Monday, November 14, 2011

November 14, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANNY! Man, I can't believe that you are already 10!

Okay, so it really isn't all that cold. It just got cold really fast, but now I've adjusted and it's normal. Don't worry about it. I'm not that cold, and I'm not wimpy. :) And the heater in my apartment works great so far. Really, right now outside it's just about 32 Fahrenheit, so really...not bad. Some days it's colder. But it's gotten to the point where we have snow. The thing about here is that it doesn't ever really stop flurrying. And some days it snows more. For Sports Day this week we abandoned the football/frisbee stuff and ended up having a snowball fight. We've also made a snowman. Maybe if I can get the camera cord to work I'll send some pictures; it wasn't working last week. Also this week, I've started to notice some more "Christmas" decorations. Except here Christmas is on Jan 7 and it's not really a big deal. All the lights on the buildings and the "Christmas" trees are really for New Year. But it's great and is making me really excited for Christmas. 

I have a request for a Christmas package. Ksusha asked me if you could send her some Crest WhiteStrips. She had heard about them and wants some. They don't have anything Crest here. All the missionaries agree that they would make a fortune. She said she pay me for them, because they're kind of expensive. Other than that...maybe some warm tights? I don't know...

Other official business: please tell Lindsey and Amanda that I have written them, but that the letter I sent back in August just got returned to me...so please tell them that I haven't forgotten about them and also that I need their address so that I can send them a letter that will hopefully not get sent back. Also...I need Amanda Frey's address. Basically, maybe facebook her from my account or something and tell her to DearElder me her address or something. :)

This week has been great! On Tuesday (I think) one of the Elders' investigators who was going to be baptized next week called and said that his work schedule changed and that he wanted to get baptized this Saturday. So Saturday we had a baptism! It was so great. I love baptisms, especially when it is someone who loves the gospel so much and has waited so long. There was just such a sweet spirit, and his mom who is not a member was there too. It's hard to explain the feeling that you get at baptisms as a missionary, even if you don't really know the person getting baptized. And that awesome feeling carried over into church. Yesterday the meeting was just full of such a sweet spirit of love. Valeri (Like Valerie, but the accent is on the middle syllable and it's a guy's name) received the Holy Ghost and Ksusha bore a really sweet testimony. Plus, there was a miracle--there is this CRAZY inactive member who's been calling the Elders, saying that they're the worst missionaries and stuff, and he said he was going to come to church and bear testimony against them. So Sister Marty prayed before we left that if he was there, that he wouldn't get up and say anything, and that if he did get up that he wouldn't be able to say anything. And he gets up...and just says a bunch of random nothing. It was pretty awesome. There was just such a sweet spirit all throughout the meeting, with Valeri and testimonies and then Gospel Principles was awesome, and...I just can't even describe it. Every once in a while I get this feeling at church, and I had felt it before my mission, but on the mission you just kind of see and feel things differently. It's hard to explain. I've come to find out that even as a writer, with the Spirit I usually have to just accept that I can't find words to describe it. But it does make me just so happy. :)

That's about it. I was about to say "not a lot special going on here" but then I realized that I had just written about a baptism and I'm a missionary, so everything is special. I don't know what I'm going to do when I'm not a missionary and I miss all this great stuff being normal. I love you all; the church is true!

С любовью,
Сестра Ашби

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