Sunday, October 02, 2016
Dear Family,
I can’t believe it’s time to write home again.
Time is flying. Officially, we have 10 months and 12 days left. When I get to
the office on Monday, I have to start working on the travel home arrangements
for our volunteers going home in February 2017. In March or April 2017, I’ll
start on travel arrangements for Dad and me. I just have to request information
from the parents and then enter the dates and passport info into the Church
Travel website and they do the rest. I do have a packet I put together for them
and Dad gets them luggage money and creates a mission history CD.
The last part of the week has been pretty wild
with Volunteers all over the place. We had visa trips on Thursday and a lot of
them are just staying because of transfers and trainers picking up new
Volunteers. The New ones will be flying in Tuesday night at 7:45 to Samara.
I’ll get to see them Wednesday morning when they come for orientation. We have
10 Elders and 1 Sister coming in. We have an Elder and Sister scheduled for
November and 8 Sisters for December so far. We had a lot more Elders but they
were reassigned to other missions. We did have only two sisters for December then
the other 6 were reassigned to us.
President O was telling us about when he and
Sister O went to the mission president’s conference a few weeks ago. I guess
they stood up and said that the Samara Russia mission deserved the Green Beret
award because we’ve had twice as many incidents as the other missions. Since
the new law started, we used to be able to say we hadn’t had any but we did get
one call up on Friday. It was just a document check.
Friday we took Elder Johnston and Elder Buchanan
to lunch, for Elder Johnston’s birthday, at a little Russian place just across
the street from the market we go to. Dad, Elder Johnston and I had chicken Shashalee
and Elder Buchanan ordered Dove. He wondered if he got the right stuff because
it kind of tasted like ground beef. We fed all 4 of us with drinks and
everything for around 1350 rubles, about $22.
We had district meeting and I made a cake to
celebrate Elder Johnston’s birthday. It was lemon cake with vanilla frosting.
We had two extra people there. One of them is going home on Monday and the
other one is his companion. After everyone had a piece of cake and I gave,
President Blinkov and Sister Anna a piece there were three left. Elder Mills,
and Sister Shumway asked for one and I gave the other to the birthday boy. After
the meeting, Elder Mills came over to the cake pan and was scraping the
frosting off it. It turned out pretty good.
Saturday Dad took me to the Hadsen Steak house for
lunch for my birthday. We’ve been there before so we knew not to order so much.
We both got chicken Caesar salads and an appetizer of tiger shrimp (which had
about 10 good-sized shrimp on the plate). It was all really good. With the
salad, I gave Dad my tomatoes and olives and he gave me his eggs. The eggs were
tiny so I wonder what kind of eggs they were. They tasted like chicken eggs. We
didn’t do much else besides grocery shop because it was overcast and rainy.
I’ve decided my hair is the worst type in Russia.
When it isn’t actually raining, it feels like its misting. The ends of my hair
in front are always going every which way. The people with naturally curly hair
pay a price also. Then when it’s hot and humid, my hair doesn’t cooperate
either. I should probably just get it cut like Dad’s. (no chance of that)
We woke up early this morning because I had to put
together my dinner. I made Chicken potpie stew. When the recipe calls for cream
of chicken soup I have to make that from scratch, (I did that on Saturday
night). I made buttermilk biscuits with real buttermilk the night before. I
made the apple crisp last night without the topping; I did that when we got
home from church. We ended up with on biscuit left out of 24 and a smidgen of
potpie stuff. I did send the left over apple crisp home with them. We had to
team the apple crisp up with chocolate chip ice cream. (I forgot to get some
vanilla)
Elder LaBaron is being transferred so this is his
last Sunday dinner with us and he’s not happy about it. The other Elder’s
promised to text him a picture of the meal next week. I heard Elder Quarnburg,
who is the new zone leader, saying to one of the other Elder’s “Yes, Sunday
dinner with the Stewarts.” He said this with a fist pump. I don’t know if he
realizes that since they are looking for an apartment for the zone leaders in
Bezimanski that he’ll probably be too far away to come to dinner. It’s about a 45-minute
bus ride away. I guess he’ll have a couple of dinners under his belt before he
has to stop coming.
It was fast and Testimony meeting today. As I was
sitting there, a wave of emotion came over me. I thought about how these people
were really my brothers and sisters and that we probably knew each other in the
pre-existence. I could hardly contain the love I felt for these people. We are
family. I bore my testimony with some help from the Elders and Dad bore his. He
didn’t have hardly any help. He is learning the language really well, although
he doesn’t think so. He did announce that it was my birthday on Monday. I got
some happy birthday wishes and then one sister wanted a party and wanted to
know which day I could come. I told them we’d be there on Saturday to watch
conference and we could celebrate then. Sister Ludmilla gave me a bag of grapes
and something else to eat that I don’t know what it is. I felt bad taking it
because I know she doesn’t have much. She is the sweetest lady. She bore her
testimony about how grateful she was for the temple. She is a widow and she was
able to have him sealed to her. It was a very good testimony meeting with many
heartfelt testimonies.
As Dad and I were waiting for our taxi home little
6 year old Veronica (the Elders nicked named her the tank) gave me some
flowering weeds. I told her thanks you and gave her a hug. I told you we woke
up to fog today; well by the time we left for home, we had sunshine. It was
beautiful.
President O had another great letter this week
that I wanted to share with all of you:
President Letter--Bathroom Prayer--9/25
23 Sep 2016
“Dear Elders
and Sisters!
Even though
I had prayed my whole life as a young boy, I don't think I every really
connected with god in meaningful prayer until my mission. Frankly, I seemed to
struggle constantly with my mind wandering as I prayed. I ultimately realized
that the best way to deal with this problem was to speak out loud as I prayed.
Unfortunately, the only private place my German apartments was the
bathroom—which was shared by other tenants on the same floor. It became my
practice retire there, lock the door, and kneel next to the sink—often with the
light off. In those dark bathrooms, often in tears, I struggled (and found) a
new connection with God. I know this will sound odd but those dingy German
bathrooms are now sacred places to me. When I finally take sister Ottesen back
to Germany to show her where I worked and lived-- I think I will first take her
first to the bathrooms where I first learned about meaningful prayer.
Joseph Smith
also learned much about meaningful prayer as he grew in the gospel:
1. Connecting with God in prayer
requires you to accept the fact that Heavenly Father is driving the
Marshutka—and that if you are even on the bus --you are simply a passenger.
The first
vision reminds us that we are absolutely dependent upon the Lord for knowledge
we simply cannot get without His help. After Joseph read James 1:5, he later
wrote:
“Never did
any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did
at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of
my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed
wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get
more wisdom than I then had, I would never know…At length I came to the
conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must
do as James directs, that is, ask of God.”
Note that
Joseph came to know that without God’s help he would remain in darkness and
confusion about the knowledge that he needed. Do you ever feel like that? ? Are
there things important to you that you cannot know without God’s help? Is there
inspiration you lack? Or intervention you need? If so, you need to start your
prayer connection by acknowledging Heavenly Father is driving the bus and
without his help you have no hope of getting what you desire.
2. Don’t be shy about repeatedly asking
the Lord in prayer for the same blessing---"weary the Lord" until He
blesses you.
What? This
sounds like nagging, doesn’t it? Don’t forget the parable of the widow and the
unjust judge. The parable reads:
“And he
spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not
to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither
regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him,
saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but
afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet
because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual
coming she weary me.”
Of this
parable, Joseph Smith said: “God is not a respecter of persons. We all have the
same privilege. Come to God. Weary Him until He blesses you.”
3. Ask your
family at home to join you in prayer over things you things you desire from
God. Join in their faith.
It seems
obvious that we would want to join our faith with our family to obtain
blessings, but consider this account of Joseph and Hyrum-- both being stricken
with cholera:
“Soon after
arriving at the point of destination, the cholera broke out among us, and the
brethren were so violently attacked that it seemed impossible to render them
any assistance. They immediately sent for us to lay hands on them, but we soon
discovered that this also was the judgment of the Almighty, for when we laid our
hands upon them in the name of the Lord in order that they might be healed, the
disease instantly fastened itself upon us. And in a few minutes we were in
awful distress. We made mute signals to each other and left the house for the
purpose of going into some secluded place to join in prayer that God would
deliver us from this awful influence; but before we could get a sufficient
distance to be secure from interruption, we were scarcely able to stand upon
our feet and we were greatly alarmed, fearing that we should die in this
western wilderness so far from our families, without even the privilege of
blessing our children or giving them one word of parting counsel. Hyrum cried
out, ‘Joseph, what shall we do? Must we be cut off from the face of the earth by
this horrid curse?’
“‘Let us,’
said Joseph, ‘get down upon our knees and pray to God to remove the cramp and
other distress and restore us to health, that we may return to our families.’
[Here we see these two brothers, Joseph and Hyrum, joining their faith in
praying for each other and their healing] We did so but without receiving any
benefit, but still grew worse. We concluded, however, to make a second effort,
and when we kneeled again, the cramp seized the calves of Joseph’s legs,
gathering the cords into bunches, and then the operation extended in like
manner all over his system. He cried heartily unto God, but the heavens seemed
sealed against us and every power that could render us any assistance shut
within its gates. The universe was still. ‘When we arose again,’ said Joseph,
‘I found Hyrum was in the same situation with myself.’
“We soon
came to the resolution of appealing again to God for mercy, and not to rise
from our knees until one or the other got a testimony that we should be healed,
and he who received the first intimation from the Spirit should inform the
other of the same. We prayed some time, first one and then the other, and soon
perceived that the cramp began to loose its hold. In a short time Hyrum sprang
to his feet and exclaimed, ‘Joseph, we shall return, for I have seen an open
vision in which I saw Mother on her knees under an apple tree praying for us,
and she is even now asking God, in tears, to spare our lives, that she may
behold us again in the flesh. The Spirit testifies to me that her prayers and
ours shall be heard’-and from that moment we were healed and went on our way
rejoicing.”
“Oh, my
mother,” said Joseph, “how often have your prayers been a means of assisting us
when the shadows of death encompassed us!”
4. Don’t be
afraid to pray for something better than what you now have.
John Lyman
Smith, cousin to Joseph Smith, was staying with Joseph and Emma and recorded
this story:
“In my early
years I used to often eat at the table with Joseph the Prophet. At one time he
was called to dinner. I being at play in the room with his son Joseph, he
called us to him, and we stood one each side of him. After he had looked over
the table he said, ‘Lord, we thank Thee for this Johnny cake and ask Thee to
send us something better. Amen.’ The corn bread was cut and I received a piece
from his hand.
“Before the
bread was all eaten, a man came to the door and asked if the Prophet Joseph was
at home. Joseph replied he was, whereupon the visitor said, ‘I have brought you
some flour and a ham.’
“Joseph
arose and took the gift, and blessed the man in the name of the Lord. Turning
to his wife, Emma, he said, ‘I knew the Lord would answer my prayer.’
Is this a
prayer of ingratitude? I do not think so. I believe this is a prayer from
someone who really knows the Lord and knows that He is a giver of good gifts to
them that ask.
Note the
Prophet’s translation of this scripture:
What man
among you, having a son, and he shall be standing out, and shall say, Father,
open thy house that I may come in and sup with thee, will not say, Come in, my
son; for mine is thine, and thine is mine?
5. Come to
know God so well that you really know to whom you are praying.
Joseph said
the following about our exercising true faith in God:
“Let us here
observe, that three things are necessary in order that any rational and
intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation.
“First, the
idea that he actually exists.
“Secondly, a
correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes.
“Thirdly, an
actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to
his will.”
As I have
come to know Him better, I am better able to pray to Him. His attributes are
scattered all through the scriptures. King Benjamin said:
“Believe in
God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in
earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth;
believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can
comprehend.”
So, what's
the point? What do we learn?
He is the
Creator of all things
He has all
wisdom
He has all
power both in Heaven and in earth
Man cannot
comprehend all the things which the Lord can
A knowledge
of these things helps us exercise true faith in Him.
Mary
Elizabeth Rollins Lightner records this story-:
“[My mother
and I] went a few evenings later to the Smith home, where others were already
assembled. Soon Joseph came in and they held a meeting, the people mostly
sitting on boards put across chairs. The Prophet began addressing the group,
but after a while he stopped speaking and remained silent. His countenance
changed, and he became so white that he seemed transparent. He stood looking
intently over the congregation. Finally he spoke. ‘Do you know who has been in
your midst tonight?’ Someone said, ‘An angel of the Lord.’ And Martin Harris
said, ‘I know, it was our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.’ The Prophet put his
hand on his head and said, ‘Martin, God revealed that to you. Brothers and
Sisters, the Savior has been in your midst tonight. I want you all to remember
it. There is a veil over your eyes, for you could not endure to look upon Him.’
“Then they
knelt in prayer, which he led. His prayer was so long, that several of the
people rose and rested and then knelt back down to endure to the end. Such a
prayer,” Mary said, “I have never heard before or since. I felt he was talking
to the Lord, and the power rested upon us all.”
Joseph could
have this kind of prayer because he really knew the Lord personally and talked
to Him as one man talketh to his friend. This is the kind of powerful prayer we
are looking for.
6. Believe
beforehand you will obtain your answer—exercise great faith.
The prayer
Joseph offered that brought the angel Moroni into his bedroom was a prayer of
faith. Oliver Cowdrey heard Joseph's version of the event and wrote this:
“[Joseph’s]
heart was drawn out in fervent prayer, and his whole soul was so lost to every
thing of a temporal nature, that earth, to him, had lost it charms, and all he
desired was to be prepared in heart to commune with some kind messenger who
could communicate to him the desired information of his acceptance with God. [And
as Joseph recorded: …for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine
manifestation, as I previously had one.
“At length
the family retired, and he, as usual, bent his way, though in silence, where
others might have rested their weary frames ‘locked fast in sleep’s embrace;’
but repose had fled, and accustomed slumber had spread her refreshing hand over
others beside him—he continued still to pray—his heart, though once hard and
obdurate, was softened, and that mind which had often flitted, like the ‘wild
bird of passage,’ had settled upon a determined basis not to be decoyed or
driven from its purpose.”
So what do
we learn from this prayer?:
Joseph had
full confidence he would obtain a vision.
He was drawn
out in fervent prayer.
His whole
soul was lost to every thing of this earth.
His heart
was softened.
He was
determined.
7. Cry from
the depths of your soul.
Sometimes we
really want something from the Lord and we have to keep praying for days,
weeks, months or longer. This seemingly unanswered prayer keeps us on our knees
pleading for much longer than we ever planned.
Joseph Smith
had been arrested on November 1, 1838—and for the next 140 days straight he
prayed for release and pleaded with God for justice to be given to him and his
companions. He cried out in the anguish of his soul:
“Oh, God,
where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”
I have
gotten to that point of crying out. A mission in Russia (or even Germany) can
do that. I have prayed for relief --hoping for the same words that came to
Joseph: “My son [my daughter], Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and
thine afflictions shall be but for a small moment.”
As Joseph
did his crying out--he drew closer to the Lord. He was given strength and
confidence and power that he did not have. Before Liberty Jail, Joseph always
had a spokesman to speak for him: Sidney Rigdon or Oliver Cowdery would give
the big addresses, Joseph the short ones. After Liberty, no one spoke for
Joseph.
I testify
that God is willing to teach us how to meaningfully pray here in
Russia--whether your prayers are in the bathroom, or someplace else.
Sister
Ottesen and I love you!!
President
Ottesen”
Love you all tons,
Mom
