Proud to be an American

Family and Friends!
Well it's July! It seems really weird to think thatit is already July but time just keeps on ticking. Happy Fourth of July!!! I really did miss America this week as I thought about the holiday that was coming up. We are so fortunate to live in such a great countryand have so rights and freedoms. I love living in Russia and I love the people here but I can say that I am proud to be an American.
Well this week was pretty good. Lots of walking as usual and talking but that never hurt anyone. Summertime has definitely hit in Russia and everyone is heading to the beach and working on their tans. I can't tell you how many times this week we got asked why we haven't been on the beach, when we will be and why we don't be like "normal" teenagers and hang out on the beach all day. Classic. I am getting a little bit of a missionary tan so that is good. This week we had a great lesson with a referral from a member! It was fantastic. That is totally the way we want to do missionary work and so it was so nice to be able to sit down with someone who was 100% completely interested in learning more about the church and already had a good idea of what it was about from her friend. It was such a great lesson and she says she will read and pray to know if the church is true. That is the way missionary work is supposed to be! We need your contacts and your referrals. When they see us, they often think, Oh crazy fanatics that can't go to the beach etc.But when they know a member and see that you live real lives and that the Gospel truly blesses your life they are more open to hearing our message. So... give the missionaries referrals.
We saw the lady with the fashion advice and I dressed really cute and she loved it!!!! So all is well in Fashion land!
My companion this week had a visa trip to Kiev and so I was with a mini-missionary. I wasn't able to pick my mini-missionary, which is fine, but I was unsure who would be with me and so we said we would just meet Monday night right outside our house. All I had heard was that she was from the Colnichny branch, she loves the scriptures and the Gospel and if needed she could beat someone up. What? I was pretty excited to see who it wasand Monday night we met...ALLAH! She was fantastic! Alla is a grandma here who really does love and know the scriptures and I still think that she could probably beat someone up. She was so fun to be with for the day and we had a fantastic time! The weather was HOT but in Russia when it's hot they recommend you drink hot tea (I still don't know why) and so we had a great time drinking tea, contacting in the park, teaching a lesson to a mom, discussing scriptures, and talking about life in Russia. It was really fun to hear how she found the church and how it has blessed her life. She is a temple worker and so is right now waiting for the next temple trip to be able to work there. I am so grateful for her sacrifice to work with me for the day in the heat and walk about 7 hours. She was a TROOPER and became another one of my many heroes here in Russia. I LOVE THE MEMBERS HERE! i don't think I could say that enough.
Well thats enough for today! Thanks for the love and support! Keep supporting the missioanries and praying for them and for their INVESTIGATORS! I love you all and know the church is true!
Sister Morris