Trainer!

Hello! Big changes in the mission have happened.

Yep... I was transfered and very sad to leave the Shoovalova Branch, but I served there for over 4 months, so I wasn't too surprised to find out I was leaving. I will miss Grisha, The Akulinin Family, Faik, and many others in that branch... But I'll probably see them sometime before I leave Russia, so it is okay. This last week was a lot of saying good-byes and see you laters to people too.

I am now the proud trainer of a new missionary fresh from the MTC! His name is Elder Jason Ash from Utah and he is a really nice missionary! We will be serving in the Nevsky Branch, which is in Center Zone. I have now served in all the Zone's of my mission. They have a new training schedule for new missionaries, so I will be with Elder Ash for 2 transfers. Excited!

Sounds like you all had fun when you went to Mirror Lake for the day. I show a couple of pictures to people here of miror lake, and everyone says that it is a beautiful place. Not many things like that here near St. Petersburg.

Wow! Tell congratulations to Kaylee and Tate from me! I think Tate's mission is the same as my friends Adam Fulmer and Chris Haacke? That'd be crazy if they served together! They won't regret serving a mission. I can promise that. :)

Surgeries and sickness are happening a lot at home right now aren't they... I hope everyone gets feeling better soon! Take care of the strep, Mom. Tell Grandma to get feeling better, along with Meleea!


I don't even know what you could do for me for my birthday. I can't think of anything right now... Sorry. Elder Loskutov's first name is Semyon. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COLE! Hope you had a good one, and be looking for that birthday letter.



I'll be happy to see you all back home, but I'm definitely not thinking about that until the time comes to go home though. It will be crazy to see Code again... it's been the longest that I haven't seen him or talked with him on the phone! It will be fun to see that! Ha hal

This last week in Shoovalova was a cool thing to see, as we saw a lot of potential investigators appear. First was after our meeting with Sister Akulinina, we were waiting for a tram to get home and our's wasn't coming, so we ended up taking a different route home and then that tram broke down. As we all were filing out of the tram, a young man named Sergey asked us if we were Mormon and we talked with him while walking home for about 45 minutes on the street. We got his number and plan to be meeting with him. More people than usual accepted Books of Mormon and we saw some less actives come to church that usually didn't come, and we were able to say goodbye to them. I was really appreciative of 2 less active brothers, Yuri and Vladimir, who said that they were very sad to see us go, because they felt the Spirit again in their home while we met with them and they said that they will miss us. We only met with these brothers twice, but I was touched by what they said. 


Goes to show that the Spirit helps you come closer to others than any other thing in the world... Including Vodka for Russians.

I'm excited to start serving with Elder Ash in Nevsky! It will take me a little bit to get used to the area, as I've never been here before and it is new for Elder Ash too of course. In fact, my whole district except Elder Wilde is new to the area... It will be fun. For the first time in over a year and a half, I am in Elder Andersen's district!! Elder Ash is going to be a good missionary! He dove right in to trying to learn as much Russian as possible, and he is already thinking of new ways we can help this branch and find new methods of sharing the important message of the Gospel with everyone.

Well, I've got to go! Love you all! Thanks for everything you do for me now and what you've done for me in the past. I thank God for all the people in my life that helped to form me into who I am.

Keep Smiling! Be of Good Cheer!

Love,

Blake