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MMMMMMMMM Well wasn't that just the juciest little mail session evur.

MAN, Mom, you're a master at the deets. I probably looked like a weirdo staring at the screen the way I did. I kind of had a freak-out moment when I heard about willie going to the temple. MAN THAT'S SO COOL. That family has seen miracles! What else, what else what else. Oh Megan AND Kim are serving missions!?!?!! That's dang cool you'll definitely have to let me know where they're heading off to. Last but not least I am going to be an uncle. I really hope that Levi and Allison name their son what I wrote them to name him. If it is a son. MAN THAT'S CRAZY TOO. AHH THIS EMAIL WAS A NEWS OVERLOAD. Oh, dang, Sam. You're hitting your year mark!!!! That is absolutely nuts!!!! I just realized that by this time you actually have hit your year mark. WHERE HAS MAY GONE. This month flew. That's okay. We're gettin into things here.

Alright. Got that out of my system. Dang. What else is going on? I just sent a letter off to dad for his birthday. I feel bad that I sent it late because it's going to get there super late now, but I hope it's still a good b-day letter. So. Sam, I am sorry I've been super unresponsive to your questions in previous emails. You asked me a couple times about a letter that you sent me. I haven't gotten it yet. Let's give it about another month. You never know with this foreign post thing. We should've gone owl-post. Actually, there was one day where I had a good long think about what it would be like if I got a messenger pidgeon when I got home. I think it was spurred by a talk I read where it talked about Pres. Monson's childhood and the pidgeons and stuff. I really think I could pull it off. I would just train it to go to Chris's. Then I wouldn't need a phone. Yep, that's probably going to have to be the best option. I'll probably hate cats, though.

But that's another subject entirely. How is everyone? Man it was good to hear so many of the little details. Hey, you'll have to pass on a hello to the missionaries there for me. I got a couple of notes that you had them write me a while ago, but I haven't ever really responded or anything. It's dang funny to be in the missionaries' shoes now, because we call members for help on lessons and then you get all bummed when they say they've got work or something. I'm sorry for all the heartache I caused for dear Elders Kay and Alexander (good thing they've got Patrick now). Shout out for Arizona! Have you heard from Elder Hale? He's probably finished up by now, hasn't he... Weird. DANG Sam hit her year-mark. That's nuts. You always feel like you're just getting started. But then you've got so much behind you at the same time. That part of the mission is unexpected. You don't jump into the field or get to a 6 month or a year mark and then just coast. You never "get there." It's a huge process. Although, sometimes there are huge milemarks, especially with the language. I remember watching my trainer call the door repair man and thinking that I would NEVER be there. But then, last cycle, I had a guy come repair our washing machine. And I done it all by myself in Russian. Stuff like that feels good. What am I ranting about?

Oh I just glanced at the mail and read the snippet about Richard Marshall. That's AWESOME. You have to go see him for me. He really just threw himself into it by moving into that program down in Texas. I'm sure that concert is going to be amazing. I'd LOVE to take piano from him again when I get back in a year. If he's still around. We had an activity on Saturday night at one of the branches. They were celebrating the 20 year mark of the church in Russia. That was something. What made me think of it was there was a talent show, and a 12 year old girl in the branch went up a blasted out teh Mozart like it was nothing. That was cool. Other than that, they had some slide shows of the first missionaries in Russia, the first baptisms, the first families at the temple, stuff like that. I think it really got to me. There was a really old film they showed and it had Elder Neuenschwander in it. Unfortunately, they didn't catch him speaking any Russian. He's got to be really great with the language if he's now a patriarch here. There's an area seventy in our zone, Elder Reshetnikov. They told his story, too, because he was one of the first. He said that him and his wife really rarely walked home from work together because of the way their schedules worked out. But one day, they were able to. It was that day that the missionaries approached them and set up a time to visit them at home. It's so simple, but it's a testimony that God is in the details. The funny part of the story is that Elder Reshetnikov says he has a "cautious" brother who was a little worried about Americans in white shirts and ties. What the missionaries didn't know while they were having their first meeting with this amazing family is that the brother had hidden a gun under the couch cushion, "just in case." Scary, but really funny in retrospect. Kind of like lots of things in Russia. Hyuk, Hyuk. Of course, nothing happened.

So there's my stories and rants. Thank you for reading and responding faithfully. Hearing from family is the gr8est. That's about all I've got. This week we've got a couple more splits going on, and tonight we're going to meet with a really cool guy who speaks English. He lives alone with his son and says he wants to learn more about Christ to stop drinking. He was really nice and genuine, and he approached us. Miracle! Missions are the coolest. Hey, I love you. Pass on my love the the brothers and sisters. I'm really really bad at getting personalized letters to each of them. I think about them a lot. Mostly about how different everyone's going to be in another year and a half. Kind of weird. Keep getting ready for a mission, boys! It's the best, you'll never regret it. And get your butts to the temple. Go see grandpa there. You have no idea how bad it kills me that we lived so close to a temple and I didn't go at least every day. That kills me now that I don't get it for 2 years. Hit that up! I LOOOOVVVEEEE YOOUUUU

Alex