Faith

Hola familia!!

So this week has been better.  I felt your prayers and support and

love and it lifted me.  Things are getting better.  Hermana Alailima

has officially finished her training.  It’s pretty sad but we are

both staying here for changes  J  I am pretty pumped because we are

going to have lots of success for this change.  This hard but its so

worth it J

I received another package this week! It was amazing!  I loved all the

Christmas cards and especially the conference talks!!! Yes I had been

dying to receive them.  Anyways thanks for all the love!  I really

adore you guys.

Oh my bleeding foot.  Stepped on a staple.  It didn´t hurt at all but

when I pulled it out it was like a dam broke.  Hahah we just had to

take a picture.  And the turtle.  Yes there was a turtle inside of

there.  He was pretty grumpy and didn´t want to come out.  Just so you

know turtles weigh a lot more than you think!  They also do move

really slowly!  And mom yes there are Christmas trees in Puerto.  More

than in Abancay so its good J

Um so for the funny stories this week.  You  may have to edit this

part out.  Lately I have been having some problems in the shower.  One

night I was showering just normal like and all of the sudden the

lights just went out.  It was pitch black and I couldn´t see my hand.

I waited awhile but my eyes still weren´t adjusting.  I could hear

Hermana Alailima in the other shower.  I think she turned off her

shower and got out.  She grabbed the flashlight and came and found me

in the other room.  I got out , wrapped a towel around me and we

searched for matches to light the candles that we had bought.  Then

after we lit the candles we went back to our showers and had a candle

lit shower.  It was pretty great.  Haha sometimes the lights just go

out for no reason here.  Its especially awful when the fan shuts off L

 and another shower story. Oh man I don´t know what’s been up lately but its like a mini

adventure.

Oh this week we found a pension!!! For dinner. Her name is Gloria and

she is the best!  I love love love being in her house more.  She is

less active but has been to the temple!  She is just the greatest and

its just great to now have all three meals now. J

This week we were at a members house

waiting for her so that she could come to an appointment with us.

While we were waiting I guess I walked to close to a monkey and it

jumped out and just clung to my leg!!  It would not let go!  And when

I tried to pull it off it tried to bite my leg and I definitely do not

want to get rabies shot sooo it just clung on my leg.  I was so

scared!!! Even though it was a smaller monkey it was still scary.

Slowly we coaxed it onto my arm and then with a little better angle I

pealed it off of me real fast and ran away.  And so I successfully

escaped from a monkey and avoided the rabies shot.

This week has been hard as well but its better now.   We had a really

slow week and our numbers were super low.  In church this week there

was not one single investigator when it started.  I felt really bumed

but I also accepted it because I believed that really no one would

show up.   Shamefully I didn´t really have an ounce of faith that

anyway would show up.  Well after sacrament Hermana Alailima looked

around and she saw an investigator named Lucy.  It was her first time

coming to church and she had brought her little boy.  She whispered it

to me and It just made me cry.   I didn´t have any faith that anyone

showed up.  I think the Lord taught me a lesson that It really is His

work.  I am just His hands here in Puerto.  It taught me that I should

never lose the faith.   Faith is so vital and so important.   It

really is an anchor for our souls.   As I sat there I heard the words

in my head “I love you, keep going”  I know that it was the Lord and I

know that even though there are times where I forget it, I know he

loves me and I know he loves us.  He is so aware of every one of our

needs.   Its so amazing.

This week I also read in Ether about faith and weakness.  I was

reading in the famous verse in ether 12 27 and asked myself what

weakness has to do with the gospel of jesus Christ.  I learned that

without our weakness of our natural man we would not need the gospel

or His doctrine.  His doctrine his designed to show us that we are

weak, but it is also designed to show us that we can make weak things

strong.  Never in my life have I seen my weakness so blunt and so laid

out in front of me, than in my mission.  But never before in my life

have I applied the doctrine like I am doing out here.  It helps me see

my weakness, but the doctrine gives me the tools I need to make the

weak thing (me) strong.   I love the doctrine because it allows us to

progress.   I am so grateful that because the Savior lives we can

become better.  There is hope for everyone and this is why I love

being a missionary J

Love you all,

Hermana Russell