Monday, April 11, 2016

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

Monday, April 4, 2016

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