Put On The Armor Of God!

Привет всем! 

I hope summer is going great for all of you:) Siberia had some flooding happen this week. Ulan-Ude is fine, but we did have some flash flooding and I sadly did not get sunburned/tan this week:( Other than that though, this week was amazing. 

Tuesday was a day of miracles. We had a meeting with a member that just got back into town after being out of town visiting family for a long time. We talked about missionary work with her. I was so nervous for that lesson. I wanted to be more independent in lessons and instead of having a set part, I wanted to just say what I wanted to say when I wanted to say it. So, we prepared the lesson, and I went over and over it in my head. Before we went into our lesson, I prayed so hard that I would be able to talk with her and that I would be able to understand and really be a part of the conversation. That lesson was the best lesson I've had so far on my mission. I was able to play a big part in the lesson and I was also able to say all the things that I wanted to say. That was the first miracle. After the meeting, we went outside and waited for our little train (the tram-by) to come. It was taking so long, and not only that, but it started raining pretty hard and I didn't have a coat or an umbrella and there was no covering. For 10 minutes or so, I stood huddling in the rain and (again) I said prayer over and over in my head that it would stop raining, or that it would at least stop raining on me. And then, it did stop raining on me. A kind man gave me his umbrella, even though there were not a lot of people with coats or umbrellas. I know that that was an answer to my prayer. God cares about ALL of us, no matter who we are, and the things that are important to us are important to Him, even if it's getting stuck in a rainstorm or not being able to find your keys.

On Sunday, we went and had a BBQ with one of the amazing families in the branch, and it was so much fun! We did a spiritual thought on how we need to "put on the armor of God". We made a breastplate of righteousness, a sword of the spirit, and a shield of faith, and I've got to say, I'm pretty proud of us. Unfortunately, our sword got destroyed by a rampant 4 year old, but what are you gonna do?

We also had zone conference on Thursday. That was a big highlight, but we did have to take an 8 hour train ride there and back, both of them night trains. That means that I didn't really sleep on Thursday night or Friday night, but oh well... I'm always tired anyways! A main focus of zone conference was just trying. The past few weeks have been a bit difficult for me with the language. Russian is hard. I don't think that's a secret. And sometimes, people aren't the nicest. They will laugh at you if you say something wrong, or they'll make fun of your accent. Sometimes, it's hard to go up to random people and talk to them in a language that you don't really speak or understand super well. But, the wonderful thing is it's only scary if you're alone. And we are not alone. None of us are alone. God can be and will stand by us if we ask Him to. No matter the mistakes we make in life, the things we do, the things we say or think, if we are willing to reach out to Him, He is willing to reach out to us. Through Him, I have been able to find peace and comfort when I'm scared or stressed (and believe me, that happens a lot). He doesn't make our trials go away, but He does help us carry them, step by step, and afterwards, we can see how much He's helped us and how much we've been able to grow.

I just wanted to let you all know how grateful I am for my mission. I still have a while left to go, and so far it has been one of the hardest and most humbling experiences of my life, but I have learned so much more than I ever would have otherwise. I am a different person than when I left, and I would not change anything that has happened here for the world. I can understand why they call it "the best two years" (or year and a half).

Sister Jones

Pictures:

1. The armor of God we made for our lesson (sidenote: ВИ stands for choose the right in Russian)

2. Me and Sister Staiger in front of something

3. The something we stood in front of. I have no idea what it is, but I think it's some kind of modern art? 

Pictures

1. Me and SIster Brockbank by the ocean

2. Statue of guy who hitchhiked all the way from Vladivostok to Moscow in the 70s

3. Sister Staiger (my new comp) with her shower cap and eye mask

4. Me and Sister Brockbank and Russia

Always Lost - Vlad Week 16

Hey everyone!

I'm sorry this weeks email is a little late, I got sick on Monday:( BUT I am ok now, so we're all good over here! 

This week, there was a day that one of our meetings fell through, so we went and tried to stop by some houses of people that don't really come to church with some cookies. The first lady didn't answer, but the second lady was home, and wow. That was an experience! She lives way out on the edge of town, and it took us so long to get there plus getting lost like 20 times. Her name is Inna, and she is a college math professor. She speaks English really well, and as soon as we got into her little one room apartment, she started talking our ear off about American and Russian politics for two whole hours! She's super funny though! Apparently, she got baptized into our church despite the fact that she believes in reincarnation, haha! She is a very well read person, and loves combining different points of view. She is also pretty paranoid, which was very sad to see, actually. She told us not to even trust our parents, because even though they want what's best for us, people with good intentions make mistakes and no one knows what happiness is for another person. It was very sad to see that side of her. As she was talking about all the awful things happening in the world right now, political and otherwise, it made me feel so lost and confused and overall gross, a feeling I haven't felt in a long time. 

We had another experience this week with one of my favorite people in Vladivostok named Olga. She is a member, and has a daughter who is severely handicapped, and she can't really leave the house. She has also been having trouble with her leg, and is not really able to walk well. Her husband passed away 10 years ago, and so we go over to her, have a lesson with her, and just talk with her. She is such a sweet lady! The day before we went to visit her, the Elders went over to her house to give her the sacrament. The day we went, we gave a lesson on the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a gift given to us from God that comforts us, guides us, and helps us navigate life. Everyone can feel the Holy Ghost sometimes if they are making good choices, but those who are baptized have made a promise with God that if they keep His commandments, always remember Him, and take His name upon them, they will ALWAYS have His Spirit with them. We renew this promise when we take the sacrament. It had been a long time since Olga took the sacrament, and when we asked her how it felt, she just said "I felt so good and so clean". We could feel the Spirit in her home. How I felt that day at Inna's house, confused, sad, and nervous, was the absence of the Spirit. Inna is still a wonderful person. She does what she believes to be right, and she is amazing in her own right! But, there is a difference between the homes where people are trying their best to follow God, and those who are trying to follow the world. Olga's house feels like home to me. It feels warm, welcoming, happy. Even though I don't understand everything she says, and even though her daughter sometimes walks in naked (the handicapped one), I can feel God's Spirit in her home.

I hope you all had a great week this week! I love you all:)

Sister Jones

1. Me and Sister Brockbank how we look all the time... lost in some random part of the city

2. cute little Russian church

3. My "wow this looks so Russian!" picture of the week