder Hark and a greenie come. We will be in a threesome together to show them around the city, and help them get a hang of it. Also, with the baptism of Anton coming up, President Sorenson didn't want both Elders leaving the area and leaving an investigator with a baptismal date flat-footed. After those weeks, I'll be heading over to Moscow to serve with Elder Steele from Canada and serve as the district leader of the Sokolniki district (I'm not quite sure how to spell that.) Elder Jewkes was laughing at me because once again I got a logistically unusual transfer. He jokes that I never get a transfer where I just peacefully move to a new, already established area with a companion. Lets review shall we?
-Nizhiny Novgorod to Smolensk- "Elder Brasier, you and Elder Jewkes will be going to Smolensk to open up a new area. Both of you have never been there. You'll have no investigators and are responsible for building the area. Good luck.
-Smolensk to the Office- Half way through the transfer: "Elder Brasier you are coming to the office for a mid-transfer transfer. Say goodbye to everybody because you leave in three days." I pack and on the night before I leave President Woolley calls: "Actually Elder Brasier, stay in Smolensk for the next three weeks. We'll have you come in later..."
- Office to Ryazan- President: "We just need you to go down to Ryazan for one week, and then you'll be coming back to the office with Elder Anisiforov.." Six months later....
So yes, it is all good fun. I love all of these interesting transfers, it keeps my life interesting, which is always important. I have yet to tell anybody here about my transfer because I didn't want to overshadow Elder Merrill (who is leaving next week to Tver, to serve with Elder Hunt, my old companion) and get people to worked up. I'll be telling them in a week or two, so don't tell anybody, especially anybody from Ryazan who might end up reading this somehow! (Irina!)
Other than that, this week has been pretty much business as usual. Anton is doing really good. He keeps talking about his baptism and really liked church this week, mostly because Elder Merrill and I gave talks at church. We have been really working with him to develop his testimony of Joseph Smith, but he has such a strong testimony of the church and God's love for him. This week we introduced him to the Word of Wisdom, which is always a big concern for us because tea is such a big part of Russia culture, as well as alcohol for certain people. I was really praying that Anton would accept it well, and to my slight surprise he loved it! We introduced it by saying telling him how Joseph Smith received the revelation and once I said that it was a law of health he snatched the pamphlet out of my hand and said: "We're talking about health! Give me more!!" Yeah... he really like the precepts and committed to quite drinking black, green or oolong tea, and was quite relieved that herbal tea and mint tea was alright. And thus things are going really well with Anton. He's a great guy.
Well, that is all I've got. This was a business as usual week. Things are going well, and I'm exciting to see what the future brings during this next phase of my missionary service! Oh, also, we had to get flu shots at the zone conference. That was dreadful.
As Always,
Elder Zachery E. Brasier
Moscow Time
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