Saturday, February 21, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Greetings from Chelyabinsk
This is how we dress when the weather is well below -zero
Elder Campbell and Elder Dewey(This photo was taken after Natasha's baptism)
(note - my skinny tie.)(This photo was taken after Elder Campbell and I beat the sisters in a game of Foosball!)
Do you see any resemblance? haha
Elders Abel, Dewey, Campbell, and Anderson(Our District)
Dear Family and Friends,
It’s been another one of those busy and crazy/strange weeks…maybe it’s the freezing weather that actually bites, I don’t know. We had a great zone conference last Monday, which is always uplifting and motivating. We had our usual English class. Alex, one of our investigators called and wanted to talk with us, so we met him on the street and had a great chat with him. He is a great guy, one with a lot of potential. We met with him again the following day. We also met with Demic, another one of our investigators. Both meetings went well. We made a lot of phone calls to try and schedule meetings. Elder A and I met up with the ZL’s on Friday to have splits. It was pretty fun. We went contacting a lot because some of our meetings didn’t go as planned. We were able to get some really great numbers, which is always exciting. I tried out my cooking skills on some beef and broccoli. It wasan’t the best I’ve ever had, just a little too salty, but oh well.
We ended splits at English on Saturday. After English we decided to head to McDonald's, which was a mistake. Since it was Valentines Day everyone and their significant other decided to make McDonald's their choice of restaurant.. It was so crowded that we ended up having to eat outside in the –zero-ish weather. Our hamburgers were practically frozen by the time we bit into them, but hey missionaries will eat just about anything,…thawed or unthawed, as long as it is edible. Haha. Later that same day we had a meeting with a less active, but he decided not to answer his door…it happens.
I had a great time translating for Elder Moulton at church on Sunday. Although it can be difficult at times, I enjoy translating. Later Sunday evening we attended a fireside at the Moulton’s. It‘s always interesting the number of girls that come out to attend in comparison to guys. The ratio is usually a few guys to a ton of girls…somewhat crazy.
In Other News/Thoughts/Shout-Outs for this week;
1. The first Shout=Out goes to my bro for his engagement to Britt. Britt, good luck with him!
2. Thanks to everyone for all the great emails! If I did not get back to you, it is because I am working hard, or something like that…JK! I will try to get back to you all soon.
Today during personal study as I was staring outside my kitchen window... out at the cold that was waiting for me to embrace with open arms…not! JK. I had some random thoughts that started to flood my mind. I thought about life, faith, and a lot of other stuff in between. I realized that so much that happens in life is based on the smallest things/moments. I also realized that I haven’t had huge mind-blowing miracles in my life. However, I have seen and experienced one... called a testimony. For me, my testimony, or what I call MY MIRACLE has come to me when I have taken the time to ponder on the times when I have felt the spirit or just felt the good feelings that have come from something good that takes place in my life.. I have had many of those moments over the course of my life which made my testimony strong, and has made it what it is today. It has not been a huge miracle, or a voice of thunder coming from some light. It is just those small personal moments of inspiration that comes from within when I have experienced those great feelings, the times when you know you are at the right place doing the right thing. It is just these small everyday feelings that help us continue on this never ending journey of improving ourselves and believing.
I love you all!
Elder Chad M. Dewey
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chelyabinsk Zone Conference
Dear Families,
We have just returned from the Zone Conference in Chelyabinsk. We enjoyed spending Sunday with the missionaries and the members--the meetings for two different branches and a fireside. On Monday we held the zone conference, where we enjoyed trainings, testimonies, and pizza. All seem to be doing well, even though it was VERY cold this last weekend. The missionaries had to delay their P-day, so we apologize that their weekly emails will be late. Thank you for the support that you give your missionary. We love and appreciate each one.
Our best,
President and Sister Allen
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
While contacting...icescles are forming on my noise and eyelashes...
Late Greetings from Chelyabinsk,
This past week was another one of those crazy weeks! I will give you a brief recap. We had a birthday party for Elder A at the church last Monday. We had a successful day of contacting on Tuesday where we actually got a few great numbers. We met up with Elders C and A for lunch for Elder A’s real birthday. We met at a place called Petesburg. It is a pizza place where they serve the BEST Hawaiian pizza EVER! Maybe it tasted so good, because everything we eat here is so bland.
English class turned out pretty great. Everyone that participated really enjoyed it. The sisters came and were a great help. I have to say, I believe we have the BEST English class in Chely. After English, we had a meeting scheduled with an investigator, but he ended up being a “no show”, which was a bummer.
My companion, Elder A, left for his visa trip so I was with Elder L from Miass. Thursday Elder L made us some amazing sweet and sour chicken for lunch, I believe it was the best I ever tasted! We went out contacting in the -20ish below weather, when we were started to feel our insides start to freeze we made it back to our apartment to make some phone calls and schedule some meetings.
Friday Elder C and I met up with the sisters to practice singing for an upcoming baptism. After our singing practice, we met with a less active family. They are the most amazing family. I am excited for when we can return to talk with them again. I know we can help them get back active again. They were the nicest family.
The baptism on Saturday went amazing. It was held in a spa type of a place. It had a pool, hot tub, a room with a couch, pool table, and TV. It was somewhat weird. However, it does not matter where a baptism is held, the spirit can still be felt, which was the case was this past Saturday. Following the baptism, we had another English class.
On Sunday, we had the opportunity to attend a fireside where President and Sister Allen spoke to the young adults. I really enjoyed their talks.
Yesterday was zone conference, which was the cause for the email delay. I had a great interview with President Allen.
Over the past few days, I have been thinking a lot about different situations that have played out in my life. I would like to thank every one of my friends who helped and inspired me to go on a mission. Friends are so important, and in my opinion, my family members are my best friends. I am a lucky kid to have many amazing friends in my life. Even when I was being stupid or childish, my friends kept me on track. My friends are AMAZING!
I hope you all have a great week. Remember to pray for the people here in Russia and for our Mission. Remember to always be studying the scriptures and constantly have a prayer in your heart.
I love and miss you all,
Elder Chad M. Dewey
This past week was another one of those crazy weeks! I will give you a brief recap. We had a birthday party for Elder A at the church last Monday. We had a successful day of contacting on Tuesday where we actually got a few great numbers. We met up with Elders C and A for lunch for Elder A’s real birthday. We met at a place called Petesburg. It is a pizza place where they serve the BEST Hawaiian pizza EVER! Maybe it tasted so good, because everything we eat here is so bland.
English class turned out pretty great. Everyone that participated really enjoyed it. The sisters came and were a great help. I have to say, I believe we have the BEST English class in Chely. After English, we had a meeting scheduled with an investigator, but he ended up being a “no show”, which was a bummer.
My companion, Elder A, left for his visa trip so I was with Elder L from Miass. Thursday Elder L made us some amazing sweet and sour chicken for lunch, I believe it was the best I ever tasted! We went out contacting in the -20ish below weather, when we were started to feel our insides start to freeze we made it back to our apartment to make some phone calls and schedule some meetings.
Friday Elder C and I met up with the sisters to practice singing for an upcoming baptism. After our singing practice, we met with a less active family. They are the most amazing family. I am excited for when we can return to talk with them again. I know we can help them get back active again. They were the nicest family.
The baptism on Saturday went amazing. It was held in a spa type of a place. It had a pool, hot tub, a room with a couch, pool table, and TV. It was somewhat weird. However, it does not matter where a baptism is held, the spirit can still be felt, which was the case was this past Saturday. Following the baptism, we had another English class.
On Sunday, we had the opportunity to attend a fireside where President and Sister Allen spoke to the young adults. I really enjoyed their talks.
Yesterday was zone conference, which was the cause for the email delay. I had a great interview with President Allen.
Over the past few days, I have been thinking a lot about different situations that have played out in my life. I would like to thank every one of my friends who helped and inspired me to go on a mission. Friends are so important, and in my opinion, my family members are my best friends. I am a lucky kid to have many amazing friends in my life. Even when I was being stupid or childish, my friends kept me on track. My friends are AMAZING!
I hope you all have a great week. Remember to pray for the people here in Russia and for our Mission. Remember to always be studying the scriptures and constantly have a prayer in your heart.
I love and miss you all,
Elder Chad M. Dewey
Monday, February 2, 2009
Finding "Inner Peace" with in...
Hello from Chelyabinsk,
I hope all of you are enjoying the warmth of the Arizona sun. A few of you asked how I am enduring the cold here in Russia. Honestly, it has not been too bad thus far, just a smidgen in the negative! I have been told this winter has been a warm one, but who knows if it will stay this way. I wanted to take a few pictures this past week of my new area, but it was a busy week. I will try for this week and send you a few in my next email home.
It sounds like BJ is adjusting just fine to the real world since returning home! He is back in school, dating a great girl (sounds somewhat serious…hmmmm) and enjoying being the only kid at home. I hope mom will save some of her spoiling for me! Hopefully BJ will be an old married guy by the time I get home and I can go back to being “the only kid” at home. JK!
P-day has turned into one big foosball frenzy! Elder A and I are unbeatable and unstoppable! I love it! Today we are having a birthday party for Elder A at the church, it should be a good time. Last Monday we had FHE with the Zoobkobvy’s. (I think that is how to spell their name in English)
English club here is crazy; and is mostly all girls who attend. I am not sure if they really attend because they have a desire to learn English, or if they have a different agenda. It can feel a bit awkward at times, because they don’t even try to speak English... they just like to stare at us. I enjoy just acting like a goof because half the time they don't understand what I am saying in English anyway. Haha.
This past Tuesday Elder C came to work with us while his comp was in Kazakhstan on visa renewal. It was a great time! However, working in a threesome is not always easy. He was in my MTC group and came out the same time I did. He is most definitely one of my favorites! He wants me to move to Nevada after our mish. He said he will hook me up with a girl. He has one of those faithful girlfriends back at home…one of those that will stick to the two years in waiting…haha! Hey, it's already been ten months, so what is another 14.
We found a new investigator, Aleksey. I guess technically he is not new, he met with missionaries three years ago and some how lost contact with them. The lesson went awesome! I look forward to meeting with him again. He is a real nice, sincere, and clean cut guy, and seems golden...only time will tell.
I believe in my previous email, I mentioned that we established a plan of attack on Home Teaching in our area. This week we had a couple of meetings with Brother Victor (people here go by their first names except for missionaries). We discussed what we needed to do in order to get things going and planned it all out with him. He seems excited about the idea and wants to see it work. I cannot wait to see the changes it will make in the members here, they will all greatly benefit from it.
Yesterday after church we went to the bus station to pick up Elder A. He made my day by bringing my package that you sent! Wow! It was a great package, thanks so much.
I will have to admit, I am glad to see this past week come to an end. Honestly, it was one of those weeks that happened to be one of the more challenging ones that hit me full force. I guess these challenges are to humble us and bring us to our knees. At times the negative stuff can get in the way of our heart and head from being in the right place. At times I felt the frustration of the lengthy time I've been the junior companion due to the lack of missionaries. Our group was the last to come out, which was almost ten months ago, so our group is the youngest in the mission. On Friday, I noticed it was kind of getting to me and I realized I needed to get my head back in the game and seriously get focused. I guess you could say I needed that “inner peace” back in a desperate way! I have really had to pray extremely hard to stay positive the past few days. However, I did it! I stayed positive for the most part and trucked through the hard times, and I am still feeling great! Lesson well learned! Prayer works! Pray hard continually, work hard always, and reap the blessing of inner peace!
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week. Please remember the people here in Russia in your prayers.
Love,
Elder Chad M. Dewey
I hope all of you are enjoying the warmth of the Arizona sun. A few of you asked how I am enduring the cold here in Russia. Honestly, it has not been too bad thus far, just a smidgen in the negative! I have been told this winter has been a warm one, but who knows if it will stay this way. I wanted to take a few pictures this past week of my new area, but it was a busy week. I will try for this week and send you a few in my next email home.
It sounds like BJ is adjusting just fine to the real world since returning home! He is back in school, dating a great girl (sounds somewhat serious…hmmmm) and enjoying being the only kid at home. I hope mom will save some of her spoiling for me! Hopefully BJ will be an old married guy by the time I get home and I can go back to being “the only kid” at home. JK!
P-day has turned into one big foosball frenzy! Elder A and I are unbeatable and unstoppable! I love it! Today we are having a birthday party for Elder A at the church, it should be a good time. Last Monday we had FHE with the Zoobkobvy’s. (I think that is how to spell their name in English)
English club here is crazy; and is mostly all girls who attend. I am not sure if they really attend because they have a desire to learn English, or if they have a different agenda. It can feel a bit awkward at times, because they don’t even try to speak English... they just like to stare at us. I enjoy just acting like a goof because half the time they don't understand what I am saying in English anyway. Haha.
This past Tuesday Elder C came to work with us while his comp was in Kazakhstan on visa renewal. It was a great time! However, working in a threesome is not always easy. He was in my MTC group and came out the same time I did. He is most definitely one of my favorites! He wants me to move to Nevada after our mish. He said he will hook me up with a girl. He has one of those faithful girlfriends back at home…one of those that will stick to the two years in waiting…haha! Hey, it's already been ten months, so what is another 14.
We found a new investigator, Aleksey. I guess technically he is not new, he met with missionaries three years ago and some how lost contact with them. The lesson went awesome! I look forward to meeting with him again. He is a real nice, sincere, and clean cut guy, and seems golden...only time will tell.
I believe in my previous email, I mentioned that we established a plan of attack on Home Teaching in our area. This week we had a couple of meetings with Brother Victor (people here go by their first names except for missionaries). We discussed what we needed to do in order to get things going and planned it all out with him. He seems excited about the idea and wants to see it work. I cannot wait to see the changes it will make in the members here, they will all greatly benefit from it.
Yesterday after church we went to the bus station to pick up Elder A. He made my day by bringing my package that you sent! Wow! It was a great package, thanks so much.
I will have to admit, I am glad to see this past week come to an end. Honestly, it was one of those weeks that happened to be one of the more challenging ones that hit me full force. I guess these challenges are to humble us and bring us to our knees. At times the negative stuff can get in the way of our heart and head from being in the right place. At times I felt the frustration of the lengthy time I've been the junior companion due to the lack of missionaries. Our group was the last to come out, which was almost ten months ago, so our group is the youngest in the mission. On Friday, I noticed it was kind of getting to me and I realized I needed to get my head back in the game and seriously get focused. I guess you could say I needed that “inner peace” back in a desperate way! I have really had to pray extremely hard to stay positive the past few days. However, I did it! I stayed positive for the most part and trucked through the hard times, and I am still feeling great! Lesson well learned! Prayer works! Pray hard continually, work hard always, and reap the blessing of inner peace!
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week. Please remember the people here in Russia in your prayers.
Love,
Elder Chad M. Dewey
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