Memories Made in Ufa...pictures say it all.

Elders Dewey and Stoops

Peeps in Ufa

Love the hats!!

Peace Out...

New area, Perm...New companion. Elder Gilming from Cali...

Hello Everyone,

I just arrived to Perm last Wednesday so there’s not a lot to write home about. Next weeks letter should have a little more detail. Today, however, will be another brief outline of last week’s happenings.

Last Monday was our final pday in Ufa. We didn’t do anything special except that Elder Shreeve and I went out to find boots and we ended up lost, and on a bus that took us all around the city. I have to admit, it was a good time and a fun experience to see the areas where we served one last time, and reflect back on the good memories we made, the great people we were fortunate enough to meet, get to know, and grow to love. I am a better person to have had the opportunity to serve among these terrific people.

When Tuesday rolled around we had all our stuff packed and ready to go. We left in the middle of the night for the train station where we met a ton of members, mostly the youth, who came to say good bye to us. Yeah…another very difficult good bye!! I love these people and grew so attached to them. They are all so amazing! I don’t know why these goodbyes have to be so dang hard for me to deal with, but they are. Often times I wish I could  serve my entire mission in just one area. But I realize that this is part of missionary life. If anyone reads this from Ufa, I hope they know how much I love them and miss them. I have loved all of the areas I have been in and honestly having to leave an area stinks.

We arrived to Ekat at around 3 and I left around 4 for Perm. The train ride wasn’t the best, there was a constant draft of cold air that blew in pretty fast, but I survived. The first thing on our agenda was to move to a different area right away. We actually ended up with a cool apartment that used to be the sisters, and they now have the piece of junk we were living in.

We met most of the members here on Sunday which was really cool. Shortly after meeting everyone and getting a grip on my new surroundings I soon find out that our area boundaries have changed, and now I’m not exactly sure who is in our area. Oh well.

Our apartment is very nice and in a cool location which is in the middle of the city. To make things even better, we have all the great sites with decent stores as well. The best part is that there is a Mexican food restaurant right outside our house!!! How cool is that???

My Comp is Elder Gilming from Cali and is way cool. He is pretty dang new, but it should be really fun to serve with him.

Again, sorry for the short email, like I said, not much to write about yet...next week should be more informative.

It’s difficult to get my mind off all the people back in Ufa. I found my prayer last night turned into a long list of names.I finally laid down I still couldn’t stop thinking about all of them.

I hope everyone has a great week.

Love,

Elder Dewey

Last week in Dyoma...transfer to Perm

The youth made these cool hats for all the departing missionaries.

Missionaries in UFA...Dewey, Shreeve, Thomas, Holden, Odair, (missing a few names)

Hello Everyone,
I decided to take the same approach as last week and send home more photos than write a lengthy email about a non eventful week, sorry, I just think that pictures are more interesting to look at.  I will share with you a few random happenings of the past week.
First off, this is my last week here in Dyoma. We received news about transfers on Friday. I knew my time here was coming to a close, but it's still difficult to have to move on. It's hard not to grow attached to these great people.
While we were out the other day we found a dead man lying by some tree! I believe he must’ve froze to death…it happens frequently here in Russia. The police were just standing around the poor guy acting like it was no big deal, I guess because to them he was just another frozen body.
I am happy to report that Elder Stoops finally arrived here to Dyoma last Wednesday, but unfortunately I will only be with him for a few days and then I am off to Perm. Although I am disappointed that I have to leave everyone behind here in Dyoma, I am excited to be going to Perm. It’s the only area of the mission that I have not served in yet and I can now say that I have been in every area of the mission…pretty cool.
Sunday was an awesome day. We all had a chance to speak and say our goodbyes, which was difficult. After church that evening we had a meeting that the youth put on for all of us missionaries who were leaving, they have never done that for any other group of missionaries...(we're the special ones...haha) I really love the youth here in Ufa they really are amazing. They gave each departing missionary these goofy little hats we wore. It was pretty fun. We also had a testimony meeting which was really cool, I tried not to get too emotional. It’s always so stinking hard to say goodbye, so I just don’t. I know I will see them all again someday, maybe in this life or maybe the next, so it’s not a goodbye it’s a “see ya later” in my book. Anyway, I really loved serving here in Dyoma it's hard to leave. It’s funny because I try not think about leaving and go on like it’s not happening and then about two weeks later it will hit me and I will get kind of bummed out, but this time I’m determined to stay strong and not get too sad, it will be tough though because I really love the branch and members here. It seems like just when I get feeling like an area is perfect and going well it's time to part ways and move on and that sucks sometimes, but that’s life as a missionary.  I will always remember all my people in Dyoma and how amazing they all are! Well gotta run, love you all and thanks for the support.


Love,


Elder Dewey

Goodbye Dyoma Peeps!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM RUSSIA!

photos from Elder Dewey

Elder Dewey's Halloween (watermelon) pumpkin outside his apartment window.

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head wishing Elder Dewey a Happy Halloween...

busy week...meetings, zone conference, splits

I apologize for the weak email I sent home last week; hopefully this one will be somewhat better. I was so rushed last week and I wasn’t paying attention to the clock and ran out of time. I will try and make up for it with the email I send home today.

Where to start?????

Monday! Well it was a pretty fun p-day to be honest; I was just missing home pretty hard core. P-days are getting more difficult to take…ha-ha. We went bowling and then we all seemed to get bored early on and decided to go walk around and do something different. We decided to stop by a couple of malls so I could try and find a coat, but I couldn’t find one cheap enough. I was pretty ticked off that all the prices seemed to be unbelievably expensive.

We had an incredibly busy day on Tuesday with mission coordination meeting with K-dawg and a whole load of other meetings. We had some pretty terrific meetings with some new investigators who were actually interested a while back.

Wednesday- ZONE CONFERENCE AND MCDONALDS! That’s about it. We were stuck on a bus from Ufa to Dyoma for almost 2 hours because of some crazy traffic! Bus rides are pretty crazy here. I’m sure I have already shared that with you a few times before. Half the time I have to stand up and the ceilings are so low that I have to tilt my head down and when the bus hits a bump my head bumps into the ceiling. Some people might ask "haven’t I learned my lesson yet?" No… apparently, I haven’t.

Our water heater broke on Thursday and was spilling water everywhere! Our neighbors were getting ticked off so we had to call our land lady and she called a guy who was here for a few hours making the necessary repairs. We also made some "pies" with a member. By pies - I mean dough with cabbage or apples in it, they were actually pretty good, but nothing like the ones from home.

I went on splits with Elder Ellsworth (my good ole zone leader)  last Friday. I was back in my old “greenie” - “new missionary area" (sorry pres it slips). It was a blast being with Elder Ellsworth he is a really cool kid and I enjoyed spending the day with him. It seemed somewhat strange after being in a threesome. Ellsworth is kind of “newer” compared to me, but can hold his own...I am proud of the great missionary he has become.

Saturday was boring...... Elder Holden got pretty sick, so we all cleaned out the apartment and studied.

We had two cool investigators who we call the "rockers" (they are into heavy music) come to the meeting. They are really nice cool guys. Coming home from church we got stuck on another miserable bus. For some reason I found myself thinking about home a lot yesterday. I guess it was because I had a pretty rough day emotionally. but that is a story for another day.

Okay, so here are some of the random thoughts that were swirling around inside my head yesterday.…. I have really been thinking a lot about my family and how they are the most important people in the world to me and how I so ridiculously regret hard core how stupid I was to them in high school. I am really glad that they will all be in Mesa when I get home and we can make some more great memories. The only awkward part will be that I will be the only one not married! We will need to fix that (sorry for the trunky comment). But honestly, I miss my mom, I have always been a “mama's boy”, but with a mom like mine who the heck wouldn’t, she spoiled the heck out of me! And, my dad is probably the smartest guy I know when it comes to the knowledge that really matters in life. I find it interesting and a bit scary how everyday I find myself becoming my dad with my stupid comments that I think are so funny but no one else seems to find the humor. And, I find myself not really caring what other people think about me, I’m comfortable with who and what I am….I guess you could say that I’m comfortable with just being myself, that’s exactly how my dad is. Also, my Sister is pretty dang smart as well, always willing to offer up her great advice which always seems to help. Often time I give her crap, and hope she knows it’s because she is my sister and that’s what little brothers are meant to do! And then there is my Bro who I haven’t seen in three years. We grew up side by side and at times went head to head… ha-ha! He is an AMAZING and a great example to me. I know I have tried to compete with him and have always won…ha-ha. I really do miss him and I am looking forward to hanging out with him again when I get home. And, I can’t forget to mention the Bro and Sis in law. I hope they know I love them too. Dillon is a goof and a half, but he is a really fun guy. Dillon and Brittney make a really fun couple. And Britt my sister in-law is way cool!! It’s hard to believe they are going to be parents shortly!!..... It’s crazy how everything all happened and so fast! I don’t know if I can compete with that, I believe BJ may have won this one…ha-ha!! I wonder what would have happened if BJ didn’t get a hold of my phone with Britt’s number?? Ha-ha! You all owe me one!!

Well I need to run… out of time!

Love you all,

Elder Dewey

Well this will have to be another one of those lame rushed letters.. The following is a quick update of the past week -

Monday was a really great day. We all had a great time bowling with some of the youth. Bowling seems to be the activity that is enjoyed the most. We met with a terrific member family. We had a great meeting, and afterward he showed us his awesome fishing gear and…shotgun! I miss my shotgun and can’t wait to go shooting again with everyone when I get home. I hope you have taken good care of it and nothing has happened to it.

Tuesday- We had three good meetings.

Wed- I got pretty sick while at district meeting. I think it’s because I didn’t drink enough water. I gave a spiritual thought and then we went straight home and I tried to sleep for a bit hoping that what ever I had would go away. Later Wednesday evening we had another great meeting.

By the next day I was feeling back to normal and even had some BBQ pizza for lunch. It was funny because I didn’t tell Shreeve and Holden that we were going to Valentina’s later, she always feeds us a ton of food and certainly was well prepared once again when we arrived with a great spread. We were all about to burst, it was so dang funny! They were so mad at me but couldn’t do anything but eat what she had prepared because she is so dang nice to us!  Later we had a chance to work off some of that food we gorged by playing in a small soccer tournament. We didn’t do too great…maybe because we could hardly move! Oh well. However, we got our game back when we owned everyone in basketball! Friday, we went to place that is similar to Costco... it was so amazing!  I guess that sounds pretty hard up…huh? But it made my day when I was able to take home a bag of tortilla chips…haha. Later we had a few good meetings. Ahh I am running out of time …I gotta go!! I love you all! Bye!!

Elder Dewey

Bowling, Soccer, General Conference...and still no companion

Dear Everyone!


Well as usual this week was really good. Last p-day we went bowling with a lot of the youth in both branches and we all had a great time. I bowled with Anton Vacya and Casha in my lane and Anton kept getting mad at me for bowling strikes, he really wanted to beat me but it didn’t happen... ha! Later that evening we had a meeting and sent some more elders to Ekat. Tuesday we had a few good meetings and then English where I had to teach, it was pretty fun. We talked a lot about vacations; I think they really liked it. Elder Shreeve returned from his visa trip on Wednesday.

We played soccer with these really cool guys we met on Friday. We played in some sort of tournament and played three other teams. It was a really great time, but I am pretty sure they were annoyed with me because I’m not the best soccer player haha!!!!! Oh well. It was fun and we made a lot of really cool new friends. We also had a zone meeting to review some new rules, nothing too new. Later that evening we had an activity with all the youth. Our new member, Tanya went and so we went along with her. Saturday and Sunday... all about General Conference! Tanya came and she really enjoyed it. I also soaked it up. I believe it was one of my favorites. I took about 10 pages of notes while sitting at a desk the whole time taking it all in and writing as fast I could, it was pretty funny. I really liked all the sessions, but President Monson’s talk on service was my favorite. I especially liked the part of when he quoted from the scriptures about losing ourselves for others. I’ve actually had a lot of what he spoke about on my mind the past few weeks. Well, I am going to cut this email a bit short, I’m not feeling too great, I’m not sure if I am trying to come down with something or what it is exactly, just kind of feeling sick. I love you all and I hope you have a great week. Thanks for everything!

Love Elder Dewey

P.S. Still waiting on my new companion to get here.

This note is for the parents of Elder Heuer -

I noticed in your son's last email he mentioned that he wanted to ask Elder Dewey about using gmail.  Elder Dewey does in fact use Gmail verses myldsmail due to the fact that myldsmail never worked and often times we didn't receive his emails home.  I'm not certain if this is actually acceptable, however we found the switch to gmail necessary. I know many other missionaries experienced similar problems and now use gmail as well.
I tried to leave this comment on your son's blog, however the comment did not publish.  I hope this helps. Please feel free to contact me anytime at dadewey1@gmail.com.

Photo of Tanya's Baptism, New Greenie with visa problems.

The photo above is of Tanya's Baptism.  She is doing awesome as a new member.

First, I would like to start this email similar to last week, sharing with you something from the soul instead of the boring brief weekly overview. Here goes another lingering thought from the past week -

A few days’ ago in district meeting we were contemplating how we could become better and more effective missionaries (the typical weekly discussion). We shared with one another all the reasons why we went on missions and what we desired and expected to gain from our missionary experience. Many thoughts were shared and most of us agreed we desired to receive the blessings of spiritual enlightenment, a stronger testimony, and all the other many blessings that most missionaries gain while serving. We expect and hope for a great deal of self improvement...You know, the kind that will land a nice young return missionary a “good looking” wife once he returns home and when the time is right. Haha!  We all agreed that we were looking to receive blessings that will give us an even more grounded and firmer foundation than what we came out with. We all expect that while serving a mission it will enable us to make necessary changes within ourselves that will lead to a better future. Many of these spiritual blessings can only come from serving a mission. The bottom line, or the thought that occurred to me, is that while we all desire these blessings that will enable us to evolve into becoming a better human being, I couldn't help but feel that this sounded to me somewhat a selfish way of thinking. I questioned the selfless service we as missionaries are to provide and what that truly means. I guess, I just want to make sure the reasons I serve others would always be for the right reasons, and not because I expect to be blessed with certain blessings because of my service.  I would like to think that I will always serve no matter what the outcome would be. I want to serve because I know others are in need and not because of the blessings that are gained. I want to serve others because I care and want the very best for them. I want them to have what I have, the truthfulness of the Gospel and a love for the Savior. I believe this is how we all feel. We just focused a little more on what we are looking to change within ourselves a little too much. Then I had this thought, which makes sense to me… "The best way to be selfish is to be selfless and serve others.” In the end this is what will lead us to true happiness and contentment, and isn't this what selfish people are truly searching for? It can only be found in loving and serving others.

Okay, a brief quick summary of this past week. -
Monday, Still waiting for my new "greenie" to arrive. He was sent back home from the MTC due to visa problems.  He should be arriving any day now, I hope.  Elder Matthews and the other missionaries leaving Ufa caught the midnight train to Ekat and all their other designations.
Wednesday, was Elder Shreeve and Holden’s first day. Once they arrived, we went to district meeting. Later, we found an amazing new apartment that we now live in! It’s amazing! It has three huge rooms with nice comfortable beds, finally!! I've been sleeping on broken down sofa's most of my mission...haha! It also has been recently remodeled, which is a huge plus. The shower is the best part it has side shoots that shoots out water like a waterfall..haha. Thursday, We had to move some stuff over to the apartment and had a meeting or two. Friday, we had to move everything else to our apartment and then had a meeting in the evening. Once we arrived home for the night, we played Settlers. It’s great living with Elder Shreeve and Holden. They both are really cool and a lot of fun. Saturday, we played sport, but not many people showed up until lessons got out. A bunch of little kids showed up and started swearing and trying to be cool so we just left.
Sunday, we had district conference and a special meeting for the new members. We went with Tanya and she seemed to really enjoy it.
Well I have to run love you all bye!
Love,
Elder Dewey

Elder Dewey, Tanya, and Elder Matthews

Elder Dewey making Snicker Doodle Cookies...yum!

Elder Dewey bowling in style! Ha! There must be a good reason for the rolled up pants...hmmm?

New Arrivals!!!

(photos from the McEvoy's blog)awesome...

[front row] Elders Gillming (Yuba City, CA), Cutler (Draper, UT), Sister Mezinets (Ukraine), Elder Steiner (Sandy); [back] Elders Stanley (N.Ogden,UT), Haag (Bountiful UT), Smith (Spokane, WA), Cooper (St. George, UT), and Heuer ( Highland, UT).

Trainers/companions

zone conference...staying in Dyoma this transfer...training new greenie...

Hello everyone,
Okay...so, I know I need to send pictures of the baptism.  The internet here is not the greatest.  I will some how try and get a few sent sometime this week.
I am going to begin this week’s email with a thought that I’ve had stuck in my mind for a while now as I have been reading the New Testament. I came across a verse that never made much sense to me until recently, or maybe I should say I never gave it too much thought until now. It is found in Matthew 16:24-25. It talks about whoever is looking for his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for the Lord will find it. For some reason this verse has been lingering in my mind for a while until something clicked. This is the thought that followed. –

I thought about the experiences I’ve had thus far into my mission and how it is all about losing your self completely in doing the Lord’s work. While I have been out now for a year and half, I can honestly say that I am not the same person I was when I first arrived here in Russia. I feel as if most everything about me has changed. While serving a mission everything changes, we don’t do the same things we did at home, we don’t act the same way, and we don’t dress the same way, we basically give up our whole selves. I am convinced that the life I once knew back home in Mesa will be completely different to the one that I will return home to. Honestly, I am looking forward to the change. Much of the “the not so good” stuff in my life has disappeared, some of it right away, and some of it over time. I would be lying if I said it was easy letting go. I knew that many of my friends will have moved on with their lives, and the life I knew before I left will no longer exist. And, the best part is...I am okay with that.  Deep down, I was aware that these two years would bring about the changes necessary for me to progress and move forward in this life. And, I recognize the Lord's involment with the changes that have occured. I have been emotionaly and spiritualy challenged on a level I never knew before exsisted and from this I learned a lot about myself.  I have learned a great deal while serving a mission here in Russia. I believe the biggest lesson I have learned is that of  humility, which can be difficult and tricky at times. I have also learned to practice faith as I have come to rely on the Lord when faced with uncertain moments. Those lessons helped build character and strengthen my testimony! It has become much easier now that I am no longer looking back… only forward. I am excited to what is ahead. I look forward in making the last seven months of my mission count as I have done through out my mission. I look forward with excitement for the bright future that’s a head. I know for certain that I will never fall back into the same boring pattern of premission life, but will continue to serve others well, work hard to get through school, and find joy in the journey. My mission has taught me many important and valuable lessons that I will never forget. I love my mission here in Russia and the wonderful people that I have had the opportunity  to serve and get to know. I can’t imagine serving any where else. I know this is where I am suppose to be. My mission has been the best part of my life thus far and I am grateful for this experience.

Okay, on to the happenings of this past week. There was a lot that took place, but I am running short on time so I will just give a brief outline.
On Monday we went bowling for a p-day activity with a bunch of the youth, which was a great time. I didn’t do that great though. I am getting a little rusty on my bowling skills… my highest score was 150ish, I think.
Tuesday, we went to Avdon to visit our amazing member Valentine. She fed us as usual, but we did remember to bring juice, which seemed to make her happy. After our visit with Valentine, we took a bus to Ufa to meet with Tanya. The meeting with Tanya went really good, she is a really great new member. We talked about Missionary work and more about the structure of the church. It was a good lesson. Wednesday, okay now this I am sure wouldn’t seem too exciting to some of you, but the most exciting thing that happened that day was... no…we didn’t find a new investigator, but we did find the most amazing cake I have ever tasted in my life!!! It’s called Honey cake. It’s kind of a honey flavored cake with a billion really thin layers, it’s the most an amazing thing I have ever tasted in my life!! Friday, at zone conference, I found out that my greenie that I have been training will be graduating and moving on to Perm and I will be training another new elder. We will be living in a foursome with elder Shreeve and Holden. It should be a great time. We will need to stay focused on helping the branch here in Dyoma continue to grow. My new greenie was supposed to arrive today, however he is having a few visa problems. I guess he is Norwegian/American or something like that. I am really excited to train again. It’s important to get these new guys trained because  many missionaries have gone home and we are now in need of fresh blood.
Saturday, we played sport, and got news from Elder Shreeve that he wants us to find a new apartment for our foursome to live in that isn’t falling apart. haha! So, that’s my side project for today. Elder Shreeve and Holden get in this Wednesday so I don’t have a whole lot of time to find a place. My new comp hopefully will get here in the next few days and I will most likely go to Ekat to pick him up. Yeah, more travel for Elder Dewey. Haha.
Well, that’s all for now. Thanks for all the support and love.

Love,
Elder Dewey

Note from mom - I received a short email from Elder Dewey today. He mentioned that the internet wasn't working and if possible, he would try to send an update later. He also mentioned briefly that he was staying in Dyoma for this next transfer and training another greenie. He seemed excited to have the oppportunity to continue to serve in Dyoma for a while longer. Elder Matthews will be transfering to Perm as a ZL.

Meet the Gray's... click here to be linked to their family blog.

Kevin, Natasha and baby Yeva are a cute young family who live in Dyoma, the area Elder Dewey is currently serving.  They are wonderful to the missionaries, and even better to their parents...they will send you pictures like these!  Kevin will even go on early morning runs with Elder Dewey and Elder Matthews.

Thank you Natasha for the great photos...you're the BEST!!!

Tanya's Baptism...best experience...

Hello Everyone,

This past week has been an interesting one...it was a week full of hard work, and great memorable experiences, but not with out a few worries mixed in there as well. I am not exactly sure where to start, I guess I will begin with Monday...
We went bowling on Monday for pday, and we also met with Tanya to discuss her upcoming baptism. She also had her baptismal interview, awesome.
Tuesday morning we went running with Kevin and just about froze our bums off!! It's freezing in the early mornings here!! You have to be a die-hard and a dedicated runner when it is so dang cold outside…not sure if I love it that much! Ugh! However, since my companion is a cross- country buff by nature, I join along. And, it’s worth it in the end…so what can it hurt. We had a few meetings - we met with Nina, an older lady who is very nice. It was a good meeting. We also met with Fanilya, which went well. However, I feel as though she may be taking a few steps backward, which is a concern. We will continue to work with her. I hope and pray the best for her.
We had a great meeting with President Lushnikov, Tanya, Kevin, and Natasha on Wednesday. We also played Settlers…in Russian! President L won though, but of course, I wasn’t playing my best…haha. Since it was in Russian it was a bit more challenging, but a whole lot more fun! We finished the day with another meeting and contacting. The weather is chilly now, which makes it perfect for contacting, as long as you keep walking to keep the blood flowing, awesome.
We had to make a trip to the church on Thursday to get some documents sent out, which took a big chunk of our day. When we returned, we had our regular planning session. We also met with Katya. After our meeting, we helped Katya replant a tree from another neighbor’s garden to her garden. Yeah, so I am getting used to doing yard work in the good ole' missionary attire.
Friday... a few more meetings and a whole lot of contacting, awesome.
We had an interesting and fun day on Saturday, which included a sports activity and a service project at the church. It rained most of the day, which caused everything to get muddy as heck! By the time we completed the service project we were covered with mud. We of course didn’t bring a change of clothes, so we had to go home in our muddy clothes. It was pretty funny… we actually had to pay the taxi driver an additional fee because we were so dirty. Ha!
We had an amazing Sunday!!! It was the best day of this week!! Here is a little more detail-
We arrived to the church building around 10:30ish to prepare for Tanya’s baptism. While we were preparing, we realized the font was not filling up fast enough, so we were a bit nervous. We finally had them turn it up higher to fill faster.
When Tanya arrived, she looked a little nervous, so we sat her down and explained exactly what would take place and how everything was going to happen. I have to admit, I was somewhat nervous as well.
It was great to see the entire branch from Ufa and our branch from Dyoma there… It was amazing! Hands down the coolest day and experience yet!
Well, I need to run. I’m sorry for the internet problems today. I was hoping to send a few pictures from the baptism, but I will have to try for next week.
Love you all and thank you for all your love and support.
Elder Dewey