Hello family!
It is nice to hear from you. I enjoyed the pictures from Shane. They look fun. It is sad that Brother Curry's brother died so young and unexpectedly. That is the one that I had probably seen occasionally? I don't remember if he has other siblings or where they live. Mom, that CD is particularly a Christmas theme, but it can be listened to all year round to center the thoughts on Christ. Thank you for getting that. It was fairly cold yesterday. It was around zero celsius last night on the street. It was more difficult to contact because there were just not a whole lot of people on the street. It snowed a little bit the night before last, but the snow melted through the day. Last night, we did visit though with an older woman. She was very kind and enjoyed us to be there, but she is leaving to England to live with her daughter for 3 months.This week we had the opportunity to go to a Bashirian dance concert for a cultural activity. It was very enjoyable, and it was Folk Dance, very similar to what I had seen at the BYU folk dance concert. There is a dance they performed where there involved sword fighting with sparks, so that was kind of cool. They also performed a famous Ukrainian dance. I cannot remember the name, but the men wear baggy red pants. It might be the Hopak or Hochak. On Saturday, there was a baptism from the sisters. Artur was baptised, and we had the opportunity to take an investigator there to see the baptism, so hopefully that will help her. Artur is a cool kid that is about our age, he knows a fair bit of english, and he used to be completely atheist. He decided to be baptized, and he is a very nice boy. After that, we had a small halloween party for the ward and friends. Our mission president was there and then at church. Wednesday, my companion will go on his visa trip, so I will spend a day in a different part of town, about an hour and a half away by bus. I don't know how far it is, but buses usually are fairly slow. In our town, we just walk because it is so small, but to go to the city and around the city, we take buses. To get to the church, it is about an hour trip altogether.
I liked what Shane had to say about trials and testing your faith. In this area, things have been a little slower in finding people and being able to meet, but It is essential to keep moving forward, and ask in prayer for what to do. Sometimes it is hard, but we can always receive guidance on what to do. I know that prayer works, and when I ask specifically, faithfully, and intently to act upon what I receive the Lord gives me exactly what I need. I like what dad said though, that it does not come all at once. We also need to be patient, and continually receive more and more. We will be 20 years old up here soon. Time really is going quickly. I hope everything is going well down there. Too bad halloween wasn't so big. Here in Russia, it is not really celebrated at all amongst the public. I love you all. Help others, be an example, and always remember to express kindness. Bye.-Elder Larson
