Sunday, August 18, 2013

KFC

Kazhan Fried Chicken? You bet. 
Haha, pretty much had that for about 7 meals when it comes to zone councils and conferences in the past week.

Kate Clyde!!!! Loved Steve's incredible email about the entire experience, read the whole thing and began to cry as the funny elder next to me deprived me a personal space to hide it. Lynzi is so beautiful and incredible. I cannot wait to meet her.

Remember the Russian black-robed raspy-voiced woman? Her name is Evegenniya. Just because you hardly hear about her doesn't mean there aren't without-fail weekly episodes. She waits on her lookout post of a fold-up chair outside the chapel, there to "protect" the members. The woman is 84. But, I thanked her for defending us anyway. Yesterday she commanded me over with beckoning finger, as Elder Bishop and Traitor continue to avertly eavesdrop, and before anyone knows what is going on, she commences in giving me the most forceful shirt untuck I've ever experienced; i.e. yanking it out from my skirt and tugging it down from every possible angle before uttering the word, "CHOODA." --"Miracle." Elders giggling, Sister Clyde blushing, Evgenniya owning. 

Lena is our sweet wonderful investigator who we've had a lot of action with in the past couple of days. She has been through 2 divorces, has a younger daughter, and they are the most fun flirty girls you'll ever meet. She came to sport day, then the fireside an hour and a half away by bus, and then showed up to sacrament meeting yesterday!!! She loves the scriptures, and the fact that we have an incredbile 35 year old ward mission leader who she's attracted to doesn't hurt anything. She invited us over for dinner last night. The hard thing is that she has a rather controlling older mother, even though Lena is almost 40, who thinks it's insane that she's been meeting with strangers she "met off the street," even though she had prior missionary encounters 10 tears ago. It's kind of a hurdle we're trying to get over.

Anyway, dinner was great- they showed us their kind of starving to death sphinx of a cat that I never want to touch again haha, and their precious bird, an exact replica of our budgie, Rudy! Rest in peace. We were having a lesson on the couch while the bird chirped with delight in sister young's hand. Eventually he was put away-- and we're on a bus ride home when Sister Young gets a text that the bird DIED. Literally 5 minutes after we took off!!! It was so shocking that I didn't know whether to laugh or just put on a worried face and stem off the laughter. Hahah, Sister young didn't either, and tortured herself in to thinking it was her fault- and spent half an hour with the dictionary trying to repair whatever damage she could in complicated Russian words, saying that Heavenly Father knows it's "Sloochayna," accidental, and that she's sure that the bird is quote, "flying happily in heaven right now." I laughed when she read the text to me for preview, suggesting that there was surely some kind of down-time waiting period--implying that her message suggests that there was just some earthly puff of smoke before he appears up in heaven, without breaking wing-stride, thinkin,' "whoa, that was weird/ I could get used to this...." 
hahaha, it made sad sister young feel better. 

Anyway, great miracles. We had awesome zone conference and leader council up in samara this week. I can't express how excited I am about my mission president. He is so inspired, and has had a lot of time to think and ponder while waiting in recovery after this surgery about the future of the mission, and big big things that are going to happen in Russia. Wow, he is such an inspired, in tune man. He talked so much about faith. I am so excited, because not that I ever thought anything of President Sartori with regard to the matter, but President Schwab actually served a mission at the age of 19 and can relate. Talked a lot about the lectures on faith!!! dad i want to talk to you about it!!!
Love,
great
 week,
Sister Clyde