Elder Dewey will arrive in Phoenix on Tuesday, April 27 around 8:00pm.
Only e-ticket numbers are displayed when they are issued.
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Friday, April 2, 2010
Elder Dewey Is Coming Home...
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Siberia Zone Conference...
Dear Missionary Families,
We are still getting snow quite often but the weather is getting warmer and we are sure spring is coming because the ice is melting! We have recently completed reading the Book of Mormon and underlining references to Jesus Christ. It has been an interesting and enlightening opportunity that has helped us understand that the Book of Mormon truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. We are looking forward to general conference in the near future. We enjoyed our zone conferences and are always happy to spend time with our wonderful missionaries.
We wish you all a joyful Easter. We are grateful for the Savior and all he has done for us.
Love,
Sister Allcott
Siberia Zone Conference (3/12/2010)
Monday, March 29, 2010
On the Road (train/bus) Again... Ekat, Tyumen, Kurgan and back to Tyumen...
Hello again,
Well, here it goes again...another short and to the point letter/email with no apologies. It's best that I am too busy to draft a lengthy email/letter. I've decided that I am no longer going to promise a better/longer letter next week, because it most likely wont happen, besides I am down to my last few weeks so what ever I leave out I will have the chance to share with you in person when I return home! With that being said, here is this weeks quick run down of events.
Monday, we had a pretty relaxing Pday spending time with the Palmers. I really have enjoyed serving around them, they are the coolest senior couple. I've picked up some pretty crazy sayings from them, for example, "He's got bats in his bellfree", and "he is chasing lizards". I had no idea what these sayings meant until I had the opportunity to spend some time with them taking them to meetings.
Tuesday, we got up at 5am to make our trip to Ekat for our meeting at the Presidents.
Wednesday, we arrived to Tyumen pretty late.
Thursday, we spent time at the church moving stuff around and putting things together.
Friday, we spent more time at the church putting things together and had some really great meetings as well.
Saturday, we woke up at 5am to make to Kurgan to do a baptismal interview and we are still here but headed back to Tyumen tonight. I have really enjoyed my last few days here in Kurgan it's been awesome. Saying goodbye to everyone here was pretty tough. I sure love all the people that I have gotten to know here.
Well, I need to run.
Love,
Elder Dewey
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sent Elder Andersen home, New Comp - Elder Ellsworth, Amazing Investigator's, trip to Ekat,
Well, my letter home will have to be cut pretty short this week because I spent too much time trying to figure out how to get my new email account to work so I could send the stats into the office!
Well, this week really has been a good one with spending the last few days of Elder Andersens mission with him. To be honest, he wasn't too trunky. We had a fun p-day of just kinda doing nothing, but those are always the best ones. We also had two really good meetings before he left. One, with a grandmother of a member who is on a mission. Her grandmother is a good investigator and fed us some amazing home made donuts, but yeah, they weren't too healthy so I had to watch my figure ya know? The next morning was an especially hard work out. haha! Tuesday, we had another amazing meeting with a members mom who is not a member. She is the best investigator! Honestly, after the lessons I just expect her to tell me that she is already a member and just messin with us or that she is an actress, but she is the real deal! She is an amazing investigator and we really are working hard with her. She prays and reads and she is awesome. Her daughter is a strong member of the church too, so she helps a ton. The best part though, is seeing their faces light up as we teach and see how excited Galya (the member girl) is for her mom! It's amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hands down some of the best lessons I have been on. The funny thing is though, I am humbled with each and every lesson. Whenever I go to teach I just get so nervous and I dont want to mess up or say something dumb but it always happens. I am just grateful that she knows it's coming from the heart and that's all that matters.
Elder Andersen is now gone. It was kind of sad sending him off, but he has a lot ahead of him in life so its cool. Elder Ellsworth (a young buck) came to me on Wednesday, and we have just been working hard ever since. We have a lot of work ahead of us and things are lookin up. I really like Elder Ellsworth he is a stud and a good missionary. (His mother would be proud!!) Well, let's see, the rest of this week was really good and busy. AND... I am just soakin up Russia all I can before they kick me out of here. I gotta run! Take it easy. love you all!
Elder Dewey
Monday, March 15, 2010
Last Transfer...staying in Tyumen, Elder Ellsworth new comp, Organ Concert, Zone Conference...
Hey everyone,
I am down to my last transfer which means there will only be a few more emails home. It's hard to believe. I try not to think about coming home too often, however with killing off Elder Anderson this coming Thursday it's difficult not to think about it once in a while.
I was hoping to make this email a little more exciting than the last few I've sent, however I forgot my letter i wrote out earlier so once again, this is going to be off the top of my head. Well, I will start out with the most important news...I received news about transfers on Friday and found out that I will be spending my last transfer here in Tyumen with Elder Ellsworth joining me, which means Elder Ellsworth will be the one to kill me...awesome! He is a super cool Elder!
So here is a run down of the past week -
We had a great start of the week with a pretty great pday on Monday. We were going to brave ice skating as a district then my companion and I wussed out because I realized that I have two left feet out on the skating rink and would only make a fool of myself. By the way, Russians are like all champion ice skaters. So instead of ice skating we went home and cleaned and went grocery shopping. Monday night we had a really good meeting with a member and her investigator mother. It went pretty well and we will continue to meet with them.
We had another good day on Tuesday. We had English club and two other meetings with some members of the church. It was cool meeting with one active family who just had a baby girl a few months ago so the baby would be the same age as my niece Piper. It made me really happy and excited to think that I will be able to see Piper for the first time when I return home next month.
On Wednesday we had district meeting and Sister Palmer made some really great food as usual. She even left the meat on the side for me! haha...bless her heart! We were able to help them get their printer fixed. Later, we went to a store called "Metro" it's like the Russian version of Costco, it was amazing! You can get awesome stuff there like peanut butter and Tabascos sauce! It's so cool.
On Thursday, Elder Anderson and I were able to pull something off that hasn't been pulled off in our zone for the past year or longer. We had a "zone culture day"!!!!!!! It was pretty cool, we were able to pull it off because they had to come into the city for Zone Conference anyway, so we all went to a Organ concert. it was pretty cool, the music was even good enough to put Elder Palmer to sleep after the first 5 minutes... haha! Gotta love Elder Palmer, he is hilarious! Later, we went to some pretty good pizza place, but the only pizza they had without meat was potato and mushroom... weird!
We had a really good Zone Conference as usual. I really love zone conference and seeing all the missionaries from the different cities, It's a blast to have them all stay the night at our house.
On Saturday, we went on little mini splits with the Assistants and had a good time contacting. Later, we had a meeting before English club with our cool vegetarian investigator haha! It was pretty funny because they were trying to convince me that it was a sin to eat meat. However, I know that is not the case, oh well. After English, we cleaned up the church. We had a great Sunday as usual. I felt pretty beat at the end of this week...but hey, it's p-day, so I can get a few minuets of rest...yay!
Okay, so I know this is another short less than informative email, but you know what they say about missionaries that are a few weeks from coming home...the letters/emails become shorter and shorter, I'm just going along with the norm...haha!
Well I love yall and I hope you are all doing well.
See ya Love you!
Elder Chad Dewey
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Long Train Ride (too much time to think) , Great Meeting with past investigator...,
Another week has gone by pretty fast. I first would like to start out with a big congratulations to all those Women out there in the world. It's "Ladies Day" in Russia! It's a pretty big holiday, it compares to our version of Valentines Day or Mothers Day combined into one holiday celebration. To be honest, I was not thrilled that this holiday fell on a P-day! We had to walk around forever looking for a place to do Internet and finally found one.
This past week was a great week. I was a bit sick on Tuesday, but there was no time to think about it, we continued on with English Club and our meeting. It was funny because everyone at English was flippin out that I was sick. They told me to go home and gave me some pretty crazy ideas of ways to get cure the flu/cold. For example putting garlic cloves in my nose or putting boiled eggs up against my nose would help and also drinking warm jello. It was pretty funny. I just ended up going home and drank a ton of orange juice and tried to rest. The oranges here are nothing like what we have in Arizona, especially the oranges at Chases or Blake's place.
We had a really great district meeting on Wednesday. Sister Palmer made an amazing pizza for us. We worked out some plans for our district here in Tyumen, After district meeting we left for Surgut. We were going up there to do splits. The Palmer's also went to do some branch business. It was a lot of fun on the train for about the first two hours or so, but the next 14 hours not so much...haha! It just is a long ride. We talked, played phase ten, but mostly I spent some time pondering about life. It's weird when you have that long to just think about things. I thought about all that I've experienced and the people I've had the chance to meet and get to know, and way's that I've changed, and how weird it is to see all this come to an end soon. I try not to think about it, but when you are on a train for hours it's a bit hard not to have those thoughts.
I spent Thursday with Elder Stoops up in Surgut. It was so cool to have a meeting with someone we met with when I was up there more than a year ago. It was a really cool investigator who remembered how poorly I spoke Russian and was so surprised how well I speak now. It was pretty fun, we just joked about it a lot. We had an amazing lesson with him and talked about how many times he prayed for an answer and he said two maybe three and I told him maybe that is why he hasn't received an answer because the process can sometimes be a lot longer process than only praying two or three times. We talked about how it has been a real struggle and it takes searching for the truth and not just wait until we receive some sign. Often times it is a strong impression or feeling that we receive and we have to listen to the spirit.
Friday morning we left Surgut and had another one of those fantastic train rides...haha. This one once again filled with endless hours of deep thinking. Luckily, I was able to sleep a little. I missed a great English Club on Saturday, I had to translate for a different meeting. Later, we had a terrific FHE at the Palmer's...a great time!
I have decided that I am going vegetarian for the entire month. There are a lot of vegetarian's who come to English and even some in the branch and they would like me to try it in order for me to understand their point of view. I've decided to give it a try. Plus it might help me throw those extra 5 kilos I need to get rid of.
Well, I need to run.
I love you all. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Dewey
Monday, March 1, 2010
Last Visa Trip to Finland...
Hello Everyone,
Well this week was another one of those crazy but great weeks here in Russia. I have not been in Tyumen a whole week since this transfer has started. Every week I have had some traveling to do. Although it's been crazy it's been great at the same time. This past week was my last visa trip to Helsinki Finland. It was really cool to see my whole group together for the last time until we head home in two months. But now let me rewind for a second. On Tuesday we had a district meeting before I left and Sister Palmer made some really good hamburgers and a delicious cake for my late birthday party. Later, they took me to the train station to send me off to Ekat. I spent most of the train ride thinking about the last two years and how Russia has really changed me in so many ways. I arrived in Ekat at 7pm and stopped by Subway with some of the other Elders. We obviously didn't get much sleep that night and stayed up talking. It was funny though because I fell asleep but they said I kept adding stupid comments to the conversation. We woke up at about 2 am to shower and wait for the car to take us to the airport. The trip to Helsinki was pretty good besides the rough flight from Ekat to St Pete's. I also didn't get much sleep the last few days because for some reason I've had too much on my mind and had a hard time shutting off my brain. Once we arrived to Helsinki we got a bite to eat and did a Temple session which was really good. It was a great way to kick off the last two months of my mission. It was a pretty emotional experience. After the Temple session we hopped back in the taxi and started the journey home. It was a pretty good trip on the way back but once again I couldn't sleep. I did the math and I figured that I've slept a total of about 6 hours the last few days (disclaimer it's my own dang fault).
Well, this week has been a pretty emotional one seeing everyone for the last time before our group meets at the Presidents headed for home. Its been really cool to see the progress of those in my group. When we get together we all click really well and talk about the progress each of us made since those MTC days of just sitting in the same room for three solid months going nuts...haha. It's really interesting to see everyone's growth and its nice to have people to share this progress with. I hope I keep growing at this same pace when I return home.
I know this email is another short one, but we have a busy day so I need to get going. I love you all. Thanks for all your love and support.
Elder Chad Dewey
Monday, February 22, 2010
Freezing Siberian winds, Great youth activity with a great turn out, and last visa trip next week...
Well, It's been a while since I have had the chance to write my letter home before I actually sit down to email so I took a little extra time today to write down a few thoughts beforehand. I will start with the beginning of last week when we spent most of last Monday with the Elders in Kurgon. It was fun to see Elder Campbell one last time before he heads for home. Although I know that I will see him again someday, I am really going to miss the kid. We went to a really cool mexican cafe. It was pretty funny because it tasted like mexican food but had some weird things in it. Who the heck would think to put broccoli in a burrito? I know they don't do that at Filliberto's…haha! We had a crazy bus ride home to Tyumen that evening. The bus driver might have had a bit too much of that really strong juice if ya know what I am saying…haha! He sure looked like it anyway, but maybe that's just his normal look... who knows.
The rest of the week was really good, although most of our appointments that we had scheduled decided not to show up which was disappointing. It was just one of those weeks. I am sure the freezing weather had something to do with it because it's been pretty fierce lately and the good ole Siberian winds makes it even tougher. When the wind hits my face it just feels like someone is taking a pressure washer and spraying my face with ice. Thank goodness for my fur hood.
Saturday was my birthday…the big ole 21!! To be completely honest, I was feeling a bit homesick and missing my family and friends in the morning but was able to snap out of it during English. We had my birthday lunch at McDonalds…hahaha…pretty pathetic huh? But it was good all the same, just not the healthiest so I didn't feel too great afterwards.
We had an amazing English with a great turn out. After English we had a youth night for all those who wanted to come. We had about twenty people which included four missionaries and four members so that means we had about twelve nonmembers attend. We played "Do you love your neighbor" and "Mafia". It was a great time and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. We were really happy with the results because the members who came were a great help with making everyone feel welcomed. The youth showed a lot of interest and started to ask questions about the church. Hopefully we can work with some of them soon. I know I have mentioned many times how I love working with the youth here in Russia, but I have to say it once again…they are the best and truly have so much potential.
Sunday was also a great day. The Palmers invited us over for dinner. It was really great as usual. We had a great discussion about parents. It made me really appreciate all the stuff my parents put up with through the years and how they always had a lot of patience with me.
Well, time is up. I was hoping I had a little more time but I need to get going. I hope you all have a great week. I will be on my last visa trip this next week. I look forward to seeing everyone in my group, it will be great to catch up with them.
Thanks for all your love and support.
Take Care,
Elder Dewey
Monday, February 15, 2010
Great missionary experiences in Kurgon
Hey Everyone,
Once again I have been traveling so I didn’t get the chance to write a pre-written email home so this will have to suffice. This week was filled with the best adventures and great missionary experiences.
Last Monday we had a regular p-day and later that evening we had a family home evening at the Palmers house with a cool member lady. It was great because she knew English so I didn’t have to translate. Don’t get me wrong, I love translating it just wears me out a little.
Tuesday we had a really busy day with just a lot of crazy things to do with finally being back in our area. We also had a really cool English club. I really enjoy the English club here because they are all younger and remind me a lot of my friends back at home. They are a pretty cool group of kids that come on a regular basis.
Wednesday we had two really great meetings, one with two investigators and another with two new recent converts. Also, we had to pick up the sisters from the train station because they were coming in from a Visa trip.
Thursday we had an awesome district meeting. Sister Palmer made some really good spaghetti! It was really spicy and so good!! We had a meeting with a cool African member living here in Tyumen. He promised he would come to church on Sunday but he didn’t show….hopefully next week.
Friday we left Tyumen to go to Kurgon for splits with the elders here.
Saturday I was with elder Campbell and we had a really good day. It was amazing to see the members here. The coolest part of all though was that they actually remembered me and were really happy to see me! I really really felt so much love coming back to Kurgon, it was one of the coolest missionary experience… I really loved it.
Sunday I was with Elder Elmer. He is a really cool elder. We went to some meetings with people I used to work with. It was so awesome to see them again and see the progress they have made since over a year ago!
Well, that was basically my week. Right now I am just on fire from seeing all these really cool people that I love so much. We go back to Tyumen today so I need to get going. Thank you all for your love, support and the emails…keep it up!
Love,
Elder Chad M Dewey
Once again I have been traveling so I didn’t get the chance to write a pre-written email home so this will have to suffice. This week was filled with the best adventures and great missionary experiences.
Last Monday we had a regular p-day and later that evening we had a family home evening at the Palmers house with a cool member lady. It was great because she knew English so I didn’t have to translate. Don’t get me wrong, I love translating it just wears me out a little.
Tuesday we had a really busy day with just a lot of crazy things to do with finally being back in our area. We also had a really cool English club. I really enjoy the English club here because they are all younger and remind me a lot of my friends back at home. They are a pretty cool group of kids that come on a regular basis.
Wednesday we had two really great meetings, one with two investigators and another with two new recent converts. Also, we had to pick up the sisters from the train station because they were coming in from a Visa trip.
Thursday we had an awesome district meeting. Sister Palmer made some really good spaghetti! It was really spicy and so good!! We had a meeting with a cool African member living here in Tyumen. He promised he would come to church on Sunday but he didn’t show….hopefully next week.
Friday we left Tyumen to go to Kurgon for splits with the elders here.
Saturday I was with elder Campbell and we had a really good day. It was amazing to see the members here. The coolest part of all though was that they actually remembered me and were really happy to see me! I really really felt so much love coming back to Kurgon, it was one of the coolest missionary experience… I really loved it.
Sunday I was with Elder Elmer. He is a really cool elder. We went to some meetings with people I used to work with. It was so awesome to see them again and see the progress they have made since over a year ago!
Well, that was basically my week. Right now I am just on fire from seeing all these really cool people that I love so much. We go back to Tyumen today so I need to get going. Thank you all for your love, support and the emails…keep it up!
Love,
Elder Chad M Dewey
Tyumen...new area
Hello Everyone,
This week was a pretty crazy and eventfull week. Monday we had a guy from our English club who took us out to dinner to a really cool Georgian(as the country) place and it was really really great food!! It was the first time on my mission where I kind of felt like an American Elder because he paid for our dinner and was so extremely kind.
Tuesday we prepared for the transfer to Tyumen.
Wednsday morning I traveled to Ekat and had a quick lunch at Subway with Elder Holden and Zhenya, a member from Ekat. It was really cool to have a few minutes to visit with both of them. After lunch I left Ekat to my new area in Tyumen!!! It's about ten degrees cooler here in Tyumen then it was in Perm... haha! Yeah, just pressed the rewind button on Russian winter for Elder Dewey!!! NO worries though...I love Siberia. I unpacked all my stuff and we got to work. I really like Tyumen its a very very clean city and the branch members all seem really nice.
Sunday was really fun to talk to a bunch of the members and get to know them a little bit better. This next week I am looking forward to meeting with a lot of the members to get a little more aquainted and learn how they came into the church. I always hear the coolest stories. Also. I am excited to be around the Palmers, a really cool Senior Couple here in Tyumen. They fed us Sunday night because we didn't have to time to go home inbetween church and a meeting with an investigator. Sister Palmer is a terrific cook and makes the best dang food.
Today I woke up a little early around 5:30 to clean up our apartment and get it in living conditions a bit and didn't take time to prewrite my email so I apologize for the shortness of this letter home.
I hope everyone is doing well back home. I'm loving it here in Tyumen.
Until next week,
Elder Dewey
Love Elder Dewey
This week was a pretty crazy and eventfull week. Monday we had a guy from our English club who took us out to dinner to a really cool Georgian(as the country) place and it was really really great food!! It was the first time on my mission where I kind of felt like an American Elder because he paid for our dinner and was so extremely kind.
Tuesday we prepared for the transfer to Tyumen.
Wednsday morning I traveled to Ekat and had a quick lunch at Subway with Elder Holden and Zhenya, a member from Ekat. It was really cool to have a few minutes to visit with both of them. After lunch I left Ekat to my new area in Tyumen!!! It's about ten degrees cooler here in Tyumen then it was in Perm... haha! Yeah, just pressed the rewind button on Russian winter for Elder Dewey!!! NO worries though...I love Siberia. I unpacked all my stuff and we got to work. I really like Tyumen its a very very clean city and the branch members all seem really nice.
Sunday was really fun to talk to a bunch of the members and get to know them a little bit better. This next week I am looking forward to meeting with a lot of the members to get a little more aquainted and learn how they came into the church. I always hear the coolest stories. Also. I am excited to be around the Palmers, a really cool Senior Couple here in Tyumen. They fed us Sunday night because we didn't have to time to go home inbetween church and a meeting with an investigator. Sister Palmer is a terrific cook and makes the best dang food.
Today I woke up a little early around 5:30 to clean up our apartment and get it in living conditions a bit and didn't take time to prewrite my email so I apologize for the shortness of this letter home.
I hope everyone is doing well back home. I'm loving it here in Tyumen.
Until next week,
Elder Dewey
Love Elder Dewey
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Last Zone Conference in Perm...
We love our missionaries! Our last zone conference in Perm Zone (1/18) focused on Christ's atonement and also on planning. We enjoyed a great musical number by Elders Brown, Mathews, Pearson and Heuer with Sister Rogers accompanying. Thanks for all you do to support your missionary.
Love,
Sister Allcott
Monday, February 1, 2010
Transfer to Tyumen...back to Siberia!!
This is how we shovel snow...
winter olympics in perm- canada vrs Usa and usa got owned. I am from az... what can I say?
some ping pong skills...
youth at fireside at the Nehrings - my last time translating for them I am going to miss them.
me and elder anderson a year ago in subway...haha - he is my new comp.
Hello Everyone,
Well, while I am waiting for all my pictures to load to the computer I am going to write a very short email because thats how the cookie crumbles this week. If you want pictures that means the email is going to have to be a bit shorter than usual. We had a great week, which included some really good meetings with investigators. We also had an awesome Sunday, we had an investigator come to church and attend all three meetings.
I found out about transfers on Friday night. I will being going to the Siberian Zone to Tyumen! I am so excited. And I will be with Elder Anderson from Idaho. He is a pretty cool kid, we have known each other since the beggining of my journey because he was my zone leader in the MTC! I am really excited to spend hopefully my last two transfers in Tyumen! I love Siberia it has a very special place in my heart... haha! (It seriously does) Kurgon being my second area. However, I really am going to miss Perm though. There are so many great people here and amazing youth. It seems like the Youth in Russia have so much potential and the members who are youth use that to their advantage and they are amazing! I really am going to miss Russia when I leave, but i still have some time to take it all in and enjoy it while I can.
Well, untill next week. I love you all and have a good week. I will be back to my old way of writing next week and have a better prewritten email.
Thanks for the support and hope you like the pictures.
Love,
Elder Dewey
Monday, January 25, 2010
Restless sleep, warmer freezing weather, transfers next week...
Hello everyone,
Well, I wasn’t really able to write my weekly email home before hand because my companion and I are now living with zl’s because of some apartment trouble..... don’t worry though they have a very soft ground at their place... haha. Anyway, this week was a doozey and since I've had restless sleep lately my memory isn’t serving me too well right now and I’m having trouble remembering everything that happened last week.
On a good note…we have a couple of new investigators who we are working with and seeing some great progress, which is pretty exciting.
Transfers are coming up. I’ve been a little more nervous about this transfer more than usual, I guess because this transfer will determine where I will spend and finish up the rest of my mission. I won’t learn if I will be staying where I am or if I will be transfered to a new area until Friday, I guess it’s a wait and see.
The weather is starting to get a little warmer which makes our work (contacting) a little more pleasant. It’s still below freezing but it’s not unbearably cold.
I had a great time translating for the Nehrings in church this past Sunday again. I really enjoy translating, but I don’t ever think I would like to be a translator.
Lately, I have been thinking about the future (don’t worry…I’m not at all trunky) and bugging my companion and asking him a million questions about what I should major in. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I would like to do something in the medical field, possibly a pediatrician. I really love kids and nothing could be better than helping them with their health.
I am enjoying speaking the Russian language more than ever. I sure hope I don’t forget it, that’s become a big fear of mine. I will have to continue to study the language when I get home.
I know this is a pretty uneventful email. I hope to have more news for you next week. The work here is going better and things are looking up and hope is getting stronger. I hope you all have a great week. Continue to pray for the Russian people.
Love,
Elder Dewey
Well, I wasn’t really able to write my weekly email home before hand because my companion and I are now living with zl’s because of some apartment trouble..... don’t worry though they have a very soft ground at their place... haha. Anyway, this week was a doozey and since I've had restless sleep lately my memory isn’t serving me too well right now and I’m having trouble remembering everything that happened last week.
On a good note…we have a couple of new investigators who we are working with and seeing some great progress, which is pretty exciting.
Transfers are coming up. I’ve been a little more nervous about this transfer more than usual, I guess because this transfer will determine where I will spend and finish up the rest of my mission. I won’t learn if I will be staying where I am or if I will be transfered to a new area until Friday, I guess it’s a wait and see.
The weather is starting to get a little warmer which makes our work (contacting) a little more pleasant. It’s still below freezing but it’s not unbearably cold.
I had a great time translating for the Nehrings in church this past Sunday again. I really enjoy translating, but I don’t ever think I would like to be a translator.
Lately, I have been thinking about the future (don’t worry…I’m not at all trunky) and bugging my companion and asking him a million questions about what I should major in. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I would like to do something in the medical field, possibly a pediatrician. I really love kids and nothing could be better than helping them with their health.
I am enjoying speaking the Russian language more than ever. I sure hope I don’t forget it, that’s become a big fear of mine. I will have to continue to study the language when I get home.
I know this is a pretty uneventful email. I hope to have more news for you next week. The work here is going better and things are looking up and hope is getting stronger. I hope you all have a great week. Continue to pray for the Russian people.
Love,
Elder Dewey
Monday, January 11, 2010
I hope everyone had a really good week. As for me, it was one of those weeks. To be honest, I’ve had better weeks. I don’t want to go into much detail, I just want to take this new week and make it a better one than last week. I refuse to let unfortunte things said or done get to me.
There were a few good moments; we are working with this new less active guy who looks exactly like Charlie Chaplin, it’s pretty funny, he seems to be a real nice guy. Tuesday we had a really cool experience, a guy from our English class who knows English fairly well took us out to dinner to talk about more English phrases and in what cases they should be used. He took us to a really great pizza place. Christmas was on Thursday here in Russia. Yep, Christmas for Russians is on January 7th. We had English club and surprisingly some people came even on Christmas! I would never go to a club on Christmas, seemed somewhat strange. On Saturday we were able to go see a baptism in the other branch, it was a great experience and very cool. Then we all went to our branch to have a Family Home Evening for those who can’t really do it at their own homes or have trouble. It was a fun time, we played a lot of fun games and there was a spiritual thought given. I really love working with the youth here in Russia they have so much potential, they are truly amazing people.
Well, I need to run. Love you all.
Elder Dewey
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Happy New Year...parties, personality tests, long legs, small seats, Nutcracker and NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS...
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Dear Family and Friends,
This is another episode of writing home and another attempt at writing my letters before hand. It gives me a little extra time to put some thought behind the words instead of a bunch rambling thoughts thrown out into cyber space.
This week was a pretty crazy one with New Years and having to stay home cooped up in our apartment. There is too much that happens out on the streets here to be out amongst the craziness. Some may welcome this opportunity not having to be out in the freezing temperature, however I prefer the numbing cold and the feeling of being productive rather than sitting in an apartment feeling like the walls are closing in. There is only so much studying one can do.The following are a few of the highlights from this past week. On Monday, we found a really nice tie store. I found the coolest tie I have ever seen on my mission and dedicated it to my new niece Piper Jane Dewey. It’s pretty weird that I am not there to hold her and be the coolest uncle ever, but I have to give everyone else a head start (you all need it...just wait until I get home!! haha! Of course you all know I will steal her heart once I get the chance to spoil her rotten. I will be her favorite!! Congrats to BJ and Britt on their new baby girl. She is pretty dang cute, however I might have to call in a blood test to see who the real Papa is because I didn’t think my bro could create something that good looking. Maybe it skips the first son in the family or something. I can’t wait to hold her! I will have to teach her all the tricks that will drive her dad crazy. I just want my bro to know I don’t do the whole dirty diaper thing though!
Anyway, Wednesday we had a great district meeting. It was funny because we took a personality test. I am sure everyone knows what those things are. This test matched you up with certain colors to your personality type. Turns out I am half red and half yellow. Red means I am very aggressive and like to be in control of situations. It also means I am very straight forward and don’t like to beat around the bush. Red also includes being cocky... I like to call it confident. Yellow means I love to have fun and be around people a lot. It also, means that I like attention and like to get compliments and I always want everyone to be happy and have a good time. So basically, to sum it all up with these colors mixed together I am aggressive, intimidating, cocky, fun loving, friendly, happy, and a complimentary loving person! But hey, I am who I am and I am okay with that. I can only really remember mostly the bad parts of the tests results because everyone was teasing me and giving me a hard time, but its okay. All those things can be controlled and used to my advantage. I am happy with who I am, if we don’t have different people in the world it wouldn’t work...if everyone had red personalities than it would be one big power struggle. With all yellow no one would stop from having too much fun! There’s was also the colors, blue and white but I can’t remember what the meanings were because I didn’t have any of those attributes haha. Luckily, God made us all with different personalities to give life a little bit of flavor and variety.
Moving on...
We went to the Nutcracker on Wednesday. It was pretty funny because my original seat didn’t have enough leg room. (I wasn’t just complaining, I really couldn’t even sit down!) So I went over and got the lady working there and she didn’t believe me and thought I was being unreasonable, so I kindly asked her to come see for herself. Once she actually saw my actual seat she was pretty shocked, and I said “yep, we are pretty big in America”… haha - everyone laughed and gave me the end seat with all the leg room I needed! The ballet was really cool and even better to see it in Russia. And of course, I am sure you are all aware that the man who wrote the music is a Russian!
Thursday we had our “New Years Eve” party, sitting at home! Haha! I made some really great tacos. (mom, I hope you know how much I loved you being my personal cook and maid) I know from experience now that its not the easiest thing to do. I think I would make a good mom because I just deal with it and don’t get mad. The conflicts are not worth it. The only thing that drives me nuts is when I am hard at work in the kitchen cooking some really good food like tacos or chow mien or something cool, and the only thing my companion can do is just stand there and watch, scratching his hungry stomach! That drives me nuts. (Please note - this is no companion in particular… haha - many have done it.)
I made some good “New Years Resolutions” which include (in no particular order) …
1. Tell those that I love more often that I love them.
2. Mountain bike at least 3 times a month with dad
3. Do any dirty dishes that are out.
4. Continue to do my own laundry when I get home
5. Meditate for at least 5 minutes a day.
6. Don’t use stupid slang (even Mormon slang)
7. Never go a day without giving at least 1 compliment.
8. Eat healthier.
9. This one is pending…Find my future wife.
Remember that last one is pending, please don’t forget! Haha…I don’t want to jinx it and give myself bad luck!
Well, those are just a few of my goals for the year just the fun ones. I have more serious goals, but hey I will leave those to myself… haha!
Love yall ! Have a good week!
Love, Elder Dewey! ~ qensuha!@!!
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