Samara - Week 22 - "Oh man, Christmas was wonderful!"

Four beautiful "Sisters in Zion" Russia

December 29, 2015

All is well!

Oh man, Christmas was wonderful :) It was so good to see that everyone is actually still in fact alive. I do have to say that talking to my brothers in Russian what pretty interesting... and Tanner I do have to admit that yes, your accent was pretty awful ;) Somehow you need to keep up with your Russian! You once had that perfected! Now watch, I'll get home from my mission and get swept up in life and forget it all too. You can never judge a person until you are in their exact sitation (AKA someone who is living the life that will lead to the life of a billionaire) I can't image how busy you are. 

Sister Wilson & Sister Martinez

After skyping with everyone, we sat down for a moment with the member that we were with, Sv... We were definitely meant to be at her house that day ... to be with her. She is 52 years old, and her one desire is to be married only so that she can talk to somebody about the gospel at any time that she wants to. She has had a HARD life, full of abuse and neglect, being thrown down out the door and down stairs by former husband. Being blamed for the death of someone. Having children leave the church... going on a "mini-mission" only a few days after she had a stroke... she's tried to take her own life a few times while she was young and people always came to her rescue. Once as she was about to walk out into the middle of the road in front of a car, a woman took her by the hand and jerked her off the road. I mean honestly the things this woman has been through has been truly awful. She just sat and told us that we need to focus on finding young people so we can help them know how to deal with these sorrows and pains earlier than later in life. By the end of her venting all of us were crying and my dear companion suggested that we get down on our knees and pray. Oh Sv, she just sobbed and sobbed and begged her Heavenly Father for help and comfort but thanked him for the Plan of Salvation. What would we do without that knowledge? The atonement will make everything okay. Everything that isn't okay in this life will be made fair in the next life. What a blessing to know that relief will one day come. Sv helped me to see that missionary work really IS the most important thing that we can do in our lives, helping people to know that they don't need to suffer. Because we have a Redeemer who has already suffered all. THAT is the message to the world, that truly peace and joy can in fact be found in this life. 

Sometimes I look at this mission life and I wish there was a veil. Can you imagine how homesick we would get for our heavenly home without the veil? Why can't we see God, or remember Him? First of all that wouldn't be faith, and second of all, It think that our hearts would break from homesickness! However, I do have to admit that when I was done skyping you, it gave me a lot of gratitude that I am here in Russia, I love you SO MUCH. But I am learning so so much here, and I am definitely not ready to be home yet :) I still have so much to learn. I gotta build my own firm foundation before I can come back. And wow has that foundation been built, it's just being forified now. 

We had zone conference this week as well on the 26th and it was just perfect. It was 10 hours of a spiritual FEAST. I have never felt so satisfied spiritually! I am all regenerated and ready to work my tail off this year. Also Sister Schwab made Christmas dinner and it was soooo goood. Mom, I was so stuffed. I promised myself I would't do it, but I haven't had a homemade meal in so long. I couldn't help myself :) I love the Schwabs so much. They will be a part of my life forever, I am certain of that. They are the perfect example of a happily married couple as well. I want a good humble husband like president Schwab. He's probably the most humble man I know. 

I am just choosing to be happy. I am choosing to see the little miracles and then RUN with it. When I see something small, for example on Christmas Eve I was actually feeling like someone was holding me back, my desire to work was small. But nonetheless I did have a desire. We approached 3 women and 2 of them took Books of Mormon, that little miracle sparked our hearts and we decided to run back home and give out 10 copies of the Book of Mormon that day, I have heard of missionaries doing that and just thinking, "That is IMPOSSIBLE! How can you do that?!" Well that's just it, we can't! God softens people's hearts and we gave out 13 Books of Mormon. It built my testimony that we display a desire and then act upon that desire (AKA faith) and then God gives us a little miracle, and the small miracles lead to BIG miracles! 

I can't wait for the new year. This will pretty much be my year to give to God. I will be back before Christmas, but looking back on this past year I am just blown away at how fast it went by... this year will likewise fly by. I am SO EXCITED and ANXIOUS to see what this year has to give :) And what I can't wait to give my all to Russia for the sake of my Heavenly Father and his only begotten son.

Merry Christmas to you all. 

Love you :)

Sister Brooklyn Wilson 

Sister Wilson mentioned that "the Atonement will make everything okay". What did she mean by that?  * Find out more about the Atonement HERE

Samara - Week 21 - "Russia is White!!!"

December 22, 2015

Merry Christmas :)

All is well.

Russia is WHITE right now :) and so, so beautiful. Right before it snowed though, it rained and the streets were just pure ice. Have you ever seen that video of the day on BYU campus when the ground was frozen solid and everyone was just sliding every where? Yeah that happened here. I thought it would be fun to count how many times I've fallen in Russian by slipping on ice. It's not even funny anymore. Everyone is just always falling all over the place and no one laughs, you just get up, brush off your bum, and keep walking. There's not even a thing you can do to stop yourself from falling. You have the realization that you are slipping and two seconds later you are not on your bum or your knees but all the way upside down on your back. It's wonderful. 

And Moooommmm! We got a call on Wednesday and it was from Roman the van driver (AKA Santa Claus) and he said that he would be at our apartment in 40 minutes with our Christmas gifts. I was jumping up and down for joy. I know Christmas isn't about presents... but just to get something from some loved ones overwhelmed me with happiness.  I can say for sure that it would not even feel like Christmas without the decorations and MUSIC. Like dad said last week in his letter, Christmas isn't Christmas without Christmas music. When I put in our family's "Christmas music" the one that we listen to ALL the time, before and after Christmas... I just started tearing up. I am so grateful for those sweet Christmas melodies. It makes me feel at home with the apple cider candle and Christmas snowflakes and a few little stockings. Know what? I have never had a Christmas that I HAVEN'T looked forward to. I have always looked forward to Christmas for one reason or another. What a blessing, some people have looked to Christmas with sorrow or dread knowing that they will perhaps be lonely during such a special time of year, and God has blessed us all so much with people to love, with something to always look forward to. I'm here with my dear companion who I love to pieces, we are just best best friends, and I even get to celebrate Christmas with my own family :) Sister Martinez and I have Christmas all planned out :) We'll wake up, open our stockings and cute little presents, then we'll have some homemade french toast (every day so far on the mission it's been eggs, cereal, or oatmeal, BORING) and book it over to one of the members at about 9:00 to Skype home. Then after we'll be heading to Zone conference in Saratov. WHOA. What a day. 

My companion and I have really focused on faith this week by realizing that no matter how impossible things seem, God is ALL powerful, I love seeing God exercise his power to soften the hearts of people. I love witnessing God exercise his power in such a manner, it is so humbling, it shows God's tender love and mercy toward us. When the father approached Jesus and asked him to heal his son Christ didn't say, "Do you believe that your son can be healed?" He said, "Believe ye that I can do this?" Do we believe that CHRIST can do this? YES, we believe that Christ can do it. It is the most humbling thought, because we all know that we cannot, but Christ can, and WILL. 

We are praying SO fervently for miracles. Just begging for them! We're doing all we can! All we can do is say, "please Father, do what we can't!" When we are stuck in places or it seems that we can't move forward anymore we ask God in FAITH to please bless us with miracles, change our circumstances, change the hearts of people, and he's doing it. I have seen it too many times this week to claim that it came from me. This week I sat on bus transport and began talking to a woman, I made small talk at the beginning, explaining that my friend and I are from America. I then brought up the Book of Mormon with her, she says that she has one, and it sits at her home with her bible. Sadly RIGHT after she brought up the fact that she had a Book of Mormon a woman sitting across from me on the bus had overheard our conversation and began yelling at me saying that I am NOT an American, she said, "I studied French and English in school, and I couldn't get the intination or accents right even after YEARS." (at that point I wanted to tell her that we can only even speak Russian so quickly because our teacher is GOD, who also happens to speak perfect Russian) Then the woman standing next to her looked at me and also said, "Yeah, you even LOOK Russian!" Before I knew it I had about 3 or 4 woman yelling at me. And all I could say was, "I am so sorry I really don't understand all that you are saying!" They probably thought I was a spy. Sadly, I didn't even have time to see that the woman with whom I was talking with had gotten up and was exiting the bus. Thankfully the conductor knows us and asked that I stood up and sat somewhere else away from the mean women yelling at us. My companion and I got off the bus a little bummed out. We just stood there a moment with our shoulders a little slumped. I was SO bummed because I knew that that woman would have wanted to meet with us, but I didn't get the chance to ask for her number. But, about 5 seconds later, a woman gets off the bus and says, "Hey! Are you two from Germany?" She noticed that we were being picked on while we were on the bus and she knew we really weren't Russians (really it is pretty obvious, we have ridiculous accents). Well, she turns out to be just about the nicest lady, we told her our purpose here and she gave us her address, and phone number and said she was VERY interested in talking to us. The best part is that she came to church with us yesterday. Heavenly Father works through mysterious means, and persecution sometimes brings unseen blessings :)

Something that I have learned from this work is that not only is it fun 

(really it is fun, I can't imagine going home and just walking past someone on the street without stopping them to talk about the gospel, it's so fun) 

but it brings JOY. Real joy! What is joy even? I'd have to say long lasting happiness :) Whatever brings God joy will bring us joy, and what does God want? 

To bring to pass the imortality and eternal life of man, I am doing what brings God joy, no matter I am so happy :) You can even do that at home. Think to yourself...

Everything you have is because God loves you. God loves us, he gave his Son, 

the Son gave his life... what could we possibly give God? 

Well let's just remember Mosiah 2:17... 

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; 

that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings 

ye are only in the service of your God. 

and help someone feel God's love through YOU. What else can we give him? 

He has all, we can't give HIM any material things, he really doesn't even want that. 

The only thing that will bring the world pure, real joy is Christ. 

He's eternal the only real eternal source of joy. 

I feel that I've done a 180 degree turn from about 10 days ago. I was feeling very low, and some of that feeling is still there if I let it creep in. But I am just trying with all my might to have hope and to push it out. And more than anything, I have noticed that it has been Christ who picked me off my feet and is now carrying me through (likely) one of the hardest parts of the race, the hardest part of the mission experience. I am just endlessly grateful for his mercy, I am so so grateful and I feel that he's blessing me with the love that I need for my companion and the members that I've never experienced before. I really LOVE them. I know that this love did not come by itself, I am not even capable of creating such a gigantic love. It's a different feeling, like the language barrier is FINALLY disolving and we all just understand that we're brothers and sisters and we all love each other :) This love was given from God. My companion is a champion and we both rely and trust each other to be responsible, we are examples for each other and she is one of my best friends. Wow I am just so so grateful to be here. President not only is missionary work becoming FUN, but it is giving me JOY! I am just filled with God's love for this work. My desires are becoming his desires. And what's the difference been? Realizing that I can't deliver myself from darkness, only Christ can. And all I can do is push forward and pray with all my might and exercise faith that he won't leave me in the dark, he will lead me by the hand. 

Merry Christmas to everyone. I am just living in love in this part of God's vineyard. 

What a blessing to be on a mission right now. It's true, I've never been more tired, 

I've never felt so weak, but I've never felt so happy and I've never loved something more 

in my life. I only have one Christmas in Russian, one Christmas as a missionary, 

and I will forever remember my Russian missionary Christmas :)

Loooove, Sister Wilson :)

PS: I gave a talk in sacrament meeting yesterday and my district leader had to point to the clock and tell me to wrap it up! I could have gone on and on, WOW who knew I would ever be able to do that in another language? And I have to say I am very UNTALENTED in school, SPORTS (wow it's not even funny how uncoordinated I am) but he has been pretty merciful to me in regards to this language. What a good Heavenly Father. Although I'll be honest, I can still only understand about 60% of what I hear, but that 40% just gives me motivation to keep pushing!