Appointments should always fall thru....

Hey family!!

Well this week was a great week work wise!!  WE had a lot of success

and found a lot of new investigators and we are working really well

with the members.  I love it here.  Even though the heat this week was

unbelievable and I ended up, out of desperation, praying for rain, we

fought through it and just had a busy week.  I love busy weeks because

it means that we also have a lot of appointments for next week and I

can honestly say we have every hour planned for the next 7 days after

today.   Yay!!  WE are so busy! But it will be fun.  Also it did rain

after I prayed so I just know that God is aware of us here in Puerto

in the middle of the amazon far from everything J

WE have been teaching a less active name Nayeli.  She is 13 years old

and so cute!  She really has a desire to come back and re learn what

she was taught.  She was baptized at 8 years and really has forgotten

a lot. We taught her the first lesson the restoration and challenged

her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about Joseph Smith.   She

agreed to do it but was a little hesitant.  I asked her if she had any

doubts and she was so sweet and sincere when she asked us that if she

prayed would God appear to her like he appeared to Joseph smith.  It

was such a sweet comment and i could just see how much faith she had

and how willing she was to pray but she really wasn´t very excited to

have a vision.  J  She´s so great!  We explained that she wouldn´t and

that God would talk to her in other ways.  She seemed to be satisfied

with that.  Later she asked what she needed to do to be a missionary

like us.   I could honestly see her as a missionary in this moment and

I felt so blessed to be able to talk about being a missionary.  It

really has blessed my life and helped me understand better my purpose

for being here in this life.  I understand now who i really want to be

and what kind of life I want to have.

We witnessed a miracle this week on Friday.  We had an appointment

with  a family but it fell through so we decided to look for a

referral of a less active.  Her name was Anali and we only had the

street name and what her house looked like.  As we found what we

thought was it we asked the neighbor who lived there while we waited

for a huge dog to move from the front door.  AS we contacted this lady

who was actually super cool and a future investigator the dog moved

and we were able to knock on the door.  Anali answered quickly and

invited us in super fast.  We shared a quick lesson and thought with

her.  After she expressed to us that just minutes before we had

knocked the door she was sitting on her couch feeling lonley and sad.

She said a prayer that God would send her someone to give her peace

and comfort.  Minutes later we had knocked on the door.  It was such a

great experience and really strengthened my testimony that the Lord

is really aware of us and he knows us.  Its so cool to be His hands.

I feel like Anali is going to progress a ton and I know that the

restored Gospel is just what she needs.  AH man I love being a

missionary!

Then  the day after that another appointment fell through so we

searched for another referral and were about to find her and teach

her.  Her name is Juana and she is a little grandma.  She´s so great

and has such great faith.  We taught her in this little park and even

though it was kind of noisy I know she felt the spirit.  She accepted

another visit and we are also going to stop by and pick her up for

church.  Her daughter is a member so that was a really cool

connection.  I feel so blessed to be able to have met her and Anali

this week.

And then yesterday we contacted a SUPER COOL FAMILY!! Yes I have been

praying for family that we can teach and help.   I know God answered

my prayer with this family.  He is from Chiclayo which means he has a

really awesome accent and his wife is from Ayaviri.  WE talked to them

for awhile because a appointment fell through…… maybe appointments

should always fall through…. Anyways they were so interested in the

gospel and had a million questions for us.  They invited us to a ton

of mangoes which is basicially another answer to our prayers because we

didn´t have any food for dinner that day and we couldn´t buy

anything..  But anyways it was just a really awsome experience.  I

feel like the Lord is so willing to bless us if we just show Him that

we are willing to work and do what he has asked.   He´s so amazing.

Well I hit one year this week and I´ll have to let ya´ll know that

time is flowing by and I cried because I don´t ever want to hit my 6

months left mark……  It has been the best thing I have ever done and It

has been a year of miracles.    I will never forget what I have

learned in my 12 months away from my family and I can´t wait to learn

even more.  I have a long way to go and I have a lot of goals that I

have accomplished yet.  I know that there are more things that I need

to do out here.  I hope you young ones really think about a mission.

It may be the scariest thing you have ever done but It will be far

more worthwhile.   I know that the Gospel is true.  It brings a

happiness that cannot be desc ribed.   And it will truly help us

become all that our Heavenly Father knows we can become.  Love you

guys so much! J

Con amor,

Hermana Russell

So the pictures are from our new investgator Liz.  SHe has a huge mango

tree and we were so happy to help them knock them down.  Perks of

being tall in Peru :)and also the zone getting the best smoothies in

town :)