July 5th

Goodness!

I get online and suddenly there's a picture of a baby, and I wonder, whose child is that? It couldn't be Cassi's or Katy's.... Wow Cassi is a MOM! Crazy! So unexpected. I am so happy for you and Kelly. Sounds like everything went well, an hour of labor?? Are you kidding me? I guess all of that natural peanut butter, and cookies without sugar really do make a difference, huh Cassi : ) I'm glad everything went well. You and Kelly are going to be the best of parents. How are you handeling everything? Don't feel the need to write back, I know you're stressed and busy. Mom will probably update me anyways, so just enjoy your time together as a new family! Your little girl is straight from heaven.

Katie, hang in there! By the time I write this letter, you could probably have gone into labor and delivered too for all I know.

The day Cassi went into labor, June 29th, I actually visited a family in the Ward that just had their second child. They are a great family. Sealed in the Temple and both RMs. Anyways, the Mom, Masha, had helped us a lot with our missionary work, so we wanted to drop-by with a little welcome gift for the new baby. I walked into their house and saw the Dad, Vova, sitting on the couch holding their newborn. The Mom was in the kitchen with their 3 yr. old daughter baking muffins for us missionaries. It was so pathetic, but the sight of their sweet little family made me want to cry, and so I had to hide my tears until we left their house. I told my comp that we can't go back there because I'll just turn into a sap every time. Family is so special! Little did I know that my little Sasha was on the other side of the world about to give birth. I've learned on my mission how my calling in life really is to be a Mom. I've just noticed with all my companions and the people we teach that I really just like to take care of people. Sometimes I forget to take care of myself, which is when that becomes a problem, but I really just want to have a happy little family someday. Ok, enough indulging that thought... that someday won't be for at least another 7 months because I'm on a mission! Haha, and for right now, I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing. So... here's the highlights from my side of the world....

This past week went really well. We had that meeting with Lena at our Branch President's house we were so excited for, but it didn't really go as well as we had planned. They are great people, but they ended-up bad mouthing a lot of the other Churches a little, and I think that kind of turned Lena off. I should have been better at trying to control the situation, and redirect the conversation, but Russians are very passionate people! I have a hard time cutting them off, but it's their culture to cut people off. It's expected to interrupt, but knowing me, that's not my strength. So, the meeting went okay, not the best, and she can't meet with us at all this week. We're hoping that she doesn't start to plateau, becasue this is probably the worst time to not meet with her becasue she was progressing so well. I feel like I have really put a lot of my heart into Lena. Every time she doesn't make a right choice, or someting doesn't work out, it makes me sad. I just want her to be happy! It makes me wonder how parents all over the world must feel about their children, and how Heavenly Father must feel as he watches all of us making choices that he knows aren't good for us.

Also, we have a less active member, Arkaidi Kazmen, who we have been meeting about three or four times a week. Don't know if I have told you about him? He is a very very sweet man about 60 years old. His wife died and he only has one daughter. The whole family was active, but since the death of his wife, he hasn't come to Church and formed an alcohol addiction. He has promised the missionaries for years that he'll come to Church on Sunday, but he never shows. He'll give you every excuse in the book, I don't have a chirt one week. So the Elders showed-up with a shirt the next week, and so he said he didn't have a tie, etc. He is just really ashamed of himself and how he has been living his life that he doesn't want the other members to see what he has become. It is so sad. He lives all alone. So, a couple times a week, we drop by and read the Book of Mormon with him in the park. we started at the beginning and are now half-way through 1st Nephi with him. He is a muffin (Carrie and Meesa). He is so sweet, but is also very hurt and lonely, but won't admit it. He keeps saying he wants to be an Elder in his Russin/English, and he is actually one of the best member missionaries we have in our area. He knows the Church is true and we've started to see some progress with him keeping the smaller commitments we've given him. We drop-by every Sunday morning and try to get him to come with us to Church, but he is pretty creative in getting out of it. He has an extreme desire to come, but he has a hard time following through on his commitments. Anyways, I was reading through our Area Book and all the missionaries had written hopeless comments about him. And it was kind of discouraging to read how everybody has kind of given up on this guy. I also stumbled across some pictures of him from about 10 years ago, and it was so staggering to see how different he looks now. The loss of his wife turned him to addiction, and now he just looks like a completely different person. It hit home to me that Satan either makes us feel one of two ways. He either entices us think we're too good or too happy to need a Savior (pride), or he makes us feel like we're to hopeless and worthless to deserve a Savior (despair). Both feelings I think are pretty common, and it makes sense that like the Savior, the adversary uses small and simple means to get people down. I know I have felt both of those feelings in small doses in my life, and I can somehow understand how easy it is for people to turn to addictions or other things for consolation in their extremem moments of depair/pride. How sad it is. Well, I don't like it when people preach in emails either, Dad, so I'll try not too. I just want this guy to pull through. I'm trying not to put too much hope in him, but why not hope for the best? He's worth it. Every one of us was included in the Savior's Atonement.

We went and worked on a Russian dacha this Saturday for a service project. So great to do some manual labor! Seriously. I miss being able to work outside. It was at a member's house and they have a neighbor we've been teaching. The neighbor is Natasha and we had a really great lesson with her and her daughter, 5 yrd old. They both came to Church on Sunday which was really cool.

Oh yeah, we're teaching an 86 year old man who is very hard of hearing, and when I try to talk to him in Russian he doesn't understand a thing. We have the Russian senior couple come with us. Last week though, he brought me in for a hug, and I didn't know what to do becasue he's old, so I let him hug me. But then, he didn't let go, and he started kissing my neck, even kind of sucking on my neck! It was so weird!! My comp and the senior couple just were staring and I was just in shock like "what is going on??" Haha I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! I gently pushed away from him, but it was all very confusing. The Senior couple thought it was hilarious, becasue it's very Russian to kiss eachother, but not that extreme. They laughed the whole way home with my comp. I was pretty confused. Didn't know whther to laugh or cry haha. He's a very dear old man, so it wasn't creepy or anything. He came to Church on Sunday too, but there's a funny story for you all to enjoy.

Hope all is well with you all! Carrie, enjoy Hawaii! Sounds like it's all been very interesting : )

Love you all,

Sister Hakes

P.S. here's a pic from the water coming out of our sink. don't worry, it's not always this brown, but every now and then it comes out this color. always a surprise!

pic #2 is me teaching an investigator and a member how to play the violin. the violin is the biggest hit here. most people have never seen a real one before in their life.