CHANGES!!!!

So...this might be a long one I'm not sure...SURPRISES! I got my first transfer call! Yep, Saturday evening the assistants called and said both of us received transfers...there are no longer two sets of missionaries in Komcomolcke, just Elders...and Sis. Quinn went to Saratov, and I am in SAMARA! I always wanted to serve in the actual city! I'm so excited! My new companion is Sis. Pitchforth...she is from Colorado and is so sweet! She is also someone I've always wanted to serve with! So I'm really excited! Ok...so...yep, I said there were surprises, plural. When the assistants called, E. Eyers said that I had a special assignment...me and SIs. Pitchforth are travelling sisters. Yeah...we're not 100% sure what it all intails but each transfer we will travel to all the sisters in the mission...there are 4 other companionships besides us, and do exchanges. He said we will be going as representatives of Pres and SIs. Sartori, and we are meant to lift and inspire! So every week, we're guessing, except two, we will be travelling to different parts of the mission. I'm really excited and nervous!!:) We don't know how long it will be...it's kinda a trial to see if it's effective, but we know it's for the next cycle. Transfers came early for sisters cause Sis. Lednova went home today with health problems. So yeah...I am in Samara, in the Besamancke branch. And E. Smith is my ZL again, at least till August when he goes home..so it should be fun here! So yeah...I think that is all the big news! 8 months there are no change and then this! Keeps us on our toes! Today the ZL's called and want to take us to lunch, so we might find out moreinfo there...we don't know! But we have a meeting with the assistants this week so I'm assuming by next week I will have more details! Everything is so crazy now...it was really hard to say goodbye to Sis. Quinn...we had fun together but it madeit easier cause we will see each other every cycle if I'm still a travelling sister...I don't really enjoy that title, it always reminds me of a travelling circus, but oh well. I have to get going! I'm sorry this is all I wrote about...it s just been so crazy the last few days! But all is good! And I am doing good! So I will write more next week! I love you all! Take Care!
Love,
Sister Wilson

Happy 4th:-)

HEY! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
Yeah, believe it or not, it's really not a big holiday in Russia ;) Our district is getting together after we email for pizza and then a Reptile Petting Zoo...yeah pizza sounds good...me screaming like a little girl and ruining any reputation I have of being a dignified Sister missionary doesn't sound good, but whatever..I just won't touch them...problem...the Elders know I don't like spiders or snakes. Well, if they put anything on me you'll know...cause I'll end up coming home(killing missionaries is frowned upon in Russia :)) So it's wierd cause you're sleeping right now, so I can't ask about your 4th of July! But I hope you have a good one! Today I think I am just realizing how grateful I am for my country...I love Russia and the people, but nothing replaces home and I'm just so grateful for everything there! And to be honest I'm mostly grateful for air conditioning! :) It's true...if I could be promised air conditioning this entire summer I'd give up Taco Bell for life....it is so humid, muggy and just plain hot here. Sorry....if you want to keep your imagine of me as a dignified Sister missionary...stop reading...I sweat all the time...like gross! My shirts are wet, so it makes it wierd to hug people, but then their shirst are wet so I'm like, gross I just touched other peoples sweat...I have a permanant glisten on my face and it's not the good kind like when they tell pregnant women they have a glow(well lets hope not :)) Yeah it's sweat and its there all the time day and night...hot! And it's only getting worse by the day...everytime I tell someone its hot they just laugh and tell me, "no this is actually cool." I think I'm going to die...or learn to live with it :) But my feet at really getting tan! ;) So yeah...we had three investigators at church yesterday! It was great, cause two of them got to meet and talk with PRes and Sis Sartori....it went so well! Yeah...so yesterday I got to translate for a little bit! When Pres and Sis Sartori come, they have a missionary translate in the back with a microphone and they have headphones....Elder Yates translated for them, but then Elder Yates bore his testimony and I got to! It was a lot of fun...and it made me realize how much Russian I've learned...like I had to know what he was saying cause if I didn't...the Sartori's wouldn't...and then after I translated for Sis. Sartori when she talked with the Primary Presidency....it was fun! Members would come up and be like, "Sis Wilson can you translate for me? I need to talk with Pres...or Sis..." I was thinking....What Sis. Wilson are they talking about? But at the same time I've noticed on the streets I'm understanding less...I think it might be cause its so hot and I'm not focusing as well but I just really want to get better at the language! I don't want to be 'understandable' and I want to be able to speak correctly! Grammar! It's a killer! but yeah, we have two progressing investigators and a bunch of new ones to work with this week! I forgot...we had Zone Leader day on Saturday...we got to contact with the Elders...it was good and fun! At the end the danced on the street...yeah...it was entertaining. Sis. Quinn is still doing good! i can't believe she's almost done with the 'training' months...its gone by really fast! We have 3 weeks from this wednesday til the temple, or at least the week of the temple, we don't know the exact day. We're both really excited! It'll be good to go to the temple again and its only in the summer so it won't be every Visa trip...so this will be the last time I go til I go home! Crazy! Well I need to get going! I think I've rambled enough! I love all of you so much! You mean the world to me! Take care this week and I'll write again on Monday! :) Love you!Love, Sister Wilson

Summer??

Where's Summer? That's all I have to say! It's been rainy and windy all week...and I forgot my umbrella half the time, so I looked like a drowned rat some days...yeah...anyways...I just really want the sun already! And to stay for longer than a day! Oh and Brandi I think you'll like this...I will never make fun of your dirty ankles again! I have a tan(stop laughing...it's happening) but I have a really good tan on the tops of my feet, and that's it! Sis. Quinn stopped while we were contacting yesterday and was like, "Wow, your feet are really tan and your legs are still white." Yeah...I have really tan feet! Don't understand that one but it makes for fun times! Anyways...So we had a lesson this week where our investigator told us she believes Christ was an alien....yep...didn't quite now how to respond to that...but it made again, for interesting times. We have a lot of new investigators but none are progressing right now. The one we've been working with didn't come to our meeting and isn't answering his phone...so we don't know what happened there...I'll keep you updated! Allergies are in full swing...yeah I sneeze all the time on the street and well Russians...they have a thing about germs and they stare at me funny when I sneeze...no one has said no though cause of it so I figure its fine... :) I hope! We are know having a combined sports night with the whole district(like a stake) so all the missionaries are there(well...8 of us). It was fun...we play ultimate frisbee usually which well you all remember how great I was at that game! It's a good way to keep me humble :) I can't believe that July is this week already! We want to try and get the missionaries together next monday for like a 4th of July picnic or something...don't know if we are allowed too...we might want to leave the American Flag at home, but other than that it might not be a problem! I bet Brandi is all ready for the 4th! Time goes by way to fast! Well I don't really know what else to talk about...not a lot happened last week! Oh what am I talking about...we placed 11 Books of Mormon in one day and past our goal for June...we wanted to give 40....so far we've given 43, and have a few days left! It was a good day! Well I will write more later! I love you all so much! Thank you for all your support! Take Care!
Love,
Sister Wilson

E. Eyers (AP) Pres. Sarton, E. hollingshead (AP)

Me and Sis. Lednova

On the bus after our VISA trip!


The Elders moved out of this apartment and Sis. Lednova and Brittany moved in
They left a note saying.....Sisters We welcome you:-)

Hey there!!

Hello!
So...it was a good, but long and busy week! Tuesday we got to go to the village, and it was so pretty an felt like home! I'll send pictures soon! I loved it there! That took most of Tuesday, then Wednesday we went to a museum for Culture night...wow...great, like so unbelieveably funny pictures...I'm send those too! And Thursday we plan for like 3 hours each week and Friday was SAMARA, zone conference! Saturday, Sports Night, and Sunday...well Sunday, church, meetings, I gave another talk in Sacrament...busy busy week! And we found 7 new investigators, 5 yesterday! It was so great! So, yeah, Zone Conference was great! Really inspiring, always is! Had an interview with President! I love him so much! he's amazing! I'm so glad he will be my president the whole time!...And I foudn out my release date...Sis. Sartori said it might still move, but probably not...so....March 5th! I get my full 18 months! I'm excited! Well...what else happened this week...we still have our one progressing investigator! he';s doing great! And we have about 14 new ones to work with, so we're more busy then I've ever been before! Pres said that he knows it's possible for us to find one new investigator a day, and since he's said it, me and Sis. Quinn have been working really hard, and have done it! It's so great! She's such a blessing!@ I can't even explain it! She's amazing! Honestly, I would serve with her the rest of my missin if I could! No funny stories this week...I heard a lot at conference, but they weren't mine, so it's probably not as funny to you! :) I love my mission! The Elders are all so great! So many of them are going home soon, that it stinks! But I'm grateful I was able to serve with them! Well I better go! i love you all and thank you for all you do! Take Care this week! Love,
Sister Wilson

Pictures to:)

Family!
Hi, how are you all doing?! :) This might be a quick one cause we tried a new internet place and we can't print out emails so I had to read yours first so it didn't leave me with much time! But anyways...to answer your questions before I forget...yes I have been getting Grandma's emails so she's sending them right! :) And well shoot...I already forgot the other questions...sorry! Well I did the RS training on Saturday and it went good....not a good turnout but we had representatives from each presidency so that was good! I did the first 2 hours of the training and then we had lunch...it was good! im glad I got to do that...it helped my language and I got to work in RS again for just a little bit! So it was a good experience! It was in New City which is about 30 minutes from my area. It kinda took up our whole Saturday and by the end of the day I was wiped out! But now is another week and we have Zone Conference on Friday in Samara so that will be good! And we get to go to the village(it's where the really nice homes are) tomorrow to meet with some members! I'm looking forward to it, except it really is a hassle to get out there! it's my first time in 7 months cause it is a lot of work! But we really want to meet with some of the families so it'll be good! To be honest, this was a tiring week! And I'm trying to think of what we did and I'm drawing blanks...we did meet with some investigators, one is progresssing...the one we speak with in English and this morning during study, our Zl's called with a contact...there is a guy who lives in our area that has a Book of Mormon and read some and wants to learn about it! Yeah....talk about miracle! he said two guys gave him the book about two years ago and he just found it this week! So we're meeting with him on Thursday! I'm excited! not often do people call wanting to meet with us! The branch is still doing good...I gave a spiritual thought in Priesthood yesterday while Sis. Quinn did Relief Society.(I had a woman with me, don't worry!) The Elders are out of the branch for a few weeks, so it's just the Sisters and we have Invitation Sunday in July and Pres wants us to do weekly spiriutal thoughts about it in the third hour so I took Priesthood this week...it was fun! Just like when I would go into Priesthood in America! Awkward, but fun! They told me I could come anytime :) But the Elders come back on the 21st so just one more week! Well...I'm going to go...sorry this is so boring, but I really can't think of anything else to write! i hope you're all doing great, and I'll write next week! I love you all! Thanks you for everything!
Love,
Sister Wilson

Rain!!!

Hello,
It feels like home here...it's been raining for three days, thunder the last two, and it looks like from what members have told us, it'll rain the rest of the week...so I'm back to wearing a coat, and boots! Anyways...enough with the weather update! First off...OMAHA!!!??!!! That is awesome! Tell Nate that I'm sending out his congrats letter this week! :) I'm so excited for him, I was thinking about it all week! On Thursday night, I was like, "Oh my gosh, Nate is getting his call today!" And I talked about it with Sis. Quinn the whole way to internet, so I was very excited and I'm even more excited! He goes into the MTC one day before I did! So when I'm celebrating my year mark in Russia, he'll be starting! :) We'll both be celebrating! That's awesome! Tell him I love him and am so excited! So...this week I have the RS training...should be fun! A little worried...it's two hours of talking in Russian!!! Which I do everyday but not like this! But I'm determined not to worry myself about it and jsut take it as it comes! We'll see how that goes! This week I was called Satan twice! That's a record for me! It sounds bad, but just picture two young American girls knocking on doors and a older lady with no teeth opens it, sees the tag and yells: "SATAN GO AWAY!" Yeah, Sis Quinn's eyes got big and asked did she just call us Satan? Then once on the street again,an older lady..."You are one of Satan's angels! LEAVE!" Yeah...it would be a let down and kinda discouraging if I wasn't laughing so hard when they said it! Fun times! I just think...if she thinks that I'm Satan...she's in for a shock :)Fun times proselyting! Anyways...what else...we have anew investigator that wants us to teach him in English so yesterday was the first time I taught an English lesson in 9 months! Yeah...it was hard and weird...I think when I get home, they should keep me far from any teaching callings...I can't speak English correctly!!!! What happened?! Oh well...It was good...he wants to meet again this week and he said he'll read and pray about the BOM! Our investigator I talked about a couple weeks ago is out of town and will be for awhile with a family problem, so I'm hoping everything is ok! We have a few other people we work with but none are progressing! We keep working though! Yeah we know that the work in Russia is hard...it's hard everywhere! We know people told us before our missions and in the MTC, "Russia...you won't baptize many" or "Russia...the gospel is slow there." But things that those people don't know...yeah we don't baptize like other countries, and yeah the gospel is young in Russia, but the fact that yesterday, an apostle of the Lord came to Russia...Moscow and organized the first Russian stake...proves that the gospel is growing! That gives us so much hope here as missionaries...this year they are celebrating 20 years of the gospel in Russia and in twenty years, they got a stake! What's next? More stakes!!! And all the members know what comes when more stakes are formed.....TEMPLE!!! And the Russian members love and respect the temple! It's great! They know what they are working for! They want the blessings of the temple in their own country! They want it for their own people! I know I just kinda went on a rant, but I just love remembering that it's not our opinoins that matter...the Lord knows one day there will be a temple in Russia...He knows! It's great to think about! Well next week the 17th we have Zome Conference in Samara, so that'll be fun! 1-2 days in Samara! I love Samara! WEll I think this is long enough! I will let you all go! Take Care! I love you all! And thank you for all your support! It means the world to me!
Love,
Sister Wilson