What a week!
To start it off Sister LeBaron and I did find our amazing shopkas!! It's the most expensive hat I have ever boughten, but it's real raccoon fur!! Sister LeBarons smells of ... Russia... haha! We did quite a bit of knocking this week and contacted a bit on the street. After everything melting, it has gotten cold again so now everything is just ice! We ended up getting an address for Katya, the girl we'd met a couple weeks earlier, but then when we called again her mom said that they didn't leave there and then when she asked who we were and I told her she hung up on us... But we did have some other really funny experiences this week!
So, many people think that missionaries form a nice huge bubble while their on their mission because they haven't seen anything bad or been touched by a girl (or in our case a boy) for so long that when we get home we have this HUGE "no touch" bubble around us. In Russia that doesn't seem to be the case as much because riding on Marshrutka's I am closer to people than I have ever had to be in my life! haha Ok, so anyway, back to my story... We were knocking in this apartment building and this man (not small by any means, and big... not in the muscular way) answers the door wearing nothing but a speedo. When he saw that we were missionaries he started to kind of laugh. I gave him an invite and then we said goodbye. It was just SO funny! Why people hang out inside in speedos is beyond my knowledge. Maybe next time we knock I'll bring him a bathrobe as a present. ok... so that was just a really random tangent paragraph.
Contacting on the street this week we had a man, when he found out that we were missionaries, literally run away from us! I guess we are pretty scary! And another man who stopped and talked with us told me that he wanted a sign that God lives. I'm not very good at thinking on my feet so I just told him that he didn't need a sign. I knew in my heart that he exists. He asked me if I could show him my heart... haha
We were able to meet with 2 new investigators. One is 25 and has been married for 7 months. We met her on the street a couple weeks ago inviting her to English Club. She came and stayed for the spiritual thought after. We set up and appointment and met with her the next day. We had a good lesson about the Plan of Salvation with her and are hoping to meet with her again this week. We also met with a lady who lives in our apartment building. We'd met her several weeks ago and she said that she didnt' have any time so we could come another time. When we met her this time she said that she wasn't working right now so we could come over! Super awesome! At first she said that she would not read anything and really didn't want to hear our message, but as we talked we had a wonderful lesson with her and she said that she would read the chapter that we gave her in the Book of Mormon. We talked about how the Christ's church has been reorganized on the earth again today. She looked at us and asked, "So does that mean that there are apostles?" I said, "Yes!! We have 12 apostles on the earth today just as in Jesus' time!" We also knocked into this lady who seemed to have been waiting for us. We rang and she let us in. When she opened the door her son was getting ready to leave, but she was just there in the entry way sitting in her wheelchair. She said hello like she knew who we were. She said that she had been taught by the missionaries many times, had the Book of Mormon, had seen "Finding Faith in Jesus Christ," and had someone else she could invite when we meet with her! Yahoo! We hope to meet with her this week.
Another miracle happened this week! We have really been stressing English Club and inviting a lot of people that we have met on the streets. About 10 new people came this week! Our group went from like 4 to 14 in one day!
Sister LeBaron and I also had the opportunity to play a song for our District Conference. They were reorganizing the Volgagrad District Presidency so President Nechiporov, Elder Marchinka of the 70, w and also all of the Senior couples were there--- including Sister Potter!!! :) We left at like 6:30 am to get to center early to practice. No marshrutkas were coming so we took the tramvai to another stop. None came there either so we got on this one that would get us half way. The driver was kind of crazy. Smoking as we were driving along and yelling at passengers. The lady across from us just kept looking at me and rolling her eyes in frustration! haha. Then when we caught the second one the heater was broken so the windows were totally iced over and there was snow inside on the floor... our feet FROZE! but we finally made it to church and were able to practice! Our number went well, and we made people cry! So hopefully we met our goal of inviting the spirit!
Sister Zaitzova and LeBaron are leaving me and sister Whitaker tomorrow... :( The apartment will feel so empty without them. I am going to especially miss Sister LeBaron
I love you all and wish you a WONDERFUL week!
love,
Cectpa Cunningham
Us at mamaev korgan
Our district here in Volgagrad.
Picture sent to Ariel's family by her mission president, President Nechiporov.
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