Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Happy New Year from Abancay

Happy New Year everyone!!
                                I don`t have much to say this week
because we worked all week on our new room.  We sanded the walls,
painted, cleaned up, and moved!  Woo!! It is so nice to be living
with our pension.  But it was a really hard break, we didn`t hardly
study and do any missionary work.  It was so weird! I miss missionary
work and I am excited to get back to our normal busy schedule!
Well Can I just say I have the most hilarious family ever!! I just
laughed out loud at all your stories and felt incredibly blessed.  I
loved hearing Christmas from everyone’s different perspectives.  I also
love hearing each of your testimonies. That is honestly one of the
greatest things ever. Wow.  I am so blessed to have family and friends
so strong in the gospel.  I love you guys!!       So like I said we
moved this week, luckily the Elders helped us a lot! We couldn’t have
done it without them.  They found a member with a truck and we took
too trips down and back up our hill to take all of our stuff.  I wish
I had gotten a picture of this, but picture it in your minds.  First
off the driver of the truck was 14 (there really are absolutely laws
here) and we had two desks, beds, bed frames, dresser, and book shelf,
they loaded everything in the truck and it’s practically hanging out.
Two Elders get in the back and are literally holding everything in the
truck with their bodies hanging off the end.  Then they go down a dirt
road that is so steep, probably like 75 degrees and a fourteen year
old driver.  Hermana Holland and I just laughed and laughed!  WE
believe that boys secretly like that stuff.    Anyways it’s been nice
to move but I didn`t like the break.
                                                          This week we
also did a service project with the missionaries and we scraped
campaign posters off the telephone poles. Non google able fact: they
super glue them to the poles.  ha-ha It was good though :)
          Fast Sunday was this week, and to answer Grace`s question a
couple weeks ago, the spirit in those meetings is so great!! Everyone
bears their testimony! EVERYONE! And for like 2 minutes on a specific
gospel doctrine! Like it really is amazing!! I love it because we can
bring investigators and we know that they will feel the spirit!  The
rama here is great and the goal for them is to become a ward and a
stake pretty soon!  But we need to reactivate a lot of people, and the
ward needs to start sacrificing, because sacrifice brings the
blessings of heaven :)  ON a church note, Carolina came! We were only
able to visit her on Tuesday and Thursday, so we didn`t know if she
would remember the time change, but she did! It was awesome to see
her, and she is progressing really well.  She has a date for Baptism
at the end of this month, and we are so excited! We feel really
blessed and we have seen tons of miracles has we have opened this
area.
                     Did I mention how cold it is here? Our room is
freezing! It’s all cement here so it traps in the cold.  I sleep with
all my sweaters on and socks and I think I am pulling a dad and
sleeping with a hat on tonight :) It’s raining so hard right now, but
luckily the Hermana before me left her rain boots, and guess what we
are the same size! Tender Mercy for sure!! I am currently wearing wool
socks, a hat, scarf, and sweater and my rain coat, and normal
missionary clothes! It makes me feel like I am back in Utah or Oregon,
because It rains way too much to be Utah (:  Ha-ha  Love the cold but
don`t love the luke warm shower :)
      The non-google able facts for this week are 1. stoplights are
optional here, 2. People pass people on the street, like its Nascar
here!  People pass people on corners where they have no idea what’s
around the corner! It’s so scary! 3.  People don`t have security
systems, they just have dogs :)

       Ellie:  Thanks for the advice you shared about staying busy.
We are so busy here it’s crazy!  WE study for four hours in the
morning, and then usually have appointments every hour on the hour.
It’s very busy, but the days go by really really fast!  I am almost
done with the first half of my training, and only probably have 7
weeks left with Hna. Holland and in Abancay!  So The Book of Mormon
challenge is in full swing, Mom you have it right so spread the word.
I read the first ten pages this week and HOLY COW! Who doesn`t love
Nephi! The first chapter is seriously amazing.  Things that stood out
to me was the faith of Lehi and Nephi and the obedience that comes
through faith.  Hna Holland and I only want to read the book of Mormon
now! It’s so good we don`t want to put it down! Ha-ha Love it!
Sophie: Haz lo Justo! Do the right! yeah pretty sweet! Like Nike, Just
do it! And soph, I always feel like I am in nacho libre only I am
missing my estephen, but I will be your Ignacio :)
                                      Well family I just love you guys
so much!  Thanks for the support and the love! And the hilarious
stories! p.s. I ate Cui this week! Pictures in the drop box!! Well I
just adore being a missionary!  Keep reading the book of Mormon and
take your time!! Feast upon the words of Christ!!
         Love, Hermana Russell
P.s. my favorite line of the week was from grace, “I got pizza, it
was huge!” Love you sweet heart!!

1 comment:

  1. Palmer just looked over and said "Hey that is Emma having a picnic!"

    ReplyDelete