Long, good day

This was a very long, eventful, but good day. It began like usual, with study, but after all that, we went to a branch service project. There is an area of woods that is basically inside of the city. That means that a lot of people walk through there, and also means that there is a lot of litter. So, the branch decided to help. We met at a bus stop, and then headed over to this area of the woods. (See above left. Above right - picking up trash)
We worked for several hours, picking up trash. We filled many trash bags (about 8) before we ran out. (See left - all the helping hands. I name all these people with a similar picture that I posted later) We didn't even get all the trash that was there. As we were working, several people walked by. One old woman told us that we were wasting our time because people would just throw more there. But, if we worked by that principle everywhere, nothing would ever be cleaned because it would just get dirty again. And, maybe there are some people who will think twice before throwing their trash down if they notice that someone has picked up.
After that, we had a picnic. The entire time we were working, the weather was looking grim (as in that it looked like rain was coming). We got food to have our picnic, and went out into a clearing in the woods. (See right - we were just beginning our picnic. From left to right - Баба Катя (Baba Katya), Вадим (Vadim), Илья (Ilya), Elder Бордун (Bordun), Мокарова Лена (Makarava Lena) As we began cutting the bread and meat, drops started to fall from the sky. We blessed the meal, and prayed that the rain would at least stop before the activity planned for that night. We were fine eating our meal under the umbrellas that we brought. It made for an interesting picnic, something I have never done before. It didn't start off very heavy, but by the time we were done, it was pouring.
Still, it was fun. We almost got drenched while walking to the bus stop to go home and change. (Left - at our picnic after it started raining even more. Баба Катя, Elder Olsen, Sister Блохина (Bloxina), Elder Ананд (Anand), me in front, Вадим, Elder Boster, Илья, then crouched around the table starting from the left - Elder Мельничук, Лена, Elder Бордун) Since this was a Saturday, we had a meeting. We went home to change because we were soaked and didn't want to get sick. We were late for the meeting, but that wasn't too big of a deal.
After that, we had a little time before we went to the activity planned that evening, a baptism. The baptism was supposed to be in the river, so we were hoping the rain would stop in time for that.
We met at the train station so that everyone could get to the location where the baptism would be. (Right - Singing hymns at the baptism. I'm not going to name all the members here because some of them are hard to see. The river where the baptism took place is visible in the background, and as you can see, no rain!) As we waited for everyone to show, the rain began to trickle off. That was a good sign. Finally, we all got on a gazelle and drove to the place where the man who was getting baptized lives. He wanted everyone to stop by his apartment and walk with him down to the river, so we did. It was a nice service. We sang hymns on the beach before the baptism was performed. That took the rest of our night and it was a great way to end the day.
(Left - everyone who came to the baptism. Вадим is in the center. He is the one who was baptized. Seeing a baptism is always the best thing that can happen on a mission. You see how happy each individual is as they come out of the water, how clean. It is an incredible feeling, and even more incredible when you realize that you helped that person to get there. Of course, you didn't do it. That person did. They made the right choices to get them there. But through you, the Lord brought them to that place, to that decision. It is amazing. The nice thing is, you don't even have to go on a mission to feel that way. Anytime someone you love decides to accept the gospel, you feel the same way. Joy and at the same time fear. Joy that they made such an important decision to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, and fear that somewhere along the way, they may fall away. That has nothing to do with trusting them to keep on the strait and narrow path, but more to do with the realization that it can happen to anyone. But, you don't want that for them because you love them. You want to see them in the presence of God after this life ends, and you know there is only one way to get there. But even with that fear, the joy is worth it. I hope everyone gets the chance to feel that way)