(Two letters from Sister Reed back-to-back, newest first)

Hello!!  Thanks so much to all those who wrote me!  I LOVE IT!!

 

Mom and Dad, I am still here in Irkutsk... is everything understandable with how to call me?  I sure hope so!  And I will be waiting for a phone call on my Christmas Morning, right?  at 8 am?  Ooorah!!  I am so excited!  

 

Well I don't want to talk about too much right now because we will be talking soon!  But all is good here.. I read all your questions, don't worry!  Glad to hear that everyone is dong well!  I love you all so much- and am so grateful to have you as my family!! 

 

I've learned so much about the atonement lately.  I just know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know each of us individually.  They know all our concerns, our cares, and worries.  How we feel all the time- when we're sad, upset, dissapointed.  Like it says in Alma 7:11-12, Christ suffered for our infirmities.  Not only our sins, which is HUGE, but also all those other negative feelings.  I'm so grateful for the atonement.  I know that there is no other way that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father than through Jesus Christ.  Through his sacrifice, we can be made clean when we repent.  It's a perfect plan- and a plan of immense LOVE.   

 

Well, I guess I will be talking to you soon!  Mom- I can't wait to have a chat session with you again.  You don't know how much I miss those! 

 

Oh, and the package- I'm pretty sure it's been sitting in the office for months, I really only get mail once a transfer unless someone goes to Novo for some reason and brings back mail.  So I should get it today or tomorrow!!! ahh!  mERRY cHRISTMAS! 

 

I love you all!!!! :) :)

 

с любовью

сестра рид  :)

Hello!  Thanks for the letters!  You don't know how nice it is to get them.

Glad to hear that everyone is happy and healthy.  I guess that swine flu finally made it to Siberia... but no worries we're all doing good so far.  :)

The concert went well!  It's funny because when you think of concert (myself included) you might think of the chapel with pretty decorations everywhere and stuff, and little handouts and whatnot.  But here they really don't have any of that to work with.  It was small and humble, but many people showed up so I think it got the point across.  They played a clip from President Monson at the end about Christmas but of course I didn't understand it. haha.  

The baptisms went well!  I can't believe I've been here for 5 weeks and there has already been 2 baptisms.  I really can't take any credit in either beacuse they both had baptisimal dates before I got here, but it was fun to be here for the process.  :)  

          Baptism of Zyla and Aruna.  Zyla is mongolian, Aruna is Russian

Yes, tracting is hard.  It's different because there are so many doors to guard us from seeing them... like, sometimes there's the 1st door you need to get past with the code.  Then you walk up to another door once you're in and behind that door is 2 or 3 apts, which you buzz someone.  And then the person comes out of their apt and up to the door with a peep hole and says "кто там?"  And we say our shpeal, and if they want to hear they open that door.  But if not they yell something at us (haha not always yell) and go back to their apt.  So it's pretty redonk.  EXCEPT, last Sunday Sis Gorlova and I tracted into this guy who is a "believer" and was totally interested in everything!  He said he wanted to come to church and talk to us and all that stuff!  So we'll see if he's for real when we call him on Sat.  

When I talk to people, most of the time they say, huh?  And then I repeat and sometimes they still say, huh?  And Then they either wait for my companion to say it again or respond.  Most of the time they're just shocked to hear my accent but they don't act interested by the fact that I'm American or really turned off.  Some people say, "oh she's American.."  but that's really it.  I'm not sure if Russians really like Americans or not.  I can't tell.  

Классно, well I am excited to talk to you all soon!!  I will be speaking to you after I find out about transfers and all that good stuff next week.  

Here are some sweet pictures- I hope you enjoy!  Thanks for everything you do!   

я люблю вас!!  Be good!  Oh and Папичка, thanks for the photos!!  

Love, 

Сестра Рид

 Hastya and me.  She speaks english really well.  Oh yeah- I cut my hair!  I know, right??

Me and Oyuuna ( I have no idea how to spell it in english) .  She's my bud

                     Haha.  The awesome ice car

                    Me, Sis Gorlova, and Sister Southam on the slide!

                                    Icey stuff

 The smaller slide... cool, yeah?  It's all ice from Lake Baikal I believe.

Last but not least.... oh the beloved Bro Raimans (VERY strange man, haha!) and his collection.  That's also Elder MacKonnehey and Elder Player

HEY!!!

Wow- thanks for the e-mails!! I do love hearing from you all! :)

I hope you're staying warm! I bet the new house looks way pretty with the Christmas
lights up! I believe that I will really miss Christmas because here people
don't really understand the meaning of Christmas. Almost everyone is
Christian, but that doesn't mean much all the time. So I hope to bring them
some real Christmas cheer this year and maybe they'll catch on!! We have a
little concert going on this week for Christmas and we're trying to invite
as many investigators as we can. I think it'll be super cool!

Thanksgiving was super great. We ate tons. I think Sis Gorlova liked the holiday. But we talked
in English most of the time which she doesn't enjoy too much. I can understand.

We did some tracting last week, and some contacting. It's pretty cold, yes! But, tracting is different sorta because almost everyone lives in a дом which is like a big apartment complex. And the hardest part is getting
in the first door. You have to punch in some numbers... it's tricky. Or we can page someone random and ask them to let us in, haha. Yeah, good luck.  :) But once you get past that, we just go to each door. It's really hard to find people that way...Contacting and tracting here is hard. It's hard when people deny us before we even have the chance to tell them anything.  They don't know what they're missing!

You can send any kind of pictures that you want! :) I always enjoy it! :)

So cool about the first presidency message! I am sure I will read it in the Liahona, if I can.... the Liahona is always in Russian. haha. Go figure.  But maybe I can find a way to get my hands on a English one. English
classes are good- I'm having fun with it. :) Yeah it's of all ages, but mainly college student age, and we have some older peeps too. So it's fun!

Yesterday we talked about sports, and we all went around saying what kind of sports we like. This lady- maybe 60 something, said, "I like arm wrestling." And so she challenged someone to a duel and this girl went up and armwrestled her! The older lady was holding strong for a long time! But finally they called it a tie. It was so intense! haha! So you never know what can happen in English class. The best part about english club is that after we have gospel english where we have a spiritual thought. A lot of people stay, so it's pretty good. We usually have high hopes of findng someone new at english club.

So last week we went to the зоо парк (zoo)!! It was cool, but ghetto! hahahaha.  I have never seen a crazier group of animals ready to break out!! They were all insane, I'll tell you what. But it was fun. Today we are going on this giant SLIDE! It's all ice, and people build it with pretty ice castles and stuff, so I'm excited! I'll give you pics next week. :)

We have 2 baptisms this week- Zula and Aruna. It's pretty exciting. So we're getting all ready for that. I want to see someone get baptized in a river. Maybe someday. :)

But yeah, life is good! This week I've been reading in Mosiah about Abinadi. He is so cool. I wonder how many of us would be that bold in sharing what they know to be right. I am learning here what it means to be
bold. And often times it is very necessary. But would I die for the gospel? I think so.

Well I better get going, but I love you all and I hope all is well this week! I will be speaking with you soon, yes?? я вас люблю!! очень сильно!!

сестра рид :)





1) what the...? (the zoo)

2) Angarsk- city next to Irkutsk, we have an investigator there. Cool, yeah?

3) Also Angarsk. HAHA. Lenin.

4) Irkutsk village- this is how I imagined russia.

5) This is for Dayton (Domino's Pizza!)

6) Long Day! :)

We have a new investigator, her name is Marina.. she'll be baptized soon we all know it! :)

I'll write more in the next e-mail, sorry!!

I'm excited for the package, not here yet maybe soon! :) Thanks for sending it!!!!

Have a good sleep! I love you!! :)

Sister Reed :)

(Side note from the parents!)
The temperature in Irkutsk has been around single digits during the day and up to minus double digits at night.  This next week the temperature could be even colder.  It's a good thing she bought her "Russian" coat, hat, gloves and boots!

Hi!
Sorry, I didn't have much time last week to explain the pictures. It's weird because the bathroom and the toilet are separate. But also, in Russia everywhere, the lights are on the outside of the rooms. Weird... but fun when someone is going to the bathroom... hehe. Yes, my kbaptupa (apartment) is very warm at night. It's pretty cold here, but I hear it's nothing compared to how it will be in a couple months.. as low as -30 during the day!?! It's pretty outrageous. So we'll see how that goes... haha. 

The npuxog (branch) is very nice, however they are still fairly new and lacking some organization. Barely no one has callings, and there is no VT or HT yet. Sister Sauphom (we have a lovely senior couple here called the Sauphoms) has been trying to work on that whole VT thing. But she speaks less Russian than me so it's a slow work in progress. People who know English well love to talk in English with me, but most just talk in Russian.

I don't have to cut my hair and wear a bunch of make-up! So that's good news. My district and zone are the same thing- only 10 missionaries in Irkutsk. I go to a little cafe place to use the internet right by the npuxog.
So yes, things are coming along. My Russian is slowly progressing, but I can see a little difference. I notice that I can listen fairly well and comprehend the main idea of what people say, especially when they use large hand gestures, haha. But talking is a little bit harder for me. I'm practicing. The main people we are working with are 4 Mongolian girls who all want to be baptized which is great! I taught english club last night which was interesting... haha, but I teach a group of people who are a little better at talking. There are 4 levels and I teach the 3rd. Sister Gorlova gives me her love and support from afar. English club is a really cool way to find new investigators. I like it. We try to pass out invites throughout the week for english club. I gave one to a girl the other day on the mpaMbau (don't klnow how to spell it in English, haha) Wahoo!

So tomorrow we will have Thanksgiving at the Sauphoms and spend all day eating and all that goodness! So it'll be fun! I hope you all have a really wonderful Thanksgiving!! That's so fun that Dayton and Ashley will be there!

Well I love you all and sorry this letter was so scattered and random. Take care and stay happy and healthy! Have a really great Thanksgiving!! If there is anything I am thankful for this year, it is all of you!!!

MUCH love--

Cecmpa Reed :)

Sword fighting with icicles.

Me and Sister Gorlova.

Oksana, me and Angelina (a member of the ward)

The Sauphoms.

Hi!!

So my p-day is Wednesday... but I have no idea when it is there... probably super early Wednesday morning I think or something.

I'M HERE! Thanks SOOO much for the e-mails! Here's the deal, I can only write one e-mail to family only so if you like, you can forward it to whomever. Thanks!

Much to talk about!! after like, 5 days I'm in a city called Irkutsk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irkutsk
I traveled on a train for about 1 1/2 days (fun! after about a day... :) ) and arrived early morning in Irkutsk where some very cheerful people came to meet us. (me and Elder Petersen.) It's very cold here, but while I was in Novosibirsk, I was able to buy some boots. And me and Sister Gorlova went to the renik (outside shopping area... CRAZY!) and I got a coat and amazing gloves and hat. So I'm nice and warm!

So my companion- her name is Sister Gorlova. She's from the Samara mission. She's SUPER nice and so patient with me. Oh my goodness, I am blessed to have her. She's halfway done with her mission, so she has a lot of experience. She knows like ummmm..... no English. Well she knows the basics- I probably know more in Russian than she does in English. We play a lot of charades and always have the slavar (dictionary) with us. It's good- we understand each other for the most part, haha.

The people in the npuxog (branch) are VERY nice. The young ladies are all so sweet, and they enjoy trying to talk to me... I think it's because I'm amusing. The branch is very small. A lot of adults and only one young woman. No kids. Maybe 4 Priesthood holders. So it's quite different.

We've done a few lessons of course, and I don't understand most of what's going on...

But all in all it's been great- I'm here and settled in and stuff! Our apartment is quite nice really- there's some pics here.  Enjoy!

Welp, I'm out of time-- I love you and I hope all is well! Oh- and tell Dayton that the Russian people- Cannot sing. I mean, really. It's sad. Ahaha.

Have a great day!!!! LOVES!!!!

Love,

Sister Reed

The King of Pop in Russia.

Train ride from Novosibirsk to Irkutsk.

A town along the way, Russian countryside.

Our apartment building.

The "stall".  :)

Welcome home!

Work area.

Here are some of my last pictures from the MTC...

Me and my cousin Hermana Brodhead!!  It was so nice having her at the MTC with me!

My new name tag!

Welp, after a VERY long flight I finally arrived here and I'm safe and well! I didn't sleep much on any of the flights, so I've been very tired. But our Mission President, and the Mission President Assistants were there at the airport to pick us up.
The airport was like in the movies, where we got off the plane outside, down the stairs- not connected to a building. Then we took a bus where you hold on to the hangy things from the ceiling ( you know...) and it took us to the airport. Then we met our Mission President. We got here to the mission home (so nice!) and Sister Trejo had prepared b-fast for us and we took a nap! Then we had a devotional and some of us found out where we're going. I didn't get to......... But tomorrow I will! And none of us are staying in Novosibirsk so I will be taking a train somewhere. Yay!
But I do love it here. It's VERY cold... but it feels really homey and I enjoy it.
Anyway, I will write more on my p-day, but I wanted to tell you that I'm here and safe!

We had our own little Halloween!!!  SCARY!!!!

Last pictures from the MTC!

Our District the day Sister Anghel left.  Sister Anghel's on the far left.  She was our teacher.

There always has to be a silly picture.

Sister Torst, Sister Abram and me.  We took a walk to the temple one Sunday.

And yet - another silly picture.

Sister Dungan, (Sister Abram and I, coordinating Sisters) and Sister Hansen.  These sisters are lovely.  They were our only non-native Russian girls we had to watch over.

WE GOT OUR FLIGHT PLANS!!!  :)

I have been in the call center at the MTC every Friday and I've had some really cool times there.  I actually really enjoy doing it.  I've had some good conversations over the phone and also on chat.  I've placed a couple Books of Mormon, and I've gotten a couple people that I set up times to call back and be progressive.  I pray that they'll still progress.  But yes, it's really fun and I tend to get a lot of Southern people - it's fun.  :)

I was able to do some sealings in the temple the other day.  Some of the Russian Missionaries brought in family names and were sealed to their families.

I leave Monday morning from Salt Lake City at 8:35 AM.  There is a lay over in New York from 3:11PM to 4:30PM.  We arrive in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday at 10:10AM (Moscow time).  We leave Moscow at 10:30PM that day.  We arrive in Novosibirsk, Russia Wednesday morning at 5:30AM.

My pouch address is:  (for letters)

Sister Tiara Reed

Russia Novosibirsk Mission

P.O. Box 30150

Salt Lake City, UT  84130-0150

My Mission Home address is: (for packages)

Cecmpa Tiara Reed

Russia Novosibirsk Mission

46 Kirova Street

Novosibirsk, Novosibirskaya Oblast,

Russian Federation

630102

It's been really fun having Kimmy here. She was so sweet to leave hearts on my door! I felt really loved.

We started SYL (speak your language) yesterday which means I committed to only speak Russian all the time. It's been really interesting- I feel like I know nothing, but it's been kinda fun trying to get my point across. :) So I had my last english convo for a while.

Guess what happens in 2 weeks? I leave to Russia!  It's pretty exciting! I'm so ready to go and see Russia for what it really is and meet the people and just everything! :)  It's going to be like no where I've ever been!  It feels kind of like I'm on Star Trek!

I hosted for the new missionaries on Wed (which means meet them when they arrive and take them to get checked in and stuff) AND guess who was coming the SAME DAY?? Yep-- Hermana Brodhead! So I was most definitely her host! It was really fun! And she lives like 3 doors down from me so we see each other often. I love it! But what are the odds that I would be Hosting the same day Kimmy came? So cool.

TODAY the Russian elders and sisters received their endownments in the temple! So we all went and it was a wonderful experience! We met them in the celestial room and they were all so happy! It reminded me of my first time and all the wonderful family and friends I had there. I am so blessed!


So anyway, overall it's been a pretty good week! 3 weeks from yesterday and I'll be in Russia! Pretty crazy, huh?


OH! And guess what EVERYONE has been telling us? Sister missionaries in Novosibirsk have to cut their hair above their shoulders and wear lots of make-up. WHAT?? So we'll see how true that is. But we've met people from there here who say it's true.

Have a wonderful week!


Sister Reed :)

Our branch Sisters.

Me and Sister Fronk.

.

Us with our ring pops!

This is where I'm going in a few weeks!

This past week our new girls came and today our native Russians arrive. It's been fun, and they're really sweet. I bet the russians will be too.

Kimberley Brodhead is coming to the MTC tomorrow and maybe I will be her Host! It's crazy that things worked out that way. That would be really cool! So it's been a pretty eventful week. I just remember how it felt my first week here and we've eben trying to help the new sisters have a good transition.

This was  my first laundry day in the MTC.  Me and Sister Abram like to share skirts.  Here we are matching. 

I reached my 1/2 way point last week!  I'm not sure if that went by fast or slow...but it's crazy to think I'll be in Russia!

These were our coordinating Sisters, Sister Larsen and Sister Burke.  They got to leave this week.

Sister Fronk and I with two of our Russian friends.  Sister Loboda and Sister T.

Almost (minus a few) our whole branch after the other missionaries left. 

And then some of my favorite sisters.

Sister Abram and Sister Fronk.

Tomorrow new Sisters and Elders come so I'll be pretty busy with that.  We are only getting two new Sisters which is crazy, but they will be getting a lot of attention and love, which in nice for them.  Then next week we get our new native missionaries from Russia!  So that's really exciting!!!

Sister Fronk (my companion) and me on P-Day.  P-Day is Preparation Day, the day I do laundry, write letters, go to the temple and catch up on things I need to do.  We also have an amazing devotional every Tuesday.

Some of my favorite Sisters in the MTC.

I was called as a coordinating Sister this week with Sister Abram whom I LOVE!  It's like being a Zone Leader, but for the new Sisters who come in a week.  I'm really excited!  

Just to let you know, letters make my day!  It feels so good to have such a great support system at home.  It means a lot to me!

My address is:

Sister Reed

MTC Box #217

RUS - NOV 1109

2005 N. 900 E.

Provo, UT  84604

Here are some more pictures to give you an insight to my life.

I'm always in that classroom. I'm hardly ever in my dorm. So our district is getting pretty close because of all the time we spend together.

Here is my Sunday schedule. We plan every 1/2 hour of the day every day.

This is the way you write Jesus Christ in all of the cases in Russian.

We have the names of the First Presidency and the Apostles in Russian as well.

Things are good here- just trucking along. Russian is hard. My teacher said that the most important thing to learn right now is the gospel and the Russian will come. It's the spirit who teaches, and the spirit can speak all languages!

Know that I am well and happy! Heavenly Father shows His love for me on a daily basis.