2 Months Out...

Hi everyone,

This has been a super busy week and if I told you about everything it would be a very long letter. Sometimes these letters aren't as interesting to you as they are to me so always remember to use the delete button whenever you want.

I posted some pictures on face book (yeah for me) if you want to take a look. My next project is to re-learn how to post pictures on my blog. We have been out for 2 months now. I still can't decide if it's going fast or slow, but it does seem like we have been here for a lot longer than that.

Our p-day last week was very fun. We had lunch here with everyone pitching in to help cook and then went bowling together and had a blast. Having a little down time does wonders for everyone. We always have FHE at the branch on Monday nights for new members and investigators. Those are fun nights.

Tuesday night we had lunch with President Zolotov and his wife. President Zolotov is the Branch President and he doesn't speak very much English but he is a great Branch President. His wife speaks English very well and they are wonderful to the missionaries. We are very fortunate to have great Priesthood leadership in our Branch. A lot of the Branches in our mission have the Elders doing most of the leadership. They are very small, like with only 15-20 members, and very few Priesthood leaders who actually show up every week. The Church is still very new in Russia and baptisms are slower than we would like, but we have great goals and our missionaries are working hard.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent with our interpreter visiting places for humanitarian projects. It is very difficult to describe the devastating conditions these places are in. One was a medical clinic that was very far out in the country (2 hour drive). The equipment they have to use is so old that most of it doesn't even work. Most of the medical treatment they give is just for comfort because they don't have what they need to help the people. It's very sad. The other place we visited was a school for disabled children. Most of the kids come from alcoholic parents so they have many developmental problems. The kids live there from age 5 to 18. Some are orphans who don't have a family, some get occasional visits from family members and some go home on the weekends and back again during the week. Their living conditions are adequate but very sparse. They have beds, but no drawers or closets to put anything in. Their bathrooms are horrible and there are no floor coverings, just cold cement. There are so many things that could be done for them, but we can only do one. It breaks your heart to see these things, but it is very gratifying to know we can help in some small way.

Thursday night we took the night train with the six missionaries from Voronezh. We all gathered in our tiny room for treats and games. They like to stay up until two in the morning on their overnight trips, but we ended our fun at midnight. The old folks aren't as much fun as the young ones, but we actually had a great time. The train got into Moscow at 8:00 in the morning, we took the Metro to downtown Moscow and then walked a few blocks to the Central Building for our zone conference. It was a great day, with lots of information and encouragement from President and Sister Woolley. We had a big lunch and while I was walking around the building at lunch time I ran into Elder Jacob Trotter. That's my cousin's son who is serving his mission in the Moscow Mission (not our mission). Both missions use this central building and it was so fun to actually meet him for the first time. He looks exactly like his mother, so there's no way I could have missed him. We didn't get to talk very long, but how fun to run into family all the way over on the other side of the world. Our conference ended at about 5:00 and we had four hours before we had to catch the train for home, so we walked over to Red Square. Oh My! If you have never seen it, there are really no words to describe it. At night with all the lights and a light snow falling, I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful. We took some pictures but they don't do it justice. Because it was late, all the buildings were closed, so we are going to plan another trip to tour the buildings. It is fascinating with so much history. I'm learning a lot! I hear that St. Petersburg is even better, so we have lots to look forward to.

We took the night train back home, didn't stay up quite as late playing games, and arrived in Voronezh at 8:00. Our baptism was at 10:00 so we hurried home to shower and change our clothes (the same ones we had been in for 3 days) and let the young missionaries set up for the baptism. Natalya was the first to get baptized. The Russian names here are sometimes hard to pronounce, so the prayer before her baptism had to be repeated several times before he said it right. Then everytime he put her down in the water, she panicked and popped up before going all the way under. After the 5th dunk she finally made it all the way in and we all clapped and cheered. Then when the second person, Dima, had his turn he was SLAM DUNKED so hard that water splashed all over everywhere and we all just laughed and cheered again. I've never clapped and cheered at a baptism before, but it was very appropriate and a great experience. It's thrilling to see these people accept the gospel and be so excited for their own baptisms. The Branch members are very supportive and are wonderful at working with the new converts. Without their help, most of the new converts would fall away quickly. They aren't fully converted when they are baptized and the missionaries continue teaching them for a long time after, but we rely heavily on the branch members to fellowship them and get them involved in the branch activities. So - for all of you back home, when you have a new convert, investigator, or an inactive member trying to be reactivated, GET INVOLVED! Do what ever you can to love them. If nothing else, at least say hi to them and shake their hands. The members can make all the difference in the world.

This is a great work and we are honored and privileged to be here. We are getting more involved in the work of both our responsibilities and doing our best to make a difference. We love these people here, and they love us. They are so grateful for anything we do and are very free with their praise, hugs and love. We continue to work on the language and learn a little more each day. I bet in two years we will be able to complete a whole sentence. We all still get a good laugh hearing Norm trying to pronounce the words, but he's giving it a good try. And, of course, everyone loves him.

We love you too! We love hearing from you and about you, so keep writing. Have a wonderful week!

Love,
The Frosts