Getting transferred

Dear family and friends,

First of all, if any of you, dear readers, happen to find my passport, I'd appreciate if you could send it here. yeah, no joke. it's gone. i gave it to the office to get me registered to live in petrovsky, like two months ago. that was the last i saw of it. it got lost somewhere down the line of people who were supposed to get it back to me. after a few weeks of searching, they are calling it lost, which means that i might have to go to Kiev to get a new one. which would be cool, not going to lie, but hopefully someone finds it. we'll see. I'll keep you updated. i don't know when i will go, if i do.

other exciting news: i am getting transferred!!!! Calvert is staying. three transfers is a good amount of time, but four is just too much, in my humble opinion. it was a really good area, i love the members, and a few other people, but it is time. i don't know where I'm going, but most of my options look bright. i move out this Friday and into my new area, new companion. I'm very excited. i feel like I've reached a milestone, I'm a full non-greenie now.

what else happened this week... we got the general conference liahonas! man there is so much good stuff in it. i really like andersens and uchtdorfs talks in the first session. they are really smart men, i tell you what.

so Wednesday was cool- we went back to krasnee hooter again, do you remember that place? it is a little village in the middle of nowhere. we tracted the rest of the houses there. we got a couple contacts, it was OK. one guy actually seemed kind of interested, we will do our best obviously. the one thing that stands out that i remember is this old lady we talked to. we asked her what she wanted out of the remainder of her life. she said that all she wants is to die. she hurts everywhere, her husband is dead, so she wants to die. kind of depressing, but there just isn't anything left for her here.

Friday was new years eve. which is big here. it is everyone's night to get wasted. so Friday a LOT of alcohol was bought. we went contacting a bit, but all that was on everyone's mind was getting drunk. we have to be in by 6, so we didn't do much. but we went in a store to buy some juice, felt kind of childish as everyone else was buying like a gallons worth of vodka. but we drank our juice, and liked it. Friday night it was a bit hard to sleep, it was really loud. and they love fireworks. they are still shooting them off, this morning.

Saturday morning no one was out on the street, it felt like a nuclear holocaust or something. everyone had hangovers, or was still passed out, i guess. we had district meeting so we were walking to the church. on the way we stopped at a bank-o-mat. ATM. to pull off our monthly money. there we met with a couple gentlemen. by the way, this happens a lot, like it isn't funny anymore because it happens so often. they were extra friendly this morning and we delved into the usual conversation we have with this 'class', if you will. you're from America! oooh...then a couple words in English they know, then they laugh at their hilarious joke. how do you like obama, that is a very common one. spoke some Ukrainian because it is also hilarious, and gives them an even bigger upper hand over us. i am pulling off my money, and the expected, hey man, have a soul, give me fifty grivin. no, of course. we walk away and they follow. one of them puts his coat on me, cuz it was cold. they keep asking stupid questions just to bother us, so i start talking about Jesus, that seems to scare most people off. but these guys are persistent. it got way past the point of funny so i tell them to go away, they are drunk. they kept grabbing us so we couldn't get away. it was actually getting a bit heated, i was thinking about punching him, that would have felt so good, but the Z.L.s showed up and we ran into the church building and locked them out. they knocked for a while, but then left. there are so many stupid people like that here. i just don't get it.

oh! so Sunday morning, like four am, i wake up to the sound of dripping water. I'm like, shoot. turns out worse than i thought. our apartment is being filled with water COMING OUT THE WALLS. little holes had ripped through the wallpaper and streams of water were SHOOTING OUT THE WALLS. every few minutes a new hole burst, and more water shot out. with surprising water pressure. other water was dripping from the ceiling, other was just draining down the walls. we hurried and put pots to catch the dripping water, and tried to soak up the rest with rags. there was a lot of water. we did that for a while, then went upstairs and figured out that somewhere above us it was flooding, so everyone below them was getting water. they said it was being fixed so we just kept trying to soak it up until eventually it slowed and stopped. it was a real mess. my bed was pretty soaked. our wallpaper is all pretty badly water damaged. the floor was obviously disgusting. we got it all cleaned eventually, and luckily nothing important got ruined. but gosh... that was a crazy wake up. i felt like i was in a sinking submarine. or that part on Jumanji. I'll send pictures, but they don't do it justice.

so now I'm just getting ready to move, very exciting. saying goodbye to everyone I've met, doing laundry, packing, etc. I'll keep you updated on where and who. and yeah, my passport.

week was good. didn't have any investigator lessons. still muddy. lots of food and candy remaining. goals are being formed in my mind for the next year/ transfer. language goal went well for half of the week. Calvert speaks Russian pretty well. very ready for a change. I live a five minute walk from the church. i think that's all the questions.

congratulations Scott on your big win over mom in ping pong. and congrats mom for getting second place in the tournament. you've all represented me well.

holy cow that fire was crazy! i can't believe that! i don't think i know who lives there but that stinks!

oh man i so wanted to see true grit. i bet it was awesome.

well that is about it. thanks for all the emails, as always. church is still true. talk to you in my NEW AREA

happy new year, love, elder, brimley