July 18, 2016

Dear Family and Friends, 

This week was tons of fun!  We were just on the streets for a large portion of the week, just being bold and talking to everyone.  President Childs told us that we should put things off to the 20th that can wait, so that's what we did.  It was scary every day when we first got out that we were literally going to go to everyone and talk to them, but after talking to the first person each time it was a lot of fun.  We just made it really fun for us, and when people saw that we were actually having a fun time doing this, they stopped and talked to us and we had a fun time.  Yeah, you're right mom, the people here aren't really aware of the law and it doesn't really effect them too much.  It makes me laugh, for the most part as soon as they find out that we are "Mormons" they either laugh and keep talking to us, or they'll say "до свидания".  Anyway, we'll have a different experience this week and I'm really excited for our conference tomorrow when we'll get everything answered for us.  

Today is also kindof weird, because we're going to be lying low so to say, and all missionaries got permission for a full day P-Day today, because we're not allowed to contact, so we're going into the city and I'm showing Elder Ward the sights.  He's pretty excited to see all the sights :).  It's weird wanting to talk to someone, and not being allowed to now, it'll definitely be an adjustment, but it also helps me see how much I've changed from the time that I didn't want to open my mouth and now I'm sad that I'm not allowed to.  I'm really excited though for the members and the opportunity we have to focus our service on them pretty much in its entirety :), as well as to help them feel comfortable reaching out to their friends, because now it all will happen through them.

This week I was studying about a lot of things, and I finished my loooooong study of the 4 Gospels in the New Testament, and now I'm on to reading Acts in the Bible.  It was really amazing just reading and becoming aware of the acts of Jesus that I wasn't aware of beforehand.  I really appreciated just gaining a stronger testimony that Jesus really did perform all those acts and that he is the perfect example of going about doing good.  That's something that we're going to need to learn how to do here in our mission now giving the changes, but given the wonderful example we have in the scriptures of the Savior, I'm confident that the work will press forward here in Russia and that people will be interested in what we have to offer.  

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!  I'll send pictures from our adventures today!  Love you all so very much. 

Love, 

Elder Belnap

This is for you for Grandma and Grandpa: 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/healing-the-sick?lang=eng

Also for you and for Dad for FHE:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/family-councils?lang=eng

Sit down with the family and you can watch this.  Ask questions about what can be done better in the family.  For example, "Is the TV on when family scripture study has yet to happen?"  

Just as a little sidenote, I was watching this talk the other day and just realized how much I would have appreciated Family Councils, especially the 1 on 1 and 2 on 1, especially in helping me overcome watching pornography.  Doing the little things at home will ensure that Nathan, Spencer, and Rebecca are all a little better prepared for the challenges at home.  Tell all the kiddos that I endorse having a place to charge the phones at the end of the night and that no matter what we're not allowed to bring them into the room with us, that we can go out and buy alarm clocks if the excuse for having them in the room is "I need and alarm."  Maybe it'll stike them a little differently coming from me :).  I love you both and I hope that you can have a good FHE discussion on this.  Also, Every 6 weeks, I can give a suggestion for a FHE discussion if you want, that way I can still kindof be a part of the wheel :) (have you made a new one yet?)  I love you both very much and I hope you have a great week!  

Here's some insights as to what will be happening now!  We'll have a mission conference tuesday where things will be discussed and where we will come up with answers :)!

Dear Leaders of the Russia St. Petersburg Mission,

President and Sister Childs have drafted the following letter to be read in an emergency district meeting to be held on the 14th or 15th of July. Please read and discuss it with your district! We are excited to see the miracles that these changes bring to our volunteers, the members of the Church, and others! We know that everything is in the Lord's hands. These changes will strengthen our members and help His work move powerfully forward!

Inspire the volunteers in your districts with the same spirit of optimism that we and the General Authorities share! Isn't it wonderful to be a part of the Lord's team? We literally cannot lose! The game is soccer, and angels are the players, with the Lord as the star forward. Our streak is 1,000,000,000,000,000 to zero, in our favor. We haven't lost a game and never will.

Thank you for your diligence and beautiful faces, we can't wait to see you all on Tuesday.

With love,

The Assistants

Dear Russia St Petersburg Volunteers,

We are writing to give you a brief overview of the changes in the way we will do our work because of the new law recently passed by the Russian government. With the new law that goes into effect on July 20, 2016, our work in the Russia St. Petersburg Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will change substantially. We feel a sense of great peace that the changes in the way we do our work will bring significant blessings to the Saints here in Russia as well as more firmly establish the Church in this great land.

On Tuesday, July 19^th at 1:00 p.m. in the St Petersburg Stake Center, we will hold a special Mission Conference to discuss these changes in more detail.

Below is an outline of the most substantial changes to our work here.

 1) From now on, our young elders and sisters, as well as senior couples will be referred to as “volunteers.” The term “missionary” is associated with proselyting which the volunteers in our mission no longer do because of the new law. Therefore, please cease using the term “missionary” when referring to yourselves or others serving in Russia, especially when writing home. We are stilled called the “Russia St. Petersburg Mission,” but individuals serving here are called volunteers.

As a reminder, we strongly discourage posting any correspondence or information on public blogs or sites. Please remember that it is against Russian law to post photos which include Russian citizens.

2) The fundamental manner in which volunteers perform their service in Russia will be to engage in activities aimed at developing the Church and supporting Church members. They will serve in Church callings and will build closer bonds with members. They will build and strengthen the faith and testimony of members by visiting them in their homes, and also by supporting church activities and programs such as Family History, Self-reliance, Humanitarian efforts, and Seminary and Institute studies. They will support daily activity in the church buildings and give tours of the church meeting houses.

3) Volunteers in our mission will engage in a variety of community service projects and activities.

4) Volunteers will be encouraged to enhance their knowledge of Russian culture and language, with the intent of helping maintain a lifelong appreciation for Russia’s rich cultural heritage and fostering positive intercultural understanding.

5) The volunteers in our mission may no longer engage in any type of proselyting activities, such as street or transportation contacting, distribution of religious literature, or offering any form of invitation. In their daily activities, they may engage in casual conversation, and when asked, they may explain that they are volunteers for a Church. If the person shows further interest, they may give the  name of the Church and a brief explanation without discussing doctrine or teachings. They may also give the addresses of church buildings.

6) Importantly, our volunteers will build a deeper, more dedicated discipleship to our Savior through their unique service. The maturity and discipline required by these changes will bless them throughout their lives to be powerful instruments in the Lord’s hands to build His Church and Kingdom in any capacity.

We know that this important work is most assuredly in the Lord’s hands. Last week you received the initial statement from our Church leaders concerning this law. We reiterate the important doctrine of the Church that, “we believe in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” In the instructions we have received on this new law from our Europe East Area presidency they emphatically stated, “We are confident that the Lord will continue to pour forth His blessings on His Saints and upon the Church in  Russia. We will see miracles take place and the hand of the Lord made manifest in prospering His Church in this beautiful land.”

The necessary changes will require time and adjustment for us all. Facing these changes with faith and positivity will bring the Lord’s help and strength to the work we have come here to do. We would ask that your correspondence with your families, and with anyone else concerning the new law and these changes stay positive. Our leaders have stressed that this new law is part of a larger anti-terrorism law and is not aimed at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have had good relations with the national government leaders in Russia for twenty-five years. We know that by staying positive, we can continue to build on this relationship and lift the esteem of the Church in the eyes of all Russian people.

We know that you will have many questions about these changes. Please come to the special Mission Conference with these and with your inspired ideas for moving this work forward in new and exciting ways. We feel strongly that you are some of our Heavenly Father’s choicest servants. Particularly at this time, we are grateful for your willing obedience and desire to fully follow the Lord’s direction while doing His important work.

With great love and appreciation,

President and Sister Childs

July 11, 2016

I'm feeling a lot better, every now and again I cough and it feels like I can't breathe, but I'm on meds and I'm getting better.  Story of my mission to date is get going doing well and then, completely wiped out with a sickness.  Oh well, it's taught me some humility!

Hey, question.  How's family scripture study/prayer?  I know I asked a while ago, but I've yet to follow up :).  I hope it's happening, and if you meet resistance from the kids about doing it, please tell them that I'm for it too!

Not asthma, not entirely sure.  It's just like twice a day now where I cough and it takes some shallow breathing and water to be able to breathe again, no worries the doctor is aware.  And yeah you're right, you do :).  No worries, I never really understood why it was important before coming on my mission.  I apologize for the grief it must have caused you mom.  It might be a good idea to watch Elder Ballard's talk from last conference.  He just mentions that there are things that we can do that can keep our home safe from the influence of the adversary.  My mission president likes to say, "People complain that we always hear the same things at General Conference.  Well, if everyone actually started trusting the leaders of the church and applying what they said then maybe we would hear something new next conference!"  I love you mom, thanks for the pics of grandma and grandpa, they are too cute.

Dear Family and Friends, 

First off, want to start off my letter with a statement from the church this week: The Church recognizes a new law will take effect in Russia on July 20, 2016 that will have an impact on missionary work. The Church will honor, sustain and obey the law. Missionaries will remain in Russia and will work within the requirements of these changes. The Church will further study and analyze the law and its impact as it goes into effect.

So, if any of you had any questions about that, there's your answer!  We're staying, we'll be legal, and the work will go forward.  Until the 20th of July though, we're going to be out talking to people for about 8 hours each day, my companion and I have actually tried to see if we can hit 9 hours in one day, but because he's still in training we're supposed to do extra studies and so we won't be able to do that.  But, yesterday we just went out and tried random things that we hadn't tried before just to start talking to people normally about this message which we have to share.  It was so fun to see just as people saw that we were doing this, and having fun doing it, they stopped and they talked with us.  We probably handing out over 50+ church materials over the course of a couple of hours, and had several fun, spiritual conversations with people.  It was just fun to see that people could see that we weren't robots, but that we do believe we have something to share and we'll be outside talking to people for 8 hours if need be.  

We also had a really fun conversation on a little маршрутка bus this week.  Elder Ward and I were talking and he asked me about how a word is pornounced and so I just told him in Russian, "there are Russians all around you, ask them!" And then about 6 different people started paying attention to us and he asked his question and we had the most natural and fun conversation with about 6 or so people on a bus that you could imagine.  

I'd like to wrap up my email with a verse that our Mission President shared with us given all the uncertainty from D&C 90:24 which reads, " 24 Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another."

Things are going to be just fine here in Russia, I'm (relatively) back to health again and I'm excited to see what this week has in store for us!  One last verse that wraps it up nicely is D&C 123:17 which reads, " 17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

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

Love, 

Elder Belnap

Pictures!

1. my companion is short

2. Next 5 pictures are all of our apartment...it's nice

In the last picture it's from when I was very sick and we couldn't leave the apartment.  I promise sleeping is something I've gotten better at, but when I'm sick I think I'll always be out of it :).

July 4, 2016

Dear Family and Friends, 

Well, this week doesn't have a lot of substance to it, because I was sick...again.  I've always been the companion who has been sick on the mission, never the one who has to care for and help his companion.  Somehow I got bronchitis 2 saturdays ago, and ended up spending most of the week trying to rest and stop coughing.  I'm doing a lot better now, so I'm excited and think that we'll have a good week :).  I think when I come home, I'll wear the original black suit and the original shirts that I came into the MTC with, I can go swimming in my collars now.  I'm going to buy another suit from a missionary soon, who was the size I currently am when he started his mission, but has since lost 40 pounds, because one of the suits that I bought has pants that are too small.  It'll be a good present for Spencer when I get home :).  While I'm on the topic...HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPENCER!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA!  Woo, hope your 4th of July celebrations are fun, glad to hear that Spencer's celebrations were fun, and hope that Rebecca's soon-to-be birthday celebrations are fun!

Again, there really is nothing to report this week, but we were able to go to church on Sunday and a less active member that we've been working with managed to make iton Sunday!  Our investigators have a baptismal date, but don't understand the Sabbath Day and it's importance, so we will be talking about that with them soon, and the blessings we are promised by following the probably most often-forgotten of the 10 commandments.  

Just a little thought this week while reading in the Book of Mormon.  I love Jacob 2:8 which says: 8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

A lot of times in the church we get caught up in the menial, losing the forest for the trees, President Uchtdorf gave a great analogy of that when talking about a woman who had to make a quilt for her lesson on Sunday, gave a lot of time and effort into making this quilt, hung it up behind her and started her lesson and told the class the topic of today's lesson written on the quilt which said "Simplify".  At the end of the day, we all need the grace that only Christ can give, and when we gather in the church, it's to grow and hear the pleasing word of God, which heals the wounded soul.  I know that that is true, I've seen how I've changed and how the people around me have changed, just by reading the scriptures, coming to church, and trying our best to live the way the Savior did.  There's a quote by President Packer that says: "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!  You're all in my prayers, but especially Grandma and Grandpa this week, I love you both so very much!

Love, 

Elder Belnap

A couple of pictures of the church building in Vyborg!  It's one of 2 actual chapels in Russia and it's beautiful!

June 27, 2016

Dear Family and Friends, 

First off, my prayers are with Grandpa.  Grandpa, I love and miss you, thank you for the little note.  You're a wonderful example to me of 1 Peter 2:20-25.  I invite everyone who gets this email to read those verses of scripture that have really helped me a lot in coming to know that these seemingly unfair times and trials we experience in our lives truly have eternal purpose in helping us understand the live of Jesus Christ better.  

This week has been a bit of a fun adjustment!  I went from Kolpino where things were starting to pick up after having to start from scratch for the most part, to Sestroretsk where things are pretty slow right now and we get to start picking things up.  All my mission I've really wanted to teach people, and I can count on one hand people that have progressed and accepted our invitation to learn the Gospel.  It's been humbling, and I think that's the whole point.  I'm excited that we do have one couple who are working their way towards baptism right now!  They've yet to agree on a specific date, but they are well on their way.  Other than that though, we have the whole city to ourselves, as well as several little cities around us.  We have a lot of area to cover, and we're right out in a really nice part of the suburbs.  It's very green here, from our apartment we see the Finnish Gulf, and it's a beautiful area.  I'll need to send pictures of our apartment at some point, it's wayyyyyy to nice.  I thought coming on a mission that things would be gross all the times in our apartments, but I've only had one apartment that wasn't super nice, and it only wasn't super nice in comparison to the other apartments I had been in.  The rest of them are too nice for missionaries.  This one has 14 or so foot ceilings, and it's fantastic.  

Anyway, I've yet to meet the people who are working towards baptism, but we're meeting with them tomorrow, and I'm excited to tell you next week about everything that is going on!  The branch here is really tiny, but it's full of five wonderful families with kids.  There are about 15 members, and 10 kids, so sacrament meeting was a lot of fun.  There's a good feeling of love in this little place amongst the members, and we're helping a recent convert of 2 years prepare to go to the temple.

Lastly, Elder Ward is awesome!  He's from Oregon, and is just the sweetest person I've met.  He's got this big old smile on his face all the time, always just doing his best, and that's all I can ask for.  His Russian is also coming along really well, he's a little молодец!

Anyway, that's really all I have on this front.  Anyone who gets this email, feel free to write me, I can't promise that I'll always respond right away, but I'll definitely read your email and I'll be very glad to hear from you.

This week I celebrate my year mark!  WEIRD.  That's crazy to hear that Ryan is home, give him a big hug from me next time you get.  Did he lose a lot of weight or is he still pretty big?  I just remember Aunt Tricia being concerned that he was going to shrink up like a raisan.  Anyway, I love you all have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Belnap

June 20, 2016

Dear Family and Friends, 

Wow what a week!  Seriously, I don't really know where to begin.  First off, SUPER COOl, that you saw Сестра Рикс, she was one of the hardest working sisters in our mission before she left, and her testimony at the transfer meeting when she left is still clearly in my mind.  Glad she made the connection between me and Spence (it's the nose).  Glad my email last week could do some good, and that everyone is taking off to do things.  It makes me laugh that you wrote "CJB is taking off for girls camp"...I think you're stuck about 5 or more years in the past with that slip up mom.  I know Caroline is glad to be done with anything that has the word camp in it.  Speaking of Caroline, I know I gave her a shout out last week, but since her birthday was 2 days ago I can't help but giving her another shout out!  Love you sista, hope Hawaii was nice, but I'm kinda jealous.  Wearing suits all the time can get very sweaty, that's probably why Elders always drop weight in our mission.  

So big news this week.  I'm training!.....but not in Kolpino.  I was supposed to stay here, but the day before transfer calls I ran into the same drunk man that had given us a hard time a while ago, and this time he threatened me.  So, after I reported everything to President Childs, he called during transfers and relayed that he felt good about leaving me there after receiving my call, but then prayed and said he received the prompting that I need to go somewhere else.  I'm super sad because I only got the 1 transfer here, and it's a wonderful place and a really good ward.  I've managed to get close to a lot of the Young Men, and one of the less active young men came to church on Sunday who hadn't been for more than a year just to say goodbye!  Anyway, I'll be finishing the training of Elder Ward (which was started by my old companion Elder Crookshank) and Elder Crookshank will be taking my spot here in Kolpino!  So that's all been a big surprise, it's a shame that I just got all settled into routines and everything and that I'm taking off again, but oh well, I'll take off to wherever I need to!  I'm also really excited to have the opportunity to train and be district leader in сестрорецк, a little city North of St. Petersburg, still in stake boundaries, which is a branch with a lot of primary-aged kids and cute young families.  

Along with that, I couldn't leave Kolpino without going to Pushkin, where the great Catherine's Palace is.  And it. Is. BEAUTIFUL.  I'll send a couple pictures, but it doesn't even do it justice.  We went there today, and it was the best P-Day activity ever.  It was also fun meeting tourists and being reminded how much our Russian has come along.  Anyway, we listened to this Russian quartet in this little palace next to the main one, and the acoustics were amazing, they accepted dollars, so Elder hallstrom and I pooled our cash to buy their 3 discs, because if you pay in dollars or euros, the third disc is free.  

Little spiritual thought for the week is just about looking into how we can use our time better even when we think we're doing well enough!  These last couple weeks Elder Hallstrom and I have been trying to figure out how to study the scriptures better and remember where things are in order to better use the scriptures on lessons.  We ended up making flashcards and we have been quizzing eachother when on our way to meetings when we used to try and do some russian study together or just try to not waste our time talking about non-important things (but of course we're not perfect and we'd get off on tangents every once and a while.  Elder Hallstrom and different types of wood...(it's a funny sight to see him naming different types of wood just by looking at it, it's like David telling what type of bird by it's flight pattern).  Anyway, we've memorized where scriptures are better and it's already helped us a lot on lessons!  When I was teaching the youth this Sunday some of those scriptures came to mind a couple of times and helped a lot!  So the lesson was two-fold, even if we're doing something like walking from one place to another quickly, we can find a way to use our time more effectively.  The second part was that the Spirit can help us call all things to our remembrance as promised, but we need to have something to call to remembrance first!  If our brains are empty, there's not really anything the Spirit can do to help us.  But, if we fill our minds with good ideas, goals, and try our hardest to study, it can, and will, help us in those times of need.  I love you all very much and I hope you have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Belnap

Palace of Catherine the Great at Pushkin

Christopher at Palace of Catherie the Great at Pushkin

June 13, 2016

Dear Everyone, 

Sorry I wanted to try and shake up how I start my emails.  First off, thanks for the pictures!  I'm excited to see all the other pictures, and hear from the kids themselves about what they did (hint hint).  Also, David's looking mighty fine in that picture, as well as Caroline and Ryan.  What good looking family members I have :).  I love the story about you being in St. Petersburg a year ago, that's just surreal to think about.  Time really is flying and slipping through my fingers it seems at times.  Also, shout out to my big sis!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLINE.  You already got a nice email from me so that's all the shout out you'll get :). 

This will be a pretty short email, but this week was awesome!  We finally got an investigator to church!  His name is саша (go figure) and he is just looking to change his life.  He's had several problems with addictions and even prison time, and he's just looking for whatever it will take to get him free once and for all.  It's been a true miracle and it was super cool how he recognized when we first talked with him that his pride was his downfall.  If only it was that easy for all of us to recognize that :).  We're really excited to help him be free from the weight that he's carrying around, it truly has been a miracle, no other words for it.

This past week we also had Zone Conference.  It started with a scripture study with our mission president, and he shared a story about a woman named Betsy and her sister (I can't remember her name) who were in Nazi concentration camps (it's some autobiagraphy, I can't remember the name).  Anyway, they worked on helping Jews escape Germany and eventually got caught and thrown into these camps.  When they were taken into the camps they were forced to to strip in front of the guards to make sure that they "weren't bringing anything with them".  She had a little Bible on a necklace that miraculously none of the guards noticed.  Anyway, in the camp they slept in these terrible barracks with fleas everywhere.  At nights they held a little Bible study group and one night they read the verse in 1 Thessalonians5:18 which reads: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  Betsy said "I can't do it, I can't give thanks for these fleas." To which her sister replied "Betsy, be grateful for the fleas.  Why do you think the guards don't stop our Bible study group?  It's because they don't want to be eaten by the fleas like us." 

Anyway, that was a very powerful story that brought the Spirit so strongly.  We are so blessed in our lives, so very very blessed.  So be thankful in all things, because as Christ said to the prophet Joseph Smith in D&C 121: 

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity andthine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee onhigh; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

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

Love, 

Elder Belnap

June 6, 2016.

Well, I'll get your letter soon, but I'll go ahead and get started on my end.  First off, loved all the pictures you sent.  Tristan is SOOOO TALL.  My goodness, I was also laughing a bit at Trevor's goatee.  I'm glad you got to see them and have a good time.  Also, I started laughing at the picture of Grandma resting on the kleenex box, oh how I miss seeing that after dinner :).

This last week has been one of the more interesting ones.  We were probably home late every night this week except for one, all of which for reasons outside of our control.  One of which is that we had to help transport a 300 pound man with no legs home twice, another was that our washing machine wasn't working and we had done laundry at the apartment of the other missionaries, and on our way home Elder Hallstrom asked if we could be home late because he desperately needed a fresh change of clothes.  I won't say how long he had to wear the same pair of garments.  Ok I will, it would have been his 4th day in a row!  Yuck!  We had hoped that our landlady would fix things, and so we hadn't yet thrown a load of laundry in at the other Elder's, but then things weren't fixed, anyway, there was literally nothing that we could do.  This week by the way we had no hot water and no washing machine and a broken oven which made things interesting.  

Anyway, all temporal things aside it was an awesome week!  I'll focus on yesterday and today though, because it has been two awesome days.  For those of you that are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints you won't understand who these people are, they're just members of the leadership of our church, but Bishop Davies (of the Presiding Bishopric) and Elder Klebingot (Memmber of the Quorom of the Seventy) were here in St. Petersburg!  We had a Stake Conference yesterday, and as if that wasn't surprise enough, I saw the Fitzgerald's at the Conference!  That was a big shock, but a lot of fun.  Anyway, the conference was powerful and spirit-filled.  I got to see a lot of members from Nevsky which was awesome, and I got to sit with a young family from the Kolpino ward and help keep their 2 crazy kids entertained while their parents got to listen.  It felt good to help them get a little respite.  If that's one thing I've learned being in a family of 6 kids is that you're a lot more interested in doing what the family friend has for you at times, then what your parents are trying to do ;).  Sorry mom and dad that it's like that a lot of the time/all the time.

Anyway, this morning, we got to have a mission conference with Bishop Davies and Elder Klebingot!  It was awesome and I took a lot from it.  Elder Klebingot talked a lot about a myriad of differnet subjects, but he gave us 3 pointers that he said will serve us well in life if we really apply them.  *Disclaimer* He also said he wasn't afraid to offend us because he's German and that it's our choice to be offended by someone else :).

1) Don't whine.  When you get something that you don't deserve because you've been doing a good job, think of the Savior who deserved none of the pain, torture, and humiliation which he received, but who still took it all.

2) Being a little scared is good, don't let it stop you from acting!  Those butterflies in our stomach are good!  They keep us humble and dependent on the Lord.  I forgot his name, but he was the Dean of Religious Education at BYU and he told Elder Klebingot on his first day of teaching that "I've been teaching for 50 years and every time before I'm about to have a class I get those butterflies in my stomach.  The day I stop having those feelings is the day I stop teaching."  He was just illustrating how it's ok to be afraid but that we have to act.  Like Moses and the Red Sea, the Sea didn't depart until someone took a step of faith forward.

3) Be Gospel Scholars.  Study the Gospel, love the Gospel.  Make goals now that you will stick to on your missions and the rest of your lives.  Our missions don't have to be our spiritual peaks, but that as we keep growing and deepening our understanding of the scriptures and that everything God has given us, our gratefulness for him will grow, and our ability to serve will grow.

Anyway, hope you can glean something out of that.  Mom and Dad, The Fitzgerald's, Elder Klebingot, and Bishop Davies pass on their regards!  Bishop Davies asked if my dad just so happened to be Stake President in NYC a number of years ago, and Elder Klebingot said he remembered hearing about my call.  Those both came as a little bit of a shock :).  I love you all very much and I hope you have a great week!  

Love, 

Elder Belnap

A beautiful view on the way to an appointment

We were stuck in an elevator and Elder Hallstrom got so excited.  It was super funny, the rest of the night he was saying, "I've always wanted to get stuck in an elevator!  But I've always imagined the whole scene from "You Got Mail" in it when they say, 'when I get out, I'm gonna do...' ".  It was super funny