Cold and Sunshine!! November 7, 2011

Krasnodar is getting nippy and cold!! But the sun is still shining, even though the wind is biting! I love it though!!

Happy Birthday my very best friend Corrie!!!!  This week we had to say good by to Elder Ness but welcomed in Elder Melnichook from Ukraine!  It will be a good transfer!  So, I don't have a lot of time left but will tell you some highlights from the week!

We went to visit a less active member this week and as I was studying I just had thoughts come to my mind to look in the past Liahona about the Book of Mormon and talk about the Book of Mormon with her.  I figured that she had never probably gotten a testimony of the Book of Mormon and that we needed to talk about getting a testimony with her!  We went to her house and started talking.  When we started the lesson we asked her what she thought about the BOM.  She immediately answered that She had read it but never really felt anything special about it.  We went on to read the article about how to know if the BOM is true and testified about how it had blessed our lives!  It was SO neat!  I'm still learning, but the promptings about what people need are SO small and subtle!  I'm SO glad I heard and listened, but I hope that I can be even more in tune to know what people here need!  Galina is her name.  She is WAY outspoken and open, but I love her!  And she said she would read to try to get a testimony that the BOM really is the word of God!

We met with a lady for the first time this week that we had met on the street the previous week.  She invited us to come to her home, which is not a very often occurance.  She is SO open and searching... just searching EVERYWHERE for answers to life's questions!  I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ contains answers and help to all of life's questions and I hope that she will follow the steps of faith needed to find out that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as originally organized by Himself, has again been restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith!

We were coming back from our district meeting this week on a tramvai and were extremely hungry, so Sister Zamorina and I were both eating apples.  It's not a very usual thing to eat apples on public transit, but there was another girl sitting with an apple.  We smiled back and forth at each other.  She then took another apple out and gave it to her husband.  She turned to us again and toasted us with her apple.  We toasted her back! It was really funny and I thought I should probably go and talk with them as our little exchange would be a good introduction to just be able to make conversation.  I didn't and after talking to another man on the tramvai it was getting close to our stop.  I remembered the couple and quickly looked to see if they were still on.  Thank goodness they were, so I quickly walked over and gave them an invitation for church.  I then just started talking with them and telling the that we were missionaries.  Svetlana, the girl said that my accent was gorgeous!! haha!  At least she could understand me!! :)  We talked and laughed and she said that she believed that there was some kind of higher power but that she didn't really know what it was and would be open to meeting and learning more!  She gave me her number right before we got off! I was SO grateful that I had taken the opportunity to talk with them and I really hope that we will be able to share our message with them that God lives and speaks to us, his children, through living prophets on the earth today!

As we have started contacting again after all the mayhem from music night finished, we have just seen SO many miracles!  People just showing up at church, people giving us referrals!! It's been great!  The work will move forward!

We were contacting and talking with these two younger girls.  They were open and interested enough to take a Book of Mormon.  I wasn't sure if I should give them an exact chapter to read in the Book of Mormon or not and just give them the book.  I stuck our invitation for the church in the book and then decided to just open the book up as I debated whether or not to give them a specific chapter to read.  I opened up the Book of Mormon to the place where I had stuck our invitation.  It was exactly in 3 Nephi 11.  I knew that I needed to give them that chapter to read.  As we talked about how Christ had appeared on the American Continent and taught His gospel there also, she was really interested that He had ministered in America like He had in the Bible.  The Lord often leads us in small ways to talk about what someone else needs to hear.

With all the cool experiences we also meet crazies.  We met with Vitali again this week and my hunches that he was crazy were definitely confirmed!! No matter what we talked about he just always brought it back to wanting to find a wife... so basically he wanted to search in our church for a wife.. just to get married right away!!  We tried to read 3 NephiZamorina started laughing SO hard that she was crying and couldn't sing!! haha!  I couldn't sing for part of it also because I was laughing SO hard!! Sveta was with us and she was laughing and Vitali was laughing also! He isn't our investigator anymore, but we definitely don't regret teaching him as we got some GREAT laughs out of it!!

I made a goal a couple weeks ago to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.  As I have been working to finish this goal, reading my set number of pages everyday, the Book of Mormon has really come alive again.  I look forward to reading it and reading again the marvelous stories of the missionaries and peoples whose lives are recorded in the Book of Mormon.  We have also started a little Book of Mormon reading club here in Krasnodar.  This week will be the first time that we are meeting.  I hope that we can also make the Book of Mormon come alive for all of the members here in Krasnodar!  The Book of Mormon is true and a witness that God has restored His church on the earth again today!!  I can never understand why people are closed to reading the Book of Mormon!! It's ANOTHER testament of Jesus Christ!! ANOTHER testament that God loves His children and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer!!  IT'S ANOTHER witness that God lives!!  Shouldn't we all want to learn ALL that we can about Jesus Christ our perfect example and how to become more like Him?  I know it's true and has SUCH amazing power to bring light, knowledge, and peace into our lives!! And it is a source to find answers to ALL of life's questions as we read it and invite the spirit into our lives which testifies that Jesus Christ lives and is our Savior!! I love you all!! have a GREAT week!

love,
Cectpa Cunningham! (i'm off to go shopping for winter gear with Amy!! ) :)