Missing the Temple

November 16, 2015

Hey fam fam!

This week has been really quite great.  It ended on a really good note

with three investigators in sacrament meeting and two families of less

actives that we are teaching!  I love Sundays because Its kind of the

finale of your week and Its usually always rewarding. In some way.  So

I got your Christmas package this week.  Don´t worry.  I didn´t open

anything I wasn´t supposed to.  I am super excited for the decorations

and the advent calenders! They are so darling!  I love Christmas and

Christmas in the jungle is going to be the best.   wE are hoping that

we don´t have changes before then.

I think its so cool that you got to meet Hermana Holland.  She was a

great missionary and really helped me become who I am today as a

missionary. I will always admire her.

I am so jealous of the radio show!!!  Wow you guys are so cute and I

can´t believe how far mom has come in the football scene.  To think

that she wanted to leave a game early when she was recently married.

Wow!  Dad picked a good one J  Also proof that anyone can change.  But

really it sounds like a great football night.  I still think we should

do a football themed basement with framed jerseys and now a signed

football.  That would be really cool..

Well mom asked about our relief society lessons.  They are a little

different than what you would think but its still relief society.  wE

are using the Ezra taft benson manual and yes it does translate.  It´s

usually a great class but sometimes I need to bring popcorn because it

just gets really off topic.

Um yeah.  I just want to express my gratitude to mom and dad who are

always faithful in writing me.  You guys rock.  I have the two

greatest parents ever.  and for Shelby.  She never fails me.  She is

the best. And for the rest of you I can see that you are all too

gorgeous and popular for your little sister in the jungle.  J but

seriously you guys need to stop being so great.  I can just tell you

guys are becoming amazing young women.

So this week we had a not so regular zone meeting.  WE went to a

backyard and had a tree of life activity with the iron rod.  It was

super well done and super fun.   Hermana Miceli and I fell off first

but in my defense  it wasn´t my fault.  She took my blindfold off.

But we spent the rest of the time tempting everyone else to fall off.

It was a super great experience and after we got the opportunity to

repent and receive the fruit of the tree of life.  J  our zone leader

is ending his mission this Thursday and so he bore his testimony and

it was super powerful.  It made me realize that the mission is the

greatest thing and I am so blessed to be here.  I hope the next months

pass by really slowly.

We found a family that is so great!! They are name Lucy and Washington

and they have a little son.  They are from lima and live right next to

the temple but they live in Puerto for work.  They don´t have any

family here.  wE taught them for the first time this week and it was

so great.  They live in a cute clean little house and their little son

can talk forever!  They were really receptive to our message and I

can´t wait to keep working with them.  The hermanas in another sector

contacted them and then we followed up but it was sure awesome.  It

was an answer to my prayers because I wanted to find a family that we

could work with that could progress.  I just know that they are the

ones that can do it.

wE are also working with a new family of less actives who are awesome.

They are a great family that just need to be reminded of their

covenants.  They came to church and it was so great to see the whole

family there.  We met with them after church and taught them the plan

of salvation.  I think we can rescue them for December and the dad can

be worthy to baptize his little girl who just turned 8. J  they also

gave us the best food I have ever had and I love visiting them and

they love having us over. J  families like this one make me love being

a missionary.

So this week I really missed the temple.  I love the temple and I love

being able to think about my covenants and feel such a protection from

them.   I wish everyone could make it to the temple and I can´t wait

to live closer to one.  I hope that we take advantage of the temple

because its something that is so precious and amazing to me.  J  I

can´t wait to be inside of it with all of you guys one day and I am

going to make a sister temple day so that over the years we can still

get together J  I am so grateful for you guys.  You all rock and I

hope you have  a great week!

Les amo más que la lengua puede decir,

Hermana Russell