Все мы доброволцы (We Are All Volunteers!)

July 18, 2016

Здравствуйте!

Привет всем! This week has been all kinds of exciting, with all kinds of changes! I'm now here in Center Rostov with Elder Boyer, and we're just having all kinds of fun! We're on the 15th floor in an apartment building that seriously looks like a 5 star hotel, and we have an elevator, so I'm incredibly grateful for that! 

For those of you that aren't aware, there is a new law that will be in action starting the 20th that will be changing the way we do missionary work over here. It is not my position to comment on all of the affects this law will have on us, or my personal opinions of it, and we still do not know all of the implications right now, so I'll keep commentary to a minimum in these emails. What we do know though, is that we will from this time forward be called volunteers, and not missionaries. It's going to be a bit of a strange transition, but all is well! We will still be able to work with members, and do service, so we'll be shifting our focus to those two activities more than everything. Street contacting, and speaking with others about religion outside of our church building will be prohibited as well. For the next 2 weeks as well, we will not be able to meet with any investigators except for those with a baptismal date as an additional precaution to protect us from any legal complications. 

There are other missions in the world with many similar restrictions as us, and they have similar baptismal rates, so there is nothing to fear! We'll just have to adapt and get creative! Other than that, not a whole lot has happened this week. We've been on the streets as much as humanly possible to build up as large of a pool of investigators as possible before the law hits, and today is our last day of contacting, so as soon as we finish e-mailing we're going to hit the streets again! 

I just want to let you all know how much I love you all, and that I really do pray for you often! Hope all is going well!

Until next time,

-Старейшина кэмптон

(Staryeshina Kempton)

View of the city from Elder Kempton's new Apt. in Rostov

Transfers and other News!

July 11, 2016

Здравствуйте!

Hi everyone! I'm gonna have to keep this e-mail a little bit short, we don't have a whole lot of time! This week I found out that I'm getting transferred to the Rostov Center branch which is super exciting! It'll be a pretty dramatic difference, seeing as there are 100+ people there(maybe more, I'm not sure)! It's going to be great! 

Other than that we received some news about a law that was passed just the other day that will have a bit of an impact on the way we do missionary work over here. Shortly, the law restricts us from speaking to people about religion on the streets or in there homes, so the only lessons we will be able to have will have to be at the branch. The church has issued the following statement on the matter, "The Church recognizes a new law will take effect in Russia on July 20, 2016 that will have an impact on missionary work. The Church will honor, sustain and obey the law. Missionaries will remain in Russia and will work within the requirements of these changes. The Church will further study and analyze the law and its impact as it goes into effect". 

While we are still waiting for more information on what we will be doing in the future and are not sure quite what this will mean for us, we know that this work will go forward. In closing, I'll just leave you with a quote from Joseph Smith, "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." I know that these words are true, and that God will not forsake His children in this land. I love you all, and pray for you often! Hope all is well!

Until next time,

-Старейшина кэмптон

(Staryeshina Kempton)

Six Months Gone Already!

July 4, 2016

Здравствуйте!

Hello everybody! It's crazy to think I've already been out on my mission for 6 months, but I just hit that milestone a few days ago! Time is seriously just going way too fast! 

This week has been full of all kinds of really awesome experiences! We were finally able to meet with our recent convert вика(Vika) this Saturday! She's been super sick lately, but we were able to meet with her and give her a blessing! She seemed to really appreciate it, and said that she's been feeling better, which is just a small miracle for us! She's made so much progress over the past few months, and is now planning on making it to the temple the next time our mission is scheduled for temple trips! We're both just really excited for her and hope that she can continue to improve and stay strong! 

President and Sister Miner also made a pretty unexpected trip down here to Stavropol this weekend, which was super awesome for our branch! They were able to teach everyone how to give talks and prepare lessons, which is much needed for all the members in our branch. Everyone in attendance are converts, and most of them have never been to a bigger branch to see an example of what a talk should look like, or what a good lesson consists of, so everyone was really thankful to get some pointers on that, and hopefully the quality of our meetings will improve and get people more and more excited for church on Sundays! 

Ilgar is still doing well! He's still not been able to kick his smoking habit, but we're working with him every day to help him overcome it, and as soon as he does he'll become a baptized member of the church and be able to start helping us in greater capacities. 

Other than that, not a whole lot has happened over here this week! We're still having more and more lessons every week! We ended up as a mission teaching 302 lessons the week before last, which as an average of 9 lessons per companionship! It really is incredible to see the work going forward week after week! I'd just like to end with a humble testimony of the reality of Christ's atonement in our lives. I've seen the changes it has made, is still making, and will continue to make in my life, and in the lives of others, and I bear solemn witness that it is real, that Christ lives and cares deeply for each and every one of his children. 

I love you all, and hope all is well!

Until next time,

-Старейшина кэмптон

(Staryeshina Kempton)

Looks like Elder Kempton found the camel that wanders around the city

Trying out hats!

Stavropol looks so green and pretty!

Hurrah for Israel

June 27, 2016

Здравствуйте!

Hi there everyone! This week has been really awesome! This last monday we were able to meet with Ilgar, and when he came in he told us he's been going on a lot of walks lately to get away from everything and really pray and think about getting baptized. He told us that he feels very strongly that this is the decision he needs to make, and told us that he wants to be baptized as soon as possible. He's still struggling with cigarettes, and nothing he's doing seems to be working for him. We've given him a blessing, and fasted for him. He seems to be really sincere about it, and he really is trying to rely on Christ. He'll get there soon enough, and as soon as he does, he'll get baptized! 

This week we received permission from our mission president, and a member of the area presidency to baptize Alexander! He won't be able to make the trip up here to Stavropol until the 23rd of July, so we have to wait just a little bit, but he's just super excited and super ready to enter into the covenant of baptism! Another cool thing with Alexander, is that me and Elder Dayton will be teaching him for the rest of our missions, just switching off every week if we get transferred. It's not too often that you get to meet with an investigator once a week or every other week for your whole mission! It'll just be really awesome to see things get started down there! 

Other than that, not a whole lot has happened here this past week! The work just keeps going forward! As always, I'm so grateful for this opportunity to give 2 years of my life to the Lord, and help so many of his children the best way we know how. I know that Christ lives, and that he is at the head of this church. We are so blessed to be living in such a unique time, with the true church of Christ on the earth, with it's accompanying blessings. We really are privileged to see the fulfilling of so many promises made to people in the scriptures. I love you all, and hope all continues to go well for all of you!

Until next time,

-Старейшина кэмптон

(Staryeshina Kempton)

A Week in Rostov

June 20, 2016

Здравствуйте!

Hello everyone! Another incredible week over here in Russia! This week we had zone conference in Rostov, and then I had a few things to get done up there, so by the time all was said and done we ended up getting back into Stavropol on around Saturday!  All is well though, zone conference was awesome! We focused a lot on improving our teaching skills, and making better use of the scriptures. We'll be applying a lot of what we learned throughout the next few weeks and we're hoping it's just what our investigators need! 

Even though we spent a lot of our time up in Rostov, we were still able to get a lot of stuff done back here in Stav. We were still able to have 4 lessons, and they were all pretty awesome! Ilgar is still doing everything he can to find out that our church is true. While we don't always understand why God holds back and waits to give people their answers, we know that He has a plan for each and every one of His children, and we just need to be still and know that He knows better. 

Church was pretty awesome this Sunday as well. We ended up having 17 people there, which is a lot for our small branch! It's exciting to finally see some growth, and see members coming back from inactivity! We're currently looking for a new building, because we only had 4 free seats during sacrament meeting, and it just doesn't leave that much room for growth! 

There just seems to be a bit more life in our ward than usual, and we're hoping to keep that going! Every day over here really is such a blessing, and I know that this truly is the Lord's work. It is only from Him that we see these miracles every day, and the change that this gospel makes in the lives of these people! 

Not much else has really happened this week, so that will probably be all for this week! I'd just like to bear my testimony again, that I know that this church is true. I know that God knows us all individually, and knows exactly what we need. He will never place before us a challenge we cannot overcome, a trial that we cannot survive. He knows our potential, and will do all that is in His power to help us achieve that. We need only trust in Him, and His plan, following the advice given us to "be still, and know that [He] is God"(D&C 101:16). I love you all and pray for you every day! Hope all is well!

Until next time,

-Старейшина кэмптон

(Staryeshina Kempton)

Another Week Down

June 13, 2016

Здравствуйте!

Hello everyone! Another week has gone by over here in Stavropol! Lot's of exciting things have happened this week! Our investigator, ilgar, wasn't able to be baptized this Saturday. He still doesn't feel super confident about the decision, and is just searching for an answer right now. We've been working with him a lot this past week, and should be having quite a few meetings this next week. We'll hopefully set up another date with him this week, and help him work towards that! I'll keep you all updated on his progress, but I think he'll get there soon enough! 

Our investigator, Alexander, that lives near Chechnia is still making great progress! We're still waiting for permission to baptize him, but as soon as our mission president clears it, we'll get a date set up! By the end of this next week he'll have received all of the lessons! He's a really awesome guy all around, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the future with him down there! 

Other than that not a whole lot has happened this week! We've found some more cool people on the streets, and we've got a couple of former investigators, and other potential investiagtor that should be free next week! It should be really awesome! The work just keeps moving forward, and it's just a blessing to be a part of it everyday! I don't have a whole lot of time to write today. Our schedule is super weird and we aren't allowed to be out on the streets proselyting past 6 tonight due to holidays, so we're getting all of our proselyting done earlier! That will probably be it for this week, but I love you all, and pray for you often! Hope life continues to go well!

Until next time,

-Старейшина кэмптон

(Staryeshina Kempton)