Heyyyy everyone!!
So I know I keep saying I'm cold (I'm sorry for that btw it just happens because I AM always cold), but this week, my nose hairs froze and I burned my hand on a frozen door... so I think "cold" has taken on a whole new meaning for me and I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. It's really pretty and snowy, though!
First of all, we had zone conference this week. It was wonderful! We talked a lot just about how to work: how to connect to people, how to make friends, how to study Russian, how to study the gospel, etc and I am really inspired right now:) I also cried though... yikes. So what happened was it is Sister Krumperman's last zone conference. She was my very first companion. Sister Nielson, my STL (sister training leader) right now is also going home. And that's not all! All of my companions except my current trainee, Sister Sorenson, came in to the field with Sister Krumperman and Sister Nielson and they are ALL going home in 2 weeks. It kinda hit me at the end and I got really, really sad. But, it's ok, because I have made some of the best friends that I have ever had out here, and I have had some amazing experiences with them and learned so much from each of them. Sister Krumperman likes to write songs, and my favorite song of her originals is one that she wrote as she was leaving college and her roommates. The chorus goes "Fools call it luck, but I know God gave me my friends."
Ok, enough with all the sad stuff. This week was still an amazing week! We had the best meeting with Anton. Well, every meeting is the best with Anton. We talked about prophets, the ten commandments, and the word of wisdom, which for those of you who don't know, is like a code of health that our church has. We don't drink alcohol, green or black tea, coffee, and we don't smoke tobacco or any type of drugs. It also talks about how to eat a balanced diet. For those who live the Word of Wisdom, great blessings are promised, of health and always being able to feel the Holy Ghost with us. Anton is a little worried about the Word of Wisdom, particularly the coffee part because he is a barista and coffee is literally his life. But, he has such a strong testimony already of the church and of the Book of Mormon. He is such a feeling person. He feels the Holy Ghost really strongly, and he also feels the absence of the Holy Ghost very strongly. He is willing to live the Word of Wisdom, even though it is really hard for him, because he knows that it will bless him and he wants to feel the Spirit with him constantly. It was actually kinda funny, this week he kinda freaked out because he got upset about something and he didn't feel the Spirit anymore. He texted us frantically, and we told him to read his scriptures and pray and we'd talk about it later that night at our meeting. At the meeting, we asked him how it was going, and he said "Good! I figured it out. I read my scriptures and prayed, and I felt better." Bless him.
I know that prayer and scripture study really does help people. In the church, we have something called the "tripod", and it has three legs. Prayer, Scripture study, and going to church. Once we receive a testimony of things that we know to be true, we must keep doing these three steps, and if we do them faithfully and with full heart, we will not forget the things we know. I know 100% that this is true and I have seen it in the strong members here and in my own home. The times that I have really known that God is there and that He loves me is when I show Him that I love Him. How do we do this? Study His word. Seek to have experiences with Him. Pray. How can He reach out to us if we refuse to listen?
I am so sorry that there are no pictures, I took a ton this week and then I left my camera at home:( But I love you all! I hope everything is well wherever you are and that it is not as cold as it is in Siberia!
Sister Jones
