ZONE CONFERENCE!

Hola! Hola! 1/25/16

I'm alive! haha that is what all of our members were saying to us at church yesterday! I have been sick for a few weeks and it finally hit me hard on Friday and Saturday. It was horrible. We have the best members ever though! Sister McCutcheon posted it on facebook and we had meals being brought to us like crazy!! and We have the most awesome Nurse in the Ward who took care of me! His name is Doctor Felt and his family is the bomb! I'm so so grateful for an amazing family here in Carlsbad when mine is in Utah:)

So remember our awesome investigator who had a baptismal date set recently?? Ya so we found out that he had to be transferred to the Lubbock hospital to have surgery. He is in bad shape and we really hope that he is ok! Please pray for him because his surgery is today!

But other than this news, the work has been slow because of us just being sick! It's the worst. But we have many potentials that we are excited to visit! We actually got a call from the cutest girl who went to BYU and she came back to Carlsbad to stay with her family for a bit. Its hard for her because her family does not support her as being a Mormon:/ But she is awesome! Her name is Jaylyn:) we met her at church and she is coming to all the activities and everything! She is setting such a great example to her family who one day will follow in her footsteps:) We are so grateful! 

We also have been helping some referrals from members:) Referrals are the best! We were really able to help this woman who has really been going through a hard time in her life. She really needs the Gospel and we are so excited to see the changes it will make in her life!! Its truly a blessing to be an instrument of Jesus Christ in his work. Each and everyone soul is so important in the eyes of God! Im just so grateful. We are so excited to go out and kill it this week because we are both feeling so much better!!:) Bless us with a good week and I will do the same for Y'all:) The Gospel is True! Keep hold of the Iron rod!! 

" To find Real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves" "Service to others is a kin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true Joy." -Thomas S Monson

Chao and Love you ALL,

Hermana Russell

Got to Help on the Millers Orchard! 

This is a horrible picture please forgive me I've been sick. But i hit my 9 months on the 22nd! K I'm not really prego don't freak out but I can't believe I've been out for 9 months already!

January 1st Happy New Year!

I forgot to send this picture to y'all! Haha this is @ 12 am on New Years Day!! Sis E was passed out and so was I but I at least wanted a picture so I set an alarm and took one. Hahah before I took it I said, "Hermana Espinosa, Happy New Year I'm taking a picture!!" I didn't even look to see how it turned out because I just went right to bed. haha It turned out pretty funny. We were laughing for days when we saw it. Totally describes our companionship. 

Le amo muchisimo!

con amor- Hermana Russell

Happy MLK day! January 18, 2016

This week was a little slow because we had Zone Conference which was fun and Splits with the Sister Training Leaders:) It was good to learn all the things we did! Our Mission President is the best ever.

Our investigator with a baptismal date left out of town and should be back but we haven't been able to get in contact with him. Pray that we will be able to:)

We also had to drop Our other Investigator with baptismal date because he went to the hospital for something that happened and then when he got back he said he needed a break. Ugh! That was really hard to hear. But hopefully the missionaries in the future will pick him up!

We went contacting yesterday and we found many potentials to teach! We are very excited:)

Remember the woman who dreamed of Joseph's smiths first vision?? She is back and we get to meet with her this week to teach the plan of salvation! Pray that it goes well:)

That is all for this week, i hope everything is going well for Y'all this week!

"Fill your minds with Truth

Fill your Hearts with Love

Fill your Lives with Service!"

- Thomas S Monson

At Zone Conference we learned how we can teach Repentance and Baptism in a better way, It was so good! Here are great scriptures for y'all Heleman 5:10 and 3 Nephi 11:37-38

Zone Conference!

I got to see my baby hermana Wimmer!!

Splits with Hermana Rosenvall and Hermana Wood

Hola!! January 11, 2016

Hola mis amigos Y mi Familia!

We have an awesome investigator who came to church! His name is Sean and he has accepted to be baptized but doesn't want to set a date because he wants to be totally ready! He is awesome. He came to church this past Sunday and he has been trying to live the Word of Wisdom. It's hard but he is doing so well!

We also have been teaching some other people who are doing awesome and have the desire to come to church!

Last Sunday we had 3 inv come to church! 1 in the English ward and then 2 in the Spanish Branch!

His name is Manuel and his wife Rosa came. We were very suprised because she doesn't really like our religion because she is a Jehovah's Witness but they seemed to really like church:) Manuel is so awesome and he has the desire to know more and hopefully his wife will follow. We are very Excited.

A less-active came to the Spanish Branch as well which was a blessing! She loves us and she feeds us all the time. She has the cutest baby. She just needs that strengthened testimony of the gospel because she wants her little boy to grow up in the church:)

We have been having a lot of success and it just feels so good:) We are so taken care of by the members as well:) I love Carlsbad and i hope i stay here for awhile!

Things here are just going awesome and there are many difficult challenges as a missionary but I'm so grateful for them:) They form us into a better person! A person our Heavenly Father wants us to be. As much as it pains him to break us down, he rejoices with us when we overcome those hard things! I love our Father in Heaven So very much and I'm grateful to be here in Carlsbad, helping out brother and sisters to return home:)

Love y'all! Mosiah 7:33 Trust in the Lord!

Chao and Love you ALL,

Hermana Russell

Sorry a horrible picture but this is awesome sean:)

Sullivan Family! They are so hilarious

Nuevo ano! January 4, 2016

Can Y'all believe that it's a new year? Where does the time go?

Sister E has been super sick because of the arthritis in her back. She is a trooper! The cold weather does not help. But we still see so many miracles. Whenever she just decides to stick through it, we go out and find awesome people to teach.

We found this awesome guy who's father passed away in September and we got to teach him the plan of Salvation! It was an awesome lesson and he agreed to be baptized. But he struggles to attend church because of the thoughts of not being worthy runs through his mind. Stinkin' Satan. We are helping him to see how important he is in God's eyes and how He wants him to have a wonderful, happy, and peaceful life. He has gone through a lot of deaths in the family:( But God knows how strong he is and that he can handle it and it will make him stronger! We are very excited for his baptism. Please pray for him to attend church:)

Also, L is still struggling with the WoW. But he has that desire to quit which is awesome. He just needs to put his trust in the Lord:)

We have many other Potential baptismal dates so pray that they go well! And M (one who had the dream about first vision) is coming back so that we can teach her the Plan of Salvation! We are so excited! 

Oh i almost forgot! We taught Jensen and her family the Restoration. Jensen is the 10 year old who is so ready! She begs her mom because she wants to get baptized so bad. She sat by us yesterday @ church and it was testimony meeting. She whispered in my ear, "Can anyone go up?" I said, "Yes of course. You can even share that experience that you shared with me and Sister E about the Holy Spirit:)" and she did! It was awesome! She was so cute and I felt the spirit. Everyone did! It was her first time so she just kinda stared @ the end because she didn't know how to end it:) hahah We told her to end in the name of Jesus Christ, amen and its a little easier to end. Hahah It was awesome! Pray that she will understand ALL of the lessons before she gets baptized and that she will get that family support. Her mother is less-active and wants to come back to church. We are very excited for them:) Love Carlsbad!!

Some thoughts from my studies this week:

4 Pledges for the New Year!

- I will listen

- I will learn

- I will labor

- I will Love<3

If we do these things this year, God will truly guide us:)

2 Nephi 31:20 Mark 11:22 Matt. 5:16

Love y'all! Yo se que el evangelio es verdadero y el libro de mormon tambien. Estoy agradacida por este sentimiento en mi vida! Tenga fuerte este nuevo ano:)

Chao and Love you ALL,

Hermana Russell

A beautiful Day in the snow. But its melting:(

Elders helping us dig out our car