Archive of Letter Excerpts From Elder Alan Seawright
In the beginning, there was President Datwyler, and he created the Russia St. Petersburg Mission. And it was without form, shape, or function. Then President separated the active members from the inactives, he caused the missionaries to appear, he caused discussions to be taught, to beautify and give variety to the mission. On the 22nd of August, he caused that Elder Seawright should be born. He was that it was not good for Elder Seawright to be alone, so he caused that Elder Seawright should receive a companion and trainer.
Elder Seawright called his companion Elder Blackner and they served in the Garden of Eden. They were called to re-open the center of the city, which had been closed for 6 months. And President Datwyler was that it was good.
Elder Blackner is awesome! He's about 6 foot, 165, with bright red hair. We'd stick out like crazy if we weren't walking around in white shirts, ties, and nametags. He's an awesome trainer though, he's helping me a lot, and teaching me how to work, oh man! This past week, we've walked about 30 miles around the center part of the city, just contacting people. We've also already taught 10 discussions (all on the street, but still, it's cool). Unfortunately, since we're opening a new area, we don't have an apartment yet, so we're living with 2 other Elders in (literally) the smallest apartment in the mission. It's 1 room and a tiny kitchen, the whole thing is about the size of our MTC dorm room. It's fun though--we're on the 15th floor, so we have nightly paper airplane flights.
Everybody ready--it's time for fun Russian facts! I've already seen my first dead guy, in an ambulance, so not as interesting as lying in the street. I saw a guy on a bike get hit by a car--so what did he do? The guy on the bike jumped up and beat up the guy in the car until a cop came over! On our way to visit an old contact in our area book yesterday, we saw a Glock 9 (a Russian pistol) stuck behind a radiator in a stairwell. All that fun stuff aside, the work here is going great. We've been working hard, but in a new area, it's hard. Fortunately, our members here are awesome, especially our branch President. We had family home evening with him on Monday and it was so cool. He's been a member since 1994 and is one of only 5 active Melchezidek Priesthood holders. His and his family's testimonies are so strong and they put up with so much, I'm in awe of them. They live in 2 room of an apartment with a shared kitchen and bathroom. 17 people live there--it's unbelievable!
One thing that still surprises me is how much food and stuff is available here. It's so Westernized compared to Minsk! It's still dirter than you would believe, but you can get almost everything here. And there are so many foreign cars that it seems like every 3rd car is a Mercedes or BMW. Still no peanut butter, brown sugar, or root beer though. Oh well, if we had everything, it wouldn't be fun.
Alright, this is going to be the most important information you've ever
received, so grab a pen. My new address is:
Pouch
Elder Alan Seawright
Russia St. Petersburg Mission
P.O. Box 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
Now this is very important--everyone put that on the outside of the envelope and fill the inside of the envelope with paper that you've written to me on! Okay? (Thanks) I love you all and you're all in my prayers. Keep the Faith.
Love, Elder Seawright
The following is a letter we received from Alan's Mission President:
August 24,2000
St. Petersburg, Russia
Dear Brother and Sister Seawright,
What a pleasure it was for Sister Datwyler and me to welcome your son, Elder Alan Glen Seawright, to the Russia St. Petersburg Mission.
After his arrival in the mission home, your son had dinner with us and then a necessary good night's rest. The following morning he had his first interview with me, an orientation to the mission and a testimony meeting. After this, your son was introduced to his first companion (Note from Larry--his companion's Mom, Kathy Blackner, called us on August 29th to let us know her son, Elder Aaron Blackner, was Alan's trainer.) and departed to his area of labor.
Your son is excited to be here, is eager to serve, and he bore a strong testimony wherein he expressed his total commitment to the work of the Lord.
Letters should be sent to:
Pouch
Elder Alan Glen Seawright
Russia St. Petersburg Mission
P.O. Box 30150
Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0150
and they will be included in our weekly pouch. We ask that all
other mail and packages be sent to the Mission Office at the address listed
on the letterhead. That address is:
Russian St. Petersburg Mission
Naberezhnaya Reki Moiki 11 - 11
Saint Petersburg, Russia 191065
Do not put the name of the church on packages because they may be held up in customs. We know that rich blessings will be yours as you support your son through regular, edifying, encouraging letters.
Faithfully your brother,
Roland R. Datwyler
President, Russia St. Petersburg Mission
Week 8
Wow, only one week left in the MTC! That's wild! A couple of really cool things happened this week, but than these few things, it was boring. So, here we go.
Sister Ward (our evening teacher) left on Monday for Russia. I'll hopefully get to see her in St. Pete but we miss her really bad. Fortunately, we had an awesome testimony meeting her last day and everyone felt the spirit of missionary work really strongly. Our new evening teacher is a great guy--his name is Bro Howard and he's really cool but I'll only have class with him 4 times before I go.
On Friday, we had our first of 2 "Proselyting Experiences" where we "contact" and teach a 1st discussion to an "investigator." Our investigator turned out to be none other than Dave Fediuk, one of my best friends in Minsk, Belarus (he was a missionary then). It was so cool, cause I taught him a 1st that I'd taught with him once while we were in Minsk! The spirit was there so strongly when I remembered what it was like teaching in Minsk but now I understood what I was saying! I can't wait to go start teaching in Russia!
Well, one last week before I get to eat Borsht. I love you all,
and am grateful to all of you for the support you give me. You're
in my prayers. Love, Elder Seawright
PS. 2 Nephi 31:20 Keep the Faith!
MTC Departure Date: August 21, 2000
His flight leaves the Salt Lake City airport on an American Airlines Flight at 8:35 A.M. with Elder Seawright arriving at the airport probably around 6:30 A.M.
Week 7
What a wacky, wild week it's been. On Monday, I was feeling a little down until I got some letters! Then I was cheered up because we got to go work in the TRC (practice center) and whoa--it was super-clutch! We had a native Russian named Vladimir and he was so cool and hard to understand! Then Tuesday rolled around and brought with it a Devotional. Elder John B. Dickson spoke and though I can't remember a lot of what he said, it was good and uplifting. After Devotionals, we have a District Meeting where our District (7 Elders and 2 Sisters) get together to study. I wanted a picture of it so I pulled out the old camera and what did I find? No film! That's right, Elder Seawright has been taking pictures for the past 6 weeks with no film in the camera. (Feel free to write and mock me!)
Wednesday, we got TRAVEL PLANS! Hallelujah--I see the light at the end of the tunnel! We also had an "English Fast" and spoke only Russian all day, except at the referral center. The fast was very difficult but rewarding to see how much we all could actually say. Unfortunately, I still have a headache from thinking so hard all day. Oh well, 2 weeks and I'll have to speak Russian all the time!
Thursday was the strangest day I've had yet. We started by going to the Temple, which is always cool. Then we had class. The strange part was gym time. I went to play volleyball like I usually do, when I see this guy go walking over to my sandals with a suitcase. He looked really familiar but I wasn't sure so I looked at the parking lot. Sure enough, there was the Buick and my Dad dropping off my new suitcase (he was driving home from BYU when he saw me and thought he would just drop off the new suitcase which he had in the car). I walked over and talked to him but it was strange--I didn't feel homesick or anything and I almost felt bad for talking to him.
Anyway, I love you all and I'm thankful to you all for the support you give me. Keep the faith. Love, Elder Seawright
Week 6
Wow, have things ever been flying by! This week has been fully awesome though, so hang on. First off, I'd like to thank global warming and La Nina for making my MTC stay so pleasant. If it hasn't hit 100º every day this week, it hasn't been for lack of trying. Which reminds me of something else that's really cool--Due to being cut off from "news, weather, and sports", we don't ever know what the weather's gonna be like, or even knowing where that big fire is that is making the air so, uh...clean?
I'd like to take this little opportunity to thank everyone who has written me. I'm so glad to hear from you and to know what you are doing. For everyone else, I can promise you lots of blessings for supporting you missionaries--like letters back!
Okay, sermon's over. This week we started working in the Referral Center. That's where all the phone calls from the Church's TV commercials come. It's so cool to talk to people from all over the country that are interested in Christ and God and sometimes our church! It's also super-rad to get sworn at a lot! One fun story from the Referral Center--I called a guy to follow up on a video order and I ended up getting his son. I asked him if he wanted a different video and he said, "Sure." I asked him if he'd like some missionaries to bring it by and again, "Sure." He told me his address, and I had to have him repeat it 3 times because he sounded drunk and I couldn't understand him. Turns out, he lives on a rural route in West Virginia and his name, no joke, is Billy Ray something. When I asked him when the church representatives should stop by, he said, "After 1 o'clock would be best as "mad Daddy luhks ta sleep een." The next question was how old he was, to which he replied, "fifty-fahv." After I hung up I chuckled to myself, hoping that some good Elders go out to talk to Billy Ray.
The rest of the week was kind of difficult. I was having some struggles with Elder Keller, one of my comps. Actually, he was having problems with me. He has a bit of a temper and in a demonstration of the tension that can build up when people have to work very closely together for so long (6 weeks now), some strange things happened. In class this week, Elder Keller go mad at me for staring at him but he was "teaching" me the 4th principle in the first discussion, so I should have been looking at him. Anyway, it's been kinda difficult but things are going better now.
I love you all and miss you. You're all in my prayers. Love--Elder
Seawright
Week 5
Goodness Granny! Time is flying right on by! I sat down to write this and had to look in my journal because it seems like I just wrote yesterday! Allright, here goes. Monday, we went to the TRC (where we teach discussion to volunteers) and it went so well! The Spirit was there really strongly, and I was able to actually answer our "investigators" questions! That was probably the coolest moment I've had in the MTC so far.
Many other wacky and wild things have happened this week. Elder Keller ended up having to go to 2 dentists and an oral surgeon to fix his tooth. Dr. Harris, the surgeon who relieved me of my wisdom teeth, just ended up taking the whole cap out. Fortunately, it's in the back, so it is no big deal. On a side note, I was able to escape from the MTC for a couple of hours on Thursday while Keller was visiting dentists. Unfortunately, I forgot to have my parents/friends bring me some Gandolfo's. Boohoo.
I love Russian--it's beautiful to me now (I've gone crazy, Da?) I love (trying) to speak it and hearing it a lot. Although it's not without its struggles--there's a guy in my District (Elder Schneider) who's having a really tough time with it. The other day, he was practicing testifying with me and he said, "I know that Jesus is the death for us." After drying my eyes and regaining lung control, I helped him say "died for us."
Another valuable lesson I learned this week: Don't play sand volleyball when it's 100 degrees outside. My feet are still healing from the burns.
Studying is going really well; I'm almost done with the 1st 2 principles of the 1st discussion. I'm ahead of schedule but a little behind where I want to be :( Still, I'm working hard and I feel good about the effort I'm putting forth. I've been blessed to have such great support from home, and I'm really grateful for all of you. Even the wierdos who don't know me and have found this site through Yahoo.
I love you all,
Elder Seawright PS. Friday was MTC hump day. WOO-HOO!
Week 4
Wow, I can't believe it's Sunday again already! Despite my whole district getting sick (it's hard to avoid when you spend all day together in tiny classrooms) there has actually been a lot of fun stuff that happened this week. Classes have pretty much been business as usual, although we started memorizing the 1st discussion this week. Having ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) has come in really handy for memorizing--it helps a lot. No, wait. The exact opposite of that ;).
Let's see...On Wednesday, during our evening class, Elder Keller made a strange announcement. "Sister Ward," he said, "I have a problem--my tooth just came out." This was said as he was holding a capped tooth in his hand. So, miracle of miracles, we get to break free sometime this week to go to the dentist's office! Escape! Haha.
On Thursday, some Russian officials from one of their consulates were touring the MTC and they stopped by our class to talk to us. I had a nice little conversation with a guy from Rostov names, no joke, Nikta Kruschev. Nothing like talking to a dead Soviet dictator, huh? Also, one of the guide/translators was Elder Sawkiew from our days in Minsk, Belarus. It was really cool to see him--we used to go on splits a lot.
Yesterday (Saturday), Elder Keller sprained his ankle playing basketball. I feel badly for him, he's kinda falling apart. It's also amazing how many people get hurt playing hoop at gym time. The Church must spend tons keeping all of us healthy from basketball injuries.
Our Gospel Study topic this week was the Book of Mormon and it rocks! Man, I love the Gospel and the Scriptures! I wish I hadn't slept through seminary--this stuff is awesome! Anyway, Alma 26: 12, and peace.
Week 3
What a whilwind week it's been! This week has just flown by, sort of. It was flying by until I started to get sick on Thursday. After that, time kinda dragged. On Friday, I was so sick I only made it to one class, and I mostly slept through that one. Sleeping all day helped me feel a lot better, so on Saturday things were peachy.
But I didn't really sleep at all last night--I was more sensitive to sounds or whatever, so Elder Wright's snoring kept me wide awake.
Other than that though, this week's been grrreat! Monday we practiced
street contacting with another district that came in the same day we did
and it was a blast! I'm so stoked to get to Russia and do it for
real! Unfortunately, in the MTC, everything is the same every day.
I'd really like to tell you all the cool things I'm doing, but I already
have! But, with patience, I'll actually survive until I get to St.
Petersburg and then I'll have a miraculous experience for you every week,
da?
July 2, 2000
Hi Everybody!
Wow, has it been another week already? It’s only been a week? Like the old saying goes, time flies when it drags on endlessly. All kidding aside, I love the MTC! It’s totally super-clutch.
Anyway, what has happened this week? Let’s take a walk down memory lane… We went to the Training Resource Center on Monday. What it is, is you teach the first discussion to people who pretend not to be members. It ruled—we got a couple of commitments (read the Book of Mormon, pray about it) from people that have been married in the temple!
Elder Busche gave the devotional on Tuesday, and it was great! He has so much energy and love for the Gospel, it was wonderful! Another interesting (funny) experience on Tuesday was Elder Stoddard breaking his nose. Allow me to explain. A big black Elder (who is also going to St. Pete) backed Elder Stoddard under the hoop during gym time, then spun to take a shot, putting his elbow right into Elder Stoddard’s nose. The funny part was, when I ran over and asked him how he felt, he said, “Pissed off—I broke my nose!” Everything’s cool now though, and we’re progressively learning colors in Russian as Elder Stoddard’s nose changes colors. Black, Blue, Green, Yellow—It’s a gas!
Elder Wright (one of my comps) is doing much better. He's gotten over his homesickness by and large and actually laughs now. Very nice. Elder Keller is also doing really well, and is teaching me patience. If I have Attention Deficit Disorder, then he has Attention Surplus Disorder! Everything he does is slow and methodical, from getting dressed, to studying, to eating. I can really learn a lot from him.
I thought we were moving fast in the language before, but I was wrong. We've already learned 3 cases and they sort of make sense. Only 3 more cases and I'll be ready to go to Russia! Except that to speak a language perfectly, you have to make about 3,000,000 mistakes in it (proven fact!). And I've only made about a thousand so far. But I have faith and hope--still working on charity.
Well, I'm off to another leadership meeting. That's hmm... My 5th meeting of the day.
June 25, 2000
Zdras...! (Written in Cyrillic) Obviously, I still need
to work on my Russian cursive. How is everything? I want to
ask about all the changes in your life but I have to remind myself that
it's only been 5 days. In here it seems like eternity and I've become
a completely different person. Sort of...
On to the daily routine. Monday-Saturday: I get up, study the Book of Mormon (awesome!), go to breakfast, go to class, go to lunch, go to class, go to gym time (no LaCrosse kinda sucks), shower, go to dinner, go to class, write in my journal, go to sleep. On Sunday, I get up, study longer, go to meetings, study, go to meetings, and go to sleep. I also get to go to extra meetings because I got called as Assistant District Leader. Which means that Elder Wright, my comp, is District Leader, and Elder Keller, my other comp, is also an ADL with me. It's a great calling--we have the combo to the mailbox, so we can get it anytime we want.
In other news, this is gonna be a shocker for you all--I like the cafeteria food. I eat an unbelievable amount of it. I'm easily gonna weigh 220 by the time I leave. My Companion, Elder Wright, is a really nice guy. He is 6'3" and weighs--oh, 340 lbs. It's funny because he's this huge, buff guy but having a bit of homesickness. Hopefully, his new call as DL will take care of some of that--the little free time we had is now gone!
Elder Keller is freaking brilliant! He knows more of the language than I do (I think). He also knows every capital of every country in the world. I have yet to stump him, it's incredible. He's a blast to talk to, and all that but he has a "girl" at home that he is going to marry when he gets back. It doesn't distract him too much though so I shouldn't complain. It's is just strange to me since I've never really seriously dated a girl before.
The rest of my district is great too, though only 3 of us are going to St. Pete. The rest are going to Moscow or Vladivostok, or Kiev, Ukraine. Which reminds me--Alex Stoddard is in my District on his way to Kiev. (Note: Alan and Alex were together as 11 year olds on a Russian Volga River Cruise)
Another interesting fact is that Belarus is now in the Moscow mission, but still no proselyting. One of my teachers served there through 1997 and it's fun talking to him about Minsk.
I miss being at home with all ya'll but this work is kind of important or something.
June 21, 2000
Hello out there in the big, beautiful world. I'm in the MTC!
Whoa! My companions (that's right, 2 of them) seem like nice enough
guys but we'll see in a month! ;) Elder Keller is from near Logan,
Utah and is really cool but has a girl that he talks about A LOT.
Elder Wright is a big boy from Orem, Utah who is also really cool--we get
along really well. Neither of them are going to St. Pete though--they're
both going to Moscow.
BTW--Belarus is included in the Moscow Mission. I've seen lots of other guys I know from P.G. and BYU.
Wow, overload of info today. I feel
like I'll never be able to do all of this stuff but I know in a week I'll
be okay. I also got a bloody nose tonight--my 3rd I can remember.
Go figure!
