Daily Manna

Hey all! 

It was a great week in Rostov-Na-Donu! Had two solid district meetings this week. We have been focusing on "Teaching in the Savior's Way" booklet from the Church,  that helps us improve our teaching skills. This week we discussed asking inspired questions and then the next time we talked about how to answer difficult questions. I want to share a spiritual thought that was given last week from Elder Powell about Daily Manna from Exodus 16 in the Old Testament! Daily Manna was given to the children of Israel every day for 40 years for food so they could remember the Lord and his power. They did not have to do anything for it, it was there every day and they were given as much as was needed. Likewise, our daily manna is our daily blessings and tender mercies that are always there no matter what, sometimes we just don't recognize them or get so used to them that we don't count them as blessings. We were challenged to recognize our daily manna and since then I have recognized so many blessings! I kind of thought spiritual experiences were stopping because we are not on the streets or in lessons as much, but I just wasn't looking hard enough! I am grateful for a loving Savior and Heavenly Father who give me just enough every single day, no matter what. 

We had a lot of service this week! We put in 12 hours of service as a companionship, the Rostov Zone served others for 60 hours this week and we all have goals to do even more this next week. 

One of the most rewarding service projects of my life came this week at the Rostov Animal Shelter. It was a little intimidating walking in there surrounded by dogs,  but the people there were so awesome. They were just in shock that they had 6 of us show up ready to work- and even more shocked that we speak Russian! We did some cleaning and unloaded some wood,  that they will use to repair and build dog houses. They were so grateful for our service,they called us angels and kept thanking us. It was so rewarding to be able to help where help is really needed and to see how thankful they were! We will be helping them out about once a week! 

We also did some service at a language school here in Rostov. They love just having native speakers there to talk to and it was fun to talk to some people in English! They get so excited when we show up which always makes us feel good. They help us with Russian too! 

On Saturday, while on splits, we went to a hospital and served there as well. We teamed up with a group from the Russian Orthodox Church who goes out to this hospital weekly. It was a great opportunity to befriend our brothers and sisters in the Russian Orthodox Church and do some service with them! We helped feed the patients there, they also get super excited when that group goes each week! 

Saturday I was on splits with Elder Bauer who is one of the Assistants. He is a great Elder and it was great to spend the day with him! We got to teach their investigator Ruslan and it felt so good to be back in a lesson, it had been a while! He will be getting baptized later this month, the Spirit was so strong in the lesson! He committed to coming to Church weekly which is a huge sacrifice for him and he gave such a powerful prayer at the end that made me tear up. 

Sunday was a good one! I was unexpectedly called on to give the opening prayer which was a surprise! I was not sure if he said my name or not haha. Elder Shumway and I were called to be Primary Teachers for the 8-11 year olds which was a little bit of a surprise but we have been teaching them the past few weeks and we like it! They were a little rowdy yesterday but it is all a work in progress! After church we took the sacrament to Sister Ludmila which is always a highlight of the week. We had a spiritual thought then she had us sing and she sang for us, just the best. 

It is a crazy week with people going home and transfers coming up so we have lots of volunteers coming through our apartment. Today also marked the beginning of week 3 without hot water. I have got a system down though, just gotta get right under the cold water and endure 30 seconds then all is well! One of those unique Russia experiences!  Thanks for all the updates, support, love and prayers!!

Much love,

-Elder Tucker//Старейшина Таккер

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Pictures -  Last nights sunset, found some Skippy Peanut Butter (makes me happy), Sweet Statue, Dessert on top of Rostov (view from the Statue).

Elder Martion and A Triple Baptism

Hey everyone! This week was one I will never forget, it was full of special, spiritual experiences that do not happen very often! 

First, we had two district meetings this week and we will continue to do so for now. We do not have a District Leader so Elder Shumway and I act as the District Leaders as well. Tuesday officially ended our two week moratorium and I shared this quote, "A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are for." We were in the harbor for a couple weeks and now we are out at sea adjusting to all the winds coming our way! We also had a great discussion about humility led by Elder Foote who is one of the most humble Elders I know. We have started going over the program "Teaching in the Savior's Way" to improve our teaching and to help members improve theirs and we will continue that program for a couple weeks. 

Thursday I got to be on a split with Elder Brimhall!! He is one of my closest friends here because we were in the same MTC District and have a lot of memories together. I had not seen him since last year until I got transferred here. We got to attend an English discussion in his area called Zapadny. It is a member's English school and we were in her beginning class with four older women. As I wrote in my journal about that experience, I realized that although I would have loved to share the gospel with those 4 women, based on experience, a gospel related conversation with any of them would have ended as quick as it started. Instead, they asked us all about our hobbies, families, interests, etc. and at the end thanked us multiple times for our "great company." Maybe that interaction was what they needed to accept the gospel when two young missionaries approach them in the future.

Friday we had our weekly Volunteer Leadership Conference via Google Hangouts. As we were getting set up, Elder Tolokonnikov popped onto the screen and saw me, he made a "U" with his hands- Sister Miner got a good kick out of that! We got a lot more guidance from the Area Presidency and President Miner with some changes and clarifications. Nothing crazy, but we just learn more and more as this all evolves and we adapt as quickly as possible. We will now have an hour to exercise in the morning so that will be sweet! 

Saturday and Sunday were both incredible days. Saturday we had a skype call with our District Leaders to fill them in on new information and then headed to the mission office to meet with Elder and Sister Martino. Elder Martino was just called to be the First Counselor of the Europe East Area Presidency and they just arrived in Moscow one week ago. Their first trip was here in Rostov,  just for a day. We had the very special opportunity, 5 other volunteers and I, to council with him for about an hour and a half about the potential we still have even with the new law. It was so powerful to be in that close setting with a General Authority who truly has been called by God to serve in this area. He had inspired insight that he shared with us and he ensured us that nothing can frustrate the Lord's plan and that the Area Presidency is far from discouraged- they seem to be quite encouraged actually. He was so full of the Spirit and happiness and both Elder Shumway and I felt extremely fortunate and blessed to be a part of that meeting.  

After that meeting, we headed out to Taganrog again, for a baptismal interview! I got to interview someone named Zahar (Zachary in Russian) for baptism! He has been an investigator for multiple months but has always had doubts and never felt that this was the truth. However, he just had the opportunity to go to St. Petersrburg for Youth Conference and said there he felt the Spirit for the first time and since then he has received answers to every question and every doubt has been washed away. I did not do much in the interview, he knew the questions by memory and so he asked the questions and answered them. 

Saturday night we spent the night in Taganrog to attend the baptism at 7 AM Sunday Morning. They had 3- two converts and one eight year old girl- getting baptized which I have never seen before especially in a smaller branch. We had quite the gathering on the beach Sunday Morning and as we were standing and singing hymns, the Spirit reminded me of my baptism that happened to be on that very day of August 7, if my memory serves me right, 11 years ago. I wish you could have all seen all of them dressed in pure white walking out to the middle of the sea to perform the baptism. It was a sight I won't forget! It was such a special experience that I felt prompted to testify about it and the importance of baptism in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and so I did. 

Church went really well yesterday. There is always such power in testimony meetings here! Elder Shumway and I got to teach primary again and the kids were being pretty wild until Sister Taylor walked in. They love her and respect her more than they do us even when she does not speak Russian! 

After Church, all of us volunteers met with the Branch President and received callings that will become official next week. Due to some unexpected meetings and delays,  I ended up fasting for more than 24 hours but it felt good! I love the opportunity to fast! 

Last night we had the humbling opportunity to take the Sacrament to Sister Toma. She cannot really walk which prevents her from coming to church. We got there a lot later than usual and she was so thankful that we came, she had been waiting! After we gave her the Sacrament, she went on to explain just how badly she wants to attend church but physically cannot. She also expressed her desires to pay tithing and wants us to find out if she ever forgot to pay so that she can make up for it- keep in mind that her only income is her pension. I just thought about how so many of us have so much more material items in this life yet sometimes we see Church attendance or paying tithing as some type of burden. She lives in some of the worst conditions I have seen and cannot go to Church,  but she whole heartedly wants to follow all of God's commandments. It was hard for me to hold back tears as we met with her, she taught me a valuable lesson about desires and that worldly materials are truly not the key to happiness.  Until next week, thanks for all the updates, prayers, and support.

Much love! 

-Elder Tucker//Старейшина Таккер

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Pictures - Sharm and lemonade on splits with Elder Brimhall, location of the baptism, pics of district meeting,

and how hot it was the other day (42 celsius, which is like 110 degrees)

Zone Training #1

Hey all! 

It has been a busy week in the Rostov Zone! 

First of all, this week we had a few service opportunities. We got to help Sister Galina by weeding her massive garden. She only let us work for about 30 minutes before saying it was time to eat. She is a long time member and is so awesome. She gave us tons of fruits and vegetables from her garden and some homemade raspberry jam, that tastes just like Mom's! We also served our friend Alexander, in his garden. He speaks English and just loves the volunteers. We removed a very thorny blackberry bush for him, got it all out, after countless stabs. We also went with the sisters to Snezhana's place who was just baptized. She is up at Youth Conference in St. Petersburg along with all the youth on the West side of Russia so we went and worked on her yard to surprise her when she gets back. It is always great to get out and serve! 

Wednesday was Zone Training, for the Rostov Zone! Elder Shumway and me, and the Sister Training Leaders met and brain-stormed a lot for the conference. We had about 30 volunteers in attendance, which makes up for about half of the whole mission! We were getting nervous before hand and we asked President Miner right before it started if he gets nervous for stuff like this and he said, "No, I am amongst friends!" I loved that answer- that along with some prayers soothed my nerves. I started by going over the 3 pages of what to do as a volunteer (like our new guidelines) and then Elder Shumway led a great discussion on serving like the Savior and how to find service opportunities,  then the Sisters led a powerful discussion about how our callings have not changed! They had someone read their mission call and it made me tear up. I then closed the Training with a discussion about Strengthening from Within and how we are shifting our focus to internal growth and strengthening just like the Nephites,  in the late chapters of Alma. We discussed all the branches and things we see that could really use our help, let's just say we have a lot of work ahead of us! Elders Smith, Nelson, and Clark who are serving in Stavropol performed a musical number- they sang "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" and the Spirit was so strong, they did a great job. Overall, Zone Training went very well and now everyone has a better understanding of our new and improved roles as volunteers. The Spirit in a room full of set apart servants of the Lord discussing the future of the work is undeniable. I am convinced that anyone could walk into that and feel the Spirit hit them as it was so strong for me the whole meeting! I love the Rostov Zone! 

Thursday we had Volunteer Training Center with the whole Zone as well. We watched a clip called "Unto All the World: The Gospel in Russia" that explains the process of getting the Church recognized in Russia. It is a powerful clip! (https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-11-022-unto-all-the-world-the-gospel-in-russia?lang=eng)

We had a cool miracle this week! A couple weeks ago a kid on the street asked us if we were interested in foreign languages to advertise a school. We gave him our number and they called and said we could go take a free Russian placement test. We were busy and put it off for a while but then finally went. Within 5 minutes of walking into the door, the owner of the school was offering us a job there. Instead, we explained that we would like to help out as volunteers and not get paid. So he agreed and said we could take Russian courses their for free. We are just going to sit in on their English discussions and help in any way we can. He told us that two days ago he woke up and wanted his students to have the chance to talk with Americans and then we just showed up. It was hard for us not to testify at that point! 

Each day we have about 3 hours at the branch so that there are always volunteers here. During our shifts, I have been doing more Family History work and it has been fascinating. Loved reading about my great great great grandpa Henson Walker Jr. who was a body guard of Joseph Smith and the first mayor of Pleasant Grove, Utah! Really fun to get to know my ancestors! 

Saturday we spent most the day in Taganrog! Taganrog is about an hour and a half from Rostov and about one hour away from Ukraine. Elders Powell and Randall are serving there right now and we just love them and their positive attitudes! We spent some time with them before Elder Shumway interviewed their investigator for baptism! 

Yesterday we got to teach Primary and it was a blast! Sister Taylor who works in the mission office was just called as Primary President but she does not speak Russian so she has the sister volunteers as her counselors and for now, we are teachers. It was fun to be with the little kids, they are super smart! The sisters have already done a ton to remodel the Primary in this branch in just one week! 

Random side note, it is watermelon season. We have eaten 3 this week. They are like 150 rubles for a huge one ($2.50) they are so good. Thanks for all the updates, love, support, and prayers!!

That is all from me! Much love!

-Elder Tucker//Старейшина Таккер

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Pictures: Heart Bench, Taganrog Elders and me, Boat in Taganrog, Zone Conference

Happy Pioneer Day, VTC, MLC, and a Baptism

Hello everyone!!  It feels like I was sitting at this computer writing you all,  just yesterday! It has been a solid week, first week of the moratorium in the books! Happy Pioneer Day to all of you!!

I had a great birthday last week, got lots of very nice calls and texts from missionaries and others around the mission. Everyone made me feel real special! I also got a package from home so thank you Mom for putting in all the effort to get that to me and thanks to everyone who wrote a card, you are all the best! Elder Shumway and I went to a restaurant called Rees and got some Sushi for dinner so that was how we celebrated! 

Wednesday was also Day 1 of our Volunteer Training Center (VTC). We really want to come out of this two week moratorium stronger than we started, in all aspects, so we cover a lot of ground at VTC. We are very fortunate to have two Russian missionaries in our Zone and they helped us a lot with Russian. We also assigned Elder Kempton, who is super smart, to give us a Russian history lesson and he did such a good job! It was very interesting to learn about Russian history!!

For VTC we have also had the opportunity to do some Indexing on FamilySearch.org! Elder Shumway and I really love indexing now and we always want to do it! The other day while looking at my Family Tree, I came across some pictures I have not seen before.  Made me really happy. Family History is a great work! 

My favorite part of VTC so far has been our Doctrine and Covenants study groups. As missionaries we typically study the Book of Mormon and occasionally the Bible so we are taking this time to study Doctrine and Covenants. I am in an awesome group and we have had some powerful studies together. We just started from page one and have been able to relate our current situation to the various sections at the beginning of the D&C. There is always so much comfort in the scriptures and it has been powerful to read and discuss them with other missionaries! 

Friday we had Mission Leadership Conference (MLC) and it was my first time in attendance! It was fun to have all the leaders from around in the mission travel into Rostov and discuss the future of our work. President Miner went over the new "do's" and "dont's" as volunteers and then we just discussed how we can help our branches. There is so much work to be done in the branches! He also showed us some numbers to show that we ended the old era at a high- teaching more lessons than ever before and sacrament attendance increases. Now, with our focus on internal growth, we are going to see lots of improvements and miracles in our branches!

Because all the leaders were in town, I got to reunite with Elder Tolokonnikov and Elder Belan- my Russian brothers! I didn't think I would be seeing them again because they go home in a couple transfers but it was so good to see them and have them stay with us for a couple days. 

Now for the baptism! Last week, I wrote how I interviewed an investigator of the Sisters, her name is Snezhana. She told the sisters that she wanted me to baptize her but she was super scared to ask. She finally asked, and I of course, said that I would happily do it! Me and four other elders also went out to her house to do some service in her yard the day before the baptism. We actually found out the next day that our service was what helped her really know that this is the right path for her. She was having her doubts and Satan always works on those about to enter into the waters of baptism but just some simple service was all she needed! The baptism itself went well, it is always very powerful to be at a baptism watching someone be cleansed from all their sins and start a new life in Christ! 

On Sunday, Snezhana was confirmed and we were able to be a part of that sacred ordinance. The rest of church went really well and there were even more people in attendance than last Sunday! There are some great youth members here that I have started to get to know a little better. Really loving the Rostov Center Branch so far! 

That is all from me! This week we have Zone Training on Wednesday so lots of preparation to do for that! 

Thanks again for all the love, support and prayers!!  Much love!!

-Elder Tucker//Старейшина Таккер

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Pictures - Birthday balloons (from my package from home), sushi, fun with some other volunteers!!

The New Era

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the birthday love! I have 79 emails in the good old inbox right now so thank you all so much. It means a lot to have so much support. Tomorrow we will be gathered as a zone so it will be a good Russian Birthday! 

It has been quite the week! I arrived in Rostov early Tuesday morning after a night train from Sochi. Rostov is a HUGE city and I really love it so far. It is hotter than Sochi (broke 40 celsius the other day which is like 105 fahrenheit) but less humidity. The apartment I live in is so nice, we are super spoiled. 

My new companion is Elder Shumway and he is great. He is from Cottonwood Heights, Utah and is about 3 months from heading home. The best part is he is a UTE fan!! He just became a Zone Leader a transfer ago so we are working well together as we learn and make decisions as a companionship. He speaks Russian super well and is a humble leader! Crazy thing is, last summer at President and Sister Miner's farewell talk, a mom came up to me and told me if I ever meet her son in the mission to tell him hi. Well it turns out, that was Elder Shumway's mom! It is going to be great serving with him!  

Just a couple hours after arriving, we had some Russian elders arrive for their first day in our mission. So we were on splits with them all day. They were so eager to get out and talk to everyone, it was a good experience!!

As for the rest of the week, most days were 8 hours a day on the streets. Headed out at 8 AM, took a break to eat and study mid-day and then back out! We all tried to maximize this last week of being able to preach the gospel. There were so many tender mercies and miracles. Most people were very nice and we found some prepared people. We even met someone who has been to Temple Square in Salt Lake, and that was a first! It was inspiring to talk with the missionaries throughout the Rostov zone and hear their positive attitudes and faith. No one gave up and everyone gave it their all! 

Friday we had a meeting with President Miner and the leaders throughout the mission via Skype to discuss this new law. As many of you know, we are no longer missionaries but volunteers. We ask that all will refer to us as volunteers in emails as we do the same with each other. We can no longer talk about the Gospel outside of the Church and so our big focuses will be volunteering in the community and really strengthening the branches! President Porter- the Area President- was in our mission a few months back and told all the leaders that there are more prepared people here than we think, but the Lord is holding them back from finding the truth until the branches are more unified and strong enough to support growth. I firmly believe that this is the Lord's way of allowing us to focus on the branches because we have always wanted to strengthen them and have done little things but our investigator work has always come first. Now we will have callings in the branch and focus on getting the Church, in Russia, ready for the big future it has! It is such a blessing and opportunity to be here at this time in this new era of our work. We are really excited about it! 

Saturday we had a baptism in the branch! It was an 8 year old little girl and there was a great turn out! Our investigator, Alexander, came and we had the most powerful meeting with him after. I have never seen someone so prepared! He has quit smoking since learning about the Word of Wisdom,  just by the power of prayer. He is a coffee drinker but told us that he never loved it that much anyway and will give it up. He was just asking us what he needs to do to get baptized. I was blown away. So he has a baptismal date for July 30th! He told me at the end that although we just met, he feels like he found a friend and a brother in me. Love him already! 

Sunday was my first Sunday in the Rostov Center Branch! There were so many people and families! Felt like I was back in Utah! In sacrament I was given the opportunity to share my testimony. In SundaySchool, they just discussed how they are going to step up and do missionary work now that we cannot. The law restricts members but not as much as us and they reacted so well. Someone said that is is clear that the Lord is now giving them the opportunity to share the gospel rather than fully relying on us to do so. Right after Church, I was able to interview an investigator for the Sister missionaries for baptism and she will be getting baptized on Saturday! 

After Church we took the sacrament to a member who is blind named, Ludmila. Elder Shumway told me that I would just love her and he was right. She has got such a funny attitude! We walked in and she asked to shake my hand and just started arm wrestling me! Then she sang for us and we sang some hymns. She is great! 

Last night was our last day to do missionary work. We had one hour last night and 85 pass along cards and we went out and came back with 0! It was weird knowing it was our last time, but we feel good about it. For now, we have a 2 week moratorium,  so that the Church can find out some more and get some new documents. So we will be gathering as a zone or district daily to have "Volunteer Training Center" where we will study Russian (language and culture), Family History, and the scriptures. It is going to be great. 

I love you all! Thanks again for all the birthday wishes, love, prayers and support!!

Till next week!

-Elder Tucker//Старейшина Таккер

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Pictures of the Olympic Park in Sochi - The Swan - the torch and arena make a swan. Hockey Arena, one of the most expensive in Russia.

One Crazy Week!!

Hello everyone! Well as the title says, it really was a crazy week with a lot of news. 

First off, last Tuesday was full of miracles. We had no appointments scheduled so we were just going to be on the streets the whole day. In the morning, however, our phone would not stop ringing with people calling us to meet! We ended up having 4 lessons in one day which is probably common in other missions but I think it was the first time for me! That is more lessons than we had all of last week! And all of our meetings went super well and we have seen huge progress in our investigators. 

Wednesday night, Elder David and I left Sochi for Krasnodar on a way nice train. Got up at about 4 AM on Thursday morning to get to the airport. Flew to Moscow, then Armenia, and then directly back to Krasnodar which was so nice! We got back by like 6 PM- way earlier than usual. Unfortunately, I had a pretty sick stomach on the trip which made for some long flights but turned out fine. We had a smooth trip and it was fun to see all the missionaries in the Krasnodar Zone. In Krasnodar we had to wait a while to finally get through passport control but the guards were being so nice and they were just laughing with us. We were the very last people in the whole airport then someone finally yelled "OK!" and they let us through.

Thursday as we were getting back into Russia, President Miner called with transfers. It was earlier than usually to get transfer calls and I assumed there would be no change on my end, boy was I wrong. "Hello Elder Tucker, this is President calling with transfers. I had you staying in Sochi for a while but I was wrong. I need you to come up to Rostov and be a Zone Leader, can you do that for me?" I was pretty shocked, honestly, just because I was sure that I would be in Sochi for a long time. My new companion will be Elder Schumway and I will be up in Rostov- the biggest zone of missionaries and the biggest branch in the mission. Lots of change coming my way and I feel pretty unqualified, but I have found great comfort studying one of my Book of Mormon heroes, Captain Moroni. He became leader over all the armies of the Nephites at age 25 and has incredible leadership attributes. Grateful for the scriptures! 

Thursday night in Krasnodar,  I got to see the Johnstuns and tell them that I am leaving. Might not see them until they head home in September, sure love those two! Thursday night our train left at midnight back to Sochi and we arrived at 6 AM in Sochi Friday morning. 

Friday we got our second wave of mission changing news. The Anti-Missionary bill has passed and will become law on July 20. Starting July 20th, we will not be allowed to share the gospel outside of our church building. All of the details are unclear for now, but it was pretty devastating to hear. We have been asked to spend as much time as possible on the streets until then and all the missionaries are boldly following that guidance. We are working our hearts out and expecting miracles. We know God has a plan and although we might not know how this will all work out, it will. Just need to press forward with faith, through this trial! 

Yesterday was my last Sunday in Sochi! I was able to testify in sacrament meeting and most the members were shocked that I am already leaving. They expressed their gratitude for my service and told me how they already love me and don't want me to go. Elder Vonn and I unexpectedly taught Gospel Principles in the second hour and then after church the Relief Society Sisters came and got me. They all sang the Missionary Song I sent home last week to me. They even put my name in at the end. It was pretty special, I am going to miss the great people here! 

Unfortunately, as Church went on, I kept getting sicker and sicker. Had a temperature and body aches so we went home right after. I spent the rest of Sunday, resting, drinking a lot of fluids, and packing as Sister Miner directed. Last night Elder David gave me an amazing blessing and I am so thankful for the Priesthood. I am feeling so much better today it is like a complete turnaround.

Well today we are going down to the Olympic Park where all the stadiums and stuff are from the Olympics. Tonight at 8 PM we will board a train and I will be off to Rostov with Elder Vonn- we arrive in Rostov early Tuesday morning. It was a solid transfer here in Sochi. Both Elder Vonn and I feel like we got a lot done and improved the area. I am sure going to miss this beautiful place and my great companion and district. But, like Nephi, I will go and do the things the Lord commands!  Thanks for all the love, prayers and support!!

Till Rostov-na-Donu!

-Elder Tucker//Старейшина Таккер

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Pictures of train ride to Krasnodar, last picture of our district together in Sochi (yes my hair is short/dark-but it will grow).  Picture of the black sea from the train.

This is not from Zach- this is from his mom.  Elder Zach Tucker has a birthday on July 20th.  If you would like to send a birthday wish to him, he would love to hear from you.  Send it by Sunday, July 17th.  His email is:

zachary.tucker@myldsmail.net    Love to all of you!!   

The Quartet- Happy 4th of July!!

Hello and Happy 4th of July!! Don't think there will be much of a celebration here haha but enjoy some family time, awesome American food, and fireworks!

It was a good week, went by pretty quick! Last Monday, I had a nightmare of a haircut and I am practically bald. It has become a big joke but it is pretty bad. Already growing back though! (thank goodness my hair grows fast, and no I will not be posting a picture).

Wednesday I got to be on splits with Elder Labizov. It is always awesome to get to serve with one of our Russian missionaries, they have such an ability to connect with people immediately. Elder Labizov is also our Branch President and does a great job fulfilling that calling. He is loved by all the members and is always teaching them and loving them. Don't know what we will do when he heads home! It was a great day to just further our friendship and unity within the District and see what we can work on, in the future! 

In District Meeting this week we discussed commitments. We focused a lot on two of our most common commitments- praying and reading the Book of Mormon. President Miner has taught that giving that as a commitment without proper explanation or introduction is like asking all of us missionaries to go outside the branch and play a game of cricket. The way we pray and the Book of Mormon are foreign to most people here so as a district we came up with simple, clear ways to introduce these vital commitments for conversion/progression. Also discussed the importance of following up because even if you commit someone to read or pray and it is explained well, it will not mean anything without following up! We are all trying different approaches to see what really works and then we will discuss it this week!

It has been a good week with our investigators. Both Alexander and Nikolai came to church! We had a good lesson with Alexander just sticking to the fundamentals of reading, praying, and coming to church. He informed us that his Book of Mormon is down in Adler (outer city of Sochi) and that he is not there often so he humbly asked us for another so that he can read every night! 

Nikolai had surgery this week and he asked us to visit him at the hospital and then we helped him get all his stuff out when he got released. 

We met with our new investigator Samuel twice. He has tons of awesome questions and he loves that we embrace his questions and try to answer them rather than fear them. We are still in the very early stages of teaching him but there is a lot of potential! 

The other Elders were forced out of their apartment a little earlier than expected and long story short, they moved into our apartment on Friday night. So we now have all four of us Elders living in one apartment which has its pros and cons. Love the other Elders, our apartment is just not made for 4 haha. Just hoping and praying we will find somewhere for them to move into soon.

Fast Sundays are always special and yesterday was no exception. We had our two investigators come and I am glad they did because it was a powerful meeting! Also had members from Volgograd and an awesome family from Moscow- dad of the family was a bishop up there and served his mission in New York. One testimony was so powerful and it was actually one of the shortest from a recent convert of less than two years. He is a quiet man but he boldly testified that he knows this Church is true. He shared his gratitude for the missionaries that found him two years ago and how he could not quit smoking for 40 years but thanks to the Gospel, he is about to mark 2 years without smoking! Made me tear up! 

We had choir practice after Church which was great as always. It has helped us build relationships with some members and who doesn't love to sing in Russian? We prepared for our big Talent Night activity this Saturday night! Should be a good one. I will attach the translated "Song for Missionaries"- we actually had a member from St. Petersburg tell us the story behind it, it was written by the first converts in Russia to their missionaries. 

Elder David and I will be heading up to Krasnodar this week and then off to Armenia for visa trip #3 so pray for our safety!  Thanks for all your prayers, love and support!!

Till next week!

-Elder Tucker//Старейшина Таккер

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Picture of the song, and a picture of a typical with heat and humidity(haha)

Message from President and Sister Miner:

  Parable of the Sunflower:

Our first few weeks in Russia were similar to many of yours.  We were overwhelmed, jet lagged, hot and not used to the humidity and we really had not idea what people were saying (since we did not get 9 weeks in the MTC for language training).  Our first two weeks were spent traveling the whole mission so we could quickly meet you wonderful missionaries.  We quickly realized that there was no fast way to get around since there are only two lane roads between cities.  Our backs began to hurt with all the swerving to miss the potholes that seemed to cover most of the roads.  We decided our back pain was from PES pothole evasion syndrome.  I was tired and discouraged and felt like I could not do this for three years.  I was having a prayerful moment in the car when I looked up and saw these beautiful fields of giant sunflowers.  It was as if God was telling me that I could see the potholes in the road during this mission or I could look up and see the beautiful sunflowers.  This was God's way of helping me see the beauty around me.  This is the season for sunflowers and I was reminded of this experience this weekend as we came upon the sunflowers!! I hope we can all see the sunflowers around us!!

I hope all of us, like Pres, and Sister Miner can look up and see the beauty around us, instead of the potholes.

Have a great week!!   Love,  Elder Tucker