January 10, 2011

I have no time this week, sorry! I am trying to apply online to BYU.

MOM!!!! You need to get my transcript from NMSU sent to BYU ASAP! Deadline is February 1st. Love you and thanks : )

I got transfered is my big news of the week : ( I am going to be Training AGAIN and white-washing AGAIN in the city of Perm. This will be my fourth time training, and my second time white-washing haha. I was a little surprised, but I am actually really excited. It'll keep in top form for the end of my mission. We ended-up being so busy in Botanika, that the mission president added another companionshiop to my old area, which makes me so happy! no mor time....

Here is a little excerpt of my letter to President. That's all I got this week. Love you all

I am so sad I am leaving Botanika! However, I am so happy that there will be four sisters there! I love the people there so much, and I feel like it will forever be my Russian home. I don't think the loss of leaving yet has really settled in, but I am sure that will happen in time. I am excited to be Training again though. I wasn't expecting too, but I never have expected to yet, so thanks for keeping that tradition alive : ) I know Training and wite-washing will be difficult, but that is nothing new! I am actually really looking forward to it, because I know it will keep me as busy and focused as ever, which is what I want for my last two transfers. I've heard Perm is awesome too, so that is exciting, along with my first tain/elektrishka ride!

Vladislav's wife is still on the fence, but we are giving him the paper for her to sign on Tuesday. We think that will be a really crucial and tlling step for them. We definitely don't want any more of a wedge to exist in their relationship because of the Church.

Vladimir was taught the Plan of Salvation rather thoroughly this week, and it seemed to help! The whole thing about not receiving exaltation without baptism seemed to motivate him more than before. He agreed to think about baptism some more and so we'll see what happened.

Sasha passed the Sacrament yesterday at Church! He was pretty unsure of what he was doing, but he made it through okay. He wore a white shirt, tie, and suit, and President Solomein has already assigned him a calling. He is his quorum President. He seemed pretty happy about that. He told us that he wasn't sure Joseph Smith was a prophet yet, which really frightened us, but he did say he believed, which is most important. We're working on changing his belief into knowledge though.

Tatiana and her boyfriend came to Chuch again, and they seem to be doing rally great. She has a lot of real intent. She even brought her nonmmber friend with her, so that is exciting. She has a hard tim understanding th Book of Mormon, and that is probably her biggest obstacle right now.

We had four or five member rffrals last week, and almost all turned into new investigators, which is exciting too. Most of our investigators live in Botanika, so I was afraid the Ximash sisters wouldn't have investigators to meet with, but almost all of the investigators we found last week live in their area, so that was a tender mercy. I hope they enjoy and love the area as much as I do. I'm sure they will!

Sister Hakes

January 3, 2011

Happy Monday Morning to you all!

Well, hold on.... I'm trying to remember what happened this week... ok, now I remember:

We had New Years at home on half of Friday and all of Saturday! Yay! You all know how much af a homebody I am, so that was a nice break. However, we tried to sleep New Years evening, but the fireworks made it rather impossible. I was looking forward to maybe taking a nap and catching-up on some sleep Saturday during the day, but we were given a schedule of how to use our time at home, so we followed the schedule, which unfortunately did not include a nap. However, the blessings of obedience are real, and I have felt rather energized since New Years despite not being able to catch-up on any sleep.

Vladislav's wife has agreed to let him get baptized! I don't know what happened, but it is so awesome! However, like usual, there is another hang-up. I swear, I always think that as soon as Vladislav can get over this hurdle, then he'll be ready for baptizm. But, no. He has stopped sleeping in the evenings for some unknown reason, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but he recently got a new job, and if he's not sleeping at night, then he falls asleep at work during the day. To keep himself from falling asleep at work, he drinks tea, which is sad, because now he is saying he can't quit tea! Sigh. It'll all work out I am sure, but his baptizm for this Saturday is looking rather unlikely. Maybe he'll pull through though, we'll see! Pray for him.

Sasha is doing great, and yesterday he received the Priesthood at Church! We have very limited Priesthood in our branch, so it is very nice to have a new addition. He told us yesterday at Church though that he has been reading the Book of Mormon, and he has some really "important, and serious questions" about what he has read. He said they weren't good questions. That kind of worried us. We have a meeting scheduled with him for tonight, and I am sure everything will be okay. I told him that he just needs to believe and remember his testiomny regardless of whatever questions he may have, but to keep that fouindation of faith. He said, "Of course I believe!" And, when we asked him if he was doubting, he said "Of course not!" Haha. All will be well with him I am sure. He has a very believeing heart, which is very endearing. He is rather childlike in his faith.

Tatiana the lady we had a baptizmal date for on Christmas came to Church yesterday with her boyfriend from Norway. She is so golden! Her boyfriend is an excommunicated member, but has had a change of heart and is working with his Bishop in Norway to get re-baptized. He really wants Tatiana to get baptized too so they can be sealed in the Temple together. It is rather sweet. She really wants a happy family because both of her parents died when she was young, and she says she really feels something special at Church. So, I am sure she will be getting baptized soon. Yay for miracles!

Yana, the little girl that comes to Church on her own, set a baptizmal date in early Februray! Her mother was kind of unsure about the Church, but we've really been working with her, and she has now come to Sunday's in a row. And, she agreed to let her daughter get baptized in our Church, and not in the Russian Orthodox Church. She is a very nice lady, but is the classic example of hopelessness. She just has had trouble raising her other children, and she doubts that anyone can really keep the commandments of God successfully. She doesn't think Yana will make it. But, Yana has the desire, so that is the first step.

What else.... let me give you some fun "Russian" info.

People's car engine's freeze if they don't periodically start them. So, if you own a car in Russia, you have to wake-up every three hours at least to turn your car on and let it run for a good thirty minutes. That is at least three times during the evening! The big thing here is having an automatic timer for your car, so it can turn itself on during the night without having to get up. Crazy huh? It's like having a baby!

People have GRILLS. Meaning, I have never seen so much gold teeth in my life. In fact, people have, on numerous occasions, have stopped my companion and I on the street to comment on our "white teeth." They even say we need to be in the movies if our teeth are so white. It's really funny. They can always spot we're foreigners because we smile on the street. I don't even realize I am smiling most of the time, but I think just having my mouth open is strange, I don't know...

If you don't have a hat on outside, they will stop you and tell to cover your head, or you will catch a cold. They take this very seriously. I can understand now, when it is really freezing outside, but even in early Fall, they were stopping my companion and I to tell us to cover up, or we'll catch cold! It is also rather comical to us, but maybe there is some truth in that.

Well, that is my letter for this week. It was, again, so so nice to see all your faces on Skype. I really felt like I had come home from the mission in that I didn't feel far away from you all for a couple of days, so that was nice.

Some notes:

Mom, I haven't gotten your Mormon Tab CD yet, did you send a package beside the pumpkin one that didn't make it? I haven't seen anything yet, but I'll keep an eye out. I haven't had a chance yet to buy that Russian jacket, but I appreciate the funds and I will try to purchase it sometime soon. Thanks : ) Oh, can you check out BYU for me, PLEASE? I need to probably re-apply, but could you call them and have them look-up my status, so I know exactly what I need to do to re-apply. Thanks. I loved your weekly email, it was nice to hear updates from everyone. Love and appreciate you lots!

Meesa, I got your Christmas package! Thanks so much for the red sweater! I am wearnig it today... Deh. Say hi to Collin!

Cassi, thanks for your letter. The YW Program here is not quite the same, but they try. There are three girls in YW in my Branch, and they are sisters. I don't think they have any special activities that I know of, but they do meet asYW on Sunday like usual, so that is good. If I could say an expereice that stuck out to me, I'd say Girls Camp, lessons on dating were always my favorite (not gonna lie), and I remember doing my Personal Progress for Individual Worth and really enjoying that. On the mission, I often share the story of when I first felt the love of God, and it was doing the Individual Worth value project, when I read D&C 18:10. That is still my favorite scripture, as you know. I think it was really important for me to learn who I was as a daughter of God, and that is what helped me most growing up. You'd really be impressed by the three sisters in my Ward. They are so strong, and yet they have no one else their age that are members. Maybe you could tell your girls about them? Their names are Liza, Lena, and Anya Kaigorodova. P.S. the pic of you all + Greycoat made me laugh. I've spotted a couple Greykote look-a-likes here and Russia and have even taken pictures of them. I'll show you when I get back : )

Dad, no pressure about the cat : ) It was just a suggestion haha. Though, reading your commentary on why it is best to NOT have one, was rather hilarious. You really have put up with a lot! Thanks for the letter, even though Mom was trying to keep you off the computer. And, thanks for forwarding the letter to my ldsmail account. Yes, it does matter where it gets sent to. I can only get email at the lds account.

Anyways, love you so much!

Sister Hakes

December 27, 2010

Hi Family!

It was so amazing to see you all on Skype! It was such a blessing for me. Sorry I cried a lot... but what can be done? Really, my family is so beautiful. I have kind of been on cloud 9 since we talked. So, thanks. That was the best Christmas present I could have had. No worries Joe! I understand completely! I'll be seeing you soon enough I suppose, and yes, I did get your letter a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for thinking of me : )

Yes, Christmas was somewhat a stressful day, but good. The baptizm went beautifully! We had it in the brand new Church building in Ekat, and the building is gorgeous! It is way nicer than our building back home. They have waited so long to have their own building, and now they do! I'll send you some pics of the baptizm. Sasha was so so so nervous before the actual baptizm happened, and the font wasn't filled too high, so he had to be dunked from like knee high. But, he got in an his first try, and all is okay. After the baptizm, we got stuck in traffic for an hour and a half, and was that late (along with everyone else) getting to our Christmas dinner. So, we got to sit and eat for about an hour, and then we went to our English Club with President Allcott.

Sister Muhlestein and I have put a lot of work into making our English club special. When I first came to Botanika, we had two regulars in class. Now we have about 8-10 regulars, and others that pop in every now and then. We have met with almost every one of them and feel like we are slowly warming them up to having more interest in the Gospel. They really have come a long way. We went to a big effort to make our Christmas with them special, and gave them stockings, etc. We thought President would enjoy English Club, but he and Sister Allcott weren't too impressed, which was honestly hard to hear after all of our hard work. But, they only have our best interests at heart. We came home Christmas evening rather somber, but their advice was very wise, so we'll try and do better.

The next day (Sunday) we had a great Sabbath, and a girl we've been meeting with came to Church with her Mom, which was really cool. We had a couple other investigators show-up, and it was a really great meeting. Sasha got the gift of the Holy Ghost, and he says he feels "powerful." Haha. Too bad we didn't tell him to close his eyes during the blessing. He kept them open the whole blessing (yes, I peeked). We had the District Christmas party that evening, and Sister Muhlestein and I played a duet on the violin. It was a very well done program, and it felt a little like Christmas : ) We then went caroling to some people in the evening. The Holidays are nice because there are a lot of unique ways to serve people, like caroling for example. Too bad they usually don't know what caroling or Christmas is!

I love Christmas, and it is cool to know that you can enjoy it wherever you are in the world, because it really is all about Christ. We were encouraged as a mission to give something to Christ this year, like to give him a present for his birthday. I think I've decided what I'm going to give, and I would encourage you all to find something you too can give. Hope you all had a very special Christmas weekend! Let me know what you gave, as well as what you got!

Merry Christmas!

Sister Hakes

December 20, 2010

Hi Family!

First, those family pictures from Ruidoso look so fun! I am so glad you all got to be together for the holidays. It just struck me how big our family is. By the time I get home, I won't recognize any of the grandkids I'm sure. And, that would be way cool to have everyone there when I get home, but of course I understand that might not be possible, especially for the family in Georgia! Anyways, that is still a little ways off : ) Yay for a White Christmas morning together. So wait, is everyone going home for the actual Christmas day, or is there more festivities together in LC?

Second, The weather hasn't been that cold I don't think! I have heard minus 30 Celius, but not minus 31 Farenheit! So, while it is very cold, I would say that what they are saying is celius, might in reality be farenheit. Either way, I appreciate the concern for my warmness. I have yet to freeze too bad, and with all the layers I put on (it takes a while to get dressed), I feel pretty hot most of the time unless I am outside, then I feel slightly chilled to say the least, but not bad. Only my face gets really cold.

Third, I get to call home for Christmas using ................ (you ready?)..................................

SKYPE!! YAY!! The Mission Department just sent out an email approving skpe for missionaries calling home! I am pretty certain that most of the missionaries won't have access to a computer, but the Senior couple in my Branch has already offered to have us come to their home and use their skype account. I have never used skype before and don't really know how, but they would suggest that you call me on their account. Here is what they wrote me:

Our Skype address is “Wayne or Eva”and if your parents want to try it before Christmas to see that it works we usually have the computer on in the evening until 10:00pm our time. If they wish to sent their Skype address to us, our e-mail is: wayne.hassell@myldsmail.net

Have a good day,

Elder and Sister Hassell

YAY!! I get to see your faces! I am pretty sure you have a camera right? I have heard you mention that you've used skype to call the grandkids before, so I'm pretty sure I'll see you lovely faces very soon! Best Christmas Ever! Ok, here is the plan:

Please call ME your Christmas Eve at 8 PM. It will be my Christmas Morning at 8 AM. I will proly only have about an hour. If it doesn't work for whatever reason and you don't get through to me, I'll just call you on Mom or Dad's cell phone later. I am so excited!!

Four, and best of all:

WE HAD MORE MIRACLES!!

Last Sunday, a guy named Sasha was invited to Church by his friend. He went to the other Branch building in Ekat, but the sisters there got his info and it turns out he lives in Botanika. We called him Sunday evening, and set-up a meeting with him for Monday evening. He comes and he has the strongest belief in Christ, is a lawyer, and is very spiritual. He is golden, no other way to describe it! Anyways, I extended the baptismal committment for the 25th of December (a little less than two weeks from then) and he turned us down, saying a decision like that would take a lot of thought and time. Anyways, we were kind of sad, but we knew he would still get baptised sooner or later. As the week goes on, all of our other prospective baptismal daters didn't answer their phones, sad! They are all still doing okay (now that we've heard from them), but the week was definitely a "trial of our faith" to put it nicely. We were starting to maybe accept the fact that we wouldn't see a baptizm the 25th as a companionship after all. One investigator got a new job and is too busy, the other is still waiting for his wife's permission, and the other is backing-out on her testimony. Bah.... Agency! So, we were having a self-pity party a little this week.

Anyways, Sasha came to a Youth FHE Friday night and enjoyed it, camt to Church on Sunday and stayed all three hours. He was really listening to everything so intently, and he even decided to go back to the other Branch building for the youth Fireside that evening. Ok, so once he gets to the Fireside (we weren't there, we had a different mtg.), he walks in and says," What do I do if I have a question?" And the Senior couple there said it would, "Depend on the question." And he said:

"I WANT TO GET BAPTIZED THE 25th OF DECEMBER. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?"

Ahh! It was so crazy. They told him to call us of course, and we talked to him over the phone, and he said he felt the Spirit so strongly at Church, and he just knew it was all true, and he wants to get baptized on Christ's Birthday! It was such a miracle!

Our Zone has been working so hard, fasting, praying, contacting in the freezing, and just trying all we can to get a baptizm on Christmas Day. It was looking really optimistic the whole time, but last week everything fell through at the last minute. But, the Lord is so merciful, and so amazing, that he just gave us this miracle for our Zone at the last minute. We really didn't do anything. My companion and I just freaked-out when we got the phone call. It really hows that we can try all we want, make plans all we want, but it really is the Lord's will. I have grown so much from this experience. Learning to try and exercise faith and work hard to acheive goals, even when they really seem like the impossible. I feel really happy for all the missionaries in our Zone too, because I feel they all played a part in fellowshipping Sasha. So, it has been a really sweet, tender experience for us. I don't think I really, truly believed in miracles before my mission. I am not sure I really believed that God really took an active part in our lives, but now I really feel certain, beyond a doubt, that he really is there and that he knows us. I wouldn't say I ever had the most faith in the world, but now I would have to say that my faith has grown so much, and I really have seen miracles, more than I ever thought possible. It'll be a White Christmas after all!

Oh, and the Church Building that has been under construction for YEARS here in Ekat, just got signed and handed over this weekend. So Sasha will be the first person baptized in the actual Church building font in Ekat! It won't be in a spa center like usual, yay.

Well, there is more I could write, but you can just give me a call later this week : )

Love,

Sister Hakes

December 13, 2010

Family!

This past week was AMAZING! I have never seen more miracles in my life! I don't mean to get all exclamation mark crazy, but the Lord is so merciful!

I really don't know where to start. I guess the beginning would be the best.

Remember that long trek out into the snow, in the blizzard? Well, like Sister Allcott said, that definitely was the trial of our faith. As a result of much prayer, goal-setting, and fasting, Sister Muhlestein and I saw so many miracles this past week. Our Zone and mission has a goal to get a baptizm per companionship for the 25th of December. We're all dreaming of a White Christmas, meaning a lot of people in white baptizmal clothes Christmas Day. As of last week, we had no investigators scheduled with a Baptizmal Date for Christmas. But, as of today, we have three baptizmal dates for the 25th! And two of the three, were people we found and met with for the first time only last week. Crazy!

One, is a 30 year lady named Tatiana, who called the Mission Office last week herself, and wanted to hear more about the Church. That like never happens, at least never to me. So, she lives in our area, but because our area is like the size New Mexico (only slightly exaggerating), she lives like 2 hours by bus from our house. But, we head out there, and she pretty much asked us "What do I need to do to be baptized?" She is so golden and prepared. Not gonna lie, she was slightly surprised by how high our standards are. The whole tithing, word of wisdom, law of chastity thing kind of threw her for a bit. But, after promising blessings, she is wanting to really find out for herself if it is true. And, if she finds out by the 25th, she agreed to be baptized! Yay for miracles! I guess she has a boyfriend in Norway that is a member of the Church, and when she went to visit him, she went to a service there. She didn't understand anything because it was in Norwegian, but she said she felt something special, and she really liked all the activities, and the Church's emphasis on families. Not sure if her boyfriend is totally active or not, but she has a sincere desire to see if the Church is true, which is so awesome to see. I know the Lord put her in our path and that she is so prepared.

Two, Vladislav accepted a Baptismal Date for the 25th! It is totally up to his wife's consent, but we know the Lord can make all things happen. He really is wanting to get baptized, and he even fasted on Saturday to see a miracle! He says his wife is already starting to soften up and, he has already been such a miracle to me already, that I really know anything is possible. He is just a completely different person now than when I first met him this past summer. He has so much more of a testimony of our Savior, and he actually is acting and doing things in his life. He evn got a job. He calls us every morning at like 7 am just to wish us a happy day. He is such a nice man, and he is on fire with the Gospel.

Three, a man in our Ward, Uri Popov, called us early one morning, and said that he has a friend that wants to meet with us. We call the friend, and it turns out she is a frmer investigator I met with once in like May, but she really wasn't interested in May when Sister Hanks and I met with her. But, I guess her life got pretty hard since then, and she said that the biggest help for her has been the Book of Mormon. She has been reading it, and she knows it is true. She used to go to Church every Sunday a long time ago, and she says that she recognizes now the Spirit that she felt there, and that she wants that back in her life. She has problems with the Word of Wisdom, and so her getting baptized so soon is going to take a miracle, but, again, anything is possible : )

Please keep these people in your prayers, because they all have hurdles they need to overcome to be ready for the 25th.

Other miracle(s):

We found another family! On our way back from Pday Frisbee, we took a cab back to our area, and the driver was this hilarious man, that had my companion and I laughing so hard. We get into a spiritual discussion with him, and it turns out he has two sons, one of which is handicapped. He and his wife are Evangelical, which is really rare here, adn they go to Church every Sunday. He has already quit drinking and smoking, and when we asked if we could meet with him and share our message with him later, he said that "It sounds like this is something my wife and I should do together, so let me talk to her, and then we can set-up a meeting together." We were so happy, and it turns-out she agreed to meet with us too! I haven't taught anyfamilies my whole mission, and now, after fasting for them, the Lord has given us two. Such a blessing.

Lena is doing so well, and says hi to you all. She came to Church on Sunday, and was put with to other amazing, young, single sisters to do Visiting Teaching. The ward is really trying to do their part in fellowshipping her, and it is very touching to see.

Just random people in our branch keep referring us to friends and family, and Sister Muhlesteing and I just have to much work to do! Really. We ran all over town last week, and we still didn't meet with everyone we need to. It would be nice if we got another companionship here in our area. Maybe I'll pass that along to the Mission President : )

Okay, well, there is a lot more I could write, but that will do it for this week.

Thanks everyone for your support in my decision to stay on the mission 6 weeksd longer. It really helped to hear all your words of support and encouragement. Time flies and I will be home before any of us know it. Hope all is well with you, and thank-you for your prayers, obviously they work!

Love you all,

Sister Hakes

December 6, 2010

Hi family!

I can't believe the whole family is going to be together in just twelve days! Is Christmas already that soon? Dad, you are such a sweetie for going around and taking pictures of everyone at Thanksgiving and sending them to me. It was so thoughtful. Houston has a son??

Sounds like the home is all Christmas lighted and festive as usual. Remember when we lived on Horseshoe Circle, and we had extrmemly outlandish Chirstmas lights, that we forced Dad into putting-up every year? Ya I remember. Esp. when Mom forced Josh on the roof to hang-up the star, which almost costed Josh's life. Yay for loving Christmas! Speaking of which, what would be a good time for me to call you all? Let me know. It will need to be pretty early in the morning, or pretty late in the evening on either Christmas Day, or Christmas Eve.

As for my decision.........

I've decided to stay. I really hope that is okay with you all. In fact, it breaks my heart to write and say that I won't be seeing you for so long, but I wouldn't do it if I didn't feel it was right. I will be the first to admit that it would be a lot easier for me to come home than to stay, but I feel like I need to stay. I feel like Heavenly Father would be eqully pleased with me staying or going, but I know that I would always regret or wonder what might have happened had I stayed longer. I have a lot of faith that things will work out as they should. In fact, my stay has been approved by the First Presidency. There are five sisters in the same situation as me (all the sisters I was with in the MTC) and all five, without us being able to discuss with one another, decided to stay, which is truly remarkable. Even more remarkable, SLC gave us the okay to have us all stay, supposedly that is somewhat unusual? Our decision had to be approved by them I guess. I'd appreciate your support in this, because, it was a very difficult decision for me to make. And, I made it. It wasn't the Mission President or anything. Don't worry Mom, I'll still try to come home healthy, physically and mentally, and not just spiritually : ) I haven't forgotten about those things, I promise. I feel like the Lord will bless me more in every way and in every thing for my decision to stay. Plus, I really have no emergency reason for going home. No school, pending job, etc. So, my going home would only be because I wanted to, and I don't feel comfortable with that being the only reason.

I do have a request: I need to get readmitted to BYU for the upcoming Fall semester. I can't do all of that from here. Mom, could you call them for me and get that process started for me? President Allcott says I can do what I need to from here, but if you could at least let me know what I need to do to readmit, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Miracle(s) of the week:

We decided to fast as a mission this Sunday (5th) to find more families to teach the Gospel. I've never taught a full family. Friday, at District Meeting, we talked as a zone as to how we can better find families to teach the Gospel. Friday night, we get a call from the Assistants (they're in our zone) saying they found a family that lives in our area! Crazy! Never in my mission have I been able to teach a family, then as soon as we plan and decide to fast for it, we get a family to teach. They are pretty cool and we have a planned Family Home Evening with them on Wednesday. So excited!

Brat Arkaidi is still active for the most part, and he got us a new investigator. A 17 year old kid named Sasha that is his neighbor. Arkaidi has been telling us "I vant to be an elderrr," since I first came to botanika. He finally did it! He loves missionary work, and has such a jolly, infectious attitude that, once he gets super strong, he will be such an asset to the Church here.

Eugene, an investigator we found through English club, told us that we need to start meeting more often, and he came to Church on Sunday. He translated for the Senior couple in our branch, and he is their new best friend. He loves English and enjoyed the meeting so much. It was a little miracle that we thought to invite him to Church as a trnslator, otherwise, I'm not sure he would've ever come. But, point is, he came, and he enjoyed it! He wants to start meeting with us and the Hassell's more regularly.

We found Vladimir's concern! He is the guy we always talked to over the phone, but now meet in person. He is probably the most indecisive person I have ever met, so it is very difficult to find out how he feels or thinks about anything we teach. However, our last meeting, he suddenly opened-up. He said out of nowhere "you two have everything." I was kind of taken off gaurd, and wondered where is this coming from? I know he is poor and he works shoveling snow on the streets, but I didn't think he ever resented us. He clarified, "You have everything because you have felt the Holg Ghost. I've never felt it before." He then bowed his head all distruaght-like. Sad, but so sweet! So, he is doing better now.

I contacted a guy on the bus about three weeks ago, and on the bus he had told me that we were "angels from God" because we offered a free English class. He is from Uzbekistan, but lives here to help his family back home have a better life. He rarely sees his family, but feels like if he learned English it would help him a lot career-wise. Anyways, he took a BOM at English Club Saturday, and we have a mtg set up for next week. Yay for new investigators that already believe we're messengers from God!

Funny story:

We had leadership training last week at the Mission home with all the Zone Leaders again. Because I seem to be a perpetual trainer, I got to go and it was way fun (as usual). We practiced extending commitments, and following-up. President Allcott chose the Law of Chastity as the committment we had to practice teaching, and we had a five minute time limit. To demeonstrate the point of being able to teach clearly and quickly, he randomly called Sister Muhlestein and I to the front of the group to demonstrate. The task was to teach the Law of Chastity to the MIssion President in front of all the ZLs in two minutes or less. Haha it was super awkward, and it was definitely a "learning experience." What was even more awkward, was that we were the only Sisters there, so all the Elders had to practice teaching us, and I had to play the role of an investigator that had not lived the Law of Chastity during the past week. Haha there were some definite funny moments, and it was a bonding moment. Yay for the always uncomfortable Elder-Sister relations!

Love you all and talk to you soon!

Sister Hakes

P.S. Just imagine that I am coming home in February 17th as planned, but that, last minute, I ended-up staying six weeks longer. That will make the time go more swiftly, at least I hope, because that is what I am planning on doing : )

Letter from November 29, 2010

Hi Family!

Sounds like Thanksgiving was a big hit for you all! I can't believe how much has happened, and Jenn Haught is engaged!? Wow, that was a shock to me. Thanks for the pictures. I loved seeing the three redheads on the camel. I was wondering what kind of an animal it was for a long time. Carrie, that picture of you was so stunning! All pretty with a flower in your hair : )

A lot happened this past week, including SNOW! I think we have gotten at least two feet of snow within the past five days. It has been non-stop, which makes travel rather difficult. They can't seem to clear the roads fast enough. I thought last winter really wasn't that cold, but now all the memories are coming back, and I realize that it is a nice thing that our memories aren't perfect haha. Those pictures you sent me Dad are great. I personally haven't seen anything like that, but last winter we supposedly didn't get a lot of snow. With the way the weather has been looking lately, being snowed-in doesn't seem unlikely.

The above picture is me Thanksgiving day here in Russia. Sister Muhlestein and I were late getting to an appointment because of the transport problems, and we were walking down a street I'd never been before. We had our heads down, not really looking anywhere but at our feet as we walked. For whatever reason, I look-up and see this huge Russian Orthodox Church at the end of the street. I felt like I was in a snow globe! Everything was all white everywhere, and the church just looked so mystical. So, despite the lateness, I had to snatch a picture. Speaking of Thanksgiving, we got to have a Thanksgiving lunch on Friday. Last year, we got to celebrate the day more, but that kind of created some conflicts in the mission. We didn't observe the Russian holidays, but we observed the American ones... Anyways, we did get to have a lunch, and the adorable senior couple here in Ekat got all excited and went all out and made it really special. One of the other attached pictures is our Zone at the Mission Office after we finished eating. They even assigned the Elders to make some decorations for the lunch, and it was pretty hysterical what they came up with.

Miracle of the week: We taught Lena on Monday about tithing, and she said that she receives 10,000 rubles a from work, and she uses 9,000 rubles to pay for her apartment. So, if she were to pay tithing, it would be everything she had. I was starting to get worried, like "Oh no! Here we go with the endure to the end part..." But, she is so amazing! She said that she doesn't really need money for food right now, because she could just live off of the Spirit she said, but that she did need money to get to and from work. Her anxiety wasn't over whether or not to pay, but what to do once she has paid, because she was certain that she was going to pay. Anyways, we promised her the blessings, and she said, "Yes, I know God will bless me, because he has already promised me." Her faith is so amazing. At Church on Sunday, she shows up and asks me right away, who do I gove my tithing to? She was all excited : ) The mtg was about to start, so I told her later. By the time Church had ended, she had asked me like three times, Can I pay my tithing now? Once, she paid it, she just seemed so happy! I asked her if everything was going to be okay financially, and she said, "I got paid a lot more than usual this past week at work." Miracle already! The Lord is so merciful and he just loves Lena so much. I just want her to find a good member boy to marry now...

Miracle number two: Vladislav has quit smoking! Well, this is day number three, but that is a HUGE accomplishment for him. He used to be this like, lifeless, lazy man, but he gets up every morning and goes swimming now, and just recently found a new job! The Gospel really does change lives, and he is proof of that. His wife just needs to soften her heart, and then he will get baptized. I know that will happen, and I even feel like it could happen soon!

Funny story of the week: Our Mission President told us that we are the number one baptizing mission in the Europe East Area now for like seven weeks or something! Yay! Remember when I wrote in the summer, that our mission just felt like something was about to happen here in Ekat? Well, it has. I feel like the work is getting easier in some way, and I know that it is the Lord blessing us for doing the things we should. My faith has grown a lot. Anyways, we still were falling short on our monthly baptizmal goal, and he challenged us to go out and get some more miracles. Sister Muhlestein and I took that literally, and decided that we were going to, with the Lord's help, find somebody to baptize by this Tuesday (aka tomorrow the 30th). We went home and planned a course of action for our investigators. We then fasted all day Saturday to find the miracle. Haha well Sunday, a less-active showed-up with her friend at Church on Sunday, and the friend agreed to let us come by that night and teach him a lesson. We were so excited because that like never happens. We were already super booked on Sunday, so we couldn't get there much earlier than 8. He lived WAY far away, and we had to walk for like thirty minutes in what felt like a blizzard. We then get to the right building, and we are like up to our knees in snow haha. We finally find the right number, and go inside, and it was like the creepiest hallway I've ever been in. I'm not supposed to write things home that are negative, so I'll spare you. Just know that I felt like I was in a Haunted House or something. Turns out, nobody was home anyways! Haha. Why do I tell you this? Because Sister Muhlestein and I realized that we love Heavenly Father enough to do that. And it was worth it : ) It will be a cherished memory from the mission I am sure. We even documented the event. That would be picture number three.

I love you all! Thanks for all you letters, love, and support : )

Sister Hakes

Letter from November 22, 2010

Hey Family!

This week was so amazing! Lena got baptized! It was such a special day for her, and she felt the Spirit so strongly! It was such a blessing! We had District Conference this past week (like Stake Conference), so we got to have President and Sister Allcott come, as well as a Russian member of the 70, Elder Reshetnikova to the baptizm because they were all in town. VIP baptizm! Sister Muhlestein and I stressed a lot trying to get everything put together nicely for the baptizm, and it went amazingly well. We did a really cool musical number (all translated in Russian) and we miraculously found a banya (spa) to hold the service at. We don't have our own building yet, so it has to be done at a spa place. We found a huge one, and they even gave us a huge discount. The baptizm was, honestly, one of the most spiritual meetings I've been to here in Russia! Having all of that presiding priesthood at the meeting made it so spiritual. The expereince will be so memorable for her, for the rest of her life. She told me the feelings at her baptizm were so strong, and she felt the Spirit so much, that it was a much more powerful than even when Elder Glogolev gave her a blessing. Then, after receiving the Holy Ghost at District Conference on Sunday (in front of the whole district and with a 70 and mission president in the blessing circle), she said she almost couldn't walk back to her seat because the Spirit was so strong . The blessing was beautiful. She called it "Two miraculous days" and she went home and wrote about them in her journal. Her conversion has just touched me so much, and it has increased my faith too. People are ready and being prepared by the Lord! Sister Muhlestein and I are going to have a miraculous transfer! We can just feel it. We set transfer goals, and we feel like we could get upwards of three baptizms. We have 5 or 6 progressing investigators right now, and like four of them are potential priesthood holders. They all have their specific hurdles they need to get over, but it is, of course, possible! Zone Conference was Friday, the day before the baptizm, and, as usual, perfect and so inspirtational. I really feel like my faith is stronger than it has ever been, and I really just want to bring people unto Christ more than ever before. The Church is so true and this past week was very faith building. I get to stay in Botanika again!!! Yay! I was so happy to find out! Sister Muhlestein and I will be together again! Zone Conference and District Conference was amazing and so inspirational. I have a lot of thoughts and new insights that are going to help motivate me this next coming transfer. I'd love to share some of them with you, but I don't have time... As you can tell, this past week was super crazy and amazing all at the same time!

Snow fell and stuck the same day as Lena's baptizm, the 20th. It is all white and FREEZING here now, and I pulled-out my big winter coat again. It has finally arrived and here to stay I am sure.

I love you all though! Thanks Cassi and Josh for the sweet letters,

Sister Hakes

P.S..... so the first picture is of me, Lena, and my companion. not the best picture of me, or lena, but what can you do?

the second picture is (from right to left) President Allcott, Sister Allcott, Lena, and Elder Rashetnakov (the member of the 70). YAY!

please forward these pics Mom and Dad : )

Letter From November 15, 2010

Hi Family,

We have no snow yet, hooray! When I landed in Russia this time last year, there was like 6 inches of snow on the ground and everything was frozen over. I fully approve of the warmer weather, yay for Global Warming!
( Kidding, I'm not going to start that debate with Kimball...)

Well, Carrie, I am so touched that you have not forgotten about your Bird, and that from time to time, I am even in your dreams. Deh! I can't remember exactly, but this past week or two, I had dreampt about coming home. It was awful! I was so so so happy to see you all, but I couldn't talk in English, and so I kept trying to explain myself in Russian, but nobody could understand. It was like my first couple weeks in Russia, only this time I was at home, so it was much more frustrating. You all ended-up talking on one side of the kitchen, and I was ostracized in the corner wondering why noody wanted to hear about my mission. When people came to talk to me, the family would say, "You can't talk to her, she's been in Russia." Haha it was pretty pathetic, and I am so glad the real life version will be much more joyful!

Yay for Marcus having his health back!

Botanika EXPLODED this past week! All of our potential investigators just suddenly turned into investigators, and we were super packed all week with investigator meetings, which is so fun. I love teaching! Investigator meetings are so intense and spiritual too, so it is fun to spend all you time in good lessons. I feel so spoiled here in Botanika. We have lots of progressing investigators, a baptizm or two coming-up, and a lot of potential investigators too. The Lord has truly blessed us! Really. There is no other way to explain the sudden boom. At District Meeting each week, we missionaries discuss the progress of our investigators as a District, and my companion and I realized last week that we have a lot more people to meet with than a lot of the other missionarie in our District. That's sad because they are all great missionaries. However, they are all still super positive, and they spend all day contacting or dropping-by less-actives in their branches. Sister Muhlestein and I realized how grateful we should be for the successes we see each day, because they really are little miracles.

Lena is set and ready to go for her Baptizm on Saturday! I'll send you pictures. She interviewed with our Mission President, and he said he felt so good about her prepardness. She really is prepared, and he wants to try and make it to her baptizm. I hope he can because she has gotten to know him a little, and it would be special to her if he came.

All of our investigators are doing great. Vladimir even invited us into his house. Talk about a чудо (miracle)! We have our daily "чуд" that we write in our planners every eveing and it is so amazing how things always work out. We had three people come to Church on Sunday, and Vladislav is like a totally new person. He is the one with the wife that is anti. He is still trying to keep all the commandments, and has even started somking less. He smiles, laughs, and really has come alive again. He used to sit and be rather lifeless in our lessons, but he seems so different now. He is reading every day still, and has strated reading the Gospel Essentials book on his own, to help him better understand the Book of Mormon. He is coming home early from his planned vaction this week to come see Lena's baptizm. He has real intent and I am SO glad we never gave up on him. It is never too late for people to change!

We met with Volodia, the younger guy that knows the Bible really well. Our goal was to have an actual spiritual experience with him, and not let him just get into a theological debate. We talked to him about the Spirit and how to receive answers. It was so perfect because he says he doesn't trust his feelings. We all kneeled-down with him at the end of the lesson, and he said the most sincere prayer. I didn't think he was even capable of being so sincere, because he usually seems so off-handed and funny. He asked God to know if the Book of Mormon was true, which is a huge step for him. We'll see!

All of our other investigators are doing really well. I'd write you about all of them, but it is a painstakingly long process, and I'm sure it is hard for you to follow anyways. Just know, that the work here is going really well!

Just for the record, in case you didn't know, I HATE ALCOHOL. I feel like it destroys life after life, and it has become my personal mission here in Russia to kick over as many half-empty bottles that I see lying around. I have been pretty successful too!

With Love,

Sister Hakes

Mom:

1. I haven't received the Thanksgiving package yet.
2. You don't need to buy me a wool scarf, I'll be okay : )
3. I don't know what I want for Christmas. Really, you don't need to send anything! I have no needs, and I'll be coming home soon after, so I don't want you to worry about it. You're the best though, thanks for thinking of me.
4. Please don't redecorate the house too much : ( And, if anybody does buy it before I come home, can we have it written in the Agreement that I need to have my wedding reception there free of charge? I wish that were a joke, but I'm pretty serious : )

Letter from November 8th, 2010

Hi Family,

Hi from Ekat! Dad, you're right. The weather here has been super mild so far. I remember when I landed in Russia this time last year everything was already frozen solid. So, no complaints here. We've had snow, but it hasn't stuck yet. Yay!

The big story of this past week is that Babooshka Galina passed away. Do you remember her? She is the old Marxist professor that has since changed her life and spent her last years doing in-depth Church history. She has been probably one of the most influential people in my life, and she passed away Saturday morning. She had diabeties and really bad arthritis, but still insisted on doing everything herself (including making elaborate meals for us when we would visit her). She went into the hospital a couple weeks ago for a routine check-up, and while she was in the hospital, she fell and broke her hip. I guess they hadn't been caring for her like they should have been, and she shouldn't have been up and walking in the first place. Sad. She has been lying in the hospital since, and on Wednesday she was scheduled for a hip replacement. We went and visited her on Tuesday, the night before, and she seemed rather miserable, but optimistic as usual. The hospital is terrible, and I was honestly filled with anger being there. The lack of care for the people just made me so perturbed. The injustice of it all! The room was boiling hot, and she was laying there in her garments, trying to keep her covenants. She had to give herself her diabeties medicine every three hours or so, and she had to feed herself, and the casts that were on her body looked like they were straight out of a 1940s war hospital. When she saw us though, she was so happy. We sat down by her bed, and all she wanted was for us to read her from the Book of Mormon, and she requested Alma 34. We open the book and start reading, and it was probably one of the most touching scenes of my life. She could hardly hear us (bad hearing), so , despite being crippled and in pain, she kept trying to slide her head closer to us. She was like almost falling off the bed trying to hear the words of the Book of Mormon. It was so touching to see how much that book really meant to her. Because of that book, she completely changed her life, and she became a Saint, in every possible way. Sitting there, reading to her about the atonement of the Savior, I realized how equally dependant we all are on the Savior. Galina just seemed to understand that better than most.

We went back to the hospital on Thursday, the day after the surgery, and she was bad. You could just tell. She was very pale, and was spitting out her food. I guess the doctor had given her too much insulin, and so she had been throwing-up all night. There weren't monitors on her or anything, and she was still responsible for her own medicine. How could an 80 yr. old woman take care of herself after hip surgery? It was so sad. She asked us to read her from the Book of Mormon, and we did, like two scriptures, until her son came. He is not the biggest fan of the Church so we left as soon as he got there. That is the last time I saw her, and I found out at Church on Sunday that she had passed away. I got up and bore my testimony about our complete dependance upon the Savior for life and how we need the Book of Mormon to understand Him better. It was a very simple, yet spiritual experience for me. I love Galina and I feel so blessed that I got to know her. I really feel like she is more happy and free right now than she was on Earth.

We met with Volodia last night, the guy who knows the Bible really well. We had the AP's come with us because he lives in their area. It was a very interesting lesson. He still has a hard time opening-up to the idea of the Book of Mormon, and he says that he doesn't trust his feelings, so the idea of receiving an answer through the feelings of the Holy Ghost does not work for him. We've tried to explain to him that the HG speaks to everyone differently, and maybe for him it'll come more to his mind than to his heart, but he is still rather closed. We asked him why he keeps meeting with us then, and he says that he is impressed with our use of prayer. He has a firm testimony in prayer and he likes that we believe you can receive answers for yourself. Sounds like Joseph Smith to me! He really says almost all the right things all the time, and his thoughts and ideas really fall in line with the Gospel, so it's just going to get him to realize that.

I don't know if you remember Babooshka Nina, but she accepted a baptizmal date! The lesson we had with her was such a miracle. She is a rather poor old lady, and lives in a room in an apartment, and the neighbors in the other rooms are often drunk and inappropriate. We try to drop-by in the mornings (she doesn't have a phone) so they are still in bed. We dropped-by on Thursday, but we were so busy that we ended-up getting there around 3, and we were worried that her neighbors would be home. As I went to knock on her door, all of her neighbors opened it. They were all just leaving! Perfect! We get into her room, and start our meeting, when another older lady comes into her room and says that she would like to sit in on the lesson with us. Of course, we weren't against that and were thinking maybe she'd be a new investigator. Turns out, the lady was a less-active member that we have never been able to contact! She just happens to be living in the same aprtment as babooshka Nina! Crazy! They both came to Church on Sunday, and our lesson with Nina was so great. We haven't taught her a lot yet, we're moving slowly, but for a babooshka, she is very sharp and has a very child-like faith. When we asked her to be baptized, she said "Of course." We were so happy!

What else....

Vladislav's wife is legitimately anti. Sad. When he approached her to let her know that he wanted to get baptized, she told him that he can get baptized under two conditions. One, they get divorced, and two, he can wait until she dies. Yikes! We were all pretty bummed. He still came to Church on Sunday, and we told him that he needs to live like a member and keep all the commandments, and that God will see his desire and reward him for it. He agress, and has decided to try and get his life in line with the commandments so he feels like his conscience is clean. He has a problem with the word of wisdom, so we'll be working on that with him. His health has gotten better though since he has stopped drinking coffee, so there's a testimony for you.

Vladimir! How could I forget! Do your emember the guy that we talk to by phone, and we have a baptizmal date, but he has never agreed to meet with us in the flesh? Well, we slying tricked him into giving us his address, and it worked! We dropped-by last week with the excuse of "we just wanted to give you the Finding Faith in Christ video" and it was the weirdest sensation meeting the person who I have only talked with over the phone for months now. His voive sounds exactly the same in person as it does in real life. We're still trying to figure him out, and why he doesn't want to meet with us. Our excuse for dropping-by this week will be ice cream, because he has mentioned to us how much he likes it. Hope it works! He seems like a rather nice, normal guy in the flesh. Weird, I was honestly expecting himt o seem a little more strange, but he was perfectly normal.

And....

Lena is getting baptized still! She is doing really well, and we have a lesson with her tonight. Yay for true conversion!

Those are the highlights from this side of the planet. I had no idea Marcus was sick. What with? Hope all is well now.

The pictures of Colin going to the Temple really made my day. That must have been such a special experience for him, the fam, and Elder Bair. Colin, my first time going throught the temple was maybe one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, but I was initially super taken aback by everything. So, don't feel bad if you felt some of that. It'll be very dear to you before you know it! You are doing the right things, and everything will all work out. Really.

Love you all!

Sister Hakes

P.S. Hi Sister Val! Your letter about Arthur was so miraculous! You are an awesome Sister and are doing a great work. I look up to you so much. Maybe we'll see each other sometime soon : )

November 1

Hi Family!

What cute little neices and nephews I have! Happy belated Halloween!

Yesterday and today have been amazing. That extra hour of sleep really made a difference! I love Daylight Sayvings.

Dad, two talks at Conference! Talk about pressure. I heard you did a great job!

Mom, I'm sorry you're not feeling 100% : ( I hope you get to feeling better soon. The story of you leaving the car door wide open made me laugh. Thanks for keeping the entertainment going, and I mean that sincerely! Thanks for the advice and support about everything. Mom always knows what to say.

Thanks for writing Chris and Francisca : ) You have the most adorable kiddos and I can't wait to meet them. Harmon looks so big and grown-up! I can't wait to hear him talk! I love you both and I hope you are hanging-in there with the cupcakes. Twins must be so hard! You're amazing : )

Life in Botanika was great this past week! The work is back to nromal, and we were super busy, which was way nice. We had a lot of needed meetings with our investigators, and we got a lot done. Sister Muhlestein is great. She is way down to earth and really cares about the people. I feel like we have known each other for a long time already, but this was really our first week together. Here are some highlights:

We created a Bible Study class with the members of our English Club. They kept asking to do more English classes a week, but because we aren't allowed to do that, we told them we could meet with them if we only talked about God and spiritual things. We didn't think they would agree really, and we thought that if they didn't want to do it, it would stop them from asking about more English classes during the week, win-win situation. But, they agreed! We had our first Bible study with them last week and it went amazingly well. The people opened-up a lot, and by the end of the hour, we were all in tears. We talked about how they had each seen the hand of God in their lives specifically. It was interesting, some said they hadn't noticed God at all, and other people shared with us some really touching, personal stories. By the end of the class, everybody was able to identify something in their life that proved God's love for them, whether it was a successful marriage, a new baby, or something. It was really beautiful, and we even got one of them to agree to meet with us outside of class! His name is Eugene and he has already read the Book of Mormon, but has a lot of questions about it. I think the questions are going to be more intellectual-historical, not doctrinal, but either way, we'll try and keep our lesson with him next Wednesday on the spiritual things, and not get into a debate about whether or not you can prove the Book of Mormon is true, because you can't really. So, that was really exciting, and a couple of long-time English Club goers said they actually looked at the Church website, and one asked for a Liahona after class last week. We want to Baptize our whole English Club! We'll see anyways : )

Lena is still on track for the baptizm the 20th! Yay! We are trying to find her some really close friends in the Church, and not just acquaintances. I will be super sad if she ever goes inactive. I really don't think she will, but I do want her to have a good support system at the Church. She needs to come to Church every Sunday though, and that is something we are going to be talking to her about. She comes rather regularly, but we want her to understand that it needs to be every Sunday, not just often. She is so cool though, you would all just love her! Like, I think we could be legitimately good friends if it weren't for the fact that we live on other sides of the world. We'll have to do skype dates or something when I'm home, and you can all talk to her... and I'll translate : )

Vladislav.... well, we had an interesting experience this past week. We have been working with him really slowly, and so far it had been working. This past week, we were going to do another lesson about the Book of Mormon, and we weren't planning about talking about baptizm or anything, but Sister Muhlestein and I don't know what really happened. All we know is that we were suddenly trying tom get him to accept a baptizmal date. We hadn't planned that, but we mutually felt like it was what we needed to do. We were being somewhat stubborn with him, because six years is a pretty sufficient period of time to be investigate the Church, but he still didn't agree. We did get him to agree to tell his wife that baptizm was the desire of his heart, and that it would make him happy if that is what he did. We felt like that was a step in the right direction, and we pinky promised that he would tell us how it went at Church on Sunday. However, he didn't come to Church on Sunday unfortunately. We called him after the meeting, and we could tell that something had happened when he talked to his wife. He didn't want to talk about it over the phone. Obviously, it didn't go well when he brought-up baptizm with her. I know we aren't supposed to get involved in personal matters, and that family comes first, so we won't push the baptizm issue any more if we see that it is causing some sort of rift in their family. We have a meeting Tuesday, so we are anxious to talk with him about it.

We also met with Lena (the other one), Volodia, and Vladimer last week. Lena has started keeping her committments again, and Vladimer has started praying with us and in private he says. So that is really cool! Volodia is doing really well. He still doesn't believe the Book of Mormon can be true, because it isn't sufficiently mentioned in the Bible. We committed him to read it though, and he said he would try and read some more, and this time he'd read and pray about it. So, we'll see! He is amazing though and he would be a very devout member if he could get a testimony.

Hope all is well with you!

Sister Hakes

picture 1: they have random holes in the ground when they do construction, and with the traffic, and my favorite person in the world Brat Glagolev smiling with his gold teeth, I just thought I would share with you a little Russian joy : ) This was taken from our Branch building window.

picture 2: the Helsinki Temple! Isn't it beautiful!

October 25

Hi Family!

Sounds like all is well back home, and that makes me happy : )

Well, this past week was... somewhat interesting, but good. We got back to Russia on Thursday early morning, and much of that day was spent meeting-up with Sister Muhlestein again and getting registered, and then we had an obligation at a Ward party, and then it was suddenly Friday! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were good, though we locked ourselves out of our apartment Saturday night. I'll just tell you the story. We got back to our apartment saturday eveing at 8:30 and had a little time extra, so we decided to go downstairs to this little store and buy ice cream for an investigator that we were meeting with on Sunday, and we didn't want to buy ice cream on Sunday, obviously. Anyways, we grab what we needed: money, cell phone, and keys. We buy the ice cream bar really fast, and come back to our apartment building like 10 later, and I went to pull the keys out of my pocket, and I realized that I had grabbed the keys to the Church buiulding, and not to the apartment. Yay for me! We were officially locked out with out anything, not backpacks or anything like a passport for comfort (Russians keep their passports on them at all times and we're expected to too). We got some help from a lady that works at the building office, and she she called a locksmith for us, but that is way expensive, and they sometimes break your lock completely so you have to get a new lock etc. So, we opted for sleeping at the Sisters house in Center, and tried to get in touch with our landlord the next morning. He has a set of keys, but his phone was switched off all evening so we couldn't get in touch with him. My poor companion. It was her first Sunday, and we both showed-up to Church in dirty clothes, no make-up, wet hair, and nothing like a planner or anything. It was not ideal. So, I was trying to have a good attitude. We get to Church, and I realized how much responsibility I have there. It was kind of sobering. I love the people and I love serving them (a lot), but I just saw so much need, especially because we hadn't been there last week for Church (Finland). It seemed like everybody was needing our help or going through a difficult time, and here I am struggling myself. I thought to myself that it would be nice if somebody served me for once, and then I realized that that was a very selffish thought. I decided to just go to work, and stop pitying myself. It helped, of course, and I ended-up feeling fine by the end of Sacrament. I just hope that after my mission I can remember to serve others when I am not having the best of days. It really is the best medicine. I am scared to go home and have no one but myself to worry about. It is frightening, but I know that there are lots of people out there that need help, definitely not just in Russia. I'm going to try and commit my life to service. It makes me happy.

Oh and yes, we got into our apartment Sunday at about 4. So, no worries, our landlord helped us : )

Botanika is doing good! There are a lot of people that are needing support right now, but I know by the end of this week, everything will feel normal again. Vladislav came to Church and had a great time. He went to the new member class, and he was very engaged and asked a lot of good questions. We talked to him about prayer again this past week, and he still doesn't know if God really loves him. That seems to be the root of all his problems. And most of the time, that is really the root of all problems. We asked him if he sees God's hand in his life, and in what ways has he felt blessings from God. He didn't know what to say. I don't think he is accustomed to looking at the glass half full. So, we committed him to say only thank-you prayers for a day and see if he will feel God's love for him more. We both felt good about that, and I hope it will help.

Lena has asked Brother Glagolev (the Russian Senior couple) to baptize her, and she is doing so great! She was the highlight of my week. At first, we were somewhat frustrated because she decided to stay out all night Saturday and go to the Discotek instead of Church. Sad : ( We were planning on being rather stern with her when we met Sunday night, and I think she sensed that from us and started to act a little defensive. Instead of acting like mean parents, Sister Muhlestin and I decided to sing a hymn to her. We sang Nearer My God To Thee and we asked her in what ways she feels like she could be nearer to God, that way she could come-up with her own answers. She said a lot of good things, and recognized how important the little things are to keeping your testimony strong. We read the Baptizmal questions to her, to see if she was ready to start living like a member now, and she recognized that she needs to come to Church every Sunday, and that even a little sin here and a little sin there isn't going to work. We promised her that if she did the "small and simple things" every day and every week, she would maintain her testimony and not fall inactive, since that is one of her fears. She agreed and committed to do better. And she will. She always keeps her committments, and she really is converted. You can sense that. The best part of all though, is that she feels ready to be baptized! She answered yes to that question, and I really do agree. She is ready! Yay!!

Sister Muhlestein is great. We are having a great time together and I can't wait to get to know her better. She had a really great time serving with Sister Zaitseva in ZhBE last week while I was in Finland, and she got to see a lot of little miracles there. I am happy for that, and that she has a great attitude. Seeing that this week will be normal, we should have a great time!

Love, Sister Hakes

P.S. the thought of Sufjan Stevens dancing in a neon visor makes me happy. Sister Muhlestein likes him too, and we listened to the CD carrie gave me last year for christmas together. haha thanks bear!

i haven't yet received the surprise third package yet, but probably this week mom. thanks, yo're the best. maybe i'll wear the zebra-stripped headband off the airplane or something haha... it was so thoughtful of you. thanks for you letter this week. yes, it was very nice to hear from you : )

October 18

Hi Family!

How is life in sunny Las Cruces! Sorry, I haven´t yet figured out how to do a question mark on the finnish keyboard, or an apostrophe.....

Yay to Emily Marie Hakes! What a beautiful name. I dont think I have seen her picture yet. If any one gets a chance, I would love to see what she looks like. I am glad all is well with Joe and Katie. Sounds like they have their hands full! They are amazing. Dad, thanks for the pictures you send me from your cell phone. Nathan and Hailey look all grown up! Hailey is Melissa´s twin, they look so similar! And Nathan still looks like Joe too. Both adorable. I am sorry to Dad and the boys that football is in the pits this year. That is pretty sad BYU only had 1 first down at the game. Sorry! But, sounds like it was a fun experience to be together as a family-.Jaxon is 50 pounds! That is insane! Wow.

Mom, I got the second package! It has another headband in it haha! You are so cute. It was all zebra stripped. I loved it. I haven´t received package number three yet, but I´ll keep an eye out for it. I have no idea what inspired so many packages all of a sudden. I won´t complain, but a BIG thank you! You´re too good to me.

Mom and Dad, you need to serve on a mission! We got up this morning at 6:30 like usual, but here at the Temple Hostel, nobody was up yet. It´s just Sister Schill and I at the hostel, along with the Temple President and the Senior Couples who are serving here. We came down stairs to study this morning, and at about 7 AM, and a group of the senior couples came down the stairs together. Monday the Temple is closed, and it is their P-Day tradition to go swimming/exercise together. Their is a pool 10 minutes from the hostel. They all seemed like such dear friends, even though one couple was Finnish, one Russian, and one from Idaho. They could barely communicate, but they all just had the best time together. It was so fun to see. I thought to myself, Mom and Dad would just love their mission. Haha, that´s my story : )

Well, this week we had Training for my new companion at the Mission Presidentäs home for two days, and then I left for Finland. Iäm stressing that Botanika is being left alone a whole week almost. Ahh! We tried to get as much done as we could, but travel in our mission just takes so much of our time.

We did meet with Lena, and she has agreed to be baptized November 20th, yay!! While she is still somewhat nervous, she knows that she is going to do it sooner or later, and finally agreed on setting a more official date. She is so ready. We had an FHE with her at a less actives home and some active members came too, and she told all of them about some persecution her friends have been giving her because she is meeting with us. She hadn´t mentioned persecution to us before, so it was news to us. She said that when she went home last weekend for her Grandmother´s 80th birthday party, that she met up with three of her closest friends from childhood and that they all started telling her that she was insane for listening to Mormons. She was super shocked she said by their reaction and hadn´t expected it, especially from them. After a good 20 minutes of their ranting, she said that she excused herself to go to the bathroom to try and clear her mind. There, she said she thought to herself, ´´maybe I am crazy?´´ and that I have just been persuaded by these people. She said that as she thought this, she remembered us, her missionaries, Zhenya, Uri Popov, the Kaigorodavi girls, the President Rasband Conference, the blessing Elder Glagolev gave her, the first time she went to Church, and all the other times she has felt the Spirit, and she said that she knew. She knew she wasn´t crazy. She knew that the feelings and experiences she has had were real, and that she couldn´t deny the Spirit she has felt with us. So, there in the bathroom, she said a little prayer and asked Heavenly Father for the strength she needed. She said she instantly felt peace, and that she went back out to her friends smiling. She felt calm the rest of the night, and that, even though they were still saying things to her, she didn´t care and didn´t have a desire to argue back. She is amazing. Even though we are here in Finland, she went to Church by herself yesterday, and said she really enjoyed it. We are going to have Sister Zaitseva and Sister Muhlestein meet with her while I am here in Finland. I feel like, among other things, she is the reason I came on my mission. She has made the biggest influence on my life, and the privelege of seeing her testimony grow, and her devotion to the Savior grow is so amazing. I love her.

Sister Muhlestein and I also ran after training to a meeting with Vladislav, the eternal investigator that has started progressing again. The lesson went pretty well and the Glagolevi´s helped. Sister Muhlestin and I both had the impression after the lesson that he is scared to recieve his answer that the Book of Mormon is true, because that would then require him to act. His wife is not really protive, but she doesn´t want her husband to get baptized until she has seen a convincing change in him, and that she really sees it is what he truly believes. As for right now, he believes in it, but he prefers to stay in this gray zone, where he can keep us happy somewhat happy by just reading the Book of Mormon, and he keeps her happy by not getting baptized or quitting smoking. He has a desire to come to Church every Sunday now, and before he didn´t. And, he has started quitting coffee on his own. He has some real intent, but he is scared to commit 100% percent. So, we´ll keep working with him, but the real changes he is needing to make he hasn´t quite committed to yet.

Sister Muhlestein is great. I don´t know too much about her, but I´ll tell you what I know (we´ve only been together two days). She is from Pasadena, CA and comes from a family of five... a set of twins and a set of triplets (she has a twin). Her parents are both lawyers, and she is a molecular and cellular biology major. She plays the violin like I do, which is really cool. We need to do a duet! She is like Sister Hanks in that she has no fear in talking with people on the street or in lessons. So, that is very ideal. We had that planning session together, and it seems she has all the right desires, and is really wanting to do her best for the Lord. She seems intent on making this experience the best experience it can possibly be. Me and her seem to have a lot in common, but I always feel like I have a lot in common with my companions, don´t know why that is. She will be a pleasure to work with I´m sure. She seemed a little sad to be in a different area this week and with a different companion, and I don´t blame her. It´s not very ideal for either of us. I also really enjoyed training this last time through. I always do, but we focused on companionships. It has kind of set the tone for Sister Muhlestein and I, and I can tell we are going to have a good experience working together.

Hello from Helsinki, and hope all is well with you!

Sister Hakes

P.S. Say hi to Andrea for me!

P.S.S. Mom, are you still forwarding my weekly emails to Sister Valgardson. I think she is wanting to get them every week if that´s not too much of a hassel for you. A Sister from our mission, Sister Tara Jenson, just got sent home from her mission last week. I gave her your phone number to call you so you can ask her any questions if you want. We got to know eachother pretty good, and she is so great. Here is her number too if you want to call her, I told her you might. It is- 801-943-5655. Give her a call and she can give you more details on what life is like here in Ekat if you´re interested. Love you!

October 11

Happy Monday!

Dad, I love that the Subject of your email was 10-10-10, and it makes me happy to know that that is now the third time you have written about the same date. I love your quirks and I miss them too. I appreciated the heads-up on the date, and told my companion, so we both remembered to write in our Journal that day and have an entry on that day.

Mom, I got your package! The one with the headbands in it! It was so nice and so unexpectedly nice I didn't know what to do with it! I wore one of the headbands yesterday already haha. Thanks a billion from you and all of the girls who helped put it together. I don't know how to thank you back enough. I love you so much!

Mom and Dad, I think I told you that I asked my Mission President about you wanting to pick me up, and he sent me an email with an excerpt from his handbook, which discouraged family members from picking-up their missionaries. Which, coming from my Mission President, pretty much means that he wouldn't prefer it. So, with that, and the fact that we want to save some money, I think it is best that you don't worry about coming out here : ) Of course, I'd love to have you out here, but it isn't necessary. It is enough to know that the two of you are willing to trek out here in the middle of winter just to see where I've been. You are the best parents. I love you both so much. Well, it seems that my come home date is February 3rd. I didn't want to say anything, because it could potenitally change, but I think you could plan on that date for now. I thought I might have to pick between February and March, but now it seems like I won't have to. The Visa stuff is so fun to plan around! ; ) Sorry to confuse you, but plan on February.

Speaking of Visa stuff, I am due for another Visa Trip. I'll leave to Finland Sunday, and instead of making the 24 hour trip, I am going to be stranded in Finland until the following Thursday. Maybe at the beginning of my mission I would have been more excited about that, but now I just feel kind of stressed. It's like leaving the Office for a week and coming back and putting-out all of the fires, especially because this past week we had Conference, Leadership Training again, and some other cleaning, end of Transfer things. But, I'm not gonna lie, the prospect of going to the Temple, a nap, and maybe even getting to go for a run is really exciting! It'll be just Sister Schill and I, and we're calling it our "Spiritual Spa" because we're not allowed to leave the Hostel. We'll see... but I'll write you next week from there : )

Colin, that is so exciting that you get to go through the Temple! Wow, are you going to go through in Albuquerque? I'm sure that would be such a treat for Elder Bear to go through with him. One word of advice, don't fast the day of, but maybe the day before or something. Remember Mom, Dad, Josh, and Kimball? I thought I was going to pass out haha. That was such a special day for me. One of the highlights of my entire life I think.

Ok, yes we did get a little tranfer again, but......................

I'm staying in Botanika! Yay!! I think I'll even get to see Lena get baptised!!!! I was so happy when I found out. When I got here to Botanika, it just immediately felt right, and I had a feeling it would be the heart of my mission. It has. So, I get to be here another six weeks and then we'll see. I've only been two areas my whole mission, that is kind of rare here, so I feel lucky. Sister Schill will be leaving me though which is sad. She's going to a different area of Ekat though, so I will still see her around. My new companion is going to be........................

Sister Muhlestein! She is another greenie! Haha, yes, I am training again. She is actually the girl that Andrea knows from Harvard. She'll probably already know more Russian than me : ) I am super excited though. Botanika is such a cool first area for these greenies, mine wasn't as interesting to be honest, but I grew to love it just as much : )

Ok, now to the real stuff. Lena is doing well! She got a blessing from Elder Glagolev, and it was amazing. Elder Glagolev is a real hoot, funny guy. And he can kind of say some off-the-wall kind of things. He has a crazy past before he found the Church in Russia, and he likes to talk about his past a lot on meetings haha, so it can sometimes be an uncomfortable situation, but all the Russian people love him because he is just... lovable. Before the blessing, he was being his normal self, and my companion and I were kind of squirming, but the minute he started the blessing, and laid his hands on Lena's head, he changed. It was seriously a different Elder Glagolev. He seemed to know exactly what her needs were. He told her to not fear, but to move forward, to act out of faith and just believe, to have a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon, and to get baptised. The Spirit was so strong, and Lena, after the blessing just seemed so shocked. She didn't anticipate that kind of power. Elder Glagolev went back to being his usual self, and it was a huge testimony to me of the power of the Priesthood. It really was the Lord talking, and not Elder Glagolev. By the way, you would all love him. He is such a hoot, he reminds a little of Grandpa McCuistion, only a little more crazy. Haha he's so fun. We asked Lena if she wanted to move-up her baptismal date, and she still declined. Man, I've been shut-down by her so many times haha! But, she always progresses in her own time. It's our joke now that someday I'll just kick her into the water when she's not looking. We have a really good relationship, and I think I'd consider coming back here to see her Temple marriage, which, I keep reminding her, will be in the Temple : )

I got to go to the Leadership Training meeting again! It was all day Wednesday and Thursday. Yes, just me, my companion, and all the Elders. It was so fun though. I love the Elders, and it is so amazing to see their growth. I really feel like we have the best Elders here. We learned a lot about how to be better teachers, and it was always refreshing to hear advice from our Mission President. We listened to a talk by President Holland about listening to the Spirit. He talked about how the key to a good missionary, is a that he or she is a good companion. He talked about the "Divine Companionship," which is where the companionship ceases to be a duo and becomes a trio, with the Holy Ghost as the Senior companion. It made me think about how it's probably a lot the same in marriage, that you put your pride away, and try and follow what the Lord wants from you. He said that it is more important to make your companion successful than to make yourself shine. He also said that the Spirit will not testify of superficialtiy, and that if aren't sincere as a missionary, you won't be able to convert others. If we're just worried about statistics, etc, and not really the investigators as people, then you are not successful. Very true. I liked his comments a lot.

Friday, we had a great meeting with Vladislav. He is the eternal investigator that once quit smoking, has since started again, and His wife is against the Church. But, he has started progressing again. After listening to Elder Holland's talk, I decided to really focus on Vladislav and what he is needing. Our committment for the lessonw as to get him to come to Conference, which is a big deal for him. He hasn't come to Church yet, and keeps declining. During our lesson, I just realized how strong a testimony I had of Conference, and just realized that I wanted him to know how much it meant to me, and that if he were to go, he would have a Mosiah 5:2 experience, where the people's desire to do evil was rooted out of them. He came on Sunday and really enjoyed it! We hadn't planned on saying a lot of the things we said in our lesson, but it really felt like the Spirit was guiding us to say what he was needing to hear. The Spirit is so key, and I felt like it was tlaked a lot about at Conference. I want to become better at listening to the Spirit now and for the rest of my life. Sometimes I get frustrated becasue I can be so hard-headed and I don't yeild to his promptings.

Volodia and Olga. We met with them again on Saturday, and it was so amazing! Olga, I'm still not super certain she is interested int he Gospel (yet : ) ), but Volodia has read all of 1 Nephi and parts of Alma, and the last parts of the book. He seems kind of skeptical, no, really skeptical about Joseph Smith, especially because he looked us up online and read some anti-stuff, but he is not ruling it out yet. I think a part of him is somewhat wanting to mock us because we're a weird religion, the other part of him really likes what he hears. For example, Olga asked if the Bible said anything about the Book of Mormon, and, instead of us answering, Volodia explained to her about the "other sheep I have" verse, and how the Book of Mormon answered his long-time question about who those other sheep were. It was so cool that he had figured that out for himself without us telling him! Also, he then asked us, "why would the Lord only visit people in Jerusalem and in America though, it seems unfair and unlikely that he would be so exclusive." We were like, "Wow, did he really just ask that?" And, we showed the scripture about how he went to other places that we know not of. Anyways, we invited them to Conference, but they didn't come. I couldn't fall asleep that night after the lesson, because I kept thinking about how Golden he was, and how we need to find a way to soften his heart. He is a student studying to be a Doctor, very smart kid.

Ummm.... We had so many miracles! We ran into our Branch President on the street last week talking with a Muslim man. First of all, I've never ran into my Branch President on the street before. Secondly, the Muslim man he was talking to, Bahktyior, was a man our Branch President had met in Kazhakstan when he was serving as Mission President there. Bahktyior had showed-up at the Branch in Kazhakstan because he was curious about what the Church was, and then he ran into him on the street in Ekat some 8 years later. And then, we run into the two of them on the street too! Not a coincidence. Bahktyior came to Conference yesterday, and we have a meeting with him tomorrow.

Ok, well, I love you all sooo much! Your letters are amazing. Mom, you are the best Mom in the whole wide world and I appreciate all you do for me. I can feel your prayers and love all the way over here on the other side of the world. We are all in debt to your selfless service.

Thanks to Dad, Hakes Brothers, Grandma, and Grandpa, Cassi and Kelly, and you countless others who helped support me on my mission financially and in other ways. The story President Holland told about how his parents didn't use any of his mission fund made me cry. I feel like I was equally supported by my family back home. I thought to myself, wow, I have that kind of family too! I have so much to be thankful for : )

From Conference, I loved Elder Christofferson, Holland, Monson, Edgley, Jensen, Costa, Scott, Oaks, and others. So, I guess pretty much everyone : ) I need to have more faith, respond to the Spirit more, and have more gratitude. It was amazing! Dad, good luck on preparing your Stake Conference talks. You will do amazing, as usual. Has anyone every told you you look like Elder Oaks before? I don't think I'm alone in this.... : )

Love,

Sister Hakes

wow. this letter is a novel, sorry!