Sundays!

I love Sundays here--and this last one was great! I decided to go to the Arbatsky branch, which starts at 2:00 pm, and I'm so glad I did! I got to see some of my favorite people in Russia--Masha, Vasya, and these two adorable sisters who were just baptized last weekend (I missed seeing Masha's sister, Sonya, who I adore, as she had already left for home). I was sad to have missed the baptism of Zardis and Tomaris, as I was in Rostov, but it was great to talk with them. They are so strong! Both bore their testimonies. We had some great ones on prayer this week, for which I was very grateful. It was obvious that the girls (Zardis and Tomaris) had had some pretty tough trials this last week, but their faith pulled them through. They are amazing examples to me! I talked with them for a bit after sacrament meeting--about how their week had been, and that I was glad that despite their trials they were here and happy! We talked about random things, about how they loved that my name was written in gold lettering on the front of my scriptures and about my journal where I take notes in church. I let them thumb through both of them, and explained that my parents had bought me this set of scriptures specifically for my mission to Russia. Loved catching up with them!! Not to mention Tomaris said she loves talking with me and hearing me speak Russian because I have a beautiful accent. She is truly a sweetheart if she can put up with my Russian!! I've written about this before, but there are times when I am very self-conscious about my Russian, and other times that it just flows. Well, I feel it has been kind of shaky lately, but all of the sudden Sunday I felt comfortable again. I think it has to do with whom I talk to. It is so much easier to speak with the young women of the Church--they are so sweet and put me at ease. I feel like we are able to strengthen one another with our testimonies. I will miss them very much!!