Almost Out!

9/08/2016

Hello.

So things have been going well. 

Last Friday, MTC President and Sister Burgess all of the sudden without warning walked into our class room and told us that they need to meet with us. The two departing districts in our Zone met with them and they told us that The Twelve Apostles have been praying and decided that due to political unrest and some other factors, they are reducing the compliment of missionaries going to Russia. Many of us including myself were reasigned to a deifferent Russian speaking mission. I will now be serving in the Ukraine, Kyiv/Kiev mission. 

There are three missions in Ukraine and each on has pretty close to a third of the country. The Kyiv mission is the center one and contains the capital of Kyiv. 

Since I had already received my Visa and Flight Plans for Vladivostok, I will almost 100% be going state side for around one transfer. I still haven't received my new flight plans, and am ignorant of where I will be serving for the next while. 

Don't worry. Everything is under control. I am not  worried at all. It's just another adventure that I am to embark on. 

So now the "New Russian Laws" that we have been so worried about don't apply to me anymore. So feel free to Call me an missionary or Elder and talk all you want about Gospel topics. 

Even though I am going to be Russian speaking in Ukraine (most of Ukraine is comprised of Russians and excluding some western areas, is basically Russia), I still have to know how to understand Ukrainian at least a little bit. So now I have most of my study materials in three languages. 

So in our District we have Ten Missionaries. A trio of Sisters. Sister Cook (Yekaterineberg), Sister Christansen (Seatle -Russian speaking), and Sister Tanner (Was going to Vladivostok, but now is going to Ukraine, Kyiv). Out of the Elders we have a trio and two "normal" companionships. Elder Griffiths (Yekaterineberg), Elder Felt (Was going to Yekaterineberg, but now is going to Dnyeper (Dnyepopetrovsk) ), Elder Peterson (same as Elder Felt), Elder Roylance (Was going to Novosibersk, but now is going to Ukraine Kyiv, Elder Neuffer and Clawson (Same as Sister Tanner), and Elder Lawrence who is still going to be serving in Vladivostok. 

It's crazy how we are already done teaching TRC (Teaching reasource Center) and our Investigators (Teachers). And we only have a short amount of time left here in the MTC. 

Today we went to our last Temple session here in the MTC. We got permission to go to the 7:00am session. And afterwards we ate breakfast together as a District in the Temple cafeteria. 

I am super excited to go out and serve. It doesn't matter where I go. It only matters that I am doing all I can to bring others unto Christ.

I love you all. 

Elder Clawson.