The snow and ice are gone and the weather is warmer. Everything is greening up. No more heavy coats and ice tracks. Last Sunday Vlad was baptized. This young man, in his early twenties, was a golden contact. He came up and asked the Elders if he could be baptized. He will be a great addition to the branch.

We are getting more Sisters in the mission. Everyone is excited about the changes. There was one Mission Leader Council meeting already. One of our Sisters in Barnaul was called as a Sister Training Leader. We are getting 15 new sisters. The Sisters are able to reach many the Elders can’t.

Progress here towards Stakehood is being made. We hear the same is taking place in Cambodia too. It is exciting to see the Church growing and be a part of it. We continue to work with missionaries, members, and leaders in a supportive role.

Last week there was a couple here, Elder and Sister Huefner from Moscow training leaders on proper branch financial management. They do this for five missions in Russia and are on the road as much as three weeks at a time living out of a suitcase staying in hotels and eating out. They calculate covering more than 90,000 miles already. As their 18 months was closing in, at their request, they were granted a six month extension. Theirs is a labor of love, much more so than what we did. They had an extra day here and they came over for lunch. What a treat to visit with them about their experiences. The next day we had a cultural event going to one of the museums here. That was followed by their taking us to lunch at the Il Patio (menu in English).

Time is going so fast. Our release date is 1 August, 2013. Flying back in the same direction as the sun means we leave here in the morning and arrive in Salt Lake late the same day. Traveling time is about 36 hours with lay overs. Travel west is much easier on us.

This is part of a talk I gave last Sunday:

You know from personal experience that some things can kill you if you are careless about them. High voltage is a good example. If something goes wrong you will know in an instant. No waiting there for the results.
To be careless with the things of God is even more deadly. Human nature is such we don’t worry so much when consequences are moved back from actions. When we die we will still be resurrected. Physical death is not that big a deal.
When you die spiritually you are cut off from God for all eternity. You are cut off from your family for all eternity too. God gives you time to repent and come back. The problem is when you drift away you may never make the effort to come back at all. With high voltage the result of being careless is so quick we are very careful. Being careless with God is not so swift. Nothing bad happens when we choose to stay away from Church for one Sunday. That was easy so one more Sunday is even easier. Before we know it a habit is started. Bad habits are hard to break and so goes our life. Satan has cheated our soul and we are his.

Life is good and our health is good.

Love,
Elder and Sister Holmes