A Hard But Good Week

So this week has been good but VERY hard. I've come to realise how hard these next two years are actually going to be. I've had kind of a knot in my stomach and been really discouraged this week.

I've had a hard time understanding what the people are saying, and what is said ..... I've been missing home-- it's been tough. It was good to finally get emails and to hear from home :) so thank you all ...keep them coming please.

They really do help.

There was a meeting we had with one of the members were working with who was inactive when we got here but is starting to come back to church... when we went to his apartment we ran into some Jehova Witnesses. That was interesting! They gave us probably the meanest look I've ever gotten since I've been in Russia, all I could do was smile. We got to the top of the stairs and Roman, was standing in his door talking to them and he said something like"...no these are the Elders are from the Church of Jesus Christ".

It was great, we then went in and talked to him he had some questions and Elder Lambson and he spoke for about 45 minutes--straight and with in 3 minutes I was lost. I try to listen to conversations as much as possible to pick up the words that I know and even when I have no idea whats going on I try to pay attention. But during that meeting it was gone, my concentration was shot, and I felt like I was falling asleep.
 :( it was SO disappointing.

I felt so bad, in reality I almost just wanted to cry and go home. I asked myself, "JT what the heck are you even doing here? You have no idea how to speak Russian and your never going to understand anything." I was so hopless the rest of that day and through the next couple days, I was kind of moping around and being really a big baby LOL. I felt bad for Elder Lambson having to be my Companion.. then and having to put up with me.

But I continued to do my studies and such and well, I finished the Book of Mormon again and I knelt down and prayed and I asked Heavenly Father what the heck I was doing and if this book really was true and instead of the buring feeling of love I have recieved before it was more like, " DUH, you stupid-fish why are you asking me this? You know why youre here, so quite moping around and get to work."

Since then, things have been alot better I've been trying my best to work hard and to accomplish my purpose here.  It's really been improving my spirits. We found a new investigator (we actually have several now) named Oleg, He's a scientist here in Tomsk and he's way smart and he speaks perfect english (score fore me! ha) so we've been teaching him in English and he has been SO excited about the gospel. Our first meeting was kind of get to know him and answer some questions he had about the church and stuff. He said that he's read about the church online and the life style the people of our church have is exactlly what he wants for his family. The next meeting we talked about the Fall--the need for Jesus Christ our Savior and redeemer. We explained to him that all can be made right through Chirst if we follow his conditions. He was bitting at the bit and nearly jumped out of his chair and asked, "What are these conditons?!"It was great I really think that given a little time he will come into the church.

Thats basically been my week in Tomsk! I hope you all have a happy Easter and enjoy Conference. I don't get to watch for another week when it arrives here in Russia! I love you all!

LiveStrong
Elder Eborn

Dad- Thats so cool about camp! I've been actually thinking about it and I might go up to Camp Hunt after I get home for the summer.  Kind of depends on what happens with a certain girl ;) who is probably already married... but yeah. That sounds sweet, it'd be so fun to go up and be the water front director or something.

Mom- Don't worry I am fine..  My black jacket has been just perfect and I'll wait until summer sales to by my nice jacket. Elder Lambson is the bomb he's taking care of me and all is well. I have no idea how to speak Russian lol.  As for the Pepto..its all good.  I am healthy and well.   Thats way cool about your new calling! I'm sure that they knew a good thing when they saw it! You'll do awesome :)

Tanner- have fun, play hard, and don't be stupid.  I Love ya Bro

Megan- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I cant believe you're 12! Wowsers, when i get home you'll be 14 can you believe that?  I hope youre doing alright and having fun, I LOVE YOU!

Maddie- keep being you! I want to hear about some of your adventures so write me! I love you...you make me smile.

SCOUT- love ya puppy

A Letter To JT

Jason thought I should share, I wrote a letter to JT last night.... here is the first paragraph.  He likes to mock me.

"Hi Son,


I have been reading all about Tomsk, it looks like an amazing city.

How are you? Mom needs the details. Is your Companion nice and helpful? Is your housing ok? Have you been eating and things ok with your stomach? Do you need anything? Did you get a new coat and hat? How much money do you need me to keep in your account? Are you happy and doing ok? What is your schedule like?

Guess I have a few questions"

Elder Eborn in A Fairy Tale Town - Tomsk Russia

taken from About.com

Tomsk has none of the historical pomp and circumstance of the two major tourist destinations, Moscow and St. Petersburg. For the traveler who hankers for something besides glittering churches and postcard-familiar scenery, Tomsk offers something more subdued. Wooden houses, like those out of a favorite Russian fairy tale, line the streets in various stages of repair or renovation. The many universities give the town a learned, serious atmosphere. And the museums are heavy with the gravity of Siberian history. Set in the midst of miles of taiga, Tomsk has a quiet dignity.


The best time to visit Tomsk is in the summer—June, July, or August. The sunny, warm days are perfect for taking walks in Lagerny Sad, the war memorial park that looks over the River Tom. The residential neighborhoods are full of points of interest, and the downtown area is great for shopping and eating. However, even on the rainy days you can find something to do. Not only is there a recently established art museum, but the Tomsk Regional Museum gives an in-depth look at how the peoples of Siberia once lived.

For those who want something special, it’s imperative to check out the KGB Memorial Museum. Located in the original Tomsk KGB headquarters, it is a reminder of the terror of the Communist years and the many labor and concentration camps that were set up in the Tomsk region. The holding cells for prisoners also contain their stories of survival; a rotating exhibit honors the art, literature, and lives of those who were brave enough to fight against and tell about their experiences at the hands of the KGB. The museum is the only one like it in the country, and in its guestbook visitors can see Solzhenitsyn’s signature.

The wooden houses are a point of pride for the people of Tomsk. Many of the more elaborate ones have become symbols of the city. The windows are bordered with elaborately carved wooden “lace,” some in themes depicting birds or dragons. Some of these buildings are still inhabited, which seems a decent metaphor for the way the past in Siberia maintains a symbiont relationship with the present.

The rare Westerner in Tomsk will be met with wariness and curiosity, though seldom hostility. Anyone who shows interest in Tomsk or the Siberian way of life will make friends quickly. Tomichi, the citizens of Tomsk, love to have guests and to share their warm Russian hospitality with foreigners. Their knowledge of their city and of Siberian history can make a stay in this town especially meaningful. You can meet them at the American Center near Tomsk State University, at the central fountain where many Tomichi congregate during the evening, over drinks at one of the many bars, or even on the bus. Any foreigner tends to stand out, but this can be an advantage when trying to make friends.

One of the most delightful aspects of a Siberian summer is the food. The markets are full of delicious fruits and berries, all of which are at premium pricing for the traveler who is used to paying an arm and a leg for sub-par produce. There is an extensive variety of cheese and other dairy products, free from the processes that often make US diary bland and lacking consistency. At certain times of the week, you can visit stalls that sell meat freshly butchered or fish freshly caught. Be sure to be aware of any old woman by the side of the road with vegetables for sale—these she has grown herself in her garden and usually prove to be young and tender.

Tomsk is a part of Russia that is unique for the Eastern European traveler. Its small size and community atmosphere, along with its proximity to vast pine forests, make it an escape from the big city Russia that most tourists are familiar with. Fourteen hours by train will take you to a bigger city—Krasnoyarsk, and then you can ride the Trans-Siberian railroad on to Novosibirsk. However, given Tomsk’s character and quality, it is unlikely any visitor will be in a hurry to leave.

I Am Living in Tomsk

Hey family :)

Sorry it's been a while since you heard from me but things are going well here.

 I got in to the country just fine and then went into Moscow with a lady who helped me get my second passport set up. I was so tired you have no idea, I didn't sleep the entire plane ride from New York to Moscow I had a giant knot in my stomach the entire way I was SO worried about everything.

When I finally landed and got through customs then met our ride I just fell asleep in the van for more than half the ride so I didn't get to see much of Moscow. It's all good though--the traffic was horrid. You know the scenes in the Bourne movies where he's driving around Moscow its all super busy? Yeah well, that definetly couldn't have happened. The drivers were crazy though and if it is hummanly possible to do it in a car, they will.

We got taken back to the airport and waited there for our flight to Novosibirsk. I was a dead man walking around the airport. the made me open up my bag in security because there was some unknown bottle in it but when we opend it there was nothing there, a little strange, I got yelled at in Russian I had NO clue what was going on.

We landed in Novosibirsk around 5:30 here time which is like 4:30 in the afternoon for you. We walked out with our bags and there was no one to meet us at first, but a bunch of crazy cab drivers they just kept telling us that we needed to get a cab we walked a little further down where we met the AP's and President running to meet us. It was so good to finally be here.

We spent the first 2 days at Presidents apartment (aka the mission home) where we had some instruction and got to sleep ALOT it was great.  We went and met Elder and Sister Simmons (this is funny) the first thing they said to me, was "oh so your Elder Eborn who's mom is always on our blog!" I  got a good laugh out of that, and told them to send to you that I'd made it alright.

I got my assignment for my area and was on a bus with in a few hours. I'm living in Tomsk right now---it's so cool, its about 5 hours North of Novosibirsk---its a total college town.

We have one branch with about 50 members and we are one of the only cities in the city with an actual building which we use for teaching English, church, game night, and we try to teach quite a few lessons in it.

Things have been fun here, minus the fact that I have no idea whats going on half the time. As so greatly put in The Best Two Years. "This is not the language they taught me in the MTC!" Everyone speaks so fast and I realised that things I 'd been saying was wrong, Oh well, I've got 2 years and I'll figure it out.

My comp Elder Lambson, is awesome, he's a great missionary and also a great trainer. He's from SLC and this is actually his last Transfer. After he leaves... It will be a little scary for me--I will get a new companion and it'll be someone from a different city.. and I dont know anything (ha).

We've had quite a few lessons this week that has been fun.  I've been able to help here and there but I'm still aways away from being fluent. (LIKE LIGHTYEARS) but really its fun we've been contacting quite a bit and got a few people who are interested in our message.

The ole' Book of Mormon is money out here! In the states, you mention it and people thing your some wacko with 10 9-yearold brides... but here, when you tell them what its all about, and how Christ came to the Americas---they love it and are interested. We've also been meeting with quite a few less active members trying to get them back to church.

One thing I am not use to, is this whole country smells like smoke.  I won't get to hear from you all for until next week but I hope this email finds you well and you all know that I'm alive and well here in good Ol Tomsk :)

Please keep me in your prayers---you are always in mine.

I love you all!
Livestrong,
Elder Eborn

 P.S. Anyone can email me on this address so let people know. I just can only send 2 emails a week one to the President and one to you all so if theres ever more than one section on an email just look to where it needs to be forwarded and please do so.

Bless Brother Simmons | A JT Update

So, we are going on Friday (here tomorrow) and we haven't heard anything from our Elder Eborn.  Tonight, I checked Brother Simmons blog--- bless that man.  He had an update for me.....  JT  made is safely to the Novo...I know, I do have faith, I do trust...but, boy it sure made this mom happy to read Elder Simmons update.   He is a good man.

Excerpt from Elder Simmon's blog:  "
"The weather turned nasty last night and today. Very strong winds from the west, horizontal snow, drifts knee-deep, melting ice mixed with wet snow, and  cars crashing into one another all over town. It's like these people don't know how to drive in the snow. When the Zone Leaders called tonight they said that walking on the street was like doing Michael Jackson's moon-walk. They were stepping forward, but actually being pushed backwards because the wind cleared off the snow exposing the foot of ice beneath. During a big just, one lady grabbed a sign post and just hung on until it stopped so as to not be driven back on the ice.

The good news is that our four new elders arrived yesterday morning in good shape and great spirits. They were greeted at the airport by President Trejo and brought, with their luggage, to the mission home where they were put to bed for the rest of the morning.  That afternoon they were fed and introduced to the mission by the Trejos and the Assistants to the President, followed by dinner at the mission home and more orientating. Here we see them at the table with Sister Trejo while president took the picture. Here we see elders Drasso, Capps, Eborn,  Septon, and the Assistants (elders Antuna and Rainsden.

After dinner they took a formal picture and got into bed again for some much needed sleep to reset their "clocks".

Today it was up for breakfast, more orientation by the Assistants, lunch at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken store called "Rostiks", a brief tour of the central area of Novosibirsk (the opera house and "Center of Russia" chapel) and finally delivered to the mission office where the office staff gave their instructions.

Olga, the visa clerk, told them about registration and the need to keep their documents in order. I instructed them on the ATM card use, cell phone protocols, and the luggage policy. Sister Simmons gave them the general do's and don'ts and we introduced them to their new senior companions.

During my time I asked them about the trip in and if they had any challenges. The report was that everything went as they had been told, they paid the Delta luggage fee, got on the plane in SLC and transferred to the international flight with no problems. They were traveling with a group of missionaries destined for Rostov (in the banana belt of southern Russia) so they had company all the way to Moscow.

In Moscow they were met by Sister Stapley, the Director of Temporal Affairs wife who guided them through the second passport process at the US Embassy and delivered them to the domestic airport for their flight to Novo. Everything went smooth for them except Elder Septon would have liked more sleep.

Later throughout the afternoon and evening they were taken to their various trains and sent off on the last let to their first cities of assignment. We are glad to see them here and look forward to seeing them prosper in their new surroundings. The weather was quite an introduction to Siberia, but they were all up for it. A strong group of Greenies."

My Next Email Will Be From Russia

New Members of the Siberian Battalion - The AM at the MTC

Well guess what?  Yep! 12 weeks have flown by and it is now time for me to head off to the worlds biggest country! Well you are probably wanting to know the itinerary for my flight to Russia. So here it goes:

• I leave March 15th, 2010 - SLC Airport.
• Depart to New York (JFK Airport) at 8:35 a.m..
• Arrive in New York at 3:14 p.m.
• Have a 2 hour lay over... 
• I board Delta Airlines for Moscow, Russia.
• After a 18 hour flight I will land in Russia where I have a 12 hour lay over
• Go to the American Embassy and pick up my new passport and visa
•  Be back on my plane at 10:30 pm from Moscow to Novosibirsk and that'll be an 8 hour flight.

So pretty much I'm going to be doing a lot of sleeping and sitting on a plane. It will be an adventure! I can't wait!  I also got a letter from President Trejo.

I can call you basically whenever you want me too during those lay overs at SLC and in JFK probably will do both. So keep near a phone so I can get a hold of you!

This week has been super fun and super busy. Our 100% Russian has been fun and helpful. I love it! I see some of my friends from school and they freak out when I only speak Russian. We've also had some great experiences at the RC and the teaching appointments.

I've come to dislike the whole idea of teaching lessons and our district has made the goal of teaching people not lessons and let me tell you it has made a world of difference. You can feel the spirit so much more when you go into a meeting and get to know where your investigator is on their spiritual journey and then teach to their needs. It makes things better and helps keep the investigator interested in what you're saying. At the RC I got involved with a chat with a girl from Oregon who's family left the church and needed some help and wanted to talk to a missionary it was interesting. I was able to help her out a little bit I think. We're all Heavenly Fathers children, and everyone needs to know that. He does have a plan for us because he loves us. I just hope I can help the people of Russia to realise that.

Everything here, is going well. Our entire district is ready to get out of here and we're all excited too. Im excited to talk to you on Monday! I love you all and hope all is well. Dad keep off the leg ha you goof. You'll be in my prayers.


LIVESTRONG,
ELDER EBORN

My next email will be from Russia!

A Long Race

I am ready to get to Russia! Our teachers told us that we've gone over every grammer principle that we will need to survive in Russia, and for the next 2 weeks we will be reviewing everything and SYL every day! It's fun! We started yesterday, and we speak nothing but Russian. Some of the new missionaries get a little peeved when they don't understand.

I'll be sending home a box of the stuff I don't need to take to Russia. Some clothes the old running shoes etc... Thanks for the package of shirts and sweaters mom and dad. Sweatervest's are bomb dot com here. You don't have much say in how you express yourself every day but by the ties you wear (toilet tie rocks).
So sweaters help break up the monotony of the daily routine. Plus, wearing a suit coat all day isn't as fun as you'd think. However, I do make it look good (wink/smile). I should be getting my travel plans any day this week. So in my next email I'll give you the "what's up" with my flights and such.

We had another Elder go home this week too. It was sad to see him go, and it was even sadder to have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to walk him out. But that's part of my job. The first few weeks with these new missionaries has been tough. We have been trying to train their district leaders in a way that we as Zone Leaders don't have to do as much. I think they've finally figured it out. Elder Drasso and I, haven't  to do near as much thanks to our wonderful district leaders. We'll probably be released this week so then new zone leaders can be trained. It's exciting, we're getting so close to leaving! Um..I still have no idea how to speak Russian. The natives we have here say that I speak very well, but I think they just say that so I won't give up.

Sunday, Elder Drasso and I taught the lesson in our district meeting. Our topic was enduring to the end. We taught our lesson, shared scriptures, and read a poem called, "The Race" I had read it through once before to make sure I didn't sound like "a goof" reading it but, I guess I didn't really pay attention. As I read it aloud to our district the words really sank deep into my heart and I got all teary eyed (it's my mom in me).

After I finished, and our lesson was over we had some time to sit and think. My mind wonderd to a time almost a year ago. When Dad, Chase, and I decided it would be a good idea to run the SLC marathon. I thought back to those 26.2 miles of heaven and hell. There were times when my legs hurt and my body was telling me to quit, that this was too hard. I then remembered--- pushing on, and perservering and then coming around the corner to the finish line. Seeing my family (My mom, Tanner, Megan, Maddie) friends, and a certain girl standing there cheering me on! I knew it was worth it.

My Dad has spoken of "moments of clarity" that we have in our life when everything just seems so right and you know what you need to do. As I thought back on to the feeling of running.... running to meet my loved ones at the end of the race. I realised, that felt that good. That is how I hope is it going to feel when we make it back to Our Father in Heaven and he embraces us in his arms and says to us, "Congratulations! You made it to the end of the race." I know, that the challenges we all face in our lives maybe extremely difficult and overbearing. But, as we endure to the end and liveSTRONG we well be able to enjoy that everylasting joy that the father has in store for us. I  know, these next 22 months may seem like a long race. Just starting out....26.2 miles seemed like it too. But I  plan on putting one foot in front of the other and eventually I will make it to the finish line.

I love you all and hope things at home are going well. I'll be writting letters later today, so hopefully you'll get them this week.

 I love you all!

liveSTRONG
ELDER EBORN