here I am . . . in Энгельс?

Dear family,

Well, here I am in . . . you probably didn't guess it, Саратов (Saratov)! Well, Энгельс (Engels) is only across the river from Саратов, so we come here every week to write home (I guess Энгельс is too small to write home there) so I am still serving in Энгельс, just today I happen to be in Саратов.

I am feeling a little sick right now. I don't know why this always seems to happen at transfers, but I have a cold or something. My companion is a little sick, too, but not as bad as I am. I spent three hours sleeping yesterday (the zone leaders gave me permission to sleep). Then I felt a little better, but this morning I woke up almost without my voice. (Picture to the left - Sister Блохина (Bloxina) packing our last day) It was interesting when we went street contacting because when I talked with the people on the street, I talked normal. But now, I am still having trouble. I hope I don't lose it completely, that would be awful!

So, let's see. This last week was pretty eventful, but I would like to start by saying thanks to everyone that wrote me this week. Sara, that's interesting about the zoo. Poor chipmunk. Grandpa, too bad I can't go on that cruise with you, I've never been to Alaska, but I'm sure that will be great. Mom, it seems so weird that it is summer. I know it is because it is hot, but I don't really feel like it is summer because I am working everyday, but hearing about those kinds of things, like going to the zoo, makes it seem a little more real. Also, I got the package you sent with my cereal, mac and cheese, candy, pudding, stuffing, and Sudafed. (Picture above - me and Ирина(Irina) at the train station) I have to admit that the Sudafed came at exactly the right time because I got sick almost immediately afterward. So, it's good that I have some. Also, it's nice to have some home food.

Other than that, where do I begin? Last Wednesday we didn't do anything especially fun because half of our district was gone, but it was nice to have English for the last time in Пенза (Penza). Those people were sad to know that I am leaving, but even sadder to know that there won't be anymore sisters in Пенза. But, life goes on. We finished packing and only after that I received a very interesting phone call. Elder Madsen, an Elder with whom I served in Тольятти (Togliatti) who also was leaving for home this transfer, called. I thought he had already left but later I remembered that his parents live in Romania. He called to let me know that my train for Энгельс was leaving on Saturday night. That was a surprise, pleasant because I was happy to know that we would be leaving on a train, but it was just a strange phone call. It was also nice to be able to talk to him for the last time before he left for Romania. (Picture to the left - saying goodbye at the train station. From left to right - Elders Wellman, Montandon, Мельничук (Melnychuk), and Olsen; me, Ирина, Sister Блохина, Надя (Nadya), Маша (Masha), and Марина (Marina)) But, because I had already finished packing, I hadn't packed to stay in Самара (Samara) for two days. That sucked a little, but there was nothing I could do about it. We had youth night at our apartment because they are now going to be using that apartment for the branch to meet while the other apartment is being renovated. It was a little weird, but nice to see everyone. It made it easier to leave, too. From Пенза, missionaries always leave at 10:30, which is when we are supposed to be sleeping, so missionaries can never see others off, even if they are going home. But, because we are sisters and we were both leaving, the Elders needed to help us get our luggage into the taxi and onto the train. They really only needed to have two Elders there to help, but the other two wanted to see us off, too. It was really cool. A few members stayed after youth night to go to the train station with us, and others met us there. Then, after loading our luggage, we talked and said our goodbyes. Then, we got on the train, and waved good-bye as the train slowly pulled away. It was nice to hear people yelling, "I love you!" (in English) at us as we were leaving. (Picture to the right was taken from the train as it slowly pulled away from the station. From left to right - Надя, Маша, Вадим (Vadim), Elder Мельничук, Марина, and Elders Wellman, Montandon, and Olsen) I really did feel loved there, even though things were difficult. But, the train stopped. This happened three or four more times where the train started going and then stopped. We thought maybe they weren't going to let us leave. Honestly, Пенза is the first place where I have ever felt that sisters are needed as missionaries, but it is true! There are things that we can do that the Elders can never do! It's just too bad that we don't have enough to have a pair in every branch. But then again, only the branches who don't have sisters realize that they need them, especially if they periodically get them and then lose them again.

When we got to Самара, a couple Elders met us at the station to help us to the office. There, we waited for the other sisters to come. Sister Саргсян (Sargsyan), who is now just Ани (Ani), came. It was really nice to see her, weird, too, because we didn't have much time before she had to leave for the airport. After she left, the rest of us sisters stood around talking about how weird it is when people we know go home. We waited for some taxis to take us and our stuff to the sister's apartment. (Picture to the left - At the office just before Sister Саргсян left for home. From left to right - Sister Kuligowski, me, Sisters Саргсян and Silva) I had to take some pictures for my visa application (I have to get another Visa in a month or so) and we did a few other things that day, like contacting, and English, and the next day we had sports (that was really awful because it was HOT and we played outdoors under the sun for an hour and a half). Then we had to go to the office to get our tickets and we had a couple of meetings before we had to go to the train station. Our train left at 10:00.

We didn't arrive in Саратов until 8:00 the next morning. Then we had to take a taxi to Энгельс and we didn't know if we would make it to church. When we got home, we quickly showered and then literally RAN to the church. We were only a few minutes late. I'm still getting used to everything, but I think I am going to like it here. We have a LOT of work, and that is nice. Also, I really like my companion. I think this is the first companion I'm going to have that doesn't need so much support from me. That will make it easier to just work. The nice thing is she told me that when she was thinking of transfers, she thought, hmm, I would like to serve with Сестра Атвуд. So, things are going to be good. I feel free for the first time on my mission because I don't have to worry about my companion feeling bad. She goes home in two and half months, but she isn't focusing on that, she wants to keep working and doesn't want to think or talk about home. That makes things easier on me, because I also don't want to think about home and when my companion talks about home, it is hard for me not to.

So yeah, other than being sick, things are going good. In less than a month my companion has to go to Moscow and I may be going with her. Then a week later I am scheduled to go for my Visa. It probably won't work out like that, but it would be kind of nice to have that extra time to see Moscow.

Well, that's probably about it for now. I love you all, thanks for everything.

Love,

Сестра Атвуд

Hey, could you also check out the website rosman.ru and see if it is possible to order books from there? I don't know if you will be able to because it should be all in Russian, but if you could give it a try, that would be great.

Thanks to everyone that wrote me this week, even if it was short, Mom, Dad, and Lizzy. It was great hearing from you. I'm also glad that Sara sent off a long letter and pictures. Too bad I probably won't get it for a few weeks. I have some big news! (Picture below - my companion with a burr sign on her back. As we were walking to service, a few of these things stuck to her back. Instead of pulling them off, I wrote hi on her back) I am leaving Пенза (Penza). I'm a little excited about it because I was getting a little worried that the people here would pray so hard that I would never leave, but I've noticed on my mission that when the members start telling me that I better not even think of leaving, I get transfered. Plus the fact that three sisters are going home this transfer, I more than expected it. But, I didn't want them to do what they are doing now, closing Пенза for sisters. They had to close two cities and the funny thing is that they also closed Тольятти (Togliatti). That's probably a good thing so the members can start to value the sisters that they had there. But, I feel bad for the people here. (Picture to the left - our service that day was helping with renovation of a member's apartment. In Russia, everyone uses wallpaper, so we helped with that. First, though, we needed to put some white powdery stuff on the ceiling. I don't know what that is called in English. To do that, we have to go through several stages where we have to let it dry. There was a play center nearby, so we went there while we were waiting) I have never had so many people tell me that there aren't enough sisters. They say, sisters are needed so much, but for some reason, there is never enough of them. They wanted to know why, and the only thing I could think of is that they all get married before they can go, or they just don't want to (but I didn't tell them that last part). It makes me sad that the people here love sisters so much and again we are being taken from them.
I am going to a little city called Энгельс (Engels) across the Волга (Volga) river from Саратов (Saratov). (Picture below - we were on our way to the youth night and saw this written on the side of a building. We thought it would make a funny picture. English graffiti is everywhere) I will be serving with Sister Silva. It sounds like I am really lucky, or that is what everyone tells me. My companion is going to Самара (Samara) and will be serving with a sister who came 3 months ago. That will probably be her last city because she goes home in 3 months. Sister Silva also goes home in three months. That should be interesting.
So, I've been doing a lot of "saying goodbye" and also a lot of packing. I really hate packing. It is one of those things that just takes a lot of time and a lot of effort and even when I don't buy anything new, it seems like every time I have less and less space. But, somehow I still manage to fit it in. (Picture to the left - at youth night we played a game called 4 on the couch. It is really fun, but you need a lot of people to play. The game is played with two teams, one girls, the other guys. Everyone writes their name on a piece of paper which is folded and mixed with all the others. Then, everyone picks a paper out. A certain area, usually a couch, is chosen to be the home base. Two girls and two guys begin the game and there should be one empty seat. The person to the left of that seat begins by picking someone in the circle. Whoever has that name must get up and sit in the empty seat. That person than trades their piece of paper with the person who called them over. In that manner, the trick is to try and get all 4 on the couch to be of the same sex. Thus, you try and figure out what names are being held by the people on the couch and try to get the members of the opposite team off and choose those who are on your team. It is really fun and if you have a good memory, you would be good at this game) I thought about sending a package home with more things that I don't need, but right now there isn't very much. So I thought I would wait a bit because in a few months I will be able to send home all my summer clothes that I won't be wearing. (Picture to the right - changing our filters. The filter in my left hand is what our filter starts out looking like. The one in my right hand is after having used it for 2 months. I've actually seen filters where they are black, but that is usually when the missionaries who lived there didn't follow the schedule to change the filters) That will help and it will also help when I don't have to pack my winter coat.
Anyway, I don't really know what else to say. Things are going as usual. I am leaving tomorrow evening on a train for Самара. From there, I hope I will go by train to Энгельс, but Sister Блохина (Bloxina) tells me that I will be going by gazelle. I really hope not because that is an 8 hour ride and last time we came back to Пенза from Саратов (5 hours) I felt really sick by the end of the ride (the roads here are really bad and I don't think any vehicle here has good shocks).
(Picture to the left - me walking on the train tracks near the building where we met for church) So, my next email will be coming to you from a terminal in Энгельс!
I have one more thing to say. It is really weird, but before my mission, no one ever said anything about my smile, but here, I hear it all the time. It either makes people happy or makes them angry (those are the people who wonder why I am happy when they are miserable). It's weird because I don't like my smile at all but I've had so many people comment about it. One girl in Тольятти said I have a sweet smile, and other than that people just say how good they felt every time they saw me smiling. Even when they felt bad, they felt better. I don't know, maybe that is the Holy Ghost working on them, too.
Thanks for everything. Now that I think about it, I will probably send home a box when I buy some books. That way I won't have to lug them around Russia with me. I also have to apply for a new Visa. To do that, I have to have an AIDS test. That is not going to be fun. I go to Moscow in August for my Visa.

Love,
Сестра Атвуд

Дорогая Элизабеть,

17 июня 2006
Дорогая Элизабеть,

I got your letter yesterday during lunch at our Zone Conference. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you had written a nice length of a letter.
That must be really fun having Bro. and Sis. Miller for the Young Single Adult Leaders. It is also good that you go. How many people came to the activity? Sounds to me like you will have a lot of fun this summer with the YSA.
You know, there is a little something called Murphy’s Law: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong and at the worst possible time. Generally I don’t believe it because I’m not a pessimist, but there are times when I believe it to be true. Maybe that’s what happened w/ I Dream of Jeannie. Which episode did you want to see?
Well, I don’t know when someone will be going to Самара next, probably at transfers in a month, so I’ll probably write more before then.

24 июня 2006
So, here I am, sitting in a hotel while my companion interviews w/ our Mission President. I just had mine and he asked me if sisters are needed here in Пенза. I didn’t know what to say. Sometimes I think we are and sometimes think we aren’t. It looks like we aren’t getting any new sisters anytime soon. That means that two cities will be closing for sisters. We already know where one is, but maybe Пенза will end up closing again. Who really knows? It’s also possible that an old city will close or the other city that was opened when I came to Пенза will be closed. That’s too bad. Right now we have 13 sisters and three are leaving the beginning of July. Then we will have only 10. If no one else comes, 3 months later 2 more leave, 3 months after that another 2, and it just gets worse. Hopefully we will get more sisters before I leave.
So, if Пенза closes, I don’t know where I’ll be headed. Maybe to Энгельс, maybe to Самара, but those are probably the only two options for me. If Пенза doesn’t close, I may still end up getting transferred because of how things will end up, maybe one of the sisters in the city that closes may come here. I can’t help hoping that that is the case. Even though I love Пенза and the people here, I am rather tired of the way things are going here, but I’m even more tired of having to do everything myself. What can you do, though? I guess just say, the Lord knows best, пусть His will be done.

09 июля 2006
Well, it has been a while since I wrote, but some big news has arrived. Of course, you will hear about this already before you get this letter, but I’ll just briefly mention it here. I got transferred. In less than a week I am going to Самара and from there I go to a little city near Саратов, just across the river Волга (Volga) called Энгельс (Engels). It will be interesting, but it is sad because Пенза is closing for sisters. The funny thing is that Тольятти also closes for sisters this transfer. That means every branch where I have served remains without sisters. The even weirder thing is that I will be serving with Sister Silva, my first American companion in 8 months. That means that all of my companions have served w/ Sister Гугельская (she is from Ukraine). Weird, huh?
My companion has a similar situation. She is going to Самара to serve with Sister Kuligowski and then every companion that she has had has served with Сестра Вернон, my first companion. Then again, there are few sisters and that makes a big difference.
Well, that’s pretty much all I have to say for now. I am passing along a letter for Christ Dennison. I hope it helps him. You can either give it to him yourself or give it to mom or dad and pass it along through them.

С любовью,
Сестра Атвуд

My birthday surprises

Well, I told about a few of my birthday surprises, but I didn't tell what happened the rest of the day.
We were supposed to meet the Elders to go around the city and take pictures. (Picture to the right - view of Пенза (Penza) and me. Below - my district at one of the monuments, in the back is me, Sister Блохина (Bloxina), and Elder Бордун (Bordun) - front, Elders Wellman, Christianson, Olsen, and Montandon) We did. I was expecting something as simple as, Happy Birthday! but no one mentioned a thing. The only thing that I got was my notebook back from Elder Бордун where he had written Happy Birthday. I was ok with that, but I thought it was weird that they couldn't even wish me happy birthday.
We took many pictures until finally the Elders had to go write home. We had written home earlier, so we still had time before English club that night. (Picture Below - another picture of our district with the shoes that I bought for my birthday. From left to right - Elders Бордун, Montandon, Christianson, Olsen, and Wellman. In the front, Elder Мельничук (Melnychuk) and Sister Блохина) We decided to go to this restaurant called Шоколадница (Shakoladnitsa which means something like, A Little Chocolate) and eat lunch. That was really nice. It was really good. We even got some ice cream. Then, after using the restroom, we went to the river to walk along it and relax before we had to go to English.
When we got to English, everyone was waiting outside. All the girls came up to me, hugged me and wished me happy birthday. I guess Ирина (Irina) had told them. Then we went upstairs to wait for everyone to show up. Ирина started asking me what the Elders had done for my birthday. I told her that they hadn't even wished me happy birthday. She became a little upset and told me that they aren't very good Elders, that there are much better ones. Finally, the Elders showed up. (To the left - this plaque says, Their glory is forever, Remembrance of them is sacred. We put our name tags on the plaque, just for kicks) A few of them wished my happy birthday when they got there, in fact, I think all but one did, after Ирина mentioned to them that they should have.
We had English club and afterwards, we went down to the Elders' room. Two of the Elders had left (we took turn doing English club because we only had 2 levels), but the rest were in the other room. I don't know why we went down there, Sister Блохина (Bloxina) made some excuse for it. When we arrived, they finished up class, and then they brought out a cake and started singing happy birthday. It was a nice surprise. The Elders who had left had made a cake. I guess they had been planning it for a little while and had wanted to do it before English club so that everyone could be there, but it didn't work out for them to be able to do that. So, it was nice to know that they didn't forget.
Finally, we went home. When we arrived home, I suddenly realized something horrible. (To the right - as we were walking to the restaurant, we saw this funny little clown and had to take a pciture) While washing my hands at the restaurant that afternoon, I had removed my CTR ring (the one that had belonged to my brother) and left it on the sink. I completely forgot until we were home. I cried out to my companion and explained. She said, oh well, its gone now, I'm sure someone has taken it. I explained to her what that ring meant to me and that I couldn't lose it. She didn't even hesitate. Even though it was already 8:45 pm and we were supposed to be in our apartments by 9, she called the ZLs to tell them that we had to leave and that we would call them when we got back.
We ran down to the bus stop to get a taxi so it wouldn't take too long and drove to the restaurant. The entire time I was praying that we would be able to find my ring. The taxi waited for us while we literally ran inside. We checking in the bathroom, but the ring wasn't there. Luckily, while we were looking, a woman was cleaning the bathroom. (Picture to the right - at English club, Марина (Marina) wrote Happy Birthday to me on the board. She is the one on the left) I asked her if she had found a ring by the sink. She asked me what it looked like. I explained, and she told me to wait a little bit. She finished what she was doing and came out. She had the ring! I can't even tell you the relief I felt at that moment. She didn't work the next day, and so if we had waited, it surely would have been lost forever. Thanking her, we left, ran back out to the taxi and drove home.
We made it home by 9:30. I was so relieved that I didn't lose that ring, but from them on out, I rarely wore that ring, too afraid that I would lose it for good. All in all, I had an eventful birthday.

Well, Happy Independence Day everyone! I have to admit, yesterday was a little strange. It did not feel like a holiday at all. Of course, they don't celebrate that holiday here. Nothing helped, I sang patriotic songs, but I still didn't feel it. Oh well, what can you do? I have to admit, that this is probably the most interesting birthday because while my birthday was starting here, everyone in America was celebrating it with fireworks. (Picture above was taken after out District meeting while we were eating lunch. We decided to call Ирина (Irina) to sing happy birthday to her since her birthday was that day) That's so nice of them. Usually they shoot off fireworks to celebrate that it is coming, but this year they celebrated that it was already here. Too bad I couldn't see it, though we did hear a few fireworks last night. That was cool.
So, lets see, what other things can I tell you about? I'm glad that you enjoyed the pictures and that you opened my box. I am glad that everything made it there safely. That's crazy about my credit card! What are they thinking? I guess they really want me to use it because it just keeps getting higher and higher. Well, they'll have to wait a while yet because I won't even attempt to use it for another 6 months!
Thanks to everyone who wrote this week, Mom, Dad, grandma and grandpa, Lizzy, and Sara. I guess Heather and Erin couldn't get to a computer to wish me happy birthday, oh well. We'll see if Becky will ever write me. (Picture to the right - our district. In the back is Elder Бордун (Bordun) and Sister Блохина (Bloxina). Next row is me and Elders Wellman and Christianson. Front row is Elders Olsen, Мельничук (Melnychuk), and Montandon. Sister Блохина and I bought these balloons, blew them up and tied them together for a present for Ирина. That was pretty interesting taking them on public transportation with us . . .) It is so strange for me to hear that she really exists in emails because I have no contact with her at all.
This last week has been really interesting. Last Wednesday we ended up having an unplanned lesson with the Elders' investigator, Надя (Nadya). She wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but she wants to get baptized. She had a lot of questions and some fears about the whole process and we had a really good talk with her about it. We went over the baptism questions and she told us that now she knows to whom she will be grateful when she gets through the interview. It was nice because we didn't even plan on being there that day, but the Lord guided us, and put us in the right place at the right time to be able to calm her fears. I felt so good afterward because I KNEW that we had done exactly what the Lord wanted. (Picture to the left - at Ирина's for her birthday "party" - she wanted it to be spiritual) I think that often happens when our plans fall through, we just don't always see the result.
We also went to see a few old investigators. They were happy to see us, but they are not interested in the gospel. That was a little disappointing. Other than the lack of work sometimes, I really love it here. I love the people, and there are a few members here that told me I better not even think of leaving! That's all well and good, but when they talk like that, it makes me want to leave so it won't be so difficult later. We'll see what happens. We find out about transfers today, or at least we should. Maybe Пенза (Penza) will close, but maybe I will be here for a while longer.
On Monday, one of the members had a birthday. She turned 21 and she really wanted us to be there for her birthday, so we went. (Picture to the right and below - the notes that my companion left around the apartment for my birthday. This one says Happy Birthday! The ones below say Happy Birthday, I love you, and Be Happy!) She fed us some salads and cake. It was really good and was nice to be able to celebrate her birthday with her. She called me last night to find out if I will be at English today so that she can see me. She said there will be a surprise, so it will be nice to see what she has in mind. Other than that, I have had a few other surprises today. This morning, my companion made some little notes and posted them around the apartment saying Happy Birthday, and other things like that. She also made a really nice breakfast and even washed the dishes! (She always cooks but I always clean up after). But, even before that, I got a call at 6:30. I didn't know what to expect, but I picked up the phone and a voice on the other end asked, who is this? I don't like answering those kinds of questions, so I asked who that was. She didn't answer but asked again, so I told her. She immediately started singing Happy Birthday (in English) but instead of putting in the name, she said, my dear best friend. I didn't know who it was. When she finished, I said thank you, and she started singing in Russian, but this time she put in my name. I immediately knew who it was! It was Sister Саргсян (Sargsyan)! She called from Ижевск (Izhevsk) where she is serving. She worked really hard to get permission to call me. We talked for about 20 minutes and it was really nice because she goes home next week and that may be the last time that I get to talk to her (unless I or my companion gets transfered and then we will see each other in the office). She also passed along a Happy Birthday from an Elder there who served with me in Тольятти (Togliatti). (Picture to the right - while we were walking on my birthday, we found this written on a wall. Who would've known that my birthday is important to others, too!) He said, pass Happy Birthday from her любимый великий (lyubimwi velikii) DL! (that means like, favorite great DL, we always called him our великий DL in Тольятти). It was really nice that he wanted to pass it on because I know two other Elders who serve with her in Ижевск (they were with me in the MTC) and they didn't pass anything along. I was also able to talk with her companion, Кристина (Kristina). She is on a "mini-mission" right now. She is from Тольятти and I know her well. It was a nice surprise, one that I didn't expect or even guess would be, but even if nothing else interesting will happen today, it made my day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to get a phone call from home, but that's not allowed, so don't worry about it. (Picture to the left - I painted my toe nails for Independence day and my companion painted my fingernails. She did a really good job, too) Also, my companion bought ice cream cake, we made root beer, and she also gave me a manicure for my birthday. At 2:00 today we are doing something with the Elders. I hope it will be fun. We'll see what happens. They know its my birthday, but you know Elders, they often don't think of fun things to do.
So, that's about it. Next week I'll be letting you know if there are any changes in my life, as in where I will be serving, or companion. I am really interested to know what will happen because Саргсян told me that sisters are really needed in Ижевск and that was the city which I thought for sure would close! So, I have no idea what will happen. What a nice surprise on my birthday!
Well, I look forward to hearing from everyone. Thanks for your support and love, I really need it and I enjoy hearing about your lives.

Love,
Сестра Атвуд