Weekly Email June 27, 2016

CATS OUT OF THE BAG. Sister Russell snores. Monday i was so beat i took a nap and sister nau said i was snoring so loud she went in the other room. HAHAHA. I couldnt stop laughing when she told me. We went to Emily's to watch meet the mormons with her, she'd never seen it before. I wrote some cards while we watched it. We had dinner at the bishops and it was super good. I am totally converted to sister kelly's cooking. My mama and her are my favorite cooks. 

We had the shortest District meeting eva. The elders had car troubles... but EMILY CAN GET BAPTIZED! YAYY!  We were suppose to go to the temple to go to baptisms for the dead but we ended up not going because shenelle got sick :( We had a really good meeting with sister farmer, we talked about the gospel of jesus christ! We had an hour left to go finding and it was really a great oppurtunity for me to exercise faith! As we were walking around there was a lady sitting watching her little stepdaughter who is black and named Alianna play. she told us that she has a very blended family, her husband is black, a son who is full white and then a mixed son. It was just so cool. it was as if i was talking to my mom who also had a crazy haired little girl who was sticking dirt in her pants. I loved that we were able to tell her that families can be together forever. I walked away with tears in my eyes because it made me miss my family. 

MIRACLE CORNER!

an appointment fell through and we were like well lets just go to our dinner appointment that on the same street and knock doors. As we were driving down the street we saw a man sitting on the side of the road and he just had this look in his eyes that he was just beat. We walked over there and asked how he was doing said he had been working all day and didnt have water ( he works for at&t.). I told him who we were i gave him a card and told him to watch the hallelujah video and he was like well maybe and i told him you dont get any water if you dont watch the video. So we went back and grabbed a cold water and then came back and we actually watched it together, which was a miracle in itself because i guess his ipad is on lockdown strictly for work business...well i said " well this is the lords business, this is truth, the video will work." We sat there and talked to him about the gospel and the spirit! it was incredible! i loved that the lord put him in our path! 

Exchanges were super fun! It was a hot day but i had a good time with sister perry! her and i came out together! It was a great experience because i was really able to learn a lot from her! Sister Jones is her companion and she used to live with me and that was fun to have her under our roof again! 

We were able to see Emily Cade enter the waters of baptism and it was fabulous! I felt the spirit so strongly. Her conversion story is incredible. she met elders 13 years ago and was meeting with them pretty regularly but then they stopped abruptly. Then she moved to Georgia for health reasons and then we found her. The first time we met her she told us that she wanted to convert to "the mormon". It has been an incredible experience to see her really be truly converted to the savior and his teachings! He loves us so much and is reaching out to us! I testify that the power of repentance is real! Baptism by water and by fire are necessary for our salvation. It is an outward sign of our inner commitment to follow the savior and all that he stands for. I am so grateful for the apparent joy in my life and the day i received the gift of the holy ghost it changed my life forever!! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! EXERCISE GREAT FAITH AND BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE BETTER MOMENTS AHEAD.

Love,

Sister Russell

Weekly Email June 20, 2016

Hey Y'all!

I got braids this week and i LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM. I am officially converted. I still wasn't feeling well this week but we continued to press forward. Brother Wood gave me a blessing and i am just feeling better this weekend. I am really grateful for the priesthood power! We had this awesome meal called slow boil shrimp, potatoes, sausage, and corn. It was super good. I am really warming up to seafood. 

We had a really cool miracle! we were knocking doors trying to contact our 15 people and these kids opened the door and the mom yelled "come in"! We walked right in and sat down on the couch and waited there for a while. Then a knock at the door and more people came in and sat down on the couch. We started talking to the family that walked in and come to find out she had met with missionaries before. Her daughter and her had already received a book of mormon and she had just moved to hiram. We bore testimony and invited them to learn more. They didnt give us a specific day to come back but she gave us her phone number. It has been really cool to share the gospel with people, im not sure why more people want to meet with us but my conclusion is this...

When people hear things about the church they start to build up walls. "i heard yall practive polygamy" there goes a wall. When we talk to these individuals its hard for them to accept or comprehend our message because of the walls they put up that they dont even know theyre constructing. We as members of the church must allow those around us to have good experiences of the church and help them build windows. Help people see that we are christians, we do believe that God still calls prophets today and give them the proper authority. I know that as we do this the spirit will carry the truth to their hearts. (: 

We had the privelege of hearing from a member of the seventy this week, Elder Cardon and he is from Arizona! It was fun for him and i to tell our crossroads! I felt the spirit bare testimony of the things i can improve on and the things i need to work on is being more optimistic and full of faith! I am really going to give it my all and try to ask the lord to help me be better. I know he will because he has helped me in the past. 

I just want to say thank you to my awesome fathers and father figures in my life. I appreciate all that you have dont for me. I have collected a lot of fathers here on my mission too, i am so grateful for all the love i feel from them. I know that my father in heaven loves me because he sends fabulous individuals to help me be better and help me better understand the savior. HAVE A GREAT WEEK Y'ALL. (:

Love

Sister Russell

Weekly Email June 13, 2016

Hey y'all!

This week was a good trying one. I got sick on Thursday and I'm still in the process of recovering. I felt really bad that I was wasting the lords time because I was sick and I just was a bit discouraged because we weren't working as hard because I felt like death. We were able to talk to a lot of people this week, and there were a good group of people that want to meet with us.

Overall I am really excited for this transfer, it is going to fly by though! We will be going on exchanges with all the sisters and we really want it to be a spiritual experience so we are going to make sure they have goals and then we can focus on them! We had a meeting with all the district leaders and the zone leaders just invited them to be more obedient and talking about how we can raise our vision in the mission. I know the lord has given me and sister nau this calling more so for our own benefit rather than other. I am just really excited to really give it my all!

Its crazy how fast time is flying by. I have loved serving and I truly love this work!!

In sacrament meeting we sang the song I need thee every hour and one of the lines that really struck me was "temptations lose their power when though art nigh". I believe that 100%, when we are committed to what the lord asks of us, then the things that tempt us will dwindle and we will desire to do more good. I testify that the savior loves each of us and is always cheering us on and that's why he gave us the holy ghost, to comfort! (:

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! Sorry its short this week, don't feel too hot.

Love,

Sister Russell

Weekly Email June 6, 2016

Hey yall! 

Last Sunday i received a priesthood blessing of comfort and counsel, it was perfect! I know my father in heaven and i recognize the way he speaks to me. I simply LOVE the priesthood because no matter who i receive a priesthood blessing from i always get the same tone and words from my father above! 

We were able to really listen to the promptings of the spirit and that was really incredible. It was nothing super huge but it was small promptings that led us right where we needed to be. for example: giving the pizza guy a pass along car and come to find out he played bball at the church way back when. SMILE MORE. Pray for your mom ( on Saturday). Go visit so & so...exactly what they needed. read chapter 24 of alma. 

I testify that the Holy Ghost is how we can draw closer to the savior and become more like him. His role is to bare witness of the Father and the Son, to bring things to our remembrance and teach us all things! I testify that as we qualify more fully for the spirit we will be able to recognize where we lack, where we can be try harder and things we can add into our life. I think of the anti nephi lehies in Alma 24 when the lord helped them recognize their sins by allowing them to feel of the spirit to bring it to their attention and when they did it resulted in a phenomenal way! The spirit helped them recognize that they could change, thats the power that comes from believing in the savior! I testify that this is a perfect example of what can happen in our lives if we have desire and listen to the spirits promptings! 

And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood and this they did,vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands." (vs 18)

It has been incredibly hot lately and i just really hate it, but i love the lord so i manage. please keep my companion, Dallas and ensign ward and the sweet people of Georgia in your prayers! (: 

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK! 

Weekly Email May 30, 2016

Happy first week of summer to all! 

My week was inconvenient to say the least but nothing short of what the savior's life was like I'm sure. I do love the fact that we represent the savior in all that we do. I love that when we go through things whatever they may be i have a better understanding what the savior felt like but yet he never was angry with the situations he was in. He knew that all that happened to him and all that he would have to accomplish was his fathers work and will. I too am doing my fathers will and i cannot get frustrated when people don't want to talk to us or tell us that what we believe is crazy because this is his work, not mine. All of our plans this past week mostly fell through and we were left to make decisions as where to go...which i have a hard time trusting myself so i feel like he was teaching me all week to trust in myself but also trust in him. I am very grateful for the members that are in the areas that i serve in. They are such stellar examples of loving parents, righteous members and i love that i get to see it! for example the schlosser family is fabulous, i can see the blessings that are in there life from serving missions. they teach their children about the gospel and they actually remember the stories from the bible and the book of Mormon! its so awesome!  I pray that my future spouse and i can live the gospel and teach my children in a way that they will know from a young age that Jesus is the Christ! 

 Our lovely investigator Emily is really loving the gospel and we love teaching her! She came to church this Sunday and she said"wow! they are giving out the sacrament just like the apostles did in the bible. this is beautiful!" It was been an incredible journey for her and its awesome that we are able to help her reach her baptismal goal for June 25th! 

I am very grateful for the opportunity we each have to draw closer to the savior. It is such a blessing to know that we can create our own spiritual experiences. We are living in the last days and we must prepare ourselves and those we love to be ready spiritually!! I testify that the savior will come again and when he does we must be prepared. Would you be okay if the savior came today? would you be prepared? I testify that we need not fear of the second coming but simply utilize the tools our father in heaven gave us to prepare...THE GOSPEL! (: I love this work and i am very grateful for those who give us the time to share our testimonies! 

something that i loved that our mission president shared with us, i'd like to share with yall. 

I am looking at a portrait right now over the mantle in the mission home of Joseph Smith kneeling in the Sacred Grove, with the light descending as he sees that great vision of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Just moments before this, Joseph was about to give up to the powers of the adversary that seemed just too strong to overcome.  Do not give up and do not succumb to the evil one that tells us that we just cannot do it.  Trust in the Lord in all your doings,  You can and you will for we are a mighty army, called of God to succeed in all that we are doing.  Great visions and great miracles are just ahead, as they were for Joseph Smith in the sacred grove.

Have a great week yall!

xoxo

Sister Russell