Week 19

HI FAMILY!

This week has been great!! :)

I really dont have that much time so im sorry.. But this will be short!

Delorus.. Is not going to be baptized.. She thinks our church has to many "rules and regulations" and all kinds of stuff.. She was so close.. And it breaks my heart but she is still an awesome little lady and i love her! Sometimes when people excersize their agency it hurts.. Really bad! But i've found out that we can have whatever attitude we choose to have at ANY situation that is placed in front of us! Thats the great thing about having agency! We did everything we possibly could with Delorus and she chose to not to do what she knew she needed too! Which is sad! But thats just the way it is!

Hadassah is doing great! She is soo funny! She's excited to be baptized on Saturday! There are a few things that could hold her back.. Unfortunately her dad is NOT happy with what we're doing.. But he has no say! But we dont want to cause family issues.. So we left it up to Mary, Hadassah's mom.. So PLEASE pray for Hadassah. We've worked so hard to get to this point!

Skyler is soo solid! he is a rrealllyy awesome kid. The lord has definately prepared him and he is already asking the bishop about going on a mission and everything! ITs amazing! Its crazy to think about the lives that will be changed by missionary work! Im excited to see how everything works out!

Im excited for saturday! We have 2 potential baptisms and i pray so hard that everything will go through!

We had Zone Confrence this week which was great! I love hearing from President and Sister Jergensen! They are definately called by God. No doubt about it. I was thinking how crazy it would be to be a mission president! Haha.. I would really love to do that one day!

On sunday... We had an opportunity to go to Iowa City and hear 2 members from the 70 speak! It was stake confrence and it was great!! :) They talked a lot about missionary work and getting the members more active! Pretty exciting!

We are going to take Ross, Skyler, and hopefully Hadassah to the temple sometime next week after they are all baptized! President approved a trip for us because we're workin hard and all of them want us to be there when they go for there first time! haha.. its pretty cool. Bein a missionary is great!

I gotta go family! Thanks soo much for everything! I love you guys!

Alexis and Lexee thank you SO MUCH for the pictures!! I loved them!

We have got a great week ahead of us. Love you all.

Mom Dad.. You guys are the bomb.. Thanks for the emails.. im glad Kleen Kans is going well! :)

Love,

Elder Russell

Week 18

FAMILY!

Wow.. What a great week! Monday is here again and i cant believe it!

I want to start out with Ross!! Saturday he was baptized!! :) The ward member who Ross wanted to baptize him wasn't able to get work off.. So he asked me if i would do it and i more than willingly accepted! Everything went perfectly.. They said when he came up out of the water he had the biggest smile on his face and he said he couldnt help it.. It felt so good! He was confirmed on Sunday! He is such a great guy.. Dad in your email you talked about using your priesthood and i love using the priesthood. As priesthood holders we have something very special! Ross wants to get his friends and family members coming to church.. And everyone he knows! So i know that a lot of good will come from this! And i'm very excited!

Next.. I want to tell you about our 2 other baptismal dates that we have! For June 25th! On saturday during the day we usually visit less active members and give them a boost to come to church the next day.. Well this one family has never showes up to church and at first i was like ehh.. Its just going to be a waste of time if we go there! But then something very strongly told me that we need to go to this familys house!! And when we got there is was very apparent that we didnt really go for this family. There was a 17 year old kid there.. His name is Skyler Ketelsen! He is a AWESOME kid! He loves nascar.. haha..(Rachael) He has been a baptist his whole life.. But he said that when he would go to church he said the stuff they were teaching just wasnt making sense in his head or his heart..! He has been prepared by the lord! We met him on Saturday.. And he came to church the next day! We hooked him up with the young mens program here(which is awesome) and he LOVED it! Then in Iowa City they had a priesthood meeting and he caught a ride with some ward members and had a great night! Then about 5 minutes ago.. hahha he walked into the library and came over and said hi to us! At the end of our conversation just a couple seconds ago.. He asked us if he could be baptized earlier than June 25th! So we're gonna work something out wiht him tomorrow! He is such a great kid and wants to do the right thing! It was no accident that we met this kid!! I kno that for a fact! :) Im excited for him! He's already mentioned that he wants to serve a mission! hahah..

The other person is HADASSAH!! :) She is my best friend here in Muscatine and we have had so many fun/funny memories with her and her family. Her Dad was holding her back from being baptized because he lives in Indiana.. And we figured out that he has absolutely no custody over Hadassah and its up to her mom Mary.. So Hadassah asked Mary and she said of course!! So awesome! And im praying that Delorus will come along with her! The only thing that is holding her back is tithing.. If she pays her tithing she wont have enough money to make it throughout the rest of the month! And we have told her about a million times that the lord will provide a way! And all she has to do is take that leap of faith and everything will be taken care of and turn out the way the Lord wants it to! And she just cant do it! So we'll see. I hope Hadassah is a big push for her! I love them soo much! They've been with me since day 1 here in Muscatine! And.. Hadassah is going to girls camp this Wednesday! Which will be awesome!

So yesterday.. Sunday.. Was the best Sunday of the mission so far! Our mission President was driving back from Nauvoo and he stopped for church on Sunday! And.. Elder Ferrin and his family came back and visited his mission and so he was there with his whole family!! :) It was soo much fun! We spent a big part of the day visiting old families and eating lunch and dinner together!! Elder Ferrin is the man! And it was soo good to see him again! It was really hard saying goodbye again.. And i felt like i got way close to his family in a matter of a day!! It was so special and i can tell ill be friends with him and his family forever!

I love being a missionary. Its really the best thing i could be doing with my time! I cant believe June is almost already half way over.. It blows my mind! Anyways.. I love you all.. very much! And miss you too!

Mom.. If you could send me by baptismal clothes that would be awesome!! White pants and a white tie!! Please! :) i love you.

Sounds like you are all doing well! And im glad to hear that!

G-MA Russell thanks for the email! I love hearin from you!

I gotta go now.. I love you all! Thanks for everything!

Love Elder Russell

Week 17

Hello Family!

I cant believe how fast Monday comes! Haha!

The humidity has hit and its 95 Degrees out with 90% humidity.. And it is brutal! Its like walking into a wall when you go outside. I sweat from the second i walk out the door till the second i come in! haha its pretty crazy!

Anyways.. This week has been full of up's and down's! But i hate talking about the down's so ill tell you about the up's!

We have continued to meet with Ross and he is ready to be baptized!! He is scheduled for Friday night at 7! i'm very excited! There is nothing like baptisms! There is no doubt in my mind that he truly has been prepared by the lord because every thing we teach him, like the Word of Wisdom, and the Law of Chastity, and Tithing, he just accepts it no problem! He has dropped smoking completely! Its so great! He is a great guy and i cant wait for Friday!

The only down thing that i want to talk about is that Delorus.. Found another reason not to get baptized! She cannot pay her tithing with her social security check! She doesnt even have enough to get by.. And can't pay her tithing! But yesterday she came to church and said.."i need to get baptized!!" hahahah! we just laughed and so hopefully this week something will happen and we'll be able to set a date! She's ready and could be baptized tomorrow if she wants to.. But she just has to accept the whole gospel! Tithing and everything! I have a good feeling that she will be ready very soon! There is a scripture in Malachi 3:10.. I think.. That talks about tithing and how sooo many blessing will be poured upon our heads that we wont have enough room to recieve them if we pay our tithing! We shared that with her and her whole attitude changed! So i believe that she is ready to make that commitment!

HA funn story i want to tell you guys!! So on saturday we went over and visited Mary and Hadassah and family.. And Karsyn the little 6 year old was just balling because she was trying to learn how to ride her bike and everyone that was helping or teaching her was just getting frusterated with her and she kept crashing! So we got back up on the bike and i whispered to her "You can do it Karsyn!!" :) And we took of down the street! I was helpin her stay balanced and soon enough she was on her own..! All she needed was a little encouragement and someone to tell her that she could do it! I guess the point that i am trying to make is that frusteration and impatience get us absolutely no where!! If we want to become Christ-Like and help others.. We must have patience in helping others along the way! We must let the light of Christ thats inside us shine in order to get others to realize that its inside them too!

Anyways.. I have a good week ahead of me which i am very excited for!! :)

We have been giving service a lot this week and i love helping people out! Its great.. Service is truly the gateway to somebodys heart! Its wonderful.. Sometimes when we serve people still wont listen to what we have to say.. But its all about that little seed that we have planted!

I love being a missionary! Its the best ever!

Mom i want Matt. 10:39 on my plaque! And Thanks for the updates and everything! Haha thats pretty brutal workin with the guys! :) It'll pay off tho!

Dad.. Thanks for the email! I use the stuff you send me quite a bit! i love it so keep sendin stuff!

I would love some pictures sometime soon!! That would be great! :)

I love you and miss you all! Its crazy that Travis is gonna be home in 3 weeks! haha i remember saying goodbye to him! That is crazy! Time really does fly!

Hope your all well!

Love Elder Russell!

Week 16

Hello My Wonderful Family!

How are you all doing?

My week was a VERY busy week.. But so packed full of the spirit and awesome experiences!

First.. I want to tell you guys about Ross Conrad.. I cant remember exactly what i told you about him last week.. But he has a date for June 11th to be baptized.. We had a lesson with him last Tuesday about the Plan of Salvation. He loved it. He said he had always wondered where we came from and why we're here and where he's going.. After the lesson.. He expressed so much gratitude for answering his questions.. To me it was like his "soul hungred" for the right answers.. And when we taught him he said "it makes so much sense.. Its like I have heard it before! " He was happy.

We then talked to him about the Word of Wisdom. Ross smokes.. And he said that he has had a feeling that its not something that he should be doing.. But now he knows for sure that its not what he is supposed to be doing.. And he has quit cold turkey.. Pretty amazing. He says its very hard.. But he's doing it because he wants his relationship with God to grow.. And everyday that we call him he says he is doing great.

Then.. On Sunday.. He came to church.. And we had a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.. We talked to him about the Gift of the Holy Ghost for quite a while! I told him that the Holy Ghost, if we listen to him, can turn us into the men and woman our Heavenly Father wants us to be! And if we become who He wants us to be.. Our day at the judgement seat will be a day of great happiness.. And not regret... Ross has been prepared!!!

Right now.. Im convinced that there is absolutely nothing better than helping someone remember what they learned in the pre-existence. The happiness is so great. I love it so much and there is nothing better i could be doing!

Next i want to tell you about Delorus! :) This little old lady means soo much to me! Me and Elder Ferrin met her on Day 1 here in Muscatine and have had so many great memories since.. She knows the Book of Mormon is true.. And that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.. And she knows it whole-heartedly! She had a baptismal service planned for Sunday May 15th.. But got scared and people told her not to do it. Well.. This saturday night.. June 4th.. She wants to be baptized.. And everything is going great! She KNOWS that its something that she has to do to be saved! So she will! She has asked me to baptize her and if everything goes accordingly.. That is something i am very excited to do! She is just so awesome and i'm so happy that she is taking this step. Please pray for her.. And that she will do what she knows is right!

Anyways.. On a kind of sad note.. The Akakpo family.. From France.. Told some friends that we were going over to talk to them and the friends told them that what we teach is fasle doctrine and that Joseph Smith is a false prophet. They had a whole different attitude towards us when we met with them to teach them.. But we taught them the restoration and they liked it.. They had a big problem with the authority.. But we got over it and answered their questions and it went great.. We asked them to come to church and they said that they would have to give it some thought.. We are planning on going to visit them this week sometime. They said they would read the Book of Mormon and pray.. So thats what we're bankin on for that family! :)

I love bein a missionary.. Its the best! I find my relationship with Heavenly Father growing and growing more each day! ITs a pretty good feeling! Haha.. I love you all and I pray for you each day! Keep doing what you know is right and it will all work out in the end!

I've gotta go! But thanks for everything! Mom i got the package and thanks soo much. Ill send the CD back soon..

I love you guys! Talk to you next week!

Love Elder Russell