Well, just another week here in the greatest place in the world :)  All my emails from everyone are about me coming home! haha no wonder missionaries get trunky huh?  well don't you worry, i still got 9 more weeks to do alot alot of work and see alot alot of more miracles!  but don't worry I'm not trunky.  Only on pdays but that is to be expected i guess.  And to completely stray away from spiritual things and to think only about vain things, just to let you know, i now officially weigh less than i did in high school! haha its great! but...not that important :) haha but kinda.

alot of great things have been happening here!  My companion is amazing! Tomsk is incredible! The members are angels!  The church is true! haha.....oh goodness....my emails are those emails that people get and they just roll their eyes and hope that the missionary will be somewhat normal later huh?  :) we got all sorts of new contacts this week and new investigators!

its interesting...a few times this week we have just been walking down the street and i have literally felt as though some one was pushing me with two hands on my back towards someone in order to talk to them and before i even know it, my mouth is open and i am speaking!  It happened once with this babushka who was just so sweet.  We pretty much gave her the first lesson on the street and her reaction was this "Do you mean to tell me that you believe in THE restored church!? a restoration of Christ's Church?!  This is what i have been looking for!"    If you didn't know, it is that exact phrase right there that EVERY missionary LOVES to hear!!!  and another lady we stopped and she gave some lame excuse and i handed her pamphlet as she just walked away and she looked at it and stopped. She started talking about two young Americans who 8 years ago befriended her handicapped son and helped him make friends.  My companion asked if they had talked about Joseph Smith (i was worried about that...that question gets alot of bad responses usually) and she said YES!  It is you then!?  we wanted to come but somehow lost touch!  Oh man oh man! and THEN yesterday just some random guy was walking by and i stopped him. He was in hurry and i just told him we had a message about Christ and prophets on the earth. he said he had no time and i said "we know our message is true and that it will bless your life"  and i asked for his number and he laughed kinda, but then gave it to me!  The Holy Ghost is great!  Tells you just what to do at the right moment.! 

Read a great article in a really old ensign, September 2007 called The Power of laughter. Did you know that children laugh about 400 times a day and adults only 15!? ya its pretty bad.  Gotta laugh and play more and be happy. Its the new goal for life! its how you build good relationships and are successful in life. 

I have a Scripture of the Week 1 Nephi 18:21- And it came to pass that i prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm. 

example from Old Testament- Jonah!  Jonah 1:6, 14-15: 2:7-10; 3   Here in this part of the scriptures three different times the people turned to the Lord and they were saved from destruction both physical and spiritual. 

example from New Testament Matthew 8:23-37-  Christ calms the sea. 

Ether 12:6, 12  We receive miracles and answers AFTER our faith!  

Ether 6:5,8 - God sends wind and rain and storms and waves to push us onward and forward and upward to the promised land aka eternal life. 

D&C 101:16 "For all flesh is in my hands: Be still and know that I am God"

BD: Prayer - The act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other...to secure for other and ourselves the blessings God is already willing to grant....

D&C 121:7-8 "Peace be unto they Soul thine adversity and afflictions shall be but a small moment...."

:) that was my study of that verse. I loved it!  and its  not just for our huge trials or anything its just for those silly moments when we feel stress.  we can pray to Him for all things. Big and small. our investigator asked us if there was limit on how many times she could pray in the day! we told her she could pray every moment of the day! she was so excited! 

The priesthood singing at our party

it was a great week! we had alot of great meetings! my favorite was with an inactive family. They both got baptized and with in about a year got married!  They are really cool and i just kinda went all crazy on them. but you know why? i will tell you why, because they have EVERY members dream! you got baptized and married a member! but then they went inactive. We talked all about how they were needed to help build our stake, but more importantly they needed to build their own eternal family!  I think it got to them....but i don't know. They both have testimonies and read the book of Mormon, but just don't make the effort. But the spirit was so strong! it was great! 

"Every thing in the fridge pizza"

Another good scripture i found this week "D&C 67:13 continue in patience until you are perfect. its ok that we aren't perfect now. but we just gotta continue patiently. that's all that is asked of us. 

studied the word Procrastination today.  and its meaning through the topical guide. it was intense.  we don't want to be found sleeping when christ comes aka doing NOTHING (Mark 13:32-37) but we want to be found DOING SOMETHING GREAT!  Matthew 24:36, 42  Are you doing something great?  

Well anyways. said alot and not alot all at the same time :) I love you! and I love the Lord. This is His work. Keep on keeping on! :)

Love Sister Trottier 

ps its warm here. Changed to my green coat and I'm loving it! no more giant coats for me! no siree! i feel like a human again!  But it is really wet here and my feet are always wet. i might buy some rain boots. 

This is a member that works in a show repair place. it was so cool we had to take a picture! haha he is sweet!  if you can see there are wood carvings of captain and angel Moroni! His name is Sergei

Just another day is Paradise!

Well this week was good and crazy! 

 

Almost every other night I have an awful dream about going home. I go home and I am an awful person, not nice at all and I realize it and I go and hide and I just cry and cry that my mission made me a worse person and not a better one.  weird dreams huh?  I really don't want that to happen.....

 

Found out that one of the Elders here is really good friends with Evan Perry. HIs name is....Elder Walker :) haha I think his name is Dallin...or Dylan....or something. But it’s a small world in the church!  it was funny to think back about all that. I remember me and whit went to their cabin once! 

 

We found some great new investigators this week! it was great! I have had more investigators just show up randomly than ever before!  my companion sister karacheva is just awesome!  she is training me! haha We went to one lady who is inactive and we talked about taking Christ’s name upon ourselves. Her mother in law was there and loved it all! she knows a lot about the church just because her family are members and she said that she would work to baptism! her name is Ludmila and her daughter said she would work to going to the temple.

 

Our investigator Tamara is great but still having a hard time quitting smoking.  We are praying hard for her and making a plan for her to be able to be baptized at the end of the month.

 

On Saturday all the missionaries from Tomsk got on a bus headed to Novosibirsk. it was great fun! we got a few new elders with us so we got to get to know them. Elders are just so great!  the bus was empty in the back so we had a party in the back telling stories showing pictures and playing games....the Russians in the front probably thought we were crazy. speaking half the time in Russian and half in English! and laughing! haha the nerve we have! :) but it was a lot of fun.  Had my first experience with what my companion calls "extreme Russia" haha it was a public toilet...or in other words a hole in the ground.....oh goodness.  and then we got to Novosibirsk!  it’s about a 4 and half hour bus ride.  we had all the missionaries from Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Barnaul, Kemerovo, and Novokuznetsk there! we were just missing Omsk and Krazniarsk.  We practiced for our missionary choir. It was so fun to be all together!  we were all so excited to see each other our practicing wasn't all that focused...poor sister Webb. But it still sounded good.  You know. there is nothing else in the whole world like a room full of missionaries. Nowhere else do you see so many strong young men. The elders are incredible. They love and support each other. They are still crazy and boys but they have a calling from God and it is seen and felt.

 

Went to the sisters to sleep which is always fun to catch up of course! and the next morning back at the branch to practice again. this time we were all able to concentrate and really practice. there are only 7 women voices haha so we get drowned out but that is ok. for our warm up to practice we sang "Called to Serve"  I had goose bumps (just like Joanie Hewitson always used to say :))  and then we had about an hour to mingle and chat.  President took us with him in his new car to where the conference is being held! haha it’s like a running joke through the mission that President is giving me the old van haha! he tells all the elders that I get it and if they want a ride they have to be on their best behavior. every time I see him he tells me something new about the car and how I need to take care of it and secrets of how to run it and stuff.  why? I don't know but it’s funny.  

 

So the conference. It was BIG all the members from all over came in on Buses or trains for the conference and we rented out the "big" conference room at the Marriott which actually was small and we used every chair they had haha. We organized our one very large Siberian District soon to be Stake! haha we don't know how soon but hopefully soon.  we have enough members and priesthood holders they said, we just have to start acting like a stake!  oh goodness! so exciting!  They started by releasing everyone from all callings and calling all new people! it was crazy!  I got to see all the people I love from Novosibirsk! the Omsk people just watched over internet so I didn't get to see them....I’m sad to think that I won't be able to see them before I go....anyways.  The Conference was great. The spirit was so strong.  President said that it was like we were handing the baton over to the members....COOL!  They are ready!  The missionary choir was pretty chill too. I think they liked it.

 

We got to ride back on the bus with the members to Tomsk! it was a lot of fun! we got to know a lot of the member’s way better and in a completely different way. I just stood up talking to people most of the time, or "went to be a guest" with someone in a different part of the bus. it was great fun.  I love the Russian People, I love Russian and I love Russia! haha 

 

Doctrine and Covenants continues to answer my daily questions. haha so funny, I just open it up and it’s my answer, even when I didn't know it was my question :)

 

Studied all about Salvation and saving ordinances today. it was great. I love studying the gospel.  Well I just rambled a whole bunch like usual. :) but I love you all the church is true!  Thanks for all the support.

 

Sister Trottier

so remember that story i told you about that family that i helped last week at internet?....well here is what happened. they left and we sat down and did internet.  after i had the urge to buy a new journal...almost out. and then after remembered we needed an album and then sister margolies wanted to buy some russian movies cause she is headed out and then ijust felt this weird urgency to go and so we got out and right at the bus stop was the dad of the family!!! i just introduced myself, told him that we had message for him about how his family could be together forever and it would bless his life.  he said "i believe you"! oh man, so we exchanged numbers!  we were nervous because we knew we were leaving soon so we called and went over and dropped by his work on tuesday and gave him a book of mormon and got to know him a bit.  told him he would love to meet us with his family when we got back. they are a muslim family and are really strong. he showed us pictures of his little boy and girl and wife. such a good family.

 

we have a lot of potential and people we want to turn into investigators! hope we can help alot of them!

 

We are all just here in Novosibirsk all five sisters! haha we are trying to be effective and use all of our time as the Lord would want us to do. We have tried to meet with alot of investigators and less actives but have also met with a few members. its been a good week but i am trying just not to worry about my people back in Tomsk. we have called a few to keep them going but we will just jump right in when we get back.  i am a little nervous about my new companion and me being a trainer but it will about be good and i am excited!

 

its crazy having 5 sisters in one apartment...but its also good. we have been going on crazy splits the whole time and i am learning to teach and work with all sorts of different sisters. I have already learned a whole lot just in the few days. no wonder elders have 24 hour exchanges...sad it doesn't really happen with us! you learn so much! 

 

i have loved being back and seeing all the people i love! its great seeing how some people ahve progressed and grown already, but also in just the few weeks i have been gone some have gone backwards which is really sad. 

 

this is a pretty lame email this time...but my excuse is that the picture sending was taking so long so thats why haha sorry!  

 

President Misha, the branch president is sending in an application to work for CES and he had to send in a video of him teaching people in english so he asked us if we could be his students.  we read in 2 kings and studied the stories of Elijah and Elisha and also the stories of Josiah.  I LOVED IT!  oh man im such a big nerd, but it was so good!  its hard to just read through it of course but we just had a panel of missionaries all discussing the symbolism and how we can relate it to our day and the callings of prophets etc etc and faith and obedience and it was legit! i wanna take an old testament class when i get home probably. i don't know it very well...lets me honest i know nothing about the old testament except Noah, Joseph and David and Goliath and Moses and that is all just because there are movies about them haha!   but the thing i learned is that we can make the scriptures come alive when we study them with others and when we just all say what we are thinking because someone can learn from it probably!   its great.

 

Everything is good with me.  all is well.  I keep having dreams about me being home...probably because my comp is going home, but soon that will not be the case so it will probably stop i think. :) i love missionary work! it brings me so much joy! even when we get rejected and things don't work the miracls and the things that do work and the people that do accept make it all worth it.  I love the Gospel! 

 

I love you all so much! i hope you have a good week! 

 

Love Sister Trottier

Feb 26th

Hey Family!  

 

Big big week this week!  The first and biggest news is that I got a transfer.  That wasn't a big a surprise because we knew that I would have to get a transfer because Sister Margolies is going home!  But the big surprise is that I will be training.  And I think that it is a Russian sister that I will be training.  My first Russian Companion will be my last companion! Crazy huh?  Well at least my Russian will improve I guess...well maybe...hopefully....But I’m pretty nervous about it.  I felt good about it when president told me and I know that it is what Heavenly Father wants, pretty sure He wants me to learn a lot. I feel like I have to become the best missionary in the whole world in one week but that won't happen.....but anyways I thought that I was ok with it until I couldn't sleep last night haha! I woke up at 3 and couldn't sleep so I cleaned some and wrote some letters and studied some :) haha it was a very productive morning. Because of a lack of sisters and crazy visa trips etc etc we have to leave for Novosibirsk on Wednesday to be with a sister there for a week and wait for my new companion....so I will be away from my area for a long time which always stinks. But Heavenly Father knows where we are and I can do good work where ever. For example there was a family here at internet who just couldn't figure out how to use the computer and needed to type some in English so I helped out. They were amazed that I could understand Russian and English and use a computer! haha so talented :) haha jk. but you can have a good influence where ever you are. 

 

It was Man's Day this week. Ya it’s a holiday here haha so great.  And so we celebrated. on last Monday the elders came over to our apartment and we made them sweet and sour chicken and a cake. They loved it haha. Ya I am such a sister missionary. before my mission I swore I wouldn't be one of the those sister missionaries that just cooked and baked for the elders haha but turns out I have become every sister missionary I swore I wouldn't become haha it just makes the elders so so happy to get home cooked food :)  we were at our investigators house, we teach him and his mom and we brought him chocolate for the holiday.  I asked him "Oleg, do you like chocolate?" and he said as serious as death "I respect Chocolate" haha it was so great! I respect chocolate too! haha and then he showed us he bought a chocolate cake for us to eat with him and he just cut it in fourths and gave us a fourth of a cake! holy cow it was so good but really not..... and then we had a branch party for the men which was so funny. and it was great because they played do you love your neighbor game, it was so funny with all the adults and old people haha.  they loved it! 

 

There was a baptism on Sunday! it was so great! it is this 16 year old boy who has been wanting to get baptized for MONTHS and his dad wouldn't let him and finally he said yes!  his name is Valeri!   he is so great and so strong!  HIs mom, brother and grandma came to the baptism and the Spirit was so strong.   Our investigator Tamara came to the baptism and she loved it. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted!  It will be in a month’s time because she is right now trying to quit smoking. so pray for her to have the strength to do so! she is great and is already doing missionary work! 

 

This weekend was also a holiday. I’m not really sure how it translates but it’s like Oil, or butter holiday. started Tuesday or wed....you have to eat blini (crepe things) every day and feed everyone that comes over blini and on Sunday you forgive everyone that you are offended by haha or something like that. haha I talked to some lady about it and suggested maybe we should do it every week. that way we can always be forgiving people AND always have blini! :) she thought it was a good idea. 

 

we called up an old contact named Elena who knows English...I think I told you about her last week....well the young girl that came with her to meet us invited us over to her house to meet her family and celebrate the holiday with them. She has a great great family!  I don't know but they might be our miracle family. A STRONG HAPPY FAMILY!  haha you don't see that much here!  two girls (3 and 12) and a mom and dad. The mom is a surgeon which here in Russia pays about as much as a teacher in America! pretty bad huh?  I couldn't believe it!  she says that she loves her job but the pay is like a side job. her husband is an engineer and supports the family.  they live in a HOUSE.  and a nice one.   crazy.  never seen anything like it in Russia.  we got to know them and talked about our purpose in being here and how much it means to us. they invited us back over to have us tell about how our church is different from others.  unfortunately that will be in a weekish because of transfers but I hope the interest doesn't die out before that. 

 

I got a letter from Sister Kate Giles in the mail! haha sounds like she is doing good and she loves her mission! haha Kate! she is probably the best missionary in the whole world I am guessing. she is just so bubbly and out there! they probably love her! 

 

hmmm......the members here are great!  the relief society sets up meetings with us and her and calls us to tell us when they are! haha she is the best ever!  and she checks up on all our old investigators and calls every once and awhile to invite them to keep meeting with us haha oh man she is great! her name is Tatiana.  

 

There is a man who just got the priesthood and then was called as the second counselor in the branch. his wife as started to come to church (not a member) she is my next best friend. she is nice.She didn't really like me all that much at first but I think she is warming up.  I had no idea that the secret to life is to just assume that everyone loves you and wants to be your friend!  and you just love everyone and want to be their friend and the world becomes a beautiful place! we should all just try to be friends and assume the best of everyone.   

 

Today I read in the Doctrine and Covenants 51:9 and felt inspired to study about being a steward. We are already given each a stewardship in our lives and I already had one as a missionary but now I feel like I have been added an extra this transfer. I have a lot that I will be asked to account for I think. But it was a good study.  I came up with us analogy...or parable...or something.    So, let’s pretend I decided to start a business of designing and creating earrings.  (which by the way would be really really sweet)  at first I didn't have that many requests and clients but as time went on I got more and more and I couldn't handle it all by myself......soooo I hired some people to work for me and gave them some responsibilities and had others designing and making them for me. But of course I would want them to do it as cool as I would and as good as quality as if I was making them myself.  that is what I would expect from the people that I entrusted to my work.  Or another example. a gymnastics coach. So many people want to come to their gym and so they have to hire more people. This reminded me of Tammy because she is so careful about how she picks people to work with her and what she expects of them.  She looks for people who will work hard and honestly. who have a good attitudes, who know how to love the children and take care of them, are willing to learn and get better and who she can trust to do all she would if she were the coach.   This is how our Heavenly Father is as well. He has a work.  His work is to "Bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"  and He has called us as His steward to help Him and to be His Hands. We need to work and do what He would do. That is a huge task but He has entrusted us and we are entitled to His help.     That also brings what I learned about accounting to the Lord. We shouldn't just account in the end to Him at the judgment day but if we check in daily with Him and ask Him how he thinks we are doing with HIs work now He can help correct us and teach us daily how we can improve.  for example Tammy can teach and correct a small mistake and they can become better coaches and co workers continually.  and with the earring thing. maybe they could ask me what I thought and I could give a little feed back before it’s too late haha. there are twelve hundred little kids playing games and over my shoulder watching me write in English and wanting me to leave haha it’s hard to concentrate haha so it’s over!

 

But I love you, the church is true! you are great! I love you so much!  

 

Sister Trottier

 

Feb 19th

well....family i think if i calculated right you are currently sitting on a red eye on  your way home from Kauai!  How was it? what did you do?  was it all that we ever dreamed and hoped for audge and jake?  did you rent motor bikes and ride around the island? haha SEND PICTURES! this is important!  the weather here can't decide if it wants to get warmer or be freezing haha but its not bad at the moment. around negative 10 or so. Tomsk is greati love it. and i love being here. People are nice and open....most times :) well sometimes haha i have alot to say and i wrote down alot to write to you, but i have a bad confession. I feel like those elders that right one paragraph home because they have nothing to say :) haha or just because we are too lazy..not sure which one it is.  but at the moment i am listening to that song that i told you i loved the My soul Hungered. its on lds.org under youth and then music and its the last one..if you want to listen....its good. :)  

we went to a russian village this week! ya it was pretty sweet.my first real russian village and it was cool. it was just a 20 min bus ride or so outside of Tomsk. we have two cute new young girl baptisms. They come to church with their newly baptized aunt. their family are all members but inactive, but actually they are being great examples and their mom has come to church two weeks in a row!!! it is great!  These girls are so amazing. one is 9 and one is 12 and we drew and read the dream of lehi and they had all these great insights of what each of the symbols could mean to them in their lives right now that i had never thought about. Young people now really have great capacity to know and understand spiritual things. they are so close to Heaven. 

Speaking of Lehis dream. I love it. i think i have said that twelve million times, but it makes me so so happy.  We read it with everyone and i learn more and more as we analyze it with more and more people of all ages and testimony strengths. 

Last week i hit my one year mark in Russia.  Can you believe it?! I can't. I feel like i have been here for forever!  but at the same time i can't believe a year has gone by! so much has happened to me and to others and everything in the time i have been away. craziness. 

so we went to a new members house, a mom and grandma and 15 year old boy.  They are so strong and great i had no idea that they had only been members for a year! anyways haha we asked for their story and you will never believe this, but this is how it happened!  So this kid he watched South Park, you know that dumb tv show? ya well there is an episode about the book of mormon and mormons in general and he loves to read and he just said he just felt this HUGE desire to read that book. and he said to his mom, i want a Book of Mormon and his mom didn't know where to get one and he just kept buggin her about it and so not knowing, where do you get a book?  a book store of course!  and they went in and ask and the lady said "ugh. we don't like them and we don't have one. but you can find one on Mira 10A"!! haha she gave them our address!  so finally after the boy bugged her some more they went to the address and asked for a Book of Mormon! haha crazy huh!? after they were baptized the mom went to the book store and thanked the lady and the lady was somewhat horrified that they joined....haha but people do missionary work with outeven knowing it! haha so thank you to the writers of South Park.  If for only this one family they helped them find everything they needed. haha

we have found and refound people that used to have lessons with the missionaries. all of them are great.  i hope that some of them we can help.  There are two young girls named Lida and Masha that are just great and a babooshka named Zinaida and a family!  The mom is Elena and she knows english.  She has two little boys 4 and 4 months and a great husband named Artor. They are like no other family ihave met so far here. strong and happy and loving and have hopes and dreams. it will be a slow process but i hope a forward one :) 

so there is this weird thing that they do in Russia. They have their hot water pipes in the bathrooms on the outside of the wall, i don't know why...maybe to like hang your towels on or something so they are warm or something, dn't know. but ours is SUPER HOT! and they aren't supposed to be that hot. just luke warm our is scalding and it is right next to the sink and in the way. so my first day here i had no idea about this danger in our house and i almost burnt my whole arm off!  and got blisters and everything! and like a week later i got my shoulder and yesterday i got it again on my arm but in different place. I told sister margolies i was going to tell people it was part of companionship inventory haha.  but anyways....kinda funny but not....we are trying to think of something to cover it with but we are worried if its a towel it will catch on fire or something..have any ideas?

The Parable of the Pomello

Background info:  I have fallen in love with a fruit called a pomello that is like a grapefruit but not as messy. the way to tell if they are ripe is how orange they are....or so Sister Sanford told me

Story: we were at the grocery store and i was going to buy a pomello and so i looked for the most orange one!  i was so excited! it was a beautiful color of orange. so the next day i get it out to eat it, and i take off the mesh wrapping and guess what else was on there!?!!  orange cellophane!  ya! thats right!  ORANGE! andi took off the cellophane only to find that it was sickly pale yellow color!!  tricky tricky huh? The people that wanted to sell that pomello knew what i would look for

application:  alot of applications you can find her of course. don't judge a book by the cover.  the world makes things look different from what they really are. more and more. think about it.  

I had another parable to tell you about being lost but the time just told me that i am alsmost up!  So quick run down.

yesterday we had a meeting with a lady and we thought we kinda knew how to get there so we got on a bus and got off on our stup and were pretty sure where to go so we just set off and turned left.  we walked and walked and soon realized we should have been there by now,. we asked a few people difreaction on the street and all kinda pointed us the same ish direction but a little off from each other. finally we got out the map and tried to find it ourselves and got on buses and walked awhile and more buses. finally we called the lady and she got us to her house in no time!  we finished the lesson and then went to find the bus stop and low and behold we were right back where we had started!   after like an hour of searching we were just RIGHT of the bus stop!!!  so our problems?

1. relied on our own wisdom and knowledge- didn't ask the owner of the house or even look at a map

2.  Asked the wrong people who also didn't know perfectly - trusted what they said with out question

3. finally used the map but tried with out asking for help,  and after agian asked people who didn't know.

4 FINALLY we called the owner of the house and with her directions and use of the map we got there

so if you want to get to Gods Kingdom, use the fourth step :)  duh 

read a good talk on changing our hearts and it being seen that we changed. Is our change visable?  

Gotta go! love ya! church is true! 

Sister Trottier

Feb 13th

Hey family....well....i don't have much to say today. which is bad because everything is all new and crazy and great. But i don't have much to say really.... i don't even remember what i told you about Tomsk yet, but it is a great place. it just has a whole completely different atmosphere than anywhere else! really people are more open and willing to talk to you. and its really alot of cleaner here and it just has a different feel.  we have a great apartment. Really cute and clean and nice. with a great couch which isn't usually the case :) The branch is GREAT!!  The members do what they are supposed to do!  The do missionary work. They fulfill their callings!  They love and support each other!  Not that other branches i have served in were bad but these guys are just incredible!  If there is one thing i have learned it is what kind of a Church member i want to be.  I think it is going to be alot harder than it sounds but it makes all the difference. we need to be excellent church members if we want the Kingdom of God on the earth the grow. I feel like alot of the things that i wished i was i have become closer to becoming. but that also could just be because i am longer and longer on the mission :)  I wish i was a perfect missionary at the beginning of my mission or even now! think of all the good that could have been done! but i think that is not the point. The Lord doesn't call perfect people, He calls people who need to change and who need to learn.  

Today I read an article in the new ensign the one from Elder Cook- "The Doctrine of the Father".  I love it so so so much! I want to use it in all of my lessons for the rest of my life.  i would go through and tell you each part by each part but that would not be effective and you can read it on your own :)  We have alot of investigators here.  And have had a lot of meetings and alot of member present lessons (which are the best).  I hope that some of them come through as progressing investigators that can make eternal covenants with God and eventually go to the temple and be sealed with their families.   Which" is the penultimate act on Earth - all else is merely leading us towards that eternal bond." (words from Tyler Huish).  Its so true. How incredible that our Heavenly Father has given us this opportunity.  I have been teaching alot about temples and families. Its great. 

I am attaching some of what i wrote to president cause i don't want to retype it :)

Tomsk is great! i love it!

First i should tell you about our meeting with Aidai. She was great and very interested. She doesnt know much about what she believes or religion but she is searching for truth. She is a very bright and amazing young woman. We talked mostly about our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Next lesson we will go back and do the first lesson. She said she couldnt make it this last sunday to church but she is interested in coming and seeing how it all goes. She agreed to pray and read and said that she would have to think alot and know more before she would be baptized. She knelt with us to pray but didn't want to pray herself. I think it went well. we are going to invite her to institute tomorrow. We had a member, returned missionary with us on the lesson. she was a great help!

As with the rest of the work, its great. they had alot of eternal investigators and i have made it my goal to try to get them on the fast track to their Heavenly Father. I hope that i can make a difference. We have one investigator Tamara who is great, just needs to quit smoking. She is having a small operation on her throat tomorrow and will be up and about after ten days. I have decided to try having a investigator/inactive calling list and put them on a 3 or 2 or 1 week list and just calling them to let them know we love and encourage them. this way we don't have to meet with the same inactives all the time but we can still let t hem know we love them.

As for me and sister margolies all is great! Its like having my best friend as my companion again. she is great. its fun to be back together after we have both grown and learned a little bit more what it means to be a missionary. We have awesome elders who keep us going and make it so we have to run to catch up with them (literally and figuratively speaking when it comes to the work)

I feel like alot of what i have always wished i was as a missionary i have come closer to reaching. I am thankful for that help from Heavenly Father. I feel like my Russian is going downhill though...not up. I am going to redo my language plan and try to double up on language working :)

well...that was a lame letter probably :) sorry. But i love you alot. and i know the church is true. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and He knows what He is doing. I know that the gospel blesses lives and families. Miracles happen.  

I love you!

Sister Trottier

Feb 5th

WELL......EVERYTHING has changed! haha I am in Tomsk right now and my new companion is Sister Margolies.... again :)  haha but you already knew that :)  but i am so excited. it is great to be with her again. She has become like an extra sister. You will get to know her after the mission i am sure :)  and this week was crazy crazy.  Some more good bye meetings in Novo which is always sad. Especially with little Anya. But we went over with a present and some love and scriptures. We gave her a sketch book because she loves to draw and we encouraged her to develop her talent. it was the cutest thing she said "And your talent is to be Sister Missionaries".  I almost started crying. it was so so sweet. I hope that is my talent. Or at least i would like to practice so that is my talent, to be a servant of the Lord.  It reminded of me of that talk in General Conference where the man had a girl ask if he was a REAL missionary.  Little Anya's voice will be in my head always now i think helping me want to develop my talent of being a missionary. 

Sister Conference was INCREDIBLE! haha it was so great! all the sisters together! which is 11 i think?  it was  such a party! first we got an invitation which sister Gibbons made haha it was so sister missionary like! all the elders were jealous! they said that they never get invitations! it was colorful and included words such as "Chat, visit, Chocolate, Cinnamon Rolls, and Ballet" :) i will forward it to you if i remember :)  We learned a ton a ton.  President spoke a few times. The first time was about HOPE and LIGHT and he related it to a old jewish tradition of a red thread. which is symbolic of HOPE.  did you know that the old hebrew word for hope is Tikba which is translated hope OR thread. and he talked about 5 women in the bible of hope and 3 have stories connected to a red thread.  Tamar, Rachab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary.  I would go through the stories but i don't have much time and if you really want to know you can study it some and you can ask and i will share :) President talked about alot LIGHT  christs light, how we need to be light.  

Sister Gibbons talked alot about opening our hearts, having open soft, willing and repentant hearts. that is key for us.  one of the keys to being happy and successful is having the right desires in our hearts.  she also talked about keeping the most important things in our lives. What is precious to us safe.

Intestesting, President talked about how the book of mormon says "it mattereth not" 4 times in the Book of mormon.  ALMA 61:9 - Critisism is not important let it roll off your back ETHER 12:37 if other people don't love us. as long as we do our part, love them and serve them and serve God.  MORMON 8:4 After we accomplish what we were send here to accomplish and do what the Lord wants, nothing else matters, as long as we fulfill our parts of dicsiple ship.  ETHER 15:34 So many things don't mattter as long as we do what we need to do be saved and build up the kingdom. 

They of course told us love stories cause it was a sisters conference!  haha they told us how their parents met which were crazy and how they met! he read us some of Sister Gibbons journal entries haha she kept a great accurate detailed journal from the day they met until they got engaged. it was so cute!  they let us read all of them for our bed time story! haha ya, we had a sleep over! it was great! first time in a long time with so much girls and food etc etc. 

it was crazy. they talked all about us as wives and mothers, kinda leaving out the whole we are missionaries part....haha oh well i guess.   learned alot for future reference.  

we also had a testimony meeting with all the sisters. I know them all and love them so much!  the crazy thing is that most of us will be going home soon so everyone will be new.  We have 6 new sisters coming in in the next 4 months and 7 leaving and then two months after that 2 more leave. or something crazy like that.  its craziness! 

then we went to the ballet, Swan Lake. it was really good!  I think i have come to enjoy ballets more :)  sorry about that. But the only time before i liked to watch when audrey was dancing. but the swan princess lady reminded me of how audrey danced.  very reagal and confident and beautiful. she was super over flexible and i wonder if it is bad to have TOO much of an arch? ya know?  i know know. but if it is. she had too much.  sat by a girl who thought i was going to travel the world my whole life and be a missionary :) haha i laughed. It would be cool. but no.  we gotta live normal life too. have families and serve the Lord in different ways.

mom- we are trying to start geneology stuff here for people to come learn how. but I need to to send maybe some pictures of my great great grandparents and wateever you can find. not real ones. just copies if you could.  :) thanks.  i guess we have to be examples or something before we aske people to do it...although i didn't do it. My grandpas did.... :) but don't tell :)

Sister Sanford and i had a miracle day for our last day! what a great way to end ya? first it started off bad. our meeting canceled two minutes before haha and we were looking over our planners and lists and some one called. This is the conversation

Me- Hello

HEr-  Whats your name

Me - Sister Trottier

Her- what does that mean? who is this?

Me uh we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints

Her- what? is this a church?

me- Yes we are missionaries

H- i have pamphlet and i have read it a couple times and it says i need a book of mormon to read and ask God if its true. I don't have a book of Mormon.

M- Well that is great we would love to get one to you

H- my granddaughter recieved this pamphlet in october and she didn't want it so i read it and i love it. I want to read the Book of Mormon.

M. Ok well we have time right now can we come over?

H- ya come on over!

so we did of course AND called a member who just happened to be about her age and who happened to live right by her and who happened to be home!  i felt like such a normal PMG missionary! it was so great!  she was way nice and way great.

We then had another investigator meeting with Nastya. She told us she wants to get baptized but her parents are against. We would like to meet them but they live in an area we aren't allowed in. its like a military base or something....she she is great.

THEN one of the girls i love from english who hasen't come in a while wanted to meet with us. she always asked us to not talk about the gospel with her but i brought a book of mormon and wrote a whole bunch to her. She came and i just told her how much the gospel means to me and gave her the book and asked if she would meet with the sisters. and She said yes! it was great!   and then we went to say bye to the webbs...that was sad. but i will see them alot anyways.

anyways....this email is all over the place and not in order, but thats ok i guess.  so me and sisters margolies, sanford and holmes all drove with president and sister gibbons to tomsk which is like 4 weeks. it was way way great and fun! we got to pick presidents brain for the whole time and ask him all sorts of questions.  best ever!

Tomsk is great. it has a great feeling of excitment and energy! i can just feel the miracles waiting to happen here.  its more european feeling. its one of the oldest cities with great architecture, but there are alot of universtities so alot of youth from all over the world and so all inside the buildings are modern stores etc etc. We have a REAL branch building that is beautiful. and HUGE and the members are great. I have been here one day and i feel close to some of them already. they are open and loving.

We found a new lady yesterday on the street who is really nice. Her name is galina.  she is an investigator right now with the Jehovah witnesses....kinda worried about that as well. but she is really nice and wants to meet....pray for that one ok?

met with a family that has like 12 million people living in one apartment with a million kids.  The kids are so cute and they just need love. you can tell when we go there because they just meet us with big grins and hugs! and don't want us to go.  we then of course talked alot with us as sisters about how blessed we are. I can't believe how some people live. I can't even imagine how it would be.  

its getting WARM! haha i know it sounds crazy but i woke up and looked outside and i siad that i thought it looked cold and sister Holmes looked at the thermometer and said no actually its only negative 15!  its spring sister! and i was so happy! haha and then we thought about it and realized we are crazy cause we think -15 is warm haha but it really is comparatively :)  I hope it stays warm and doesn't go back. 

I love something one of the sister Said that is going home soon, she said " When something ends, something else begins"  its very true. gotta just keep living in what you are doing at the moment. find the Joy.  Rejoice. we have alot to be hapy about and lovei n life. 

Read Moses 6:61- they are 12 synynoms for the Holy Ghost. Pretty cool.

Sorry...no picturse today :(   sister sanford and her beautiful camera cord are in Novo. I will try to figure out how to do it again but no promises :) 

Welp.    The Church is true.  The gospel is the way.  We can live happily.  We can succeed.  Its so great. I love you all so so much!

Love Sister Trottier