April 29th, 2013

Hello again! Boy this was the fastest week in the history of mankind and much has occurred. Let's see, as an overview we had lots of lessons (which is awesome!), a woman gave us candy on the street, I got beat up by a little girl, I had a day of firsts, we set a baptismal date with V, I washed a ton of windows and D, our investigator who is waiting for permission to get baptized, returned from Vlavidostok! yay! and my enter key doesn't work on this computer for some reason so this is going to be all one big block of text, excuse me. On my day of firsts we went out to a members house to do service for them washing windows with the Relief Society. This is the first Americanish house that I've been in since I've arrived in Russia. Brother S made it himself! It was so awesome and cozy to be in a home in Russia where the parents were sealed in the temple and have three kids together, to see the kids' artwork hanging on the wall with one saying "I am a child of God", to see things like hymn books and scriptures laying around mid-use, to eat soup together. It was also the first time I've eaten a full Russian meal. It was actually really good. :) And I tried kvac, the fermented bread drink that all the missionaries say is gross. I liked it. Maybe that's a miracle or maybe I'm even more Russian than I thought. That day was also my first time in a car since I've been here and it was the first day we got into a door while knocking! I don't believe I will ever forget that night. S answered the door, I gave a scattered introduction to who we are, he didn't understand so Sister Clyde graciously clarified. He was interested in hearing more so she asked if we could come in or come back later. He had time then so in we went! Thankfully we had Anya with us or else we wouldn't have been able to with this women to men ratio rule. S lives with his roommate, a huge, dark, muscular Muslim man with lots of hair. I know this because he was not fully clothed. S offered us tea which we declined since he only had green or black, then we got to know him a bit and his beliefs. He seemed to think we were baptist for some reason and couldn't really get that out of his head. But we left him with a Book of Mormon so that should clarify some things. He was sooo nice and just a cool guy. We goin' back tonight to teach him the restoration, yay!    Well, talk to you next week! Oh, I received mail from Emma and Michael! Thanks, that was such a treat! I don't know if they'd rather email now or have me write them back but if I did write them with paper it might take like a month to get there if it even does get there. Love you!!!  -- Sister Johnson

April 22, 2013

Hey!! This is going to be a short letter. We were pretty busy this week with sisters coming in for transfers and zone conference. Since we're in Samara near the mission home we get lots of visitors. I know basically all of the sisters in the mission now except 3 who are in Saratov. It's a party but a crazy party and Sister Clyde and I didn't have much time for the good stuff on the streets. That's where the miracles happen.  Saturday and Sunday we finally got out and had some awesome, divine experiences with the Book of Mormon. Yesterday we met a babooshka heading to her dome. When we talk to people some meetings are more magnetic than others, more engaging and sincere. When we met this lady is was one of those meetings, like I could feel fate pulling at us. (Okay, I know I'm cheesy) But it was just one of those moments and here we are bearing our testimony to her about the comforting and healing power of the Gospel and the Word of God in the Book of Mormon and we are giving her the Book when two men walk by in a hurry. One of them says forcefully as he passes "Good book! Read it!!" I don't know who that man and we wish we could have a little chat with him but thanks whoever you are! Haha life is good. The Gospel is great and I love being a missionary. I get to witness crazy awesome things like that every day.

We skipped spring here in Samara. Last week it was coat and scarf weather and now it's short-sleeve, popsicle weather. It's going to be a HOT summer. It's interesting to see the summer culture here. Men wear short(ish) shorts, capris and tight shirts. The kids are all outside playing on the play grounds. Roller blading is popular, even up to teen age years. Everyones got a drink in their hand, whether it be alcohol or kvas, the fermented bread drink they sell on every corner like lemonade stands. There are also lots of flower stands and it's common to see a man walking down the street with flowers to bring to his girl. There's finally grass sprouting and soon Samara will be green!! I know it'll be beautiful since there are trees and parks everywhere! :)

Have a good week!
с любовю, сестра джонсон

April 15th 2013

Hey wasn't General Conference great?!? :) We just got to watch it this weekend and we even got to see priesthood too. I would have to say President Uchtdorf's talks in both priesthood and on sunday were my favorites. I also loved the themes of missionary work and the light, love, and comfort that comes from the Savior. I can feel how desperately Samara needs that light. So many people are blind and deaf to the greatness that could be theirs if they would just open their heart and listen to what we have to say. It's such a joy to walk down the street and feel the love of the Savior for each person that walks by but then when they reject it's quite sad, heavy even. But then there's always the hope and peace in knowing that since He loves them, He has a plan for them. There is no need to be down hearted, especially when the Lord is beside me. I have definitely felt His presence this week. It's funny how He uses my humanity and my frailties to bring me closer to Him. These past couple weeks my knees have been acting up. All the walking has been wearing on them, especially my right one, the crippled one. It was kind of getting to the point where it was getting in the way of the work so I decided to get a blessing. I wanted to make sure I'd done everything I could to make it better before I called Sister Sartori. So my district leader blessed me that my knee would "not have pain", that health would not be a problem for me, and many other things that I knew the Lord himself wanted me to hear. After that and now my knee still feels funny but there's essentially no pain. That's my miracle for this week, among many others.
Olga, the investigator we found on the streets a couple weeks ago set a baptismal date for the second week in May!! We're pretty excited but things have been weird lately. We invited her to general conference and were going to meet together at the metro to go together. We called her when we got there and she said she was on her way. Then we waited for a half hour, called her again and her phone wasn't working. So we got on the metro and just as it pulls away she calls us. We tell her we'll wait at the next stop. We wait there for another half hour and her phones not working again. We didn't hear from her for the next 24 hours until we're knocking doors and get a call from one of the zone leaders. He said that he was teaching a lesson at the chapel when Olga walks in and asks for us, wanting to talk because she had had a bad day. So we run over there (we were close so it only took us 5 min tops) and the elders say she's there but she's not. She's like a phantom! We're not sure what to do and we're concerned about her. Many of our other investigators have been very ellusive this week. No one's answered their phones or have been able to meet, which has been a tad frustrating but oh well, patience, patience. It's hard when I'm so invested in these people and their welfare but I only get to see them like once a week for an hour and even then my communication is limited. That's getting better though--the whole language thing. :) I'm starting to understand what the Russians are saying to me, even on the streets!!! and it only took me a month haha... it's been four weeks and my first cycle is over! It was a short cycle this time since the new kids are coming in today/tomorrow. My whole district is staying here in Bezi, except for Elder Jenkins. He was supposed to stay but then something happened in Ingles. Elder Farnsworth, my four-square buddy at the MTC, and his companion Elder McClure accidentally walked onto a secret military base so they're being deported. !!!!! They may never get to come back to Russia again and will probably be sent out to the Baltics to finish out their mission. So Elder Jenkins and I finally have to part as he is sent down to Ingles. I'm gunna miss that guy but it also means that we get a new elder in our district straight out of the MTC so that means I'm not the newbie anymore!
That's basically everything around here!
Oh wait! I almost forgot the best thing that has ever happened to me. So. We contacted an old lady the other day and she invited us over to her house. She is short, has big eyes and reminds me of a variety of pixar characters, just so cute, nice and full of life. We stopped by the other night. She sat us down on her couch in the a dome full of piled things, rugs hung on the wall, tea and cookies on the table. I couldn't understand a word so I just enjoyed myself watching her interact with Sister Clyde. Then, she pulls out the tiniest accordian you've ever seen and starts to accompany herself as she sings us a traditional Russian folk song I've heard the elders sing at the MTC. Oh how I wish you could have been there. I will always remember that evening. Soooo great.

Anyway, love you all sooo much.
с любовю, сестра джонсон

P.S. I saw Tom Rowley in general conference just like every one else in the ENTIRE WORLD--even here on the other side of the globe. THAT was weird, seeing Tom's smiling face blown up on the wall of the little chapel in Avrora.

April 8th 2013

Way to go on the emails everyone. :) You have no idea how good it is to hear from you. Keep it up. These have been some of the most difficult weeks of my life it's a relief just to hear about home.    Although this basically is home. From the minute I stepped on Russian soil it was home... in a weird completely foreign way... yes, that's an oxymoron if I have my english grammar correct. But like I told dad, I'm basically already Russian personality wise, and I've also been told by the people here that I look and sound Russian (and when I say that I mean my American accent isn't unbearable). Which can be a burden because people talk to me thinking that I know what they're saying. And I don't. The other day we went by marshootka to the prehode (Branch). A marshootka is like a van/bus/taxi. They come by the bus stops, you get on and sit on the 10-12 seats or stand in the aisle. They're usually pretty packed, warm, sweaty and smelly, even when it's cold outside. When people get on they pass their money to the front and get a ticket back. Sometimes the money will pass through five hands before it finally reaches the driver. This is a standard system that plays out with very little words so it's fairly simple to do without knowing Russian. Now, we had taken marshootkas many a times but this day I happened to end up in the front by the driver. That meant it was my job to handle the money transactions. This was the most confusing, frightening marshootka experience ever. Handfulls of money were being trust in my direction as they spoke the desired number of tickets. I then passed it forward to the driver who knew seemingly instinctively returned to me the right amount of change and tickets. Before I knew it I have 4 different sets of money and tickets that I had no idea to whom they belonged. A few strangers took what they knew to be theirs from me but I was still left with money. A blonde-haired lady yelled at me and I handed it over. Being free I desperately found a seat further back. I saw a coin on the floor and after the 5000 ruble incident last week I picked it up and put it in my purse. That same lady, or maybe another, it was all so confusing, started getting angry with me and I could not understand a word other than ruble. I tried to find it but it was lost it my purse. She got off and now I live with the fact that some one here thinks I'm a thief. Great. So that's how I learned not to sit or stand in the front of marshootkas or to pick up money off the ground.
There's my trivial story of the week. By the way of other news and events, we had our first cultural night last monday. We went to the nicer part of the city and went to the philharmonic. It was like a piano/opera concert. I thoroughly enjoyed it and also very much enjoyed seeing the other missionaries and a few of their investigators. For the first half hour I was a bit uncomforable because it had been so long since I went to something soley for the purpose of enjoyment, yes, fellowshipping too. We also got to host the Orenburg sisters who stayed at our apartment on their way to a visa trip. They both have been here for over a year so it was cool to go on splits with them as wise, experienced sister missionaries. ;) We taught two new investigators this week. Pavel and Olga (another Olga). Pavel is a super cool student in his mid-twenties. Sister Pierce translated for me and it was really cool the things he was saying. Very doctrinally correct and insightful. He was excited and wanted to learn more. Hopefully we'll get to meet with him again, he hasn't much answered us sadly. I'm not sure if I've told you about Olga yet but we met her on our way home at night. At first we weren't really going to talk to her and just handed her an invitation to church. But then she started talking about how she wanted to start going to church and talk with us more. She gave us a big hug and thanked God right there for sending us. When we met with her the next day she told us her life story and said that she wants to return to God and get baptized. :) That's always fun to hear as a missionary. haha but we hadn't taught her anything yet so we still have a long road ahead of us. And judging by her life story, the things she's dealt with and the smell of cigarette smoke on her, it might be a hard road as well. She came to church yesterday and bore her testimony in sacrament meeting. We also taught Vadeem yesterday. Each time I see him he looks happier and he told us that whenever he sees us or meets someone from the church that he sees a light in them. Gosh, he's such a cool guy. We're finding and teaching a lot of real awesome people. I just wish we could see them more, I feel like we have a hard time getting a hold of people and making return appointments with them.
Well I don't have much time left. Keep me in your prayers! Love you!!!

сестра джонсон

April 1, 2013

Hey Happy Easter!!! :)
 Easter here isn't until May I think but we celebrated a bit anyway by making a nice chicken dinner (with the least sketchiest chicken we could find) and I made sugar cookies. We didn't have any frosting though so I mixed sugar with beets to make them pink which worked really well. It's SOO nice to be in the kitchen again!!!! :) Not necessarily the best use of the Lord's time but we gave some cookies to Tatyana, a member who's been trekking around the city with us for hours, so I suppose it was a good thing. I really cannot express how awesome the members are. Especially the four women who help us out a lot, like every day, teaching lessons. And we've been teaching quite a bit. Ahhh how we have been blessed this week!! It started out pretty normal but then on saturday it became miraculous. Saturday was a weird day. We didn't have any lessons planned so we decided to hit the streets. We wandered off to a section of our area that I'd never seen before, which was cool to explore but no one really wanted to talk to us. This continued for about 90 minutes. Then as we're walking I notice that stuck in the mud is a bill. So I pick it up and see that it's 5000 rubles. I had no idea how much it was so I handed it to Sister Clyde. She said, "where did you get that?! that's a ton of money!" It's only about 130/140 bucks... but imagine finding a benjamin in the mud. There's no one standing around us who might have dropped it so we call our district leader who then calls the zone leaders. While we are waiting for them to call back and are thinking about all the super snickers we're going to buy (amplified, way tastier, Russian version of a snickers), this taxi driver gets out of his cab walks over to us and says, "hey did you find money?" "uhhhh yeah" "Oh that's mine." Then I hand it to him and that was that. Then we walk away. It was just one of those moments were you think you have something and then you don't. And then it was like why did that happen? and move on with life. Anyway, that's not the miracle, it just kind of how the day went, weird stuff was happening. We keep contacting and we have like a half hour left of contacting before we were to go to a Relief Society activity. Then we meet Olga, a cute tall twenty year old who likes us and wants to know more about why we're in Russia. We get her phone number and an appointment. Our goal was two so we just need one more to reach that. Then we walk to the park and all of the sudden every one wants to talk to us. One of the ladies even said she wasn't interested then ran back to us a few minutes later while we were talking to someone else and invited us over for tea to talk. We couldn't, I wish so bad that we could and I'm really curious what would have happened but oh well, we got her number, we called her later and she still wants to meet with us so that's good. We ended up with 5 phone numbers and appointments. I almost wish we didn't have P-day today so taht we could teach instead. We're basically booked for the rest of the week now which is awesome. It just goes to show how many friendly, curious people there are with so many questions and searching for answers. We met with Olga and Sofia yesterday, two of the women we met on saturday. They're so great, and like I said, full of questions. At one point of our lesson with Olga she said, "I just don't know why we're here on earth. If we lived with God and are going to return to Him, why are we here?" Sister Clyde and I looked at each other, trying not to grin. It was like she was quoting Preach My Gospel. At the end I bore my testimony and gave her the Book of Mormon. Then afterwards she asked us when we could meet again. Then an hour or so later we had a lesson with Sofia who is so sweet but talks suppppperrrrr fast. I could only get a few words out of the whole lesson and Sister Clyde said that she couldn't even really understand anything either so it's really good that we had Tatyana with us!! But even when we didn't understand we still could give the "how to begin teaching points" in Preach My Gospel and they worked very well. Those points are GOLDEN for first lessons. Sofia also had a lot of questions and a lot of things to say in her super fast voice and I could tell she was thirsty for more. Another little part I understood was how she described meeting us in the park. She said we walked directly up to her with huge smiles. She was thinking that we wanted help and was then surprised to hear us ask her if she needed help and that we had a message of Jesus Christ. Then she told us that the time we set up for her when we called later fit perfectly into her schedule when she didn't think it would work out. She found that to be a little miracle and didn't think it was a coincidence that we met her and were able to meet with her, which is sooo cool to hear. :) We gave her a Book of Mormon too and she hugged it tight to her a big huge with a grin on her face. :)  I love it.
   Well that's our miracle this week--a flood of new potentials and a coulple of awesome new investigators. Missionary work is pretty hard--Russian is hard, being exactly obediant can be hard (like waking up), talking to people and teaching can be hard--but there is so much joy in it. Honestly, for me the mornings are the hardest because I have so much time to think, to think about how hard it is and how incompitent I am but when I get out there with the people in this city, this beautiful city, talking about the things I love most, life couldn't be better. Plus, I have to say, Russia is pretty cool. Here are some typical things about Russia I've been jotting down:
-Big furry shopkas. There's everywhere!! I thought that was just some traditional outdated thing but people actually wear them and they're stinkin cool.
-Fur in general, there's lots of fur hats and collars and even full on fur coats.
-Gold (& silver) teeth. If you're over 30 there's a good chance you've got one or two of those. I've even seen full sets. Pretty classy.
-Blunt bangs for girls, army cuts for men are super common.
-babooshkas. They exist too and they're so cool! There's two of them on the corner we pass everyday that sell seeds on the sidewalk and we chat with them every once and a while.
-The sidewalks are like a huge farmers' market. There's little tables set up everywhere with goods old babooshkas have either made or grown.
-Marshmallow kids. Samara has the cutest kids I've ever seen and that's not a fib. And they're all in these puffy snow suits that remind me of the 90's. :)
-Every one has the same name. There's like 10 names you hear over and over so it's hard to keep on Sveta straight from the other. There's Sveta, Olga, Tatyana, Natasha, Sasha, Lena...etc.
-Domes. I've only been in one residence that most American's would consider a house and it was hardly such. (well, I've never lived in a city so that's probably why this is a different concept for me.) Most live in a big complex called a dome. Domes are always an adventure and I love knocking because of it. There's always two consecutive doors to get into a stair well then there's a stairwell and a sketchy elevator that (snugly) holds three. Then there's usually 4-6 doors to knock on each floor. The doors and doorbells are all different and I've seen/heard some really cool ones. Domes are old and eclectic with bad lighting and I always feel like I'm either in a haunted house or a piece of modern art when I step into one.

I still can't believe I'm here, some ultra ordinary girl from a small town some how landed in the coolest place ever doing the best work. There's a flaw somewhere and I know I'm super lucky. That or I'm blessed by a Heavenly Father that loves me a heck of a lot. You know... either one. ;)

I love you guys so much!!! and I'm sad I haven't heard more from you!!! I can now email anyone I want that's not in my mission so any one who's reading this can feel free to email me at johnson.kimberly@myldsmail.net

.
I also get an hour and a half to write instead of just an hour. :)

сестра джонсон