tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56214727977324212252024-03-12T20:20:59.640-07:00Elder Russell's MissionElder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-85331445460212797242015-04-06T22:21:00.002-07:002015-04-06T22:21:48.410-07:00April 5, 2015<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span><br />
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Pretty cool conference, huh? I loved to talks and learned so much from all of them. I was blown away at the Spirit I felt as Elder Niceler and I watched it. I DID get to hear two general authorities speak two weeks in a row. And then, the next week, we had conference. Elder Nielson, the one who gave a talk of loving family members back into the fold, was the one that came and trained in our mission a week and two days ago. In fact, half of our MLC last Thursday was on what he trained on. It was super good and I'm impressed that he came up with the training whilst preparing for general conference. That's pretty impressive if you ask me.</div>
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I really like his talk in general conference along with Elder Holland, who spoke right after him. Both seemed to hit pretty close to home and helped me a lot. A lot of the talks were on marriage and family, and Elder Niceler and I were talking and he laughed and said "How is this supposed to apply to me as a missionary and to the rest of the zone? What can they take away from talks like that?" And we laughed for a little bit, and then we talked about how the fundamentals for a successful marriage were probably pretty similar to those principles that could help a missionary companionship. And the things that strengthen a family should also be able to strengthen the zone. So we thought about that and I think we'll use some of what they said and apply it. We had a good time talking about conference.</div>
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No it's not against the rules for me to send you my Hesperia address. Haha, that's not why I don't send it. It's the same thing with Victorville, I'm just not sure how long I'll be here and I don't know our area code and what not and so I just don't really give the address out. However, I do pick-up packages every Thursday, so the latest it will be received is a week from when you sent it. Elder Niceler and I pick up the packages and supplies for the zone so we get stuff like 5 days before everyone else. No I didn't get your package yet, but I'll get it Thursday.</div>
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The guidelines for music are very broad and up to interpretation? Why do you ask? It mentions that we shouldn't listen to music that is to loud or inappropriate with it's beat, rhythm, or intensity. And if it pulls our thoughts away from the work, or the Savior, or merely entertains, than it's a no go. So I don't know. There are some EFY songs I don't even listen to because they just are kind of "Meh..."</div>
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Things are going great here. Elder Niceler continues to be a good example to me and help me. He's super great and I admire him a lot. He's very focused and loves being a missionary. So he's good. Athena and Jaz have stopped investigating for now. Athena is super busy and just hasn't been making any time for lessons or coming to church or reading. So that's sad. But we think she'll come around. The Romeros are good. We had an awesome lesson on the Atonement and invited them to watch General Conference. They said they would. So I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Will is doing good too. He watched some of conference on Sunday and even though he had to reschedule for tonight, he is still really interested. We taught a man named Jairo (it's Spanish) and he is super solid. He's still 29 though, so we might pass him off to the YSA Elders so he can attend Singles ward. I don't think he watched conference. But that's okay, he's really really awesome. So things are good. Our area is still spread out as ever and it's still like going four wheeling. Things are great.</div>
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Anyway, I love and miss you all and think y'all are great. I pray for you. Elder Nielson, in his training talked about when he was made a seventy, President Monson called him into his office and the only instruction he gave him was "Elder Nielson, go become." Elder Nielson went back to his office and sat down. He had no idea what President Monson was talking about. So he started to think about the Savior and what the Savior would do in his position. It wasn't long before he started to think of things to do with his time that he hadn't been given an assignment for yet. He started helping people and getting to know them. He started being kinder. He was so caught up that when the Brethren called him in for training, he was actually sad because he was busy serving others. My invitation to all of you is the same invitation President Monson gave to Elder Nielson. Go become. Bthe change.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-72609243327999823602015-04-05T12:52:00.003-07:002015-04-05T12:52:57.831-07:00March 29, 2015<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,<div>
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This week was rather fantastic, actually. Elder Niceler is a stud. Like, he's super good! I've got a lot to learn from him and I just hope I can learn if before one of us gets transferred. We had a great week. He came from Apple Valley but served 6mos in the ward that borders ours. He's been out for about 11 months and is just taring it up out here. He's great at teaching, he's always on time, and he's super smart. I think he's great. I think President will keep us together for more than a transfer, thankfully.</div>
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Anyway, thinks are awesome. We had to go down the hill to Rancho on Saturday for a conference with Elder Nielson from the Seventy. He...he knows what he's talking about. We talked about the Atonement and the Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel. Great, great meeting. I learned so much. He had us read a couple of talks from Elder Bednar on the Enabling Power of the Atonement. They were "Bear Up Their Burdens With Ease" and "The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality." Both really great talks. I had read them before, but I learned a lot more from them as we talked with Elder Nielson. Brad Wilcox says it I think best; he says "As members of the church we not only know what Jesus has saved us from, but what He has saved us for." The Atonement is so much more than a cleansing agent. I'm thankful it has that power, and it's one I have to use every day. But the power of the Atonement doesn't stop once we're clean. God wants us to be more than 'corrected'. He Loves us a bit more than that.</div>
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Which reminds me, speaking of the Atonement. If you have not yet, watch this video <a href="http://helives.mormon.org/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">helives.mormon.org</a> . It's a new one the church put out in addition to Because of Him last Easter. If you remember the Christmas initiative "He Is The Gift" this is very similar. It has the same format and if you hashtag #becausehelives on facebook, it'll link you up and you can share the reason for Easter with everyone.</div>
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I'm super excited for this week! I'm pumped beyond all reason! I love you all, thanks for all you do. I love and pray for you all. Don't forget to keep growing and using the enabling power of the Atonement to not only be clean, but to grow, improve, and change. #bthechange</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-90656454137693923932015-04-05T12:50:00.000-07:002015-04-05T12:50:01.294-07:00March 23, 2015<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span><br />
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Sounds like this week was awesome! I think I left my earphones in Upland, so I can't listen to the movies while I'm here in the library until I get some again. But I'll hold on to Dad and Robyn's performance until I can watch them at a later time for sure. Sounds like it was a blast. I wish I could have been there.</div>
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This week was good for sure. It was happy, for the most part. Elder Gooch got transferred (his turn for a shaft!) and I got a new companion--Elder Niceler. He's super good and I'm so excited to work with him. We had a crazy day today, and we actually gotta go soon, so this should be short (sorry). But after transfer meeting, we had to wait for Elder Niceler to get green-dotted (means he can drive the truck if he has to) and then we had to drop off bikes and luggage and pick up luggage and then drop that off and then unpack and then do laundry and then...anyway. Crazy day.</div>
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Things are going good, though. We had stake conference the past two days. Elder Teh (of the Seventy) came to visit the stake and he spoke. He talked a lot about adapting to the current challenges of the day. Great great talk. In other words, sometimes we get content with spirituality--if that makes sense. We think "Oh I have this routine that works for me, I'm fine. I'm doing okay." He mentioned having family prayer. That's good, and it works. But the adversary is always updating his battle tactics, so to speak. So eventually (actually NOW) just having family prayer won't be enough. I heard a talk a little while ago from I think President Hinckley, and he said that having daily family scripture study and prayer isn't enough anymore. We need to do it twice daily. Personally, I think our family did pretty good at meeting the requirements for combating the world and sin. I always knew we would eat as a family. I always knew we would have scriptures and prayers every night. I always knew Monday night was family night. The whole evening. This were things that were set apart. They were things that needed to happen. So I think we did well. I think things on my mission have been pretty good too. But Elder Teh is right, stopping at good--or even better--is no longer enough. I have some habits on the mission that are good habits. But I need to switch those habits for some better habits. I have some better habits that I need to switch out for the best habits. If Satan will be so persistent in making us miserable, we have to always be on the up for the better and the best. He's not getting any kinder.</div>
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We had an awesome lesson with the Romeros this week. A man in our ward came with us and he helped a ton. Let me just say that when love is the reason, the means and the ends will always be acceptable to God if it's the right kind of love. We're talking charity. If Moroni 7:45 is how you feel about someone or something...I think God probably feels that way too. So let's pray for charity "with all the energy of heart that [we] may be filled with this love," and when we see the Savior, I think "we will [all] be like Him." (Moroni 7:48). I know God loves us. I know He loves you. Charity is definitely something I need to work on. I think this transfer will be awesome. </div>
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Thanks so much for all you do. I love and miss you all. You're all champions. I pray for you. I think you're awesome. Don't forget..."B" The Change.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-51024019151082544832015-04-05T12:46:00.001-07:002015-04-05T12:46:14.341-07:00March 16, 2015<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
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This past week was great. We had another Zone Meeting (they were closer because of the way transfers went this past month). It went rather well, I thought. The Zone seems a lot more motivated to find now. It's still a struggle. It's not like down the hill where you can know 50 doors in 10 minutes. People here (especially in the Ranchero Ward) are super spread out. Not very many people per square mile. There are only a few housing tracks in our area, and even then people own about twice as much land as down the hill. But there are definitely opportunities for finding here. With an increased amount of faith and a little more dedication, as we rely on the Spirit, we can be guided to those who are looking. But I think that is how it is with all of life, not just finding investigators or missionary work. Elder Bringhurst and I still keep in contact and he was just mentioning to me that if we give God everything, we won't have any regrets. I think that's so true. I think God can do so much more with our will than we can. So as we work hard and give our all, God can work miracles.</div>
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Something awesome occurred the last two days. We have this less-active family in the ward that Elder Gooch and I have been trying to get in contact. Dad's not a member and mom and the girls haven't been to church in over three years. Well we went over on Saturday to see if they were home. They were (except Dad) and we talked to them for a long time. We asked them a lot of questions and things went really well. We asked them about their prayers and their scripture reading. We taught them about the blessings of daily spiritual nourishment. Then we asked them how long it had been since they had been to church. Ha, it had been a while. So we taught them about the ordinance of the Sacrament. We taught them about what it meant. We taught them about the importance of church and then asked them if they would like to come to church. They said they would (which was cool, except a lot of people say they'll come to church and don't). When Sunday rolled around though, they really were at church. They stayed for sacrament meeting, but had to leave after. Now, let me tell you why this is so cool. They had been SUPER less-active for that time they hadn't been to church. Always friendly to the missionaries, but very less-active. Our first week in the ward, Brother Morrison (their home teacher) came up to us and asked if that the family would only be taught by Sisters (since dad isn't a member and the rest are girls). He was asking if we could somehow get the Sisters in another ward to teach them. Well, no...that's not how it works. And Brother Morrison was rather frustrated (maybe more sad, but also a little frustrated). There seemed to be this lurking doubt that now the Sisters were gone (Elder Gooch and I replaced them) that the family would never come to church again. But then they did! And so willingly too.</div>
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I think a lot of the time we're like that as well. We get scared of inviting people to do things because we're afraid they'll say know and we'll end up closing a door permanently that could have been opened with more tact. Like with the family in our ward, we were scared that because the Sisters weren't there to soften the family up, the family would never come to church. But I think the story you shared is a good example of what can happen if we just choose to open our mouths and invite anyway. What are the odds that the less-active sister in the 11th ward was having promptings and being prepared? In reality probably not very high. But we'll never find out until we ask. I have found that super super important on my mission. To just invite anyway. Even if there's doubt. Even if you think it won't work. Even if the odds are low. Even if the person hasn't been to church in years--or ever. We will help others so much more when we invite them to become active in the gospel and taste of the light here.</div>
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I know the church is true and the gospel is real. Like crazy real! When we put our trust in God enough to follow His commandments and live the teachings of Christ, we can expect miracles. Because that's what God does: Miracles. Thanks so much for all you do! Keep praying and studying your scriptures every day. Remember how powerful the principle of faith is. I love you all. Take care!</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-77042677012962108912015-03-09T20:44:00.000-07:002015-03-09T20:44:00.171-07:00March 9, 2015<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span><br />
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It sounds like Chandler and Bryce's birthdays went well. I went to church...that's how I celebrated. I did that...and planning. Yep. Planning is the best. But I wish them both the best and hope their birthdays were great!</div>
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Phedipides (I don't actually know how you spell his name, it's pronounced "feh-dip-eh-deez"--we just call him P-Diddy) was the runner for the original Marathon. From Marathon to Athens is actually 24 miles, not 26.2. Now the myth (as I've heard it) says he died at Athens after delivering the message. But that's just what I've always heard. Where we get the extra 2.2 miles is actually really weird. Some Olympics in England one year (in I believe the early 1900s), the Queen wanted the finish of the race to be in front of the castle (or wherever she was at) so she didn't have to move in order to see the end of the race. Now for some reason, they decided that instead of moving the starting line 2.2 miles up, they just extended the race 2.2 miles. So actually, a full Marathon is 24 miles. But they extended it for the Queen. Hank Smith talks a little bit about it in his talk "Running Down Your Dreams." It's a great talk, you should listen to it.</div>
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Now that race kind of reminds me of something Elder Keller (one of the assistants to the President) was telling Elder Gooch and I about last night. They're changing the standard of excellence starting tomorrow and they were telling us about them. They're very very high for the mission average, and that can be kind of discouraging and daunting for those who are doing their best to reach them. So we were kind of confused as to how we would pass this information down to the other missionaries and motivate them do reach for the standards of excellence. Elder Keller was mentioning that the standards of excellence aren't a quota. They're a tool to help us build our faith and raise our expectations. We were discussing about how to view the standards and he asked me if I did track. I told him yes. Then he asked "When do you stop running?" I told him "AFTER you cross the finish line." He said "Right, so the way the standards are going to work is, these are not the end goal. These are numbers that we can use to increase our faith to fulfill our purpose. Our goal is that we will eventually reach far beyond these numbers. Our goal is to find teach and baptize more than these numbers indicate. This is a baseline for how the work will develop." A lot of the time, I believe, when we set goals, we set them too low. We're afraid of not being able to reach them, so we don't set them very high. As a result, we don't even accomplish those goals. I believe we can do a lot more than we think we can. Especially when we involve God. So with the standards of excellence--those are high goals. In order to reach them, we have to be looking beyond the standards of excellence. In order to reach the standards of excellence, we have to know that we don't stop running until after we've crossed the finish line. That's the only way we're going to be able to succeed. In order to reach them, our faith has to be in something bigger than numbers. Our commitment has to be in something greater than tracting. Something better than teaching. Something more infinite than just coming to church. Maybe I'm not making sense, but it's awesome to be out here and part of this work. We listened to a talk recently by President Hinckly called "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep." Listen to the way he sets goals. Think about his faith. Take a look. Set goals like President Hinckly does. ;)</div>
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I love this work. I love being a missionary. I love the gospel. I know it's true. I know the Savior lives. That He loves us. That He wants us to be happy. The Atonement is real. The Gospel is real. They blessings are real. The Priesthood is real. I know it for sure.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-83190768644339161612015-03-09T11:22:00.001-07:002015-03-09T11:22:59.059-07:00March 1, 2015<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
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Thanks for praying for Jazmine and Athena. They're doing great. But we're a little concerned for them. Keep the prayers coming for them. They're great and they really are trying.</div>
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Sounds like things are going great back home. Just trust the Elders though. I know sometimes it's hard when it doesn't seem like they're doing what they're supposed to. But I guarantee if you wait to prepare people, people will never be prepared. God will take care of our friends and neighbors if we do our part. And we can't delay anything because we think someone ought to be more mature. Please don't wait to have the missionaries teach those we know. I promise that's not a good idea. ;)</div>
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Elder King is from Colorado (my second companion). He's in my Zone Now. He's still a District Leader! That's a long time to be a District. He had one transfer where he wasn't, but now he is again. That's crazy. But he's awesome. I learned a lot from him. I don't know if he lives anywhere close to where Corynne and Bryce are moving too. But he does live in Colorado.</div>
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Things are going well. We went to Rancho again for another meeting (Rancho is forever away. Okay not really. But like 45 minutes) and that took forever. And we have another meeting again this week. But the meeting last week was good. The Spirit was so strong and it helped me so much. So I'm so thankful we got to go. And that we were kept safe. Because you never know what might happen when Elder Gooch is driving the truck. Actually, funny story about that. We drove to Rancho for the meeting with another set of Elders. We were on our way back and Elder Houston kept saying that there was another way we could take back. There really isn't much to look at on the way back from Rancho, so we decided we'd punch it into our GPS and try it out. Well, it was a lot more beautiful than the normal way. But we think we ended up going pretty far out of the mission (on accident--and you have to go out of the mission to get to Hesperia anyway) and it took a long time. But it was so beautiful. We were up in this mountain and ended up driving through this mountain town (no one knows where it was) and it was so cool. But yeah, we were lost for a while and probably won't do that again.</div>
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But clearly things are going great! I love being out here. I learned a lot this week. One thing I learned is that every time I figure out something I need to do better at and how to get better at it, my prayers gain a clarity that they don't normally have. Anyway, that's all for this week. I love you all and hope none of you have to have two ingrown toenails removed in the near future. Remember to read your scriptures and keep the commandments. All of them. Literally all of them.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-52978766700853453092015-03-01T20:31:00.002-08:002015-03-01T20:31:58.352-08:00February 23, 2015<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,<div>
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I miss you all and think you're awesome. This week sounds like it was great. Preach My Gospel is probably my favorite book on earth, aside from the Hugly series. I study that book (Preach My Gospel, not the Hugly series) every day, and it gets better and better. I think as our understand of the Gospel increases, so does our desire to learn more about it and live it. We're studying (focusing) on chapter 2 as a mission right now. I've been thinking a lot about the Live What You Learn section at the end, and about how important it is to do what God tells us when we're learning. We focus on one chapter of PMG each month starting in January and Chapter 1. But we skip Chapter 7 (because it's language, and most of us are English missionaries, and so we can get to Chapter 13), it's a lot of fun. Build those library.</div>
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This week, we taught Carlos on Monday and he rescheduled twice for our next appointment. So we'll see him tomorrow. But we also met with Jazmine and Athena twice this week. Athena came to church, but Jazmine was at her dad's for the day. So we visited them after church (when Jazmine got back) and we set a baptismal date with Athena. Jazmine said she would pray about it, and if it felt good, she would be baptized. She gets some flack from her dad's family. Pray for them both. They're awesome and they want to do what's right and they're so close to baptism. Pray they will be okay and safe spiritually.</div>
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Things are great here in Hesperia. Offroading is still crazy, but we don't get as lost anymore. We know most of the dirt roads, where they are and where the 4-wheeling trails come in so we can avoid them. But sometimes, our GPS takes us the weirdest ways. I swear, Sally (our GPS) is better at locating lost things (or maybe just loosing things) than any missionary I know. We get lost all the time.</div>
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I love you all and pray for you. Keep doing the things God wants you to and life will always be great. That's a promise (Mosiah 2:41). I know the church is true and I'm thankful for the Gospel. I love my Savior and I'm thankful for the Atonement.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-14106391929809218122015-03-01T20:29:00.002-08:002015-03-01T20:29:44.418-08:00Feb. 17, 2015<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
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Thanks for the update. In response, I actually don't hear a lot from my older siblings. I mean, members here have told me about the snow back east, but I don't get much mail from the first four. Which is understandable, their lives are probably busier than mine. And I don't feel let down because I'm pretty sure I only emailed Austin twice on his mission. So I guess it comes back to me. Sounds like a lot of snow. Hesperia needs snow. Or even rain. Or water in general. Or even clouds. It's super desert here. The hottest day last week was about 85 degrees. And it's February.</div>
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Our area is...massive. It's probably about 10 times the size of my last area. But...we have a truck, so it's okay. We didn't get the chance to teach anyone last week. We didn't know what we were doing what with all the white wash and meetings in the stake and what not. But we did get a lot done. We live with two of the craziest missionaries in the mission. The Elders (our ward mates) are always cracking jokes and Elder Fausett is always messing around. He's a blast. We love them to death.</div>
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As far as the baptisms go. We may not get as many as some missions, but the number isn't what worries me. What I'm concerned about is making sure I don't miss anything. In Zone Meeting today, we talked about serving God to our fullest potential--putting our all into the work. My biggest concern is that when I get done with my mission, I just want to make sure I didn't miss a person I could have helped or shared the Gospel with because I wasn't as obedient or diligent as I should have been. And I know I'm not the most obedient missionary. I know I'm not the hardest working. But I just want to find and help as many people as I can. In the District Videos (the TV show we watched before I left for my mission) the two missionaries I want to be like are Elder Bott and Elder Hepworth. They're awesome missionaries. They just truly love their callings and work their hardest. They might not be as skilled, per say, as some of the other missionaries like Elder Christensen or Elder Moreno, but they love what they do. And their desire is so sincere and their faith is so strong. Those are missionaries that the Lord can trust. And that's all I want to be, is just a missionary the Lord can trust.</div>
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Now I'm not saying that baptisms don't happen in my mission. They do. They're hard. It's not easy to prepare someone for baptism. But my job isn't to count numbers. Satan can compare us, but Christ can improve us. It is true that the harder we work, the more we keep the commandments, and the more faithful we are, the more people will come into the fold. But the number of people coming into the fold is not my focus so much as doing my part in it. I want to be the best missionary I can be. And that's what matters to me. The people matter to me. The work matters to me. The Spirit matters to me. I just want to make sure I let the mission go through me, not just me through the mission. I love this gospel and what it can do. I love the power it has and the love it brings from our Savior. The church is super true.</div>
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I'm glad to hear everything is going well. I love you all and miss you loads. I pray for you every day, you know. I really do want you all to be happy and have the joy the gospel brings. Keep doing your best to do what God wants. God wants to bless us. Follow the Savior. If we want top know Him, we have to do what He does. We gotta be on His heels, as President Hobbs said in MLC.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-40905847094886619162015-02-10T18:40:00.001-08:002015-02-10T18:40:08.019-08:00February 9, 2015<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,<div>
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I got transferred out of Victorville today. I was there for six weeks instead of six months. I guess President wanted to change some things around. We call it being 'six week shafted' in the mission, because right when you meet a bunch of the members, you get transferred. I did get one of my ingrown toenails removed before I left though. That was awesome. I go back later this month to get rid of the other one.</div>
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My new companion is Elder Gooch. He's a great missionary and I am pumped to work with him. We got whitewashed into Hesperia, so we're still up in the desert, just a different part. There are even less people in this area than my last. But we cover a whole bunch more area. I'm super stoked to be here. Things feel good about this transfer.</div>
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So, everyone back in Victorville is doing well. No one ended up coming to church while I was there, but my replacement in that area is such a boss missionary, so I have no doubt that things will go super well in Mesa Linda. Elder Fullmer is great and he'll do a lot of good with Elder Carter. They'll have a great time.</div>
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On Sunday, we heard this talk by one of the newer members of the ward. His topic was "Trifle Not With Sacred Things." It was so good. He focused a lot on how we receive blessings from God and how when we don't take His commandments seriously, He can't really take our blessings seriously. He quoted the song "You Raise Me Up" and talked about how having the help God gives is a sacred experience and privilege. We can't take that for granted. We short change ourselves blessings if we do. He explained how we often don't give the proper reverence for things that are sacred. Prayer, scripture study, church classes. We see them as things to do instead of chances to grow. As such we see them more as chores to accomplish and we end up giving it an improper amount of reverence. It would be my challenge to all of you to make sure you take every gift God gives you and treat it with a sacred attitude. Avoid loud laughter, and evil speaking of things that God has given us. Make sure we pay attention in our meetings. Listen for the promptings of the Spirit and also follow them. Show God you want to follow Him and become more like our Savior. Trifle not with sacred things.</div>
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I love you all. I pray for you. I hope all is doing well. Weather out here is in the 80s. Read the scriptures, ponder them, pray about them, listen for promptings; act on those promptings, lift others, and be a benefit to your fellow man. God loves you, and that is an awesome fact.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-30923062345644979792015-01-26T22:07:00.002-08:002015-01-26T22:07:25.855-08:00January 26, 2015<span dir="ltr">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span><br />
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Things in Victorville are great. We had interviews on Friday and they were great. There is no doubt in my mind that President Hobbs is an inspired man. That he does God's work. Understand and know, God does call people to His holy work. And that those people receive His guidance. His power is real.</div>
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Like than, the blessings of the His gospel are real. They aren't some superficial thing that people think up to themselves. The gospel, and the religion that accompanies it, are not things concocted or directed by man. Lots of people talk to us and say they believe "religion is a man made construct." One of the biggest wiles of the Devil is he convinces people that they do not need to receive any blessings beyond the ones they believe they can achieve through their own strength and power. That...stinks. So don't ever believe that the gospel only provides blessings of feeling good. Although it does do that as well.</div>
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Sounds like Dad needs a degree in audio engineering. ;) That was a joke...because he has one. Haha, get it? I miss music a ton. But not too much, because I'd rather have the Spirit. So out here on the mission, not listening to rock...doesn't bother me. Super cool stuff. I probably won't listen to a lot of music that I did before when I get back home. Just not worth it. But good music is totally worth it.</div>
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We found this 18yo kid named Daniel on Saturday. His sister and brother-in-law are members in Apple Valley. He's super cool. No, my area ends quite a bit before Apple Valley. My area up here is about a third of the area I had in Ontario. Super small. Apple Valley is two zones away. But good stuff.</div>
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But anyway, things have been good the last four days. I love you all and miss you by the handfuls. Just kidding, that's weird. I pray for you all everyday. Give a Book of Mormon to a neighbor this week. It'll be cool. I promise. They'll like it if you do it right. Keep on keepin' on!</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-78548208939206464732015-01-09T19:49:00.001-08:002015-01-09T19:49:29.582-08:00January 5, 2015<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Last week was nuts! The Valley is totally not the Desert. Not even a little bit. And I'm such a Valley kind of guy so it was crazy to adjust. Don't get me wrong. I love the Desert. I'm stoked to be here. But it was crazy getting adjusted to the difference. Elder Carter is the bomb and he works super hard. Pray for him, he's doing great!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">So Victorville looks pretty much like the area between Utah Valley and Cedar City. Except the mountains are smaller and more spread out. And there is less shrubbery. It's pretty awesome. But it's super cold! What's up with that?! Here in Victorville it got down to 26 degrees and over in Wrightwood (other side of the District) it got down to 7 degrees. What the heck? It was 80 degrees last Christmas. Where did this come from? Oh yeah, and it snowed. That was odd. But hey, it's all good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">We had a baptism this Saturday. That was really cool, I wish I was there to teach him all the lessons. But Fransisco ate everything up. He was golden and is just on fire. He was actually baptized into the singles ward in Barstow, but his fellowshippers were in our ward. So we taught him all except for one lesson and he came to church in our ward until after he got baptized. He was just great. His spirit was so strong and just a powerhouse. We also found two new investigators this week and I'm super excited to be in this area. Everyone is super nice and fun and the ward is really motivated to do missionary work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">I totally have a testimony that God really does want us to be happy. I've seen that this week as I got to the area. That as we work hard and be obedient to God's commandments, He blesses us with joy. It's such a simple promise, but it's so effective. We don't need to go looking in weird places to find it. It's always with us. As King Benjamin, I often like to "consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God." He loves us a lot and He wants to bless us with His Spirit. It's just a matter of accepting the laws and obeying the ordinances.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web Regular, Segoe UI Symbol, Helvetica Neue, BBAlpha Sans, S60 Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Sounds like Park City was a blast. I miss you all a lot. Logan was a good one to bring in my stead though. He's an awesome kid. Hope everything else is going well too! I love and pray for you every day. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep loving the gospel. Keep praying. Keep reading the scriptures. Keep going to church. And keep on keepin' on.</span></span></div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-60544919250637038792015-01-03T20:22:00.003-08:002015-01-03T20:22:44.934-08:00December 28, 2014<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span><br />
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I totally got the packages. All of them. It's all there in it's true form. ;) Things are great and I'm having a blast. Talking to you all on Thursday was awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better time.</div>
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Out of the frying pan and into the fire! I totally got transferred from Upland and they took me all the way to Victorville. -_- No I'm stoked and my new companion seems super cool. We're both excited to work and I'm stoked to be here and doing new things. We both decided obedience is key to everything. In fact, at the Robbins' today we were with Parker, and we decided the same thing. So this transfer is going to be a good one. I'm really really excited.</div>
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We said our goodbyes last night to everybody and it was probably the most depressing day of my life. I never thought I'd grow so close to people. And don't get me wrong, I was really really close to the members of Rancho Park. But Up5 was super super awesome and I got so close to everyone there. I'm going to miss it big time. Tears of anguish and stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to go back to that ward. I'd love to serve there again. Everyone there is super great.</div>
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Crazy thing happened Christmas eve. I got this letter with CDs in it by a guy named John Pennington. Apparently he read my blog. So he wrote this book that answers some common questions about Mormon doctrine. I thought it was going to be anti, so naturally I listened to it. Turns out he knows what he's talking about.</div>
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Anyway. I wish I had more to talk about but I saw you last week and I'm in a totally new area, so I don't know anything. I love and miss you all. You're awesome and you rock my socks. Take care and live righteously. You're in my prayers and I can feel yours.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-75217185048134833512014-12-15T20:17:00.002-08:002014-12-15T20:17:05.356-08:00December 15, 2014 (Jantzen's 19th birthday!)<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span><br />
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Thank you so much for all of the birthday wishes. Y'all are the bomb and I love you loads. Loads of...Brother Bray's famous ribs....yeah! Totally though, thanks a bunch. Birthdays in the mission are different than back home. Everyone celebrated by making it P-Day. Actually, it was P-Day anyway. But seriously, thanks for the love and support. Things are going well. It's been a good day. We had service at 10am this morning (which is right when studies end) so we woke up a half hour early so we could get to service on time. It was a lot of fun! Studies were good too, so that's a plus.</div>
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This week was a lot of fun! It was Richard's and Paula's birthday this week, so Friday was hectic running around and celebrating it with them. We made Richard a cake and put all 55 candles on there. There wasn't very much candle left by the time we finished singing to him. But he had a good birthday. So did Paula. We gave her a card that had a picture of this cartoon guy who looked beat up and it said "This is Gutnis. He walked 15,000 miles to wish you a happy birthday. Gutnis suffered from heat exhaustion, fatigue, thirst, hunger, sprained ankles and a scorpion sting; so please, have a happy birthday...for Gutnis' sake."</div>
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We had Zone Meeting this week and that was a lot of fun. The Sister Missionary in our ward and Elder Mitchell and myself did a musical number. That was fun. But the Zone Leaders gave this awesome awesome training on Charity. Super super good. There is, without a doubt in my mind, nothing better than the Gospel. Good times.</div>
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I also went on exchanges with another missionary. We had a lot of fun in his area. We taught a couple of less-active members and both are doing super good. We had a lot of fun and it was a really good, spiritual experience. The missionary is like 21 months out and goes home in March, so he knows what he's doing.</div>
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Christmas makes everything better.</div>
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We totally had dinner at the Bray's last Monday and they made Chinese food. Mmm...they know what they're doing. Good stuff. They're an awesome family. We always have a blast when we go over and the Spirit just kinda lives in there home. Roger's doing well and he came to church on Sunday, even though he was super tired.</div>
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We also met with the Chacon family and taught them using the Family Proclamation. They're so cool! I love them loads. Keep them in your prayers, they're really close to coming to church and receiving the Gospel more in their lives. Especially pray that their hearts will be open and softened to receive revelation and answers to their prayers.</div>
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Speaking of prayer. I was reviewing the things I know and learning more about prayer. Cool stuff. I have found that as we make efforts to occasionally pray on our knees and vocally, that we can focus and be guided by the Spirit easier.</div>
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Thanks for all you do. I love and miss you all. I appreciate your prayers and the love you show me. Don't forget to rely on the Spirit to know what to pray for. Don't forget to pray often. Don't forget to study the scriptures. Don't forget to share the Gospel. And don't forget to look Up!</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-10248483871677391922014-12-15T20:15:00.001-08:002014-12-15T20:15:26.080-08:00Dec. 8, 2014<div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Thanks for all you do on behalf of the Lord and His servants. As one of His missionaries, I know He appreciates everything you do. Thanks so much for all you do for me. I feel the prayers and help you send my way, both knowingly and unknowingly. It means a lot and helps hasten the work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">This week was pretty crazy. I went to my first non-denominational service in the living room of someone's home. It was on a Thursday in the evening and he first referred to it as a "Bible study," so I didn't feel too bad about going. Plus, there were people there and we wanted to see if there would be any finding opportunities. The Church's name (well, it's not really a church. Church is daunting and scares people, it also requires authority--which not a lot of people claim to have--and inspiration, so instead they call themselves a fellowship) is Fishhook Fellowship. It's catchy--get it?--huh? Anyway, we went over the Epistle of Jude, which I thought was completely ironic since it's totally and completely about the apostasy. But it was cool to see another take on it. He opened it up for discussion for the first 15minutes or so and then preached his own ideas into the scripture. It was also interesting to see how everyone had a different translation of Bible. Even those who had the same translation had different words in each Bible. So I had a good time listening to different interpretations.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">But truly and honestly, it was probably one of the most testimony building experiences for me. The Spirit was there to help me discern from truth and error. It was actually a lot of fun. My favorite line of Pastor Brad's was when we were talking about sinning (born again Christians think you can sin as much as you want, so long as you confess Jesus as Christ and don't cause others to sin), he said "You do have liberty to do that [sin] through Christ's grace. But don't cause a brother to stumble." He made reference to Elijah, I believe, when Elijah was asked if someone were lawfully allowed to eat the sacrificial lamb. Anyway, I raised my hand and asked "So where do you draw the line? At what point is sinning a stumbling block for others." He simply said "I don't judge." He then said "If you ask me if you can get drunk, I can show you in the Bible where it says not to get drunk. If you want to kill, I can show you where it says not to kill. But in the gray areas, I don't judge." So anyway, without going to much into doctrine, we don't believe it works like that. We believe that no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. So we're not supposed to sin.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">It was a really interesting experience. I had a good time. There were a few other things similar that happened, where others said it was okay to sin. I'm so thankful for the Spirit, so I don't have to make the decision to stay clean on my own. Also for its sanctifying and cleansing power that it brings when I repent of sins I have committed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">It rained a lot on Wednesday. We were rather drenched. But we had a good time. We biked the first half of the day. That was dumb, we got really wet and cold. And then we helped a less-active member mount his TV on the wall. Good times.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Coolest thing happened while we were helping out with the missionary room there, we met this guy who was introduced to the church just a few months ago and wants to take the lessons. The person who introduced him to the church met him at a doctor appointment, shared some stuff and then asked him if he wanted to go to lunch with him the next week. He did and they talked more. We got this guy's information and we're sending missionaries to his house today. It was sweet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Anyway, I'm about out of time. Thanks so much for all you do! I love you all. Don't forget why we have Christmas. Don't forget to think about what you can give back this year. And don't forget to look Up!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">ILYMTLI,</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Elder Russell</span></span></div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-87726457417735043012014-12-15T20:12:00.002-08:002014-12-15T20:12:36.680-08:00Dec. 1, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,<div>
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Sounds like Thanksgiving was great for y'all. It was for me too. I went to a family in our ward. One of our investigators was supposed to come with us, but he ended up going to his daughter's instead. Understandable. If you didn't get a chance, I would strongly recommend watching the video In The Spirit of Thanksgiving on <a href="http://mormonchannel.org/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">mormonchannel.org</a> . It's a good one. And then make a list of things you're thankful for--or better yet, just say a prayer and give the list to God. He likes that kind of stuff apparently. But yeah, this week was good.</div>
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Key indicators are the way missionaries report their doings to the Mission President (fun fact, it's also what the church builds most missionary statistics off of). There are 10 of them. So every week we send in our numbers through the Zone Leaders on how many lessons we taught, how many investigators we found ect... So anyway, with this season being the season it is, the church has rolled out a new campaign called He Is The Gift. You'll never guess; it's about Christmas. As part of the campaign, they've added on to <a href="http://mormon.org/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">mormon.org</a> and created a new website called <a href="http://christmas.mormon.org/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">christmas.mormon.org</a> . Check it out, it's the bomb. Elder Mitchell and I (we're supposed to study the church websites) spent a goodly amount of time on that site. It's pretty amazing. Also there is a new pass along card you can get from your missionaries. Pass a lot of them out. This is kind of a really big deal. Also, this Sunday, visit <a href="http://youtube.com/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">youtube.com</a>; it's the only advertiser on that website on the 7th. Pretty intense. I like it a lot. So anyway, I'm super pumped. Go crazy with it. OH! And if you share the link on <a href="http://facebook.com/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">facebook.com</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">twitter.com</a> ect. and put #heisthegift, it will link you to the church's social media site and then all your friends can see it. So share it a lot. So now we report on how many investigators we find through</div>
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Also, Elder Mitchell and I made a key indicator up. It's really cool, we're collecting it from the district every Sunday night before we send the numbers to the Zone Leaders. It's the number of pies received, and the number of pies eaten. Pretty awesome.</div>
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So I just finished the Book of Mormon again and I think it's a pretty good book. Being a missionary, I notice a lot more things pertaining missionary work and gospel ministry. Most recently, Moroni 8 and Alma 42 have stuck out to me. Both are words from fathers to their sons. The last few verses of Alma 42 are super awesome to read as a missionary. Because missionaries mess up a lot. And it's cool to have repentance to overcome that obstacle. So when you read Alma 42, the entire chapter is spent on justice and mercy and sin and punishment and kinda makes the sinner feel super low. By verse 25, I feel pretty bummed out for sinning. Rather remorseful. But the last few verses are so hopeful. Alma doesn't actually exact a punishment, declare Corianton's doom or give him a penalty for his sins. Rather, he simply tells him something very similar to what Christ said to the woman taken in adultery. When the woman was found guilty, Jesus didn't give her forgiveness per say, but he also didn't sentence her to any sort of disfellowshipment in the church. Instead, he directs her to "Go, and sin no more." Alma also says to Corianton "...my son, go thy way..." The very word "go" I think is very freeing. It means that there isn't anything set in stone yet in terms of his salvation. The is time to repent. There is still time to prepare to meet God (Alma 34:32).</div>
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The other chapter you're probably thinking "That's about baptizing infants." Well you're right. But verses two and three are so comforting. How cool is it to hear those words from a prophet. Moroni's doing the missionary thing and his father writes him and only tells him how proud of Moroni he is. Pretty cool stuff. So there's always hope, if you're where Corianton was as, you can always make it to where Moroni was. There is always hope for repentance and forgiveness. Anyway, just some thoughts I had on that.</div>
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I gotta get going. But I love you all to death. Haha, that's a joke. I love you all to life! (Don't die.) Take care. Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for your prayers. I can feel them every day. Don't forget to read your scriptures. Don't forget to check out He Is The Gift! Don't forget that God forgives. And don't forget to look Up!</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-21854969044148428052014-12-15T20:09:00.001-08:002014-12-15T20:09:25.931-08:00November 24, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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There will be no turkey bowls for me this Thursday. It was really funny in Elders quorum because they discussed the turkey bowl and set it up before the lesson. They then invited the missionaries. We told them that our Mission President was not a fan and would prefer we wouldn't. The room got fairly loud with excuses, which I found rather humorous because President Hobbs wasn't even near the room. :P But anyway, I will not be playing football on Thursday so Dad and Taylor must. Or else.</div>
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Thanks for all your emails and love and support. I feel it out here on the mission. It means a lot to be able to email people and have them email back. Thank you.</div>
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Starting this week, the church just released a new initiative that I am SO stoked for called "He Is The Gift" is starts Friday the day after Thanksgiving and goes all the way through January 1st. If you remember back in Easter they released the video "Because of Him" it's very similar. But it's bigger and awesomer.</div>
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This past week was awesome and Elder Mitchell and I had a lot of fun. We had a lesson with the Chacons and they were super open about their concerns. Missionaries love that kind of stuff because then we have something to work. But they committed to read from the Book of Mormon and pray about it. The are an awesome family. We love them a lot.</div>
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The Gomez and Roger are not doing so good on progressing though. Please pray for them. They're awesome and we love them a ton, but please pray for them.</div>
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I was reading in Mormon today and Mormon 9 is such a great chapter on the Plan of Salvation. It's cool to have so many good chapters on the Plan of Salvation in the Book of Mormon but I had never really noticed Mormon 9. Great chapter. It makes total sense of the Three Kingdom.</div>
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Anyway, I gots to get goin'. Thanks so much for all you do. Don't forget to read your scriptures. Don't forget to say your prayers. And don't forget to look Up!</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-24153397153294119662014-11-17T20:00:00.001-08:002014-11-17T20:00:40.752-08:00November 17, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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I was at the Bray's last night as they were over there. Go figure. They're super cool huh? Brother Bray's mom came up to me in church yesterday and said so excitedly "Doug and Elaine went through the temple with your parents yesterday and they wanted me to tell you!" Well that was kind of cool to hear! I was expecting maybe just a pop in and drop off the package, say hi, joke around and what not. But I think your way was cooler. I have a lot of fun over at their place. I don't think I ever leave their house in a bad mood. AND! They cook pretty much amazing food. So that's pretty awesome. But no, their house is one of mine and Elder Mitchell's favorite houses to visit. We always feel the Spirit there. Taralee was telling me last night that you and Sister Bray are like twins. It made sense to me but I just thought it was funny that she mentioned it. Haha, good times.</div>
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Speaking of that visit though, did you get the package? The main reason I sent it was because I wanted you to have that CD in there by Hyrum Smith (he's not THE Hyrum Smith but he's A Hyrum Smith---not that his first name starts with A, I was just capitalizing it for emphasis). But I thought it would be super lame to just send home one CD. So Elder Mitchell and I raided the apartment to see if there was anything we could send home. So most of that stuff was there before I got to the area and was stuff that other missionaries had left behind that we ended up not being allowed to have. So we put that stuff in there. You don't have to keep any of it, but I figured since I was throwing it away, I might as well give it away first. Do keep the talk though. That's a good idea.</div>
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I did get the brownies. In fact, I ate another one this morning (as part of the diet I'm on, I have to eat a brownie with every breakfast....just kidding, I'm not on a diet. But I did eat the brownie).</div>
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This week was a pretty powerful week though. There was a lot that the Lord did for Elder Mitchell and myself. I feel super humbled to be serving the Lord out here on the mission. He does so much for me everyday as I try and fulfill my calling. Everything out here would be totally impossible without our Savior. But with Him, everything becomes clearer and the path becomes easier to walk. One of the sections in Preach My Gospel that I found interesting was the last section in Chapter 4 titled A Word of Caution. The third paragraph reads "Revelation and spiritual experiences are sacred. They should be kept private and discussed only in appropriate situations. As a missionary, you may be more aware of spiritual experiences than you have been earlier in your life. Resist the temptation to talk freely about these experiences." I think it's important to keep sacred things sacred. Like with the temple. I have found that on my mission, I have been privileged to have many experiences where I've been able to "remember how merciful the Lord hath been" (Moroni 10:3) in blessing me with things I don't deserve. I feel humbled to be able to communicate with my Father in Heaven, even though in reality there's nothing I've done, or could do, to earn the right to speak with Him. And yet, we have experiences all the time that we don't deserve. I think it's important to only share them when moved upon by the Spirit, lest we become familiar and casual with blessings.</div>
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Okay but I will say this. Pray like hard core for the Gomez family, the Chacon family, and for Justin, and for Richard, and for Roger. Like, a lot for them.</div>
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So anyway, transfer calls are in and I am GOING!...to be staying. Haha here's to one more transfer in Upland with Elder Mitchell. In fact the other companionship in our ward (Sisters Christensen and Stagg) are also staying. Woot! They're the bomb. We've already planned to go Christmas caroling, because we all sing. This transfer will be ridiculous. But super super fun! I am so excited.</div>
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We had one Sister in our district get transferred. And a few other changes in the Zone, but mostly, things are staying the same for now. Upland Zone is probably the youngest Zone in the mission. About a half of the missionaries have been out for 6mo or less. WHA?! Crazy huh?</div>
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Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I love you all and for all that you do! Don't have too much fun!---Oh wait, I need to tell you about Elder Golden. We were visited by Elder Golden of the Seventy. He is so crazy genius. He talked about goal setting and eternal perspective and our purpose for the whole meeting. He knows so much. The doctrine he talked about was super deep, but it was all applicable. So my mind exploded. But it gets better. The meeting was supposed to be for 5hrs. We ended up being there for 7hrs. It was intense. I almost died. But it was awesome.</div>
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Anyway, thanks for all you do. Remember to read and pray (a lot...like a ton) and to do the right thing. Don't forget to remember how merciful the Lord hath been. And don't forget to look Up!</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-19921656099346554722014-11-10T21:28:00.000-08:002014-11-10T21:28:09.358-08:00November 10, 2014<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Mom, Dad, and Family,</span><br />
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Thank you so much for your support and prayers. They mean a lot to me and I can see them at work. Thank you for studying in Preach My Gospel and in True to the Faith. They are awesome resources to find answers and confound false doctrine. Especially the way True to the Faith is written. I love those books and cherish them.</div>
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This week took a lot of patience, and combined with previous, it has been one of the lowest teaching times of my mission thus far. But patience is required to see fruit, whereas faith alone can grow it (Alma 32). We didn't teach, with exception of dinner appointments with members, till Thursday. Appointment after appointment fell through. I didn't really ever look at it as a testing period, but I think in a lot of ways it was. President Monson reminds us in Preach My Gospel Chapter 6 that often times, to combat the world, the heavenly virtue of patience is required. Most of the time we think that we have to DO something to keep the adversary at bay (for example, when a week isn't going well we evaluate and find our prayers have been lacking in faith or spirituality, and we should then make a course correction). But sometimes the Lord sees fit to try and chasten His people, and that cannot change with any amount of faith or action. And so sometimes we have to wait.</div>
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Thursday we had 4 appointments fall through. Splits were late. And we only had a few scattered back of plans. 4 days of waiting is a long time. But starting Thursday night, the storm was over. We taught a less-active part-member family and the non-member husband wants his kids to be there for the next teaching appointment. God then blessed us with other appointments and lessons that all went so well. Had it not been for patience, I pretty sure it wouldn't have happened.</div>
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We had two investigators at church on Sunday, and two less-active members. Things are picking up and the Lord is watching out for us. Thanks for your faithful prayers that also brought the blessings we received.</div>
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Thanks for all you do. This week was awesome and I love being here. Thanks for your love and support. I miss you all. Don't forget to read your scriptures, don't forget to pray, and don't forget to look Up.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-895108785053409712014-11-10T21:24:00.000-08:002014-11-10T21:24:04.897-08:00November 3, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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Not a single person came to our door for trick-or-treating! ...I'm actually not all that offended because we didn't really have much candy to give them anyway. But we had a lot of Mormon.org cards! Pump the kids full of propaganda! No it wasn't a big deal. We had a curfew of 6pm on Halloween, which is understandable, the pagans wake up and move about at 5pm, so that's about when proselyting got ineffective. But along with the 6pm curfew deal, if we had a ward activity that was indoors, we could go to that before we went home. So we didn't get back until about 8pm (the pagans were all over the place at that time. I had to fight a couple off with a stick.)</div>
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So...is Robyn alive? You kind of didn't give very many details... You kind of just said "Robyn was carving a pumpkin and stabbed herself. We took her to the ER. Made for an exciting day." I assume she is alive. Just kidding, I know she's fine. It just kind of scared me to read.</div>
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Sounds like everybody had a good week (aside from the stabbing...) I did too! We found a new investigator. Well, okay. We didn't find him, he kind just showed up. He's from Saint Luscia in the Caribbean, and he's here trying to get his citizenship and work. Well fortunately he's staying with the Bray family who met him on vacation in Saint Luscia a few years ago. They run a daycare and take all their daycare kids to church on Sundays, so they're into the whole missionary thing. He's super nice and we had our first lesson with him at the Bray home (after an awesome rib dinner. The Brays...they know where it's at.) And he committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it.</div>
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We also had a lesson with Richard. He's doing so awesome. Elder Mitchell and I feel super humbled to teach him. He works a lot of hours and his health isn't so good. His work is super hard on his body too. I remember one lesson Elder Depew and I had with him, he had just gotten done working 8 days in a row. He was tired and exhausted and frankly, pretty beat up. We found out this week about how he made it to church. He had the day off anyway, but it kind of threw off his schedule. That Sunday off was the first day in 9 that he didn't have work. He was talking to his manager to see about getting his normal days off again and she said "I've got a way I can do it. You won't have to work the 9 days in a row, but you'll have to work the weekend." He turned to her and said "No. I promised I would go to church. I'll work the 9 days." I don't know how it happened, but when we met with him, he told us that he ended up having 5 days off in a row. He wasn't tired. He wasn't worn out. And he was happier. One of the days off he got ended up actually being paid too. So we looked at his schedule to see if there was a Sunday in the near future he could come to church again. There wasn't. He turned to us and said "Maybe I could switch one of the younger guys at work on a Sunday, and I could take their Monday so they could go to school or something like that." We looked at his schedule and he paused a little bit and then said "It would mean I'd have to work 9 days in a row again." But then he smiled and said "But it'd be worth it don't you think?" Mom, I don't know how he's going to make it, or how he's doing physically, but he's so much stronger spiritually. Please keep him in your prayers.</div>
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There have been some downhills this week too. We haven't been able to get in touch with Robert or Paula all week long and we're pretty worried about them. Wayne, Nancy, and Marie, officially dropped us. And we've talked to but haven't been able to meet with Justin in over a week. Please pray for the people in Upland and for the Spirit to be with them. I've been thinking a lot about prayer. If you get the chance, read the prayer section in true to the faith.</div>
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I love you all. Please take care. Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. I love the Spirit I feel when I read all of your letters. Don't forget to read your scriptures. Don't forget to pray. Don't forget to rely on the Lord. And don't forget to look Up.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-57805163127342379022014-11-10T21:20:00.003-08:002014-11-10T21:20:57.877-08:00October 27, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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I've been thinking loads this week about testimony. That's what I gave my talk on, trained in district meeting on, and will train again in district meeting on. I've been thinking about how important testimony is. It's something that I wished was stronger before I came out. And something that can always use strengthening as a missionary. Elder Mitchell and I listen to a lot of talks (in the car, in the morning before studies, during lunch, and sometimes before we go to bed), and two ones I've listened to recently by President Monson had to do with testimony, and gaining one. In fact, Your Potential, Your Privileges by President Uchtdorf (Priesthood, 2011) is really a lot about gaining and strengthening a testimony.</div>
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As a missionary, you use your testimony a lot. In fact, if you do it right, you use it always. We should always be looking for ways to strengthen our testimonies and come closer to God. I've totally found that the times I feel the Spirit the most, and the times I'm the happiest, are the times when I'm in the word, and on my knees often. If there's anything that I would encourage anyone to do, it would be to read and study the missionary lessons, and keep the commitments listed in there for a month straight. I am so convinced that those lessons will strengthen anyone's testimony and help them receive a testimony if they do now have one that I honestly believe Elder Ballard told us to read Preach My Gospel in the April session of conference (his talk is called Follow Up, and it's a great talk to go back and read.) Please read the missionary lessons, and keep those commitments in there (the lessons are in Chapter 3 of PMG).</div>
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Sounds like everything is going great back home. Tell Rylie congratulations on getting her blessing. I read mine again this morning. Every time I do, I learn more about what I need to do in the coming week. That blessing will be a greater source of direction in her life than any other text. I love that blessing. If there is anyone I know that is prepared to have a blessing, it's Rylie. She'll understand her blessing with a depth that not many people have.</div>
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I miss the primary back home. We had our program a month ago and I thought it was awesome. We had a blast watching and the Spirit is always there so strong. This week is fast and testimony meeting. If you get a chance, start the commitments in PMG now, and go bare your testimony on Sunday. In Gospel Principles the other week, we had a testimony meeting instead of a lesson (our Ward Mission Leader didn't show up.) The Spirit was so strong. I walked in late because Elder Mitchell and I had to bring something to someone, but when we walked in, the Spirit started speaking to me right away. It was awesome.</div>
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Not a lot to report this week. Everything went well. Elder Mitchell went on his first two exchanges this week (one with our Zone Leaders and the other with a member in our district), so we had two days of not being with each other. It was super weird. It was like having one of my toes amputated. It didn't hurt all that much, but it just felt like something was missing. We have a month-in-meeting with the rest of the new missionaries this week to see how everything is going. He's doing great. You all would love him so much. He and I are like brothers. I think we actually get along too well. We have a lot of fun. But we work hard. He's so comfortable just talking to people about the gospel, it's awesome.</div>
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Richard came to church. He finally had a Sunday off from work and was able to make it out on Sunday. He's a lot of fun too. He struggle a lot, but he's super humble.</div>
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Well all, I love you dearly and pray for you every day. Keep being awesome and don't let anyone take awesomeness away from you. That would be dumb. Don't forget to choose the right. Don't forget to love God, and all others around you. And don't ever forget to look Up.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-49741903736385867182014-11-10T21:15:00.003-08:002014-11-10T21:15:36.628-08:00October 19, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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Y'all are the bomb! It's good to hear from you. Sounds like things back home are still in order. Good...just how I planned it. ;) Sounds like y'all had a good week. Thanks for your letters. They mean a lot and I dig the picture of everyone looking up (that's part of my morning rites. Just kidding, I don't have morning rites. Elder Mitchell does though). We do run in the mornings though. I make him run every morning. And he puts up with it. He was faster than me in high school. Not so much anymore. But it still beats lifting weights. We like running.</div>
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The Mauritzens...I definitely remember the name. But I've had like a zillion coaches, you'd have to tell me which sport and team. But anyway, tell them hi and thank you for being my coach. I really looked up to my coaches back home. They taught me a lot.</div>
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Awesome about your knee. I hope it keeps feeling alright. I'll keep ya in my prayers. Probably made Goblin Valley a little easier. Hey it's probably not even 100 degrees there this time of year, huh? I don't know if I could ever say 100 degrees is bad anymore. Granted, I wouldn't like to live in 100+ weather, but I've had worse. How're Corynne and Bryce doing? They recovering okay? I still haven't heard from either one of them.</div>
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Tell Robyn I'm only mildly offended she didn't want to share what I gave her. But I guess she can share whatever she wants. ;) No it's not a problem. That was just super super recent when I wrote that, so it was on my mind. There's loads about missionary work that she could share.</div>
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Speaking of sharing things. Elder Mitchell and I gave talks in Sacrament meeting yesterday. That was super fun. The Bishopric gave us kinda vague subjects; they wanted us to speak on what prepared us to go on a mission and why we came out. Well that's kind of super not that interesting, I've just kind of always wanted to go and had a super great family. In the name of... So we kind of took parts of that and ran with it. I spoke on testimony and the Restoration, and Elder Mitchell spoke on the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation. No we didn't plan that, we just kinda ended up teaching the first two lessons over the pulpit. It was a way fun experience. We had a good time.</div>
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This week has been long feeling, but also short at the same time. I feel like it's been forever since I've been emailing, but at the same time it does feel like it's been less than a week. But it's been way good. Elder Mitchell still surprises me with how prepared he was before he even got to the field. He works hard and he's very effective and he just loves doing missionary work. We were talking one day when we were late getting out to proselyting. I said "Man, the Spirits just kind of lagging today." He says "Yeah, I think when we're not out working, it tends to do that." So neither one of us like meetings, or being in the apartment. It's super awesome. I feel kind of bad. We're supposed to let new missionaries kind of adjust to missionary life...we skip lunches to be out working. It's super fun but sometimes we'll be on the way to an appointment and we'll look at each other and say "I'm super hungry." Fortunately, dinner usually takes place a couple hours later.</div>
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But the week has been good. Life is good. I love being a missionary and the work definitely keeps going forward "unhindered" as President Monson would say. We did family home evening with a family last night, and we were trying to figure out what to do for the lesson. They have some younger kids with shorter attention spans. So we were discussing our most memorable FHE lessons and I told Elder Mitchell I could tell the story of David and Goliath backwards because in FHE we would do that lesson about every other week with action figures. Couldn't tell him where the story was in the scriptures (although I think it's earlier in 2nd Kings), but I knew the story inside and out. So we did the story of Ammon with action figures. And I'll pretty much bet ice cream on they'll remember it if they do it again. Pretty sure. So that was fun.</div>
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So I'm still studying virtue in the Book of Mormon, and I've come to some sort of a semi-sure conclusion that virtue is feeling the way God feels. I've also decided that virtuous people receive revelation super fast because they think like God does. But sometimes that doesn't always feel good. We were listening to this talk about receiving answers to prayers, and this speaker talked about how sometimes in an answer to a prayer, God gives us a knot in our stomach. We'll be somewhere, or doing something, and we just feel a pit in out stomachs. Sometimes that's how our Heavenly Father communicates with us. Well I was reading in Mosiah 28, and in verse three the sons of Mosiah get that feeling. These men are so in tune with the Spirit, that they feel pain for others the way God does. Just uneasy, trembling and quaking, they describe it. They just don't feel good. And that's what drives them to serve their missions. Sometimes God uses that pit to answer our prayers. I thought that was interesting. Because of that answer, an entire nation was converted to the Lord. Multiple peoples change their lives to come closer to their Savior.</div>
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Thanks for all you do. I love an pray for you everyday. You are all awesome! Don't forget who your Savior is. In John 6:66-69, Peter bares testimony and remains faithful in an apostasy among members. Develop the faith to be as Peter. Don't forget to pray. Don't forget to read scriptures every day. And don't forget to look Up.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-39541860233073508892014-10-15T22:08:00.002-07:002014-10-15T22:08:58.718-07:00October 15, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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So this is going to be like way super short because we have an appointment in like a half hour. :P First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR. I totally didn't forget. I have his present and I've been meaning to send it for...the last two weeks. But P-Days haven't been accommodating (for example, yesterday was Columbus day) but I will send it soon. I promise...ish. I hope the day is going great and that he's having fun y cosas.</div>
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Yes! I totally have seen Meet the Mormons, twice in fact. I saw it over a week before it came out (missionary perks) on Wednesday two weeks ago. It was super cool. The other time I saw it was at a meeting for new missionaries. All of the new missionaries that came out this transfer hadn't seen it yet (because they were in the MTC when it came out) so we watched it their first day here. We're actually not allowed to go out and see it in the theaters. The reason is it's not meant to be a proselyting tool, and they don't want missionaries to be there because we scare people away from things. So we just kick back and watch it with other missionaries. Actually, we're not even supposed to bring it up with people unless they're already investigating the church (at least until it moves from the theaters to Netflix). But yeah, good movie. I'm one of like 10 missionaries here that has seen it twice.</div>
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I guess that brings me to my companion. Elder Mitchell is from Las Vegas and has been out in the field for six days. It's weird, because they assigned me as trainer, but the Elder I'm training already kind of knows everything--so nothing much has really changed. He's way cool. He's a singer, he ran in highschool, and jokes around a ton. So we kind of get a long. We laugh literally like all the time. It's rather ridiculous. We had some other changes in the Zone as well and we have some awesome awesome missionaries that moved into the Zone. I'm super pumped for the transfer.</div>
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The week was kind of awesome. We talked to this guy on the street named Justin. He's 16 and we asked him if he had every talked to missionaries before. He said no and long story short, we came by the next day to teach him. This kid has gone through things that no kid should ever have to deal with. He's super nice and really sincere. He wants to make his relationship with God stronger and he's just awesome. If you could pray for him that would be awesome! He's a great guy. He's who we're seeing right after this.</div>
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This week has been such a blessing and has actually gone by super fast. God truly does watch out for us and loves us a ton (but like, actually more). Don't forget to read your scriptures. Don't forget to pray. Don't forget to attend church and serve in callings and love one another and help each other out and be kind and loving. And most importantly, don't forget to look Up. I love you all and pray for you everyday.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-37497108226036585472014-10-06T20:51:00.001-07:002014-10-06T20:51:33.361-07:00October 5, 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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I totally did get to see conference! Pretty stellar, huh? I really appreciate the directness of the talks. Especially Klimingat (or however you spell his name. We have some Ukraine missionary evacuees in our mission, he was their old mission president. Pretty cool to hear them talk about him). I think one of the talks I loved the most was Elder Bednar's talk. We went over to Robert and Paula's house for the last session of conference (Paula has never seen it and Robert hasn't watched it in over 15 years!); after ELDER Packer's talk, I was kind of wondering (I don't know if she's getting much of this...) and then BOOM. Elder Bednar *ahh....understanding*. Great conference overall. I'll definitely be studying next months Ensign (SO happy we get those). Tell the fam to email me all of your favorite talks and why. But yeah, in that choir I saw a lot of familiar faces. It was weird actually. Last conference, there was a choir that sang from the Orem institute of religion (that was the institute I attended). Had I stayed another year back home, I could have sang in two general conferences. Also, Ephraim Tripp was in the MTC choir during priesthood session. But I'm pretty sure coming on a mission was better. I got to meet two of those prophets (and Larry S Kacher of the 70) and shake their hands (I even hugged Elder Nelson) anyway. Nbd.</div>
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Crazy developments with Corynne and Bryce. But if there's any couple I know that could pull through something like this and still remain faithful and positive, let's face it, it's Corynne and Bryce. A gift of the spirit that Moroni left out in Moroni 10 is resilience. And Corynne and Bryce are truly resilient. Pretty stalwart people. I'll keep them in my prayers.</div>
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All I have to say about the FJ situation...is that car has a mind of it's own. You should ask Corynne and Robyn to write a talk with that story though. Sounds like something that could provide a lot of metaphorical power (I want you to slowly clench your fist and say, ever so maniacally, "metaphorical power").</div>
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We haven't heard back from Sharon. She's choosing to kind of remain aloof in the situation. Super depressing for us, but we'll stop by again this week and see how she's doing. She's an awesome lady and we really respect her. Just want her to come into the fold...y cosas. But we keep praying. She'll come around some time or another. It's hard to break away from a faith you teach in.</div>
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Poor Elder Depew. After 7mos in one area, he finally got transferred. That's not the poor Elder Depew part though. He not only got transferred, but into the same ward as President Hobbs. I love being around President, he's an awesomely inspired man--but let's face it; no one wants to work under the boss's direct gaze. But he's a good missionary and President loves him, so it will all be well. President takes care of his missionaries. So now I have a different companion. But we'll have a lot of fun. We have a lot we want to do this transfer and some pretty high hopes. Speaking of which; we have a lesson with a potential investigator who wants to know about some of the archeological evidence for the Book of Mormon. I told him it wouldn't matter in getting an answer even if he did have proof (you can't learn spiritual truths secularly...it doesn't work. It's called looking beyond the mark and Jacob has a few things to say about that. So does Elder Ballard...but anyway). But he's still curious, and frankly I am too. It's been a while since I've seen that kind of stuff and I think it's awesome. So I was wondering if you could send me a picture of Dad's wooden tablet from Bolivia--the one with the two sticks.</div>
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Anyway, things are going super well. I'm excited for the transfer. I've been studying virtue in the Book of Mormon. I have decided I really admire virtuous people. Preach My Gospel says that virtue originates from our innermost thoughts and desires. If that is true (and I think we oughta say it is) than Lehi had to be a virtuous person. He received visions from God in his sleep (so did Nephi--see 2Nephi 4). I think that being virtuous is one of the most heavenly attributes of the Savior because you think the way He thinks, you see the way He sees, and you feel the way He feels. Which I am so impressed with.</div>
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I love you all and miss you dearly. You are always in my prayers. I am so thankful for your examples and for all you do. Please take care and know I love you. And...Don't forget to look Up.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621472797732421225.post-43207240693365576522014-09-29T20:33:00.003-07:002014-09-29T20:33:57.451-07:00September 29, 2014<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><div>
Mom, Dad, and Family,</div>
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Well fortunately, enough has happened in the past four weeks that this shouldn't be too dry of an email. In fact the past three days have been some of the most productive I've had in a fairly long while. We were doing weekly planning (we do it on Fridays) and we're sitting there thinking to ourselves "So...it's been six days since we've had a lesson with an investigator..." That's quite the drought. We hadn't found anybody, or taught anybody all week long. The only lessons we had were with less-active members--two of them. Okay, I'm no stat monkey (numbers aren't really a big deal to me), but in case you're wondering, two less-active member lessons in six days is not the highest lesson count for missionaries. But we didn't really care--we went to the temple the day before. Nothing could really get us down. Except for maybe malaria...that would stink. So we're kind of trying to figure out how we're going to reach our goals and who we could go see and not really coming up with anything.</div>
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And then we had four lessons with investigators, two of which were with new investigators, in two days. So that was pretty cool and we felt all warm inside and stuff. We felt super grateful to God. It was a great weekend.</div>
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But back to weekly planning. Last week we were dropped by three investigators. Also not good on the numbers game. One of them being Sharon. That was sooo depressing. We were stopping by to see if we could catch Carlos (Sharon's next door neighbor--who also happens to be an investigator) and Sharon walked outside. We needed to follow up with her and she how she's doing anyway, so we started talking when she stopped and got really serious. "Yeah, I meant to call you back the other day. I need to tell you that I need to cancel our appointment for Friday." The word 'cancel' in comparison to 'reschedule' is probably on of the worst feeling comparisons in the world. She continued "And I don't think it is worth the time for you two to keep on coming by. I was praying and got my answer that the Bible is God's ONLY word." Well we thought that was kind of weird. We found out later in the conversation that she just wasn't realizing the answer. It's understandable that she would be hesitant--she teaches the equivalent of primary at her church and to give that up and to attend a different church while her husband stays at the current one is kind of a lot to give up. We knew she had a lot of fears, but most all of them seemed to go away when we were in lessons with her. She was so close to coming to church and to getting a strong confirmation. She was reading the Book of Mormon, she was praying--on her own and with us--and she even allowed us to bring a member to one of our visits. She was going so good, but a decision had to be made and she chose to stay where she's at right now. She told us she's not shutting it out of her mind and she still keeps the Book of Mormon near her bedside and she'll still read from it. Elder Depew and I bore fervent testimony to her about the truthfulness and the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Spirit entered into all of our hearts. But she had made her decision and we were super sad. But she says she want to keep in contact and we'll probably see her this week anyway just to see how she's doing and invite her to General Conference. She's really awesome and we still want to keep in touch. Our area isn't that big, so that won't be hard.</div>
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But we found Nancy. She's technically YSA age...but we don't really want to tell anyone that, because we think she's super cool. She was way nice when we first met her and she invited us over. We showed up at the expected time and she was like "I thought you guys were going to forget." HA! We never forget. She was happy to see us and we taught her a quick lesson and invited her to church. She accepted and was excited to come. She didn't make it. She teaches kindergarten and has taken care of kids for pretty much her entire life and we forgot to tell her last Sunday was THE PRIMARY PROGRAM! I was super bummed for like 30 seconds...and then I just started to enjoy the program. It was awesome.</div>
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Speaking of the Primary Program. Robyn needs something from the field, huh? Well, there's a lot to tell. But something that has been on my mind a lot recently is another couple we're working with. Paula's not a member (I don't know if I told you about these two), and Robert hasn't been to church in over 15yrs. Here's what she can share: </div>
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Robert actually found us. We were sitting on the corner late at night trying to figure out what to do when Robert drove by. He invited us over to his home and we started teaching him and Paula, his wife. She's really excited to learn more but Robert's not sure he wants to come back to church. So I fasted for him on Sunday--that he would gain the desire to come back to church. After I got done praying, I got the thought to read Mosiah 3. Verses 4 and 5 say "For the Lord hath heard thy prayers...and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice....For behold, the time cometh...that in power, the Lord...shall come down from heaven among the children of men..." I know God answers prayers. And that went He loves all His children.</div>
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I'm excited to keep working with them. They are so awesome. Our ward is actually shrinking because people keep moving out. Our Bishops and Stake President are super concerned we'll have to dissolve the stake. Some members have 3-4 callings here in our ward. Robert and Paula are exactly what the ward needs and we pray always that they'll join the church. Pray for them...like Enos would.</div>
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Getting back to weekly planning this past week. Elder Depew and I started in this area with one investigator. As we were planning this past week...we had one investigator. It was discouraging for a moment--we had to start all over again, from the beginning. But we felt a certain surge of confidence in the Lord. It was actually really cool because once again, there's no where to go or turn but Up. So we have our week filled out and plans to do some hard work this week to end this transfer (probably Elder Depew's last week here). Lesson learned: Don't Forget to Look Up.</div>
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I love you all and pray for you often. I'm glad to hear everything is going well. Tell Corynne she should email me sometime before the second coming. It's been nearly 9mos. Come on. ;) How are she and Bryce doing? I think about them and pray for them. I hope all is going well.</div>
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Also! I was reading the past conference talks again (in preparation for this week), and I ran across Elder Ballards talk. Ever since I read Our Search for Happiness, my love for Elder Ballard has grown so much. But how is Preach My Gospel study going? I know more than ever that studying that book and using it not only in missionary work and efforts, but in everyday life will bless you all and those you meet and know. By the way, good job in Boston, Mom. Take care and love those around you.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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<span dir="ltr">Mom, Dad, and Family,<div>
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Saturday was the first time in my life that I had heard Brother Robbins sing. I've known him almost 19yrs and didn't know he could sing until I came out on my mission. One of the people who danced what he sang accompanied me for Bring Him Home--he's a guy in my ward. He's a really good guy. But anyway, Bro Robbins did a really great job and he nailed all of his notes (he had some pretty high ones).</div>
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Sounds like school is going well back home. Man, I miss going to school. Often times I wish personal study on the mission was extended to two hours, because one isn't a lot of time to study the gospel. I never thought I'd actually say that. I mean, I've always loved studying the gospel, but I had never really consistently for more than 15mins a day or so. Now I know what it's like to study it for longer, I don't think I could ever go back. I try and rush the morning schedule just so I can get to personal study early; then at the end of the day, we try and do planning as quickly as possible so I can get ready for bed and read before bedtime. I have grown to love the scriptures so much and I wish there was more time to read them. There is so much material to study and learn from, it's insane.</div>
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I'm excited to hear about how the auditions go for Rylie. Sounds like she's improved a lot and she's doing really good. You'll have to let me know how things go. Also, when Robyn's invented a robot that can do household chores, have her send it to me. I could really use it out here. I think it would be great. And sounds like Taylor's grabbing the bull by the horns with school as well. That's awesome!</div>
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This week was great. We had some miracles happen and it was just awesome. First off. We had a really slow day Thursday (like painfully slow), so we did a lot of tracting and weren't able to teach anyone. But on our way back, we saw Marie. Our last lesson didn't exactly go stellar with Marie and we were trying to figure out a way to recover. She called out to us and we stopped and talked for a little while. It was really good and helped some things. She didn't come to church this Sunday, but things are looking a little better.</div>
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We were also scared about Sharon. We had called her a couple times during the week and we thought she had dropped us. So when we went over Friday, we were super anxious to see how she was doing. We had thought maybe she got anti-ed or something in her family had happened or she just lost interest. We knocked on her door, and no one answered. We were super put out because she had seemed so solid the week before. So we kind of hung our heads and started to mope. But we decided we should ring the doorbell anyway (missionaries always try at least twice; once for their salvation, once for ours). Well turns out she was home and waiting for us, she had water waiting for us and her Book of Mormon out and ready to go. She had taken notes to outline the chapter, cross referenced it with the bible, and had questions written down for us to answer. It was really cool. She even said she wanted to read the testimonies of Joseph Smith and the witnesses. We didn't really mope after that. It was a great experience.</div>
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The Howards also came to church. Brother Howard works on Sundays and the ward has tried everything to get him to come to church. He says he wants to come, but then he never shows up, even when he promises he will. Last week (not last week, but the week before) we did everything we could think of to get him out to church and he didn't come. So when he promised to come this week, we were rather skeptical. But he came with his daughter in law and his grandkids. It was awesome. First time in over a year and a half. Haley, wants to be baptized (she's 8) and we think it'll be good motivation to keep him active. It was an awesome day.</div>
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Thinks look good this week. We have some people we have plans to go see and were excited to see them. Thanks for all you do. The prayers mean a lot to me. They really do. I love and pray for you all. I miss you and think of you all often. Keep on keepin' on.</div>
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ILYMTLI,</div>
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Elder Russell</div>
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P.S. Next week we go to the temple, so President is moving P-Day to Thursday instead of Monday. So, I won't be able to email for 10 days instead of 7. Also, I know I've already mentioned it, but please please go do Grandpa Josip's work. I would really like to go through the temple for him and I only get to go through the temple every 6mos. Love you all.</div>
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Elder Christopher Jantzen Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348718791051109097noreply@blogger.com0