May 2, 2016

Dear Family and Friends, 

First off, I want to thank Dad for sending me a lot of funny things this week.  He sent me a whole bunch of bad puns, and I showed them to my companion who is the king of bad puns and he just died.  My favorite was probably "Q: What is the definition of "varicose" A: Nearby"

Anyway, it sounds like you have had quite the storm out in Utah, that's a lot of fun, I miss making forts and having a good time with the electricity out.  That's also cool about the homeowner's association too!  Sounds like progress is being made.  Also, that picture of you 2 next to Mark Eaton was hilarious.  I wonder how small he would make David look?  I can't even imagine being that big.  Nate's a little goon, that's too funny playing would you rather with him, for everyone elses pleasure, I'll add what you sent me mom: 

"your dad just asked NJB "would you rather go to St Pete. For a day and see CAB and visit with him for a day or to Moscow and see all of your friends?"--he choose Moscow--haha--said he would see you in a year and get to talk to you on mothers day.  Another question he asked "would you rather visit Japan or China?"  as NJB was weighing pros and cons he said "In china the men pick their nose with their pinkie I think Japan."

You're a funny kid Nathan, and I miss you, but I agree with choosing to go to Moscow, I'll be skyping you in 6 short days now.  That blows my mind, especially because I'll still be in Novgorod when I skype.  It's been a fun 6 months, I've really come to love the people so much.  This last Sunday was Russian Easter, and it was also Fast Sunday.  It was just such a powerful meeting, we were few in numbers but the Spirit was strong.  I was really impressed when reading in the Bible on Sunday.  I decided to read John 17-21 as well as 3 Nephi 11, basically 5 chapters that testify about the mission and the reality of the Savior.  In John 21:15-17 Christ asks Peter if Peter loves him, to which Peter replies "Yes Lord" following which Christ tells Peter to "Feed His Sheep".  Christ says this to Peter 3 times.  I was really impressed by the lesson Christ was teaching there, that if we love Christ, then we will share that love with others.  It was very powerful and set the tone for the rest of the day.  Some of you know, but in Russian culture on Easter you say "Christ is risen" to which people reply "Indeed, he is risen".  By the way Russian is so cool, I can say "Indeed, he is risen", which is 4 words in English, in just 2 words in Russian, without having to worry about a comma!  Sorry, this language is really cool, and as of late I've just been really excited about it, things are starting to click a lot more.  Anyway, we had to be inside by 7 for safety reasons, but until that point we just got to testify to people that Christ is risen, and what that means.  It was a wonderful week, and I couldn't have asked for anything better!

A couple of funnies from this week:

-We were waiting in line to buy our bus ticket and these 3 little kids heard us speaking in English, and one little kid said "Hello" and Elder Coleman said "привет" in return and they all looked kind of shocked.  Anyway, they just talked to us the whole time we were in line, and I taught them to say "What's up dude?" and "Don't worry about it."  Unfortunately, their parents weren't around and it's not allowed for us to give materials to kids (for obvious reasons) so we probably won't see them again.  I gave one of them the last American quarter I had, (if someone can, send me those! They're really fun to give to people as a souvenir), and that was that!  They were really funny, cracking a lot of jokes.  

-Since we were not allowed to contact, but we were allowed to go to the church, and everyone who we wanted to meet with couldn't, we ended up staying at the church and then going home yesterday.  Elder Coleman and I ended up pulling out the pingpong table, listening to some instrumental hymn music, and just talking while something was downlading on the computers.  We ended up getting creative with fun ping pong games to play and just had a good time.  We're not allowed to contact tonight either, and next week is Victory Day so we will see what happens during those times.  

I love you all so very much!  I love being a missionary, it's just such a rewarding feeling trying to help others.  I hope you have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Belnap