TOMCK!

Hey guys!!!! i was glad to get your emails! mom... i didnt get one from you but i think its because we are doing email early this morning because i am going to do one of the senior couples hair today! I am way excited! it was great we actually found a store that is kinda like cosmo prof! i was so stoked! i havent used the color though so we will just have to see how it goes hah... i have faith though. it should work out. mom,
   Dad! thanks for the email! i am really sad i cant be there to watch you baptize gracie and grandpa! its kinda crazy huh cause the last person you probably baptized was me right? that was like 14 years ago! thats so crazy!haha and dont worry about granpa! we have some pretty old people getting baptized here and they do just fine! (hahahah dont read that to granpda ok!?!) haha... Make sure that rach or someome takes pictures and emails them to me!  And about conference.. we havent actually watched it yet, they wait until they translate it into russian and so we are actually watching it this saturday and sunday! i can watch it in english though... i would like to watch it in russian cause it would help buttttt i know that i need it in
  english so i can get as much out of it as possible.. im glad you guys watched it and i hope everything is going well! hahaha dad its so funny...you say you guys went swimming and guess what? its been snowing ALL week here.. hahah i just laugh so hard because i did this to myself! hahaha i love you and thanks for writing me... it really helps to have emails..especially from family too... i miss you guys.. but i know i am doing the
  right thing. The senior couple here, the Alands.. elder aland loves to hunt and fish and i told him about your trips to mexico and such.. he said that you guys will have to be friends when they get home hahah. He says he wants to go on one of those mexico trips! love you dad! Oh! make sure you tell gracie congratulations on getting baptized too.. and that i love her and i know that this will be a day to remember... tell her too that i am sure that  her daddy is right there with her the whole time, and that if he could he would be doing that baptism for her.. but she has you though dad... her papa....i think its only right that you baptize her... i know that thats
  what gary would want....Jess! i hope sammys birthday went well! i wish i could see pictures! send me some if you can! I cant believe that sammy and dean are going skiing haha.. thats so crazy! And keep sending pictures of neil! i printed off the ones that grandma sent so i have those with me! i love them but i am sure he
looks so different even know! hahahaha and jess... everyone always things rock is a girl in my pictures too! hhaha i have to tell them he just has long hair and they always ask why!? hahah its ok, i like his long hair,
  dont cut it, he wouldnt be a "rockstar" without his long hair! hah but tell the boys and sam i love them! and i miss you guys! time is just flying by isnt it!
  RACHEL! WRITE ME YOU FOOL!
  Grandma! i always love getting your emails! it makes me so happy because there are so many bawbooshkas here in and they make me miss you! I always tell them about you and your conversion... and moms too...they love to hear those stories cause its kinda different that i am from america and have a part member family. They usually see missionaries from america where all their familes are members. I have been telling them about grandpa and they get really excited. It gives them a little hope that maybe someday their family members will change... Well i cant believe the baptism is so close! please let grandpa know how much i love him and that i am so proud of the decision he is making... Tell him i wish i could be there so bad! baptisms are such an amazing thing.. especially out here on your mission... because people are making that first step to follow in christs ways. He is finallyon the path to his salvation.. truly... there is a lot of work ahead of him,
  but he will have the holy ghost to guide him to let him know the best path to take... i know this to be true.. and sometimes.. its not the path you expected (like hiking through siberia in -10 degree weather trying to talk
 to people in a language you have no idea how to speak haha) but... the lord always knows the best way for our lives to go and i know that if we listen to the holy ghost he will tell us the right way to go! Let him know how much this gospel has blessed my life and how much i know it has blessed the lives of our whole family.. we wouldnt be where we are without it...And grandma again.. i am so grateful for your example to all of us,... you are so great!
  Tell ruth i admire her for her way to just pull parties together! haha she is such a great party planner and organizer.. she can definetly plan my wedding! i am glad that their family is going... it will be sucha good thing
  for everyone to see! please send a pic of all the family there!!! PLEASE!everybody would love to see it! Tell ruth great job!!! and tell tami that i we know its hard for her to see the reason why grandpa is doing this.. but also let her know that i wouldnt be here in russia... i wouldnt be away from all you guys, i wouldnt be dedicating a year and half of the hardest days of my life.. literally.. for a reason that wasnt worth it... i know that she doesnt want to be baptized or have anything to do with the church.. but maybe see if she can try to understand why we do this... why we spend our lives dedicated to our savior.... i know that without him... i would be nothing. He has given me everything i have ever had and will give me everything i will have. Its only fair to give him a fraction of my life.. here in siberia to serve him and then, i can do an even greater work in my own family. Tell tami i love her and i am grateful that they have been such an asset to our family too. I wouldnt trade our family for anything, but just as we understand why tami doesnt like our beliefs, she needs to be understanding of why we believe what we believe. I have to see our family not united... I love everyone and i hope that this can be a growing experience rather than something that can tear the family apart.
  Because it truly is an amazing thing..> Anyway i love you guys! AMY GILES! haha first of all i love you and i am so happy you wrote me! I am sorry i cant send a personal letter but tell the other girls to write me because i dont get letters from our friends! shows how much they love me right? i am so happy you guys are graduatiing!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! let me know how it goes!!!! i love you amy and i told my mom to send you pictures! its hard for me to send pictures cause i dont have much time but i am going to
  send cds home! love you!!!!!
  Well... this week was kinda a crazy week! we are just kinda getting to know the members here.. its different not knowing one but its ok, they are all so great! we have a few investigators that we have taught, and they seem like they will be great! we have these two young girls lida and masha, and they came to church on sunday so that was awesome! and this older lady zanaida... and she just has a ton of quiestions... we visit a lot of the innactive because there are a ton here...One of my favorite parts is english club because people get to excited to come and i feel like i can actually do a lot there... we played a fun game with directions this week it was great! we also had a fireside on sunday and we taught the lesson! i actually taught alsmot the whole thing in russian!
  haha my russian is still not very good, but i can tell that just being here has helped increase my understanding and actually.. there are 6 (young) missionaries here and only 2 are american... and we see eachother like every day so i dont really get to talk english which is great! but it does get hard not understanding! We went to this families house too.. the Lee family, and they oldest daughter just got baptized but then the whole rest of the family isnt, they have like 5 other kids? and the dad is super intersted in the church but says he doesnt understand the book of mormon, the elders work with them alot but i know we will teach them a few times too.. Oh! mom! they also have this little gym thing in their house because they do like acrobatics? haha and so
  we watched them and they arent bad! they have their press handstands from like a straddle and backhandsprings... i told them next time i come i will bring pants and do handstands... it should be intersting,...haha They also own a salon and he wants me to teach some classes sometimes? haha i dont know about that.. the color lines are all russian or eauropean... so i dont know them at all.. and i dont know russian well enough to teach! haha

  So i usually write a paper about my week, and i did but i forgot it! so i dont know what else to write!
  THis week was really hard, but i know its the struggles thhat make us grow!i do love my mission.. even though yes, it feels like sometimes time is going way too slow and i think.. ive only been here 5 weeks?? haha it feellike forever! but i know that when i get home i will be grateful that i thought it was slow. I dont pray for it to go by fast even though sometimes i think it because i know that it will fly by once it comes time for me to
  go home.  I  just know i have to do all i can to be the best i can.. this will change my life forever, and sometimes that scares me... because i will come back a completely different person than when i left.. and i liked my old life... i did... but i know that i will love the new me even more...haha its so funny though... you guys would die if you saw me.. i NEVER do my hair because we dont have time.. so it just like hangs off my head its pretty sad.. plus its getting  kinda long.. and its just at a weird length where i cant do anything, plus i have like 2 hairs anway.. hahah so i look  like sad... and my clothes are a riot.. all the girls here in tomck (because its a college town) have like the cutest clothes and i am like a frumpy missionary! haha its ok... i am way more comfortable than them.. they alll weird like these just spandex pants with their shoobas and this stillettos! haha its crazy! and its still icy! I dont know how they do it!
  OH! we started to run the stairs in our apartment every morning. Its great beacause i am getting better excercise and then i dont fall asleep when i am studying after! I am trying to loose a ltitle bit of weight so that it
  doesnt get out of control! haha Well i love you guys so much! thanks for your support! Sorry my life is
  boring here, (well i just forget things) i will try to have better emails for you guys!!!
I love you so much!!!!

  sister west!