figs and goats

Dear family,
I’m not feeling so great this week. I think I am getting sick. I’m trying to not let it get to me, but that’s hard. The weather took a change for the worse and got pretty cold but now it is warmer and I think the change has affected me. But, we’ll see what happens. I only have to keep working hard for about two weeks and then I will get a break when my companion goes home. She leaves Oct. 5 but we have to be in Самара (Samara) a few days before that, so I will have a day or two to rest there before I get a new companion on the 6th. I’ll find out about that next week. I’m not really sure what is going to happen because two sisters are leaving and no new ones are coming. 4 new sisters are coming the transfer after that and so I think they will probably not close a city (It would be kind of silly to close a city only to reopen it 6 weeks later). I have two theories about what is going to happen. Either, I will get a mini-missionary (as in a Russian without the full-time calling) or one of the sisters from Саратов (Saratov) will come to Энгельс (Engels) for me to show her the area. If I get a mini- I will be in Энгельс to the end of my mission. If one of the sisters from Саратов comes, I will probably get transferred next time when the new sisters come. We’ll see. Next week will tell me a lot.
So, unfortunately, a lot of things have been reminding me that I am leaving soon. I have 3 months left. That’s still enough time, but I feel sometimes like it is not enough to do everything that I want to do. By the way, I find out that I am for sure leaving the 21st. I will be home for Christmas so I hope Becky is still planning on being there. That would be the best Christmas ever if she came. I found out because the office called to find out where I want to fly into. They have already bought or are in the process of buying my plane tickets. I hope I will be flying into Bismarck. The office Elder sounded like he didn’t know how to get me there so I told him if needed to, I could fly to Fargo. I just hope that won’t be the case. But, that’s not very important. At least you know I will be home in time for Christmas. That phone call really set me thinking, though. Then with my companion leaving in two weeks, it is really hard not to feel the passage of time.
So, this week was a little difficult. We had several people fig us (as we call getting stood up). That wasn’t very fun. One lady has goats and she wanted us to meet her in the field where she tends her goats. (See picture to the left - this was actually taken in Пенза (Penza), but goats are a fairly common sight within city limits. The lady we were supposed to meet with has larger goats than this one) We didn’t really know how to get there but luckily, we saw the goats and headed over. It ended up being her husband. He told us that his wife had gone to Саратов and wouldn’t be back until late. While he was talking with us, one of his goats decided to try and play with me and head-butted me. That was quite an experience. Luckily, she was playing and it didn’t hurt, but then she tried to eat my companion’s skirt. I was afraid that she was actually going to take a bite out of it. That’s an experience that will probably never get repeated. You gotta love times like those on the mission.
We had a really good lesson with one of our investigators the other day. We were talking about the 10 commandments and she started telling us when we got to “thou shalt not steal” that it is impossible to live here without being dishonest at work. For example, she said that she makes 1,700 rubbles a month (that is only like $60 a month). That only is enough to pay for their house and a few other necessary bills and leaves nothing to buy food for her two children. So, she uses the work phones to call her mother and prints off things for herself and uses the computers for personal things. She thinks she is justified because she makes so little. That is really the case everywhere here because no one makes very much money. The problem is, I think no one makes enough money because everyone steals from work and so the employers make up for it by cutting pay. There are several people who work in kiosks and they up the prices to get more, or they take things home with them.
That conversation led into how our investigator is thinking that she is going to have to give up her dream of being a doctor to feed her kids. She has no hope for a better life. I asked her if she prayed about it, to know what to do. She hadn’t, so we asked her to pray, with faith, and then everything would work out. She just needs to believe that it is possible to be a good person and live with all the necessities of life. We had a member with us who is a good example of that. She literally has nothing, but somehow she has enough. She even somehow ends up with enough to go to the temple. Why? Because she has the faith to live the commandments and rely on the Lord. If more people here had that kind of faith, people would not have such a hard time in life. I wouldn’t say that life is easy for this member who has no money, but she never has to worry because she trusts in the Lord.
(See picture above - Колотилова Ольга, the member who was with us at our meeting)
Other than that, we talked to an old man on the street the other day. He is really smart and is one of the few old men that I have met who doesn’t believe that communism was better. That’s interesting because he served in the army and got medals from both the Russian federation and the USSR. He served during the war and even though he says he doesn’t believe in God, he said that while serving in the war something saved him. He doesn’t know what it was. At first he said God but that now he doesn’t believe in God, but later he said that maybe it was some higher power or even his own strength. That was a little sad, but we invited him to church and he promised to come if he has time (his wife is blind and so he has to do a lot of things at home to take care of her). There are so many good people here who just don’t know anything else. And so, they have no hope that things can be better. I keep looking at these people and I am amazed and I feel such a great love for them and a strong desire to help them find hope, to help them understand that there is something better waiting for them if they will only accept it. That is a very hard thing to do, but it is still worth the effort.
So, I’ve slacked off a little in responding to emails. Grandma and grandpa, thanks for your email. Sounds to me like the dinner rotation is a good idea. I wish we did that here. But, I’m actually eating better here than I did while I was at BYU.
Lizzy, I guess you have a lot of revising to do. I’m glad you enjoy doing that. I hope the job works out, too. I’m assuming that next semester means starting in January, right? That will be really good, too.
Mom, thanks for sending that letter off. I hope everything goes well for his surgery. That’s crazy that we have so many missionaries! Though, maybe that isn’t that many. It seems to me like I am the only one. Maybe that is just because I know nothing about them. I don’t even remember who and where. I guess I’ll see when I get home. Am I the next one to come home, or is there someone coming home before that?
Sara, you really need to not get back into the habit of writing such little emails. It really isn’t worth your time to write so little. I think this is what you can do. Every night, take a review of your day and write down somewhere the funny/interesting/new things that happened that day so you won’t forget. Then you can write those to me. Yeah, I think that will be best. Remember Sara, I only have 3 months left. That means you only have 3 months left to earn blessings from enduring to the end.
Dad, that’s great about the family history work. I’m glad that you are finding names even if they aren’t direct ancestors or real relatives (as you put it). I’m sure they are still very happy to be found.
Well, I can’t think of anything else to write right now except that we are having a party today. It is a chocolate revel bar party. We are going to the sisters’ apartment, ordering pizza, and they are going to teach us how to make chocolate revel bars. I’m pretty excited about that. On Friday, we have conference. I’m also looking forward to that. I hope it will be the boost that I need. Its been a longer wait this cycle and I really need that boost on a regular basis.
By the way, I am still waiting to hear the response about tapchki. I don’t want to buy them if no one will wear them, but I think it would be a really nice thing to have at home since we have so little carpet. Let me know ASAP about that.
I guess that’s about it.

Love,
Сестра Атвуд