the Adventures of Sister Russell: Week 16

Monday July 8, 2013

NEW PRESIDENT IN DA HOOOOOOUSE!!!!!

..... well. the new president is awesome! TRANSFER INFO! I me and hna Judd are still companions! yaaaaay!!!!! AND we're sister training leaders!!!! WOO!!! saad new about that though is that we're on full car now... so we'll probably get fat and lazy now. hahaha we'll try and whip out the bike every once in a while still!

okay ANYWAYS so what a week. every week is! seriously we start the day and think we are so awesome and know so much and then come home and fall on our beds and are like we have SO MUCH TO LEARN. haha guys you learn SO MUCH out here! but at the same time you realize how MUCH you don't know. it's awesome i love this. I LOVE THIS MISSIONARY LIFE!

lets seeeeee here :)

okay FIRST let me start out with the scary story of the week........

so. one day we go to take the trash out and notice this little girls bike by the edge of the parking lot next to these big bushed that serperate us from different apartments. we though it was a little creepy. next day. we come outside and it's moved next to the car by the bushes....... that night when i come back...... it's by the stairs going to our apartment..... so we were kinnndddaaaa WAY CREEPED OUT. talking about how it's probably haunted and next thing we know it'll be by our door and THEN IN OUR HOUSE. well. we go inside after church to get our stuff.... and grab our bikes to leave........... i open the door..... AHHHH!!!!!!! i SLAM THE DOOR AND LOCK IT SO FAST. the stupid little girls bike was RIGHT THERE. seriously i felt like i was gonna die hahaha i'm PRETTY SURE my heart literally almost stopped. we were too scared to go out the front door so we climbed over our back porch rail and carried our bikes over too. hahaha it was so funny. anyways now the bike is gone. we dunno where..... soooo..... YEAH CREEPY RIGHT?? i know. i know.

turns out the the other hermanas moved it that one time in front of our door... so not as creepy anymore... BUT STILL. every other time it wasn't them! so. anyways. that's that.

guys the south is gonna EXPLODE with new members soon!!! i'm so excited for the work goin on down here. our new mission pres. showed us a quote by on of the apostles or an old prophet i can't remember, and it talked about how the south will soon be the highest member area in the states! cause there are SO many religions and good people it just takes a little but soon?? man i can't wait. i love the work. I LOVE IT!

awwww man... i for real daydream about my investigators getting baptized. hahahaha me and hna judd BOTH.

okay INVESTIGATORS.

so. Noemi is in the ICU. she's been in all week, she's got a lot of health problems, they didn't know if she wasn't gonna make it for a couple days and we were freaking. BUT. she finally started responding to the treatment, and she's doing a lot better! she got a blessing :) i know the Lord has got WORK for her to get done! we went to go visit her a couple days ago, she's finally able to sit in a chair not bed, and she has MUCH less tubes and breathing equipment, she had a friend there when we came and this friend was very catholic, and asking us lots of questions kinda speculating, and she asked us our favorite prophets from the Bible and Noemi said i know my favorite! my favorite is Nephi! and Alma! I love them... WOOOO! hahaha we were so happy. her friend was like.... where in the bible...? nephi...... i don't remember that name... haha so we explained the book of mormon to her! hopefully that'll go somewhere :)

ALSO. she is still hard core trying to get me and her son together. hahahahaha he got to come home from the army cause she had currently been given a day to live, and so he's down here and she is still trying to work it out. it is cracking me up.

ANYWAYS. lets see. vladimir came to chuch again!!! :) WOOO! he's hard to read though... his thoughts and everything his answers to our questions are always so generic but he loves the church and all! so. we'll see, but we're getting an FBI with him SOON! fecha bautismal invitacion. baptismal date invitation :) haha we made up cool lingo for all that stuff so we can talk like we're cool. we have a black OPS one, a CIA, and then we just throw out random numbers and stuff. it's pretty cool....

ALSO there was a baptism yesterday vladimir came to, and THEY RANDOMLY CALLED ON ME TO BEAR TESTIMONY. oh my heck i freaked out. hahaha i was shaking so bad, BUT the ward was great and they would all nod their heads at me and smile if i said a word with a questioning tone, aw man i love them all. it was awesome though. the Lord is helping me SO MUCH with my spanish it is crazy. i love spanish SO MUCH!!!

well we honestly don't have a ton of stories this week! we didn't get to be out as much we had a lot of meetings, but evwerything is WONDERFUL and the gospel is still true :)

fun fact. if someone here offers you soda or water, and you say water, one of two things will happen. they will say.... water?? .... are you sure...? why? don't worry i'll get you soda! or, okay i'll go get it! and they come back with soda.... hahahah it's killing me!!!!

OKAY GUYS BOOK OF MORMON TIME!!!!!!!!

i just gotta express a little bit HOW AWESOME IT IS. it is seriously the greatest book in the world. it is NOT BORING. i cannot express how not boring it is!

i'm just gonna give a sum up of three of my favorite war scenes in there, okay

1. the BATTLE OF MORONI AND ZERAHEMNA!!! Alma 43, and 44

FIRST. zerahemna and the lamanites are described like dragons. that they fight like DRAGONS. scary. and that zerahemna inspries them with anger! that's how he kept them interested and in his grasp! by always stirring them up to anger. (SPIRITUAL THOUGH: guys notice how often satan does that to us in our lifes, don't let him control you like that!)

BUT. moroni and his people were inspired but family and God and freedom!!!! when the lamanites came though they were SCAAAARED. cause these guys look terrifying! and moroni saw that and immediately gave them courage and reminded them of what they fight for!!! and then.... they COMBIIIIINEEEEE!!! and FIIIIGHTTTT!! WOOOO!!!! and demolish!!! and moroni stops immediately when he sees the fear in the lamanites!

GUYS LISTEN UP this is my favorite part :)

so moroni is like dude zerahemna GOD HAS GOT OUR BACK! we are gonna crush you! so make a covenant of peace with us and all will be well, then zerahemna is like yeah it's NOT your god it's your breastplates and cunningness and swords! have our weapons but we won't have peace! moroni's response. he is the COOLEST EVER. he's like oh.. not god? oh okay. well fine.

he throws the weapons back to the lamanites and says.... "Behold. we will end the conflict."

AHHHHH zerahemna goes at moroni and his scalp gets cut off! and then they fight some more and then win and it's awesome. anyways but seriously it's a MOVIE!!! that line... behold. we will end the conflict. oh man.hahaha can you all just picture it with the intense music and slow motion parts in the fighting and everything??

and holy moly in Alma 46 with the title of liberty??? where moroni makes it and runs around everywhere with it flying and the people come running to him ready to battle all pumped up again and they DEMOLISH AGAIN?? guys i can't handle it. haha

the BoM is the best. It is what you need spiritually but they did not make it boring. haha

anyway......... well. I love this gospel. guys like is gonna be hard, God said so, he said it wouldn't be easy! but he also said we are here to have joy. do not be fooled into believing that you have to be miserable when life is hard! you can be happy at the same time! they can co-exist! that's what the atonement is for! what a gift, i love being out here so much i can't describe how FULL my heart is with gratitude that i have the opportunity to be out her serving in this AWESOME TIME! when the missionary work is exploding. so grateful! if ANYONE asked me if they should go on a mission or not without a doubt my answer will always be YES ABSOLUTELY!!!!! haha i just love it so much. aaaaah man. this is the life. we have a good time out here.

i love you all so much!!!!! miss you all SO MUCH! pray for you all every day :) thank you for all your love.

BYEEEE HASTA LA VISTA BABIES!!!