Halloween Rocks!

Hey all,

The new office senior couple, (specifically the wife) said she remembered my last name from somewhere and asked if I ever lived in St. George. I said my family did when I was a baby or possibly before that, and she remembered a Magleby family who moved into the ward and she remembered that they were nice classy people because they had a really pretty quilt on the wall, and that’s all she could remember. I said it’s possible because me family had a nice Amish quilt but that it was purchased in Amish Country and that they wouldn’t have owned it before they moved to Ohio. Then I remembered visiting an antique store in Salt Lake where Dad said you had bought that quilt. So it was you/us. She was the new member greeter and she remembers you because of that quilt. They’re a nice couple and one of their daughters married a friend of the Faulconers.
One of the main events of this week was our Halloween Party. I thought it would just be fun instead of having our normal English class to have a simple Halloween party instead. But the Members apparently LOVE Halloween and when they heard we were having it, freaked out and wanted to help plan it and make it a really big deal, so that was kinda stressful for the week cause I’m President now and we don’t have the other companionship now so we had to do all the prep work but the members came though in spades and it was a rocking party with over 30 in attendance. I really wanted to show them Carmel Apples, and with the help of the aforementioned senior sister in the office’s recipe we did them and they loved them. Halloween is such a novelty to Russians, to Americans a well I guess. Halloween rocks. I believe Brigham Young said that.
The voting scene doesn’t sound too fun. Although there were some politically active elders in our zone who wanted to vote so last P-day we went to the American Consulate to cast our lots and since I don’t know anything about either candidate and I’m pretty sure I’m not registered, I didn’t want to vote for the wrong one and then have people ask me which one I voted for when I got back and they were lame, heck I've got the best excuse in the world, I’m in Russia! So I voted for Kodos, with Levi Heperi as a running mate. So now I sure hope I’m not registered, and I hope they can’t look such things up if I ever have a career that joke ballots would mar. It was funny to be at the Consulate--non-Mormon Americans were weird to see. America Rocks. I believe Vladmir Putin said that.
Our great investigator Alexander is doing great. His English is impeccable as ever and so interesting 'cause he speaks way better than most Russians I’ve met but he’s never talked to natives before so he speaks only from books and some songs and movies. He asked us the other day what we thought when people “busted our chops” and I realized I had no idea what that meant. He also asks great spiritual questions, they always make me think. I was testifying about how we need unshakable testimonies and he immediately asked me if I had one, and I was taken aback for a sec, and the member who was helping looked over and was like “well, do you?” with a smile because it was a difficult question. And I thought and explained that we need to build our testimonies on the Rock of Christ, which IS unshakable, however flawed or weak my house may be Christ is our Rock which will never fail. Alexander gives us many opportunities for me to better understand my testimony and preach the gospel doing so.

I’m loving this ice cream sandwich,

-Elder Arrested