Hi!!!

HI family! 

  

FYI -  I got moms mail on 3/2/11 and it all depends on when someone goes to Novosibirsk or someone visits here etc. that is why mail is crazy and we never know when we will get it!  so ya :)    I sent the letters on 3/3/11 hopefully they get there soon!

 

(ATTENTION HEATHER WRITERS, MY MOM'S LETTER ONLY TOOK ABOUT 3 WEEKS TO GET THERE BUT THEY CAN TAKE LONGER, SO TWO MONTHS IS PROBABLY THE AVERAGE TO GET A LETTER IN HER HANDS BECAUSE THE MISSION IS SO SPREAD OUT)

  

Wed night-  we went to a members house to have FHE with them. The husband is not a member and it was a miracle!  He prayed with us! it was awesome!  It was short and he kinda made it a joke, but it is a step!  and we walked into their house and lo and behold, there were GOATS! in their house! crazy eh?! it was so funny! not in in the living place, but in russia there is an entry way into the house and that is where they were! there was a mama and two babies!  sister sologub was in love! haha dont worry i took pictures

(in order to clarify any confusion, there are two types of houses in russia, well three. the first is apartments which are most common and the second are house outside of the city that are cheaper and older, the goats WERE NOT IN THE APARTMENTS :)  just to clarify.  The third are the really big nice houses that are way outside city center and only for rich people)

 

THursday. we did alot alot of contacting because of our lack of progressive investigators!  tracting is crazy BUT in mission Prep Glen Thomas told us it is al about statistics. If you have rejections it means you are getting closer to someone listening!  I learned this week that that is true!  it is a hard concept and kinda a smelly one, but it is true!  we contacting ALL day long it felt like and people brushed us off or pushed us away.  And we were just about to go home and we stopped a family!  and they were interested! it was a miracle!  although now they won't anser our calls.......but no worries! haha  after trhat  we had a culture night!  we went to a violin competition and i guess it is a big deal and they video taped us because we look weird with all of us there so i might be on the omsk news if you can look that up it was the II yankelvitch international violin competition so...ya :)  the funniest thing about it is that they have these chairs that look like the ones in the captial with velvet and look soft and cushiony but in reality you sit down and OUCH! it is just wood with fabric! haha! that is very common in russia!

 

 

Friday- was district meeting and a few meetingins with non members and inactives and english club! it was my turn to do story time and i told the story of seven brides for seven brothers! they thought that was funny. it is our goal to teach a lesson after every english club and we taught a girl that was interested but unfortuantely not in our area so we gave her to the sisters after that....

 

sat. We had fhe with a family whose dad just got baptized! they are so great with a cute little boy named pasha.  he is like 3 or something. they are so happy and we gave them a present witha picture of them cropped onto the temple :)  they are working to being a eternal family!  its so great! I had a good contacting experience today of course they can tell i can't speak very well but i spoke to this man about the importance of families and he listened intently to my broken russian and was really thankful. I copuld see it in his eyes. that is all that happened, but it made me realized that even if people don't get baptized i can help change their lives and hlep them be happy!

 

sunday- 2 investigators at church!!!  it was so great! church is great! i love the members and sometimes i understand but mostly i just hug and them and they talk to me and i say "da" and horoshow"  (yes and good)   haha they think its funny.  today was a hard and long day and we were just walking alot and i fell flat on my face on the ice!  it was kinda funny and like 5 minutes later sister cologub fell!  haha instead of making us more sad we started laughing hysterically!   we have bruises, but it was funny!   I have now fallen 3 times like full out fallen on my back side or face!  we can keep count! it will be fun!

 

monday - this is the funniest story of the week- i think-  so sister sologub loves my hair- i don't know why cause i don't really do it i just do my big 80s hair but she has the straightest hair in the world and i showed her how to rat her hair! haha she thought it was a miracle!  she almost had a heartattack beacuse of the overwhelming joy she had! she kept saying "i have hair"  "look at my hair"(in russian of course) and she asked me to do her hair up in the half up way i do with bobby pins! haha probably the first and last time someone will ever ask me to do their hair ya? 

we had FHE with a family and their 13 year old neighbor girl who loves to read the BOM. we had the first lesson with her and i think she is very interested. She has a hard family life and the church and christ gives her hope and happiniess!

 

tuesday was a big big holiday! it is womans day!  kinda like mothers day.  it was strange because no one was on the streets!  well afew people but not many and after that every man we saw had flowers or presents for their special someone.  the usually conservative russians wwere kissing and holding hands right on the streets! it was strange!  alot of love today!  We even got presents from the elders in our districts- chocolate, banana bread and cookies.  the elders are better at cooking than we are! oh well...  today we went to an investigators home who lives in those very rare big expensive houses!  it was great! almost like america! and because it was a holiday she fed us russian traditional dishes. it was good! the weird thing was this cold soup with meet and green stuff, but not bad.  They have bread and cake stuff here that look like they will be delicious and sweet but instead are good, but not much taste or suger...  she gave us some fruit stuff that is kinda like strawberries but small and brownish. they were good but i don't know what they are..  I have found that russians and ukranians are the most long winded people i know!  they can talk for like ten minutes with outstopping! and i get so lost beceause they talk about random things from one topic to another!  its crazy!  the lesson went good...not the best. she knows alot cause she reads the BOM and the ensign! but she isn't sure about prayer and she thinks we are just little girls...it is a problem. but she is really nice and loves us and is willing to listen.

 

side note-  i didn't think anyone could outwalk chelsea blotter (storrs) but i think that her and sister sologub should have a speed walking contest because she is crazy fast! i have to run everywhere!  which is probably good cause we eat so much chocolate! the elders tease us but we just tell themt hat it is our way to deal with rejection :)

 

i of course have to leave you with a spiritual something or more :)    in this months ensign i LOVED  Uctdorfs message about finding joy in everything. Seeing the cup half full.  Wherever we are in life we get to CHOOSE whethere we are going to find the good things or the bad things with everything!  and i don't know about you but i would rather be happy! and choose to see the good. i need to work on doing that i know!  and how much better will our lives be if we do that!? way way better!

 

and ether 12 - miracles are possible if we have faith!  Pray for miracles in your life, believe they will happen and GO OUT and make them happen! 

 

Matt 23  i read today and i felt like i was one of the hypocrit people. I am teaching people and showing them how to live, but am i really living that way?  am i clean inside and out?  I feel like i am learning along with the people i teach, its great but crazy!

 

Matt 24- verse 42 WATCH for Christ to come 44- BE READY for Him to come 46 DO!   be doing always what you need to be so that when he comes you will be counted as one of of His children!

 

and mostly this week was focused for me on HOPE!  there is hope! there is hope in christ!  Hope in His atonement!  hope to be forever with those we love and hope to live with God.  Hope to become better each day and hope to be happy! we have so much reason to be happy! so BE HAPPY!

 

I know this church is true! i am out of time but I love you all!  and i will try to work to be worthy of my calling and to make you and my Heavenly Father proud!

 

Love, Sister Trottier