MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!!

I love you and this time of year. Christmas is the best and Christ is the best!

This week was interesting and SO FILLED with miracles! We had one lesson with a girl who is 18 named "KS". "KS" met the missionaries about two years ago. I have known her my whole time that I have served in Penza. She has been really busy with work and school so we haven't been able to meet for about 3 or 4 months. Well, we finally got a meeting with her. It was really interesting because going into the lesson, we were going to talk about baptism and really push her toward being baptized. "KS" reads the Book of Mormon every day and knows that it is true. She lives with her boyfriend, and has a couple issues with the word of wisdom. We have invited her to be baptized in the past, but she declined the invitation saying that she didn't feel that she was ready. Well, we had a lesson with her last week for the first time in several months and felt to talk about baptism.We again talked about baptism with her, and she declined the invitation again, with the same answer "I'm not ready." Well, this was really heart breaking to hear because she has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and our church! We explained to her that the longer she puts off baptism, the longer that Satan will work on her and the harder and harder it will be to get baptized. Something that she told us was that she is moving to the Crim with her family and her boyfriend in about a month. She was on a vacation there about two weeks ago, and said that while she was there, she met missionaries there! She told us she met with them and talked with them and told them how she is going to be moving to the Crim. Well, it was interesting because she told us "When I get baptized, I want to get baptized once I move to the Crim." She also told us that she wants so start meeting with the missionaries there often. The spirit confirmed to me that she will be baptized, I don't know when, but I know that she will. So I am practicing my faith in my prayers and asking the Lord to make that baptism happen for her. This Gospel is exactly what she needs and I have faith that she WILL be baptized! I just love "KS" so much though. She and I will be friends forever, which means that you two will be friends forever too. She's so great. I can't wait for you to meet her!

NEXT MIRACLE!  There is a Babushka in our branch named baba "K". Remember her? I talk about her a lot. She's the one with the one eye. Okay well funniest story. She tells us that she has a boyfriend who she used to live with 10 years ago before she got baptized, but when she decided to be baptized, she kicked out her boyfriend. Well, this man's name is "O". She tells us that she tells him all the time ""O" you gotta get baptized so we can get married because if we don't get married we can't make it to the celestial kingdom." HAHAHA bless her dang soul. She's just the funniest. Anyway, We had a meeting with the two of them at her house several days ago, and we just introduced the Book of Mormon to him. This man is a talker! Very intelligent and well spoken which makes it incredibly difficult to understand him, and also to get a word in. He told us that "K" gave him a Book of Mormon a while ago, and that they read together when he comes over to visit. Well, we invited him to begin reading the Book of Mormon and he said, "No. I won't read this book.......... I'll study it." He then explained to us how reading and studying are very different. We were amazed! He didn't just tell us that he would read, but that he would study it! It was so cool. After that meeting, a couple of days passed by. Then, while we were at church yesterday, baba "K" tells us ""O" told me that he wants to get baptized." WHAT!?! such a miracle! The next miracle is this: we had a meeting with a member scheduled for the evening yesterday night, but it didn't go through. Our back up plan also didn't go through. Then, sister Mckell and I had a thought to go see baba "K". We went, and guess who is at her house? "O"! So cool! We asked him if he has started reading the Book of Mormon and he said he hasn't had time to yet, so what did we do? We read it together. He is very interested in it and the history of the Book of Mormon. I don't understand a single thing he says, but he's just a character. He will totally be baptized I have noooo doubts. All these people coming closer to Christ makes my feet tingle ^.^

 Next miracle: Last night just before bed, we got  a text message. It was from "J", the boy from Nicaragua who is a member of the church. I don't know if I told you, but we called him last month, and his girlfriend answered the phone, got mad at us, and told us to NEVER call him back again. We explained to her that we are just church girls and she was like "OH SO YOU'RE CHURCH GIRLS ARE YOU?!?! WHY ARE YOU CALLING MY BOYFRIEND!" it was bad. So... we kept calling him anyway, obviously. She has no control of our "J" friend. So we would call him and his number wasn't working for about a month and a half, maybe two months. He texted us last night and told us that he has been really really busy with his finals in school and that he now has time and that he wants to meet with us and even come to church!  He isn't able to come to church because his hostel where he lives, doesn't let him leave the building until after 12 in the afternoon. Student housing here is really crazy. It's literally like a prison. Well, it's a Christmas miracle and we are so excited to him to come to church.       

Next miracle: "I", BLESS HER SOUL! We had a meeting with her and her husband and two sons on Saturday night.... it was a 4 hour long lesson. That's what happens when the dad is a kook! He just talks so much. We taught the restoration and it was so spiritual and you could tell that "I" was just soaking it all in. Well, She had lots of questions that our friend/member help "A" could help answer which was way sweet, We all just came to the conclusion that she just needs to read to book of mormon everyday and pray about it and gain a testimony of it. Well, we also gave her sons a kids book of mormon with pictures and they were way stoked about it. Anyway we invited them to church and they said they'll try. When russians say they'll try, it never works out. So we told "I" we would come to their house and get them and she said you don't have to, because I promise that I'll come. I forgot to say that at the end of the lesson, we invited her to pray, and it was the first time in her life that she prayed her own words and just didn't read prayers or say a recited prayer. It was so beautiful and the spirit was so strong!!! She's just the best. I am so obsessed with her. Anyway....

Well Sunday comes and...... came to church all by herself! It really was such a testimony builder to me. Sister Mckell and our district have made a goal to fast together every sunday of this cycle. While we were in sacrament meeting yesterday, "I" wasn't there. We partook of the sacrament, and she still wasn't there. Well, we heard the doorbell ring and in came "I"! It was so great! Sister Mckell and I were just praying our hearts out and hoping and fasting and having faith that she would come to church. It was really cool because we know that once she gains a testimony of the Book of Mormon, then she will be well ready for baptism. Well, it was really cool because she has a testimony of the Bible, and the talks during sacrament meeting were all about how the Bible and the Book of Mormon support each other. It was exactly what she needed to hear, and we just hope that she felt the Spirit testify to her that all the words spoken there were true. SO MANY MIRACLES! It just was amazing that she came, and she came alone! Even though her husband is a less active member, she came. It was really so great and God really did answer our prayers. He's just the best!

Well, I gotta wrap this up. I just want to say that I love you and that you are all my favorite friends and family. I am so grateful for the Savior. He IS the gift, and because of him all things are made right. I love him and he loves you. DON'T FORGET HIM THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON! think of what gift you can give the Savior this year. 

I love you all! Love sissy T

Editor's Note: Sorry about the blurred faces. It's the rules.

making christmas

I made a snow man with our friend "RY" 's son "D". He's just so cute and funny!

Me with "F" and her daughter "RT". "F" is the one that gave me my coat! 

love her! love them. They're just great!

Me and "KS". I love her forever

homeless cat life

exchanges this week. Sister Wagstaff,  Johnson, me, and Mckell

homeless cat life round two

My family Christmas card

Short letter home. No time so sorry

We had something really cool happen with that less active and his wife and their sons. We went over to their house. Guess who drank too?! "E". The dad. I was so ticked because he has been baptized and he knows better. When I smelled his breath I was like oh no... and then the spirit welled up within me and then the spirit started talking through me and really yelled at him.... haha.. but really I had no control over what I was saying. I was like ""E" you KNOW it's not okay to drink." he said yeah it is it's okay to drink only a little! I said no it's not. What kind of example you think you're setting for your sons? and then the oldest son named "R" who is 12 said "Yeah RIGHT dad you drink waaaayyyy more than just a little." So dang sad. Then "I" the wife came into the room and was like, "I try to get him to not do it." and I said "Look at your poor wife and your sons, they're all suffering for your actions."I then I explained you're not happy because you don't follow the commandments that God has given us. Anyway, then the discussion went into the kitchen when "I" pulled out of the oven this cheese pastry that she made (so dang tasty just gotta say. Big girl within me is comin out) We all started talking and oh my... "E" is just a hooligan. He is just one of the kids it's way funny bu also so immature because his poor wife who has the most kind soft spirit I have ever met is just suffering because he doesn't take things seriously. Well, the spirit filled the room and we started just talking about baptism which was really strange because usually we like lead into that topic but it just flowed from us and we talked about how Christ himself when he lived on the earth, established his gospel. He too was baptized to show us the way and set the example for all of us. The spirit was so strong, and you could see so clearly in "I"'s eyes that she was feeling the spirit and we invited her to be baptized and she said.......................................

........................."I'm not ready yet." But that was the best news of all because that means she has been thinking about it. We testified to her that if her sons got baptized, the worries she has for them about their future would all go away because she would know that they were on the right path and that it will bless their lives more than she could ever imagine. Well, that resonated in her heart for a good long while. Then "E" interrupted the spirit by laughing out loud and saying how "I" didn't understand a thing we says. He's really a silly guy. He used to be in the circus when he was younger and so he does flips and back bends all the time it' sway funny... but it's just so sad because his story is that he was a drunk and so "I" took the kids and left. He was homeless and had nothing at the time the missionaries found him. Well, he showed us the photo from his baptism and he said "yeah. Elder Bingham, he forgot about me." Pointing to the one that baptized him. It was really sad. But then he just went off about how Joseph Smith went digging for gold one day and then found the gold plates. hahahaha so inaccurate. Anyway, basically he's a kook and we just have to help him rebuild his testimony. He even openly said that he doesn't have a testimony anymore, so there is just so much work to be done. "I" his wife has been proveslovni her whole life and she even paints proveslovni Icons as her job, so there is a lot of work to be done. However, I know and she knows and sister mckell knows and Heavenly Father and Christ know that she felt the spirit that day and that the changes she seeks in like can be found in Jesus Christ and his only true church. She's just the best though, just the softest spirit you'll ever meet in your life, she just has a lot of hurt because of her drunken husband. Anyway, I have no doubt that she will be ready soon for baptism, and we are going to invite her two sons "R" and "S" to be baptized before the end of the year. I'll try to get a photo with them soon so you can see how cool they are. "R" plays the sax and "S" plays the thing that squidward plays (I can't remember what it's called right now haha) they're way good at it too. (Editor's Note: it's a clarinet she's referring to)

Anyway, cutest family, sweetest spirits. The Lord is pouring out his miracles on our mission and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I love you all so much!!!!

PS CONGRATS STEPH ON YOUR WEDDING! I love you gal. Tell Eddie welcome to the Twede family ha ha. Miss you all. Thanks your your support and love. 

Love Sissy T

decorated for christmas!

Big Christmas tree!

in the derevni

Morchik the cat

OH MY GOODNESS MIRACLES EVERYWHERE.

Something that has been keeping me going this week is a quote that Pres Uchtdorf said to us at an easter devotional while I was at the MTC, His whole talk was about the Savior, and about the resurrection. He gave some really good advice to us all. He said, "If you want to punch Satan in the face, then preach the Gospel."  haha really funny advice, but so true too. I know that each day as we go out the preach the Gospel, we are punching Satan in the face. I really have come to know, this cycle more than any prior, that every effort we give as missionaries is accepted by our Savior, and that as we do the things we have been taught to do, we are 1)making the Lord proud, and 2)punching Satan in the face. Jokes on him though because he doesn't even have a face. sucks to be Satan, am I right?

 On thursday, the spookiest thing happened. Satan was in our apartment and we couldn't do anything about it. Thursday is when we do weekly planning and Satan decided to show up and make us really ticked off at each other which is ridiculous because we are best friends and we have never fought our whole 3 cycles together. Well, he literally bound our tongues and we couldn't even speak. We were so angry for no reason that we couldn't even speak to each other. It's just extra freaky because I prayed to cast Satan out but he just kept coming back like 20 minutes after every time I would pray and ask for his presence to leave. At a good place in time, we called our district leader and asked for blessings, and we were getting ready to leave. We both just broke down in tears and finally after 4 hours started talking to each other.  It was so scary, I hated every second of it. But we started to talk about spiritual things when we were both crying so it brought in the spirit and then we were able to leave our apartment to go get blessings . It became really clear to us after we got outside of our apartment and especially after we received blessings, that the adversary really was in our apartment really trying to bring us down. It worked because we couldn't even plan due to the fact we couldn't even speak to each other. It's really scary how apparent Satan is in this work, but on the other hand, it really is a testimony to me of how involved the Savior is in this work. If this wasn't His work, then Satan wouldn't be trying so hard to put an end to it. really freaky experience, but it really strengthened my testimony too.

Just like what they say.... Satan tries to stop good things from happening like the restoration or like a temple being dedicated, and things like that and it's evident because..........

THE CRAZIEST MIRACLES ARE HAPPENING IN OUR MISSION!!! This is literally crazy, you might pass out when I tell you about it.

There is a city in my mission called Dmitrigrad, and no missionaries are there. Well guess what? Turns out that there was a volleyball team of 15 men from ages 20-30 who were athiests, were bored, and decided to research religion together. They researched the Proveslovni church which is the biggest here in russia and found so many faults in it and found out that it's not true. They searched other religions together, and also found them not to be true. Well, they at some point started researching the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints... and guess what? They ALL know it's true. Our mission office got a phone call from these men, who asked if they could start a branch in Dmitrigrad because they really want the church there. They are sending two elders there to start a branch and teach these 15 men how to run a branch, and these men have studied our church and know ALL the doctrine, and are so converted. All they have to do is attend church 3 times and then they can be baptized, so they took a bus to Tolyatti which is a couple hours away so that they could go to church. ISN'T THAT AMAZING?!?!?! It's just God and his grace and his good heart and his love and his way of working miracles that this is happening in our mission! As you know our mission has a goal to baptize 140 people this year, and we need 70 baptisms in 6 weeks and the Lord and Heavenly Father are blessing us due to our faith in them and due to our hard work that we aren't ceasing to do over here. I KNOW that God is a God of miracles, it is because of him that the red sea was parted for moses, because of him that the brother of Jared saw the hand of God, because of God that we have the book of mormon brought to us through the prophet Joseph Smith who was so ineloquent. Heavenly Father is a God of miracles, and why would he cease to do miracles in our day? I KNOW that we can see miracles as long as we believe and have faith in Jesus Christ.  So dang cool!! AHHH I just LOVE Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ soooooooooooooo much it's not even funny.

So basically when I found out about those men getting baptized in Dmitrigrad, I got tears in my eyes, because it is just so evident to me that NOTHING, no force can stop the Lord's work. Here in Russia and all over the world. Isn't it incredible that we get to be a part of it?!?!?! We can all be a part of it! So many miracles really are happening. A little miracle in Penza happened just yesterday. There is a less active in our branch named "E". He has a wife named "I", and they have three sons age 12, 10, and 5. The only member in the family is "E", the father, and it just so happens that "I" and "E" were trying to decide which church to have their sons baptized into: Proveslovni or our church. So they have been meeting with the Elders and with our ward mission leader "A" and his wife "T" because "E" and "I" already know them and have been good friends for a couple years. Turns out that "I" has been to our branch building once, and it was about a year and a half ago. Well, they came to church yesterday for fast and testimony meeting. I had been asking Heavenly Father in my prayers for a few days to bless and inspire the members who would testify to testify of baptism. We heard the door open, and in walks "E" and "I", their three sons, and also the mom of "A" the new convert. Guess what? ALL the testimonies were testimonies of baptism and it really was one of the most spiritual fast meetings I have ever been to. I looked at "I" and "T" several times during peoples' testimonies, and they were so attentive and it was clear that they were feeling the Spirit. Our ward mission leader talked with the Elders, and they both decided that they think it would be best for me and Sister Mckell to meet with "I". Them coming to church was an answer to both mine and Sister Mckell's prayers. We have been fasting and praying a lot and asking for someone to come to church who will be ready to be baptized before the end of the year. We have NO doubt that "I" is ready, and that her two sons are ready, and that the gospel will bless their lives more than they ever can imagine. This Gospel is EXACTLY what their family needs, and what we all need too.

I love you all so much. I ask you to all read Mormon 7 today it's my fav read lately. I love you all so much i miss you all so much. Miracles happen, and God is real and all knowing and all powerful!

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

love sissy T

THANKS ZEL FOR THE SOCKS ME AND SISSY M LOVE THEM!!! and thanks all my neighbors for the cards and letters you constantly send. I love you all. 

LOVE YOU FAM AND FRIENDS!

Russian temples soo dang cute.

Christmas is coming! This tree is sooo big!!!

YOLKA!!

from thanksgiving. HUGS!

thanksgivng lunch at the best place ever. YES PIZZA so tasty

smiley fries

 views from the train ride

we bought socks at the market... SO DANG CUTE RIGHT?!??! mine are the dolls.

sister squad in ukriane. 

Sister coleman, leavitt, johnson, mckell, and me

Plane ride from moscow to samara. this girls name is "L" and we talked the whole flight about food which was sad because we were starving after my detained fiasco.

haha she's great though.

 Ukraine form on high.. just like you imagined it huh?

Silhouettes

 elevator selfies while knocking.

Cool tank. Don't worry there's no war here.

good times knocking.

this dvd is called bmecte nabeki..... or together forever and it's so terrible and we laugh every time we give it away

we love night lights

HAPPY BDAY SISSY MCKELL!!! on tuesday last week .Thanks Zella for the cute baloon!! IT WAS too late for my bday \but just in time for sissy mckells! so thoughtful!

Penza! 350 years old. 

Just as old as my body feels haha.

Hailey gets detained in Russia, part 2.

Alright, straight to the good stuff. 

Wanna know a crazy story? I went to renew my visa in Kiev last week. Guess what happened? Everything was FINE! Kiev is the silliest place, and it was really weird because flying over Ukraine, you just felt the spirit of sadness everywhere. The people there really are sad, and it's definitely really sad what has been going on over there in the world. It was a way fun visa trip though. 

Get this: we got back to moscow, and immediately went to passport security (like normal.) There were two lines of us,  all got through the gates no problem. Well me, being Sissy Hailey, I automatically have the WORST luck. I just happened to choose the line with the meanest lady. She checked my passport, noticed that something wasn't quite making sense. Well, long story short, me and elder Tonn, this elder that was in my MTC district, get detained in Moscow because the people were just way confused about some of our passport stuff. Well, this freaky russian guy came and started yelling at us. So naturally, I'm sweating and freaking out! Well, I had no idea what to tell the guy so funny ELder Tonn says, "Wait.... are you speaking english right now? We can't understand you. We need to speak with someone that knows english way better than you do." HAHAHAHA I just laughed out loud. He stormed away, and locked us up in this back room. I'm not going to lie, I was freaking out.

But guess what? Heavenly Father just blessed me and reminded me that I had the phone in my purse! Sister Mckell and I take turns with the phones, and that day it was my turn. So I get the phone out, call my mission president, i'm on the phone the whole time with the AP's and zone leaders. When the guy comes back into the room, he has a HUGE stack of passports, that were all of the other missionaries who I was with. So I am just praying my heart out, and we are all praying our hearts out, and once these russians found out that we were perfectly legal, they just let us go without saying anything at all.

It was SOOO stressful, and way blown out of proportion, and I was so threatened by these people, and guess what? My mission president happens to be a lawyer so I'm pretty sure he's making a claim to the embassy that we were harrassed. It's pretty funny. But the moral of the story is.... While I was praying, I was so scared. I have never felt more afraid in my life. My mind kept going to places like "I wonder where I will get reassigned." But that was just depressing because I know that this is exactly where I need to be. I was just so scared and the russian airport guy was so intimidating and I didn't know if I would be able to finish my mission in Russia. Well, God answered all our prayers, he made it all happen, and we almost missed our flight. We all sprinted to our terminal, and made it all safely on our plane back to Samara. 

That was the longest story, my bad. I have noticed that one of my weaknesses is that I get really carried away when I tell stories. :/ But I wanted to tell you all that story because I really gained a testimony that Heavenly Father DOES answer all of our prayers, and he is always around us to still our troubled hearts and to comfort us, and to ease our worries and fears. I know it was an experience that I needed, because the Lord is constantly teaching me to rely on Him, and that there is no other way in life rather than relying on Christ and our Heavenly Father. He is always teaching me that: "SISTER TWEDE. DON'T YOU SEE? YOU DO LOVE YOUR MISSION!" and "Oh silly sister Twede, you're just so silly. Don't stress, just rely on me." 

 We are nothing compared to God, but we are everything to Him. I know that he is always ready and willing to help us because WE are his love, his joy, His happiness, and his purpose. Isn't that CRAZY? We are EVERYTHING to God. The person that created the whole earth and heavens and everything between! We are why he created the earth, we are why he created the Heavens, we are why he sent his son to atone for us because he knew that we couldn't do it without Him. I am so grateful for our Savior, and I really am learning more and more to have faith in Him. I am constantly being taught that He IS the light and life of the world, and that He really did drink the bitter cup for all of us. I am so grateful for Him. 

I love you all so much. Thanks for your love and prayers. We really need them at this time. We are trying to find people that are ready for baptism. Please send your prayers for our mission. We would all really appreciate them! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Love, Sissy T

Thanksgiving dinner

We celebrated with the branch!