July 19

Hi Family!

I hope you are all (well I guess not ALL of you) are enjoying the Family Reunion in CA right now. How fun! I'm sure it is a blast as usual. Say hi to all the extended family for me and give a shout-out to all the McCuistion girls! (What are they up to anyways?) Enjoy the beach and PLEASE send me pictures. Ok, those are all of my requests for now. Thanks: )

Well, Sister Hanks and I received a call from Mission President Friday night, which means we got a transfer. Sister Hanks will be leaving to Ufa, and I will be staying in Botanika. I am so happy to stay, but I know Sister Hanks put her heart and soul into this area too, so I'm sad either of us will be leaving. The Lord knows better though. I will be getting a new companion, and when I say new, I mean brand new. It looks like I will be traning again. My new companion is waiting for her Visa right now, so we're not exactly sure when she'll arrive. Maybe the 27th or 28th, so it looks like Sister Hanks and I will have another week together. I'll also be in Finland on Friday, and it looks like we'll have just enough time there to do a session at the Temple. I'm so excited! It has been too long!

Botanika is amazing. I just love it. I feel like the people here actually want to meet with us, and they're not just being nice haha. We found a lady on the bus last week and we went and gave her a BOM at her home, and her questions were just beautiful. She is a very spiritual/thoughtful woman, though she doesn't attend any Church, which to me, is golden. We read with her from 3 Nephi 11, when the Savior appeared to the Nephites, and she was just going on and on about how the book is so much more easy to understand than the Bible. She has a hard time accepting that there could just be one, completely true Church, but she agreed to meet with us again becasue she liked the BOM so much. I have had numerous people on my mission believe in the BOM, but not believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I try to explain that it's not possible to believe in one and not the other, and then I'll read with them some scriptures, but it's so interesting to me that will believe in the BOM, the fruit, but not Joesph Smith, the source of the fruit. I think it's easier to have faith in the bom becasue it's right in front of you. Whereas, Joseph Smith seems so distant to the people here, and they have a hard time accepting anything from America. I can understand that though, there's a long history there. The Russian Orthodox Church is "their" faith, and what we believe is "our" faith. We get a lot of that on the streets, that Russians have their God, and we Americans have our God. I just wish I were a Russian! The native missionaries and members are such a strong testimony to the people here, that the Church is not only for Americans.

Ok, now to Lena. She came to Zhenya's baptizm on Saturday which was really great for her progression. Zhenya is the same guy that I taught with Sister Zakharova in Chelyabinsk (he moved to Ekat and ust gor baptized! Yay!), and there were a lot of people there to show support for him. The Spirit was really strong, and Lena again admitted that she knows the Church is true. We keep saying she needs to act on this, but she is having a really hard time forsaking her old life. I feel a lot for her. Her friends aren't the best support for her, and she needs to find some good friends in the Church. We arranged to have some members pick her up for the baptizm, and then take her to the Youth Fireside on Sunday, but nobody really talked to her. It was really hard to watch. You would think that the members would reach out more here in Russia, because they want people to join the Church so badly, but because there is such a small membership, the youth are kind of cliquish, which it makes it hard for anyone else to join in. I think they made her feel like a sinner a little : ( I wanted to cry. My comp and I know she needs to have her own testimony, and not join just for friends, but I would just like her to feel like the people accept her. She says she feels comfortable with the members, but I know she's just saying that so we don't worry about her. Oh, and, she also lost her job last week, which is actually a blessing. She was never capable of coming to Church on Sunday, but now she is going to get a job Sunday's off. We told her that this was a little miracle from God, and she said that she had already thought that herself. The Lord is essentially asking her to change her life, which I can't imagine how hard that really is. We read Lamoni with her, and how he was willing to forsake all of his sins to know his Maker. I actually feel a lot like Lena at times. How many times has the Lord asked me to forsake something, but I still hold on to it? I thought sacrificing things would be easier, but sometimes I have a hard time seing the big picture. I know the Lord's way is better than mine, but somehow I still have fear that life really will be better if I give everything to Him.

Despite all the ups and downs with trying to get people to accept the Gospel, the work is great. I really love it. I feel a lot of love for the people, and I feel love for my Savior. I have learned to be a lot more steady, and sometimes I forget how I used to let things affect me so much. I've realized that people can do all sorts of crazy things, and I can be in a million different crazy situations, but none of it's really that big of a deal if you just keep going, and keep praying, and keep doing your job. I really was surprised to find out I'd be training again. I feel like I have somehow fooled my Mission President into thinking I'm a really great missionary. But again, that's a lack of faith, becasue my assignments come from the Lord. I just feel like all of my companions and all of the other sisters here are equally if not more capable to lead. I guess I just need to take advantage of these situations and try and learn from them what the Lord wants me to. The Lord must know better than me, becasue I'd be happy with just a "normal" transfer, whatever that is : )

Love you all and have a good week!

Sister Hakes