Babuski Make the World Go Round (Week 31)

"Since nothing way too interesting happened this week, I will mostly be telling babuska stories. In case you don't know that the heck I am talking about, a "babuska" is a Russian grandma. Or Ukrainian. Or other nationalities. But, overall, they are grandmas who speak Russian. Typically the dress of a babuska includes pajama type looking pants or skirt and a colorful scarf with a sweater. or something along those lines. They are very easily distinguishable, especially since they "hang out" in groups together waiting for buses or crossing the street. For some reason, they're all about 4 feet tall, and they LOVE to invite us in and offer us interesting candy or fruit cake and tea. Sometimes it's really hard to explain that we won't drink tea with caffeine, and so we just have to carry peppermint or fruity tea around with us. (I've discovered a love for tea on my mission. That sounds funny...thanks sister orr, sister truax, and every Russian grandma I've ever met!)

Maria and her husband are both in their 80's. However, you'd never know it because the second that she opened the door, we both were blown away by the amount of energy that she had. So much for old people being frail. We asked about her family. Probably not the smartest thing to do. It took about 20 minutes to get through all of the family albums while she just babbled away at every single picture, telling us some sort of story about her cousins and grand sons and great grand daughters and whatnot. It's one of those times when you just smile and nod your head and don't ask questions. Just listen. Not sure how we started talking about exercising, but she put away the photo albums and started doing crunches and jumping jacks and all sorts of exercises on the floor. They then sang us Russian songs about Christ for a good while and gave us animal crackers and then sent us on our way. I love Russian culture.

One woman invited us in and was telling us all about how she is a doctor and she loves to give massages. All of her neighbors were young, except one of them and she apparently really needed a massage. Soo this grandma continued to tell us about how she wishes she could speak English to tell that woman that she will give her a massage. Suddenly she realized that we were American and she made us promise to go over there and ask if that would be possible. Unfortunately the neighbors weren't home. Her dreams were dashed. It's okay though because she got really excited when we asked for Russian referrals and started jogging down the road, yelling at us to follow her in our car. We did and then she happily pointed out the 2 houses down the road and then jogged away. I can't make these things up. Being a missionary is my favorite thing ever.

There are a lot more, but I am out of time. This week really was great! We learned a lot about how being a consecrated missionary takes you from being a good one to a great one. I know that's the same in everyone's lives. A word that I have begun to love is "re-commit." We have to recommit every week when we take the sacrament. Every new transfer as we set goals. Every new year. But more than that, we have to live our life, re-committing to the gospel and our lifestyle and our personal goals and values every minute! I know that in order to progress faster, we re-commit ourselves to our goals and then we can accomplish more things in less time. It's incredible how much it's really up to how dedicated and consecrated I am. It's so clear why sacrifice and consecration are so important in the temple.

It's been really icy...attached picture. I'm learning how to drive on that nonsense. It's really terrifying. Thank goodness Sister C is from Utah.

I love all of you people!

Have a great day and Happy (slightly late) Russian Christmas (January 7)!

Sister Jenne"

с новым годом и я вас люблю! (Week 30)

"Good news! I finally figured out how to type in Russian. The title says, Happy New Year and I love you all! It's a miracle. Turns out it's really easy..... of course.

With the new year, I hope everyone is exercising a little hard, eating a little healthier, and nourishing their spirits a little more!

What a great week this has been....and so much fun! Sister Christensen and I have been trying to be the living embodiment of the song "Scatter Sunshine". In case you are not familiar, here are some of the lyrics:

Slightest actions often

Meet the sorest needs,

For the world wants daily

Little kindly deeds.

Oh, what care and sorrow

You may help remove,

With your songs and courage,

Sympathy and love.

Scatter sunshine all along your way.

Cheer and bless and brighten

Ev'ry passing day.

Isn't that just so simple and profound?

 I love the part that talks about songs and courage, because as missionaries, something that we do all of the time is sing to people! We sing a little duet of I am a child of God or something else simple and spiritual. The other day, we actually met a woman who just cried and cried when we sang to her. She was so overcome with emotion because of the simple words of the song. We are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us. So he sent his son and he sent us to our families and our circumstances so that we could learn exactly what we are MEANT to be learning here.

Something that I learned from the spirit this week was that daily repentance is so important. Zone Conference this coming up week is going to be focused on teaching repentance, and I am so excited to have an excuse to spend some time studying repentance. Every time I think that I understand it, I learn something new. A way that I have been using the atonement is just to overcome the little things where I don't feel 100% in that small moment. I can pray (such a privilege) and I can ask God to get me through this one moment when I feel 82% of how I should be feeling. Then about 10 seconds later, I overcome it. And I feel better. When I can acknowledge that I am not 100%, then I can move past it. But, if I give myself a reason and justification for feeling the way that I feel, the feeling will be perpetuated. Then I'll feel bad later. It's just all about recognizing that I'm not feeling Christ-like right now and so I need to change. It's just recognizing a weakness and asking Heavenly Father for strength to overcome it. It works every time. It's pretty cool. Like if the atonement was a hypothesis, it would be a theory by now for me because I've experimented with it so many times, and it works every single time! Except it's not just a theory, it's an eternal truth.

We went to Cafe Rio! And ate entire entrees by ourselves! it was ridiculous, but it was so amazing. Another food adventure this week was eating cold cereal in the car. We packed cereal, bowls, milk, and spoons and then had to be very careful, trying not to spill anything. And somehow my clumsy self didn't spill! That was truly a miracle.

One thing that I have noticed this transfer is how much my and Sister C's russian has skyrocketed. Nooo we aren't fluent. In fact, we are far from it and probably won't become fluent on our missions. However, we are improving. In Sunday school yesterday, we actually understood every thing that was being said and actually noticed that the vocab words that we have been working on the past few days were used in the lesson. It's been a big re-commitment to the language this transfer, and I am beginning to actually love Russian so much more than before. It's not an obstacle anymore, I can actually understand and participate in deep conversations about many things! (mostly just church things, but still...Russians like to tell a BUNCH of stories and so we learn a bunch of random words).

That's about all for this week! I love all of you! I hope that 2017 is a wonderful year for each and every one of you. Stay strong.

Love,

Cectpa Jenne"

With Christmas and a New Year (Week 29)

"Hello everyone! Yesterday, the libraries were all closed, and so we are emailing on a Tuesday again.

Let me explain the interesting title. Whenever a Russian wants to say a parting greeting, they tend to say "with" something. like "with Christmas" or "with God." It's like saying "Merry Christmas" or "God Bless You." Kind of like "God be with you"

Happy New Year, and I hope that everyone had a fantastic Christmas! It was incredible. The best time to be a missionary. The spirit of Christ was everywhere, and talking with my family on Skype just reminded me so strongly of why I am here on a mission! I want other people to have the opportunity to have an eternal family and experience the blessings of the temple.

Something that I learned this week was that the simple truths of the gospel really do carry the most power. I think over the past few weeks, I have actually been able to feel the power of the words that I am speaking in Russian. And, the best part is, that when I am speaking in Russian, that's when I feel the spirit the strongest. When I am sincerely listening and trying my best to understand what the person is saying and just praying that I will be able to say something that will help them feel the spirit or just feel the comfort of God's love. We were role-playing in district meeting and Elder Peterson was being a difficult investigator with a lot of questions, and I was freaking out a little bit inside because I wasn't sure what to say. Then I decided that I would be okay with a pause. I would pause for a minute, and sincerely think about what I should say to help. The next thing that I said was definitely inspired. I could feel the spirit putting words in my mouth. It's true, that if we give time for the spirit to work in us, we will receive help from our Father in Heaven.

Sometimes, it's really hard to see the Atonement working in the moment. When we feel like we aren't getting any better than we were before. But, I look back at where I was 6 months ago and it's honestly astonishing. I love this quote from General Conference:

"Please, my beloved brothers and sisters, we must stop comparing ourselves to others. We torture ourselves needlessly by competing and comparing. We falsely judge our self-worth by the things we do or don't have and by the opinions of others. If we must compare, let us compare how we were in the past to how we are today. And even to how we want to be in the future. The only opinion of us that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us. Please ask him sincerely what He thinks of you. He will love and correct, but never discourage us, that is satan's trick."

Scripture for the week Hebrews 12:1-3. Christ is the "author and the finisher" of our faith. I am working constantly every day to figure out what that phrase means for me. I would encourage all of you to study it out for yourself!

 Have a great week! Love all of you,

Sister Jenne"

Christmas Miracles (Week 28)

"Wow! Longest week ever (not in a bad way, just in a way that a lot of crazy things happened and it was packed full of MIRACLES!).

Something that was fun this week was our zone Christmas video. We did the Kid History thing where the adults (we) are acting out things according to the kids (primary kids from our wards) voices. Each zone does a funny video and we all got to get together and watch them last week. It was so weird to have the lights go off and to be watching a screen and laughing at it for a long period of time. I almost felt like a normal person, and then I remembered that I was watching a bunch of missionaries acting like total fools and doing things that would only be funny to missionaries. I stopped feeling normal. It was way strange though because we stayed out past 9:30 and then we had to drive home and so we were driving at 10PM. It's been 6 months since I did that!

With it being Christmas-time and all that, the spirit of the season is just so strong. For anyone that knows me, you'll know that in my previous life (and when I say previous life I mean before my mission), I never would have sang in front of an audience. Especially not in another language. However, that is exactly what Sister Christensen and I do all of the time. And guess what? It's such a blast! Of course, we don't sound like we should record an album, but singing Russian Christmas carols literally brings a smile to even the most grumpy person! It's so wonderful, and it's such a non-threatening way to share the spirit of Christ. We are singing in front of the entire ward for Christmas on Sunday with the Bishop on the guitar. That should be interesting.

I had an experience where I was standing in the crowded rows in church post-sacrament meeting. Sister Christensen was talking to someone and I was standing just a few feet away, unable to join in on the conversation because of all of the people that were in the way. I was watching her and just sitting there thinking of how awesome and amazing it is that she is talking to this person in Russian all by herself and laughing and smiling and having a good time. How is that even possible? How could she and I have learned Russian so fast that we can hold conversations with people every single day? We can teach people?! It's insane how real Heavenly Father is. I think the coolest part of the experience was though, that I got to catch a tiny glimpse of the feelings that Heavenly Father does feel when we are here on the earth and he is literally just a few steps away, watching us, cheering us on. And when he sees us have a victory and do something right, he is right there watching and he is soo happy for us. It's like when a kid is in tee-ball and he finally is able to hit the ball off of the tee after swinging 5 times. How crazy the parents go! How excited they are that their little child was able to accomplish such a seemingly simple task. I caught a little glimpse of that feeling when I was watching Sister C. It was such a warm feeling. Such a testament to me that he is standing right here. Always. He is reaching out His hand to us. Always. And, all that we have to do is take it. Reach out and take His hand. And when we truly do that, we will be following the example of Jesus Christ and trusting in the Father's will..even when we do not understand why something is happening. Where else could we get such a large measure of peace in our lives? Nowhere. I promise that that is true. I know it's true.

We had another miracle! We were driving in a neighborhood. Looking for Russians, just like always. We just decided on a house to knock. Randomly pulled over and knocked on this house. It was a member! And they gave us 2 Russian referrals! It was an incredible miracle, because the whole day we were looking for referrals and that was the last place that we had planned to go.

Anyways, I love you all! Sorry for the novel. Have a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS! Stay tuned for more adventures next week.

Love always,

Cectpa Jenne"

Driving in Seattle (Week 27)

"Transfer meeting was crazy! It was so awesome to see all of the missionaries there together in one chapel. The spirit was strong. I know that we are called of God and that we carry His incredible spirit with us. You know it's true when you walk into a room full of 100 representatives of Jesus Christ. Of course, I already knew who my companion was going to be...Sister Christensen from the MTC! So exciting! there were a ton of changes in the mission, and we are now the only sisters in our zone. Which is really weird.

Last week was full of a lot of "lasts" with Sister Orr going home. This week was full of a lot of "firsts!" I got to teach an investigator for the first time who is truly interested in learning the truth of this gospel. The spirit permeated the air at our lesson, even though we were sitting in the hallway of a noisy church building. It was incredible. First time driving in snow. First time having to figure out what to cook. First time teaching a lesson without someone who speaks good English with me. (I mean Sis. C is great, but we have a bit of a hard time haha).

 Sister Christensen and I have been having a wonderful time taking over the Russian work here in Seattle! While everything is quite overwhelming and we aren't sure how exactly to handle life without our moms, we are figuring things out together. I have finally figured out how to merge onto the freeway without having a heart attack every single time. I guess that happens when you have to drive 50-60 miles a day in Seattle. You just get used to things.

Sister Christensen and I set some fun transfer goals. The reasoning behind what we set was the become more well-rounded/balanced missionaries in general. The word that kept coming to my mind as I prayed about a goal for us was the word "Balance"

B: be obedient

A: account

L: love

A: appreciate

N: nourish

C: convert

E: expect miracles

it's a lot of fun because we choose one every day and then make a sub goal that will help us to become better missionaries! Then we account with the Lord and our leaders to make sure that we are actually accomplishing the things that we said we would do. I am so excited to be working with Sister Christensen on improving and utilizing the Atonement in our lives more fully.

I got to translate for some Russian speakers at the Food Bank. That was really difficult because there are a lot of official, governmental terms that I have no idea how to say. However, I think that they got the idea about everything.

At English class on Wednesday, I told Brother Slava that one of my favorite ice cream flavors is Strawberry. Yesterday after church, we stopped by to read a verse with him and he handed me a container of strawberry ice cream. It was so sweet of him and I am so grateful to be in such a wonderful ward, serving around such amazing members and people!

The spirit of Christmas is everywhere! We are seeing so many miracles. This week we received something like 15 Russian referrals all over the place in all 3 missions. let's just say that Heavenly Father is keeping us very busy.

Miracles!

We had an experience where we were going to contact a referral and there wasn't an exact address, just an area of about 15 houses. We didn't know which one it was, but we decided on a house, knocked on it, and it was the right one! it was incredible to know that we were guided exactly to the right house by the spirit. Heavenly Father is definitely watching over Sister Jenne and Christensen.

I love each and every one of you! But not as much as God loves you. Have a wonderful week and remember the Reason for the Season!

#LightTheWorld with the spirit of Christ

Sister Jenne"

Laundry In the Snow! (Week 26)

"Attached is a picture of the snow in Seattle! I heard that it barely ever snows here except maybe once or twice a year...that's more than Alabama. I thought it was pretty special because this was Sister Orr's last day here in Washington!

This past week was a hard one, but a fun one as well! It's hard to stay focused when you kill a companion, that's for sure. However, I learned a lot about consecration and trusting my Heavenly Father. I have to trust that even though I do not speak fluent Russian and I do not know exactly what I am doing that He will provide a way for me to accomplish all of the things that I need to.

I got really distracted thinking about home this week. It was so hard to consecrate my thoughts and conversations. Tomorrow is transfers, but I already know who my new companion will be. It was realllllllly scary for me to hear that Sister Truax (from Ukraine and speaks fluent Russian) is getting transferred to English work and I will be with Sister Christensen who has been out one transfer less than me. I hit 6 months this week, but I don't feel like I'm ready to be a senior companion. We cover 3 missions. It's so overwhelming. While I was praying last night, I asked how I am supposed to do this. Heavenly Father taught me that I am going to be the most Senior Russian sister for the rest of my mission and that what happens this transfer is exactly what needs to happen for me to be ready for the rest of my mission and for the rest of my life. I know it's not going to be easy BUT I am excited to learn a LOT.

I get to be companions with an Hermana today. She is teaching me a little Spanish. Maybe by the end of the day we will each know how to say a few things in our languages.

Something that I learned this week that peace is not something calm and quiet.  Peace is the ongoing comfort that we can receive from Heavenly Father through thick and thin. In Ether 6, the Jaredites are tossed to and fro on the waves. They get thrown under the water and are driven forth by the wind. Basically, it's a really rough trip that they have to go through. God didn't give them a smooth sailing trip, but he did make sure that they had the peace that comes from a continual light inside of the barges.

And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters,towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

 6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.

 7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.

And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.

Peace is like unto a river. Sister Orr and I listened to Motab sing that song a few times this week. Peace is like a river in that sometimes there are rapids, and sometimes there aren't, but the water continues to flow on anyways. It's a perfect metaphor for life. Heavenly Father is the reason that I am able to continue to flow also the path of life. No matter what is thrown at me, i know that it's going to end up being okay. Anyways, I just wanted to point out that the Jaredites "had light continually." that's what the gospel does for us! That's why we have confidence and peace in our lives. I love it. I love this gospel and I love Christmas! It's a wonderful time of year to light the world with the spirit of Christ.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! YOU ARE THE BEST!

I love all of you so much! have a blessed week

-Cectpa Jenne"

Thanksgiving (Week 25)

"Thanksgiving was wonderful! We got to spend the day eating and serving. Stuffing is really good, I've decided. They don't eat as many casseroles here in Washington and they really love yams...they're pretty tasty...it was almost like a whole different version of a thanksgiving meal but it still had rolls, turkey, and mashed potatoes. I am still stuffed!

So there was a day this week. I think it was Saturday... where it was really cold and rainy where we were in Seattle...Our car was nice and toasty and it was really, really hard to get up out of the car and walk. We had to park relatively far away and so it was a 5-10 minute walk to the apartment complex, and we knew it was locked and didn't even know if someone would let us in or not. I really didn't want to get out of the car. Like really. But, of course, I did it anyways. And then the whole walk there, I was just praying that I would be able to forget myself and go to work. That I would have a good attitude and not let any negative feelings creep into the conversations that we were going to have with people. Wow, I testify that Heavenly Father really does listen to prayers! I still felt cold and wet, but I felt like I was okay. Everything was going to be okay and I didn't even think about how cold I was anymore! I can't explain it, except that I felt so much better after walking through that cold rain than I thought possible.

Christ is the reflection of our potential. If we understand Him and His life, we understand our own potential. Do not settle for less than that! I recently met a person who truly does not believe that she can ever reach her full potential. She said that she has to find a place for herself that is in between how she grew up and where she wishes that she could be. Excuse me if this sounds rude, but I think that's absolutely ridiculous! We are here to constantly become more perfected, through Christ. And while He is the only way that we can ever do this, it's the experiences and trials and good times that we have in this life that lead us along the path that we need to take. We do have control of our own actions. We cannot force spiritual things to happen, but we just have to trust that when we are following the Savior, those spiritual and joyful experiences will come, despite the painful experiences that will also come. And, we don't need to feel guilty because we somehow did something wrong that caused that bad thing to happen.

I was reading in personal study about how Nephi and Lehi were surrounded by fire and how a cloud of darkness overcame the wicked people that were trying to imprison them and kill them. And how, when they saw the light on their faces, even though it was really dark, they (the wicked people) really wanted that light too! They wanted to know what they needed to do in order to have the light. All that they had to do is have faith and exercise that faith...act...and they saw the darkness lift and realized that they were surrounded by a pillar of fire too. This touched me so much. Especially with the focus being on LightTheWorld...

(SIDENOTE, GO WATCH THIS AMAZING VIDEO PLEASE! https://www.mormon.org/christmas/light-the-world you won't regret it! it's an amazing way for people of all faiths to do service together and become more like our Savior Jesus Christ)

...and how we are the light of the world. I so much want to find a Russian speaking person who can see the light on our faces and wants to truly know how they can also have that light. It's hard for me to understand why that hasn't happened yet and easy to assume that it's because I am doing something wrong...however, I am just trying to be obedient and trust that God has a plan. It has all worked out so far, so I know it will continue to work out!

This week we had an interesting experience where we were the ones whose door got knocked on. Let's just say we had a very interesting conversation with some Jehovah's Witnesses. It was so funny at first, but then I realized that this is exactly what it's like for people when we knock and so I humbled myself right up and tried to listen and make them feel comfortable while still sharing our beliefs with them as well. They have a light the world card, so hopefully they can feel something when they watch the video. (go watch it if you haven't!)

We went to the temple! We got to see the Armenian couple from our Russian group get sealed to each other and their 2 adult children as well. I've never had a more peaceful experience, and I am so grateful that I now that I will be with my family into the eternities.

Love and miss everyone! Have a fantastic week and don't forget to LIGHTTHEWORLD

Sister Jenne"

It looks like Sister Jenne had a marvelous week. I'm always so grateful when she sends us so many pictures. Don't forget to #LIGHTTHEWORLD this month! :))))