Heyyyy everyoneee!!
This week was fast and short and I don't even really think time exists anymore, honestly. It all blurs together and it's all going wayyy too fast. Basically, it hurts my brain to think about, so I'm just gonna skip ahead to talking about what I did this week!
One of my favorite things that we did this week was sports contacting, or making friends by playing soccer. I am completely awful at soccer, but it's a lot of fun to get out and run around with some friends! Also, on the way there, one of our friends, Aleosha (idk how to spell that in English letters) was trying to teach me different random words for things. We discovered that I have an awful memory, but I remembered the word for "fence", so maybe it's not all bad!
Another exciting about this week is that one of the members who was recently baptized is recieving the Aaronic priesthood soon! The Aaronic priesthood is authority from God given to worthy men (starting at age 12) so that they can baptize, pass the sacrament, and preform other important functions that are essential to the church. Here in Russia, there are not a lot of priesthood holders, which is very hard on the members here. We had a lesson with him and his girlfriend (also a member) on Sunday about what the priesthood is and why it's important. We also talked about patriarchal blessings, as the patriarch is coming to town soon. Patriarchal blessings are blessings that any worthy member of the church can recieve. They are given by men who are set apart to preform them, and they are kinda like personal and individualized scripture from God. They are typed out after they are given, and give you comfort and guidance throughout your life. They also promise specific blessings if you live your life according to the way God wants us to live. That was probably one of my favorite lessons. I am really grateful for priesthood power. I may not hold the priesthood, but I don't need to. There are so many blessings we recieve from other people holding it, and I am so grateful that God has given His power to men on Earth to help carry out His work, and help us to be happy.
This week was good, but there were also a few things that made me a little bit anxious and scared. I won't go into details, but I will say the power of prayer is very real. There were a few nights this week that I really had to pray for comfort and trust in the Lord. Trusting in God is a hard thing to do. We don't know what's going to happen. We don't know why things happen. But, trusting in God, and trusting that everything will work out in the end is liberating. You begin to enjoy life. You learn from your fears, your mistakes, and your trials. I am still not perfect at it and I probably never will be, but putting my trust in God allowed me to feel a comfort and peace that I have never felt before. He is there. He listens. He cares.
I hope you all had a great week!
любовью,
Sister Jones
Pictures:
1. Some wall thing at the Buddhist temple... not actually sure what it is, but it's pretty cool!
2. Me and a wall
3. Sister Staiger and me looking like we hate each other lol (we don't I promise)
4. The giant Lenin head in the middle of town
