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Monday, August 29, 2011

Krasnodar adventures! August 29, 2011

Well Family!!

Here we are again, and it has been another really busy crazy week! Congratulations to Melissa who is getting married and to Alicia who just got married!! and thanks to Simone, aunt Becky, Alicia, Sister Katie Campbell (it got here! thanks for the stickers!!),  and Melissa (your wedding announcement was SO cute!!!) for their letters!!

We played your get to know you mingle game this week at FHE and they all LOVED it and got way into the game! thanks for all of the ideas mom!  We have a new sister coming into the mission this transfer, and so President was looking for a young sister who could serve on a mini mission for the next transfer.  This week we got together with our district and were working on putting together a member book.  A member book has a page for every member/family in the branch.  We want a picture for each page, their name, when they were baptized, what they do for work, their hobbies and any other important information. This really helps when new missionaries come into the ward, they can look at the book and learn who people are and have comments about who will help them, etc.  Also it is really good information about who is less active, or doesn't come at all.  As we were working we started talking about the possibility of someone in our ward being the mini missionary.  We were working on Alexander and Tatiana's family at the time and Sister Potter mentioned Vera.  That night we were visiting that family, and when we went, we asked Vera if she would like to be the mini missionary.  She said YES!!!  She has actually just started coming back to church and we have been trying to meet with them fairly often!  We were SO excited about it!  She is wonderful!

This Thursday we actually got to have Sister Potter with us on splits again.  It was really neat as we met with one family.  Sister Zamorina did a wonderful job and included her in the lesson by asking her to share an experience about the principle she was teaching, etc.  The way awesome part was that as I was translating the lesson for her into English, I also got to translate what she said into Russian.  It was such an awesome experience as she bore her testimony, and I felt like as I translated it into Russian I was also able to bare my testimony as she bore hers!  It was a way neat experience as I translated what Tatiana said to Sister Potter.  She told her how sister Potter didn't need to speak Russian for them to know that she was a wonderful person.  They could see it in her face and in her eyes!  Sister Potter was really touched and I felt SO blessed to be able to be her mouthpiece! 

We had Zone Conference this week and so on Friday we did splits.  I got to work with Elder Nancallos and Ness for the morning part of the day.  We went to a hospital to visit a little girl and her mom.  The little girl had hurt her back and the mom had wanted the Elders to come and giver her a blessing.  I don't think that the mom really knew what it was, and the little girl said that she didn't want one.  I tried to just talk with her so that she would feel comfortable by showing her my pictures from home. It was funny as she took all of my pictures and laid them all out on her bed, not once, but like 3 times, making the same comments about them!! haha  We showed her a picture of a blessing, how they laid their hands on their head and then would just say a prayer to give her health, comfort, etc.  She didn't want one, so we just ended up praying with them.  It was rather amusing and super awkward though as the Elders really didnt' say much.  They both felt WAY uncomfortable and stood their awkwardly the whole time... leaving me to try to speak Russian with them the whole time... haha :)  o-well, good practice right?

That night we had 2 meetings so Katya( a member) and I were able to teach Amy!  It was such a GREAT experience!!  I was able to explain and say what I needed too and Katya was their to help me if I couldn't explain something all the way in Russian!  It was really cool!  After the lesson Irina, Amy's mom, asked if I would be here long.  I, of course, dont' know but said that I hoped that I would be here for another 3 months or so.  She said that they would be praying for that too!  It is so cool to as Amy, Vita, and Irina help me with my Russian and just love me!!  They are GREAT!  And we also laugh a TON on the lessons!

Zone Conference was wonderful as usual!  We talked about becoming better teachers.  We are all teachers now!  We thought of attributes of our favorite teachers and talked about how we can use those better in our teaching.  We also talked about finding the gifts that we have.  All of us have been given a gift from God and as we come to know what our gift is, we can then use it.  We can know this by 1. asking our moms 2. reading our patriarchal blessing.  The AP's talked about studying the scriptures.  When we really come to know the scriptures, they become a part of us and then the Lord can use them to help and teach other people!  Saturday was a PERFECT day because after Zone Conference we had Vacalissa's baptism, and after the baptism we had sports night!  It was a BLAST!!  Needless to say I did my first ever backward somersault!  haha!  I was running backwards and the the Frisbee was a little bit to far back.  I leaned back and grabbed it but then the momentum took me to the ground and I just kept rolling!  I rolled right over into the goal line!! ya!  It was a WAY fun game of ultimate, super fast paced with all the Elders! :)  We LOVE sports night!

Last week President had asked us to write an article on being a united companionship.  He had loved the picture that we sent and said that he had sent our article into a lady in Moscow who works for the Liahona.  She said that she wants to use our article!! haha!  Sister Zamorina did the dirty work, as I can't right well in Russian, but President said that the lady had started to cry when she read it!  So, maybe we'll be in the Liahona!! :)  Today I read 2 Nephi 21:10- It talks about how people will search for the Savior and the Savior's rest will be glorious.  The Savior is not physically on the earth today, but as His missionaries on the earth, we are His literal representatives, and people are seeking for us, because we represent Him!!  And I hope that we can share the message and be the message so that people know they will find a glorious rest in the Savior!!

I love you all!!
Cectpa Cunningham

 Us at Zone Conference.

 Us at the baptism with Vacalissa.

 This is Irina Vitya, Amy, me and Katya.

 Dinner at the potters with all the elders!

 We wanted to see if we could flatten a ruble on the tramvie tracks, but the next one that came was the one we needed to get on... it stopped when we were almost there because a car was stalled on the tracks so some of the elders and others got out and had to push it off! haha

Margarita, Marina and me. The little girls that live next door to us.

 This is the picture of comp. unity we sent to president. Reading the liahone on a bus.  me in English my comp in Russian.

Our Ulya and Vera.

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