This and That

 February 15, 2021

Random pictures

Elder Fisher in apartment office.

Elder Fisher and Elder Herr

Dinner

Graffiti

Elder Fisher

Elder Fisher and Elder Springer

Don't Be Surprised, Get Creative, and the Invisible Hand

 January 25, 2021

გამარჯობა მოსმინელებო,

This week was a mix. The events were great, and the emotions wavy. My emotions have been wonky for a couple of weeks actually. Here's an example. A couple of weeks ago, we watched "The Incredibles II" in Georgian with our tutor. For the first 20 minutes, I was on the verge of tears. Why? I don't know. Maybe the music? I honestly don't love the movie too much as a whole anyway, so I couldn't tell you. Then last week our trip to Kojori and the fortress there really reinvigorated my sense of adventure. It was a real good high.

Then this week we had zone conference. Elder Boom of the Seventy and his wife joined us. They are absolutely delightful. He interviewed me and told us how much the Area Presidency trusted us. He said that they don't ever lose any sleep over us. This statement was confirmed for me when he told me he was really proud of the two of us. Those of you following along know that there are actually three of us here in Georgia. An easy mistake to make, I suppose. I'm sure with all their responsibilities, they are losing sleep over other things, like the fact that Sister Mafi still isn't home.  The actual conference part of zone conference was wonderful. Elder Boom is very real. He told us about his mission to England and how much he disliked it. He told of the challenges he had learning to love those he served, and it was really refreshing. He's such a sweet and inspiring man. Some of my favorite things he said included:

"Some of you are surprised by that. Well, don't be. Don't be surprised. The Lord can do it." (In reference to how much the work is rolling forth, especially through Facebook, despite our many restrictions.) 

"Get creative!" (In reference to how we do our Facebook work. This was also in slight lamentation because of how little creativity was allowed in his Mission when he served in England.)

"The Invisible Hand of the Lord is managing all things." 

This week the biggest group of Georgian missionaries there has ever been, went into the (online) MTC. Okay, so there's only six of them, but to my knowledge, that's double the previous record, so that's something. We look forward to the day when they come to the country, but we are still going under the assumption that I leave before they come. Maybe the Book of Mormon will be printed in Georgian by the time they get here! Let's keep the hopes high! 

This week I have studied obedience. I implore you all to be more obedient in your lives. "Obedient to what?", you may ask. There are many ways to answer this. Obedient to your bosses, to your leaders, to your teachers, to your parents, to your moral philosophy, to the law of the land, to the laws of God. A free and independent thinker may ask, "how can I remain free and independent if I restrict myself to the idea of obedience?" I will respond by saying you have to look at freedom in context. God has endowed us with our moral agency. When we choose obedience to any of the above mentioned higher powers, we are choosing a certain result. As it turns out, depending on who your boss or teacher is or what country you abide in, you will get a different result from your obedience or disobedience. But when we stay faithful to the laws of God, we can be certain of the result every time. Both obedience and sacrifice bring forth blessings from the Most High. One of these blessings is a continuation along His path and the continuation of our abilities to make choices and remain in obedience. The invisible hand of God isn't all that invisible, and it does more than manage all things. It leads all things as we harken unto Him. 

Well, this has been one more hello and one more goodbye from Georgia. God loves you all, and I'm sure of that. 

სიყვარულით,   

უხუცესი იაკობი  

Elder Herr presenting his peanut butter noodles that he made.

Elder Herr working on our basic beliefs video

The Outside

 January 18, 2021

გამარჯობა მეგობრებო!

This week we were finally able to go on a small out-of-town trip! We went to Kojori. We visited two monasteries and one old castle. The first monastery was a 3km walk and the view was beautiful. The snow was great and the fresh air was the greatest delight of them all. It was a great time to do some personal thinking. This was much needed. The second monastery was new and good looking, but it wasn't open. After that, we headed to a centuries-old castle. It was in absolute ruins, but the view was again, amazing! I've really missed some adventuring. With all this time inside with the same two people, I've started to become a boring nerd (as opposed to the kind of nerd I typically am). Attached are some pictures.

 That's what I've got this week. Stay grateful for everything you have. It's all a gift. 

--Elder Fisher 

 

God is a God of Miracles

 January 11, 2021

ახალ წელს გაუმარჯოს! 

 

This week was miraculous.  We started teaching four new people who actually are engaged and interested in Gospel learning. Two referrals were from outside the country, one self-referral, and one from the Facebook page. This is in very stark contrast to last week, during which we had almost every single meeting cancel on us. I think we probably had two meetings the whole week with one of them being late Sunday night. Not only did we start teaching four new friends, but we had multiple meetings with them and two of them joined into our Sabbath worship call with the members yesterday. To top it all off, there was a baptism in Armenia. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands is just rolling and rolling and rolling.

 

We also watched a couple of movies in Georgian this week. We heard really good things about Soul, but it's not in Georgian quite yet, so our tutor had us watch Frozen II instead. It also really good. I was surprised at all the great lessons contained within it. I personally like it a lot better than the first. And the songs are awesome. I highly recommend it. 

 

We celebrated Orthodox Christmas this week on January 6 and Old New Years (Orthodox) will be in a couple of days, January 13. They didn't have their classic parade due to COVID which made us sad, but we still went to Sameba, the big church, to remind us of last year's celebration with missionaries. Oh, how much it has changed. We are so glad to still be out here. If we get new missionaries before I leave, I don't know what I'll do. The number of changes this mission has gone through in the past 24 months is crazy. It's a good place to be. 

 

Well everyone, keep on praying. God wants to hear from you. I'll see you all soon.

 

Happy New Year

 

December 28, 2020

 

ოკეი მეგობრებო,

 

We just had a wonderful Christmas, but being in a post-Soviet country, we still have a couple of days before the big holiday of the year. In a couple of days, the curfew will be lifted for one night only. I'm not sure that this will be needed since in past years the metro and other public transport are completely empty for about 36 hours. That's a fun tradition. Let's take another. Oh boy, I can't wait for Santa to come on New Year's Eve. And now that I have the expectations for fireworks, I'm really excited. I have to tell you again, last year I saw far more fireworks than all the previous fireworks I had seen in my life. They aren't the coolest or fanciest, but quantity certainly makes up for quality in this case. 

 

As we enter into the year that I return from my mission, let's give an update on how much longer I have. Approximately 170 days. 23% left. That's right. Some of you may see that as a long time. Others of you will certainly view this as the home stretch. Regardless of where you stand, this alignment of the new year and my 18-month mark makes this the perfect opportunity to look at a few things I've done and things that have happened throughout my time as a missionary. I thought of making a list for you all, but I figured I wouldn't bore you with all the little things. If you REALLY want to know, I can supply you with a non-comprehensive list.  A lot of things happen. I've done a lot, but it is mostly routine for me. Whether or not something is actually unique, I just knew it as something that comes with being a missionary.  I've said it once, and I shall continue to say it. My expectations were shattered as soon as I read that I was assigned to serve in the Armenia/Georgia Mission and that I would prepare to teach in the Georgian language. My mind was opened on the 29th of January almost two years ago. That has been the theme of my mission. The continual shattering of expectations. Luckily, I expect that now. Things may happen that I don't anticipate, but it takes a lot to surprise me. What does this mean? It means that I can just keep going. I'm not interrupted in my normal flow of things. This has been a great blessing this year because of the frequency at which things change right now.

 

My last little bit is again on the scriptures. As of a couple days ago, I finished reading the Old Testament. That means I have read the whole Bible. I have read every word of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That is 2468 pages. For some reference that is about the same length as The Lord of the Rings and War and Peace combined. As a matter of coincidence, I've heard both the Bible and Book of Mormon compared to each of those books, and while I've not read either, I can guarantee you can learn more from the scriptures than either The Lord of the Rings or War and Peace. I don't remember when I started reading the Bible, but I know it took me less than eight months. If you read 3 chapters a day, you can read it in 13 months. Read the scriptures. Study them. Figure out the truths that are taught. I recommend reading The Book of Mormon because it's shorter and simpler. It teaches about Christ, just as the Bible does. Just read the scriptures. Make it a habit. Do it with your family. It'll enrich your life. If you've been reading my emails lately and you haven't even considered reading in the scriptures, do it. Do an experiment. Look for good when you read. You'll find it.

 

Anyway, I hope you all find love, hope, and knowledge this new year. If you strive for it, you'll find all three. Until next time. 

--უხუცესი ფიშერი 

 

Pranked by the Government

 December 21, 2020

გამარჯობა, გენაცვალეთ! 

 

I have three big pieces of news:

 

1. Remember when I told you all that we would be going to Armenia? Ya, that's not happening anymore. Contrary to the usual pattern of governments doing things very slowly, Georgia very quickly changed their mind and decided to allow foreigners to stay in the country until 1 July. That keeps me safe until I go home. The three of us were all pretty disappointed when we heard, but it's definitely better for us to be here in Georgia. What would we do in Armenia with Armenia speaking companions? It would make things harder. Honestly, missionaries down in Yerevan seemed more torn up about it than us. That actually cheered us up a bit. 

 

2. Daviti was baptized! (This honestly should be number 1, but setting the record straight seemed important, just in case some of you don't read the email every week.) This was very special for us because we found, taught, and baptized him. It's rare for missionaries to be there through the full process. It was a very nice service. Only six of us were in attendance with plenty more joining over Zoom. President Kikiani baptized and confirmed his son which was very special to see. Elder Herr and Elder Springer spoke and I translated the meeting. It was a good time. A much easier translation than my previous attempts despite my being out of practice. Daviti shared a brief but powerful testimony about how he knows that the decision he made was correct. It took him time to come to it, but he finally did. 

 

3. The Doctrine and Covenants is fully published in Georgian online! This is one more step to getting the Book of Mormon printed in Georgian. Maybe I'll see it on my mission, but I won't hold my breath on that. 

 

4. Here's just a fact that isn't news. Christmas is this week! You all know that it's the most wonderful time of the year. What an amazing thing for such a cold, dark, gloomy time of the year to be so full of joy. What a paradox for the shortest and darkest days of the year to be accompanied by pure white snow. It is not only the pureness of snow but at this time is often when we find time to drink and share the pure milk of human kindness. Let us be patient, meek, charitable, wise, and joyous for the next week, and, if you're up to it, for the next month or year or decade. 

 

Well, read your scriptures, pray with your family, and have a Merry Christmas! 

 

--უხუცესი ფიშერი 

Time to Leave Georgia

 December 14, 2020

დობილებო, ძმობილებო, მეგობრებო!

Well, I've been reading lots of email subject lines from sister missionaries that were in the MTC with me with very similar subject lines to my own. Mine, however, does not have the same connotation because I am not going home. Let me give you a bit of background.

Here in Georgia, Americans don't need a visa to stay in the country. We can stay for a year without any problems. Since we are here for 17-22 months, we just need to cross the border halfway through our missions. Elder Herr and I were in Armenia last year for Christmas, so we are coming up on that year point where we have to cross a border. Leaving is easy but coming back isn't for us since we aren't business travelers, remote workers, or students. Since obeying the law is important, we'll be going down to Armenia for 4-8 weeks until our applications to reenter the country are approved. Can I tell you how excited I am to live with other people? Unbelievably excited! I have nothing against them as roommates, but they are more than roommates. We literally spend every waking moment together. We are coming up on 9 months of that. Those of you familiar with human biology know that that is enough time to have a baby. 

To be clear, I'm not comparing our experience to pregnancy in any way other than the length of time. The other two might be willing to compare it to the pain, but you can bring it up with them.

Anyway, this week was good. When teaching a lesson on commandments to Davit I made a connection. Jesus taught that the two great commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. He says that all the other commandments hang upon those two. Well, if this is true, then why do we have other commandments? There are many answers to this, but this is the one that occurred to me in the lesson. We don't actually have a good idea of what is important to God. At least without the commandments. They give us an idea of how we can show our love. As we continue to live in accordance with those commandments, we learn more about Heavenly Father and improve our relationship with him. What a wonderful thing!

That's the week. Have a good one all. Read your scriptures. Say your prayers. Be good. See you soon. 

--უხუცესი ფიშერი