Missions are Amazing! 4/26/16

Buenos Dias!

Wow. I just love missionary work with all of my Heart

The sister Training Leaders(my comps) had exchanges with the Portales sisters which was fun:) We go on exchanges this week with the Hobbs sisters. Being a companion to the STL's are a blast!

We have been crazy busy just with everything. We are tired 24/7! But it is so awesome:) We love being tired and working hard! It is a very strange feeling.

We got to go down to Carlsbad this weekend again and we got to go to a baptism of a little girl named Allie. She is in a member family and we got to go have dinner with them a few times and teach her the lessons. The Norton's are an awesome family.

We had a Lesson with Lizeth and addressed one of her concerns of not feeling prepared to be baptized. We went over the baptismal questions with her and after, she said they were easy. We told her that that is all the Lord is asking you to know before you get baptized at this moment. There is no such thing as perfect knowledge. Alma 32:21 Continue to Pray that she will receive an answer to be baptized on a specific date:)

Then after we got to go out to the McCutcheon Ranch and eat the best food ever. They are the greatest family here in Carlsbad:)

We also had dinner with the Pannell Family and they are a strong strong family in the Gospel:) I want my kids to be like them. They have 6 kids under the age of 12. So cute!

Missionary work is just such a blessing. If you have a chance to go on one or you know of someone else who has the chance. GO!!!! It changes your life in a way you can't even imagine:) 

I hit my year mark on friday and I basically cried all day. We went out to celebrate but I was so sad. I never want to end my misson. But I do want to see my friends and family:) Its a love/hate relationship.

Now that i have 6 months left. I want to make the best of every moment I am here and work even harder. Philippians 4:8 -God will lead you to a better person that He wants you to be:) Only if you allow Him too. The way that we can become better is to follow all of God's commandments. He wants us to receive the blessings of living them so he is going to do everything he can to prepare a way for us to keep his commandments. Just as Nephi has said to his Father Lehi, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded." 1 Nephi 3:7

I love Y'all so very much and i know that this church is so true with all of my heart. It feels amazing just to share this message with as many people as possible. Even though some might not be ready for it at the moment. I don't feel myself when i am not talking about the Gospel. It is a part of me and it will always be a part of me.

Love you all!

Hermana Russell

One of our investigators goes to NMMI that we go teach at:) So fun! 

Year Mark celebration! They got ice cream and i got fries. And the worker knew what fry- sauce was so she made me some!!

Zone Conference April 2016

Baptisms, Baptisms, Baptisms! 4/18/2016

Alright, I have to apologize. I feel like have have been neglecting y'all.

I will try to be better with my emails.

So It has been crazy. I feel like I say that every email. But it has been. So I really do love y'all I promise.

So we went to Carlsbad this last weekend and it went great:) We got to see our progressing investigator Lizeth who is still having a hard time determining when she should be baptized. She knows she will she just wants to feel prepared and she is! We told her that she is ready but she just won't accept it. All in the Lords time. We also saw another investigator who is having a hard time giving up his past beliefs and we might have to drop him and give him some time:/ We also had a great Lesson with a less-active at a members home that went really well. We talked about the Plan of Salvation because she had lots of questions and we answered all of her questions. The member is her home teacher and he is a perfect home teacher for her:) She is going to progress for sure. She has 3 kids who come to church and love it. The dad isn't a member but he reads the friend with his daughter:) So cute!

We have a lot of success in Roswell also. We have 2 baptisms coming up. One is for an investigator that speaks Spanish but we can't give her to the elders because she wants the sisters to teach her because she feels more comfortable. Plus the elders aren't the best with their Spanish.

She is awesome! She was so excited for church and she wants her husband to join but he isn't quite interested yet. They do need to get married before she and he are baptized. They have the cutest 6 year old little boy and she is pregnant with her second. SO adorable. They are all going to be sealed in the Temple one day:) And we have another 17 year old girl who is going to get baptized but she is like :Lizeth and is praying about when she is ready. I have to remind myself that it is all in Gods time:) Even though they are so ready. Heavenly Father knows what is best for them.

The work goes on! It is progressing like crazy right now. My companions and I are so exhausted! But we LOVE IT!

We have so much fun as a companionship and we are working on being more on task. Especially with 2 areas.

D&C 93:28 We will gain strength and Knowledge when we are obedient. Heavenly Father wants to bless us so much but he literally can't unless we are obedient to ALL of his commandments:) Even though if it is something as simple as getting to bed EXACTLY on time instead of 2 minutes later. Heavenly Father will bless you for that. Do everything you can to be exactly obedient throughout your daily lives:)!

LOVE Y'ALL!

Hermana Russell

Us at Zone Training! It was awesome!

We made Mole! So delicious!

my shoes that are destroyed. They are "HOLY" now:)

Roswell+Carlsbad 4/11/2016

I'm so sorry this is going to be super short but I ran out of time! 

So we have 3 areas and the Elders are awesome because they are helping with the 2 in Carlsbad. We are teaching 10 Investigators. 9 of them are in Roswell. The lord is blessing us like crazy! I know I'm supposed to be here in Roswell as well because we have found an amazing spanish Investigator yesterday. She has a baptismal date for 30th of April. Please pray for her! And pray for our Areas! Gracias!

LE AMO MUCHISIMO!

Hermanas Russell

from Mom's letter:  Saw Devin and Brianna West at church.  It really is a small world. It was their first Sunday as well as mine:) I gave a talk as well. Only five minutes with my companions:) I just loved seeing their faces. It just gave me a little piece of home. And Brianna is adorable! We have a dinner appointment with them in a few weeks:) haha i got to sit right next to her in Relief society:) So fun.

from Dad's letter:

We are a trio for the rest of the transfer because we ligit don't have any sisters.  (10 sisters went home this transfer and none came out) And it is a party!! Seriously!! We are so tired everyday because we have way too much fun.  Just a lot have been going on. Even though we have 3 areas. I am a lot more relaxed because my companions are as goofy as me. It relieves a lot of stress! Holy cow!  So sister Rosenvall and sister Aviles are my companions and Sister Rosenvall is from PG so we literally live 10 minutes away from one another and we know like all of each others friends! We are so surprised we never came in contact with one another but we probably did and we just forgot.
Sister Aviles is from Idaho and she is the bomb and super hilarious! She speaks fluent spanish so we just talk to one another all day and Sister Rosenvall just says." I wish I could understand y'all." we just laugh and she is going to be speaking fluent after the transfer because she can actually pick up a lot!

Mi companeras! Estan marvioso!

estoy un omni ahora

I'm Becoming an Alien! 4/4/2016

 Ok so Sister Tycksen is leaving me:( She is headed home and so i will be up in Roswell with the Sister Training Leaders. It will be fun:) We will also be taking care of the Carlsbad west Spanish area!  We will take 2 days out of the week to come down and teach our investigators who are preparing for baptism:)

Its going to be a change because I've never done something like this before but I'm very excited:) Heavenly Father will bless both areas I already can feel it. I have a lot to learn from the Sister Training Leaders as well so I'm very excited;) They are the best! 

So what is new this week.... We had some cool experiences contacting:) We met this guy who has had 2 heart surgeries and it was perfect because we got to talk about the resurrection of the savior. And how we will each follow his example and we will each obtain perfect bodies:) He wanted a Book of Mormon and for us to come back and share more. We both testified about how we know that this is true doctrine and we are so excited for when we reach that point. We will get to see friends and family in their perfect beings. Wow.

Carlsbad is a great place to serve:) It can be harsh at times but what area isn't? We are so excited for the baptisms coming up and please bless that they will go very well:)

How was y'alls General Conference? wasn't it amazing??

All the talks were just amazing but i would like to talk about just a few that really stood out to me:

-I love how Donald L. Hallstrom said, "You can have what you want, or you can have something better!" The Gospel is the "something better!" A lot of people just don't want it:/

-Our true Identity is "I'm a child of GOD!" how amazing is that:)

-We must not Delay!- Mervyn B Arnold with sharing the gospel with those who are lost. 

-"There is nothing Good until You do it! Lift up your hearts and he will find and rescue you." -Elder Uchtdorf 

I actually thought that one of my questions were going to go unanswered after watching most of conference. I said, "this is going to be the first time that my question hasn't been answered!" and then came the last talk by Elder Holland:) He nailed my question. It was on point. "soon enough you will have the success that you seek" -Elder Holland:)

General Conference is so powerful especially as a missionary! How grateful I am to be a  servant of the Lord at this moment of my life. The work of the Lord will never cease until the day will come where Jehovah shall say, "The work is Done."

I sustain Thomas S. Monson as our prophet today. I know this church is lead by the great Messiah and how Great is the plan of our God! 2 nephi 9:13

This is the work of the Lord and I know that these standards and commandments that have been revealed to us will bless us and our families excessively throughout eternity!

Tenga Exito en cada de sus vidas! Les Ama Sus Families! Les ama Las Escrituras! Les ama El Senor!

Chao and Love you ALL,

Hermana Russell

Sister T. is so Cute. I'm going to miss her soooo much!!

Sis. T's mom sent bubbles so we blew some to relieve some stress:) They are actually very soothing.