Hey all,
First, I have to say that Petrovsky is probably the best
functioning branch in the mission. Oh wow, it actually took me by
surprise. I thought that Center Donetsk was doing well, but this one's
amazing. There is a ton of active youth here and all of the members
seem to pull their weight in their callings. Amazing.
So, my transfer with Elder Keith Perry ended this week. Dang. He
was probably the closest I've come to having a companion that I could
relate to on practically every level. We had a good time. But the good
times are not over. I was sent to Elder Hales over in Petrovsky, as I
already said last week. He's a great example in how he decided to come
back out on the mission after having been given the option of ending his
mission honorably due to medical problems. Plus we can discuss movies
and music like none other, and common ground is priceless on the
mission. He and I were already pretty good friends due to dealing with
his medical issues while I was in the Office. But it gets even better-
we are in a threesome with his previous companion, Elder Rooney. One of
the funniest kids I know. Threesomes are lots of fun. The load is
lessened for everyone and it's a lot easier to keep the mood light and
it's even easier to talk to people. Having a three person blitz while
walking down the road is a lot more likely to get a real conversation
than just two people going at it. It's great. Rooney is waiting for
his companion to get back from America after medical leave
(which is unconfirmed as to whether he'll even come back, so Rooney may
be with us all transfer.. we'll see).
One of the craziest things to me is that suddenly I am about the
oldest missionary in my district, in terms of time on the mission. I
went from youngest to oldest. Elder Hales is in his fourth transfer,
and the other elders here are Coakwell, who is training, and Withers,
who is the trainee. I'm in my seventh, which makes my time on the
mission almost more than all of their combined. So weird. Along with
all this, I have been assigned to be District Leader here. I don't
know, I guess that's probably a lot weirder to me than I can convey
here. For those of you that don't know, that means that I am in charge
of the missionaries in our district, so I lead our meetings, interview
the investigators for baptism, and I talk with the branch council about
what help we can provide them. I'm determined to be a good leader
here. I think I'm off to a good start, so that's good.
Being here has shown me that my Russian is way better than I had
thought. We had a couple experiences already the last couple of days
that were just kind of crazy. One was yesterday. We passed a group of
drunken older men who motioned for us to come over. One of them started
talking to Elder Rooney about the church, trying to mock him in his
words, and the other four took me aside and started barraging me with
questions. One was totally hammered, waving his cigarette in my face
and yelling (in English) "My name is.. my name!" It was.. interesting.
Each of them were totally ridiculing us in every way they could think
of without getting violent. To be totally honest, I was ticked. They
were sitting there blowing cigarette smoke in our faces and calling us foul names and just bagging on the Church and our calling. But my
mind went back to the quiet dignity of Christ when people ridiculed
Him. He didn't deserve any of that, but he was calm and collected as he
responded. I mimicked this method as best as I could, not getting
outright mad or anything. Finally the one with the moustached face
softened and he started apologizing, telling me how they were all just
drunk and they're not really like this and how he'd love to talk some
other time sober. I wasn't able to get his number since another
drunkard then booted me away, but that was a pretty cool change there.
All through the experience they kept asking me where I was from. I kept
telling them "America" and they were like, "No really, what city?
Donetsk? Kharkov?.." They couldn't grasp that I wasn't Russian. I
guess that's a gift that I've been given here. Lots of people assume
that I'm Russian. Hey, I'll take that over being called a stupid
American any day.
The other experience this week came just a few minutes afterwards,
actually. We were soon after stopped by a man with a greased back rat
of hair carrying a bunch of bags. He tells us that he talked with
President Campero the other day and that we have to help him. He won't tell us
what he needs help with, but he is very insistent so we take him to the
church building to meet. Immediately he pulls out his bags and has us
look at each of his books to tell him if there are any mistakes.
They're all dictionaries from English to Russian, and they are terrible
translations. Super sketchy guy, he continues to tell us that his
sister is a member of the mafia and he got caught in a meth house and
the mafia stole his passport and the police won't do anything. Somehow
he figures that we can send one email to them and all will be well.. Um,
no. Long story short, he doesn't want the Gospel, he wants political
freedom. But I was amazed at how I was able to hold my own in that
meeting. I was like "hmm.. maybe I do know Russian!" Good times.
Well, I'm out of time now, but I'd just like to say I love you all! I'm doing great out here, don't you worry.
Love,
Elder Brandon Porter
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