February in Ufa

Dear Family,

What a week. It has been steadily getting colder and colder and the tail end of this week was -25 C as the HIGH. It was freezing. I've never been so cold even though I was wearing: fur lined boots, two pairs of tights, wool socks, a thick skirt, undershirt, shirt, sweater, jacket, puffy down coat, scarf, hat, and double-lined mittens. Freezing. Our cheeks were bright red and it hurt to breathe. I love Russia, but why does it have to be so cold here?

We had kind of a funny experience teaching a less-active old lady (she's less active because she's old and can't walk very well). We taught her the Word of Wisdom, which you wouldn't think would be a problem for a long-time member. But it was a really good lesson because she had a ton of questions about the Word of Wisdom that I was able to answer! When teaching this, I find it helpful to mention the Law of Moses and how it wasn't always on the Earth either. Also, it's really good to point out that the laws of the land change because times change and people change. But the laws are here NOW to protect us NOW, even if they weren't there 70 years ago. It was a really good lesson, and I was so glad that I had thought of questions like that earlier, found the answers, and was able to answer her accurately. She committed to live the Word of Wisdom!

It's been kind of crazy with the other sisters gone (only 6 missionaries in Ufa now) because we inherited their investigators and all the female members in that area. Now our area is gigantic! We officially work with at least one person in every one of the four areas of the city. Lots of bus rides ahead of us!

We've been busy, busy, busy lately, and I love weeks like that. You blink, and it's over. We've been doing a lot of work with less-actives (as it has been the last six months...) and that requires a lot of time and careful planning. Even though I've been in this area for the last six months, I was able to meet with three different people whom I have never before met this last week. A miracle when it comes to planning. 

One of these ladies lives in Dioma. We're there maybe once or twice a week, so it's hard to "regularly" meet with people. We called her and she gave us a long list of reasons about why she was busy and unable to meet. We decided to stop by anyway, just in case she was home. Their domafon doesn't work and the door that leads to the hallway of apartment doors is always locked. But that day, the door to the building was open, the door to the hallway was open, and we knocked on the door and the whole family was home! We had intended to just drop off a Liahona, but we ended up having a lesson with the mom and the son. It was such a miracle. We felt super blessed to have had that experience.

I really like the focus in our mission on the Book of Mormon. Everyday I realize more and more why it is so important to us and to the building up of the kingdom of God. Really. We always try to use it on lessons with people, whether it is to share stories or just verses. The Book of Mormon is really powerful, and I'm glad that everyday I learn more and more about it's importance. 

I really love Russia, and I'm really loving my mission. I'm learning things out here that I definitely couldn't be learning anywhere else in the world. I'm learning about myself, other cultures, relationships with leaders, relationships with companions, how to serve unselfishly, how to work tirelessly, and most of all, I think I'm learning how to rely on other people and especially on God.

It's been a really great experience for me to be in Ufa. I love the members like my family, and I love the missionaries here like my family. The work we do is amazing, and I'm glad that I have a chance to take part in it. 

Missionary work requires a lot of problem-solving and being able to problem-solve long-term, short-term and also (most importantly) immediately in the moment. A lot of situations happen when someone calls you and you have to immediately plan a lesson or cancel a lesson or find someone else to meet with and what transport to get there. It can be really stressful, but I've found that I'm actually quite good at problem-solving in a jiffy. A lot of the less-active stop-bys with whom we were able to make contact happened because we had to come up with back-up plan C (which was them) and they were home. A speaker in the MTC said "never second-guess if a prompting you receive is from God or just from you. A football player doesn't question when he receives guidance from his coach in a game because he's in a game and of course that guidance will help him perform better." That's why it's important to learn the voice of the Lord and then just immediately respond to promptings like that.