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
