Many have wrong impression of who Mormons really are....

Hello! I think I always start my email with that... Oh well. So let's see... what's new here in Vyborg. This last Saturday we helped clean up all the leaves at the branch, along with sweep around the church and clean out the gutters and stuff with the branch for a ward project. They had salad and "sausages," but Russian sausages are nasty hot dogs... I tried one... Never again!! On Sunday, the branch had a day to help fellowship less active members of the ward that haven't been in a long time. Elder Domankskiy and I went with Evgeni Nadelev, who is soon going to be 18, so he is close to getting ready to serve a mission. He's a really good example to me. He is like most teenagers, or 20 year olds named Blake Larsen. He likes music and all the things I like usually, but he has a great testimony of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. I wish I could see him on a mission! On Tuesday after service at the castle and with Yawna, we had a meeting with a family in the ward who has a son who is 12, but didn't feel like he wanted to be baptized. We talked about baptism, what is means, and why we do it. We talked about how Jesus Christ who was perfect, was baptized by immersion and by one holding priesthood keys. He said he wants to get baptized, and we set a baptismal date with him! That makes 2 baptisms set for November 20th! Yesterday was an interesting day. We had a meeting set with an investigator who works at the castle. He finds the church very interesting and asks lots of questions, but I'm still not very sure how much of the message he accepts. He was pretty active in the Russian Orthodox church at one time. He is a really cool guy, though and has LOTS of wood carvings he has done at his house. They look like folk art. If I was a tourist and had money, I would buy one from him. We went to his house yesterday, but the wife said that he was drunk and sleeping... That was depressing. We got a meeting with a man that I met on the street when Elder Haggard was here... About 3 months ago. I contacted him on the street and he was pretty much the only person that talked with us that day. After that I hadn't heard from him until this last Sunday when he showed up to Church. He loved it! We had a meeting with him before English Club yesterday, and he really enjoyed our meeting too. He then stayed for English club. I'm really excited for to see how things work out with him. His name is Igor, and he works for an Italian restaurant here. Today we already had a meeting with another lady who we met on the street on Tuesday. We are really busy lately, so we even had a meeting on Preparation Day! That's a good thing though, right? She told us even when we were on the street that she is very interested in our church. We had a great meeting today, talking about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and baptism after we showed her around the church here, showing her all the classrooms and the sacrament hall. She accepted everything very well, and said she will be there on Sunday. She's not sure how here husband will like her going to "the Mormon Church" though... We get that a lot here... People don't even know who we are, but they have heard "false things" about us and instead of seeing for themselves, they just assume that we are bad. I am really starting to realize just how much God is helping all of us here on Earth. He has always been helping us, and always will... We just forget that sometimes. God loves us very strongly. His whole heart is full of love towards us. We know this by his words, which we can find in the Scriptures, and from revelation from Latter-day Prophets and Apostles. Every word found in these things are words of love. We can see how strongly someone loves their family, their neighbor, their friends, their enemies, and their God through the words they say and do... "... for out of the abundance of thy heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34) Do we truely love everyone? If yes, our actions and words will mirror out heart. I want everyone back home to know how much I love them and miss them, and I hope to better mirror my love through my actions and words. The more I serve the people of Russia, the more I love them, and the more I love them, the more I serve them. I've been taught this before, but I didn't understand exactly what that meant... I'm just starting to learn exactly what the scriptures mean when they say the will of God is one eternal round... Again... Words don't come to me when I want to explain the feeling..Like Ammon, "... I cannot explain the smallest part of which I feel." I hope we all can learn to feel this unexplainable love... even if just a part. I know we can't comprehend or even feel the fullness of joy that Christ gives in this life, but one day, we will. I know that things will be okay, no matter what the challenges we are facing in our lives. God is always there. Times about to end. Dang it. I want to say so much more. Just remember I love and miss you all, and so does our Heavenly Father! Love, Blake

Viva la Vida!

Listen to the song "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. Someone translated just the words for President Podvodov, and he liked it! New mission theme song!

Adventures Continue.....

Hello! It's good to hear from you again... I can't believe that it is already P-day again. Time is going by way too fast. So let's see... What's new for this week... This last week I had a Visa Trip to Estonia and that was fun to say the least. This time the driver didn't go across the boarder with us, so it was just me, Elders Gerard, Andersen, Hill, and Sister Lane. The Estonian government didn't like the fact that we were all Americans with 2 passports and tried to tell us that we couldn't have both of them. We told them that we weren't doing anything against the law and if they had any questions, they could check all the dates in our visas and see if they were correct, and they could call the mission visa department with questions. Elder Gerard and Sister Lane seemed to be a little worried when this happened, Elder Andersen seemed normal, and me and Elder Hill were trying not to laugh to be honest. Elder Hill's dad is the mission president in Croatia, and he said that this was the "first time" someone had a problem with that. We told them to check the dates on our visas on the computer, and they did and everything was okay... so they had to let us through, but they didn't seem too happy. We just crossed the boarder and came right back. This story is probably more entertaining to me than anyone else just because it happened to me! I think I set a record of how many people can flip me off in a day while I was in St. Petersburg... The city is definitely a lot different than Vyborg. I'm glad that I serve in Vyborg! Monday through Wednesday the Zone Leaders were in our area and I was on a split with Elder White, while Elder Domanskiy was on a split with Elder McCleary, both are from Seattle. It was the first time I've ever really met Elder White, and he is a cool guy too. I haven't really met anyone I don't like here serving on a mission with me. Both the Zone Leaders loved Vyborg and want to serve there sometime. I've been lucky to serve in Vyborg and K-grad. So our investigator who has a baptismal date named Roma I don't think is going to work... After we set the baptismal date with him he ignores our calls, and while on our split, Elders Domanskiy and McCleary saw him down the street and he quickly hid himself when he saw them.... It makes me sad because Roma is a really cool kid. I don't know why he doesn't want to talk with us, but I still pray for him and wish the best for him... Elder Domanskiy and McCleary did however set a baptismal date with an investigator named Katia for this transfer! Missionaries had met with her before I came to Vyborg, but she hasn't been living here up until just recently and that was our first meeting with her. While they were on a meeting with her, Elder White and I met with Vladimir, and investigator we met through English Club. He is in his 50's and comes to English every week. He is very interested in the church, but is very scientific and can't understand why people believe in God because he doesn't see the evidence. We talked about faith and how we can't see everything, but we can see the outcome of them. For instance, we can't see gravity, but we all stay on the ground because of it, and science has done experiments to help show gravity exists. It's the same with faith in God. We can't physically see Him, but we can see His works all around us, and we can experiment on the words in the scriptures to see if they are true... He listened to us and said we had a good point, but he didn't seem ready to try, it seemed to me. He wouldn't let us try to give him a commitment. I hope this interest that is growing in him about the church will soon turn into a desire to experiment on the word of God. So today Elder Domanskiy asked me to only speak English in the apartment to help him learn. I agreed to do that of course! ha ha. My Russian is no where near perfect, but Elder Domanskiy has helped a lot with the Russian, and people are saying that my Russian improved a ton last transfer. Just remembered a story I never told you. A couple weeks ago one of the 8 year olds in the branch was getting baptized, so we had to go and fill the font. Elder Domanskiy forgot to turn off the silent alarm and the police came... 2 1/2 hours later. If you think that Mormons are bad at being late to things, wait until you meet a Russian Mormon... ha ha! I'm kidding of course!! I love Russia! Just made me laugh that it took so long. Thanks for the pictures of Code!!!! He looks WAY different to me! I started writing a letter last week to send home with a couple pictures, but I still haven't finished it. Hopefully I will send it today... How does my blog have people from Germany and Brazil and stuff on it?... I'm confused... I thought it was a Facebook blog... I've been praying for dad to find a new job. I hope it all works out soon (of course you know that already) I know that it will soon enough. Shoes are still okay... I switch them back and forth every now and then seeing that I brought two pairs, but I know they aren't going to last my whole mission. Soon I can wear my winter boots. It's getting really rainy here, and colder, but still not as bad as I thought it would be. I will have to buy a better coat for winter probably. I'll find out how much they are? Only bought a normal winter hat. The only Russian hats I could find were half fake leather and half fur... I want one that is just all fur. I will keep looking! Well, got to run. Know that I love you all back home and that I am happy to serve a mission!! I'm learning more than I thought I would, especially about myself, and my relationship with my Father in Heaven and elder brother. Still haven't found the words to describe the feelings I feel that come from this Gospel, but all I can say is that God lives, LOVES us more than we can understand right now, and that he provided the way to not only find strength, peace, solace, joy, on earth, but to continue onward into eternity and become His eternal Children. Love, Blake

I Love the Vyborg Branch!

Hello again!... From Vyborg!!!! :D I didn't get transfered to the office like everyone thought I would... Elder Anthony did. :) ha ha. I'm still serving in Vyborg, and I'm still with Elder Domanskiy. It is good. :) Elder Domanskiy really helps me a lot with Russian, and is a really good missionary. I think my Russian is really improving. I LOVE the branch here, and am really happy I'm staying. I had all the youth write in my journal just in case I was leaving, and they all wrote such nice things in there. Their friendship is genuine, and you can see the light in their eyes. I look forward to seeing the youth here become the leaders of the Church and seeing it grow here. Yeeeahh. The Code-man in the Bronx!! I can't really compare, because I've never been there, but I think the Bronx would be kind of like downtown St. Petersburg... but bigger. He has nothing to worry about. He's got angels on his right hand and his left, and the Almighty God has gone before him, the God of Israel is behind him. The only thing he has to worry about is getting толстее (fatter). Блинь! (Dang!... literally translated means "Pancake!") Just kidding!!! Cody does look a lot different though. So we are a little worried about our baptismal date with Roma... before we set it with him he was meeting with us 2 a week or so... But then we were in for a week and this week he is not answering his phone when we call... He answered once and just quickly said "I'm busy this week and hung up..." We haven't given up hope yet, but we are a little worried about it. I got your birthday card/letters! Thanks a ton! I showed the card to Elder Wilde from St. George, because he is a big hunter... Made him want to go hunting. ha ha. Tell K.B. she is becoming a little artist. :) So this Saturday I have a visa trip again. This week end I will be companions with Elder Andersen!!!!! :) (He's going to K-grad too, so I will have to tell him to say hi to people from me and have him check on a couple people, like Youlia for example.) I don't know where we are going yet. We will see. The driver will be either Brother Nekiferov from Vyborg, or Igor... Both really cool guys, but only Igor speaks English. Tell Kelsey thanks for the pictures she sent for my birthday, and tell both Kelsey and Liz thanks for the letters. They both like you guys back home a ton. Kelsey told me about Meleea offering her a ticket to Brad Paisley, and she said she almost cried because it was so nice. Also tell congrats to Amanda Wignall, Kels told me she is engaged! Have you heard much from Karl about BP? I heard he lost a ton of weight, and he sent me a birthday email, and said he STILL hasn't gotten a letter from me?! GRRRRR. Still haven't bought anything for my birthday, but we are going to look for a Russian hat today. The youth knew it was my birthday and they all wished me a good one. Elder Andersen also called to wish me happy birthday, and the Luna's told me happy birthday when I was in the office. My birthday was good! Don't worry! I think one of my happiest birthdays... because I celebrated it with the Lord. One of my favorite scripture passages right now is Ephesians 3:14-21. I love the apostle Paul. He was one of the worst of sinners, but became a great disciple of the Lord. He tells the Ephesians why he does the work he does for the Lord... "that they may know the love of Christ, which passeth all understanding..." (or something like that... don't quite have it memorized..in English) I miss my dog!!!! The other day a golden retriever that is the same color as Millie was walking through the park with his owner and he stopped and stared at me and started chattering his teeth and twisting his head like Millie does. You should send Millie to Russia!!! I'm having the greatest time on my mission. I can't believe it has already been 8 months!!! Before I know it, I'll be back at home and won't know what to do. I WILL come back to Russia someday after my mission. I know this Church is true. I know that Heavenly Father loves everyone of His children, and He is just waiting for us to look for Him. He wants us to learn things on our own, and that's why he doesn't do everything for us. The gift of free agency is a great opportunity, and the one of the greatest gifts, lower only to His Love, which is Eternal Life. I know that Satan exists, and that he uses all manner of ways to destroy us. I know the Savior will help us overcome anything though, if we believe in Him. Gotta run. times' almost up Love, Blake

Be Humble and Trust in the Lord

Hi! I'm back in Vyborg! This past week was a crazy week serving in the office. Mainly doing stuff like translating newsletter for Sister Luna, answering the phone, burning conference cd's, bringing in mail and shipments of Liahona's (we finally go the Liahona for LAST conference), etc. Lots of language study for words I didnt know. ha ha. I was with Elder Shraeder, from Iowa. He's REALLY smart with computers and I see why he is serving in the office. He's a really nice guy. Reminds me of Cody! I had two meetings at night this week with Elder Shraeder, one with a guy named Piyoter, who is a Baptist investigating the church, and one with Sister Sentenina who is the smiliest old lady's I have ever met. She loved a picture I have of me and Millie, where it looks like Millie is smiling and wanted a copy. Tell Dad thanks for his letter. I'm jealous of him hunting! And I loved the words of encouragement. Letters are my favorite here!! I read a couple of really cool articles while I was in the office this week. Have you ever read the King Follet Sermon of Joseph Smith Jr.? Very cool! I advise you to read it! Joseph Smith talked about our potential to become like God, the nature of God, how we are literally His children, etc. One of my favourite talks ever. (Ensign, October 1994) Also read a really good talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks called "Strengths Can Lead to Our Downfall" ( I think...) I loved it because it talked about the importance of humility, and how Satan uses every aspect of our lives to try to work against us, both our strengths and our weaknesses, and that is why it is so important to be humble and trust in the Lord to help us. He talks about how people who maybe are over-zealous in one area of the church, and forget other doctrines of the church. It was given to students at BYU, but it was good to read as a missionary, because I think we sometimes have the same problem. Sometimes we get caught up on testifying and forget to listen to others, etc. Sorry... Don't really know what to report on this week... Transfers next week should be interesting. I don't want to leave Vyborg... I love the youth here! I admire them a lot and I know they are going to be amazing leaders of the church here someday, along with amazing missionaries. Vyborg is also a really beautiful place here in the fall. I know this church is true and that I am doing the right thing right now on my mission. I know the Lord has gone before me, and that he will bring others behind me to do the work here in Russia, and that even though maybe I don't see a lot of baptisms or mighty changes of heart, that I am planting seeds and helping to nourture and grow people's testimonies. I know that I have angels on my right hand and my left helping me always, and that we all have help from God in our lives, both members and non-members. God is no respector of persons and we should be the same. Love everyone that is around you! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Love Blake!!!!

Disclaimer!

It is so sad that I must put a disclaimer on my own blog but a radical bible group keeps linking me to them. I am in NO way affiliated with any group other that the mission that I am serving for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No other ministries are allowed to link me to them. Please remove me from your said groups.

Elder Larsen's Experience~ Visit from his Maternal Grandparents in Heaven.

Hello again! This has been a very good week. Probably one of my happiest weeks. I've got a story to tell, which started this week off good. So last Friday I was sitting in our kitchen eating lunch while Elder Domanksy was taking a nap (he's been achy and tired lately) and I was having a hard day. Just was frustrated with the language and didn't feel like things were going like they should. I was feeling like things aren't working out. I was listening to "Mercy River" and started thinking about the words and trying to imagine this river and where it would be for me. I started to imagine that it was in the Spirit World, and there were a lot of people sitting along the river. I tried to imagine Christ by this river, and then suddenly I got an overwhelming feeling like two people were sitting next to me, one on each side. I couldn't see them, but I knew they were there... and I knew who they were. Grandma and Grandpa Clifford. Grandpa to my right and Grandma to my left. They both had an arm on my shoulder. I had the feeling that everything will be okay, and that the Lord will bless me. He knows that I am doing all that I can, and felt my frustrations, so He sent them to comfort me. I got a huge feeling that they are serving a mission right now in the spirit world. I also got the feeling that Uncle Bob wanted to come too, but he was busy "at the river." I left to go get a kleenex, and they left too, but the peace I felt has remained with me since that happened. Sunday an older couple from Finland came to our branch. They both spoke perfect English also, but they didn't know any Russian. I had to translate for them during church, and amazingly had no problem doing it. Brother Nadelev (the branch mission leader and former branch president) said that he is very impressed with my Russian this transfer. It has improved so much more than it had when i was with Elder Haggard. Brother Nadelev is one of my favorite people in this mission. On Tuesday we had a meeting with Roma and talked about baptism and asked him if he wanted to get baptized. He said yes, but I need to get ready. So we set the date for October 31, and are going to meet with him so he can prepare for this. I'm so excited for him! Roma is really cool! He reminds me of a Russian version of Nate Booth. This last week we did a lot of service for ward members helping them to get ready for the cold. We cut firewood for members who live out basically in the forest and don't have a heater, helped an older couple in their garden, etc. On Monday zone leaders are coming for splits, so mail is coming. :) hope to hear from you through letters. :) Remember attittude is everything! To have temperance means that you are in control of your thoughts and actions, and you do those things that the Lord would have you do. Lately I've been intrigued with how the Lord is unchanging and what that means for us. We were sent here to this earth in a perfect state, and we only fell from that perfect state because we chose to change, to sin. Repentance brings us back and undoes that change, that sin that we did as if we never changed. I find it interesting that we tell our loved ones "Don't change." That's exactly what God said when He sent us to earth. "Don't change. I love you just the way you are." Gotta run. I love you all very dearly and wish I could see you, but this experience I would never change for the world! Love, Blake.

Thankful for the Scriptures.

Yeah! You got my letter! Has Cody sent you any letters with pictures? I want to see pictures of Cody on his mission!!!!!! CODY!! I don't believe that I am almost 20... I'm old. Ha ha. Everyone here thinks that i am older than 20 though. Multiple people have said that I look 25, and one person thought I was 30! This mission is aging me I guess. Ha ha. They don't believe that the pictures that I have of me are the same person. Ha ha. They all think Mom is Russian, and when they ask what her name is and I say her name they laugh because it's a Russian name. Most people also think that Liz is my sister-sorry Liz! Cody is my younger brother, Cole is my uncle, and Dad is my..... grandpa... Ha ha!!!!! (Sorry dad :) ) So I don't know why but a lot of people we talk to on the street think that I am from Finland.... I got your other package!!! President Govarilov (our branch president here) was in St. Petersburg and brought it back to Vyborg for me. Thank you for the food and sweater and hygeine supplies. I won't have to buy some them for a while or go to the optician to get solution for a while either. Thanks also for Cody's shirt!!! It made me smile to see it!! Already ate the Big Hunk of course! Had a nice guy stop and talk to us the other day and when he heard that I was from America, he said, "you have a pure American face" and hugged me... I think he might have been a little drunk, but I didn't smell any alcohol... It made us laugh! Question. Can you figure out Chris Haacke's address for me? I don't know how to write him... He's in Mexico on a mission... I need to ask Elder Nick Andersen about the baptismal font..... So this last week we had lots of meetings inside with members and at the branch with investigators, but we also had lots of people ditch us. We had a really good meeting with Roma about the Book of Mormon and prayer. He is the kind of guy that needs 80% proof before he will try anything, but we answered all his questions and he said he will try. He also said that he finds our church VERY interesting. Which reminds me. We street contacted a lady yesterday and she said she didn't want anything to do with churches because of .... and started listing off a bunch of things churches do or have. Each time we said, "we don't do that" or "we don't believe in that". She said. REALLY? This must be a real church then, and took our pamphlet. It makes me wonder how many people won't listen to us because they have the wrong idea about church and what we do. I too am thankful for the scriptures! I read them before my mission, but never appreciated them like I do now! They have all the answers. I've been reading the Bible and have realized just how much the Book of Mormon supports it and how important the Book of Mormon is in bringing to light and helping establishing the truth. Love you all very much, and hope you all are of good cheer!! Love, Blake

Do the work and God will do the rest.

Hello again. It is good to hear from home as always. :) Things in Vyborg are picking up. We now have 3 real investigators! Marina (the sister missionary's mom), Roma, and Poulina. We met Roma on the street and invited him to English club. He brought his friend Poulina and we had a lesson with them yesterday. Poulina really liked it, and Roma asked a lot of good questions, which is a good sign. We are cutting P-day a little short today to meet with Marina and her husband. Things are going pretty good! The Russian is still pretty hard, but I'm learning. It's hard when Elder Domansky and I don't know how to convey something to each other, because we are companions and need to work together. I'm learning a lot though! I only see English now when I read the scriptures or other materials I have, P-day, letters, dictionary, English club, etc. This week I tried a Russian drink called Kefire. Russians love it so I tried it. It pretty much is water and sour cream... X( Not good at all.... Yuck!! I got your letter, one of the packages, and Liz's postcard this week!! I think I will have to wait at least another couple weeks to get the other package. The only reason why I got these this week was Brother Semionov ( I told you about him I think. He's a doctor, speaks perfect English, translate for Prophet/Apostles when they come, etc) brought them from Peter. I must say that I never thought instant oatmeal and peanut butter would make me so happy!!!! :) Question though... how can I use the muffin mixes without a muffin pan?... I don't want to try without a pan and have them not turn out... That is terrible what happened with the Elliots! Dad, I hope you get the job! I'll continue to keep you in my prayers and I know the Lord will bless us. Sorry your dinner party didn't turn out as planned, Mom. At least the Smith's stayed to talk. Ask Ryan the next time you see him, some of the names of the people he knows here and where they live. I'd be interested to talk to them if I can! I've found a few people who know Larson Alder's nephew, Andrew. I loved the story about Kallie at the cemetery! That is a really cool story!! Just shows how much closer little children are to the Spirit. I hope I can become more like K.B. ha ha. My favorite scriptures right now are Alma 56:46-47. It's about the 2,000 stripling warriors. Here are parts of them~ "...behold, our God is with us, and He will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth... they had been taught by their mothers [and fathers] if they did not doubt, God would deliver them..." Just need to have faith! That's it. And God will do the rest... Faith isn't just believing though. Faith is action! Do the work, and the Lord will do the rest. Miss you!!!!! Remember what love truly is. Love is reasoning, faith, kindness. Love is unconditional and unchanging. Love is God. Love, Blake

Missionary Mom

Hello again this week! :D This transfer is going good already! I'm excited for this next transfer. Elder Domansky is a really good guy. He barely speaks any English (almost nothing) but he is very patient and helps me with my Russian alot. I think that I have learned more Russian just this last week than I did all of last transfer. He is also very funny. Just some of his mannerisms remind me of Cody, and other times he reminds me of Mr. Bean. People seem to want to talk to us on the street more when they see that there is a Russian like them with me. A lot of the time people won't talk to us giving the excuse "You're just trying to get us to go to your American faith" but they can't really say that with a Russian with you. He eats hot dogs for breakfast is the only bad thing... Yuck. It's very interesting serving with a Russian companion to say the least but happy for it. So I can now make Russian bleeni without even thinking about it. ha ha. (Pretty much a crepe). MMMMMM! POOR BEN! I'm so sorry for Kels. Tell her I feel terrible the next time you see her. Sounds like Liz and Kels have been there often. Tell them hi for me and get me there address at USU for me before they leave! I miss them alot too! Tell them I got their letters, but I never got Liz's postcard she told me about...yet. :( Igor said you said hi, Mom. He came up with President to inspect our apartment and then gave us a ride to the castle for service. He is a nice guy! He always has a big smile and really likes all the missionaries. Thankful for members like him. Last week I sent home some pictures and letter! Not very many pictures can fit in the envelope without becoming too heavy, so I might have to just give some pictures to Sister Luna for "the newsletter". Ha ha, I love Sister Luna! Yeah, Cody told me too that he gained a little. I usually cook seperate than my companions. (That's how Russian missionaries like to do it. I'm losing weight again actually. I eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Elder Domansky thinks I'm strange because I don't like hot dogs.... by the way they are even more gross in Russia than they are in America. I'm back down to 175. I'm running again in the morning with Elder Domansky and I also ran when I was with Elder Anthony. Feels good to run, but I'm out of shape! Cool story for the week!!~ I met a sister missionary in the MTC from Vyborg named Dasha Hemelinina, who is serving right now in Moscow, and her mom is not a member of the church. She sent the branch a letter saying for the missionaries to deliver it to her to introduce her to them. When we got over there, she was ecstatic to see us and we talked to her about what her daughter is doing in Moscow. We also taught her the 1st lesson and she wants us to come meet with us again!! She misses her daughter a lot and I dare say watches for the emails more intently than you do mom... Ha ha!! She wants to find out why her daughter is doing this, and why it is so important to her. Her daughter has testified to her and told her to meet with the missionaries. Really nice lady. She sells cologne and stuff and asked me to translate the stuff she has in English. I actually could do some of it! She just calls me Larsen and loved the fact that I knew her daughter in the MTC. I really hope things work out with this lady. I am filled with so much joy from this Gospel!! I can't even describe it. I can't wait to experience that joy that comes from helping someone repent and enter into the gospel through baptism. Whoops gotta run! Love you miss you, but I am oh so happy to be here!!!! Love, Blake

Off to Testify!

Hello! I'm still serving in Vyborg, but I have a new companion... First Russian companion!!! It's not Elder Leue... We do have an Elder with that name though... Either President thinks that I speak well enough to have a Russian companion, or he thinks that I need a Russian companion to teach me... Ha ha. Joking! Either way this transfer I think will help my Russian a lot. His name is Elder Domansky. He has been the Branch President in a city outside of St. Petersburg for the last 8 months called Sestroretsk, so he is excited to come to Vyborg. Elder Haggard is going to be Branch President there now. Cool! Not a lot of changes this transfer happened, though. Most companionships stayed the same. I got letters!!!! Yay! That is one reason why I love transfers!!! Two from Mom, one from dad, two from Liz, one from Michelle, one from Kels, one from Keri, and one from Nate Reidhead... I felt like a kid a Christmas! ha ha. Sister Luna says hi, Mom... ha ha. As of right now I am in Sestroretsk because Elder Domansky needs to train Elder Haggard as Branch President. We will return to Vyborg sometime by the end of the week. It's a cool place. Lot smaller than St. Petersburg, but bigger than Vyborg. I'll be with Elder Anthony while Elder Haggard is being trained by Elder Domansky. :) Elder Anthony is a cool guy! So I don't know why, but I have lost about 12 lbs this last transfer... My body can't decide if it wants to gain or loose weight and bounces all over the place... But what else is new, right? ha ha. We had a meeting with a guy who is Lutheran, but is very interested in genealogy work and came to the church for English club and the genealogy library. We met with the ward genealogy specialist, and the meeting went really well. We hope his interest in the church will spark as we meet with him. Other than that, not a lot of investigators are will meet with us. They set up an appointment and won't show or won't be home... Sunday was a very cool and history day here in Russia. The Kiev temple was dedicated and now the first temple exists in the former Soviet Union!!! I got to experience the Hosanna Shout and dedication of the temple in Russian, which was a very cool experience!! Felt the spirit so strongly! I did get to try on Finnish armour at the castle during our service work! Today Elder Domansky wanted to print off some pictures, so if I can print some pictures of I will send some this week. Sorry I haven't sent home letters in a while. Haven't had a lot of time lately. We've been meeting with lots of members who are trying to help us with missionary work, and teaching them how they can invite their friends and such. Sounds like things are about the same at home. Any other news from Cody other than that email you showed me? I want to see some pictures of Cody from while he is on his mission! I haven't seen any yet. Do you have any on the computer that you could send me? Thank you very much for the pictures of Kallie, Millie, and us at Provo Canyon. Good memories. Made me smile. So is everyone at school now since Amanda and her mom stayed over? I still think it is funny you are meeting so many moms from the mission. Ha ha. I love this Gospel! I'm very happy to be here serving among the Russian people. Lately I've just felt a sense of peace and joy when I read the scriptures, testify to people, read up lifting books, etc. It's amazing how much JOY can come into your heart when you let Christ in! I really love the books "Jesus the Christ" and "Our Search for Happiness." I wish I had read them before my mission. There is a story in Our Search for Happiness about Elder Ballard's grandfather and his testimony about Jesus Christ. If you haven't read it, I would advise you to do so... Love you all!! Thank you, everyone, for being a great support to me during my life so I could come and serve on a mission. Mom and Dad, thank you for raising me in the Gospel! Miss you alot and can't wait to see all of you back home again... But this is where I'm meant to be, and I'm loving it here too. Russia is starting to feel like a second home. Everywhere feels like home when you are doing the work of the Savior! Sometimes you feel like your surrounded by loved ones when you don't know anyone around you... I don't know how to describe what I'm trying to say... I hope you all get the picture. Gotta go. Thanks again! :) Love, Blake

Vyborg members fasting for the missionaries!

Hello! Great to hear from you again! First of all just want to say... DON'T worry about me at all. I'm perfectly fine. :) Yes... sometimes I get frustrated, but that's missionary work. Key word WORK. But this work over all brings me happiness. Like Joseph F. Smith said "The spirit that shirks responsibility shirks labor. Idleness and pleasure take the place of industry and strenuous effort... Time will vindicate the laws of God and the truth that individual happiness is found in duty, and not in pleasure and freedom from care." Christ never said that it would be easy, but that it is possible. I've got Him on my side all the time, and I'm happy! Glad that my letters got there for Meleea and Cole. :) I expect to here from them soon... well as soon as I can considering time it takes to get here and then waiting for transfers, zone conference, or splits with the ZL's. Did you receive any of my other letters?... Do Kelsey and Liz just live at our house now?! Ha ha ha. Tell them "Privyet" the next time you see them from Elder Blake :) I'm really sorry about Ben! He was too young to get hurt like that. I hope Kelsey is okay too... Tell her she is in my prayers. Say hi to Amanda Wignall for me when she comes... Still think it's funny how small the world is... ha ha. I about laughed my head off thinking of Millie falling over like a statue... Ha ha ha!! I miss my dog!!! She isn't getting fat is she? So this last week was not such an eventful week as they have been. We met with a lot of members this week because the members are taking turns fasting for the missionary work here in Vyborg. We taught them about what it means to fast and the blessings that come from it. One of the families we visited lives in the next town over called Gavarilava. Where one of the deacons lives. He really likes the missionaries. This town is in the middle of no where and I don't think they have a lot of youth there, so he appriciated me playing chess with him after our lesson with his family about the importance of scripture study. His name is Misha, and I have a feeling that he will make a good missionary some day. They youth are amazing here. The youth here help to bring a lot of happiness to Russia, and they bring a lot of happiness to the missionary. They help us a lot by inviting their friends to family home evening, coming with us to less actives, etc. They really have to step it up being surrounded everywhere you go with drugs, porn, alcohol, and corruption. Yawna, (the girl in the wheelchair) her grandfather died this last week and we had to help move his stuff out of the apartment this week for service. It was a sad day, but we talked to her about the Plan of Salvation, and even though she has some mental disabilities, she said, "I know that." (By the way, I saw Elder Wignall's address in the grandfather's room when we were clearing things out for them.) When we went to the castle this week for service, they didn't have anything for us to do, and we ended up talking with one of the janitors there named Mihail for about an hour. During Soviet times, he was a captain in the army, and he saw a lot of horrible stuff. Now he is a janitor and just wants things to be better, but he turns to alcohol for his support. I felt the Savior's love for him while he was talking and just wanted him so bad to listen to us about why we were here as missionaries. We tried to get him to come to church and meet with us, but he didn't think that it would help and wouldn't agree... I think times like that I feel just a little what the Savior and Heavenly Father feels... So our hot water has been turned off for the past month and I don't even remember what it feels like to take a hot shower... ha ha. I'm starting to like cold showers to be honest... They wake you up in the morning faster than anything else! ha ha! Yesterday we had a huge storm and the roads had rivers of water. I bought a new umbrella because mine broke. (took off 500 more rubles from my card ~ about 18 dollars I think?) We were about ready to build an ark! Elder Haggard and I walked down the street in the rain with our umbrellas singing "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today." Made us laugh! So I got an email from Nate Reidhead's mom giving me his England address. She wants you to email her! Whoops! Look at the time. Gotta run. I love you all alot and miss you tons! Wish I could say more but dont have time. Hope this email is long enough for you! ha ha. "Walk with God" Love, Blake

Great F.H.E. this week!

Hello!!! Sounds like a party back home... Ha ha ha! What did Kelsey and Liz do when they tried the bread... Ha ha ha. That's kind of weird to think my friends have been at my house more than I have the last 6 months... You've only gotten two letters?... That's weird. I've sent the same amount of letters to all three of you... Must have gotten lost in the mail... Bleen. Well crazy week this last week. On Saturday we were at the church with one of the families of the church here when it started raining really hard and two people came running in. One of them was an older man named Boris that had investigated the church years ago and just remembered how nice the church was, so he came running in. The other was a lady that was completely drunk off wine and was crazy. She said she wanted help to quit drinking, then she said she wanted to kiss Elder Haggard... Then she tried to bow down to us and grab our hands. She was the most drunk lady I've ever seen! Needless to say we had Brother Dmitriov call a Taxi while we lead her out of the church with the help of Boris. We started talking to him and invited him to family home evening. He is a really nice guy and came to it the next day! The youth and ward mission leader really helped to fellowship him, and the youth all brought friends to FHE! It was amazing to see the branch here help out so much. That is rare for Russia... We pet a camel!!! The circus is in town here in Vyborg, and a teenager was leading a camel around! I got a picture. Ha ha. Never thought that I would see that in Russia. This last week we had splits with the Zone Leaders, Elders McCleary and Nielson. They are great guys. I think I already told you about them... They brought letters!!! I heard from Grandma and Grandpa, Cody, Nate Booth, Steph, and Richmond!!! They were all dated a month or longer ago... But still great to get them. Something about a handwritten letter is better than one on the computer. I want to know how it took just as long to get a letter from Chiloe, Chile, where Booth is right now, than it took to get a letter from New York... Oh well. I"m not going to complain. ha ha! Cool that you heard from Melanie Gerard and Igor! Igor is a really nice, funny guy! His son just went to the MTC. I gave that Called to Serve CD to Elder Hasbiullian in the MTC... Sorry! Thanks for sending me the CD's though. Elder Andersen has a cord that connects his camera to the computer... Or maybe he sent home his memory card? He's already sent home a bunch of stuff... Haha. I expect to hear from Kallie Brooke soon :) I don't think I need any dress shirts or things like that. Clothes are expensive here. I don't know why... Jeans that you could buy in America for 15 or so are like 60 dollars here... Well, my time is about up. Tell a big thank you to everyone back home!!! I never realized how great I had it back home with my wonderful friends and family until I was taken away from them. Phillippians 1:2-5 is how I would describe you all back home! I'm meeting so many people here and making some great friends... I swear I knew some of the people I meet here before this life. I truly am working among my friends right now. Oops, gotta jet. Lates! Blake

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Proverbs 25:25

It's P-day again in Vyborg! Great to hear the bad pain is so much better, Dad!!! See, I told you that you had nothing to worry about. :) I wish I could have watched... You know me. ha ha! Did you tell the anesthesiologist that you just have a healthy heart and not to worry? ha ha. What did Millie girl do to the deer? I could see her just going outside and trying to make friends with it or something. What about Forest? I miss my dogs! I show pictures of Millie and Forest to people here and they all love them! Labs aren't common here, but German shephards are everywhere, along with those dogs that looks like there face is flat... not my favorite dog... The girl in the wheel chair that i told you about has a dog that comes with us. it looks like a mop without the handle. ha ha. His name is Simion and he is always REALLY excited to see the missionaries! Still cannot imagine the backyard with grass!! Steph is engaged?... Wow. I called it! I told her I give it a year after she started school and she'd be married! Ha ha. I hope she is still the same happy and nice Steph that I know! I haven't heard from her at all...... Tell her congrats for me! We've been pretty busy. Since I last sent home an email, we met with the Branch President and organized a Branch mission plan to help members participate in missionary work. We then had a day of just contacting, because all 4 of our meetings we had set up fell through... That's Russia for you... ha ha. On Monday one of the ward member's family friends went missing! She is a lady with alzheimers and she went walking through this little woods on the outside of the city. Elder Haggard and I joined the search party for a couple hours while we didn't have a meeting set up. We had a prayer and a brief lesson with everyone that God knows where she is and he will help us. We helped search through the woods while we could (which is alot like Ephraim, Dad, but more pine trees and ferns and stuff and not on a mountain.. Russia has some beautiful wildlife) and we found out later that night that they found her safe and well. The family are members, but they really appreciated the help and it helped us to show people that we are here to help. For service this week we helped hang paintings at the castle for a photo/art show they are having about the castle. It took a long time, so didn't get to see the armour, but that is okay. I'm here to serve, not to try on armour. ha ha Someone might try to scare me from inside it anyways!! ;) Yesterday we had English club were only two people showed up. Elder Haggard worked with one and I worked with the other. the person I was working with didn't speak a lick of english, so it was hard to teach him. It was really good practice for my Russian though. The Russian is coming. I know it is. I can see the improvement, no matter how slow. I just thought it would be quicker! We have investigators, but they don't really meet with us much. They always are working or something whenever we call... But there are a couple who have been away from Vyborg for the summer too that would meet with us if they were here. Summer is a hard time to do missionary work in Russia because everyone goes to there little shack they have out in the country called a "dacha." They garden and get away from the city during the summer. It is not allowed for us to go to dacha's due to how far away they are and also due to the fires! So our mission has a theme song! ha ha. I want you guys to listen to the song "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. Someone translated just the words for President Podvodov, and he liked it! I knew that song and when I started thinking about the words it made me laugh. I thought of something that you could send me. With my cd's in the left closet of what was my room (if you haven't moved them yet) is a stack of cd's that I got from Seagull book while I worked there. Could you send them to me? I rely on whatever my compaion has for music and want some of my own. I'm so glad to be on my mission! Things get hard... Sometimes frustrating. Sometimes you wonder if you are really good enough to do this work for the Lord? Sometimes you wonder if anyone wants to listen to you!! Sometimes you wonder why it is so hard and why we are rejected on the streets so much? But I've realized that Christ was rejected more than he was accepted... That He never said it would be easy, but that it would be worth it. He said that is would be possible. He promises the miracles come after the trial of your faith, and that through weaknesses, He works. I'm learning so much about myself and about my Lord. I have to agree with my friend, Ryan Smith who just so happened to serve in my same mission when he was 19. "I never said that it was the best two years of my life, but it was the best two years for my life." I've already started to learn that. Well, my time is about over. Need to end really quick. Love you all!! Miss you lots!! Remember what it says in Proverbs 25:25~ "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." Love, Blake

Humbling week in Vyborg.

Well, it's been a busy week here in Vyborg. Since last P-day we've done lots of stuff. A member's grandmother died, and he asked us to go to the morgue with him to help him put the body in the back of the "hearse" (van) for the funeral, because they didn't have anyone else to do it. It was a humbling experience. They had a little Orthodox ceremony there for the rest of his family who aren't members. We told the people there that talked to us that we were there for them if they need it, and we know that they can see her again someday. We then took a girl named Yawna for a walk. Yawna lives on the 5th floor of an old apartment building. She was born without feet and some mental problems. Her parents are divorced, and her mom is a huge alcoholic and was plastered when we got there. No elevator so we have to carry her chair up and down 5 flights of stairs. She is a really cool girl. She is happy and knows that God loves her! She doesn't have to be baptized due to her mental disabilites, and she is a good example to me. Lately when I think that I have it hard learning this language or trying to talk to people, I just think that other people like Yawna have more problems then me. We took her for a short walk, then brought her to a family friend until her mom was sober... I really don't get why drinking is Russia's favorite pastime... We did some service work at the Vyborg Castle, which is where you find St. Olaf's Tower. We helped move some displays and did some raking for them. They then let us go to the top of St. Olaf's Tower and look around before we left. From there you can see Finland! I took a picture of Finland of course. Next week they said I can put on a suit of armor. :) It's a really cool tower and they've done a good job restoring it and turning it into a museum. I'll figure out a way to send pictures. I then learned how to use a sythe this week. There is a man here named John who moved here from America because his wife is Russian. His wife speaks English, but John has only been here 10 months and doesn't speak much Russian yet. Their kids speak both Russian and English, and to be honest, I was a bit jealous of that. Ha ha. They dont really use lawnmowers here in Russia, they just use weed wackers or if you can't afford that, a sythe. I learned how to use a sythe and "mowed" their backyard for them. Yesterday we went contacting and had my first experience running away from a mad dog. We turned around the corner and there was this mean, wild dog that started snarling and snapping as us. I wasn't as surprised with that as I was when Elder Haggard pushed me and knocked me down because he was so frantic to get away from the dog!! I was laughing for quite a while to be honest. He was TERRRIFIED!!! Ha ha ha!!! Trying not to crack up right now while I'm typing! He, he, he! The member who translates for the Prophet lives in our branch here, and we met with him this week. He said that even though I don't know alot of Russian yet, I speak well and almost without an accent. That made me feel better because somedays I just don't think I understand any of this language!!! He is a really smart guy. He is a doctor (but even they don't make a lot in Russia) and he knows both English and Russian fluently and he's translated pretty much everything the church has in Russian. Now is is working on translating the book "Jesus the Christ." As far as investigators are concerned, we have quite a few who are meeting with us, but this last week they all ditched us. It's perfectly normal in Russia to not show up to a meeting or come an hour late... gotta love it... Oh well. We try and the Lord helps us each day, even if it is helping us to laugh! :) Last night was a flash storm. I loved it. :) Some green Grass? I want to see the backyard now!!!! That is soooo cool! Send a picture when you can! Tell the "tough Norwegian" aka dad, that he has nothing to worry about with the surgery. :) Ha ha. He'll be fine, I know he will. Actually lots of people as me when we are on the street and they are nice enough to talk to us and ask us our names, if I am from Norway. I say no, from America, but my ancestors were. How did the transformer catch on fire? Are Richmond and Christina okay? Who is the new family in the ward? Has the ward changed a lot since I left? How's everyone at home? Things going better with work, etc? Heard from Code lately? What's new with him? Having fun teaching the crazies? Have you heard from any of my friends? It feels like I haven't been home in a long time... I wonder why... I want to hear ALL about home. I'm a stranger to home now. Love you all!! Miss you tons!!! Working hard. Learning alot. Be of Good Cheer!!! BLAKE

Email chat with mom in the middle of the night!

Well it's been a long week since I last talked to you due to Estonia, Zone Conference, and Elder Haggard's visa trip. Lot's to say, so I'll try to type fast. I'm talking to you at the same time that I do this! Vyborg is a mini city. It has really cool old buildings and used to be owned by Finland. Old Finnish castles and stuff here. :) We plan to go see some, and I found out we do service at one. :) Estonia was kinda quiet. I'm writing you a letter as we speak about this last week. Elder Haggard is really nice! He is so cool!! What's new at home? KB there? Estonia wasn't as complicated as I thought it was going to be. We pretty much to walked across this bridge next to some old Russian castles, took some pictures in Estonia, and walked back. It was about a 3 hour ride there, spent an hour in Estonia, and walked back. Estonia looks alot like Kaliningrad, more European looking than Russia. We had zone conference on Monday and then stayed until Thursday in St. Pete's because of Elder Haggard's visa trip. I was on a split with Elder Adam McCleary from Seattle and really got along with him as well!! He ran on the same races in track as me and he reminds me alot of Briton Page. I hope I can serve with him sometime. He was Elder Andersen's trainer, and Elder Andersen loved him too. I ate a half a watermelon by myself yesterday. Elder McCleary ate the other half. Ha ha! That was GOOD. :) I hope I get to serve someday in the city. I decided I like the city and metroes and stuff! Elder Haggard laughed that you tried to add him on facebook. he he he! Things to send in the package that I want lately- Mainly stuff to munch on. Dried Mangoes Trail Mix (Elder Pundersen wants "Doritoes Tacoes at Midnight" Chips. He told me to say that Ha ha!!) Big Hunks!!!!! Maybe contact solution if possible. It's kinda hard to find here. Maybe some drink mixes (GAtorade or something?) peanut butter? OH forgot to tell you. I pulled off another 1000 rubles off my account to get a backpack. That is a total of 1500 rubles, or about 50 dollars? Sorry this letter isn't as long, but it was cool that we got to talk while doing this. Love you all so much and miss you alot! Love, Blake

Hello from VYBORG!

Hello from Vyborg!!! Today is my first day in my new area: Vyborg. It is about a 30 min metro ride plus a 2 hour bus ride from St. Pete's. It's a city right next to a big river. Lots of shady parks and green trees. I'm exicted to serve here! The only thing was last night the sun didn't really ever go down that much... Oh well. What can you do? There is sunshine in my soul today! Ha ha. I can't really say much more about it though see that I haven't even been here a day. When I left K-grad, I flew with Elder Anthony. We didn't even know when our flight was until about 2, and we had to fly out at 8:50 at night. The airplane didn't take off on time, so it didn't leave until 9:40. Add in the time zone change that we had when we got to St. Petersburg, and we didn't arrive until about 1:30 in the morning. Fun stuff. :) I've already had to travel after midnight twice on my mission. Seriously, though, we were laughing pretty hard! I'm going to miss K-grad a lot, but i know I'll like it here in Vyborg too. For family home evening the memebers in K-grad bought me and Elder Anthony little keychain amber things, which Kaliningrad is famous for. They played games and invited a bunch of people from the English club and our investigators came!! Elder Poulson is staying there with Elder Anthony's companion, so I can still hear how they are doing during zone conference and stuff. Will miss him & K-grad. Who knows, maybe I'll go back there someday? To be honest, I feel like I'm slowing down a little bit and so I'm trying to give myself that added boost to get going again. The Russian is still pretty hard, and we work alot, so I think that is why I'm tired. My new companion, Elder Haggard seems like a really happy, optimistic, hardworking guy too, so I think that he will pick me up a little bit. Things are hard, but they are getting better. They always do! Just trust in the Lord all that you can and He takes care of the rest. That's one thing that I've definitley learned my strongly here in Russia. In other news, I will be heading back to St. Petersburg today, because tomorrow I have to go to Estonia to renew my visa. Just call me "Elder Blake the World Traveler Larsen." I'm excited as I get to go with Elders Gerard and Andersen!!!!!! I've heard that Estonia is really cool. Next week Elder Haggard (my new companion from California) has his visa trip, and we also have zone conference, so we won't really be spending time in our area for the first week again. We'll still be doing missionary work though. :) My P-day next week might be on a different day than thursday, because of this. Just so you know, so you don't worry if you don't get a letter on Thursday. I have sent home letters, I promise!!! I just barely got letters from Nate and Liz yesterday marked the very begging of June, even the Dear Elders, so it takes a while to get mail no matter what. I actually think the Dear Elders aren't any faster at all then normal letter because I think they print them off somewhere else and send them in a pouch or something. I hear it takes longer to get from Russia to USA than from USA to Russia. I'm printing off some photos today and sending them home so hopefully you'll be getting them in a month or so... ;) I tried to connect my camera to the computer here, but I wouldn't read my camera. Sorry. Sounds like the medical issues of the family are getting taken care of. Tell dad that I will be waiting to hear about his knee and tell him good luck from me. NO I didn't put them up to it. It was totally there decision. The girls like you, mom. What can I say? (They also like your cake too...;)) What did they say to you? How are they doing? I've barely heard from them, and when I do it's old news. ha ha. Old news is a ton better than no news though, so I'm not complaining. Tell Liz, yes I got the Dear Elders, but they still took a long time. That's crazy that you saw Brae's mom! I knew she worked at a Doctor's office, but didn't think we'd ever see her. Tell her to tell Brae hi if you can somehow. ha ha Have you heard more about Ian Stats? I hope he didn't have to go home because of his injury. I always have so much to say, but not enough time to write. I hope I gave you some good stuff for my blog though. Sister Luna tempted me with a peek when I was at the office, but I thought if I looked that I wouldn't be able to stop, so I didn't. ha ha! I'm very curious who and what is on there. Lastly, I just want to tell you all back home, my testimony. I know without a doubt, 110% that this church is true! That Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the World and that only through Him can we receive the joy only Eternal Life and Salvation can bring. I know that life is hard, that we all have trials, that we all make mistakes, but I also know that no matter how big the burden, if you trust in God, he will make the burdens light on you back like he did with the people of Alma. I know that Heavenly Father is polishing us and perfecting us with the roughness of our trials, and the power of the living waters that He has, and that He knocks away the rough edges until we become smoother in His hand. I know that we can be instruments in God's hands and do great things while we are here on this earth, but without the Master, the tool cannot do anything. It just becomes dirty, dull, and stationary. I know that the Lord never forgets us, we only forget Him. Words cannot describe the Joy the Gospel of the Lord, Savior Jesus Christ brings! I don't know where I would be without it. Like it says in my favorite scripture Alma 26:16 ~ "Therefore let us glory yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea we will rejoice, for our Joy is full; yea we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long suffering-towards the children of men? Behold I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." Love you all!! Miss you more than you know, but loving that I'm serving the Lord. Love, Blake

Missing my Millie dog.

Hello! Sorry about last week. I wasn't even able to read the email you sent last week until this week. It came while I only had about a minute left, and the way the internet works is I pay for how long I will use and then it shuts down. We usually email pretty early in the morning there. Last week we emailed a little earlier so we could go on a hike to a lake with one of our investigators. Sorry for all the drama. Ha ha. Well, it sounds like things are about the same as they were before. I continue to pray for you all that everything will be good. Everything will be okay. It always does somehow. You should send me Millie! I miss my puppy. There is this dog at the Botanical Gardens where we do service named Lada who is my pal. She follows me around everywhere and reminds me of Millie, even though she is a husky/german shephard mix. Millie would be jealous because I always have to give Lada a good rub behind the ears before I go. I'm going through withdrawals from my dog!! This last week I went on a two day split, one day with Elder Anthony, one day with Elder Tollstikh. Elder Tollstickh doesn't speak very much English, and my Russian is still very bad, but we somehow knew what the other was saying and taught each other alot. I think if I get transfered next week, I want to be with a Russian companion. It would help me alot with the language. I'm getting better slowly and slowly, but I really wish it was faster. Elder Anthony said that I'm better than he was at the 2nd transfer, and he understands everyone pretty good, so I'm not too worried. I'll get it & The Lord will help me. Elder Anthony is a really good guy! His personality is just like my friends were at home, Reidhead, Booth, BP etc... He's the only one out of his friends that is a member in Washington, and he has a really strong testimony. Good example for me! I laughed alot with him. Dang it, I wanted Netherlands to win the World Cup! Spain wins too often. Oh well. :) I bet mom is feeling lots better now. It sounds like she is only improving, so I'm not too worried about things anymore. Stay healthy mom! You can do it! What was wrong with Lee? Did she ever get my letter? I haven't really heard from her since I've come on my mission... I want to hear more about Lee and Cole. What are they doing? How's Kiddo? Tell her Uncle Blakey sends her a big hug! The girls are coming over? That's pretty cool. Ha ha. Are you sure they aren't just coming over to eat the cake, not make it? ;) ha ha! Tell them all hi from me! I've barely heard from any of them, but I understand....it's hard. Well, only have a couple minutes left. Just wanted to tell that I love you and miss you all! Stay close to the Lord. The Lord is with us, who can be against us? Remember when you look back and only see one pair of footsteps, it wasn't that the Lord left you, he carried through your trials. Love you miss you!! Blake

Split w/Zone Leaders- Elders Punderson and Zoobcove

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!!! Da da da da da da! Today's your birthday! *Dancing Hamster* Da da da da da da! It's my birthday too, yeah! Wishing you the best on your birthday, Mum! I was going to send you a card, but I never got the time and they are all in Russian here anyways, and by the time you would get it, it would be too late. What are you doing for your birthday? Anything fun? You better do something fun! You deserve it. World's best mom! You brought me up so I could be where I am today here in Russia serving a mission. Because you and Dad have taught me the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I know who I am, where I'm going, why I'm here and where I can turn for help. I feel the Joy that comes from the Spirit that so many on this Earth have forgotten since they left the wonderful presence of our Heavenly Father, to be tested and become like Him. Thanks, Mum. Again, Happy birthday!!!!! Well, things are slowing down here in Kaliningrad. Our investigators aren't really meeting with us because they are never home in the summer. It's hard, but we're trying and the Lord will make up the rest. The language is still tough, and just when I think I'm getting comfortable in the language, I'll have a really hard day when I just don't understand anything... Elder Anthony has been a good help for me with the language though, and he says it usually picks up after your 3 or 4 transfer. And the Lord is and will bless me as long as I trust in Him. I didn't know learning a language took so long to do. Last Saturday the branch had an activity at the beach where they had a spiritual thought and spent all day at the beach. We invited a bunch of potential investigators that actually came, and it seemed to go pretty well with them. Hopefully something might come out of that. I'm pretty tan right now... Well a farmer's tan of course. This Monday and Tuesday zone leaders were here and we went on splits with Elder Zoobcove (that's how you would say it in english) one day and Elder Punderson the next. They both are really good missionaries. This is Elder Zoobcove's last transfer, so he pretty experienced. ha ha. It was good to be with a Russian companion because they speak the language perfectly and I know enough Russian to have them explain things to me simply. I hope I have a Russian companion. I think it will really help me to learn the language. I was senior companion when I was with Elder Punderson, and we got lost...almost. ha ha. We went down the wrong road home and we didn't know where we were. Lucklily I saw a bus with a street name that I recognized so we got home. That was funny though! We walked for almost 45 minutes not knowing where we were! We contacted a few people though, so it wasn't a waste of time. ha ha I got your letter Dad from the zone leaders when they came here, and your card Mum. Thanks a bunch. i really, really, really love to get letters! They give you an extra boost. So far I still haven't really seen any letters here. Do you know if Cody sent one? I've sent him 2 or 3 since I've come to Russia but haven't heard from him yet... How come I didn't get an email this week?... everything okay? I hope so. I miss knowing what's going on. Tell me things that are going on. They may sound dumb to you, but it's what I want to hear, just like you want to here from me everything. How's Cole, Kallie, Meleea, the Dogs? What have they been up to? How's Karl? He only has Megan at home now, so I bet he's pretty lonely. Love you all. Miss you tons, and hope that when you receive this everything will be okay with you. Wish I could see you right now, but I'm doing the right thing. God be with you, and always keep Him in mind and in heart. Love Blake

New Investigator

Wow. I got a lot of emails from you this week. At first I was a little worried... Ha ha. First of all, I wanted to tell you that I sent off another letter last week home. It will be there hopefully next week. And Second of all, I wanted to say that I guarantee that if our mission gave out awards for who laughed the most, it would go to me and Elder Poulson. I decided early on that I would just laugh at all the mistakes I make and work on them, especially in the language... and guess what... I laugh all day! :) ( Is that a good thing or a bad thing?) Ha ha! The Lord gives us weakness that we may be humble, so that he can work through us. The Lord is definitely doing the work here. Not me. I'm just merely an instrument, who He is sharpening and refining. But the instrument is nothing without the Master. Sounds like things are pretty busy at home. Tell dad good luck for me and he has nothing to worry about. He can take anything they give him! Ha ha, and he sounds like an EXCELLENT doctor so you don't have anything to worry about. You could just come to a hospital here and have them saw it off?... Sounds like mom's doing well too. And not surprised that Lee won tickets. Not at all, miss I-have-the-contest's-number-set-on-speed-dial. Ha ha! Aubrie had her baby? That's awesome! I want to see him! Send some pictures from home with some of him if you can soon to Russia, pretty please with Skooshonka on top. (Skooshonka is sweetened condensed milk. They drink it like it is water here) So Yuri has a baptismal date!!! July 26th. It's right after the transfer, so if I leave I won't get to see it, but that's not important. Its important that he wants to get baptized. We're working with him so that he understands what this means and preparing him for it now. Today we went with 2 members (Kristina and Jenya (a he) and some twins from English club (Pasha and Allyeg) to The Spit. That's were all those twisty, dancing trees are near the sand dunes and the beach. Pasha and Allyeg are identical and they are both really funny guys. They are only a little bit interested in the church, but we are befriending them and teaching them and they are slowly becoming interested. It was really cool. That's how the work goes here in Russia. Slowly but surely. We met a bunch of Germans who rode here on a bus and speak a little english. That was cool. We have a new investigator. His name is Allyeg. Sorry about all the spelling when it comes to names! Just sound them out like the letter is usually said and that's how you say it in Russian. He lived in Colorado with a Mormon family on a foreign exchange program so he is familiar with the church and wants to learn more. He is really interested. Surprisingly because usually most people don't show that much interest. We are excited for him. He said "I really want to find truth. I've been looking for truth, have found some truths, but I'm still looking for more truths." We are really excited to teach him! Package? Won't that be kinda expensive? Don't spend too much money on me, okay? If you could send me another shirt or two (maybe a long sleeve) and a jacket that would be good. If you want, you could just send me that black zip up jacket I had before my mission. That would work. Sometimes we just want a light jacket when we are doing service work. It should still be in my room. Well, if you haven't changed it. What did you do with that room? Now I'm curious. Ha ha! Do not worry about me one single tiny bit. I'm being blessed more than I thought I could be. As the scriptures say: Angels are on my right side and my left. God has gone before me and is behind me. I'm filled with His love and His spirit. What else more do I need? Love you all! Miss you! Blake

God painted a picture for me.

Hello! Sorry about last week. The internet cut out on me. This last week was a busy week. We had to fly to St. Pete's again, for Zone Conference. It was good. They talked about Virtue and what it means to be virtuous. I didn't know all the Russian words so it took me a little bit to figure out what things were being said, but it was good! Back in Kaliningrad now. It's been rainy this last week, but at night last night it was the coolest sky I've ever seen! I couldn't sleep and was just looking out the window about 11:00 and there was a rainbow over the building across from me and the sky was red and purple and orange and blue. God painted a picture for Me. :) Since we moved apartments we are working with the old missionaries' investigator, and trying to help him work out some faith issues so he can be baptized. He's soooo close. His name is Yuri and he's in his 50's or 60's. Very nice guy. He's having a hard time because he can't find a job right now, and this is bringing down his faith. We'll try the best we can to help them. I sent a letter to you today again. I got your letter in St. Petes on Tuesday. According to the dates on it it only took 2 weeks to get here. Thank you very much. First handwritten letter for me here in Russia! I used my card and yes it works now. I took out 500 rubles to see if it works. That's about 15 dollars, but you might want to check exactly. I've heard some mom's use coinmill.com to figure out money conversions. That's terrible what happened to Ian!!! Oh no! I'll keep him in my prayers. Could you maybe get his address in Ghana for me. I'd like to write him a letter. There is one member in the ward that I decided reminds me of Cody! He's just a nice happy guy who is funny even when he isn't trying to be. He's kind to everyone and everyone loves him, even though sometimes he can be a little shy. He makes me feel at home sometimes if that makes sense? Miss you, Code! So I don't know what really to tell you for this week. It was basically lots of traveling and meetings. Whew! It was good to see Elder Andersen at Zone Conference! I hope I'm companions with him again, not just for that week in the MTC. He's a great guy and trys so hard. He reminds me a lot of Nate Booth. Ha ha! Alrighty. Sorry this week's email isn't as long. Don't really know what's new to tell you. I'll just close with a quick testimony. I know that this church is true and that the work here is hard only because satan doesn't want these great people in Russia to become on the Lord's side so he's working hard on them. I know that thorugh the Lord's help we can do anything, and that he works through our weakness and makes up the rest that we can't do as long as we try our best. I know that God loves me and loves us all. He's allowed us free agency, one of the greatest gifts of all because it lets us particpate in our own creation. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can return to be with Him again. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Love, Blake

Delayed email

Hello! Sorry this didn't send last week. It was put in my drafts instead of sending. Sorry. This is for last week Wow. Sounds like you are pretty busy at home! You met Elder Broadheads mom! That's great! I love Elder Broadhead. He's a fantastic missionary. Always very happy. And that would be great if you could meet Elder Andersen's mom! Elder Andersen and Elder Gerard are two of my favorite people in the world. I made friends with them so fast in the mtc and it was so great to see them at conference, along with Sisters Brishtel and Lane. So much to tell you this week! Dont know if I will get it all in. So I love St. Petes!! The city has so much to see and so many people. It's like Russia's New York, the melting pot. In the week I was there, we met with Foo, a boy who was baptized by Elder Poulson last August from China. He took us to a Chinese restaurant for P-day, where they had excellent chinese food. I even tried pig ears. (tastes like rubber by the way) We also met with Timothy, a guy from Sierra Lione who speaks 6 languages: Russian, English, French, and 3 different tribal languages. He's going to Saudi Arabia next month to study, so he might pick up some Arabic. He was way cool. We met with Elder Beck and Melnicks neighbor who Elder Poulson knew before, who's name is Yuri. He looks EXACTLY like Sylvester Stallone. He's huge! One of the nicest people I've ever met. He bought us Russian pies. My favorite was the peach of course. He's not too interested in the gospel though. On Saturday we had a great meeting with just the missionaries and Elder L. Tom Perry where he talked about missionary work of course and we all got to shake his hand and talk with him a little bit. He's about as tall as I am! Bigger than you'd think. He also talked to everyone in the mission, members included on Sunday. Very cool experience!! I talked with Elder and Sister Luna while I was in Petes. Elder Luna gave me a big hug and said that it was from you. Thank you! I really like those two. They are always smiling!! :) So Elder Poulson and I were out in the middle of the tourist part of St. Petes at 12:30 at night. Got to experience the "white nights." ha ha. Before you flip, we had to be out that late. We called for a taxi to take us to the airport the next morning at 5:30, but the bridges go up at night and the taxi wouldn't be able to get to us where we were staying (on the island in St. Pete's) We had to take a metro at 11:00 at night to another elder's apartment who lived on the opposite side of St. Petes. That was an experience that made me laugh. Not a lot of missionaries can say they have done that!! So our investigator I told you about who was crying because she couldn't meet with us anymore, talked to her husband about it and he's changed his mind! Yippee! He still doesn't want her to go to church, but at least she can meet with us now. :) Today for P-day we went with her, her friend, and a male member of the branch here that's she's made friends with (so it was okay) to Yantarny, a beach community were you can find lots of Amber. I will send some in a letter home I found. Very cool! Sorry to tell you but I've fallen in love. Her name is Russian crepes with caramel and apples. It's delicious!! We have to go back to St. Petersburg on Monday for zone conference... ugh, I'm sick of traveling for now. I'm really glad to stay with Elder Poulson. He's a great guy!! He is a great missionary who knows how to be happy! Thanks for the muffin recipe. I just take a picture of it with my camera and write it down later. It works surprisingly well. There is a little girl in the branch here who looks so much like Kallie. She has a longer face and brown hair, but she still reminds me enough about Kallie to make me miss her!! Give Kiddo a big hug for me and tell her Uncle Blakey loves her! How's my Millie girl? Still skinny? Still crazy? Still remembers me? This week is Fathers Day. Sorry I don't have anything to give ya dad, except my thanks and love from 5,000 miles away! Thanks for bringing me up so I could be on my mission serving! Love ya!! Got to go! Love, Blake

There is an unknown reader group called "Badge of Love" that links anything Russian to their site. I hope they will ask permission here before they copy anything from this blog. Thank you!

Hello from St. Petersburg

Dear Mum, Hello! Wow. Lots to going on right now. I don't know how Cody only sends a few lines?! I always have too much to talk about. Well it's the start of the new transfer and Elder Poulson and I are still comps in K-grad. The other elders are moving out and we are getting Elder Antony and a mini missionary in their place. Elder Poulson trained him too. Weird huh? We won't have a senior couple in our area, and Elder Poulson and I moved into their apartment. It's a nice apartment. It's in more of a suburban area that is closer to the branch. We live across the street from an old Russian Orthodox church with a really nice garden by it. I like it a lot. There is a small little room with a desk to the side of the living room/study area, and on the whole wall is printed an image of New York and sunset at that bridge that connects Brooklyn and Ellis Island! Think of Cody every time I see it!! Other elders apartment was flooded, so it has to have repairs, and the day we were moving out of our first apartment, the people upstairs flooded their apartment and it started to leak through the ceiling of our apartment! Way ironic. Glad we don't have to deal with that apartment, but Elder Antony will. Poor Elder Antony! He was going to be with me and Elder Poulson in a triple, but then at the last minute a mini missionary came. (They are just members of the church here in Russia who come serve for a transfer in an area.) so he was put with him instead. Work is getting harder. Youlia, our only real investigator, called us crying last thursday and said her husband forbids her to hear the lessons anymore. She was so sad!!! She loves the church and the people there, and reads the Book of Mormon everyday for 30 minutes or more. She also is almost done with the Gospel Principles manuel and is just so accepting of everything, and we were just about to ask her to be baptized and set a date. She always refers to the church as "our church" as if she is already a member. She is still really good friends with us, and I know she will become a member of the church when the time is right. Í'm just sad that her husband never would agree to meet us with her, and then he read all of the lies on the internet about us and forbid her to do anything. We planted the seed, and we'll just have to trust in the Lord. He will direct her path. Well, even though we are staying the transfer in K-grad, as of right now I am in St. Petersburg. We came because this Saturday and Sunday Elder L. Tom Perry will be speaking to our mission, and so we had to fly in on Tuesday, because that was the easiest time they could schedule airplanes and stuff i guess due to transfers. We are here until next Tuesday, and are staying with Elder Beck and Elder Melnik. Elder Beck is from California, and is a really nice guy! I made friends with him really fast. Elder Melnick is from Ukraine, and also very nice! To be honest, I think i like St Pete's better than K-grad! It's not as humid, the streets are paved better and a lot wider and the city just seems more open. Lots more things to see actually than in Kaliningrad like gardens or squares, and there is actually quite alot of old, cool looking buildings and churches still here in St. Petes too, and most areas are just as clean or cleaner. It doesn't get dark here until like 1 or 2 in the morning though! So weird. Not going to lie. and it's only going to get worse. It is still pretty light at night in K-grad, but not like it is here. Last night we met with a doctor that is a member of the branch here in Pete and he made us some weird soup. Had like pickles, bananas, macaroni, and who knows what. weirdest stuff i've ever eaten! He was really nice and smart! He speaks Russian, English, and Chinese! He has just a normal apartment though, which was cool. He doesn't need unneccesary things in his life to be happy. I'm super glad to hear that Liz got my letter, but I'm wondering why Kim hasn't gotten my letter yet? What about Kelsey? Haven't gotten a lot of mail here either. Earlier last transfer the only mail I got was a couple Dear Elders from Liz. The only mail I got this week was a short Dear Elder from Kim saying that she needed my address in New York!! Ha ha!!! She got me mixed up with Cody, and a Dear Elder from Kelsey. She says you are awesome for helping her with her wisdom teeth! Oh wow. I didn't even get to say half of what i wanted to say, but I need to email president and then go get some food for the rest of the week here in Petes. I decided metros are cool!! Well, I love you all and miss you alot!! One thing my mission has really taught me so far is how great my life was back home because of the people I had in my life. I have a great family and friends and a great place to live, more than I deserve!! Tell everyone that, okay? God is blessing me, and He will bless you if you look for Him. Trust in Him with all you do and you will be happy. He makes our weaknesses strong, our burdens light, and our hearts not just filled with joy, but BRIM WITH JOY, overflowing!! I think that's why we cry when we feel the spirit. It's gotta go somewhere, right? ;) Love ya! Peace and success to you! Love, Blake

Branch visit from the Cooks

*Email from a wonderful couple, Steve & Vera Cook from SLC, who attended the LDS church in Kaliningrad, Russia, May 2010. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gillett, Mr. and Mrs. Broadhead, Mr. and Mrs. Poulson and Mr. and Mrs. Larsen, I will take just a moment and introduce myself and let you know how we came to take these pictures and talk with your sons. My name is Steve Cook and my wife is Vera and we live in Salt Lake City. We were in Kaliningrad just over a week ago and while there we went to church at the branch. I think everyone was very surprised to us when we walked in and your sons were in attendance and greeted with smiles and I think the were a pleased to have some Americans coming to church, it was a good excuse for them to be able to speak some English. The branch building in Kaliningrad is a very nice building in a nice part of the city. My wife and I were surprised at how big the building was. I think there was a mixed group of about 50 people in attendance. I hope I don't make a mistake here but forgive me if I do, I believe that it was Elder Larsen who had been there the longest and he translated the service for us and did an excellent job. Afterward we assembled outside in beautiful weather and I took these pictures. After the service was over we said our goodbye's and separated with Vera and I walking a couple of blocks to an ATM machine where I tried to withdraw some Roubles so that we could pay our hotel bill. This ATM machine did not have on option for English so everything was displayed in Russian. I was not able to make the machine work and after a couple of tries we decided to walk back to the branch building to see if any of the elders were still there. When we walked back all four of them were just leaving and two volunteered to walk with us to the ATM and see if they could help. We walked back and one of them translated the Russian for us which in effect said that "this bank had deactivated my card and that this machine was preventing us from getting any cash." We tried my wife's card and got the same response. Thankfully the machine did return our credit cards. Without the help of the missionaries we would not have had a clue of what was wrong. Next we ask them some information as to what the bus cost and how we needed to pay for that. Steve and Vera Cook This picture was taken on May 23, 2010 outside the church in Kaliningrad, Russia All of the elders were doing fine and were very helpful to us. May 23, 2010, Kaliningrad, Russia The "who's who" of Americans in Kaliningrad. Luckily later in the day we found another ATM machine that did accept our card and worked without a problem. I told the kids that I wanted to send these pictures to their parents and they had give me your email addresses. I had intended to send these out earlier but my wife and I picked up an particularly bad cold on our last day of the trip and yesterday was the first day that I really could function well. Now why were Vera and I in Russia? My wife was born in Koenigsberg in 1943 and became a refugee during the war and she and her family were forced to leave Koenigsberg when she was just one year old. She had all of her family stories about Koenigsberg but wanted to see the city and if possible the building that she was born in. We made that our vacation goal this year. Vera was born less than a half mile from the branch building, and we found the address of her former home. We took pictures of the building and the area for other relatives. We found Kaliningrad to be a beautiful city, the people were friendly and exceptionally helpful when we could make ourselves understood. We had beautiful weather and meeting your sons was just and additional joyful expericence. Steve

Letter from Elder Punderson

From Linda Punderson on May 20th. 2010, talking about Elder Josh Punderson~ "My son went on an exchange with your son this week, and I thought you'd love to read what he wrote :) "First things first, I would love to serve in Kaliningrad sometime haha! Oh man, that place is beautiful! Its a little piece of Germany that Russia snagged in WWII. It's a lot like St. Petersburg but a lot cleaner and not everyone is in a hurry, which is cool. I was on an exchange with Elder Larsen, and he's rad, and I got lots of respect for him. The kid ate a good size piece of bread with big chunks of hollodets on it haha! Oh man, it was way funny, but he earned the man-of-the-month award haha. And if you're not sure what hollodets is, it's really nasty Russian food. It's this jelly stuff from the bones of animals, usually beef, pork, or chicken, and then there's chunks of meat and other crap in there, and it is soooo gross hahah oh my. You could check that out on the internet if you want. He didn't throw up or anything, so he will be able to handle anything here foodwise."

Drennan's leaving for Utah

Hi Mum. Sounds like things are improving back home, slowly but surely. The Lord is blessing me, and I can handle anything you have to tell me. I have a feeling that you aren't saying everything that's happening at home?! How are Lee & Cole? Tell Lee to make me a cake and send it to Russia! I miss normal food! I'm getting better at cooking, but still not as good as food back home of course and the groceries here are hard to find. I found some normal milk that isn't as expensive as Finnish milk though. It's from Poland. Don't know why it would be cheaper? I expect to get the snail mail from you and Kiddo sometime in the middle of next transfer. I'll find out on Monday if I'm staying here in K-grad or if I'm transfering. I bet I'm transfering. If I do transfer, then my next P-day will be in a new area and I will let you know where I am, alright? They usually send new missionaries to new places for their first couple transfers. It's been pretty good here in Kaliningrad, and I wouldn't mind staying!! Me and Elder Poulson get along pretty well. He is a nice guy, a really good guy and he makes friends with all the members really easily. He is really good at Russian! We're just starting to get a couple people who are actually interested in the church and progressing in the lessons, so If I stay, I won't be disappointed at all! Today the Drennans, the senior couple in our district, left for China for a week to visit their daughter who lives there and then they are coming home to Salt Lake after that. They are really nice and have been like our grandparents here in Kaliningrad. I'll miss talking to them! I gave them your email to get in contact with you because I thought you'd like to meet someone from my mission. Very, very nice people! It's felt way hot here in Kaliningrad. It's about 80 degrees here, but the humidity is a monster! I'm used to dry Utah weather. Whoo!! It's been a pretty busy week meeting with lots of members to try to get more help from them to find people, put that on top of service and stuff we did this week and our normal meetings with Roma and Youlia ( that lady we met on the street and is really interested in the church. She comes to every activity and asks us lots of questions. She even brings her friend Poulina). Pretty busy week, but it's gone by pretty fast. Russian is still way hard! I'm slowly learning the language with the help of prayer and mercies from the Lord. Sometimes I have no idea how i was able to convey my message to people or understand what people were saying to me, because I'm terrible at Russian still. I'll learn this language with the Lord's help but that's the only way I will! People are surprised how I speak only being here a month, but it's not me that's doing it. The Lord is blessing me with the gift of tongues when I need it. I'll be happy if I know this language by the time my mission is over. Ha ha! I just study all day and my brain is so tired at night. I'll do my part and the Lord will do His, according to my faith in Him. Can you do me a favor ? I want to get Nate Reidheads address for his mission in England. Can you ask him for it. Or you can ask Liz. She'd have it. I just want to write him letter. He goes there soon. Also please remember to send some recipes! Snail mail will be sent within the next week or two. Love you all! Make sure everyone is told that and they remember that. I mean it!! Give Kiddo a big hug from me. Millie-girl and Forest too. Love, Blake aka THE Elder Larsen ;)