I cannot believe that another week has come and gone already. These past 2 months with C. X2 have gone by SO FAST.
This week started off with a mission conference in Moscow. It was fun to see everyone, and to hear the last testimonies of some missionaries who are going home in 2 weeks--Sister Mordwinow, another sister who I love, and two Elders, one of whom I served with. It's super weird that people I know and have served a long time with are starting to go home. Before this, it was usually just Elders I had seen around and knew or served a bit with. And going home (unfortunately) just seems closer and closer every day. :( My companion and others are always like, "Oh, I just want it to be summer soon! And warm!" I'm fine with it just being winter for as long as it wants, if that means that August doesn't ever come. However. Not thinking about that.
We were kind of bummed this week when our family--the couple who we felt really good about--didn't come to English Club AGAIN. It had been 2 weeks since we'd seen them or talked to them, since they didn't give us their phone number. But yesterday while we were out contacting after Church, we ran into the Mom and the son! She said that she got sick, but that she looked through the BoM a little bit and that they're going to come this next Wednesday. I hope that they really do come back. We've talked to some other people this week, given out lots of BoMs (more and more every week) and are just trying to keep going. I really feel like this week hasn't been super productive. We've been working, but all our potential investigators are still just potential investigators. I guess it's alright since it means they're still potential and not all dropped or disappeared or something, but still. We haven't had a baptism yet this month, and no one in our district really has any progressing investigators right now, so we're praying for a miracle, maybe someone who can at least be baptized around the end of the transfer. I am hoping that Lena maybe that miracle. She is a girlfriend of one of the members, but she couldn't meet with us this week even though she wanted to and to come to English Club, and after church yesterday they left right after sacrament meeting for some reason. So we need to call her to set up an appointment so that she can actually become an investigator.
We also met the sweetest old man on the street this week. We were walking along the road, contacting, and I saw him (he was the only person around at that time) and wanted to talk to him, but before I could say anything he came up to me and said, "Do you remember me?" We told him that we'd never met before and he said that it must have been someone else, but then he told us about how he started believing in God after the War when he was studying something that I can't remember. Like microtechnology or biology...and he is such a believing man, but as far as we could tell he's not Russian Orthodox. He gladly took a Book of Mormon and gave us his phone number. When we called him to invite him to church the next morning, he said that he looked through the pictures and really liked them and wants to start reading. But he couldn't come to church, because his daughter is against it and said, "If you want to come to church, just come with me." But he is the sweetest thing and I really want him to come to church. He even stopped by the branch building on Saturday, even though he knew that there wasn't a meeting. Luckily one of the members was there and they met. :)
Yesterday we had ward conference and I'm not sure why, but I just really loved church. There was just such a great spirit there. There were a few less-active members there and it was just great. I was playing piano and I just sat there and was so happy to be here, in Russia, on a mission. Attitude is so important; it makes so much of a difference. Sometimes C. X2 starts to feel like she's been here for 2 months already and nothing has happened and that she hasn't done anything. And it's hard to tell her that things get better, because I know that miracles happen here in this work, but you never know when they're going to happen and maybe that you can go for 2 transfers and not teach anyone, but that doesn't mean that you're not a good missionary, and then suddenly you'll find a new investigator who's golden and who'll get baptized soon, but you just need to keep working and eventually something will happen. You said that you at least hope that I feel like a successful missionary. Sometimes I don't, but for the most part I do, because I am doing my best, and especially now that I've been out longer, I can see little successes more. I don't know.
Anyway. Not too much this week. Just the same old, same old, great work in Moscow-Zelenograd.
Love you all,
Sister Ashby
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