Actually I am writing this letter from Riga, Latvia... What a beautiful place! I am sorry for not writing last week. It has been difficult to take the time to write. We have been so busy with our assignments as well as working with our missionaries. First thing on the list to do in this letter is to let you know that your prayers for us and the other missionaries around the world are being answered in our behalf. Some of you are praying for the individuals by name that we are working with and some are even taking those names to the temple to be prayed for by the rest of the Saints. Thank you for your kindness in behalf of these wonderful investigators. Both of the investigators whose names are Alexander have accepted baptismal challenges and have baptismal dates set. A young man by the name of Dima who came to a "chalk drawing" session a few weeks ago has also accepted baptism and had a discussion in our home this past week. The work is moving forward and is beginning to progress a little more rapidly.
I have mentioned briefly in previous letters that the adversary is doing his best to thwart this work. It will not happen. This work will roll forward and it is such a wonderful opportunity to serve in this capacity at this time in our lives and witness the Lord's hand in this very work. We have plenty of opposition, in fact, in church today we met a couple here in Latvia who just came from the States and are from Chicago. They were in a stake conference just prior to coming where Elder Dallin H. Oaks was a visiting General Authority. He took the opportunity to mention in one of the meetings that the church is struggling in Russia but is moving forward. He mentioned specifically that the Russian Orthodox Church is putting pressure on the Russian government to disallow proselyting in the country. The Russian Orthodox Church is very strong with about 80% of the population declaring it as their church of choice. In speaking with this new missionary couple today I told them that there are other faiths in Russia who are also proselyting and are currently in litigation with the Russian Government. It will be interesting to see what happens. The Church does so much for the Russian people in reference to spiritual wellness and of course it spends 10's of millions of dollars on humanitarian services in the area that is of immense help.
Let me just tell you all how grateful we are for your thoughts and prayers again. I feel impressed to admonish you to continue this simple act of faith. I am going to finish this letter with an excerpt from my journal that happened just last week. I will keep you posted as to what goes on here. We are working hard and are faithful in furthering this work and "fighting the good fight."
| Day 65 Moscow Tonight we had the long awaited “Musical” which was written, arranged, and directed by a YSA from our area. It was very well attended and done quite well for the talent and budget that was provided. It was the story of a young man and girl who met at a dance, he was the DJ and she was just there with some friends. They fell in love, but he was not a member of the Church so she didn’t get engaged to him. There was a struggle inside her to do the right thing. She got good council from her mother and so she told him things were off! It broke his heart and so he started reading the Book of Mormon, joined the church, saw that one of their common friends got married in the temple so he decided to go on a mission and then came home, and they got married in the temple too! And they all lived happily ever after. That was the story and like a said. It was quite good. The sound was terrible and the venue was bad but it was the best we had and I think that all that were in attendance were pleased. It was standing room only in the Cokolniki building. ***The interesting thing that happened afterward was that the Overly’s and us went home together. As we walked the 15 minutes from the church building to the Metro stop we had a great conversation about how the production was. It was fun to participate in it. We got down to the platform of the metro station and waited for our train to arrive. The train came and we got on. Almost immediately as we were getting our seats, we were approached by a young family man who was sitting just a little way off from us. Before we could take our seats he asked (in English) if we were Mormon? I said that we were and then he asked if he could get a copy of the Book of Mormon. He was very sincere as he told of his experience with a young man who was trying to teach him English in Italy for about 4 months. He said that this “boy” had to leave to go to Taiwan and that because of his experience he wanted to read the book. As I was discussing this, Bethany went over to meet his wife and young son. They had a great short visit and so I got his name and phone number so I could give him a copy of the Book of Mormon later. The Overly’s were witnesses with us of a miracle that happens occasionally. For the past 6 months (since before we left for our mission), we have been praying to Heavenly Father to send those people that He has been preparing to receive the gospel to us to teach and bring them into the Church. This is just one short example of these prayers coming to fruition. We have a few others that have recently happened as well on the street, in the Metro trains, and on the escalators from one Metro station to another. I believe they are all miracles. Think about the following: There are approximately 18 million people in Moscow, with some additional 10+ million that come in and out of the city each working day. Approximately 9 -12 million people ride the Metro each day. The Metro is open and running for 18 hours each day. There are 8 Metro lines throughout the city, each with about 50 trains and each train with about 12 cars. There are over 100 stations. Trains come to stations almost ever minute or two. To come on the exact portion of the train car at the correct time of day is no coincidence. Some statustition needs to calculate what the odds are of that happening to meet this young family Vasily and Katia. The other happened chances are just as amazing as well. President Cranney, our mission president said it like this: “The Lord carefully crafts the intersections of our lives.” What an amazing experience. I am confident that the Lord is directing all of us each and every day. What a blessing it is to know that He is in charge of our lives if we will let Him. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy....The first one is of one of locations where the bombings took place (Lubyanka). It is about 3 metro stops from our home in Downtown Moscow. It is about 20 minute walk from our home. The one below it is a photo I took at the Pushkin museum. It is a statue (replica) of Barthololew's baptismal font... Notice the oxen. Thanks again for your help in this great work. Elder and Sister Packard |
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