Nov 17-24

 "I could just kiss you right now" -Martin 25'

Happy email day!! Good morning folks! It is time for some more nuggets from my days for your viewing pleasure! Get ready for your weekly dose of sister Russell 

This week had me one foot in the grave and the other on an iceberg. It was so busy but no complaints, in case I haven't said it enough, I love my mission! 

 Monday was a chill day in Farnborough where it literally has to be because there's nothing to do… that didn't stop us from having fun though! Went and got sister Bird's hair cut because she was in a close competition with Rapunzel at this point and then we just got to hang out which was fun! 

 Tuesday was Zone Conference! What fun! I got to see so many of my companions and catch up on stories. You're never truly prepared to hear some of the things that happen on the high street but it is so much fun! No further comment on this day

 Wednesday… what a day. We went and got to have a full day of finding and teaching which was so fun, and it began with us waking up to see SNOW!! I was so happy to see it and sister Bird and I were hanging out of the window to try and catch as much as we could. Should it snow again, I will be making snowcream even if I grow a third eye or begin to glow and levitate from the pollution in the air. Finding was cool (literally because it was freezing). We were talking to this 70 year old named Martin who mid conversation just tilts his head and says “I could just kiss you right now” then proceeds to lunge for my face. Intrusive thoughts are very real I suppose. Companion unity kicks in as Sister Bird grabs my arm, I'm jumping backwards, and in my shock I manage to say, “no thank you, I'm good”.... why those were the words my brain chose to throw out, I will never know. Then we walked away very quickly. Blessed land of Farnborough… 

 Thursday was Interviews day so we got to go back into London and it was great! I always look forward to Interviews with sister and president Sinclair and it makes up for the fact that I never write them my weekly email… I'm trying to repent but I'm a creature of habit. We got home so late and had some moussaka carefully crafted by meta AI. 

 Friday in person lesson with Matthew that was cool I guess. Not much happened that day but we had a dinner with the Walkers and we got to sing Jerusalem with them, which will be my coming home hymn in case you were wondering.! 

 Saturday reunited with the house chicken at Mandi-Sue and Gareth's. Bebe is a precious soul. There was a huge festival on our high street that day, got to find some really cool people and I got to ride a unicycle not in that order. We also heard the steady beat of Babylons drums as this random drum line came out of no where. 

 Sunday fun day. So we rise and shine and gave our glory to God. We went to church obviously heh. Then we had this really cool friend who came to church. Her name is Ugita, so pray for her, the fact that she didn't leave after my talk is already a win. Nothing makes you miss the boiling Basingstoke water more than putting on 18 layers to go finding. TMI I do not like being cold We were finding and stopped this woman rushing towards us and she said “not right now I'm in a rush” then did a 180 and ran back in the direction she had just come from, we have no idea where she was rushing to… you just had to be there because I don't know how to explain why it was funny. Also we learned that women shouldn't get married until 47 because our brains are not fully developed until 43 and they need 4 years to settle in case you didn't know…

What a week it was so fun! One think I loved this week was a talk from Elder Holland called Do this in Remembrance of Me. There was one part that really resonated with me, what is this you may ask… let me show you! 

“One request Christ made of His disciples on that night of deep anguish and grief was that they stand by Him, stay with Him in His hour of sorrow and pain. “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” He asked longingly (Matt. 26:40). I think He asks that again of us, every Sabbath day when the emblems of His life are broken and blessed and passed.” 

This just completely changed how I view sacrament meetings. When our friend turned to me at the end of sacrament meeting, smiling, talking about the peace she felt, I felt so much joy! The Sacrament meeting has become my favorite part of the week and I know I will never look at it the same. And I will try my best to not take it for granted. 

Anyways bye. Have a good week! Love you all! 

Don't forget to turn off the lights before you unscrew a light bulb,

Sister Russell