Letter

Dear Family,

Well, this has probably been one of the most exhausting but rewarding weeks of my life! Sister Hellewell and I have worked so hard in this area. We followed the guidance from President Laurence given last week as well as guidance from our dear President Christensen, and I know that we're going to turn this area (Yuralmash/Elmash) into the most successful area in the mission!  After just our first week together, we've already increased our numbers by 33% compared to what they've been in this area for a long time. And there are many more weeks ahead of us!! 

P-day last week was awesome, and we went to this store by our apartment named Metro. It has things from America there at a reasonable price! The problem is the store requires a membership card the store (like Costco but wayyy harder to get a membership) but our landlord is loaning us his, so that's so great! They sell Reese's big cups there (yummmmm) and lots of foreign food that's directly imported. All the food from America has the "Nutrition Facts" box just like in America! It's awesome. :) 

We cleaned our apartment like crazy as well and ended P-day early to make phone calls to try to get a member to come to our investigator meeting that night. Despite the fact that we called everyone that we could, we couldn't get a member. It ended up being for the best though, because our investigator (she's been to church off-and-on for a couple of years) expressed some concerns about reverence in the 1st branch, so we were able to talk through that with her. She's awesome.

 

Wednesday we had a really good lesson with an investigator. She's incredible. She has a very basic understanding of the Gospel and is a little forgetful (it's been a while since she's been taught), but we're really trying to establish a relationship of trust and love with her. She's been a little neglected, but we've stopped by a ton this week to drop off cute notes to her and such. She really wants to get baptized, and we're going to try to set a date for her soon! 

This particular investigator was going to come to church Sunday but she texted us before the meeting and said she was really sick and couldn't make it (we had a lesson planned with her after church). Sister Hellewell and I decided to stop by and drop off a note to her. We did that and were walking to our traimvai stop and waited there forever in the hot sun-- 45 min. Our tramvai didn't come. But-- the waiting enabled us to attempt conversations with people waiting for other tramvais and one of the conversations ended up being super successful. We met a lady named Alla (a more common name than you would expect) who wasn't interested in our message, but talked to us for a long time. I was super sad when she said "no" when I asked if we could teach her the Gospel of Christ, but then I asked the follow-up question "whom do you know that would be interested?" And she immediately gave us a name, number, and information about her friend and then begged us not to tell her friend that it was her who referred her. Her friend also knows English really well, so she said she'd tell him about our English Group! 

Saturday was a really cool day, and I'll try to explain that. We had a sports activity and were supposed to have a member-present meeting with an investigator that evening but the investigator cancelled about 45 minutes before (bummer), so we went home and made former investigator phone calls. We called everyone. Literally everyone. One former investigator that we called ended up coming to church on Sunday and agreed to start meeting with us again! So, even though we weren't able to meet with our new investigator on Saturday, we were able to get a new investigator on Sunday!

Another crazy thing happened Sunday (lots of miracles!):  we stopped by a former investigator who ended up not being there, but we did a lesson with her 78-year-old mother (who loved it!) and as we were walking away from the apartment building we passed some men drinking (not super uncommon). As we continued to walk, we heard a man chasing after us and shouting "girls! girls!" Sister Hellewell said "walk faster!" so we did, but he kept chasing us. I actually stopped and turned around to start talking to him which led into a very interesting conversation:

I'm not baptized!!!!

Alright. Well, our church has free baptism but you have to take lessons with missionaries like us, but they're boys, first. Do you want to do that?

Yes! I want to get baptized so bad. I'm not baptized!

Alright. Well, what's your name?

Mihail. 

Alright. What's your number?

(gives me his number)

Alright Mihail. How should you prepare for baptism?

Um....I don't know.

We need to follow the commandments, pray, and go to church. Are you willing to do that?

Yes! 

Alright. Do you usually drink?

No.... I don't.

Just on holidays?

Yeah.

Alright. Well, I'll give your number to missionaries just like us but they're boys, and they'll call you and start preparing you for baptism. Ok?

Alright! thanks so much.

It's just kind of a funny incident that I thought I'd share with you. We texted the elders his number, and they replied "We'll baptize him soon!" And we will! He was a really nice man; just a little too much beer on a Sunday afternoon. :)

I finished the Book of Mormon again this week (I've lost track of how many times I've read it on my mission already). And I'm always blown away that I read things that I've never seen before. I especially enjoyed Ether 12:18 "And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God." 

We had a training meeting with President Christensen this week, and he talked about how nothing will change in this mission unless we call down the powers of heaven for miracles. We talked about how FAITH is what leads to miracles, and we discussed how we can increase our faith. We read lots of scriptures and made a huge list on the board of attributes of people with a lot of faith (think sons of Mosiah). If we do everything that they did, we will increase our faith, and that will lead to miracles. I really believe in that, and I attribute that to all the miracles or "coincidences" (but really they were miracles) that happened this last week. I'm ready to call down the powers of heaven and be as consecrated as I can be. Sister Hellewell and I are both in it to win it. We are ready to work hard!

As I'm reading through the Book of Mormon this time, I'm marking attributes of the followers of Christ, and I've decided to number the times that the promised land is referenced. It's awesome that God always has promises and rewards for us if we keep the commandments and do what we're supposed to do. Even though Laman and Lemuel grumbled the whole way and thought that rules were restricting, in the end -- the rules made them free. They were able to go to a new world with new opportunities and govern themselves! That's what I would call freedom anyhow. :) 

I'm really excited to be here in this area at this time. I've had it confirmed to me so many times that this is exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. We really are working so hard and seeing miracles. People are receiving our message very well here, and people are actually interested in it. 

The church is true! The Atonement is real, and it's for everyone. The great thing is that God has given us free agency, and it's our choice to use the Atonement or not. Everyone can change. Situations can get better. 

There's a song by Cherie Call called "Believe" that has some really uplifting lyrics that we've been listening to:

Sometimes Christmases are white

Sometimes wedding days are clear

Sometimes rain falls right on time 

To wipe away your tears

You just have to have faith to believe that things will turn out all right in the end. I used to think that optimism was dumb, but then I actually started doing it. It works. God wants us to be positive no matter what. 

Have a wonderful week and know that I love you!!

Love,

Sister Brown