Leadership Training Session

The church missionary department has developed a new and inspired approach to presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ to investigators, members, and less active persons.  All 8-missionaries, including the senior couple from Ulan-Ude, went to Irkutsk on September 14-16 to receive training on the new missionary program.  The training modules were presented by the Novosibirsk Mission President, President Trejo.  The purpose of the training is to help missionaries become more effective teachers in inviting all of Heavenly Father's children to come unto Jesus Christ and be perfected in him. In summary, the core principals of this training was:

• Focus all teaching on the "Doctrine of Christ" 
• Teach people - not lessons
• Set goals to find and teach
• Ask inspired questions
• Listen to individual/family concerns and the Spirit
• Discern individual/family needs
• Teach to the needs
• Invite to come unto Christ

The core materials for teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ have not changed and remain as follows:

• Inspiration from the Spirit
• Scriptures
• Conference reports
• Preach My Gospel
• Personal testimony

We believe that the new training, effectively implemented, will bring a greater number of Heaven Father's children back to Him. 

Every three months we are allowed to attend a Cultural Event or Cultural Activity; there are time and cost restrictions for these activities.  Because we had enough time before the night train back to Ulan Ude the two zones (Irkutsk & Ulan Ude) were given permission for our Cultural Event for this quarter. We went to the Taltzy Wooden Building Museum and then to Lake Baikal (the largest fresh water lake in the world).  A few photographs are as follows:

On the train going from Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk.  About an 8 1/2-hour pleasant train ride from Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk.  Left-to-Right are: Sisters Rivas and Kukhta, and Elders Kolpakov, Taylor, Septon, and Rupper.

This photograph shows the chapel at the Irkutsk Branch which served as our classroom.  President and Sister Trejo are on the right.

This is our "Graduation" photograph.  Back Row L-to-R: Elders Stahle, Taylor, and Rupper
Middle Row: L-to-R: Elder Stewart, Elder Whiting, Sister Tanadaichuk, Elder Septon, Marina (a mini-missionary), Elder Kolpakov, Sister Kukhta, Elder Nelson, Sister Rivas, Elder Mayorov, Elder Zabrodin.
First Row sitting L-to-R: Elder and Sister Moleff, and President and Sister Trejo.

This is at Taltzy.  Taltzy is an open air museum that features parts of villages taken from their original location and transported to Taltzy to keep some of Siberian history alive.  The site was chosen by the prominent architect and restorer from Moscow, Galina Gennadievena Oranskaya, who did much for the preservation and revival of historic monuments.  Taltzy was originally founded by the naturalist, Swede and Russian academician, Eric Laksmann who originally built a glass factory on the site.

Photograph of the different buildings looking from the stockade.

The Angara river at Taltzy.  It was beautiful and peaceful there.

After 3-days of intensive class work, missionaries jumping for joy to be at Lake Baikal.

Elders Stewart and Stahle taking a drink of the clean and pure Lake Baikal water.

Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude missionaries pose for a group picture at lake Baikal

Elder and Sister Moleff enjoying the lake and the day.

The close of a great week.