Hailey in Russia: Crepes every DAY.

This email will be a little shorter because we have to go to this store like costco to eat burger king with the Dunns because they're paying for us and nobody can say no to burger king am i right? also some other crazy things to get done today like this huge creepy pile of laundry at home and getting ready for exchanges. Our new STL is sister “ST” the russian and I love her and so it's going to be a fun few days getting to work with her again. She's the funniest gal ever.

So I just had this crazy miracle today. I was talking with the mission doctor, doctor blackwell today. Anyway, we were talking, and before I went to talk with him, the computer that I am currently writing on wasn't working. It just had a refreshing page for sooooo long and elder dunn the senior couple didn't know how to fix it and he's super tech savvy. Anyway, I was really discouraged because I really really wanted to write home today and I was scared I wouldn't get to, so I just prayed and asked Heavenly Father to bless that the computer would work so that I could write you and write home today, and I had faith that He could do it, and when I left the bedroom where I was talking with Elder Blackwell, The screen was working again and Elder dunn said "PERFECT TIMING SISTER TWEDE! I just fixed the computer!" and I said "No you didn't. I just prayed and Heavenly Father fixed it so that I could write home." Then I told them the story and we all just started laughing. It was really funny hahaha and it was just a great testimony to me, that even the little stuff in life that seems so silly and insignificant is also important to Heavenly Father too. It was just a great time haha ahhh, technology.

OKAY sister reed. She's a dang pal, so dang funny it kills me! Get this- she worked at a crepe shop in portland, so she knows the recipe to crepes............................ and we literally eat crepes every. single. DAY. It's just the best! I'm telling you. Crepes with sour cream on them is the best. All the russians do it and it's just the best. You GOTTA try it! I am so grateful for this humbling experience. Sister Reed seriously is a powerhouse and I have seen so much growth in her the past week. I feel really grateful to be companions with her. Her perspective on missionary work is really interesting, and way different than mine, but I really am learning so much and it's been really fun to put our ideas together.

Last week started off just right with a conversation with one of my favorite members of all time “GK”. Before a lesson, she was telling me about the sodas that she likes and doesn't like and she said "I loooooooove popa cola" but she tried to say coco-cola and popa means butt in russian so she said "OH I JUST LOOOOVE BUTT SODA!" hahahaha It was just the best.

We met with “TY” again. Taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She wants to come to church to compare our church with the proveslavni church. PRAY for her that she will see a huge difference and that those differences will lead her to the desire to be baptized. She is just the best pal. You will seriously love her so much when you meet her!

OH MY. We met with this potential named “El”. She is so fabulous. She is a makeup artist and hair stylist and is "professional" as she calls herself. The first lesson we had was awesome and spiritual and at the end when she read Moroni 10:3-5 she said "I FEEL THIS VIBRATION IN MY HEART! DO YOU FEEL THAT ENERGY RIGHT NOW??!?!!?!" We told her that it was the spirit testifying to her that everything that we were talking about is the truth. It was really an amazing lesson, and we invited her to be baptized, and she said "I was already baptized into the proveslovni church" - a common reply we receive. Anyway, She said she would read and pray about the book of mormon so that was way awesome! And then get this: last night we went over to her house for another lesson. So basically what happened was that she wants us to be models for her makeup/hairstyle portfolio. We told her no, we can't because this isn't our time it's the Lord's time and we are serving Him right now. Then, she just went off for about 20 minutes about how she is having her friend who is a "professional photographer" take the photos, and we'll have a nice keep sake to take home with us to america and that everything will be for free. hahahahahaha but the photos were the crappiest quality and the makeup she does is way funny too hahah i'll paint the picture for you:

1) black thick eyebrows 2) caked-on face 3) cat eyed eyeliner 4)weird squiggly lines by the eyes. Basically, she's just a dang character and I love her. But then she got rrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally mad at us and telling us things like "YOU DON'T WANT TO BE MODELS JUST SAY IT!" And "IF YOU REALLY SERVED GOD YOU'D SERVE ME BY BEING MY MODELS TOMORROW!" Then she told us we're sick in the head. hahaha it really was way funny. But then we had a spiritual thought with her since the Spirit wasn't really there since she was yelling so we couldn't do the lesson we planned, but then in the end it turned out great and she felt the Spirit again and she wants to meet again. It was a good time.

"DM" "DM" "DM" "DM" DANG "DM"! Oh my gosh so we passed little "DM" off to the elders. Turns out that's exactly what it took to get him progressing again! So cool! and get this: So "DM" has this crazy crazy addiction to coffee. He literally can't function without cofee. In the past, he would drink in front of us and say "It's okay to drink this, right? Because I'm not a member of your church yet." KEYWORD- YET! so cool. Anyway, saturday night we got a phonecall from "DM". He told us all about how earlier that day he met with the elders for a lesson. Then "DM" said "My health is so bad. People who see me think I have problems because I am too think and my head hurts all the time and I just feel tired all of the time and sick and so after talking with the elderes, I decided I'm going to quit drinking coffee." WHHHHHATTT "DM"!! The only person i've ever met who has a legitimate addiction to coffee decided to give it us. It was just soooo cool! ahhhh He is super on his way for baptism.

Miracles so many many many miracles! On Saturday, we had an impression to go by the home of the investigator “IR”, the one with two young daughters. "IR" is the bipolar woman who was on date for baptism back in May, but three days before her baptism she shut us out of her life. We'd go over to see if we could at least talk with her, and she wouldn't open the door, even though we clearly heard her daughters to be quiet and not to answer the door. Anyway, we stopped meeting with her for a while, until we had the impression to go to her house on saturday. So, we go to her house, ring for her on the doma phone, and no answer. We called again, no answer. About to leave to go back into our area, we felt impressed to just wait- so we did for several minutes, and then decided to leave. We were walking down the muddy path, and look up only to see “IR” with her two girls walking toward us on their way home. The girls instantly ran to us, greeting us with hugs. "IR" was cordial, but then said they had to go home. The girls begged and begged their mom to get us go over, and then............ she invited us over! ahhh! Then standing in the rain, "IR" opens up her backpack and pulls out something that melted my heart. She pulled out a soaking wet book of mormon, all swelled up on the pages from the rain. "I take it with me everywhere." she said. When we got to her small apartment, we told her we felt really impressed to go to her house. Then, a big smile swpet her face as she told us about how she was supposed to leave town that same morning to go to a small music festival outside the city, which would have lasted a few days. But then, she hod this thought come into her head "It'll be better for you if you stay home." She didn't understand, then went on, getting all her stuff gathered and ready to go to this festival when the thought came again "It'll be better if you stay home." She trusted the thought. Following that, she told us that she read the Book of Mormon for a long time and felt a lot of comfort. Then she said "Now I know why I wasn't supposed to go to that festival because God knew you would come to me through when I really needed to hear from you sister and meet with you." SO AMAZING!!!! We talked more with her about baptism which was great because she still wants to be baptized. Such a miracle. Then, on sunday early in the morning we went to her house to help her and the girls get ready for church. And they came! And it was a huge miracle. "IR" is back!!!!!!

I have started a study, studying Christ's personality, and not only just his qualities. We know from the scriptures that Christ has many qualities like faith, hope, charity, love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, obedience, and many many many many more qualities. We can obtain these qualities for sure as we study the scripture and as we make every day decisions to really strive to be Christ-like. We know these things, we've all heard these things, but what about Christ's personality?

I was reading John 15 the other day, and Christ's personality was really made manifest to me by the Spirit (I sound like Brigham Young haha who am i?) Anyway, I learned that Christ- is full of love, is concerned for our happiness, gives great advice to as to how to obtain joy, comes down to our level to help and comfort us, he relates to us, and tells us as it is. One of my favorite verses is found in that chapter as Christ says to His deciples "Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they persecuted me, the will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." Christ is SOOO right. We really are no better than our Lord. As we suffer in behalf of His name, we can shrug it off and smile, knownig that we are so priveledged to have our hard things, because the Lord too had hard things, and He overcame it all. And we too, as His disciples can overcome all the hard things we face too as we "look unto Him in every thought." It's true as John accounts the Savior as he taught us "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

I am so grateful for this. Again, another high horse I have is that WE REALLY ARE NOTHING! And we really can't do anything without Christ. But, we mean EVERYTHING to God and the Christ. We really do need to give ourselves to Christ, not just a piece, but all of us and all the blessings and guidance will make it all worth it. For a long time of my mission I wasn't fully giving myself to Christ and His work because I didn't like certain bits about this work as a missionary. But the Lord has really opened my eyes and given me great trials that hurt like nooooo other to go through, but He knew it would be for my benefit and my learning and He has truly changed my heart and continues to do so and continues to convert me more and more as the days go by. THIS IS HIS WORK AND HE IS JUST THE BEST!!

You are all the best and I miss you all so much. BUT I will see you so soon it blows my mind. LOVE YOU!

Love, Sissy T

don't eat here unless you want a baby in your belly. get it? prego. hahaha shoot.

my arms matching that saints arms on the temple

the craziest rain storm came out of nowhere and we were soaking wet and it was just the dang best time

"GK"!!!! She's the one that loves popa cola haha.

"KR" stalked us ... she always knows where we are

it's creepy and strange but we love her anyway

we were having a moment

don't mind my fat fat arm but these are the rowleys and we rode the tramvai and it was a great time. they leave next week :( wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh