"Typical street contact"

Mya Sembya!

Typical street contact:

• us: "Hello how are you!?" ( smiling enthusiastically and awkwardly stepping in front of them)
• the lady: " ... " (she looks up at us half smiling in a puzzled look)
• awkward pause
• lady finally answers: "I'm sorry I cant remember you, how do I know you?" (here in Russia when you just say hi to someone they think you are an aquaintance of theirs because its so not normal for people to just start talking to each other haha)
• us: "Oh we just moved here to Petro, are you from Petro? we LOVE it here."
• lady: "where are you from" (asks very bluntly and usually unamused)
• us: "Well I'm from Yekateringburg, and my sister... I'm from America!"
• lady: "No way. you students here?"
• us: "NO, we're here as missionaries!" (as we show them our badge and then just follow the spirit and then they want to meet with us and want to get baptized and then we had 30 baptisms in Petro)

Yupp, thats pretty much a small taster of my every 2 minutes on the street. Just thought I would share :)

We found out this week, that next week we, Sister Kareba and I will, will get a 3rd companion, a greenie. She's American. Is it terrible to admit that I just did not want to train? I have loved this whole last transfer, it has just been so EASY and SIMPLE. Sister Kareba and I know what to do, and we go do it. We speak the language. And we're unified and just work. TRAINING is so hard ( yupp Im totally whining). I'm trying to remind myself that I LOVED training and even asked Pres Clark if I could train at one point. Also, I"m super worried about this whole 3-some thing and me and the greenie being Americans and then sister Kareba hardly knowing english..... rock hard place. BUT I am excited, and its going to be a crazy Petro adventure :) So, yea, I just need to decide RIGHT NOW its going to be awesome and not leave any room to change my mind about it later. Pray for me!

Also, I know I have told you a little about the gypsies. Have I told you that I am now obsessed with them? Galina the mom, with her daughters Vera, Nadia, and Luba (their names mean faith, hope, and love :). Vera, who is 21 cannot get baptized cuz shes on parole for 2 years (she didnt do anything terrible, just is stupid sometimes). Nadia HAS A BAPTISMAL DATE WOOT WOOT! Except, shes addicted to smoking (and shes only 15!) so we need to work on that. And Luba also has a baptismal date. I love them all. So much. Its a miracle to see how much they have changed and that they even want to be baptized. The mom is deathly afraid of water, meaning she refused to get baptized even though she really wants to. GAH! How do you deal with that??? They all LOVE me, and I love them. Its a huge party whenever we go over there. Just after we set the baptismal date with Nadia, all of a sudden she looked all sad and was like "Sister Tenney, why cant you baptize me?" HAHAHA. My eyes lit up and I gently explained to her that we as women have a different, yet beautiful role and that only men have the priesthood (little does she know how much she made my night :) haha. So pretty much all my thoughts are on them these days.
I'm happy, and trying my best to be excited for the upcoming change. I forget that I can't always choose everything, because lately I have been getting WAY too much of what I want. Just gotta remember God has a better plan than mine :)
I love you all! Pray for me and the gypsies please!
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