Hey hey hey!!

I just love love hearing from you!!  Thanks for the e-mails!  :)

So it sounds like things are moving moving along at home!  You bought a house???  Well I guess I better be like Dayton and experience what it's like to come home to a new home.  :)  But if you love it, I'm sure I will too.  Sorry that you have to move all my stuff.... I hope I left it okay for you and not too much of a mess when I left.

So this week was pretty good.  Nothing too exciting to say.... the weather has been hot and then rainy and back and forth.  Life is good.  The work is moving on.  :)

Oh, I wanted to tell you that I took out my emergency money FINALLY a couple weeks ago.  So if you saw a big chunk go out of my bank account, that's where it went.  You know what's weird?  We took a nap today and my arm fell asleep.  Since then, it's been still kinda numbish... weird feeling.

That's exciting Mom, about your surgery.  I'm sorry you are scared after watching that You-Tube film... EEW.  But I will pray for you that everything will be okay.  I know that you are brave!  And I hope that you will be feeling all better really soon!!  Thanks for telling me funny stories about Joslyn.  They crack me up!  :)  I love you so much and I want to hear how everything goes!!  You are an inspiration to me!!

Yeah Dad, the bike riding trail was that pretty the whole way.  Isn't that cool?  Siberia is really so much prettier than I thought.  There are so many places here where I would love to photograph.  We'll have to do a lot of that when you all get here!  :)  We just take public transportation everywhere we go.. busses, marshutkas (it's like van, and they cram as many people as they can in them), tramvai, and so on.    I'm glad that your family history class is going so well!!  That's way awesome!  I hope that I can help you when I get home!  I know that me and Ashley started a while ago, and I hope we can continue!  :)  I love you!  Thanks for your love and support and your wise words.  They really do help!  :) I love you!!

Dayton- я тебя люблю!  я рада за то, что у нас есть секретный язык! ты будешь ехать сюда через семь месацов?

Krystine-  You crazk me up!  I love you!!  You should be getting a letter from me soon..!


I love you all and I thank you for all of your encouraging words of wisdom!!  I feel close to you even though you are across the world!!  I love you all!!!

с любовью,
Сестра Рид :)

                      1) Wet summer... lots of walking!

                           2) The postal system here

                    3) Me and Uliana... we love gummy worms!

                                   4) Russian babas

Hey!!  Thanks for the great e-mails!  I'm glad to hear that things are going well and rolling along at home!  Lots going on this week.. that's pretty cool!!  And something important:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHON!!!!

I hope it is super awesome, because you are awesome!!   :)

And I hope all worked out well with finals for Dayton; I bet you did awesome!!!

Well this week was interesting for sure.  The sad news is that we called Natalia and out of nowhere she asked me to not call her anymore.  I asked her why and she said that it's just better that way.  Her son called too a bit later and said something, but I didn't understand except that he asked us not to call.  :(  I have no idea what happened, but I did have a feeling in the back of my head that it was too good to be true.  I guess it might be a lack of faith, but I just don't know if things work out that quickly and easily in this work.  I was in shock completely, but I know that God has a plan for everything.  And I know that we are at WAR right now.  Satan is trying to do everything he can do to tear down our efforts.  And that includes tearing down our faith.  Every companionship in our zone was struggling somehow in the work, and I can just see how Satan is at work here.  But we are doing our best to fight back to the best of our abilities.

We weren't able to meet with Tatiana, but we hope to do that this week.  She is the only hope we have right now, really.

So yesterday morning Sis T left on a bus to head to Novo and then home.  It was really weird seeing her leave, knowing that she wasn't getting transferred, but HOME.  Like, she's done.  It was really really weird.  I just want to use this time to the very best of my abilities while I still have it!  And I hope I could help her finish her mission the way she wanted.  That was my goal, and I hope it worked out.  I think about when I will be in that last interview with my mission pres, and then stake pres, and how I will think about all that I've done on my mission.  How hard did I work?  How dedicated was I?  I want to make sure that I have NO regrets.

My new companion came actually on Monday evening.  You will not believe who it is... a mini missionary!  I knew that there would be 3 mini missionaries that would serve in this mission b/c 3 sisters were leaving to go home.  But I didn't think that I could do it... be with a mini.  I didn't think I was ready.  But here I am.... and it's actually pretty great so far!  She is the companion that I need to be with right now.  It's hard because I have to teach her about the schedule, and the rules and stuff, and I forget that she doesn't already know those kinds of things.  But she's ready to do missionary work and she's obedient so it's awesome.  Her name is Uliana.  She's super funny and she speaks... perfect english.  It's a blessing.  :)  I just don't know if I'm ready to be senior companion!

So yeah lots of changes going on.  But life is good!

Dad- Thanks for writing to me last week!  You know what's funny is that I got that letter about 3 minutes before the internet shut down.  Good timing!!  I'm glad you had so much fun with your little bro.  You're a great big bro!!  I'm glad that all is going well with you!  And I really liked the pics of you and mom and you with the tie on!  Yay, it looks good!!  :)  Thanks for your words of wisdom and support.  They really helped this week.  :)  I love you!!!

Mom- Thanks for the e-mail!  I'm glad that they figured out what to do with your pain.  I really hope the surgery goes well and that it won't take too long to recuperate.  I pray for you that all will be okay!  I love you!!!

Shon- That's so awesome that you are starting up so many new adventures... school at Whitworth, Primary teaching (great practice :) ) and RUSSIAN!!!  Yay, you can be in our secret club!  :)  And of course I will help you with your H/W.  :)  You are awesome!!  I love you both!!  :) :)    

Well, I hope you all have a super great week and I love you all!  Stay happy!!

Love,
Sister Reed

                     1) Fun, huh?  It was even funner to use!

                              2) On the road again....

                    3) We went bike-riding last week and it was way fun!

                   4) My new turtle friend we found on the trail

                   5) This shows how much he loved me

Hello all!  Happy July!!!!!!  How is life over there?  Good, I hope!  :)
It sounds like things are pretty groovy.
So You don't want to buy the house that we live in, then?  What made you change your mind?

So life is pretty good over here.  This last week was quite eventful... on Monday we were walking to an appointment and we were contacting along the way.  I gave a calendar with a picture of Christ to this woman and she was super excited!  She asked us if we have any books she can read.  I was like, "Oh, Do we??!"  Well I thought that if course.  :)  We got her address and number so we could bring her a Book of Mormon.  Yesterday we brought it over to her house and she was just so excited to receive it!!  We talked about the Book of Mormon and explained it a bit... we asked her some questions and everything she said went along with what we believe.  She can't wait to start reading.  She is just GOLDEN.  I can't believe how easy it was.... all we had to do was find her.  Her name is Natalia.  I don't want to be lacking in faith, but I really hope this is a real deal and not another flake-out.  It seems like the ones who are more excited at first end out not being interested by the end.  I pray that Natalia will progress and we can continue meeting with her.  She plans on coming to church on Sunday.  :)

Also, yesterday to English came a woman who I gave her an invitation to English in a marshutka a couple weeks ago.  She brought her neice who speaks really well.  I was really excited about that!  They really enjoyed English Club and are excited to come back!  So that was pretty cool.

I pray that the Lord will bless us with more opportunities to find people and that we will know when we have those opportunities in front of us!

Mom- I'm so sorry that you are going through so much pain right now.  :(  I wish that you could feel all better really soon!!!  I pray for you that the doctors will know what to do, and quickly, so that you can be at ease.  You are so strong.  Keep being strong and I hope all will be better super super soon!!!   I love you!!!!!
p.s.- That is SUPER funny about Joslyn!  Hahahaha- I giggled here in this internet place.. lol

Dad- I hope everything is wonderful with you!!  I hope work is well and you're not too busy, but working well. :)  I love you!!

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!  Keep being awesome!!  :)

c любовью,
Сестра Рид :)

                      1. Blurry :(  This was a Super rainy day!!

            2. These are some FLUFFY pink slippers of a member here.  So funny

Happy 4th of July that already was!  :)

This week was super cool!  Last week we made lasagna with that fam and it turned out delish!  (I was very glad... I couldn't look like a lame American or something.. :) )

We met with Tatiana again and taught her about the Plan of Salvation.  It was a very good meeting, and afterwards, she was so thankful to us.  She thanked us for the good feelings to her soul she feels when she's around us.  We're doing our job!  :)

We have done a bit more contacting this week, and we actually received about 4 contacts!  That's actually kind of a lot!  We made a goal to contact one hour every day this week.  We fasted last fast Sunday for new investigators, and so we need to do our part!  God has blessed us with a couple potential investigators already!  :)  This last Sunday I went contacting with a member who came back from her mission about 6 months ago.  (See photo below)  She was so good at contacting- I learned so much from her!  She said ( and it makes sense) that it's just important to remember that these people are our brothers and sisters, and we knew each other in the pre-mortal life.  I forget that sometimes, because I just really don't like contacting very much.. haha... it feels like a chore.  But now I enjoy it a lot more!  Especially after she showed be by example how it's done well.

Mom- I will for sure pray for you!  I hope all goes well for you!  I hope you know that I already pray for you!  You are wonderful!  And I'm so proud of you for the person you are and how you always strive to be better.  I know that Heavenly Father sees that and is so proud of you!  That is why we're here afterall, and some people are too prideful to do that.  I love you very much!!!!

Dad- So fun that you all got to have a dinner with some of the fam!  sounds like a good time!  I'm so glad that our family is close... it's SO important!!  And it just keeps getting bigger!  :)  You are so great- thanks for your love and support!!  I love you very much!!  You are such a great example to me in so many ways!!  :)

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!!

Love,
Sister Reed

                               1) the Kobtyns (and the lasagna!)

                                     2) Funny sign...

                               3) my comp (for the day - member exchange)

                           4) cool building

                        5) field and me

                               6) lada

Hello everyone!

Great to hear from you all!!  I'm glad that you are all still staying upbeat and happy!

This has been a pretty cool week!  YES, I bought a camera!!  And I love it!  If you want to find out about it, it's a SONY Cyber-shot.  It's a big upgrade from my other camera ( :) ) and it wasn't very expensive!  Thank you so much for letting me buy it.  I plan on never losing it!!  :)

So this week we saw success in little ways/steps.  We met with this inactive family and on Sunday the dad with one of their little boys came to church!  I was so happy to see them!!  We have met with them a couple times already and have been gaining their trust and friendship.  Because of that, we were able to be bolder with them and commit them to come to church, and they came!  Hopefully next time the mom will come too.  It's interesting the different reasons why people go inactive... Some of them I don't understand.  We are actually going to their house tonight to make lasagna!  That are interested in American meals... and I can't say I know how to make lasagna well at all... haha... but we will try it.  I really hope it works out!  Haha!

Also, we met with this woman, Tatiana, who is a friend of the RS President here for the second time.  The first time, just Sis T and the RS President went to talk to her about the Book of Mormon,  But this time, we taught her about the restoration of the gospel.  (the 1st lesson)  It was SO good!  She took it all in and the spirit was very strong.  She is excited to read the Book of Mormon.  We are going back today and it should be great, I hope.

We haven't met with Maria in a while.  She had another tradegy in her life this past week; her daughter died.  She is struggling very much and doesn't want to meet with us right now.  We don't want to push her, so we have been giving her space.  We pray that in time she will be ready to meet with us again.

Mom: I am so happy that you are staying happy and positive.  I pray that you will be able to feel all better soon!    :)  I love you!!!

Dad: Yes, I have talked in a british accent with the Russians.  They think it's pretty funny.  :)  And yeah, it is hard to understand little kids sometimes- I really try to understand them!  :)  Yeah, I got most of the cat pee smell out.... haha... but I have to be careful when I go to someone's house who has cats.... especially when they start sniffing around my bag.  :)  I love you and I hope you have a great week!!  Thanks for sending the pics!  I already told Shon, but I'm kinda weirded out by that other person in the pic with just us as a fam.  Who's body is that???  Haha!!  I'm not sure if I should laugh or be creeped out, lol!

Well I hope you have a super great week!!  I love you all!!!!

Thanks Krystine, for the letter!!  You are awesome- I love you!!  :)

Love,
Sister Reed  :) :)

                              1) A road in the village

          2) The people who live in the village usually have big, pretty houses like this

            3) Sorry it's blurry--  this is what Barnaul looks like with all the rain

                             4) More... am I in Russia??

                  5) Sorry it's dark-- this is the cutest kitty ever!!

Hello all!

Thanks for the e-mails Mom and Dad!  And thanks for sending some pics!!  That was way super fun to see them! Looks like everything was way pretty and it looks like it was a gorgeous day for a wedding!!  I loved all the pictures, but I laughed out loud when I saw the one of Shon and Dayton.  Haha.... I MISS YOU!!

This week was eventful!  We had a great Zone Conference with lots of insights and good reminders.  We talked a lot about giving commitments and following up on them.  Also, the Assistants talked a lot about inviting people to baptism.  We should not be afraid to mention baptism early in lessons, and extending the commitment.  The important thing is that baptism is the gate to eternal life, and these people are Heavenly Father's children and He wants them to return to live with Him.  We, as missionaries, can help them prepare to enter into this covenant with God and head on their way to eternal life with Him.  It powered me up and got me excited to go out there and do it!

We had a meeting set up with Maria (the one who's husband died) that day, and I just felt like we needed to invite her to be baptized.  We planned out a powerful lesson, and when we went to meet with her, she was not home!  But we called her and set up an appt for the next day.  We gave her the lesson and she soaked it all in.  We talked about baptism throughout.  She was already baptized in the Provoslavic Church, so she didn't understand why she needed to be baptized again.  We again explained that baptism needs to be by the right authority, and she started to understand.  She told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true!  She commited to praying to know whether she needs to get baptized again... whether it's necessary or not.  She will find out when God answers.  That is the only way we can know these eternal truths; through prayer and asking our Heavenly Father if they are true.

We have been helping this woman fix up her new apartment that she just bought.  We have already torn wallpaper off of walls, scraped walls, and measured and applied new wallpaper.  I can tell you that when you are stressed, tearing wallpaper off of walls will do the trick.  Anything minorly destructive..haha.  So it's been fun to help her.  Sadly, while we were there, her cat peed on my bag.  I noticed when I lifted the handle and it was drenched and stenched.  hah.  That's what I get for leaving it on the floor.  :)

I was also a "nursery mommy" this past Sunday.  :)  We taught the primary kids because we had ward conference.  It was crazy, but way fun.  There are the CUTEST kids in the branch... once I get a camera, I'll take some pics.  :)  I played "airplane" with this little boy.  To play, you stand behind the fan while it's going.  haha.  And that means you're in a plane.  We were actually going to Egypt.  :)

Dad- you should just talk to those guys from the Czech Republic with a british accent.  Hahahahaha.  That would be cool for them, and fun for you!  :)  But yeah, for those who haven't been around Americans, it is hard for them to adjust to the accent, I've noticed.  The people I teach there (at English Club) have been going so long that they have an American accent already, but I have come in contact with some who speak with a british accent... it's pretty funny.  :)
That's way cool that you're doing a family history class!  I want to do that when I get home.. I finally woke up and really saw the importance of it once I've been here.  People here want to do it, but it's hard because that site is all in English.  I wonder if there's a way to get it in Russian.  But good job!  Way to go!
Thanks for the verse.  That is a really good reminder.  And it's amazing to me to think of how specific you can be when you pray.  I think that it shows faith when we ask for more things and more things in specific.  Kinds shows that we know that God can do anything.
I hope you have a WONDERFUL week! I love you very much!!  :)

Mom- I'm glad that Grandpa Harr is recovering well!  That's great news!  I think of them every time I show their picture to someone from my album. :)
Wow Mom I can totally relate to you with the judging thing.  I have the same problem!  We're human and it's so hard to be perfectly charitable and think that everyone has the best intentions and no one would ever do anything wrong... or wrong towards us.  The one thing I've noticed since being here on a mission is that a mission = a time that Heavenly Father shows you how much you stink.  hah.  But in a different sense too.  A mission = a time that Heavenly Father shows you how much you can be closer and more like Him.  But I think that's possible even not on a mission.  I can tell you that I have come to know God and Jesus Christ so much more as I've read the scriptures and seen how they act.  How God acts with His children in love and in teaching.  How Christ is our ultimate example of love and charity.  I think that one of the best ways to learn how to be more like them (and that's our goal, right?) is to read the scriptures, just like you are doing.  And then when we read those things, we have a responsibility to follow through and apply it in our lives.  How would Christ act in a situation from what we've read about Him?  Prayer is a powerful tool too when we are trying to overcome anything.  I KNOW that God answers our prayers.  He knows what we are struggling with, and when we have righteous desires, He is always willing to help us accomplish them.  I don't know if that helps, but I love you and I know that you are amazing.  I hope you are feeling better- I still haven't heard anything.....?

I love you all very much and I hope you all stay happy!  Thank you for your love and support- it means everything!!
Smiles and laughter are contagious!  Try to spread it and brighten someone else up. :) :)

Love,
Sister Reed  :)

Hello my Lovely Family!!

Thanks so much for the letters!!  Man, I got a LOT this time around again....!!  That's so cool because I heard that after a certain time on your mission people start to forget you...and you get less letters.  Haha!  Makes sense, but I'm glad it's not happening yet!

I really appreciate all your prayers for me... this week started off hard, but ended out super great.  Heavenly Father blessed me with peace and I know it's from your prayers.  :)  Thank you.

So this half-week was pretty good.  Just doing work and living life here!  Nothing too new has happened since I wrote on Sat.  English Club has been fun, but it's hard!  These people have a bigger vocab than I do sometimes!  It's an English lesson for me as well when I'm trying to explain what a word means, like the difference between "mood" and "attitude."  Haha.  But it's cool.  I have to be really creative.  Yesterday we talked about the difference between careers in Russia and America.  I actually told them about your job, Dad, and they were pretty impressed.  A job in the field of law is very prestigious here.  And it's pretty dang sweet in America, too!  You know something weird?  In Russia being a doctor is a really CRUMMY job.  You don't barely get paid at all.  They don't have to go to school for very long either to be a doctor, so that could be part of the reason.  But I think that's funny.  And also they were telling me that if you did bad in school and you just want to quit, you can buy an insta-diploma.  Crazy, huh??  I was amazed at that.

Well besides that, not much is new.  It is still sooooo hot.  But I hear it's getting hot too there!  Fun fun!!

Mom- Go you!  You are so great- I'm excited to hear how your programs are going.  Keep me updated on that, ok?  By the way, how is your arm/neck/head?  Getting any better?  I hope so!  I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!  P.s.- I will print out that article and read it.  That's pretty awesome!!  p.p.s.- Remember that one show with the people doing stupid stuff?  Whiteout of splashout or something?  Funny!

Dad- Way to go in being a squirrel-rescuer!  Thanks for the pic of the squirrel, BTW.  Hehe.  Awesome.  Keep up the great work.. you are awesome!  I LOVE YOU TONS!!!

Well have a super wonderful week!!  I love you all very much!  Stay happy!!!  :)

The church is true!  :)

Love,
Sister Reed