A week full of miracles but full of crazy

Hey Family,

THis week has been full of miracles but full of crazy!  Oh wow.  I

worked with my companion one day this week and the rest of the days

were divisions, PUERTO MALDONADO, and trios…. Ay mi vida.  Anways. I

feel like time is a joke and I still feel like I am only finishing my

change and that Hermana Borja and I will stay together.  THe potential

that this Ward has is amazing.  We found so many people to teach this

week and we saw the Lords Hands preparing them.  Puerto is still

amazingly hot and beautiful.  The plane ride there was stunning.  I

ran into some of my favorite families and it was a huge blessing.

Bueno,  I don’t have a lot of time, but I just wanted to say thanks.

Thank you for the support and the love.   I love my family so much

even though I am not excited to see you. J but I do want you guys to

know that I know that this church is true.  The church was restored

through a prophet of God and because of this Restoration we know who

we are, why we are here, and where we are going.  I love the peace and

happiness that this message brings me.  I know that the Savior lives

and loves us.  How grateful I am for Him and His life.  Because of

Him, we will return home.  Because of Him, our weaknessess can become

strengths, and because of Him we will be together forever.

Love you more than tongue can tell,

Hermana Russell

Zone I think

View of River Madre de Dios Puerto Maldanado

Return To Abancay

Well Family,

    This is getting really boring for me.  I dont think I ever want to

write another letter in my life.

BUt, I do love you all and I want to share with you all that I learned

this week.

First off I WENT HOME THIS WEEK!!!!  Yup i returned to ABANCAY.  It

was so amazing to be back and to work with the Hermana Liders that

live there. Honestly it hasn’t changed at all and I felt so blessed to

be able to go.  I worked with Hermana Baker and she is super great.

We had the greatest day ever.  It was full of the spirit and i learned

so much about being bold in extending commitments and following the

spirit.  We had a super powerful lesson with an investigator named

Mirium.  She has a cleft lip and is a Little hard to understand, but

we taught her the plan of salvation and is was so powerful when we

testified of this great plan.  I know she was able to feel the spirit

and know who she was, why she is here, and Gods great plan for her.

It was amazing.  Hermana Baker is the best. The next day we had to go

back to Cusco…. But we helped the Hermanas of Tamburco move out and I

got to see Hermana RENE!!! I was so happy to see her and it was such a

blessing.  SHe gave me some of her lonche and we only got to talk for

a Little bit.  The Hermanas are moving out because there little family

is growing and Diane needs a Little more space.  It was weird helping

them move out because we were the ones that moved in.  Hermana Rene is

the best! Oh how I love and miss her!!  We have been in contact my

whole misión and she is always sending me letters.  Anyways it was one

of the highlights of the week.

 We were a Little stressed to leave our sector this week.  Its super

hard to stop working in your sector.  We felt a Little frustrated and

stressed firday night. But Saturday boosted our spirits with

conference.  It was such a great conference.  It answered all of my

questions and I felt great peace listening and feeling the spirit.  I

got to watch it in English which was super great. Anyways Saturday

night we found absolutely no one to teach and we were so stressed and

just discouraged.  Our numbers were super low for leaving our sector

and ya it was super hard.  But as we planned for the next day, Sunday,

we decided that we were going to look for some investigators that have

been coming to church but we havent actually been able to find them

and teach them due to lots of things.  They are like soap, we can

never get a hold of them.  Anyways Sunday morning before conference we

decided to go looking for one whose name is Rene, he is a Young man

who has been attending ever since we started working in the Alamos but

we can never find him to teach him.  aNways he was finally home!! And

we were able to teach him and invite him to be baptized.  He said that

yes he wants to be baptized.  It was super cool and such a tender

mercy.  After that we went looking for a reference a member had given

us.  She was home and told us that she wanted to attend the conference

with us.  So we waited for her to dress and then she came with us!  It

was such a tender mercy.  She enjoyed the conference and had a lot of

questions about temples.   We also saw a huge blessing as a new less

active we found came to the conference too.  Her name is Alicia and we

were able to find and teach her this week.  She brought her husband

who isn`t a member but wants to learn more about the góspel!! It was

so amazing!  We just could not stop smiling!  To top it all off the

announced a temple in the City of my companion and Our pension, who is

hermana Vicky (wife of Rigobeto) made the best lasanga in the world!

We were so lucky.

Anways it has been a great peace.  I was overwhelmed wtih peaceful

feelings in conference. I know that if we stay true to the name we

bear, everything will be okay.  God has provided a way home and

luckily the path is available to all of us if we honor our Covenants.

I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for is part in the

plan.  I am grateful that he suffered and died for us so that we, one

day, can return to Him and our Heavenly Father.  The Gospel is perfect

and I feel so blessed to be able to testify of the Restoration of this

Great and True Church.  We are so lucky to have a living Prophet today

and to have all the Priesthood keys.  I Know that God lives and that

miracles do exist.  I love you all!

Con Amor, Hermana Russell .

P.s I got your package!! How did you know??

Hermana Rene who took care of Emma in Abancay