Week 89

Wow.. What a week it has been..

We've seen some great things happen and I think that I've learned the
true meaning of Christmas after all of these years. Haha.. Finally!
We have had SO many opportunities to help and to serve this week its
incredible. And it feels SO good! We have delivered food and presents,
and made plans to help the people who don't have anything for
Christmas. Its been so fun to see it all come together. Its great.

This last week we made some great progress with some people we are
working with. Specifically one investigator is doing great. We were
worried about the law of tithing, because she doesn't live in the
greatest of circumstances. We taught it to her, and shared experiences
and stories, and it was so cool to watch it click for her. She walked
out of the lesson with a determination to pay tithing. She was
convinced that over time it was going to get her out of the place that
she's in now. SO amazing. Such great faith.. Me and Elder Jones were
so worried too.. Haha I learned that we need to have a little more
faith in the ppl we teach! :)

I'm emailing right now from Oskaloosa Iowa. Our Zone Leader Elder
Moore got called to be an assistant last night.. So now for the next
week and 1/2 his companion Elder Purcell will be mine and Elder
Jones's companion too! And we will be covering 2 areas! Pretty
exciting! haha.. Its going to be SO busy.. Everyday we have a
conflicting schedule but it'll be good to see how it all turns out!

For Christmas we are going to be spending some time at members homes,
caroling, eating food, and just stuff that every missionary does on
Christmas. I'm excited really. We've got good members who are taking
care of us! So that's good! I'm not sure what time i'll be calling on
Christmas.. I think it will be around 1 in the afternoon ish.. or 6 or
7 at night..I'll hop on my email and let you know later! I really hope
the whole family will be there!! If not then please tell me ASAP cause
I need permission to make 2 phone calls.But if at all possible I NEED
Mr. Kash Johnson to be there. I need to speak to him. Haha so
hopefully he will read this or mom, call him and tell him to be there
if he can. And my mission president is fine with him being there. I
asked.

Lexee to answer your question.. The scariest thing about being a
missionary, is seeing ppl have a spiritual confirmation of the truth,
then choose to go the other way.. Also.. The idea that your not going
to be a missionary forever is pretty darn scary. Haha.. So its a tie
between those 2 things!

I have been so blessed with so many opportunities to serve and see
service bless the lives of others. I have seen myself be used in the
hands of God to be an answer to someones prayer.. I have seen how
service can soften even the hardest heart. I love this Christmas
season because most everyone is in a mood to serve.. But I hope we can
ALWAYS have the spirit of Christmas in our hearts throughout the
year.. Because as we all know.. Its simply the spirit of Christ that
makes our hearts full this time of year.. And I hope that we don't
have to wait till December each year, to let our hearts be full of the
Spirit of Christ. It can be ours each and every day.

Mom I got the Scriptures for the Lady in our Branch. Thank you SO
much. She is going to love them..
GMa RUssell, I got your package in the mail! I appreciate it. I opened
it, and I can't believe how much the kids have grown and how
different, but yet the same my family looks. Thank you SO much. I
LOVED the picture!
Dad thanks for the email and the thing on intelligence. that was great
and i am going to print it off!
I'm looking forward to talking to you all! Its going to be great.
Hahaha.. I can't believe its already that time.

I'll talk to you soon!
And next week i'll emial on Wednesday!

Love Elder Russell

Week 88

What a week we had.. Great things are going on here in the Mid-West..

I'm pretty sure that i've mentioned this before.. But our Iowa Des
Moines Mission goal was 400 baptisms for the year of 2012..
As of this morning we have 347 baptisms here in the mission! We have
people on date in order to reach this goal.. But people have a
tendancy to fall off a week or 2 before there baptism..
So for this next 3 weeks please pray for the Iowa Mission to be able
to reach there goal of 400 baptisms.. We are SO close. And we need all
the prayers we can get. It would be the first time in a LONG time that
this mission has actually reached its goal. Our Mission President has
done amazing things with the mission to get us to this point.

We had a wonderful weekend. We had the baptism and it was yet another
sweet experience that i'll never be able to forget. The spirit was
unbelievably strong, and the service went smoothly.
A little less than 4 weeks ago.. Me and my companion had been teaching
ALL night and we were hungry.. It was about 8:45.. And we really
didn't have anything to enjoyable to eat in our apartment.. We decided
to go out and eat.. Which we never usually do.. And as we were
discussing where we should eat, I said " I want to go somewhere where
we can share the gospel with someone." We said a quick prayer, and
Subway popped into both of our minds. We went to Subway and this young
lady who was making our sandwhiches was so kind to us, and asked
questions.. She wrote Bible verses on our Subway sandwhich bags.. We
invited her to church, got some info from her.. And the next day she
came to church. We taught her the first lesson, and she's never stop
coming since.. She was baptized Saturday.. And it was so amazing to
see the Lord's hand in both her and our lives. I love my mission.. So
much.. It the greatest thing.

We are working with another lady right now who is great.. She has had
some pretty traumatic experiences in her past life which makes it hard
for her to trust people. But as she's come to church she's gained a
knowledge that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints are different. She says she feels welcome and like she belongs
and even to the point of trusting these people even though she's known
them for a short 4 weeks.. Its been really cool to see her overcome
her fears. We taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and had a
wonderful talk about the Atonement.. She said as we talked feelings of
anger and depression from past experiences was literally dissolving
from within her soul. Peace was again being established in the
chambers of her heart, and we literally witnessed the Atonement of
Jesus Christ right before our eyes. Her countenance changed. It was a
great experience.
Her daughter has some behavioral issues as well.. She would never pray
with us, and she would always be a distraction during the lesson. We
would try very hard to get her involved but she didn't want anything
to do with it. At age 6!! It was pretty intense.. But we promised the
Mom that if she would read and pray with her daughter every night
without missing a single day that things would start changing inside
her.. Yesterday as we were about to close the lesson I asked the
little girl if I could help her say the prayer. She, suprisingly to
all of us, said yes.. We said a prayer and it was great. She was so
happy. You could tell that things were changing. It was a very neat
experience.

Mom and Dad thank you for the email.. I appreciate it! It sounds like
things are going good with the wedding and all.. So thats fun. I would
love to see pictures! So please please send me some when the time
comes.
Mom I知 good for the winter.. I don稚 need any boots or anything.. and
also training my new companion is going great.. Haha. I love it so
much. It reminds me of the beginning of my mission.. I don稚 know what
time I will be calling on christmas yet.. But I値l probably let you
know this upcoming week..
Lexee Thanks for the email as well.. I appreciate it. I知 excited for
you to be married. Haha whats your new last name going to be?
We get to play laser tag in a town called Oskaloosa Iowa today.. I知
pretty excited. We had a district p day. So that will be fun!
Oh and yes.. I forgot to thank the Gleave Family for the letters last
week! That was great. Thank you SO much. It was good to hear from you.

I love you all very much. Thanks for everything.

Love Elder Russell

Week 87

Hello Family!

This week was great..! And Mom i'm sorry i forgot to mention it last week but yes I got my passport. Thank you for sending that!

We have an awesome young lady who is going to be baptized on Saturday.. She was SO prepared to receive the Gospel. And its going to do her so much good in life. I am excited. It will be great..

This week I have come to a reality that laziness is not something that our Father in Heaven wants us to develop.. Haha.. I know that might sound funny.. But its so true..

We are having such troubles getting people to follow through with their commitments.. And when we ask why they didn't do it, they start looking everywhere but our eyes and they come up with all sorts of excuses.. Its no good. At all.. In our Preach My Gospel there is a quote by Elder Holland that says we should be devastated when people don't keep commitments. So me and Elder Jones have started being devastated when investigators don't keep commitments. Its been great.. We are acting as if there life depends on them keeping commitments.. Because I've come to a reality that it really does depend on it!! Its so big. Its the most important thing someone will do in their life.

Its taught me a valuable life lesson too.. In the scriptures it says ".. I beesech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed."

The world is full of excuses.. And I believe that some people are just going to excuse themselves right out of Heaven. Haha..

And it reminds me of a quote that I once read that says "Whats it going to be.. Reasons? or Results...!"

Anyways.. We had the opportunity to speak to a couple who are In-Active. Specifically the wife we talked to for a longer period of time.. But anyways.. THis couple at one point was sealed in the temple, but something happened and they haven't returned to church for about 10 to 15 years.. Its so sad. When we knocked on the door and the wife opened, you could tell that her heart cracked. She invited us in, and we had a good conversation.. During our conversation she came up with a few different reasons trying to justify her inactivity in the church.. We let her know that we were here to show her support, love, and not to judge because of certain things happening in the past. I could tell that her heart longed to be back inside the church.. You could see it on her face. She was bound by covenants that she was not keeping.

At first we asked her if we could come back, and she said no. Then we told her how we prayed over the branch directory list, and the spirit told us that we needed to visit her at this time. She then agreed to let us come back again, and I have a good feeling that these people will soon re-knew their covenants. It was a great experience.

I love you family! I hope your all doing well. I have got to go! I'm going on a bike ride today with a few members and my companion. Haha! Its going to be fun! :) Its 62 degrees right now. And its Dec 3rd.. Crazy!! Haha.. This has never happened in Iowa history. ITs supposed to get real cold tho by the end of this week.

Thanks Court for the email and pictures. My boys look SO big!! Haha I can't believe it. Geez.. I'm not even going to recognize them!
Congrats Dad on the new Job!

Love Elder Russell

Week 86

Holla!! Haha whats up family! Man.. SO good to hear from you

I got an email from Kylee Runia saying she was going to Independence Missouri! Super exciting! Congrats!

All you other friends have to tell me where your going too!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :) By the way. Haha.. We're going to be going to a few members houses so that will be fun!

I've got a new companion.. Fresh out the MTC.. Haha his name is Elder Jones! And he's from Rexburg Idaho! Pretty cool.. He's pumped to be on a mission and I can tell its going to be a great 2 transfers.

This is one of the funnest times of my mission simply because I get to look back and remember how insecure and scared I was as a new missionary. I never realized how far I have come untill now. Its amazing. I've been transformed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love it. I love the Gospel so much.

Unfortunately some not so good things happened this week with our investigators.. We have quite a few that are struggling with opposition. But I think it will be good here in the long run. We just have to pray and work and show them the way..

We have investigators who are struggling to stop smoking.. One of them wakes up at 5:30 every morning and thats when he first smokes.. So in order to help him quit one morning we showed up at his door at 5:30 in the morning.. And said.. "We're here to make sure you keep your promise you made to God to not smoke." He was SHOCKED! Haha.. But it worked and he went a whole day without smoking and he's severly cutting back from his usual habits. Love it.. He thanks us every time we see him for coming.

We have a family who commits to us everytime we have a lesson that they will study the scriptures as a family EVERYNIGHT. But everytime we follow up with them it NEVER happens. SO last night we went over to their house.. at 9:00 at night, knocked on the door, and walked in. I yelled at the kids to come downstairs for scripture study. They came in, they sat down with their Book of Mormons.. We had a prayer and they started studying the scriptures and we walked out of the house to get home on time.

I've learned that you HAVE to go the extra mile if you want people to do what you asked them to do. You have to go to the extreme if you want a guy who's been smoking since he was 12 to quit smoking. Because thats extreme.

I love my mission with all my heart. Yesterday we had an amazing experience. We headed to Des Moines and there Elder Don R. Clarke of the First Quorum of the 70 instructed us for 4 hours. It was truly amazing. He taught us about going the extra mile with investigators.. And how our relationships with them should be. I loved it SO much. The Church has got to be the greatest Organization upon the face of the Earth. There is nothing like it.

Mom.. I DO NOT WANT ANYTHING FOR CHRISTMAS! Please don't send me anything..

There is a Recent Convert here named April.. She's a single mom and is SO awesome. And all I want you to send me is a set of new scriptures for her to have. Possibly engraven with her name if at all possible.

Not a quad but Book of Mormon and Bible seperately! And in black color! Please let me know if this is possible! This is all I want for Christmas.

I love you all SO much. Have fun in St George!! :)

Thanks for being the greatest family a missionary could have..

Love Elder Russell

Week 85

If I were to tell you everything I really wanted to tell you guys, this email would probably be 6 pages long. Haha.. I'm pretty sure this week I witnessed more miracles than I ever have before! It has been so cool. I'll do my best to tell you about them.

I got a call from my Mission President on Saturday, and he has asked me to train a brand new missionary coming in for my last 2 transfers. Pretty exciting! I'm looking forward to it. So on Thursday i'll have a new companion.. I'm ready for a new one! Haha. So i'm excited! And dad to answer your question. I will stay here in Knoxville till February.

I want to tell you about a CRAZY experience that I had tho. Really cool but crazy.. Haha.

One day after driving back to Knoxville, we pulled into our apartment complex, and out front was a couple who were very intesnsly arguing, and especially the woman seemed very angry.. Vulgar language was flying, and soon enough the woman's fist began to fly too. She connected a couple times. I asked myself why isn't he stopping her? It was then that I saw His hand tied down to a hand that was much smaller than his.. A little 4 year old boy with tears streaming down his face was clinging onto his Fathers leg and hand. He poked his head out behind his dad's leg, and at that moment my heart sank into the bottom of my stomache. I've never felt so sad for anyone before. The Father began walking away from the woman, and actually walking towards our general direction. The woman began to follow, and I yelled out "ma'am this better stop or i'm going to call the police" She looked at me, and stopped following the guy and then tried to justify herself and gave me all these excuses why she was acting like this. I could smell alcohol on her from 5 feet away. It was bad.

I asked her if that was her son.. And she said yes.. Then I said.. No kid deserves to see his mother act that way.. And then she once again tried to give me excuses. She talked about how she really was a good parent, and "took such good care of her babies" and all this stuff.. She seemed to be really scared. She tried to tell me all this stuff, but what I had just witnessed was the total opposite. So I said " ma'am parenting is a 24/7 responsibility, its not something you can do when you please. If your such a good parent then why are you drunk and saying all sorts of words that a 4 year old boy should never hear?? She got quiet, and said that she was sorry.. And that she knew she was in the wrong. Then she walked away with her friend that she was with. It was NUTS!!!!

But the most amazing part of this story is, is later that night, me and Elder Wally were tracting, and to make the story short.. We tracted into this Father , and the 4 year old son. (thats how I know he's 4) It was so cool. He said that he was scared.. And he didn't know what to do when the girl was hitting him.. He said he would have done something that he would regret. But he said he saw us get out of his car, and he knew that everything was going to be alright. Then by us tracting into him was a sure sign for him. It completely re-knewed his faith in God.. And he knew God was looking out for him. SO cool. We're going to teach him on Thursday.

Another quick story.. We had just got done teaching Saturday night and it was like 8:45. We didn't have breakfast or lunch so we were STARVING! Haha.. So we decided to go to Subway for dinner. (I'm tryin to lose weight. haha) Anyways.. As we were paying for our food, the cashier put a scripture from the bible on our subway bags. It was cool. We started talking about God, and she said she needed a new church. So we invited her to ours, not thinking much of it, and the next day, SHE SHOWED UP! Wow.. I don't think that's ever happened before. Haha! And she LOVED it. We taught her after church, and she said in her prayer at the close of the lesson "Lord thank you for sending these 2 Elders to me to lead me to your church." It was so powerful. Thats my favorite thing to hear someone pray after they just learned about the church. Great day. Haha

This last week we went on ex-changes with missionaries from Centerville Iowa. They have a pretty tough area, and we saw an amazing miracle while we were there on ex-changes.

We went to this guy's house who was known to try to bash the missionaries and prove them wrong using the Bible. I wasn't sure why we were going there because I usually avoid confrontation and people who want to bash.. But we knew we were supposed to go. We knocked on the door, and he was hopping in the shower and his Fiance was there too. So we stepped outside on the front porch and we taught her about our church. It was awesome. She was so prepared. Halfway through the lesson the guy came out and tried to argue and bring up scriptures against us, but the Fiance, who we were teaching told him to be quiet or leave! HAHA! So we got to finish teaching and then she asked me politely to show her scriptures in the Bible to back it up. And she LOVED IT! The fiance left, and she wanted to know more.. So we taught her the Plan of Salvation. It was amazing. We found out that she had a mother and brother who had died in the last 2 years, and the Plan spoke peace to her heart. It was so truly amazing.

Haha.. So thats all I got time for today.. I really wish I could tell you one more story.. But thats ok. :) Its been a great week. It truly has. So much growing has been done. Love it. I love you family! SO much. Thanks for everything!

I'm glad the wedding plans are underway!
Lexee I liked the engagement pic! That was sweet!

MOM AND DAD! Did you get my email about my passport!!?? Please let me know ASAP!!

Love Elder Russell

PS I will email on Tuesday this next week.

Week 83

Hello Family! Last week was SO sweet.. SO rewarding, and SO spiritual.

Lexee... Did you forward those pictures that I sent for the family pic to everyone?? I hope not. Haha. Anyways..

We have been working with the Briggs since I've been here in Knoxville.. And its been an adventure to say the least.. We have overcome SOO many challenges and trials, and we have seen her spiritual progression sky rocket since day 1 of teaching. Its been one of the greatest conversion stories i've seen. She comes from a small town called Hartlepool England. Its a SUPER rough town.. And she went through a lot of bad things there. But all of those bad things is what eventually led to what she called "the greatest day of her life." On Saturday she was baptized. The service couldn't have gone more perfectly. It was fantastic. Spirit was so strong. As I witnessed the baptism an overwhelming feeling came into my heart that God truly does have a plan for all of His children. Before the world was, he knew that a young man from Draper UT, was going to bring a lady from ALL the way accross the world in Hartlepool England the gospel. He made our paths cross, and He is in charge. SO cool!!

Sis Briggs asked me to confirm her.. While I was giving the blessing an overwhelming sensation came over me that one day they would be sealed for time and all eternity. And also that they would live a life dedicated to service to the church. It was cool..  Then afterwards in the Gospel Principles class, Brother Briggs said that He wanted to be a senior missionary someday! Haha! And Sis Briggs said that they would definately have to look into that! :) SOO cool!!

Cool quick experience.. A couple of weeks ago.. Me and Elder Wally were walking to an appointment in a town called Pella. I think i've mentioned it before.. Haha and to put it nicely.. ITs a town that REALLY doesn't like Mormon Missionaries. About 6 years ago missionaries actually lived there, but they had to move because bad things were happening. Haha.. And tracting in that town is pretty crazy. You get some harsher than harsh rejections.. But I was pretty determined to find somebody in Pella from tracting. One day as we were walking, I felt like we needed to tract this apartment building. We didn't have time then.. And it killed me to walk away from it, but I knew that we could come back. So a week later we came back, and we found a couple named the Larry and June Fredericks. WAY cool!! Hah. June had family from UT and she would actually visit and go to church there.. And we've been teaching them, and they came to church and things are going great! :) Way cool.. We're gonna be bold with them and invite them to be baptized on December 15th here this week! Woot Woot!! Pray for it!

I love you all family! Very much. THanks for the emails.. Thats crazy that Lexee is getting married.. Geez.. Haha I still don't know how I feel about it.

Mom and Dad thanks for your email.. And Dad to answer your question Springfield IL is actually not in our mission. Its on the border. But there are a few area's that I would have liked to at least visit, like Dubuque Iowa, and Davenport Iowa, and Peoria Illinois, but over all, i've been able to see quite a bit of the state and the mission so its pretty sweet. The biggest thing that I wanted as a younger missionary was to serve near Nauvoo, and I got Quincy which was SWEET! Haha and especially during Pageant Season.. So i'm really happy with the area's that i've served. But its cool I love the mission SO much.

I love you guys! Thanks for the prayers! It means a lot! And I feel them!

Love Elder Russell

Week 82

Hello Family! Wow.. Things are going great out her in the field.. SO many good things are happening I can't even describe them!

Last year at this time in a Zone Leader Cousel Meeting we set a goal of 400 baptisms for the Iowa Des Moines Mission. It is SO cool to see the Lord paving the way for us to have the ability to reach this goal. Right now our mission has reached epic statistics, and we're coming together like there is no tomorrow.. It is SO cool to see. The mission average for baptismal dates on any given week in this past year was usually 30-40 people.. But this morning we each recieved an email that told us that we have 116 people across the mission working to be baptized on a specific day! SO cool! I love it so much. We are unified and holding eachother accountable to obedience, and the good Lord is blessing us. Big Time.

This last week we've had some up's and some down's... But its SO cool to see people's faith push them through challenges that could shake the strongest of all saints.

This last week we heard some sad news.. Brother Briggs, who's been an inactive member for the last 15 years or so, has had a huge trial come up. When the Branch requested his records, our Branch President got a notice saying that somewhere along the lines of his inactivity Brother Briggs had signed a letter in denouncing his membership to the church. He says that he never did it, and that he would have never done it. And I do believe him. He's a great man. He thinks his ex-wife who was VERY anti-mormon might of had something to do with it. It was hard for him to swallow.. And he said that the first thought in his mind was "well if you don't want me, then i'll leave." But he took a step back, and discussed with his wife what would be best. With counsel from us, and church leaders, he decided to stay and push forward to be re-baptized. It was SO cool to see him make that decision.

His wife Sister Briggs who is SOO awesome is going to be baptized this Saturday as well! Way exciting! :) She's asked me to confirm her a member of the church and i'm really excited for this weekend! It should be great.

Yesterday The Bullock family from Ankeny Iowa came down to visit me!! It was SO awesome. They actually have family that are members here in the Knoxville Branch, so i'll hopefully get to see them here more in the future! :)

We witnessed many miracles this week. Its been cool.. Hardships are part of the process too.. But thats just normal.. Haha.. We have got GREAT things going here in the Knoxville Branch. And miracles are going to take place left and right over these next few months. SO excited to see what the Lord has in store for me..

Dad thats way cool about the missionaries! Dang.. Haha i'm excited to see what happens over the next several years. ITs going to be great.

Mom to answer your question, i'm about 45 minutes southeast of Des Moines. So not to far. I'm in the Des Moines Stake. So thats cool. We get to go up there for meetings, and other stuff. So that's fun.. It feels SO weird to go to a big city. Haha i've been in pretty small towns my whole mission, and so when I get to drive on a 4 lane highway its just weird. Haha. And i'm doing good on stuff. I got your letter and the thermals that you sent me so THANK you. I appreciate it. Those will come in handy!

And i'll get that picture to you guys later today I imagine. I'll just send it to your email! So look for it and I hope it works.

Haha and good news.. I haven't killed my companion yet.. So things are great. Looking forward to a new one here soon in a couple weeks.. But i've definitely learned and grown a LOT these last 2-3 months. Haha!

I love you all VERY much. Thanks for everything you do! It means a lot. Thats SO crazy that Lexee is engaged. I'm super sad i'm going to miss the wedding.. But sorry.. i'm NOT coming home any earlier than I have to. Haha. :) I love you guys very much. I've got a great family.

Love Elder Russell

Week 81

Hello Familia!
This week has been a great one.. The Lord has been involved in the lives of our investigators and we are excited to see many many miracles each week!

This last Saturday we had a baptism. It was wonderful.. One day a few weeks back, on P-Day we were looking in a Goodwill for some 25 cent ties.. A lady who was an employee of goodwill walked past us, and something was different. I just knew it wasn't your average ex-change of hello as you walk by. It turned out that she was a member of the church, and that she was baptized 5 or so years ago and had gone inactive. We found her, taught her, and got her coming back to church. Her 9 year old son Toren was not a member, so we were able to teach him and he was baptized yesterday. Such a good kid. SO sharp for his age! :)
As he was baptized, his Mother could not describe the joy that she felt. We asked her to say the closing prayer at the baptism, and she was terrified, but the spirit took over and she gave a very heartfelt and comforting prayer. It was great.
Something that i've learned on my mission is that God never gives up on his children. Time and time again he gives them an opportunity to come back into his fold, and to experience the blessings of His gospel. Sometimes he gives us those opportunities by cutting us down, and compelling us to be humble. He loves us and wants to live with us again SO badly, that he'll cut us down if he has to. Its pretty neat when you think about it!

We've got some fun stuff coming up this week. I'm excited.

Mom to answer a few of your questions.. I don't really know how Gladyis got to come to Des Moines.. She mentioned that she has a person coordinates and schedules where she goes.. So I guess they prayed and Des Moines was the place. She was sweet tho.. Man.. Way fun. Haha I keep singing the songs that were played at her fireside. And no I don't need the coat. I've got the one that I came out with and another. So no worries.. Thanks! :)

We are teaching the Briggs still, and they are facing some opposition, BUT they are tackling it like champions! Its so cool to see how their faith has grown. Yesterday in our Gospel Principles class, we were talking about obedience. There is a section in the manual that talks about being obedient even if you don't know why! Sis Briggs bore a SUPER strong testimony of just doing what the Lord asks. She said she read a quote the other day that said..
"Save yourself some time and some trouble, and just agree with me now!"-God It was so cool. I love it! And its so true.. Part of having Faith is putting your trust in somebody who is a little bit smarter than we are :)

Anyways family.. I love you guys very much. Thanks for everything!

Love Elder Russell

Week 80

Woaaaahhh.. What a sweeet week it was. Man alive.. I'm still SO happy with the way last week turned out.

 

First things first.. Do you all know who Gladyis Knight is?? Well...

She came to the Stake Center in Des Moines Iowa and brought down the house with her, her husband, and her choir.. It was incredible!! Man.. I don't even know what to say about it to do it justice. The whole stake center was FULL of people.. It was awesome. She sang for us and it was one of the most spiritually riveting experiences that i've ever had in my life. We had investigators there, and they literally walked out and pretty much asked us what day they could be baptized. HAHA!! Talk about powerful. They bore the strongest, boldest, and most sincere testimonies of the True Church i've ever heard.. They were SO funny too.. I loved it.

I'm not gonna lie tho... It was pretty wierd to see a stake center from our Church break out into what seemed to be a Southern Baptist Choir. It was so cool tho.. And SO many hearts were touched. Amazing.

 

We brought the Gulley Family to the Fireside with Gladyis Knight. It was great. They have been meeting with missionaries for what seems to be centuries, and now is there time to finally join the church. They have been strong members of the community of Christ church, and they have told there congregation that they will no longer be attending. They have recieved SO many witnesses of the gospel this last 2 months.. And the Fireside topped it off. So sweeeet!! :) Haha! Love it.. They are so determined to get there life in order, and to be baptized. December 15th is the day we picked together! :)

 

Well.. We are still teaching the Briggs! The are some of the funnest people to be friends with. Haha. I get the biggest kick out of them. Bro Briggs is a vietnam vet and he has seen things that people don't even have nightmare's about. Its crazy.. He's such a strong guy tho. He was baptized 12 years ago.. But he went inactive due to some unfortunate circumstances.. Since then he's married a lady from England.. And she is ready to be baptized. And he's going to baptize her! Its going to be a great day. :) Sis Briggs is a HUGE Coffee and Tea drinker. In england 3:00 Tea is a mandatory event. Haha! But this last week, she has given it up. She says that I feel as tho things that I love are being stripped away from me, but I know the thing which is most important will grow in ways that I could never imagine! SO powerful! :)

 

This last Sunday was crazy.. Haha we got a text on Saturday night as 6:30 saying " Elder Russell.. Can you spend 20 minutes speaking to us tomorrow in Sacrament meeting on the Importance of the Priesthood? Thanks!" Haha.. So that Sunday I played the music, passed the sacrament, and was the concluding speaker.. Haha nothing like serving is a tiny little Branch. I think thats why I love the church so much. We always make it work. Whatever we gotta do! :)

 

Bishop Shields! Thanks for the email and the advice! I appreciate it! I'm going to be going to school and hopefully that will keep me plenty busy. Haha thanks for your encouragement and I will definately take that to heart!

 

Momma! Thanks for everything.. I haven't got the winter stuff yet.. But i'm sure its comin soon! Thanks for doing that! I appreciate it!

 

G-Ma Russell! Thanks for the email! Its always great to hear from you!!

 

And my boy Kash Johnson. Your my hero man... Hah! I love you SO much. Thanks for the emails. It means the world. Keep tearin it up there in the real world. I'm gonna have my sister forward an email to you!

 

I love you all! Thanks for the love and support. I've got the greatest group of family and friends a guy could ask for..!

 

Love Elder Russell

Week 79

Hello My Dear Family..

Wow! Life this past week has been wonderful. I can't complain. Each time I listen to our Prophets and Apostles, I feel a sense of urgency to do what is right, to spread the gospel, and to live life to the absolute fullest. We are so lucky to have the knowledge we do. We had a few people come to conference this week who were investigating the church. It was great. They felt the spirit and also realized how the could benefit from having a living prophet. It was really cool. Haha I was able to attend all hours of conference. It was awesome.. 10 hours of Revelation. SO sweet.

During the Sunday session, there was a family in the branch, the Coates, that unexpectedly decided to stay at the church inbetween the morning and afternoon session, due to the 25 minute drive home. It wouldn't have been worth it for them to drive home. But anyways.. We cooked them lunch at the church and it was a blast.. We had breakfast food. They have a little girl that reminds me SO much of Sayler.. ITs crazy.. Haha so she's my best budd here in the Branch. :)

We've been working with quite a few people and seeing great things happen. We have had spiritual lessons with people who are really searching for truth. As i get further and further in my mission I realize that I can't do this forever.. It gives me a drive to seek the spirit in EVERYTHING i do. Its amazing how much the Lord can lift you when you put every ounce of trust you have in HIM! I love it.

We brought a Less-Active father, and his Non-Member 13 year old son to the Priesthood session of conference with us, and as I was watching, I couldn't help but notice how intently this member was listening. It was so cool, and in a few different moments throughout the talk it was as though something was different about him, and I could tell that he was receiving revelation. When the session was ended, he said that he developed a whole new level of Love for his son that he had never felt before.. And you could see it in how happy he was when He walked out of the session. He was hugging his son.. And he even apologized for not being the Father that he should have been these last few years. It was amazing and there were many who were in tears. He said that he had a drive to do more, to make sure that he stays on the straight and narrow. Elder Eyerings talk really hit him to the center. Then I said, if you love you son that much... Just imagine how much the Savior loves the both of you! It was a memorable experience.

Mom if you would.. PLEASE send me my winter stuff asap.. I need the sweaters that I sent home.. Haha.. Not the really thick gray one..But all the other ones!! Also.. please send me all the Long Johns you can find!! Haha Its freezin here.. Its gonna be a gnarly winter i'm pretty sure..

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH thanks for everything

Lexee your the BOMB. Thnaks SOOO much for signing me up for school. Don't know what i'd do without ya!

LOVE ELDER RUSSELL

Week 78

Wow.. What a week it has been! :) Hahah! For sure one of the greatest..

The highlight of this week was Saturday.. Me and Elder Wally had a baptism of a girl named April. She is SO awesome. She has seen SOO much adversity the 2 weeks previous to her baptism, and she plugged through and kept the faith. It was so motivating to me to do what is right and to have a good attitude even when opposition hits. And i'm tellin you, if she can keep the faith through what she went through.. So can I! Haha It was amazing. :)

Then after Aprils baptism, we got picked up by a guy named Bro Frame and we headed to ANKENY!!! :) Haha.. The only way that I can describe how it felt was like I was coming home. Haha i'm pretty sure I got a pretty good picture of what its going to feel like in February! :) I love that place SO much.. There are so many good people there, and the baptism of Dee Dee was unbelievably special. The spirit was SO strong throughout the whole service. She asked me to speak on Baptism, and I don't think i've ever felt more guided and directed by the spirit when speaking before. I got to see Sis Decker and Chelsea, Sis Cox, and SOO many others that it would take to long to name. Haha! :) Loved it SO much. Afterwards we went over to Sis Deckers home and had dinner. Her house is where we taught the lessons to Chelsea and the sweetest memories flooded my mind and once again, as every week, an overwhelming sense of gratitude came into my heart. These people mean the world to me. To watch Dee Dee baptized after 4 1/2 months of me leaving was an answer to many many of mine and others prayers. I know the scripture in 3 nephi is real when it says"whatsoever thing ye shall ask the father in My name, which is right , believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you." It was oh so sweet to have the opportunity to return to Ankeny.

I had a really neat experience this week with following the spirit. This week, we were in a lesson on someones front porch, and during the lessons we ALWAYS have the phone on silent. During the lesson while Elder Wally was reading a scripture, I had the impression to pull the phone out of my pocket. I knew someone was calling even tho there was no vibration or no ringing. I looked at who was calling, and all of the sudden I stepping off the front porch to answer the phone(which I would never do during a lesson because that would be extremely rude) On the other end of the phone I heard a quiet, wimpering voice whom I immediately recognized as a less active Sister in the branch. I cannot even begin to describe the challenges that she's delt with. She lost her 5 year old to cancer a few years back, and just within this last year she's lost her Father, Step Father, and the reason she was calling was to tell us that her Mother has passed away to cancer as well..

At first I didn't know what to say.. She kept asking questions like "is it ever going to stop? and "is this really God's plan for me to suffer this much" and many others.. I read a few scriptures to her out of D&C 121 and 122 and then we began to talk about the Pre Earth life and how strong she was there. By the end of our conversation I wasn't sure if I had done my part to help her. She was quiet and it left me really quite worried about her. That night I prayed harder than I've ever prayed for someone, and we went over the next day and we talked to her. She said that last night was the first time where she wondered what it would be like to not live on the earth. She said she wanted the pain to go away so badly and she was willing to leave this earth if that would take care of it. But she said after we hung up the phone and she thought about the scriptures I read to her, she said that she KNEW that it would all be ok. And she says that her Faith in God has been re-knewed. It has struggled ever since she lost her son 5 or so years ago. It was amazing. Such a blessing. It made me SO grateful that I was a missionary. Its the greatest calling in the world.

I've gotta go family! Thanks so much for the emails and it sounds like you're all doing good! :)

Mom i'll let you know next week when I want you to send the winter stuff. All I want is the thermals and the sweaters out of the stuff I sent home. I love you guys very much! Thanks for all you do.

Also.. Mom I got your card! :) Thanks!!

Love Elder Russell

 

Week 77

his week.. Has been a good one. Haha! We have had some super funny experiences! Haha!!

 

 

 

We were teaching the Word of Wisdom to these people who's walls are yellow because of SOO much smoking that been done in the house the past 10 years. There are 3 of them and they all AT LEAST smoke a pack a day.. One of them smokes 3 packs a day! hahah! Pretty crazy.. And every lesson that we have with them we walk out smelling like we've been smokers for the past 5 years. But anyways.. We taught the Word of Wisdom, and we started out by reading Moroni 7:16 with them. How we've ALL been given the Spirit of Christ to teach us right from wrong.. Then we started in teaching, and they had all sorts of excuses and complaints.. And they all weren't to excited about this commandment. I asked them to pause a minute and I read another scripture about how our body is a temple.. Then I asked them to take a step back, pause for a minute, and listen to what the Spirit of Christ was trying to teach them at this very minute.. It was silent for close to a minute.. And I asked.. "Do you really think smoking is something that the Lord wants us to be doing??" And they all 3 said No.. And they agreed to work towards quitting. It was such a neat experience to watch someone be taught by the Spirit of Christ.

 

We had some extra time and so we decided to knock some doors. We were in Pella IA. The door on the inside was open and the storm door was shut. We knocked, and what seemed to be a really nice young mother strutted down the hallway towards the door to come and talk to us. In my mind I was excited because it seemed promising and she seemed happy to see us. Next thing that I knew, that nice young mother wasn't so nice anymore.. She yelled at us, and even went to the extent of commanding us in the name of Jesus to get off her porch. She said the worst things about us as a religion and as people.. It was heartbreaking to think that this woman was SO decieved. If she just knew any one mormon in that community, I know that she would change her mind. I am happy that our religion teaches us to love everyone of every kind. I wouldn't be happy with myself if I had that type of hatrid for any one person.

 

We were teaching another lesson.. And the living room had a BIG window that looked out to the front yard. The lady we were teaching just commented on how she had just cleaned the window. We complimented her and told her it looked nice and clean. Haha right in the middle of our lesson as the spirit was really strong.. We all jumped out of our seats at the sound of a huge THUD on the window behind us. Haha a bird nailed the window going full speed. Sadly.. We all laughed for about 10 minutes.. We went outside and the bird was no where to be found. It was SOO funny. Oh man.. I thought you guys would like that story.

 

Anyways.. I've gotta go! We've got a lot of stuff to do today! I get to go back to Ankeny IA this Saturday to witness a baptism. If you remember Chelsea from Ankeny.. Her mom is now going to be baptized and President said that I could go back and watch. SO excited. Haha! Love it!

MOM i'm glad you got my present. Hope you had a good birthday!

OAKLEY FAMILY!! Thank you SOOO much for the package. That made me SO happy. I'll write back sometime here soon! :)

KASH JOHNSON: THanks for the email man.. Your my hero! Keep em coming! SO good to hear from you. I'm glad life is goin good..

I love you all! Thanks for everything!

 

LOVE ELDER RUSSELL

Week 76

The Lord has greatly blessed us this week.. Wow..

 

Today.. I am SO grateful. I'm grateful for my family and friends.. I'm grateful for the knowledge which I have that God loves us! I'm grateful to hear that Zander and Kash are ok.. And that is a miracle that I will never stop giving thanks for.. God was with them.. Thats for sure. Wow.. So happy they are ok.

 

Elder Wally and I have too been blessed this week.. We have seen some great miracles and people have popped into our lives who are ready and who need the Savior in their lives. Its been cool to see..

 

We had another lesson with our investigator Christina, who is AWESOME.. Ahh.. I love her. She has dedicated an hour each morning to a study of the Book of Mormon. Then she goes out and walks her dog.. And she says that ever since she's began her day by reading the Book of Mormon she feels a whole new level of peace as she goes throughout her day. And she's really beginning to have a testimony of it and its changing her life. Its bringing her peace that's she's wanted her whole life. Almost too sweet! :)

 

I've been SO unbelievably tired lately.. I fell asleep writing in my journal the other day and my companion came out later that night and drug me into bed. Haha.. Super funny..

 

We had a great lesson with a less-active Lady this week.. She was baptized a few years back, but slowly has fallen off the face of the earth.. We went to Goodwill on P-Day last week and as we looked at her nametag we knew it sounded familiar. We began talking and she told us she was a member of the church. Pretty cool.. We set up a lesson with her and when we went back she began to tell us how easy it was to not go to church, and how easy it was to rely on coffee to wake her up in the morning, and how easy life is not living the commandments.

I asked her about the day that she was baptized, and she talked for 20 minutes about how she loved that, and how for the first time she felt warmth and comfort in her life.. It was awesome.. Then I asked her If she's experienced those feelings since she's stopped coming to church.. With her tail between her legs, looking down at her feet, she said.. "No I haven't." We asked her if she wanted to have that comfort and warmth once again in her life and she said yes. SO cool.. I told her it wasnt going to be easy.. But it was for sure going to be worth it.

 

One lesson I learned is that we don't do things in this church because they are easy.. Or sometimes even enjoyable.. But we do them because God said so.. We are taught at a very young age to trust in someone who's a little smarter than ourselves. We are taught to live the Gospel, or in other words do the will of the Father. Its that simple. Because its not about this life... ITs about Eternal Life.. Living with God and our family forever.

 

I'm really sorry.. But my computer is going to kick me off..lvoe you guys.. I've gotta go! :) I'm so glad things are ok.

 

Love Elder Russell

Week 75

Wow...

 

Haha I just got an email from my hero Kash.. Thats so weird. He's home! Haha! Dang.. Time has gone by so fast. LOVE HIM!

Well this week has been a sweet week! The town of Knoxville is a funny little town.. But there are a lot of people who are ready for the gospel thats for sure.. We've been focusing on Part-Member families, and thats seemed to really work out for us these last couple days! We've been able to teach about the power and security of an eternal family.. And how wonderful that  reality is.. It made me realize how lucky I am to have the family that I do! Born in the Gospel.. Under the covenant.. Man.. What more could someone ask for??

 

We also spent some time in a town called Pella Iowa.. Its a crazy little town thats for sure.. It was settled by the dutch, and they make the greatest pastries i've ever tasted in my life.. oh goodness.. I would fly all the way back to Pella Iowa just to eat one. Haha.. But its a very clean cut town (which is rare out here.. haha) The streets are very clean, the houses are all in good shape, the grass is green. Pretty cool. But the people are most definitely well off and don't want to do much to do with us. haha.. I can handle the rejections, and the stupid rumors about the church.. Those don't get to me.. But when a car full of people drive by us and point and laugh for some reason it just wells up inside... Grrr... Haha! I didn't say anything don't worry.. But I thought about it! Haha.. My mission is teaching me good things! Like how to be the bigger person! :)

 

Anyways.. We have been working with this Lady's who's husband has been innactive for the last 15 years..  Her name is Christina, and let me tell you, she can knit things like there is no tomorrow.. Its incredible.. I'll have to send some pictures to you guys next week! She seriously does the most amazing things with a ball of yarn. SO coool.. But anyways.. She has been a gem to teach.. So fun. She's got a Scottish English accent, and she grew up in the Northeast of England. She's had some rough experiences in life but the Gospel is bringing her happiness.. And she recognizes that..

When we first met her she said in her accent.. "Now boys.. I want in on your secret" And we asked what secret.. And she said.. "Why are you guys smilin all the time..? Do ya know somethin I don't?" Ha its really cool to see her change when she is learning these things that we know! Love it.

 

Well this last Sunday.. A person who has been investigating the church for 28 years was baptized.. SO cool. The spirit was strong.. The wife of this man, and her kids talked about how every single night they would pray for this day to happen.. Every night they would ask if it were possible to let their husband and their dad jooin the church.. And the prayers paid off.. So cool..

 

Anyways.. Thanks for the emails! They mean a lot. I'm glad things are going good at home.. Its crazy to think that another school year is starting. Wow.. Haha! Hard to believe!  But I look forward to hearing from you next week!

 

Love Elder Russell

Week 74

Hello Hello Hello.. I've began a new phase of my mission and i'm pretty excited..

I'm not going to lie to you.. My heart is still in Quincy.. And I really miss it. But that seems to be the case when I leave every area! So we'll see how it goes!

I am now in Knoxville IA! Pretty exciting! Haha! Its a tiny little branch, we also cover this little town called Pella IA, which is way sweet. Haha.. It was settled by the Dutch people.. And its very pretty and they have the worlds greatest tasting pastries and cookies. And they also have HUGE tulip festivals in the spring.
And my new companions name is Elder Wally. He's a good guy. Big heart for sure.. He's struggled quite a bit on his mission so far. But we're workin with him :)

We've got good things going on! And i'm pretty sure its the first area that I've walked into that actually has something going on! Which is good.. We are teaching a lady named April who's been investigating the church for 5 years.. And she's finally decided to be baptized. Haha.. And also a guy named Scott who's been investigating the church for 28 years and also who teaches our Gospel Doctrine Class! HAHA crazy huh!! He's not a member yet.. But he's going to be baptized on Sunday.  he's been teaching Gospel Doctrine the whole year! I find that super funny.. Way cool tho! He's super excited! Haha..!

THank you SO much for the emails.. They were especially good this week. Haha! I'm happy that the family is doing well..!

Dad thanks for sending me the talk! I will print it out later this week and read it! :)
Mom your the greatest. THnaks so much! :)
Lexee! Thanks for everything as well! 

LOOVE YOU ALL! SO much.. I'm sorry this is short. I'll write more next week when I know the area a little better!

LOVE ELDER RUSSELL!

Week 73

Wow.. This week has been wonderful!! :)

 

I have mentioned just a little bit about a girl we were teaching named Sam Nelson. She was baptized this last Saturday and it was marvelous. :) It was a very unique baptism due to the fact that the baptismal font at our church was under construction so it took place in a pool. Haha..  But it couldn't have worked out more perfect!

        We held the service in the backyard of a members home, and it was BEAUTIFUL. The weather was perfect, and there was a beautiful lake in the background of the people givings talks. We had a speaker system and it was picture perfect. As people were trickling in to come sit down, we had Mormon Tab Choir playing and it was so cool to see how the spirit was so strong in the backyard and people recognized it. Then when it was time for the baptism we went over to the neighbors pool (who are non members) and Sam was baptized by her good friend Nick. SOO sweet! Haha!

        Sam's father has been an inactive member for 14 years.. He felt as though he was pushed into the church when he was young. Sam's mom is not a member, and also her little Brother Nathan is not a member. As we closed the baptismal service and sang Hymn #301 I am a child of God, I watched Sam's dad's eyes fill with tears. He was moved by the spirit in a way that he has never felt before.. After the service he gave me a big hug and told me that he had never felt that way before. I told him it was the spirit telling him that this is true. And he knows it is. SO powerful. One of the great experiences i'll remember for the rest of my life. We are working with her Mom and little Brother to help them be baptized. Its going to be near impossible to say goodbye to them.. I get knots in my stomache even thinking about it. :(

 

This baptism was very special.. (As they all are.) I prayed day in and day out that I might be able to baptize at least 1 person while I was serving here in Quincy. And as Sam was baptized the Lord answered my prayers..

Then about 15 minutes after the service had ended I received a call from President Jergensen telling me that I was being transferred and released from my calling. I sat there in silence realizing how timely the baptism was and how perfectly it all worked. I looked back on the last 3 months, an realized how great God had been to me at times when i didn't even know it.  Then I thought about how literally the exact same thing happened to me in Ankeny. An over-whelming feeling over came me and now i know more than ever that the Lord truly does help us reach our richeous goals and desires. It was so amazing. Its amazing how blessed we are.

 

Mom thanks for your package. It was wonderful!! Don't send anymore stuff to that address though because as of this Thursday I will no longer be in Quincy.

I'm really sad to leave and I have gained some wonderful friends here in Quincy. I can't wait to come back and visit someday.

 

I think thats all I got this week.. I'm excited to enter a new phase of my mission. Its new, exciting, and adventerous. Thanks for all you do for me! I loooooveee you all!

 

Love Elder Russell

Week 72

Why Hello Everybody! Another week has gone by, and here I am doing the same thing I do every Monday.. Haha pretty funny..

 

I'm getting some funny looks right now.. Haha Lexee sent me this AWESOME tie made out of Lego's so i'm wearing that.. And my contacts were really bugging my eyes this morning so I brought the glasses that I got before my mission out in public.. And they are big, round, and straight from the 70's.. So i'm not to sure anyone can take me seriously right now.. Haha probably won't wear the glasses again in public.. But people LOVE the tie! Haha especially little kids!

 

Anyways.. This last week I had a few teaching experiences that were very memorable! We were teaching this Mom and Dad about our church. They are good friends with the Bishop of our ward and his family, and they had taken them to Nauvoo to see the pageant not to long ago.. She invited us in, so we could drop off this free CD that you can order if you come to the Nauvoo Pageant! So we went it, and she then began to tell us how wonderful every Mormon person is.. She said "I think in order to be a mormon you have to be very talented, extremely loving and friendly, very prosperous, and have a minimum of 5 kids." It was pretty funny.. Haha! Then she said this.. She said " I love you guys, and I envy you, but i'm VERY firm in my baptist church, and I do a lot of things there, have a lot of friends there.. and I plan on staying that way untill I die."

As our conversation went on, we began to mingle Gospel Principles into our conversation, and that led to her asking questions.. Which led to us answering them.. Which led to a mind that was blown!! Haha.. She was so taken back at the simple truths that we taught her.. Soon enough her husband joined in the conversation and his mind was blown away! We taught them about the Book of Mormon.. And we said to them that if they wanted to know if this was true.. They needed to pray and ask God. Because he's the one who will never lead you astray. We said " Us 20 year old kids can tell you all we want.. But your never going to know if its true unless you ask God." Then the Father of the home said.. " You've got us pointed in the right direction though.." ANd when he said that chills ran up and down my spine.

A few days later, the Mother was on the phone with the Bishops wife, who's her good friend, and she said, " I can't leave my church! I have so much going on there!" And Sis Seaman said.." are you trying to convince me, or are you trying to convince yourself that that will never happen.." I believe a big change is ready to take place in their home.. We'll see how they react to the opposition of a baptist minister.. It can be brutal! Hahaha! :)

 

Thats one of 3 awesome stories I really want to tell you.. And I think I only have time for 1 more!

 

We have began to teach an In-Active member and his girlfriend.. We went over there, and it was cool to see how the Lord has been preparing them! They asked questions about the word of wisdom.. "Why not Coffee? Why not Tea? Doctors say that Tea can prevent heart problems! And plus.. Jesus drank wine!!" We taught the Restoration and don't ask me how.. Because I really can't even remember what we said.. But at the end of the lesson, we walked away and they had a determination to live the word of wisdom. It was SO cool.. They each said " I get it.. It makes sense now.." It was a very rewarding feeling to have! LOVE IT!

 

Haha one thing I forgot to tell you guys about last week! So the Pageant ended on a Saturday night.. And they asked our Mission President if he could let all the missionaries come and help clean up after the pageant. And it was a project!! Holy cow.. The Pageant is amazing.. And I never realized how much goes into it untill I was taking it all apart piece by piece! Haha We stayed up untill 3 in the morning taking all the stuff down, and they still weren't done when we left. It was crazy.. It felt really weird being in normal clothes arounds people. I felt naked.. Haha!, and also staying up untill 3 was super weird..! Haha.. But anyways I thought that was cool and i wanted to tell you!

I LOVE YOU ALL! I GOTTA GO!

talk to you next week!

LOVE Elder Russell

Week 71

Haha so.. I think that some people already know this.. But you'll never guess who I just went to Breakfast with... Kevin and Natalie Gleave!!! Hahah!! SO awesome.. I saw them at the pageant on Saturday night when we were getting ready to take everything down, and they came to Quincy this morning and took me and my comp out to breakfast.. What a treat.. I LOVED it! Haha! So cool :) I love them.. haha!

 

Anyways.. This last week has been SOOO much fun. Haha I got to do so many things that missionaries usually don't get to do so it was fun.

 

 On Wednesday we headed to Des Moines to have an ex-change with the AP's.. And that was a blast.. haha It was a pretty good drive tho thats for sure.. 4 hours! If i was in UT it would be like we drove to St. George for a day then came back.. Haha and i'm pretty sure me Kash and SKy have done that before.. So not the first time :) But anywyas.. Downtown Des Moines is a pretty crazy place! Haha.. So many funny things happened. I loved it! Then the next day we drove to Nauvoo and worked the pageant and then came home that night. It was waay fun!

 

I want to tell you guys an experience that I had on Tuesday before that.. We set up an appointment with this family, and the mom of the family has had a SUPER rough go these last few weeks.. She had surgery, and I have to idea how to spell it, but it sounds like this: ahurnea?? Haha.. its the same surgery that Kash had before he left on his mish.. Anyways.. She had one of those and she got MAJOR infection inside and has been going to and from the hospital is St. Louis like mad.. Her husband is a truck driver which only puts him at home usually 4 days a month. As you can only imagine, this mothers stressors were off the charts.

As she stressfully explained the hardships and trials that she's been facing and is still yet to face, my heart wrenched and I wanted to do anything I could to help her..  So we asked her if we could give her a blessing, and she agreed. As we sat a chair down in the living room, her kids got really quiet.. (which is a rare thing) and we gave her a blessing.. When it was over, she was in tears and told us that she couldn't explain how she felt inside. She said she knew from the second that we put our hands on her head that it was all going to be ok. She said it was as if the Savior spoken those words himself. It was another one of the strongest spiritual moments of my mission.. And I love the Priesthood because it allows us to help others in ways that nothing else could.

 

Ha so another lady that we're teaching asked us to come over and help her out with her yard. She told us she wanted us to get things ready because she was going to pay someone to have some tree's trimmed that were hanging over her roof.. So we asked her if we could just trim the tree's for her instead of her paying for it.. She didn't really know what to say.. And so we called our Bishop and he brought a latter and some saws and we took care of it for her right there.. Everything worked out perfectly.. Haha and she was blown away.. Her heart is being softened and she says that she see's something different about the people of our church. Its SO fun and she is so much fun to teach. I really hope that she comes around..

 

Dad.. Thanks for that email.. That story was AWESOME!! Haha i love tender mercies! I'm glad that it all worked out and everything is going good! And to answer your question, I'm not sure if they have  an exact location of the Mississippi crossing. But next time we go up there i'll look into it for sure!

 

I love you family! So much thanks for everything! I'm so blessed.

 

Love Elder Russell

Week 70

It was a pretty good week to be a missionary.. We had some dissappointing things happen this week.. But we move on and trust that God will give our friends another shot in the future..

     

     We had a friend we were teaching.. And she knew that her parents were not going to approve of joining the mormon faith.. She talked to her mom and her mom was very appauled at her meeting with us. And although our friend had recieved a spiritual witness that it was true.. She chose to stop meeting with us. And thats tough.. When she called us and told us this, in a way it was like her life flashed before my eyes.. I thought about her future eternal family, and all the amazing things that would be in store for her if she would just join the Church. I thought about her kids being raised in the Gospel, and serving missions, and I thought about how eternal life was literally hanging in the balance.. And once again i realized why this gospel is so important. I prayed real hard for her and I know that down the road she'll have another shot to accept the gospel. So thats good to know.

 

     A huge hit among the young families today is these temporary, non-denominational, christian churches.. People can go there, drop their kids off in the basement, buy a cup of coffee, and listen to a Christian Rock concert on Sunday morning from 11-12 and call it good for the week. It never ceases to amaze me how someone's idea of "worship" can be so different that what we're taught from the bible. People say all you gotta do is believe, and your saved. Nothing else is required. And then they come to us and say " You mormons are trying to earn your way into Heaven..!" And everytime it happens I try to explain that we don't.. But they don't listen. Haha.

     The more and more that I study the Plan of Salvation the more I love the Church of Jesus Christ.. It teaches us that the atonement was not just some huge favor that Christ did for us, but rather it was an huge investment that Christ made in us. We are saved by Grace absolutely.. But has the Grace which he's FREELY given us changed us? Ha I don't know why i'm typing this right now.. But at night sometimes my mind just goes to town thinking about this stuff.. So now you guys know what I do with my free time. Haha..

 

We are teaching this girl named Sam and she's great! Its so cool to see her grow in the gospel. She understands it, and she applies it, and therefore she knows its true. Its so cool. Haha every lesson is so spiritual and she's going to be baptized on Aug 18th! She's way excited and so are we!

 

Anyways I love you guys.. Its been a good week.. This week I get to go to Des Moines IA because our area is getting a new car.

Dad! Happy Birthday on Aug 2nd!! Woot woot! 62 years old.. Haha.. Also that day marks 18 months on my mission! AHHHH!!! Scary. Haha goes so fast..

Looks like the family reunion was a blast.. Haha I LOVED those pictures. SO funny!

Mom thanks for your email.. I couldn't help but laugh as you described all the crazy stuff that was going on around the house with the kids and the dog there.. Pretty funny! I LOVE YOU ALL! Thanks for everything!

 

LOVE ELDER RUSSELL

 

Week 69

Cool quote of the week.. " Pray as if it all depends on Him, and work like it all depends on you"

Haha i'm sure you've heard that before.. But it hit me this week that this is how I have to live for the rest of my life.

 

Haha.. SO i gotta start of with a funny story..

 

        We are teaching a family. They have 8 year old twins.. A 13, 14, and 16 year old.. And the mom and dad. We taught them about the Restoration, and then very boldely invited them to be baptized.. And when we did so, the 13 year old girl said... "I don't think we can, everybody at our baptist church would be really mad!" Then one of the twins named Dalton blurted out "Sure we can!! I'm already quittin the baptist church, all I do is get in trouble there..." Hahaha.. We all laughed forever... Haha. It was way funny.. We are working with them.. A big family is a busy family.. So its tough.. But I know that they will join the church someday.

 

     This last Thursday President Jergensen came out and taught with us! It was SO sweet.. We set up 3 appointments at the Church and people came to us all night. We didn't have to leave the Church. Haha.. It was a dream come true.. People coming to us, instead of us pestering them! Hahaha!!

 

     My testimony this week has been taken to a whole new level.. We have been teaching people about the Plan of Salvation, and it is literally the most perfect plan that has ever been given to mankind.. We were teaching our friend named Judy that I had mentioned last week, and she is wonderful.. One of the funnest people i've ever been blessed to teach. We taught her about this perfect plan, and she knew it was true.. She could not deny it. We talked about how a Prophet of God restored these simple truths to us. We taught her about how the Priesthood has been restored to the earth.

        I told her, I said.. "If you REALLY want to know if Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and if you REALLY want to know that God and Jesus Christ came to Joseph Smith in the grove of tree's in New York.. Just ask Him!! He was there! And He will tell you. Because he loves you and cares for you!"

        Change is such a difficult thing. Being told by two 20 year old kids that you need to change your church, and be baptized again, and you need to stop drinking Coffee and Tea and you need to keep the Sabbath Day Holy is a difficult thing for people to embrace.. But you can always pick out the people who know and trust in God, and those who don't. Because the spirit speaks to them in a way that they understand. Its wonderful!

 

        One last story.. We went to check up on a lady who we taught like 5 or 6 weeks ago.. And we had trouble getting back in with her to teach her more.. So we went back and we ran into her and her friend who was 19. We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.. And it was so cool. The 19 year old friend named Kelsey said "earlier today I doubted if God really did exist. But now since you guys have been here I don't doubt anymore. I know he's there." We asked her what made her decide that.. And she said.. "because I felt him here." It was so cool.. Then randomly she said, "I think I lived with God before I came to this earth.." Haha we were a little taken back.. But it was SO awesome. We taught her a little about the Plan of Salvation. She LOVED it and we're going to teach her more tomorrow.

 

I love you family.. Thanks for everything! Its been a sweet week.. WE are preparing a few people to be baptized in August.. And i'll tell you more about them later. Haha.. I'm teaching more people than I've ever taught right now and its the greatest time of my life. I love it! Thanks for all you do for me! HOpe the family reunion if fun! Tell everyone that I say hello!

 

LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Russell

I'll send pictures next week!

Week 68

Wow!! It sounds like everyone is doing good!

Grandma Russell thanks for the update!! SO good to hear from you!

And mom and dad please let know Scott Standage thanks for the email... And I'll definitely use what he gave me!

And Lexee, tell Sis. Cox thanks for the email! And i'll be waiting for that letter! :)

 

Nauvoo has gotta be one of the greatest places on earth.. Haha the spirit is so strong there, and there is no denying it. Its weird tho because we walk around and ask for refferals from people, and everybody knows who you are, and they are way nice because they are mostly all members! It's just a different way of doing missionary work that i am NOT used to.. Haha! But its definitely enjoyable and its really easy to get used to!

ALso.. Nauvoo just makes you happy to be associated with the Church. Its so cool.. And no other church does it quite like ours does. Its awesome! :)

 

On Saturday night we got to stay in Nauvoo to actually watch the Pageant. Usually we just leave right as the Pageant is starting, but Chelsea and Sis Decker from Ankeny came down and I called President Jergensen and asked if we could stay.. And to my suprise he said yes!! Haha it was SOO awesome. So good to see them. I also saw some people from Fayette! Way fun night!

 

I want to tell you guys about this lady who me and my comp met. She is WAAY awesome.. And i swear she could be my Aunt.. Haha she acts just like my Mom and Aunt Stacey. haha!  We began talking to her, and she was confused why we were stopping her! She kept saying "we're on the same team! I believe in Christ he is my Savior, and you guys need to help someone else!" It was tough.. We tried to help her understand the Restoration.. But it wasn't clicking. We asked her to check it out on Mormon.org and so she did.. Which led her to other sights as well! Some good, some bad.. But something about this peaked her curiosity. We met with her last night, and she asked questions about Polygamy, and the restrictions of the Priesthood, and we answered it and shared with her a scripture in Acts 2 about the "Restitution of ALL things from all the prophets since the world began" and it began to make sense to her! It was SO cool and you could literally see her countenance change. It was amazing. EPIC lesson for sure.. Its going to take her a while to accept it, but it will happen!!

 

We are keeping very busy.. But during summertime people seem to be very busy.. Which is no good.. Haha! We have so many people who keep postponing or just bailing on our appointments and thats pretty frusterating! But we work through it.

 

Dad you asked some questions about the ward here in Quincy. Its pretty big.. There are 220 active a week. And there are actually 4 missionaries in the ward here. So we work the South Side of Quincy. The amount of In-Active or Less-Active people is a little overwhelming.. Haha thats for sure.. But we're workin on them. Haha..

 

I love you Family.. Sorry.. Kind of a boring email.. But I've gotta get heading. I Love YOu All!! Have fun at the Family Re-Union! Sounds like its going to be a blast!!

 

Love Elder Russell

 

Week 68

Hello!! Thats pretty crazy about the fires..! I hope all is good!

Hope you all had a good 4th of July!

And those stories of Zander and the kids crack me up.. I'm always laughing and everybody else in the Library is looking at me like i'm crazy.. Oh well! I miss my little buddies! :) Give them all a big hug from their favorite uncle!!

 

This past week was EPIC.. Oh man.. And this week is going to be too! We're so busy its not even funny...

 

So first thing.. Ross went to the temple and it was the greatest. He loved every second of it. He learned SO much and he was at a loss for words when we were sitting in the Celestial Room. Spirit was SO strong. I learned a valuable lesson too.. Its going to be hard to describe it on email tho.. Haha!

About 8 months ago.. I thought that there was no way that Ross would have been able to make it to the temple.. I assumed that it waasn't going to happen while I was on my mission. In a way.. I put a limit on what Ross could do and what he could accomplish. The valuable lesson that I learned is that there is no limits with God. ANYTHING is possible.. There are so many times where we set limits on ourselves and say things like "oh that will never happen" or "I could never do that." And the only reason that thats true is because you say it is! I learned this week that anything is possible with God. SO COOL! So don't set limitations.. Haha they are no good. And they keep us from reaching our full potential!

 

Second.. Thank you Mom for the card!! Its always a good day when you get mail.. Hah! :)

 

Third.. This week we get to work the Nauvoo Pageant 3 days! I'm super excited.. Its kind of crazy tho because that takes us out of our area for 3 nights a week... But its ok the Lord has provided and all of our friends who we're teaching can still meet on other nights. So we're gooood!

 

Fourth.. I've got poison ivy like crazy all over my legs.. It sucks.. Haha its ok tho. We have like 89 doctors in the Ward here in Quincy.. Haha ok probably not 89... But we have a ton.. And they are helpin me out! Ha!

 

Fifth.. I LOVE YOU ALL!  So much.. Thanks for the emails Mom and Dad! :) It scares me how fast time flies.. Man.. Mission life is good.. Anyways.. I gotta go!

 

LOVE,ELDER RUSSELL

 

Week 67

Its so hot.. Oh man.. It was 104 degrees with 98% humidity the other day. We were riding bikes, covered in sweat from head to toe, and it hit me how crazy you have to be to be a missionary! Haha! But I love it.. Its the best.

 

Anyways.. We saw some awesome miracles this week. Some of our investigators made some poor decisions and thats always dissappointing, but we move on, and get better.

 

I wanna tell you a SWEET experience that I had. Its a little long.. But it'll be worth it.

 

     So we got a call from somebody in the Macomb ward, and he told us that somebody needed a blessing at the Hospital here in Quincy. We headed over there and had a nice visit. She was a real nice lady named Cooper. We gave her a blessing and we went on our way.. Then the next day... We had a huge impression that we needed to go back to the hospital. So we headed back, and it turns out that this ladies sickness had took a turn for the worse.. She was in a lot of pain, and she was crying, and throwing up, and to the point of almost giving up. We asked the nurses out in the hall if we could visit her, and they said no. We begged the nurses to at least ask Cooper her if we could come and give her a blessing. They said no.. So just about when we were going to give up and leave, another nurse walked out of Coopers room, and we asked her real quick if she would ask Cooper if she wanted a blessing. She went in and asked.. And Cooper said Yes.

   As the blessing began, something changed inside the room. Cooper slowly stopped crying, and what seemed to be a dark and dismal hospital room, turned into a happy and warm place of healing. It was amazing!! When the blessing was over, Cooper said "now that feels good." Haha! It was sweet. The nurses were in shock.. They had been trying everything that had learned for the past few hours to help the pain go away.. The other Nurses that told us to go away came into the room because they wanted to see why she wasn't crying anymore.. And they saw us there. They weren't to happy at first, but Cooper made sure that they knew that we were welcome anytime in her Hospital Room! Haha! :) It was an amazing experience. We came back the next day with Baloons and a rose for Cooper and she was doing great. She got to leave later that night, and the whole rest of the time she was there she shared the gospel with all the nurses who watched it happen! SOO COOL! God is good..

 

Tomorrow.. I get to go to NAUVOO!! Haha Ross Conrad from Muscatine is going through the temple and I am more excited than ever. Its going to be the greatest day in the world. He is so pumped up.On the phone the other night he said.." I feel like i'm gonna find out what Heaven feels like.." It was so powerful. Loved it!

 

Thank you all for the emails.. They were so good.. I love them. Thanks Mom and Dad for all you do. Have a greeeeat 4th of July. We've got like 5 lessons planned for that day so its gonna be one of the best ever for mme!! :) Haha! I'm excited. And I think that our mission president will let us stay up till 10:30 to watch fireworks.. He did last year so we'lll see what he will do this year. I love you all and miss you.

Love Elder Russell

Week 66

Hello My Family!

 

I heard a awesome quote this week.. It said.. "Faith is not believing that God can, but KNOWING that he will."

I think that most of us know that God can do everything.. But do we really know and believe that he will do things for us? Pretty sweeeeeeet

 

ANyways.. This week has been SO cool. So many miracles. The ward here in Quincy is pretty great. Our Bishop, Bishop Seaman is THE MAN! Holy cow.. So cool.. He's got 9 kids, he's a doctor, and he's just awesome. When I was reading the scriptures this morning I was reading about Moroni in Alma 43&44.. And Bishop is a modern day Moroni. Hah! Pretty sweet!

 

     One thing that is a little overwhelming about this area is the amount of Less-Active or In-Active members here.. And sadly, quite a number of them are Recent Converts too! But as we have been visiting people, and getting to know them and serving them, we are seeing miracles. A Family that has totally ignored the missionaries for the past year invited us to a BBQ next week! And we knew that this In-Active sister LOOVED cheesecake, so we made a homemade Cheesecake with the Bishops family and gave it to her and she was happy and it allowed us to have a lesson with her for the first time in years.. Its been so cool to see progress being made with these people! It feels so good to help people tear down walls that have been up for so long! It's changing them. And There are so many other stories that I just don't have time to tell!

 

  Ha So on Wednesday night... We had a ward party and it was a talent show. It was so much fun. I voluntered my companion and I to cook the hamburgers.. There were about 150-200 people there so as you can tell this would be quite the challenge.. Haha! So we started cooking, and we had like 30 burgers on this big huge grill at once.. And the grease that was dripping down into the fire was creating a flame that was like 2 feet high. It was so high that we couldn't really get in there to flip them till it cooled down. We said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to please in some way keep the food from burning so everybody could enjoy their night. They were under there for quite some time, and when the fire went down we were amazed to see that the burgers were just fine and ready to go.. It was amazing. Miracle for sure.. A small one. But one that I appreciated SO much. Prayer really works.

 

   Haha also.. They had a ward closet before the talent show, and I got a pair of SWEEET bowling shoes for free..! Haha! So awesome! Love it.

I hope you got my letter in the mail with those pictures.. If not let me know!

And mom.. DId you ever pick up my winter clothes from Sis. Brown's Dad's house?? Please let me know!!

 

I love you family! So much. Good to hear from you! Thanks for all you do!

 

Love Elder Russell

Week 65

Hello Family! :) It sounds like you guys are all doing good!! Haha! I'm happy to hear it!

I'm pretty shocked that you let a dog live in your house mom.. Thats a sign that things have definitely changed! Haha! I'm proud of you..

   Wow.. Hah I have had a great week.. I didn't spend to much time in my area.. We had 2 days of meetings in Iowa City.. And those were great. My mission president is the man.. I love him so much. Haha!

  I gotta tell you guys about a SWEET thing that I got to do on Tuesday night.. My heart starts pounding when I think about it. Haha! So on Tuesday night after our meeting in Iowa City, Elder Parkinson(my best budd) suprised me and told me that I was spending the night in Muscatine!! My 1st area!! Haha! I just about lost it right there in the Church parking lot.. So we hopped into the car and headed down there. It was so cool to see all the people, and the progress that they've made.

 

The first visit I made, was the Norton Family!- They were a less-active family, and they came to church for the first time in a while my last Sunday I was in Muscatine! And they have been active ever since! So awesome. Bro Norton gave me a big old hug.. And it was SO good to see him..

 

We had dinner at Mama Stone's house. She is the greatest. :)

 

Then the highlight of the night took place. I had called a few people that we had baptized while I was there, and I asked them to meet me at the church!! It was so awesome! They gave me a big old hug. We started talking about their lives since I had left. And i'm gonna give you a brief summary of what's taken place..

 

Ross Conrad- He's 40 years old.. And hasn't missed a single day of Church since he was baptized. Goes out with the missionaries multiple times a week. Blesses, prepares or passes the sacrament every week. And just recieved the Melchezidek Priesthood!! Haha and on July 3rd.. He will go to the Nauvoo temple to recieve his endowments. And I got permission to go with him!! :) Haha SOO exciting! When we found Ross he was spiraling down faster and faster.. And now he has a purpose in life.. Its so amazing! He has so much faith, and he is so strong. He called me on Sunday right after he participated in his first Priesthood blessing. And he was SO full of the spirit. He couldn't even talk when he was on the phone!! Amazing.. He's an awesome guy.

 

Skyler Ketelsen- 19 years old..He went in-active for a month or 2 after I was already gone from Muscatine... But he is back on track now.. And he is doing amazing. He attended a Stake Conference in Iowa City and Elder Perry of the 12 was there. He was hit so strongly by the spirit and he said a voice said to him that he needed to go on a mission. So now he is preparing to serve a mission!! Haha soo awesome. Hopefully he stays strong! His family isn't very supportive.

 

And I got to see some other friends that I made while I was there! I saw Madison O'brien and Abigail Enriquez! And they are so special. :) I love them all so much

The whole Marston Clan came by the church and we had a big old party right there in the parking lot. It was so good to see them all! It was like a big family reunion!!

 

That night as I knelt down to pray, I was overwhelmed because I wanted to thank Heavenly Father.. But words would not suffice for how much thanks that I wanted to give him. I am forever grateful and in debt for a God who loves me, and has taken care of me, my new friends, and my old friends while i've been gone. I love it so much!

 

I love being a missionary. So much. Its the best thing somebody can do with their life. I love you all so much. I'll write more about Quincy next week! :) I'm out of time. Haha

 

Thanks for your emails Mom and Dad and Lexee! I love them!! Sounds like the family is doing good! And mom.. We're going to be moving here soon so I will get you my address next week. I promise. If you need to send something to me right now send it to the mission home! Or just wait till next week and i'll get you the address. Thanks love you..

 

Love Elder Russell

"If it is to be, it is up to me"