HOLY MOLY!

HOLY MOLY I’M ON TOP OF THE WORLD HAPPY! This week was so freakin good! We were SO busy and the work is booming!!! Everywhere in our mission... not just in our city! God is really blessing the people of Russia!

This guy came up to us almost in tears and he said that he was having a really hard day but looked up and saw us and pulled over immediately to come talk to us... he said that he had no idea who we were but when we were walking around together in our white shirts he said that we looked like angels... so we talked with him and he has to meet with the other elders because he doesn’t live in our area... but how cool is that!?

Olga's baptism got moved to this Saturday because she wants the members to be there and this way they will be able to... and also she can get the Holy Ghost the day after her baptism! But she is doing awesome! We are so excited for her! It’s been amazing to see the gospel change her life!

I am really grateful for my big fur coat and my hat.  It is still pretty nippy here and it keeps on snowing.  We have a couple of good days where it warms up a bit, but those haven’t come very often.
Also...my bed is a giant sponge... no joke. Just a big foam sponge... my covers/sheets are fur!  Welcome to Russia.

The sidewalks are pure ice here but I haven’t fallen yet.  We were walking to this apartment complex and had to walk across this path thing... but it filled with water and then froze... so we crossed it because we had to, to go to this appointment and right in the middle of it the ice broke and we fell through... COOOOOOLD!!! We fell in like up to our knees it was SO COOLD! The coldest thing I’ve ever experienced ever!  Later in the week we got 2 AK 47's pulled on us.  What an experience. They thought we were breaking into our branch building because the alarm went off and so we are inside and these cops show up and are just yelling at us and pointing their guns at us. But the office gave us this like top secret clearance magical thing where we just pull it out and it basically says we have the right to be here and then we explained the situation and it was all good. also... some random drunk punks came up to us and pointed something to our chests and said "I’m  going to shoot you" and I looked down and it turns out it was a little keychain of a gun... not exactly sure how someone intends to shoot me with a keychain... but whatevs.. He was crazy, so we just walked away.

The lord really blesses his missionaries so much. The members here are so great!  I am serving in the Branch Presidency and love our Branch!  I am really enjoying my time here, I love the people!

I miss you all so much and really I love you all and thank you for all your support. Can’t wait to hear from you soon! :)

Elder Sven Ninow
старейшина стефэн александр ниноув

Let's Try This Again!

Jessica's pictures..... Enjoy! 

Sorry they didn't post correctly the first time... 

Ciao Ragazzi!

Hello boys!

It sounds like you all are doing so well! I love to read through your posts/emails and get caught up on your adventures!

Pelle and Rily I hadn’t heard the story behind the slackline/rapelling and was laughing out loud! So typical! And ski/beach day sounds like a success! Especially the part about Mexican food..yummm! I always crave Mexican while I am in Switzerland as it is not super a thing here.

Andrew, I am sure your Spanish is improving more than you even realize! And if not I can tell you from my meager Italian experience that a surprising amount can be communicated through the spirit and gestures! That is so awesome to hear about your investigators! Wishing you the best of luck!

Elder Ely, so good to hear from you! I know quite a few Brazilians here at Franklin and I tell all of them about you! There is a girl from Curitiba and a girl form Vitoria. Both have seen missionaries before and have had pleasant encounters with them. Although they also warn me of how ghetto areas of Sao Paolo can be! So best of luck! Also fun fact: in case you ever watch Brazilian news TV Brazil interviewed my friend Bea while we were at the Vatican for the Pope’s inauguration and then they had me get in the shot with her, wave a Brazilian flag we had and shout “viva la papa!” So I am pretty much famous in Brazil.. haha

Elder J.Durham, I have a letter to send you!! It has been sitting on my desk for over a month so I apologize! But great to hear from you!! Sounds like you are adjusting to the big city and I can’t wait to hear about more of your adventures in Spanish speaking New York! I am sure it is a weird feeling to be living in such a foreign environment yet still in the US. You should probs work on figuring out the name of your area! Thanks for the great update though and be expecting a letter soon J

Elder Ninow, not sure how, but I ended up on your e-mailing list and am loving it! You are a heartfelt writer and I can’t believe you are in Russia already! Best of luck in everything! I am sure you will be incredible!

Elder G.Lange, hope the florida sunshine is treating you well! I wrote you a letter a few weeks ago so hopefully you will have gotten it by now! Keep up the good work! Can’t wait to hear back from you! Keep building those muscles and maybe one day you will out bench Elder Ely ;)

So if you have stuck through reading my lengthy post this far I guess I owe you an update on my life! I just returned two weeks ago from Spring Academic Travel with Franklin. My class went to Rome + Southern Italy for 10 days and then I traveled on my own to London for a long weekend before heading back to school! It was an exhausting, jam packed two weeks but I am so thankful to have opportunites like this because I truly learn so much through travel!

I know you all are pressed for time so I will try and keep it short!

Days 1-5: Pompeii + Paestum + Ercolano

Basically explored miles upon miles of ancient ruins for days! Pompeii was buried in 30+ feet of volcanic ash following the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 49ad and Ercolano was buried by mud and ash moving 60mph also after the eruption. I loved learning about the rich history and culture of these places! Other highlights include: making pizza with an Italian chef, 5 course traditional Italian dinners every night, meeting a ceramics maestro and climbing ruins in a thunderstorm.   

Days 6-10: Rome + Vatican City!

I love this city!! While there it was very cold for March but we braved the weather to do a lot of exploring! We hit up the Roman Forum + Capitoline museum + Trevi Fountain + Spanish Steps + Vittorio Monument. You know the works. We also traveled to the smallest country in the entire world, Vatican city! And not only did we get to tour the museum and the beautiful Sistine chapel but I also got to attend the popes inauguration! So incredible!! What a guy! A truly once in a lifetime experience! And of course the Italian food can’t be beat! All of my meals over travel were paid for (as part of my tuition) so that meant 5 course Italian meals every single night. Before going on travel an upperclassmen told me “if you don’t gain 10 pounds you are not doing it right!” I think that statement speaks to the amount of delicious food that was provided on this trip. 

Day 10-14: London

A relaxing low key end to travel! We stayed with a woman that I know through the little girl I tutor here in Switzerland. Basically this woman is a tutor to the children of the rich and famous. She currently works for the Beckhams and in the past has tutored for Pierce Brosnan’s daughter and Emma Watson just to name a few! So it was pretty interesting to talk with her and hear her stories! London itself was a fun city! Very gray and rainy but I was in shock about how much English was spoken! Haha I am just so used to not understanding what is being said around me. While in London I rode the London eye at dusk, took a Harry Potter tour, hung out in front of Buckingham palace and made music video! Pretty successful weekend!

 

Alas now I am back at Franklin and having to do “real world” things like homework and presentations and 13 page research papers. But look out for my next post because I have another big adventure coming up soon J

I love you all and pray for you everyday! You are the best and I can’t wait to give you all the biggest hugs when you get home and hear all your stories!

Much love, Jess

Ps I hope its alright that I am posting on “the homie” blog.. I can be a homie too right? xoxo

Don't Forget Your Roots My Friends

I will admit that when I heard Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" in the grocery store today, my heart longed to cruise down Sunnyside with all of you in John's Expedition, Matty's 4-Runner, or even the beloved Rav, with the windows down, singing our little hearts out. Such good times, I miss them and all of you dearly! 

Since my last post, I've relocated from Provo, to...Miami! I'm taking my talents to South Beach! (Fun Fact: missionaries aren't allowed to go to South Beach, it's what we call a "red zone"...too many girls, not enough clothes if you know what I mean) So yes as you may or may not have heard, I am in Miami, in a part of town called El Portal. It's ghetto. So what am I gonna do? Well naturally I'm gonna "Hit 'em wit a little ghetto gospel!" The day I can listen to Tupac again will be oh so sweet. I serve in a Spanish ward and my Spanish is subpar to say the least. The worst is when Elder Patino, my fluent-native-speaker-trainer, makes me leave voicemails in Spanish! They don't teach you how to do that in the MTC! I make a fool of myself almost daily. Oh well, all I can do is laugh & study my Spanish harder! So like always, I am very busy. Missionary work is hard and can often test your patience and faith, but tests help us learn! (Except maybe Ms. Mayall's chem tests, thanks to Rily I don't think I learned one single thing in that class. I owe you one Ri!) 

Well boys I must wrap up, P-day ends in a few minutes and then it's back to work! Know that I love every single one of you as a brother and that I pray for you always. Can't wait to hear about what you're all up to! Until next time, in true Gardner fashion, let me leave you with some song lyrics:


                         Don't forget your roots my friends,
                         Don't forget your family,
                         Don't forget your roots my friends,
                         the ones who made you, the ones who brought you here

                                                                 Six60


Gardner