July 25, 2016

Dear Family and Friends, 

No worries, I make mistakes in English all the time now too mom :).  I need to see the family portraits and be the final judge on clashing costumes mom :).  I love Grandma and how get's such a kick out of somethings, I miss hearing that little laugh of hers :). I'm glad that everything went well, I was included in a little group email where the battle of who brings the chips cropped up and it just made me laugh, we sure are blessed with an awesome family.  Glad that the Goff Family Reunion went well, If you need to put into perspective how long I've been out now, I've missed both Goff Reunions that I'm going to miss on my mission.  Granted I'll be coming back just in time for the next one, but still, it's weird how fast the time is flying by.  I remember someone telling Nathan, that when he feels like the time is going slowly, just to count all the fast sundays, and that 24 fast sundays doesn't seem too long.  (For those of you who don't understand what that means, the first sunday in our church is a day set aside to fast and pray for guidance and direction, as well as in our church meetings members of the congregation are allowed to come up and share a brief message about their faith as well as what has strengthened their faith in their recent experience).  Anyway, she told Nathan that before he knows it, I'll be in the teens, then single digits, and then home! She's proved to be prophetic on all accounts, after this August, only 10 left!  It's weird how fast the time is flying by and I'm trying to stay focused on using the time that seems to be running through my fingers like sand, instead of focusing on the fact that it's running through my fingers.  

This week was one of those weeks where we didn't know what to do with ourselves.  With the new law, we have a lot of time to fill that used to be filled with contacting, and now we are planning on doing a lot of service, but we're supposed to be lying low for a couple of weeks before we go out and search for service opportunities.  So, we've tried doing service for members, both active and less active, cleaning our ward building, doing indexing, practicing piano, translating our record to Russian so that the members can start fulfilling their new responsibility of helping teach investigators.  What's been really cool is throughout it all, our investigators (a man and a woman who are married and about middle aged) have a baptismal date!  We're going to have to push it back a little bit, because they'll be out of town for a little bit and won't have been able to come to church before the current date, but they're so excited.  Missionaries found them 6 months ago, and at first they were more interested in English, but just with time their intentions, and hearts, have changed.  I'll keep you posted :).

This week I was reading in D&C 84:106 which reads: " 106 And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also."

I love that verse!  Go out and look for someone who needs help this week, and help them become strong also.  And if you feel like you're weak, pray for help from the Lord, and try and see who He puts in your path in order to help you.  I know the Lord answers our prayers and that He wants us to help others until we all become strong.  As Sister Linda K. Burton in a recent General Conference address said "Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together."

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

пока пока!

Elder Belnap

Christopher in St. Petersburg sight seeing with Elder Ward on Nevsky Prospekt.  Church of Spilled Blood in background.

Christopher at Church of Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia.