"Don't Hit Your Head there Shorty."

Today there was a special District Conference here in Moscow, Russia. The speakers were a senior missionary couple, a mission president and his wife, Elder and Sister Rasband, and Elder and Sister Perry. It was an awesome conference.

The Mission President bore one of the strongest testimonies of the Book of Mormon I have ever heard. Such conviction.

Elder Rasband spoke about the growth of the church in Russia. He said when he first came to Russia (I missed the year), that there wasn't ONE member in all of Russia. Now there are tens of thousands of members in Russia. There are 14 missions in Russia (that stat is for dad). The Kiev, Ukraine temple is going to be the 11th temple in Europe, the 134th operating temple in the world when it is dedicated at the end of August (28th?).

Elder Perry talked mostly to the younger generation of the church here in Moscow because they are the "future of the church." I was very amazed at the amount of energy he had and showed as he spoke. It blew me away. He talked about corner stones in our lives and he talked a little bit about several of the prievous prophets, from President Kimball to Presiden Monson I think. It was such a great conference, I learned a lot. I wanted to show that I was actually at the conference...even though I look angry, I really enjoyed the conference.

This is a close up of Elder Perry. Right after this, he shook my hand and said, "Don't hit your head there shorty."---I'll always remember this...and hopefully I'll be able to effectively put his advice to use?

He was shaking everyone's hand that came near him...I was lucky enough to be able to stand next to him long enough for my friend to snap a picture, even though he's not looking.

All in all, it was a really good Sunday, even though I didn't feel that great for most of the day. Elder Perry is so full of life and you could just feel his love all around you. It was the greatest. If he wasn't old and a little hunched over, he might be just as tall as me, I was surprised!

ps, I was tipped off by a friend of mine that says when/soon after the temple in Kiev is dedicated, the first Stake in Russia will probably be organized! The church moves forward.

"you remember that hot tip I told you 'bout? Nobody told the horse."