The trees are alive!

I got no mail again!   So, I'm super sad and traumatized...   I’ve been waiting all week (and it's been a SUPER long wait) to come and check my email since I didn't get any last week cuz the stupid box was full, and now what?!   It sucks. Anyway, Not a good way to start off my writing to you, I'm sorry, Haha.   Let me start again...   I LOVE YOU!
It's a little cold and rainy today.   No complaining though cuz spring has totally sprung!   Yay!   Instead of fried and peeling skin from the arctic blizzards we have really dirty wind.   But there's sun!   Not today, but most of the week.   :)   Sooooo unlike me, but I actually noticed that on all the black gnarled trees are buds.   They live!   So it should be fun to see Peter when it's green. 

Everyone here is on roller blades now that it's warm.   hahahahahaha!   Totally 90's or like Saved By the Bell.   :) Too bad it's neelzya (not allowed) for us missionaries.   We've been walking a lot lately, which I totally love.   Instead of riding the metro, we've been walking from metro to metro, and it's interesting to see how everything is connected.   And I'm getting a little well-needed exercise.   And I die every night when I go home.   We're working hard, and despite our MAJOR differences, Varygina (my comp) and I are getting along really well.   There are little problems here and there, but I think she sees how badly I want to work, so she respects me a little more this time around and we're getting along really well through the gospel.   That's the way it works.   :)   The gospel brings people together.   It rocks.   

The other day we were walking and we had to cross a really big busy street.   At a break in the cars, I thought for sure we could make it across the first section of the street, but as I stepped off the curb I realized a car was coming way too fast for me to make it and my comp let out a blood curdling scream.   It was funny, cuz even tho she screamed, she followed me off the curb into the street.   I don't know, I think you had to be there for the full effect.   It was super hilarious!   We finally made it across safely, but I was DYING laughing cuz she thought I was gonna die, but followed me to death as well.   Her scream still makes me laugh.

Did I tell you that Varygina got lice while she was in Pskov too?!   hahaha she said that her comp did too, and when sister P. went down for an exchange for one day, she got it too!   Nightmare.   But I'm not alone.   Haha

The other day at English practice, a black African guy cruised into my class.   His name is Gabriel and he's from Nigeria.   I freaking love black people.   They're just so spiritual and ready for the gospel.   We were wondering why the heck he was there cuz his native language is English.   He later told us he was given one of our English invites on the street and felt he HAD to come.   The next day after English (in English we had talked a lot about the church and gave the first lesson cuz a guy asked about it,) he came to church.   It was fast and testimony meeting and at the end, he got up to bear his testimony!   But the Branch Prez stood up and said we didn't have time.   UM!>!?!?!>!>!>!   I was so angry!   How about we cut one verse out of the 4 verse song we sang!   Frustrating.   

But afterwards, Gabriel said that the night before he had thought about how we had talked about Joseph Smith in English class, and how Joseph had read James 1:5 and asked God.   He said he wanted to do the same thing, cuz he felt something special.   He asked God to wake him up the next day if he was meant to go to church.   He didn't set his alarm, but said he woke up at 9 o'clock sharp, which was a miracle for him.   He said that during testimony meeting, which was all in Russian by the way, he felt and KNEW that this church was true, and that he was meant to be there.   ....   omg.   I love these miracles! 

Yesterday was zone conference, and it was super good!   It was all about testifying.   I loved it.   And we got to testify, of course.   It was funny, President asked me to pray again unexpectedly, out of EVERYONE there!   Haha, everyone kept asking me "don't you pray at every conference?"   And it's always unplanned, which is weird, cuz they always assign things before the conference.   Anyway, way funny.   And it was a really good spiritual conference.

I love and miss you all so much!   I love my mission and the work I'm able to do here!   I seriously hope that I can do half as much for the people here as I am receiving from serving them.   I love you!

PS--I liked this: 
Proverbs 4:23   keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.  (written April 10, 2008)