Week 45-Christmas!

Hello Family!! It was so good to talk to you guys on Christmas! Haha.. That was CRAZY to hear all the little kids all grown up! Haha..

We had such a fun P-Day yesterday.. Ha the library was closed so we couldn't email, but we played Ultimate Frisbee with 3 families in the Ward here and it was a blast!! I love this new area.. Some of the nicest people ever and i already have so many new friends!

Our investigator is doing really well! We have a baptismal date of Jan 14th, so that will be a special day for her. Her wedding is on Saturday and they've asked us to help out with that so that should be fun too! Hah.

Anyways.. I know i talked to you a lot on the phone but i have a few experiences that i TOTALLY forgot to tell you about!
We were on ex-changes with the assistants in Des Moines and the coolest thing ever happened! We were knocking doors in a apartment building and we came to this guys door and we began to talk to him about the Gospel.. He began to explain to us how he and 3 other friends had just been in a car accident about 2 weeks ago. He was driving, and he and 2 friends walked away spotless, but one of their friends was killed. He has had a really hard time dealing with this and has been very depressed.. We read in alma Ch 40 with him and all he could say was i am beginning to feel happy! I am beginning to feel happy again! We were all in tears, and it was a wonderful experience. It made me especially grateful for the Book of Mormon.

I love being a missionary! Its the best.. Sorry this letter is pretty weak.. Next week will be better!
Thank you Grandma Russell for the card and book!! :)
And thanks everyone else who sent me stuff for Christmas!

Love Elder Russell

Week 44

Merry Christmas from Ankeny Iowa!!

I'm in a new area of the mission and i'm more excited than ever! Haha i went from a small branch of about 50 active members to the biggest ward in Iowa!! Yesterday was a little over-whelming meeting so many new people! But i LOVED it. I love the small town's and all that Fayette had to offer, but i'll have to admit, it is nice to have a Wal-Mart closer than a 45 minute drive! Haha.. -

Ankeny is a right outisde Des Moines to the North. Its a really neat place

My new companion's name is Elder Harris!! He is the MAN!! He is from American Fork! I'm so happy to have a companion that i can relate to and get along really well with! We will do some great work here in Ankeny! We are already teaching and testifying like its goin out of style..! Haha! I love it and i'm really excited!

Mom and Dad and Family! Thanks for sending those 2 boxes!! :) That made me SO happy! I'll look forward to opening them on Christmas! We will be spending Christmas day with a family here in the ward. We're gonna head over early in the morning to watch all the little kids open their presents! I'm so excited..! I was afraid i was going to miss that the most! But now i don"t have too! Haha!

I am so grateful for this time of year and the time which we have to remember this great gift which we have all recieved. As a missionary, Christmas is exciting. Perhaps more than ever! We have been thinking of creative idea's to get everyone in the spirit of christmas, and to make this Christmas a memorable one! And so far it has been a blast! We have wrapped a few copies of the Book of Mormon and given them to our friends! We have been singing Christmas Hymns to people, and we have been doing everything we can to give everything we have to someone else this Christmas. And its been so memorable.

This Gospel has taught me that watching someone else receive a gift, and giving of myself, is far better than all the presents in the world. Opening presents gives us immediate gratification, but giving of ourselves to others this Christmas gives us an eternal perspective, and the true spirit of Christ in our Christmas. I now know, that this is what Christmas is all about! I hope everyone will give of themselves this Christmas and remember how lucky we have been to receive the amazing gifts that we have.

I love you all so much! I'm so excited to talk to you all on Sunday! Its gonna be a blast! We talked about it last night and we think we're going to call around 5 or 6 o'clock in the afternoon Iowa time. Which means 4 or 5 o'clock Utah time. In the afternoon, not in the morning! Hahha! We have permission to call Christmas Eve for 5 minutes or so as well just to make sure that works for you. So i'll call then either on the house phone or cell phone if your not home! If i can remember them.. Ha i'm pretty sure i can. LOVE YOU ALL! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanks for the Christmas cards and letters that i have got from everyone too! They mean a lot to me!

Love Elder Russell

Week 43

Hello!!

We have had a awesome but very sad week.. I HATE HATE HATE saying goodbye to people that i love. Its too hard.

And we have so many people that we are teaching right now and it makes me sad to leave them all and not see them thru to the finish, but as long as they make it there i will be just as happy!:)

Anyways.. I'm sorry i don't have much time today.. I've got to clean and pack but i wanted to tell you guys about a cool story that happened. One of our Branch members who's very musically talented put on a Christmas Concert in a town called Elkader IA. A town that has never been receptive to missionaries or Mormons in General. There is a HUGE Lutheran church and i'm pretty sure 99% of the whole town goes there. Anyways.. We went to her show and it was AWESOME! The spirit was so strong. She did such an amazing job.. And at the end of the concert she said, "if you want to learn more about Jesus Christ 2 of my best friends from my church will be handing out free card's and DVD's. It was so funny to see their faces coming down the stairs as they put 2 and 2 together and realizing that she was Mormon.. One guy was like.. "she was a mormon? wow i didn't know mormons could do that!" It was hilarious. At any rate.. We talked to a ton of people about the church and got a lot of things straight! People were actually saying sorry for being mean to us in the past! It was a cool experience.

Anyways.. I have been able to spend A LOT of time with members, non members, and friends who are learning about the church this week, and one night while i was saying my prayers, i was overwhelmed with the spirit of gratitude for this wonderful Gospel. I am SO grateful for the gospel and allowing me to meet all these wonderful people. It has been an experience of a lifetime, and i feel like I'm forever in debt to my Heavenly Father for letting me be here. I love my mission!

Being a missionary, especially this time of year is awesome! People's hearts are a little softer, and Christ is in everyone's minds. I love this gospel so much. Its truly amazing. I love you all and i've gotta go now.

Mom and Grandma Wright! Thanks for the Christmas Card! :) I loved them!

Lexee thanks for the little package that i can't open yet.. You have no idea how tempted i am to rip it open! Its gonna be a long 10 days! haha..

Michelle!!! :) thanks for those scriptures! They are great and i miss you! I hope you and the family have a good Christmas! Tell everyone i say hello!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Love Elder Russell

Week 42

Hello Family!

This week has been a wonderful week, but filled with more up's and down's that I've ever had on my mission.


This last October General Conference something very strong that stuck out to me was the fact that 5 out of the 15 apostles and prophets spoke to the youth and how hard times lay ahead for this chosen generation. When i noticed this, i told myself that i would spend extra time with the youth on Sundays and during the week and hopefully get them excited to be missionaries and future families of the covenant. I want to tell you about an experience that i had this week that left me more devastated and heart broken than i have ever been in my life.
There is a young lady in our branch who found the church and with no family support, joined about a year ago. I knew that we had to get her very active in church activities and such to keep her going because her church attendance was already drifting away. To make a really long story a little shorter, one night we got a call from this girl and she said that as she's gone to church these last few months she hasn't felt the spirit, she feels like she doesn't belong and wants to leave the church. We talked for about 30 or so minutes and the phone conversation left me on my knee's, in tears, begging that she wouldn't leave. I thought about her future family and how it would be so hard to raise a family without the gospel. I thought about all the happiness and blessings that were going to be very hard for her to find without the church. But she still chose to leave, and we couldn't do a thing about it. I was devastated.
All in all, this was a testimony builder to me that the Prophet and his Apostles know whats going on in this crazy world. Satan works so hard on people at a young age and it makes me so sick and gives me a unbelievably strong desire to do all that i can to destroy him and his kingdom. I was sad to see her walk away from the greatest thing that ever happened in her life, but she made a choice and now all we could do as a branch was pray, fast, and continue to be there for her when she needs it.

Despite the downs of the week, i wanna talk about some good and fun things that happened!

This last week we had the opportunity to teach 2 new families who are so awesome!! Haha. One lady went out to Utah to buy a horse and got introduced to the church out there. She came back and we had the chance to teach her about the Gospel. She LOVED it. She was so curious as to why the bible never spoke about how families can be together forever. We told her that plain and precious parts have been taken away from the Bible and Lord has been merciful to us in giving us the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson she said "the hole that has been in in my heart since i had my first child was beginning to be filled!" It was an awesome experience. It made me especially grateful for what I've learned growing up.

Us and the Manchester missionaries decided one night on ex-changes that we were going to go caroling!! Haha. It was a blast! :) We sang Christmas hymns and gave people Joy to the World DVD's. I love this time of year.

As i was watching the Christmas Devotional last night from the 1st Presidency, i had an over-whelming feeling come over me. I was SO grateful to associate myself with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So many happy people, an amazing choir, and some of the most Christ like men on this earth. I have come to the conclusion that we will NEVER understand how truly lucky we are to be members of this church.

I'm leaving this area really soon here and I'm very very sad. I've gained so many new friends here, and we have so many people still in the process of learning about the church and i want to stay and watch them progress in the Gospel. But the Lord needs me elsewhere. I love this gospel and the stability it provides me with. I know that it's true. And nobody can ever take that away from me!

I love you all so much! Thanks for everything that you do and the support you give me. It would be hard without it.
Thannk you for the Christmas tree Momma!! :) haha i loved it!

Love Elder Russell