Samara - Week Two - "I love that I can make those kinds of promises. I love this work"

August 4th 2014

Sister Brooklyn Wilson and her trainer Sister Haroldson

All is well,

We had Zone conference this week, and  I just fell in love with all of these missionaries serving here! I loved seeing the looks on their faces as they were listening to President Bennett, our area seventy. All of the missionaries in this mission are just so dedicated to this work. I am working in the Saratov Zone and every area only needs a few more priesthood holders until we get a stake in Russia, we will see another stake here in Russia before the end of the year. President Bennett is a genius, and very in tune with the spirit, and I don't care if I got chastised at all because after Zone conference I feel like I hit the ground running! 

So this week on our way to Samara for Sister Haroldsen's visa trip, our mission driver, Roman, came and picked us up. Picture this... You are driving in a HUGE van at 80 miles an hour on a highway with potholes everywhere, but 3 hours. I felt like I was on a 100 year old roller coaster. They drive crazy here, but they also drive really safe? It's interesting. 

I got to work with the Sister Training Leaders in Samara this week while my companion was in Latvia for a visa trip. They are so sincere and choose their words so carefully when speaking to people on the street. 

My favorite miracle was at the very end of the day, with the last two people we were able to talk to. We said hello to a couple and they told us, "we're sorry we don't speak Russian!" Then all of our eyes popped wide open and we said, "We speak English!!" We were able to testify so powerfully to them about God, and that he is in fact REAL. I love testifying because I can feel the words transform into truth as they roll off my tongue, I can feel myself knowing that God is real as I speak. I promised the woman, who had been struggling to find God in her life, and has a desire but just can't believe... that if she would pray ONE LAST TIME, if she'd try just one last time, and asked the words, "God, do you love me?" She should get an answer. I love that I can make those kinds of promises. I love this work :)

A few notes I wrote from this week: I never want to drink because there are public bathrooms NO WHERE. Also there are these things here called marshrutkas.... oh my goodness. The tiniest buses ever with tones of people packed in them going 70 MPH on a bumpy road for 5 hours and you drank and entire water bottle before hand.... never had to pee more in my life.

This is a marshrutka, the type of city bus Brooklyn was 
referring to.  If you look closely (or click on it) 
you can see how tightly packed it is!

How can I describe church? Sometimes I can understand things, and then a lot of the time I have no idea what the subject even is for Sunday school. Relief society = Russian Grandmothers arguing for 20 minutes of the lesson. At least that's what it sounds like, but I have no idea if they're arguing or not because I can't understand what they say. But things get a little fired up sometimes that's for sure. And then at the end of the lesson every one is just best friends, it's awesome. Also we close church with a prayer with everyone at church, and we hold hands. Hahahaha I was standing next to Elder Wall, who has been here over a year and he just had no idea what to do. We didn't know if that was breaking a rule or not. 

Love Sister Wilson