Last e-mail from Russia

Well Hello :)  

Well i guess this is the last email from Russia that you will all get from me.  Everyone keeps asking me how i feel and i just say "I don't know, Good".  Because to be honest, it doesn't really feel yet like i am going home.  Today is just another pday....but i guess its not haha. So i guess i will start by saying all the stuff i am supposed to say although they don't seem real :)

Thanks everyone for writing me all of the time. and for the love and support that you have given me. Your letters, emails, and packages mean alot and helped me remember why i am out here.  For all of you!  Well, first of all for the Lord, but also for my family and friends.  I couldn't have done it with out the help of the Lord that came because of all of your faith and prayers.  Thanks so much. 

This week was pretty much a normal week except for the packing and saying goodbye. It was actually a really productive one.  We had some great great meetings and contacts and studies.  It was a miracle actually.  I decided to ask our investigator Nina again to be baptized.  She ALWAYS  gets a little frustrated when i ask. but I just felt that i had to. I was hesitant but as my companion says "Don't argue with the Spirit"  so i asked her.  and you know what?! she said yes! haha we were shocked into silence!  after how many times meeting with her and asking her EVERYTIME to be baptized! i almost decided to not ask her this one time because i didn't want to get her mad and then have to say good bye but the Holy Ghost told me. Heavenly Father knew she was ready.  Think about it!? what if i hadn't asked!?  that is why President tells us to ask every time. you just never know when they will be ready.  

We met with our new member Larissa. She is incredible. I love her so so much.  We just had a great discussion about our Heavenly Father. Who He is and our Potential to become like Him.  The spirit was so strong. The branch council is already started on getting her a calling and assignments and teachers and stuff.  She is so great! She even got up the guts to ask someone to switch work with her this Sunday so she could come to church.  She told us all about her experiences that she has already had with the Holy Ghost since she has received that gift.  If we all used and appreciated the Gift of the Holy Ghost that we have been given as she does the world would be a much better place. We could get a lot alot done.  She also said that she has the desire to serve. She knows that is what she covenanted to do and she has been trying to consciously keep that covenant!  I told her that i wanted to be her friend for ever and ever. haha she said she does too.  

I have been trying hard to keep working this week and i think it has been pretty successful.  I just knew that the last week is what i would remember. I wanted to be able to remember that I worked till the end, not just a trunky missionary. So we have been just talking to everyone. its been great. I love the people here in Russia.  

There is a girl that we teach English to. her name is Alexcandra. have i told you about her? she has become my best friend haha! i love her so so much. She asked if she could take us in her car to the bus station. So nice!  so her and her husband came. They helped us with our bags and just chatted the whole time. She even gave me a cute little Russian present.  Just a great couple. The sisters are going to start teaching them and i hope that they can come to know its true.  She is so great. 

Church was so good. Its weird to think that its the last Russian meeting i will be on. it will be weird for everything to be in English. it was sad to say goodbye to everyone.  They have become my family.  I definitely want to come back and visit.  I could just stay in tomsk for a whole week and just hang out with everyone haha!  

We are now in Novo and having pday with the sisters.  Set up a meeting tonight with my "mom" in Novo. Vera. I am so happy and excited to see her before i leave. I called her last night and she knew me by my voice!  haha it was nice.  Also called my "sister" her in Novo Marina, we are going to meet her tomorrow i think. cool that i get to do some work here in Novo before i leave.  Did some contacting today in Novo.  I miss the people in tomsk haha but maybe i just have to find the happy ones haha. 

Welp......Mom- if there is any problems with me flying home alone i will call you. no worries. haha i don't think they are that strict. I will ask president, but i am sure there won't be any problems. 

one of the elders wrote to me in our year book type thing and said some like "The Lord sends us on missions to prepare us for a greater work in our lives. I believe that He has prepared a greater work for you to fulfill, keep on working and serving and you will fulfill it."  Another elder said "You have been improving and perfecting yourself for the last 18 months, don't stop or go back. Keep going and you will continue to be a servant in the Lords hands". and Mom sent me a quote from elder Packer - "The release is just as inspired as the calling". I believe that.  I feel pretty peaceful.  I am sure i will cry a bunch haha but that's because it is sad to leave all the people i love behind. But i know that just as the Lord had a purpose and reason for sending me on a mission, He also has a purpose and plan for me after the mission. Just the next calling and time of life. I am nervous because i don't know what will come, but that is life. I am excited to start the next part of my adventure.  I know that as the Lord led and guided me here, He will lead and guide me after my mission.

This time has changed me for the better.  and i will try to continue to keep changing and improving

  I love my mission.  I love the Gospel. I love my Savior.  and i love you all. See you soon!

Sister Trottier

What did you wear in the wintertime to stay warm?  - i wore thermal garments but only the bottoms.  think leggings and running pants and more thick tights.  scarves thick wool sweater haha and wool socks. 

Do you have an iron? yes

The packet from the church says that if you wear a size 10, you should buy your boots here- is that accurate? yes accurate!!! its possible but hard.  but the best and warmest have fur and i don't know where to find those there

Do you eat a lot of meat? if you want to.  don't have to.

Have you liked the shoes you took or would you have chosen differently? differently. i dislike greatly those "comfy" ones that are not cute. i wear my flats more than those.  bring fall boots

What things are unavailable there that she should take with her?  not much.  floss is expensive.


Wow! that was alot of emails! haha took about 45 minutes! haha thanks so much!   Its like I'm coming home soon and everyone remembered that they love me! :) haha just kidding! but it was really nice

I have alot alot to write and not alot of time to write it! 

we went to Novosibirsk for a conference with the WHOLE MISSION! it was incredible! it was so so great. to have all those missionaries all together. it was like having my family. don't worry, but second family, but stil. i love them so much.  We had testimony meeting and i of course cried haha.  All I got out was "i know the gospel is true"  and then that was about it for a while and then i got through a little bit more haha.  and at the end we always sing "God be with you till we meet again" and i told myself i wouldn't cry hahga but that lasted about five seconds.  and then i just had to shake all my "brothers" hands good bye and give hugs to all my "sisters".  its crazy how much i love everyone here.  Missionaries, members, non members etc.  I have already started saying bye to people here in Tomsk and its hard every time. 

so i know you are all just DYING to know.... LARISSA GOT BAPTIZED!!!! Yepers!  On Sunday she was baptized!  I knew Tomsk was going to be a miracle city.  I love Larissa so much. we have become close friends already. I wish i could tell you the whole story but its long. i will tell you in person ok? it was incredible. her husband baptized her and the spirit was so strong. They are one step closer to having an eternal family.  It was a beautiful service.  The days before her baptism she kept asking how she would feel when and after she was baptized  and so after it all i asked her and she said "I feel reverence." what a great answer.  It impacted me alot that answer and today i studied reverence. I think that we could all probably be a little more reverent in our lives.  we are actually told to be reverent in all things. Satan uses irreverence in the world to distract us from that which is spiritual (True to the Faith).  Heavenly Father heard my prayers, her prayers and the prayers of her husband. what a miracle.

sick of hearing from me yet?

Hey family!

So i talked to you just a few hours ago, but my companion needed to
send an email to her family so I'm hear :) writing you again :)

Funny that when we talk over skype and stuff we really don't have much
to say huh? i think its because we already know whats going on with
each other and then we just stare at each other haha we strange kinda.
haha but that's ok. sorry i always freeze and don't know what to say.
But i was just floating on a cloud the whole time we went shopping and
stuff. Don't worry i will work really really super hard these last two
weeks cause i know its how i finish is what i will remember, but i am
also so excited to give you all big huge hugs and not have to wait 6
months to talk to you. and you know what? i forgot for the second time
on my mission to say HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! haha what a horrible daughter.
That was the point of the whole call and i didn't even say it. I'm
sorry mom :) i love you! i said that! that's what matters most right?
if you want small martroshka dolls they are like 15 dollars or so
which isn't bad. we went to look at prices today and i found one for
mom that was so so funny and i had to buy it :)

as with Larissa, we are praying hard and alot for her. I think that
everything will work out, and she will be baptized. Just maybe not
while i am here. But i am trying to keep in mind that its not about me
:) its about her and the Lords timing haha. but its hard to remember
that. But she is so great. I love having meetings with her because its
like we just get to take the topic and dissect and discuss it and
really get deep down into what it means in our lives.  its incredible.
   and Tamara that also wants to get baptized just is so close. She is
so great and close to the spirit and has a HUGE DESIRE but the smoking
thing is just holding her back. But it will be ok.

i will tell you about another day that we had this week that was
great. I'm just going to rewrite what i wrote in my journal so you can
get the emotion of it or whatever.

Today was one of those days that just makes you know that Heavenly
Father is watching out for us. That he sees the work that we do and
wants us to know that he appreciates us and will eventually reward us
in His own time and his own way..... we had district meeting which was
always great and we didn't have any meetings set up until 6 so we had
a few hours to do some finding.  We had earlier decided to go drop by
some old old investigators that we found in the area book that had no
numbers and only addresses. I was praying really hard and trying to
have faith and a good attitude about contacting and dropping by
randomly to people (not usually effective. we only had 3 addresses and
the first two no one was home. I was frustrated. We had prayed really
hard and we had felt that this was what Heavenly Father had wanted us
to do today and i was starting to ask "why?".....gotta admit i was
murmuring.  we got to the third address and rang the domophone and
they just opened the door for us....strange. so we went up and knocked
on the door. a nice young girl said that her parents weren't home. She
remembered us "missionaries" and said that we could come in and she
would call her parents. They had been walking the dog, but they came
back to meet with us. Their names are Georgi and oksana. She used to
come to church alot alot and knows alot about our doctrine. he is
really great, never came to our church but is taking bible school
online or something- just for fun. So we just began talking and
teaching. I don't know how but i knew all the bible verses he was going
to use before he even said them. I knew where they were, who the
apostle was talking to and the background info.  it was crazy.  I
guess my study of the bible last year paid off- the holy ghost really
can reach back into our memory and pull out old info.  it was a great
conversation and lesson. They both just want to know truth.  We asked
if they wanted to pray with us at the end and they were both just so
excited! they jumped on their knees and we asked him to give the
prayer. he gave a great sincere prayer.

Now- I'm guessing that you are thinking how great and normal that
lesson was right?  well don't worry- theres more. we are in Russia of
course. So in the middle of our discussion she said that she wanted to
give us something to drink. we said no tea or coffee and she said she
knew that- she wanted to give us Birch tree juice.  huh
uh....ya....straight from a birch tree and then they add some stuff
and also raisins and its turns into this thick slime...haha and then
she wanted to feed us a spoonful of something "very healthy" and she
gave me some and she asked how it was "i told her i felt like i was
eating a tree" haha she laughed and said it was crushed pine cones or
something like that.  haha just so funny because we are having a great
spiritual discussion on which i am trying to concentrate while eating
a tree.

and it doesn't end after that. we also went by a lady who told the
elders she wanted to meet us. This old lady is a saint. her name is
Hadeshjda (Hope).  she is so great and just held the Book of Mormon
like it was her most precious possession.  it was great. I have been
praying really hard to leave my companion with some great new
investigators and we have been blessed.

well- that's the story.  i will try to find some more sleds for jake-
and i thought of a funny gift for the boys that is even more modern
Russian than old boxes. haha i will buy a few and you all can pick
what you want and then we can gift them to other people.

The church is true.  the Holy Ghost is our guide and needs to be our
greatest desire, just as it was for the nephites. If He is with us we
won't go astray.  So ask for His companionship and live worthy of it!

I love you

Sister Trottier

Your package came this week for Easter!  I shared alot of the candy with people here and they thought it was so funny. especially the peeps. The Mongolians were freaking out haha. but then me and my comp ate all the cadbury eggs in one sitting...which is way bad haha but we had fasted the whole day and couldn't stop eating them after! haha don't worry we ate real food first :) 

few random questions-  do we we have greenfield tea in America?  Don't worry, the herbal kind :)  and do you have gingerbread Twix bars?  

Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting.  Fasting Works.  Me and my companion fasted for our 3 main investigators, Tamara, Larissa and Olga in order to help them receive answers to their prayers and for us to know how to help them prepare to be baptized and for our new idea of how to help members do missionary work. (i also prayed separately that i could be nice and happy while fasting because you know i am bad at that, i need my food)  and guess what?!  Heavenly Father helped us out with all of it! Larissa's husband told us (she was at work) that she got an answer and said "I have decided i want to pay tithing and i am ready to be baptized"!!! Woooohooooooooo!!! i am so excited. This woman is incredible. She is so sweet and so sincere and just wants to do whats right. She loves the scriptures and the Lord. I think we could just be friends for ever and always. Maybe we were friends before.  Who knows?  and Tamara said to me "I'm going to get baptized before you leave.  I know i can do it! and i want to while you are here because you have done so much to help me".  She is so sweet and great! and Olga said that she had an answer that she knows our church is inspired of God. She says she isn't ready to be baptized yet, but she will be baptized she says.  And as with the members a whole bunch came up and asked us to meet with them this week!.  :)  Now as with my personal thing, fasting was a lot easier.  It probably helps that i learned how to pray correctly, thanks to the article in the ensign by Elder Bednar.  We need to pray for the enabling power and the capacity and strength to do what we need to do, not just to pray that it will go away or be easy, but that we can grow stronger.  Who knew i was praying wrong my whole life?  

we went to Larissa house and met with her and her husband and when we knocked he asked "who is it?" and i said "si-yos-tri"  (the sisters)  and he said

"zv-yoz-di"  (stars) ? haha he thought that i said that the stars were here! haha he thinks that is really funny and now he calls us his stars, "Larissa, we are so lucky that our little stars came today". He even bore his testimony and called us stars.  

Little Kiril bore his testimony. he is 9 and was recently baptized. His family and cousins all live together and we have been working with them to get them active. last FHE we talked about service and doing good works and made them a poster to write on the good works that they did this week.  he got up and told everyone that and said "So the next morning we all woke up and specifically (?) or "on purpose"? ( i don't know in English) - started doing good works and i thought "what can i do"". haha it was so cute.  

It rained alot this week.  but it was nice. i of course love the rain.  We also stated running every morning. its great great great!  There is a small track near our house next to a school and we go there. There are a few babushki who run too its great fun.

you know what is good here?  is Meat pie. I know, sound gross and before my mission when i heard about that kinda stuff i was grossed out. but it just means some kind of dough and meat cooked on it or in it. its really good.  i like Russian food. Maybe i will open up a Russian bakery or something. 

Don't worry, i have a list of all the things that i want to do and accomplish and try when i get home. I don't want to waste a minute!  you know i realized here how much you can accomplish in one day. and I'm not saying that its bad to relax and watch a few good films, just saying that if we plan we could do alot more. and if your plan is to watch a movie, color in a coloring book and lay on your bed listening to country music, fine haha that's a great plan!   just plan and try new things. 

what else do i have to say? i don't know....not much.  except our new thing is to talk to all the conductors on the trolley buses. we are pretty much friends with all of them.  Except the ones that don't like us.  now they ignore us....but the majority we are great friends!  we have started taking trolley buses because they are less expensive, cleaner and quieter so we can talk better to people. 

didn't hear anything about where i am going to live this fall this week? haha does that mean the stress is over and we bought an apartment and everything?  that would be nice. :)

Well- i think that's about all that i have.  I love you all so much.  I'm thankful for all that i have and the opportunity to serve the Lord everyday. I hope I am living up to what the Lord expects of me and that I am the type of missionary you all think i am haha.  Everyday i try to live up to that, you all write that you know that i am the best missionary ever. haha that's a lot to live up to but i am trying to do my best just to serve and to love. 

Hope all is going well there.  Say Hi to Jake and Audrey for me.  

Love Sister Trottier

See you on Monday over the Internet!

PS- Sami- whats a tablet?

So i heard that it is mothers day next week HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! haha we found out that we can use the computer at the church building to skype. sorry for the late notice and we can't plan for when i will talk with you but we decided that we would go there Monday morning and call. so i will have a turn at about 9 or 9:30 and if i am counting right that is Sunday night for you at like 8 or 8:30. i know that's kinda late for sami and matt, but it would be cool if they were there :) i don't know how the whole skype thing works but i am sure that i will figure it out.

dad- hey old man :) haha Just kidding.  its a small world huh? Addy french got married!?!  i had no idea!  to that same kid that came to lake powell with us or something like that?  what part of Russian is Alicia going to?

well- sorry i took a long time reading all of your emails :) we found a library to do Internet and it is so quiet and clean and great haha i am just enjoying it and relaxing. its been a good week. its all going by so so fast.

no i am going to paste whati wrote to president and also add some stuff to it.

Its a good week we did well at planning this week and we had all our meetings set up for the whole week almost!  its amazing what a good planning session does! no stress! and we were able to focus on the needs of the people, not just on who we were going to find to meet with.

Our goal as a companionship right now is learning how to better teach together with the Holy Ghost. We have been studying how the Holy Ghost works and trying to learn how to teach the same way, and get out of the way so He can do the actual teaching.

We had a meeting with one of the people that came to the church Open house. Her name is Olga. We met with her at a members house and it was an incredible meeting. The spirit was so strong and we were all just able to discuss how the blessings of the restored gospel are able to bless our individual lives. She described her feelings that the presence of God was so strong that it was tangible. We left that meeting just floating on air. She has a small problem with her mother who is very very against all other religion other than Russian Orthodox but i think that it will all turn out ok. we are praying and planning on going over to do service at her house to soften her heart.

my companion after the meeting asked me where all the perfect Russian came from during the lesson haha.  i have found when i step aside let the spirit speak my Russian is way better too, not only the quality of the lesson. The Spirit is so cool.

We also met with a woman whose husband is a counselor in the branch presidency. Her name is Larissa. She is an incredibly sweet woman. She has been coming to church for quite awhile and loves the Book of Mormon.  She is just a little nervous about the responsibility that being a member has.  But it also was a great meeting led by the spirit. We talked of prayer and i found myself spouting off answers and passages i didn't know. She is so great, you know she already shares the gospel. and at work she said that they used to buy alcohol for everyones birthdays and stuff to celebrate and she asked them why they were wasting their money and they now buy fruit to eat on holidays! haha she is trying to not drink coffee so she says that she just sometimes stands next the machine and smells it and that is enough haha. she was so cute she asked us kinda timidly if it was bad if she marked her scriptures and wrote in them!  of course not!  we were thrilled!

we went to a village this week to meet wtih our new young converts. holy cow- remember last time that i said they had a mean dog? well now they have 3 mean dogs!  and i am talking MEAN they were trying to eat us. seriously! have never been more scared in my whole entire life. the girls came out to hold the dogs back, but they dogs were doing all they could to get free and to attack. one even got my companions coat. oh goodness.

had some great meetings with active and inactive members. its great to visit them and to serve them. Emma is a cute babooshka who always feeds us and takes care of us. the members here are so great. they have become my family.

Saturday all our plans fell through!  but don't worry "the gospels still true" so we had a bunch of time to contact and i will tell you a story. So, i decided it was warm enough to not wear boots-wrong! so we took buses where we were planning instead of walking and you know what? it meant that we were in the right place at the exact right time. it was incredible. i just stopped this young guy (which normally isn't who we go looking to contact- usually turns out not great) and we ended up teaching a lesson right there on the street. it was so cool. He was a great guy  who just "found God" not long ago.  you never know who is ready to hear the gospel. and then we jumped of our bus and i saw a lady with a stroller who was not the way we were planning on going but i grabbed my comps coat and pulled her over.  This lady was so excited to talk to us and already knew who we were and where our church was. her and her husband had been planning to come for awhile now. seriously. i was blown away how happy she was to talk to us. it was like she was a member or something. i was blown away. They are going out of town until June, but hopefully my comp will baptize their whole family! :)

lately we have been meting all sorts of people who know who we are. who have been to our church before or have friends or relatives that are members. Craziest ever. its never been this often before but its like everyone knows who we are. its nice. they already know we are normal and not trying to eat them or something. which i really don't get when people are scared of us....we are pretty normal looking girls.

The book of mormon is the book of answers. we always ask ourselves questions and also try to find answers to the questions we have and as we are studying together we will be reading and one of us will say, "hey that's our answer"  its incredible.  Read it.

Anyways. I have found a new scripture. don't know if i told you about it last week, but it is Alma 7:23-24. its a great scripture with of the characteristics that i am working towards haha that i am far from reaching.  I am taking the verse apart word by word and trying to discern what each one really means. I studied the word "submissive" today.  I have come up with synonyms i think that match what it means- malleable, willing, adaptable, humble, obedient, responsive, ability to yield, ability to take correction and chastisement, go with the flow, easy to get along with...i didn't bring my notes but those were just a few. 

welp- my time is about out so i gotta go, but i love you all very much! and i will talk to you next week hopefully! 

The church is true. The Book of mormon answers all questions.

Sister Trottier

we are spending alot of time trying to get referrals from members and inactives and also through our own finding! we need new investigators!  but no worries

boring today...sorry :)

Hey hey hey,

right now in my studies when i have "free time"  after i have planned and studied for others, i am studying the "final words" of the prophets in the Book of Mormon.  I really love it.  Just the few verses or chapters that they end when they say something like "I nephi about to go down to my grave...." or something like that.  its great the things that they have to say to us. My favorite is Amaleki (sp?) its at the end of Omni. Sorry don't have it with me now, but you can go and read it. but today i started reading the "last words" of Christ.  who knows what they really were, but i am reading them all from Matt, Mark, Luke and John, and also 3 nephi. its interesting from all the prophets and Christ, their final words go back to a basic doctrine.  Repent, Come unto Christ. Or something like this.  It really is simple, the gospel.  We just have to live it. 

Had service this week at a hospital. Wore jeans for the first time in a year which was weird but sweet! haha  we have a rule that we can't proselyte if we are in service clothes and it felt so weird to not talk to people. I felt so useless and lame to just walk, or sit on a bus haha and not do anything. The hospital------well we aren't in America is what i have to say about that.  :)  we cleaned windows and then went out to help the elders rake leaves. it was way fun! physical labor is the best time for thinking and chatting. 

had some great meetings this week with great people- contacts, investigators, members, inactives and new members.  it was great. I love being a missionary. haha maybe i will just go around to everybody at home with spiritual thoughts too haha i love just seeing a lot of different people everyday, getting to know them and learning about the gospel with them. Its true that the gospel is (should be) our lives.  I think i probably say this like every week but at church i just had to hug everyone (and give all the men hearty handshakes) Because i felt such an overwhelming love for all of them. I haven't served as long here in Tomsk as other places but i already feel even closer to these members here. 

We had an open house at the branch and the members are so incredible the building was spotless and decorated with banners and posters and flowers and they prepared presentations on different topics and questions of the soul. as i listened to each of them i was inspired and got alot of help and thoughts about how i can improve my teaching. one lady that came was so intense. she just sat through the whole thing very in awe and just loved it all. We are going to meet with her this week. i will let you know how it goes of course :). 

There is this one lady that we meet with , she is so great and so funny and has a story for EVERYTHING haha and she can talk for 3 hours with out a breath probably haha but its mostly on topic..... :) anyways we were just with her and she was telling a story when all of a sudden she breaks into opera singing!  haah for her its normal but it was so funny haha we both couldn't help but laugh because she scared us both so bad that we jumped a foot out of our chairs haha. her name is Nina. 

met a young mom named Katya. She is really nice but has led a hard life. worse than that, her "husband" is scary. She is scared of him and he came home when we were there and we had to leave. To be honest i had no idea what he said and my comp said it was because it was all bad words.  We have been praying to know how to help her and serve her.

A different Nina we met with has been an investigator forever haha the same one that i argued with about prophets (i think i told that story...)  anyways we were going with the intention of dropping her and we get there and she just starts whipping out all this stuff she read from the Book of Mormon, how she has been praying and how she wants to come to church on Sunday! we were shocked! so we went to pick her up and she came and loved it! got to know all the babushki and just had a ball.  Hope she continues

had FHE with branch president and his family.   They have two grandmas (both named Galina) who are interesting in meeting with us! one was there. it was cool!  

had a meeting with a new lady Nina (ya lots of Nina's)  which was good. has a bunch of kids and wants to find truth for her family. 

we contacting a whole bunch of contacts and this guy agreed to meet with us, so we grabbed the elders and he came. Turns out he is from Uzbekistan and doesn't speak Russian well- haha he just knew we asked him to meet. haha but it was ok.  He was way nice but we couldn't communicate anything. But what we got across i think is that we are all children of God and He loves us. So that is positive :)

well---this is a lame email this time i think. sorry :)  but i don't know what to say either..... found a new grocery store that is new new new and everything is clean and i felt like i was in America. not to mention it is like a 2 minute walk!  AND it was cheaper! we bought a whole ton of fruits and veggies and alot of food and it was cheaper than normal. it was great. probably going to a museum today with the elders.  i bought a Russian rug.  maybe going to buy a Russian scarf today. haven't bought martroshki dolls yet or wood boxes but i will.  donut know what else to buy. might buy traditional Russian dishes.

its snowed this week. it was like winter! craziness. and today its a little bit warmer. 

Well.  The church is true.  The key to success in life is love and charity. To our Heavenly Father and to Others.  two greatest commandments....now i just have to apply it :) 

I love you so so much!

Sister Trottier

well....

Just another day, started out like any other....

Tues-  our great miracle Lydia remember? ya she gave back all we gave her.  And she dropped us.  I was really really sad. I was already feeling like a failure that day and i was doing all i could to not just start crying on her couch right then and there. she is scared of change i think.  But it was interesting, she is usually just is embarrassed about me hugging her but this time she just clung to me and said she was sorry.  I think we will visit her in a few weeks to let her know we still love her. she was sad to not see us anymore but at the same time not.,..i don't know...it was weird. 

that day we were sitting in a park area and calling people and a little girl came up and asked me to fix her broken zipper so i did of course and i don't know why but it lifted my spirits so much. she just chatted with me and shyly spoke to me in English a little.  it just was a like a little gift from Heavenly Father showing me that it is all worth it. that are little sweet spirits who need my help. she was so sweet. 

we also went to the branch presidents to teach his mother in law who is a definite Russian Babooshka! haha she is so great! but very stuck in her ways. BUT  the whole little family of 3 kids are members and so so strong!  The little boy that is like 13 and he just is and arguer and he knows WAY to much for his own good but its incredible how strong his testimony is!  When his grandma was asking defensive questions he just was bouncing in his seat haha and raising his hand and he would say to me "sister can i say something PLEASE"  and i would say "only if you say it really really sweetly" haha so he would begin nicely but then they would just argue.  and it sounds really really bad but that's just how they are here.  I feel like its arguing but they just think its "discussing" haha I just had to stop and think about what would happen if i talked to my grandma that way! haha but its how they show their love i guess. but anyways, her questions stemmed from actually who God is and why if He is our loving Heavenly Father He would let bad things happen and evil in the world.  its hard alot because alot of people not only have their religion to argue with us but also if in fact God is God. Its like they have two sides to chuck at us and want us to fix. But in all reality it was one of the best meetings on my whole mission. I just felt that i needed to testify testify and testify some more! and so i did and the spirit was so strong.  She said to me (pointing) "i want to know what you know, and as strongly as you know it".  SO i testified some more and told her that that was what was so great about our message, was that she could  know for herself! Her name is Galina.

So the day was sad at the beginning and ended in a miracle.  

wed-  headed off to Novosibirsk on our bus, but it was good. I brought my new guilty pleasure -  Jesus the Christ by James E Talmage and we had some great doctrine discussions all the way haha.  had a fun sleep over at the sisters as always

Thurs- and me and sister Sanford woke up at 5.30 to start getting ready to go to Finland.   It was so fun of course. Went over to the palace (the big office elders apartment) to meet the 18 elders going with us! haha just a blast and so crazy!  We obviously get alot of attention and its so fun to be together we get so excited! but surprisingly we are able to keep our dignity and good standing. we just look like a really well dressed group of really happy well behaved Americans :)  The first airplane ride was great.  I mean we are all used to studying in the morning so everyone was all sitting close together all studying the scriptures and preach my gospel. It was an incredible airplane ride :) one of the most spiritual ever i would have to say and we were all able to discuss and ponder and share ideas and thoughts about the gospel and being good instruments in the hand of the Lord.  The elders are all so great.  But they all decided to ask me for my "wisdom" because its my last time haha so i tried to give them all that i had learned and hand on all my experiences and then i asked all of them who had had companions who had gone home what i can do in my last transfer to make it the best. 

then we got to Moscow and went to Red Square!  yep! that's right!  We got to go! it was sweet!  haha  but basically we ran over there took pictures and ran back haha but it was worth it!    we then got on an airplane where we were all spread out.  haha possibly the most talkative airplane ride in all of history. you could hear missionaries talking and making friends left and right in Russian and English haha i think we made friends with half the plane. the stewardesses were just thinking it was funny :)  i started talking to my neighbor after the food came and i prayed over my food.  She just looked at me funny and asked if i had just blessed my food. :) i said yes and we began our conversation. it was great.  

Got to Finland, went to the American store and bought oreos and recess peanut butter cups and the lady gave us a whole bunch of chips and marshmallows!  we had a good time walking in the warm spring air to the temple housing and when we got there  made rice crispy treats! haha the Russians thought it was the most interesting thing we could make in the whole world but they LOVED IT!  temple housing is the best place in the whole world besides the temple. everyone loves each other and all the senior couples just become our grandparents! 

Fri-  woke up and ate breakfast with the elders. Apple cinnamon granola with apple cinnamon yogurt-----oh man it was heaven and me and Sister Sanford took a morning stroll and headed to the temple. It was great. I had a great spiritual experience and felt lifted up and prepared for the last stretch.  

went back and headed to eat. Had Chinese food!! it was amazing! not as amazing as The Mandarin, so jealous by the way that you get to have dan dan noodles....oh man!  and then headed back to the airport....haha our last flight i offered the man some Finnish candy haha thats how we got our conversation started. He was nice. Maybe will go to church in Novo he said. 

sat- got to novo and stayed for conference and headed back that night to Tomsk

sun- watched conference with members in Tomsk

Conference was amazing and so was all my studies this weekend! had a lot of studying that i did. I studied Galina's question about bad and evil life in the scriptures and Jesus the Christ and in Conference and got some great answers i hope!  I love conference, i love the scriptures and i love finding answers for other people because i also find them for myself too! for more insight see Moroni 7:12-34 and 2 nephi 2. 

I can't choose a favorite talk.....but they were all great.  My favorite quote was probably from President Holland when he said not to hyperventilate about something that happened at 9 am and it is now 6 am.  I think he was talking to me.  I had a lot of insights i wanted to share but i rambled too much :)  but i also found my commandments for the next week. its great.

studied GRACE this week. The article in the ensign from Bednar. It has changed my life and my prayers and the way i think about the atonement. Read it.  Grace = enabling power.  Pray to be strengthened and given capacity. Not just that your situation can be changed.

i love you all so much!  

Sister Trottier