Emergency Transfer to Petro

You will be surprised to hear that I am not in Nevsky Branch with Elder Ash anymore, but at this moment I am in Petrozavodsk. It is an 8 hour train ride to the north of St. Petersburg, and I am now serving with an Elder Rasmussen from St. George, Utah.(Lots of people from St. George here) I will be district leader here, with the other companionship in the city being Elder Ash and Elder Bradford. It will be a VERY FUN district, and I love the branch already. I received an early transfer call, as Elder Rasmussen was down in St. Petersburg for a visa trip and they wanted us to go up as soon as possible. His companion  is going to be branch president in Sesteretsk, so he had to leave early to go learn about the branch there and get everything straightened out. When I got the call, I was worried that I was going to be branch president, because they didn't tell us where I was going or who I was going to be with until Friday, just that I needed to pack and be ready to go early Saturday morning.

Petro is a really old Russian city, and has lots of cool looking buildings that look like old congress halls or lighthouses or something like that. Lots of small ponds and parks everywhere, and there is a huge lake right at the edge of the city. I just need mountains and I would feel just like home. :)

Well, this week was one of the more busy weeks of my mission, We tried to meet with a lot of people to say goodbye, but almost none of them went through... Between cleaning up the appartment a little, doing my exchange with Elder Andersen to talk about planning, and packing, along with Hermitage service and traveling to Petrozavodsk for my early transfer, it's been a busy week! But it is also a good thing.

I'm very excited to start working here in Petrozavodsk and with Elder Jake Rasmussen. The other Elders in my district will be Elders Bradford, and Ash. It will be a lot of fun and a lot of work at the same time. The branch is already very nice and I enjoy it a lot, and Petrozavodsk is a beautiful place... I like it a lot more than the city. Trees everywhere and fresh air! Elder Rasmussen has a great testimony and quiet dignity about him, and the branch loves him already. He really is focused on the investigators here and I know that we will see the success that the Lord wants us to see while we're here. I'll still be working along side Elder Ash very often so we will still see each other, and Elder Bradford seems like a really good guy even though I don't really know him yet. I'll probably stay here in Petro until the rest of my mission, since I only have 2 transfers left.

Today is Halloween, and hope that you are feeling okay Mom, especially thinking about Uncle Bob? Elder Rasmussen found the perfect place last night for a haunted house. We went to stop by some less active members and we found this area that is super scary looking at night, with a bunch of old wooden houses that look like they are from a horror film. I liked it a lot. You know me, I like Halloween and spooky things.

As far as the travel plans go, I say do it! I'm used to crazy travel now, and It would be totally worth it. Not a problem at all. Cody and I should come home on the same day I think. :) Truly. The travel plans don't sound bad at all. They are pretty much the same almost as me when I was flying from Salt Lake to Russia. And no matter what, it will be a long flight, so I say keep them as they are so we can come in together.

I'm still waiting for your cards/letters. I haven't gotten them yet. Elder Ash and Elder Bradford will bring them up on transfers when he comes up. So many Elders are going home and I won't be able to say "See ya" to them since I'm already up in Petro. But that's why God allowed facebook to be made, right? ha ha. To talk with people after your mission. :)

I would suggest not sending me a package for Christmas. I don't know if I will be coming down for a Christmas pary or anything, and it would be a long time before I got it maybe. If it was late getting to Russia, I might not even get it at all, seeing that I will be leaving a month later...

Oh. Look at the time. I've got to run. Today we are going to go out to lunch with Elder Beck, since it is his last P-day... He is with Elder Bradford right now... Weird to think that soon it will be like that for me. Love you all and miss you, but I couldn't be happier serving the Lord.

Keep Smiling. Be of Good Cheer.
Love,
Blake