3.23.10

Well its wednesday, which means time to email my wonderful family!!!! Well Im still in Finland... there was something wrong with my visa so i am stuck here for awhile, im not sure when i will be able to go back to russia...... haha just kidding. Im in Russia, but that does happen every once in a while with missionaries, something happens to their visa or passport and they cant get back into Russia. All is well with me though :) Finland was great though, it was so beautiful and clean there. Russia isnt the cleanest country so being in Finland and breathing fresh, clean air was great and also in Finland we can drink water right from the tap and in russia we can only drink filtered water, so that was great too!! I left early friday morning and got back monday. We flew from Irkutsk to Moscow, which was like 5 or 6 hours and then we flew to Helsinki, which was like maybe 2 hours. In moscow we had a 8 hour lay over so we went to the Red Square. It was AWESOME!!!! I took picture, so i will try to attach some. When we were in Finland we went to the temple, which ofcourse was wonderful. We did a session and the baptisms. The session was in Finnish, but they gave us headphone so we could listen in English, but it also had Russian on it, so I listen to the session in 3 languages. Isnt that so awesome to think that the gospel of Jesus Christ is spreading throughout the whole word and being taught in 100s of languages!!! The Kingdom of God is being built through out the whole world, and its great that we have the oppurtunity to help.
So Scott and Amy I have a contact for you, yes all the way from Russia. There is a lady in my branch here, she has been really sick the last couple of months ( i think she had a stroke) anyway we went and visited her the other day and she started showing us some pictures of her granddaughter and daughter. She had a piece of paper with the pictures and it had their address on it, and guess where they live.......... Costa Mesa!!!! Crazy huh!!! Well i got their address and told her that my brother lives there too. Its is really hard for this lady to communicate right now cuz she is sick, like i said i think she had a stroke. Anyway you should get ahold of them, i dont think they are members. I think she is married and has 2 kids. So tell them that i know her mom and maybe you can become friends with them, and then........... introduce them to the missionaries!!!!!!!!!! I forgot the book the i wrote the address in, but next week i will email it to you. So you have a week to get ready and then you start some missionary work!!! So cool huh!! I am way excited about that.
So we have a new investigator, her name is Nadya. I think i might have mentioned her last week. Anyway we met with her before i went to finland and then while i was gone sister reed met with her again. She is really great, and accepting of what we have taught her. I had talk to her at english club and she was very interested and she wanted a book of mormon, so i gave her one. Then we met with her a couple days latter and she had already started reading it and said she really liked it. We taught her about the Restoration, she had some questions, but seemed to really accepts what we taught. We are meeting with her again tomorrow, so we are excited for that. She still has a few questions, but I see great potential with her. So i will keep you informed. As for our other investigators not much has changed since the last email, since i was in finland for most the week. They work a lot so its hard to find time to meet with them. We are trying to find more investigators and ones who the lord has prepared to accept the gospel. Some really great news is that most of the inactive members that we have been regularly meeting with have started coming back to church, which is great. For the church to go here is russia we need new members but also we need the people who are already members to stay strong. Russia is so new to the gospel, so right now the missionary work here is building a foundation. All them members need to stay strong or come back to activity so that foundation will continue to grow. It is growing though. There have been prophecies given by prophets and apostles that say that someday Russia become one of the strongest nations within the gospel and that there will be villages and towns baptized by the thousands. That time is coming, Russia WILL be like that, but right now we are building that foundation. So the work is hard right now, but I see that future for Russia, and i know that millions will be baptized. So we are continuing the work here is Russia, because we know that what the prophets have said will happen. This work is wonderful and i am so grateful to be a missionary!!!

Well I love you all so much and i am so grateful for you!! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Mindy

3.17.10

I cant believe it is time to write again! seriously time is going by so fast!!! This last week was great. We had zone conference and of course it was amazing. The conference started at 9 am and went till 3 pm and Pres and Sis Trejo spoke and they were both very inspiring and then Pres Schwitzer basicall took the rest of the time teaching us about all sorts of stuff. Also the APs (assistance to the president) did some training with us. It was all GREAT!!!! After I just felt to inspired and ready to get back to work and so much harder and better.

I also had a interview with both pres trejo and schwitzer, which were great experinces. They are so smart in the gospel and so spiritual and they were able to answer questions i had about the gospel and how to be a better missionary. So conference was great and i wish all of you could have been there too.

Well the new transfer starts today and i am staying here in Irkutsk. I am glad because there are some great people we are working with here. It is always sad to think about leaving the city I am serving in and that when i leave i may never see this people again, but i am here for another 6 weeks, so all is well.

So last night i started talked to this lady at english club and we were talking about the gospel and she was really interested in hearing more, so we are meeting with her today to teach her about the restoration. Her name is Nadya and i really excited about teaching her. So as for our other investigator, well Natasha and Helen have both been so busy lately, they both want to meet with us, but dont have time. So thats hard but Helen came to english last night and she told us that she read the assignment we had given her to read in the Book of Mormon and that she really likes it. That made us really happy.

We have a couple other investigators too, but they arent really wanting to progress. I guess know is not there time. We need to find new investigators, but english club just started back up and we get alot of investigator for that. So soon we should have new people to teach.

Also we have been working with s few inactive ladies from the branch, and we are seeing great progress with them. Once has been to church 3 weeks in a row, when before she hadnt been for along time. Also another lady said she would go with us to church this sunday. I wont be here because i will be in finland, but my companion is going to meet her before church. So the work is moving along.

This city is a really hard city for missionary work right not. It has only been open to missionaries for 7 years!!!! YAY 7 YEARS!!!! Can you believe that? My interview with Pres Trejo was really good, and he help me to know that even though the work is really hard here is Irkutsk the lord want us here and he will prepare a way. We are working hard here, it is just hard sometimes when we dont see the fruits of our labors. But I still love being a missionary,even through this hard times.

Well I leave in 2 days for Finland. Finland is great and i am so excited to go to the temple. So next week i will tell you how the trip went.

Well i love you all so much!!!!!

Sister Gneiting

3.9.10

Hello again

Well another week has FLOWN by and now there is only one week left in this transfer!! I cant believe it. Then on top of that I am almost half way done with my mission!! This just cant be right. This must be about another missionary and not me. I fill like i am running out of time and cant even imagine not being here is Russian, but my time here as a missionary will come to end and sooner than i would like so i have to not waste anytime. But lets not think about the end, lets think about whats happening right now. Ok so let me think, whats happening? haha Well tomorrow President Trejo and President Schwitzer are coming to town. President Schwitzer is a general authority and i believe our Area president or something, im sure yo could look him up and find out exactly who he is. I have meet him once, he came to Novo during my first transfer, and he is amazing. So he is doing a mission tour of our mission right now. President trejo our mission president is accompanying him as well. They have been to the rest of the areas of the mission and are coming here to Irkutsk for the last stop. While they are here we will be having zone conference, which we have once a transfer. I am very excited for this. President Schwitzer and President Trejo are both men called of god to be in this leadership positions and when they speak inspiration just flows from them. So this conference i know will be great. Tomorrow i will be having my interview with Pres Trejo, which i am looking forward to as well because it is always great to talk one on one with him. I always leave our interviews feeling great and inspired on how i can be better.

So this friday night is when president calls all the missionaries and tells them their transfer info and where they will be next transfer. So i will find out then where i will be, but since we are having interviews with him tomorrow he might just tell us missionaries here in Irkutsk a little early. But anyway i will find out soon. I am hoping to stay here a least one more transfer because we do have so investigators that we have started teaching with in the last couple of weeks that i would like to continue to work with also we have some old investigators from previous missionaries that we started working with again and things are looking good with them. One girl named marina we talked to last night and she said she had prayed and read the book of mormon (we had asked her to do that) she said that she had prayed before reading though and wanted to try and and pray after and see if she could receive an answer about if it is true. She is a great girl, but had problems with the past missionaries about following through with commitments they gave her and about having a desire to change churches, but know she is keeping commitments so we pray she will continue to grow. Two other investigators who are friends, Helen and Natasha both came to church on sunday. It was there first time and they really like it. The hard thing is that they work alot and so it is hard to meet with them, but we are supposed to meet with them later in the week and hopefully they will come to church again.

Well English Club is back!!!!!! YAY Our branch building was being painted for the last month and so we didnt have english club, which was a bummer because we get alot of new investigators from it. So this last month we spent alot of time passing out flyers advertising for english club. Then yesterday we had a sign up for new people and we had a lot come and sign up and then we are doing the sign up again today and then on friday we begin club again. So we are hoping for a lot a new people at english club, which mean more potential investigators!!!!

So some other great news is that next week i will be in finland again!! It is time again to go get a new visa. For americans missionaries here in russia we can only get a 3 month visa and then at the end of the three months we have to go out of the country and the come back in on our new visa. So we go to finland for the weekend. Finland is beautiful and amazing so it will be good.

So Mom you graduate in like a month!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish i could be there to celebrate with you. So Rhiana, Scott, Amy Joy, Trent, Amy, Hollie, and Cameron you all better be there to support her and to celebrate with her afterward, because i cant and i wish i could. Im sure it will mean a lot to her for you to be there with her. So take a road trip!!! :) Also mom you are going to the sugarland concert!!!! Sweet!!! That will be awesome!!! Take lots of photos. Thanks for the pics of Trent, he is so cute and getting so big. Does he have blue eyes? Scott and Amy, he is so cute and i am sure very spoiled!!!

Well I cant think of much more to say, so I guess i will say good bye. As always i love you all so so so much!!! I cant wait to read all your emails next week!!!

love,

Sister Gneiting

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I know that their are several of you following Mindy's blog and enjoying reading about her Russian adventures.

I know that she would love to hear from you.

Please feel free to leave messages to her on this blog

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I will send her your messages each week in my email.

Or you can just email me at mommagneiting@yahoo.com

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I know that she cares about all of you and hearing from you would be a real lift for her.

Thanks,

Carol (Mindys Mom)

3.2.10

(Sorry the picture is sideways)

Hello again everybody!!
I cant believe how fast this week went by, i feel like i was just emailing you. Well the work here is moving along and we are working hard. The transfer is almost over though!!!!! WOW!!!!!! next week we will find out if we are being transfered or not. I feel like i will be staying, but you never know. Irkutsk (oh mom you asked me once how is was pronounced- well it is Earkootsk) is a great city. The biginning of the transfer as i have told you in other emails was kinda hard and we didnt have very many people to meet with. Well we did the hard part and started looking for them. Now we have 3 investigators that we are working with. They are 3 girls in their 20s and they are great. One was a former investigator with some other sister the served here before, but she hasnt met with missionaries for a long time. She knows like everything about our church and she likes the church but she still has some concerns and questions that we need to resolve, so we will see how things go with her. Then our other 2 investigators names are Helen, but i call her Diez because i think she looks like Cameron Diez, haha she likes that attention and the other is Natasha. They are friends and great girls. We have had some great lessons with them and they said they would read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if the church is true. I am really excited to work with them and help them come unto christ and be baptized. We havent talked to them about baptism yet, but it will be in the future. So those are out investigators and then we have some inactive members that we are working with as well to help them come back to church. It is so sad to see how many people are not active in Russia. President Trejo is really wanting us to work with the less active members. So the weather here is playing with our minds haha we will get like one day that is really nice and the sun is shinning and its not to cold and i always think, YAY spring is almost here...... and then the next day is FREEZING!!!!!!! haha so im not sure whats going on, but i just want it to be warm weather again and no snow so i dont have to wear boots and a coat anymore. But I will stop complaining.
So i was just reading out of the Book of Mormon and read this scripture Alma 5:16 "I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?" And i thought this was a good scripture and wanted to share it with you. I thought about myself and if the Lord would say to me, come unto me mindy, i am well pleased in you because of you righteous and good works. And know i am thinking of the things that i can change about myself and become better so that the Lord really can say this to me. I then turned to another verse a few pages away about how we can become better. Alma 8: 23-24 23 "And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works."
So there we go. That scripture tells us what we need to do to abound in good works. I am going to strive to be more humble, obedient, patient, etc and also ask God to help me in my needs. I know if we strive to be better, we can be better. God wants us to be better. I know the we all can help more in building the kingdom of god on earth, sometimes we just need to remember that we can and that the lord expects it from us.
Well i love you all so much and miss you all. I love it here is Russia, i cant even imagine being anywhere else. I love be a missionary and helping people feel the love of god and to know the truth. I cant wait to here from you all next week!!!

Love,
Mindy/ Sister Gneiting