So... Pretty much... Thanks for all the recipes! I got on to email and had like, 17 new recipes for all these diferent kinds of pestos and tomato basil soups! I'm super excited to Try sister Pedersen's because it was always so good!! Please tell her hi for me, and Nikko! and the whole fam! I love them and I think about them all the time! They will always be a second family to me!
So Tonight, I'm headed off to Samara... again... haha! As much as I love Samara, it's frustrating being pulled out of your area all the time, especially when it's so hard to get the ball rolling again each time. But whatevs, because right after that I'll be flying off to Kiev. We should be going to the temple, so that's always a blessing to be valued.
Mary, Russia is extremely different. For example, we did our first real service project the other day, and it was picking up garbage. And we were only allowed to do that for two hours. The government is weird about sects or cults helping make the community into a better place, so it's hard to get permission to do stuff like that. Even then, our mission president doesn't allow more than 2 hours of service each week, or projects, so that would have never been allowed in my mission. Knocking is typically ineffective in Russia... I can't really explain to you exactly why over email, so you'll have to ask about that when you get home. It involves a word that we don't have in English for some reason because it doesn't exist other than in Russia. There are rarely personal homes here, so honestly we are usually on the streets talking to people. We rarely get contacts because any church other than Russian Orthodox is considered a sect or heretics. So most people have a hard time inviting people to meet with us because they don't want to loose their friends. I've never seen such prejudice when it comes to religion in my entire life. People who aren't from Russia all think it's pretty corrupt... but I won't go into that. We try to do activities, but the members haven't really been pulling their load on that, so we've decided that is our next project. Here, I'll just tell you my average Key Indicators: 0,0,1,1-2,4,5,3,0,4,5,2 We usually drop someone if they aren't progressing spiritually after a few weeks, but we're always down to meet if they are ready to try again.
You should share with me how the work is there in Peru!
This week I learned how to play the accordian at an investigators house. That was fun. Okay, not really, I just tried it for a second... and failed. I'll send you pictures. So Sister Callister's parents came to Church last week and I gave them a coat that my hozaika (landlady) gave me. They should be bringing it by eventually... Hmmm... what else is new... We sang a sweet version of nearer my god to the in church... Seriously... it was awesome. The branch president stood and flipped out about how cool it was. I'm not trying to brag... but pretty much...nonetheless... it was classy.
Last off Stas is super awesome!!! I love him! We had a sweet lesson with him and he always has these little proverbs slash moral tales that he tells to demonstrate points and they are always perfect for the gospel! He is super cool! He is a way better teacher than any missionary I've met! But he is so humble! If we tell him anything, he'll through out anything that contradicts it! We're going over to his house tonight to teach him how to do family night. Pray that his baptism will go through in three weeks!
PS: Mother! It sounds like you're having a blast in Canada! I hope you are! Okay, so according to your explanations, I don't want earmuffs, I want ear warmers! The ones that are in a U shape. Not earmitts either, Russians think earmuffs look dumb enough. I'm just planning ahead. It gets terribly cold in the winter and I don't want to go through it again with out them. They do not come out in stores here during the winter. They don't exist here in Russia. The only place you can find them are in Moscow. I have no idea why, the Russian people are just wierd that way. They think the most important part is your neck. Your ears don't matter. It's totally the opposite for us Americans. So please send me the Ear warmers! Thanks for getting the teeth whitening stuff! My teeth have eroded here... Good thing my plans are to be a dentist. Thanks so much! I love you so much!
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