Dear Family,
Thank you so much for your letters. Thank you for your experiences and particularly the tender mercies of the Lord. I hope and pray that the Lord will continue to bless you in all that you do.
Another week has flown by. I am amazed at what is taught, learned, and molded in a single week. I would like to talk briefly about that which Grant mentioned. The Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is a topic that has impacted me significantly this week as everything is centered around it. I was reading the account of King Noah the other day and the priests of his court. His priests questioned Abinadi that through their obedience to the law of Moses they are saved. Abinadi then gives his witness that it is only through Jesus Christ that we are saved. Because of His Resurrection, we will be judged of Him purely by our obedience to the law. By this alone, no one could receive eternal life as no one is perfect. Thus, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, particularly His suffering for our sins, we can be cleansed from our sins through obedience to the laws and ordinances of His Gospel. Thus, we are not saved by the law. We are saved by our actions of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
I have thought much about this topic and I am impressed by the responses of different people relative to their definition of Christ. We ask people all the time, ¨who is Jesus Christ¨ and we get a wide variety of responses. Often, that He is the Savior. However, there are so few people who really understand why He is the Savior of the world and how do we apply His Atonement in our lives. Thus, the topics of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His Gospel have impacted me very much.
So we are continuing to work with Elaine and Oliver. They are progressing so well and we are really excited for them as they have committed to be married in the next couple of days. They are so desirous to learn about the Gospel. We have to cut our lessons each time because they just ask so many questions. I told Elder Arreola that though I have so much more that I am going to do during the course of my mission, if I could know for a fact that they would be married in the temple and sealed to their two children a year from now, everything that I have done to prepare for my mission would have been worth it. However, it is just the beginning. And with this family, they have been the fire for me personally. They have helped me to give everything I have so that perhaps I may find one more person, that I might invite one more soul to come unto Christ. They have taught me a very personal lesson. Oliver asked us a question during our last visit about prophets and he said, ¨they are like tools right, like you Elders¨. We responded, ¨exactly Oliver¨. It was simple and sincere but it left a deep impression. We are nothing more than the tools in the hands of the Master in His work. Like it is stated in Isaiah, does the tool lift itself up without the hand of the Master. No, it doesn’t. Each day is one more day in vineyard of the Lord. I wear His name. I declare His Gospel. I bear witness of His reality. Lives are touched not because of us, but because we carry His name. They are not acting upon our message. They are applying the eternal principles of the Great and Everlasting God. Our Savior Jesus Christ provided through His Resurrection and His Atonement, the way of happiness and exaltation through obedience to the laws and ordinances of His Gospel. Study His words, ponder them in your hearts, and pray unto our Father in Heaven and He will answer you. It is true. I have done it and I see the happiness of those who do it every day. Lean upon Him and He will guide your path.
My dear family, I give you my deepest love. I pray that the Lord will continue to enlarge your vision and expand your joy. Your examples have already touched the lives of many people here. Happy Birthday Dad. I pray that the Lord will bless you with a deeper sense of the love of your family for you. I pray likewise at this time for you Grandma. As Aunt Teri counseled me before I left, ¨Elder Russell, don´t you ever forget where you come from.¨ I have not Mom, Dad, Grandma. And unto my Savior Jesus Christ and my Father in Heaven, I have not.
I send my best wishes across the miles my dear family. May God keep you in His hands always.
With all my love,
Elder Russell
Monday, November 1, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Dogs are not our Friends....... week 14
My wonderful family,
As it is always the case, it is such a privilege to hear from you and hear that the Lord is continuing to bless you. I send you my very best wishes and love across the miles.
There were some experiences this week that were immensely funny as well as some extremely spiritual ones as well. First off, dogs. To bring back the memories to all who have or are serving in Central or South America, they are everywhere. I have noticed that there are two types of dogs here, extremely lazy or extremely crazy. Long story short we were teaching this investigator the first lesson this week and her dog was absolutely insane. With no exaggeration, Elder Arreola not only traded principles of the lesson and testimonies but we also learned how to distract the dog. About 15 minutes into the lesson I noticed that the dog had a strange aptitude to jump on me randomly and lick my arm. As I noticed the pace of the lesson, I took the initiative to be the distraction so my companion could finish the lesson. I kid you not, the dog completely drenched my arm in about 5 minutes. After he discovered that I was completely soaked, he embarked on his task to chew on my arm. Imagine all the while that I was trying to make as little of a scene so the spirit could testify of the message. However, he continued to munch on my arm. During the closing prayer, my hand was in his mouth. One of the greatest moments to date!
This Sunday, Elaine and Oliver came to church with the two kids. I could not stop smiling. Though I am not able to converse freely with them, I was so excited to help them during church and see their reactions. We had another investigator come to church that was really special for us. We are working hard and we are slowly but surely bringing about the work of the Lord in Amilcingo. The Lord requires a bit of creativity in His work which always makes me laugh. For instance, we were trying to motivate a less active family but they were a bit hesitant to let us in. After a rather large lunch, I was prompted to ask to use the restroom. My companion was then allotted some time to talk to them. I think I am going to use the tactic more often.
In reality, I absolutely love it here. With the work that we do everyday, I find it very easy to not realize the amazing blessing of every day. Each day is a gift from God which we are given to have joy and prepare to meet Him. I have been deeply touched by people that we meet for the first time, we teach them the first lesson, we ask them to say the closing prayer and it often goes something like this. We thank you Heavenly Father for everything. Thank you for these missionaries that you have sent us and bless them that more people will open their doors to them. Bless those who do not have bread to eat that we will help them. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Each one of these prayers touch me deeply as they are often given as we are sitting outside of a house held up by ropes and rebar. Bless the missionaries and those who do not have bread to eat. It is true that amongst the poor in spirit the Lord finds His most valiant servants. There is a tremendous beauty here. It is found within the hearts of the people who look out for one another. We have the great blessing of drawing their hearts unto Christ. There is absolutely nothing better.
Well family, take care. I love you and I feel the power of your prayers. Never stop offering up your hearts unto God. He will always answer you. I know it. I know the Book of Mormon is true, that Christ lives. Because of this, He is the foundation for everything. Always go unto Him. He is always anxious to hear from you.
With all my love,
Elder Russell
As it is always the case, it is such a privilege to hear from you and hear that the Lord is continuing to bless you. I send you my very best wishes and love across the miles.
There were some experiences this week that were immensely funny as well as some extremely spiritual ones as well. First off, dogs. To bring back the memories to all who have or are serving in Central or South America, they are everywhere. I have noticed that there are two types of dogs here, extremely lazy or extremely crazy. Long story short we were teaching this investigator the first lesson this week and her dog was absolutely insane. With no exaggeration, Elder Arreola not only traded principles of the lesson and testimonies but we also learned how to distract the dog. About 15 minutes into the lesson I noticed that the dog had a strange aptitude to jump on me randomly and lick my arm. As I noticed the pace of the lesson, I took the initiative to be the distraction so my companion could finish the lesson. I kid you not, the dog completely drenched my arm in about 5 minutes. After he discovered that I was completely soaked, he embarked on his task to chew on my arm. Imagine all the while that I was trying to make as little of a scene so the spirit could testify of the message. However, he continued to munch on my arm. During the closing prayer, my hand was in his mouth. One of the greatest moments to date!
This Sunday, Elaine and Oliver came to church with the two kids. I could not stop smiling. Though I am not able to converse freely with them, I was so excited to help them during church and see their reactions. We had another investigator come to church that was really special for us. We are working hard and we are slowly but surely bringing about the work of the Lord in Amilcingo. The Lord requires a bit of creativity in His work which always makes me laugh. For instance, we were trying to motivate a less active family but they were a bit hesitant to let us in. After a rather large lunch, I was prompted to ask to use the restroom. My companion was then allotted some time to talk to them. I think I am going to use the tactic more often.
In reality, I absolutely love it here. With the work that we do everyday, I find it very easy to not realize the amazing blessing of every day. Each day is a gift from God which we are given to have joy and prepare to meet Him. I have been deeply touched by people that we meet for the first time, we teach them the first lesson, we ask them to say the closing prayer and it often goes something like this. We thank you Heavenly Father for everything. Thank you for these missionaries that you have sent us and bless them that more people will open their doors to them. Bless those who do not have bread to eat that we will help them. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Each one of these prayers touch me deeply as they are often given as we are sitting outside of a house held up by ropes and rebar. Bless the missionaries and those who do not have bread to eat. It is true that amongst the poor in spirit the Lord finds His most valiant servants. There is a tremendous beauty here. It is found within the hearts of the people who look out for one another. We have the great blessing of drawing their hearts unto Christ. There is absolutely nothing better.
Well family, take care. I love you and I feel the power of your prayers. Never stop offering up your hearts unto God. He will always answer you. I know it. I know the Book of Mormon is true, that Christ lives. Because of this, He is the foundation for everything. Always go unto Him. He is always anxious to hear from you.
With all my love,
Elder Russell
Monday, October 18, 2010
"That's NOT the language they taught me in the MTC..." ....... week 13
Dear my wonderful family,
Glad to hear that all is well. Thanks for all the emails and photos of the family. It is good to hear that all is going well and congratulation on deciding to take the photography class mom. I hope you love it.
So, I have successfully completed my first week in Amilcingo. I don't know where to start. First off, I don't know anything. That has been a wonderfully humbling experience for me. In reality, most of this week has been just adjusting to things. So first things first, Elder Arreola is a my companion that looks like an American but is actually from Torreon Mexico. More or less, if you could picture Tyler Russell as a Mexican, he is my companion. Its pretty funny. Things are going great here. The members are absolutely amazing. They are the nicest people in the world. I am becoming more and more certain that I will put on some pounds in this town. It is rather funny because almost every dinner conversation starts with "Elder Russell, do you like spicy food?" I then proceed to give my definition of spicy which always brings a laugh. Despite the initial difficulties of adjusting to a completely new culture and such, the members and our investigators have been ever patient and kind towards me. Don't worry mom, though we don't have a mamita here in Amilcingo, they are in the rest of the mission however, there are so many absolutely amazing families who feeding us more than we can handle.
So Amilcingo. If you can imagine the area of to the side Hillcrest Road in Medford, from the Merrill's until Cherry Lane, closest to MT Roxyanne, you have about the size of my area or larger. My area is really small. But it is really fun because you see members all the time as well as your investigators. Almost everyone walks or takes the combi which in essence a chevy van with the inside gutted out to put benches in it. It is so awesome!
The language is coming along better than I give myself credit for. Mexican Spanish is pretty funny because it really is a song. Its a song that the people like to write their own lyrics to. There are a lot of phrases that are solely Mexican which at first took my by surprise. For the sake of posterity, its true, the first few days were "what language are they speaking". By no means am I able to communicate fluently but I can talk to my Mexican companion and the investigators without utterly destroying everything. I count my blessings everyday.
So funny things thus far. I mentioned that Mexicans sing when they talk right. I love just listening to the people talk. The accentuation of their voices is so different but I absolutely love it. I thought often of Troys mission as the people here drive Mercedes, have huge tvs, abnoxiously loud stereo systems, and so much food but buy bottled water every day. Its so funny. I woke up one day to study and heard our neighborly rooster and goat say their morning prayers alongside our neighbors blare their music at 8 in the morning. More than anything, its just so funny. I absolutely love it. I have never seen so many PA systems strapped to trucks as a recorded announced blares through the streets. Most go something like this. Super great deal at the store, store, store, store, free, free, free (repeat until the truck passes by).
Spiritual experiences this week: we met an absolutely amazing family this week as we were knocking on doors. A young woman greeted us and told us to come back in and hour and a half. We came back, taught the first lesson, she was really interested and invited us back to talk with her husband. We did so and they are committed to baptism and attending church this Sunday. Elaine and Oliver are their names and we are so excited to continue with them. We are working with quite a few other people whom we are working hard to come to church. Its so great.
Well, my time is running short but know that everything is absolutely wonderful and I know that this is exactly where I need to be serving right now. President Spannaus told the new missionaries something that really stood out to me. It is found in Moroni 8:16 and relative to us as new missionaries. The latter portion of "do not fear what man can do because perfect love casteth out all fear". Thus, though I cannot speak fluently nor do I know every member, I am striving more than anything to love them. Thus, I am becoming truly fearless. I know that it is true. It has helped me tremendously even thus far.
Well family, take care. It is a privilege to wear your name alongside the Saviors. Know of my love for both names. I wouldn't want any other.
Love,
Elder Russell
Glad to hear that all is well. Thanks for all the emails and photos of the family. It is good to hear that all is going well and congratulation on deciding to take the photography class mom. I hope you love it.
So, I have successfully completed my first week in Amilcingo. I don't know where to start. First off, I don't know anything. That has been a wonderfully humbling experience for me. In reality, most of this week has been just adjusting to things. So first things first, Elder Arreola is a my companion that looks like an American but is actually from Torreon Mexico. More or less, if you could picture Tyler Russell as a Mexican, he is my companion. Its pretty funny. Things are going great here. The members are absolutely amazing. They are the nicest people in the world. I am becoming more and more certain that I will put on some pounds in this town. It is rather funny because almost every dinner conversation starts with "Elder Russell, do you like spicy food?" I then proceed to give my definition of spicy which always brings a laugh. Despite the initial difficulties of adjusting to a completely new culture and such, the members and our investigators have been ever patient and kind towards me. Don't worry mom, though we don't have a mamita here in Amilcingo, they are in the rest of the mission however, there are so many absolutely amazing families who feeding us more than we can handle.
So Amilcingo. If you can imagine the area of to the side Hillcrest Road in Medford, from the Merrill's until Cherry Lane, closest to MT Roxyanne, you have about the size of my area or larger. My area is really small. But it is really fun because you see members all the time as well as your investigators. Almost everyone walks or takes the combi which in essence a chevy van with the inside gutted out to put benches in it. It is so awesome!
The language is coming along better than I give myself credit for. Mexican Spanish is pretty funny because it really is a song. Its a song that the people like to write their own lyrics to. There are a lot of phrases that are solely Mexican which at first took my by surprise. For the sake of posterity, its true, the first few days were "what language are they speaking". By no means am I able to communicate fluently but I can talk to my Mexican companion and the investigators without utterly destroying everything. I count my blessings everyday.
So funny things thus far. I mentioned that Mexicans sing when they talk right. I love just listening to the people talk. The accentuation of their voices is so different but I absolutely love it. I thought often of Troys mission as the people here drive Mercedes, have huge tvs, abnoxiously loud stereo systems, and so much food but buy bottled water every day. Its so funny. I woke up one day to study and heard our neighborly rooster and goat say their morning prayers alongside our neighbors blare their music at 8 in the morning. More than anything, its just so funny. I absolutely love it. I have never seen so many PA systems strapped to trucks as a recorded announced blares through the streets. Most go something like this. Super great deal at the store, store, store, store, free, free, free (repeat until the truck passes by).
Spiritual experiences this week: we met an absolutely amazing family this week as we were knocking on doors. A young woman greeted us and told us to come back in and hour and a half. We came back, taught the first lesson, she was really interested and invited us back to talk with her husband. We did so and they are committed to baptism and attending church this Sunday. Elaine and Oliver are their names and we are so excited to continue with them. We are working with quite a few other people whom we are working hard to come to church. Its so great.
Well, my time is running short but know that everything is absolutely wonderful and I know that this is exactly where I need to be serving right now. President Spannaus told the new missionaries something that really stood out to me. It is found in Moroni 8:16 and relative to us as new missionaries. The latter portion of "do not fear what man can do because perfect love casteth out all fear". Thus, though I cannot speak fluently nor do I know every member, I am striving more than anything to love them. Thus, I am becoming truly fearless. I know that it is true. It has helped me tremendously even thus far.
Well family, take care. It is a privilege to wear your name alongside the Saviors. Know of my love for both names. I wouldn't want any other.
Love,
Elder Russell
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
New Companion... New Area... A Whole New World week 12
Dear Parents:
These are the assignments and companions of your wonderful sons. The picture was taken this morning when they met their companions. After the picture they all went to work to their areas. They will write to you this coming Monday.
Elder Sean Russell
Companion: Elder Arreola
Area: Amilcingo
Zone: Palmas
They are all very happy, and we are too. Have a great day!
President Spannaus
Mexico Cuernavaca Mission
Monday, October 11, 2010
4 hour flight and 1 hour bus ride...Finally in Cuernavaca!
Dear Russells:
Attached you will find some pictures we took this afternoon in the bus station and tonight in our home that you may enjoy. Dear family, your son is in the best hands he could be, in the hands of our Savior Jesus Christ, and I will be co-worker with him in this part of the vineyard. Thank you for raising this fine young man, he will be a great missionary.
With sincere love!
President Spannaus
Mexico Cuernavaca Mission
Attached you will find some pictures we took this afternoon in the bus station and tonight in our home that you may enjoy. Dear family, your son is in the best hands he could be, in the hands of our Savior Jesus Christ, and I will be co-worker with him in this part of the vineyard. Thank you for raising this fine young man, he will be a great missionary.
With sincere love!
President Spannaus
Mexico Cuernavaca Mission
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