“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” Joseph Smith
My dearest readers,
As most of you know, the Russian government has recently passed a law that would
greatly affect how we do missionary work here. That is okay. It will all work out.
I join in testimony with hundreds of other missionaries in Russia, that this is the Lord's work.
There is nothing we can do or the world can do to stop it.
I have been called to serve in Samara Russia. And I will stay here until further notified.
We don't know all the details, but just know that I love it here. I have seen so many miracles
and have felt so strongly the Lord's love for his people. They have become my closest friends
and family. They are the most amazing, strong people I have ever met. The members here are incredible and are able to handle whatever may come in the future. We are so close to seeing
the fullness of blessings from the Lord.
Opposition is necessary in this life in order to progress and grow. Elder Dallin H Oaks
gave a great talk about this very topic in last April's General Conference.
We can only learn if there is something to challenge us in the first place.
In other news, it has been another pretty exciting and wonderful week! I am staying here
in Tolliatti with Sister Miller for another 6 weeks. Only this time, they have asked me
to become one of the three sister training leaders in the mission. That just means
I''ll be going on splits with a few sisters and helping them in any way I can.
There will also be a missionary leadership meeting this week in Samara so I'll be heading
back that way this Friday. There we will probably be getting more information about what
our mission is going to be like from now on.
Highlights: Met the new mission president. He is sooo cool. And so Californian!
His wife did a slide show about their life and it was all about the beach and all things wonderful.
We had a special testimony meeting with the missionaries of the Samara and Toliatti Zones.
I truly felt the Spirit soo strongly while listening to the testimonies of my fellow servants
in the Lord's vineyard.
Also went on splits with the loves, Sisters Hansen and Hofmann.
It was so great being back with them. I have been truly blessed with companions.
Remember how I had a district in the MTC. Well, I've seen all of them in the field except
for my good ol' pal Elder Lee. After a year on the mission and 11 months in the field,
I was finally able to see my desk neighbor of 9 weeks! He hasn't changed a bit.
Balakova district reunion. Almost a year and all four of us haven't been in the same area at once! Love everyone!
Also, we had the most fun, stressful visa trip ever! Somehow it ended up with 26 missionaries
in a small white van without AC in the middle of July for about 14 hours together.
We got to know each other wayyy better after that trip haha.
Sorry for the long email, just so much has happened. LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
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Much love,
Cectpa Graham
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