April 10, 2011

Tender Mercy Tidbit: Well one of the sisters that came with the last transfer does hair and was so anxious to have someone's hair to do, that I fixed them lunch on Prep Day and she did my hair. It was such a boost. And afterwards, we went to a shop and got me some wading rubber boots and the rest of the week I had so much fun splashing right through the puddles, instead of tip toeing around. The simple pleasures of life - hair cut and rubber boots:)

#3 - EXAMPLES, THEY ARE: So the ZL's were at a meeting in Novosibirsk this week and we missed going around with them for a few days. But they walked us all over town the day after they got back to make up for it. We do love serving with these obedient elders and they work so hard, they are good examples to us. When we took the bus, one of the elders stood up the whole ways just so he wouldn't go to sleep, then he keeps on going. Just like the duracell bunny. The young adults we work too, with are SO dedicated and willing to help the missionary effort - we just love them.

#2 SKYPE - On prep day, I had arranged with my sister, Dixie to skype with my mom who hardly remembers any details. That morning, she had a clear thought process and remembered that we were in Russia, at least while I was talking to her. She kept telling us she was proud of us and saying, "love you, love you, love you!" Her repetition of that phrase was endearing and a great boost! Even though we are a world apart, as we saw each other and shared our love, our spirits connected and we were together in the same place. Thanks Dix!

#3 STUDY TIME and CONFERENCE: When will we ever have time like this to study and share time together as a couple. We have grown miles- our lives and our perspective are changed. On Saturday we watched 6 hours of conference and Sunday 4 hours with a 8 year old baptism in between sessions. It was perfect, because our non-member friends, 5 of them, were there to watch it. Afterwards we had meetings with several of them and it was a blessed day! AND, it was SO nice to hear so many talks and sing hymns in ENGLISH!!!

SEE ATTACHED PICTURES:
#1 Why we don't get our mail here - it just doesn't seem secure.
#2 My wonderful boots - perfect for stomping through puddles.
#3 Sister West is such a boost. . . she can't ever be transferred. (I say this about all the young missionaries)