It's a GREAT Day to be ALIVE!!

And here is this weeks email.  This made me really want t see some pictures of where she is!  Hopefully soon we will see pictures!

Holy Moly!!! I LOVE RUSSIA! I'm in love I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!  I love it here! REALLY!

This week was kind of an interesting week. We had exchanges this week. So that was fun to see how other missionaries teach and get new ideas. And my companion got sick, so we had to stay home on Wednesday and half of the day on Thursday. We went out to one of the villages on Friday. So they call small towns, not by big cities villages. They have farms and little houses all over and they are really cute! Bummer though, I forgot my camera!! But We're going out there again on Saturday to teach this new family, so I'll remember my camera and take some pictures for sure. So this village we went to is right on the sea and it is so beautiful. I think if I ever lived in Russia I would want to live in a small village like that.

OH MY! I forgot to tell you the most imortant news of the whole WEEK! Our investigators that I told you about last week, Marina and Natasha, They're getting baptized!!! Bah! I'm so excited! We set a date for Febuary 27, but they have to come to sacrament four times before the can be baptized and so far they haven't been able to come because of work, but they are working so hard to get work taken care of and they both said that they would be able to come startig this Sunday, so that's good. I really love them. They are so amazing!  They are just so... Down to earth and that is exactly what would help our branch, so I hope and pray that it will all just be fantastic and that Satan will stop working so hard to bring them down! That Satan, who does he think he is anyway?

So in Russia they always drink tea, and I never really liked tea before, but I am begining to love it! They have this really good apple spice one that tastes, and smells like apple pie and they have a really good one that tastes like strawberries. Also they have "super snickers" They are just like snickers, but they're huge! and also they say "snickers" "sneakers", so it makes me laugh everytime, but they don't really have the "i" sound in russian, so that's why......... Well I can't think of anything else. Oh, yep, one more thing.

I love it here!!! I just love that the gospel helps people become the best version of themselves and helps them be so stinkin happy!!! I read this in the talk by Elder Holland from this past conference: "The personal value, the sacred splendor of every one of you, is the very reason there is a plan for salvation and exaltation. Contrary to the parlace of the day, this IS about YOU!"  I love that! I have seen that here, how the gospel IS about these people and how it helps their lives in ways that only the true gospel could. It gives them the strenght to quit smoking and the desire to read the scriptures. I love this gospel so much and I love that it is helping these people! I LOVE MY LIFE!!!!!

Well, now that's all.

Sister Leavitt