I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Have a Happy New Year!

25 Dec 2014
Merry Christmas!!! Christmas Morning we went over to the Rices and we
had a sour doe pancake eating contest and the Record is 30! Elder
Casia got 15, Elder O Brien got 14, and I got 20! I felt like I was
going to Explode! Then went to our ward mission leaders house and
Skyped my Family! Pretty sweet to see everyone! Everyone is getting so
big, Its crazy! After we Skyped we went and saw a few people and then
went to the Filipino Christmas party! That was Crazy! They know how to
have fun and have parties! There was a ton of non members there and we
were able to get there info and we should be stopping by in the
Future!
26 Dec 2014
Elder O Brien went home!!!! :( his mission is over! I miss him to
much! He was an awesome missionary, Worked hard and loved others!
27 Dec 2014
We went and saw a potential Investigator that was at the Filipino
Christmas Party, Her name is Early and she is Filipino! We went over
with the Roy Family and Early was definitely prepared to receive the
Restored Gospel! Everything made sense to her and when we invited her
to be baptized she said "Yes, Because its Christs Church"! She will be
getting baptized on the 17th of January 2015!
28 Dec 2014
We had church and after church right when bishop was leaving he heard
the phone ring in the church and he went in and answered the phone and
it was a lady who lives in California and her niece lives in Kodiak.
She told Bishop that she has been fasting for 2 days for her Niece in
Kodiak to have a chance to receive the missionaries into her home
because the Niece does not like the Mormon church especially the
missionaries! But she told bishop that her nieces daughter that is 20
months old just had 2 seizures yesterday and they just got out of the
ER and are willing to do anything! So the lady that lives in
California called her and asked if she would like the missionaries to
give a blessing to her 20 month old Daughter and she said yes! So
bishop came to us and told us and gave us the Information and we
called her and went over and gave her 20 month old Daughter a blessing
and after the blessing she told us that we can stop by any time and
that she feels a lot better now!

Well that was my awesome week! I hope you all had an awesome
Christmas! Have a happy new year!

Love Elder Russell
Kodiak Island
Alaska Anchorage MIssion

My companions burnt white shirts, ties and pants!!! Elder O Brien is going home.

Beautiful! Kodiak Island Alaska!

Christmas party in Kodiak Island!!!

Kodiak Island! Elder O Brien and Elder Russell In the mirror:)

Christmas party in Kodiak Island!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Skype does a mothers heart good!!!!

First time Fishing in Alaska!!!

Kodiak Island! 

Kodiak Island. BEAUTIFUL!!!

First time Fishing in Alaska!!! Kodiak Island!!!

I'm kind of boring this week haha sorry!

Well this week has been crazy!  We have
a few people that are pretty close to baptism! Elder O Brien is going
home this week! I will tell you more when I see you! I just have like
no energy to type a long thing about my week! Im kind of boring this
week! haha sorry! But That is so sweet that Bishops anniversary was
last week! I will have to be in on it next year! Should be fun!
Fishing was awesome! Congrats to Whitney! Glad that she did not walk
there! Yeah Elder Modlik called me and said hey I just got a couple
packages from your parents that are to you, what should I do with
them? He said that he is going to mail them to me today. The office
might think that I am still in Delta! haha Well I am looking forward
to seeing you guys for christmas!  I have no Idea What I am going to
talk about but it should be fun! So I dont have a time yet but I will
have a member text you the time! Cool? Sweet!

1st P-Day in Kodiak Island!

Kodiak Island 1st p-day!  I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

I need a hair cut!!!

Kodiak is super beautiful!

 Sooooo Kodiak Island.... hmmm well it rains all the time, we only got
a couple hours of sunlight this week which was sweet because we were
able to see the mountains and the Ocean and more ocean and more
mountains, and all the other little islands that surround us! Kodiak
is Super Beautiful! Have not seen a bear yet but every time we see
someone they are like, don't go down that street because a bear was
spotted not to long ago. We get that at least once a day! There is a
ton of Filipino's, They are here because of Fishing (work)! I have to
learn Tagalog.... I can now read Tagalog! I am trying to learn how to
pray now! Filipinos are a little more than half of the Population here
in Kodiak. Pretty much all of them are Catholic. When we are knocking
doors we know who is Filipino and who is not, the Filipinos leave
there shoes out side, and I mean a lot of shoes! The population here
is about 10 Thousand people! There is a Walmart here, but someone told
me that it was the second smallest Walmart in the world. We have a KFC
and we heard that it is 85 bucks for a bucket of chicken. Tons of
Sushi places (Sorry Braxton). We plan on going fishing for sea bass
today! It is 42 degrees here and no wind! Our Apartment is the most
expensive apartment in the mission, We have 5 beds and a weight room,
big living room and kitchen, our fridge is chuck full of fish, oh and
we live right underneath bishop, bishops name is bishop black!  I just
looked out the window and guess what, its still raining! Well that is
a small description of Kodiak! Its Green as can be here and its the
winter time, I cant wait for summer! I love you Guys!

Elder Russell & Elder Modlick Delta Juntion

Delta Junction

Breakfast with the Skaleski's 

Dinner ALL YOU CAN EAT! With the Skaleski"s

Transfered to Kodiak Island

Hey mom I am not going to send this huge email to everyone, I am just
going to reply. My journal is packed in my bag and its all the way at
the bottom! Sorry to lazy to get everything out of my bag and then put
it all back, that thing is a puzzle! haha I cant believe sister
Skaleski told you about that.... What else did she say about my
testimony and stuff? What is crazy is Nothing was coming into my mind
before I went up but then when I opened my mouth it was full of words.
I know that the spirit led me to the things that i needed to say, for
dad the family, and for the ward. I AM GOING TO MISS DELTA SOOOOOOO
MUCH! I left this morning to Fairbanks and I am now in Fairbanks
emailing you. I am flying to Anchorage tomorrow at 6:10 AM and then
going to a 2 hour meeting and then right after, i mean right after the
meeting I am getting on a plane and flying to Kodiak! I will be
serving with Elder Obrian who is going home in 4 weeks and with Elder
Casha who is going home in March! I am finally not Senior Companion!
haha I have to learn Tagalog because there is a ton of Philippinos
there and they are there because of the fish! I live Right underneath
the Bishop in the most expensive apartment in the mission. I am most
likely going to be there for 6 months or for the wrest of my mission.
Kodiak Island will be quite the Adventure and I am looking forward to
see what the Lord has for me there! The last week in Delta we put our
investigator on Date to be baptized, she is looking forward to it! I
wont be there but she is making one of the best decisions in her life I
love you MOm!

"Many are COLD and few are FROZEN"

Love, Elder Russell
Kodiak Island
Alaska Anchorage Mission

The Church is true! I love you guys!

 I ate turkey, ham, pie, pie, pie, pie, pie, pie,
and more pie, stuffing, potatoes, green beans ( I love green beans
now). The only thing that I pretty much didn't have was yams. And I
love yams! We had 3 thanksgiving dinners! 3 Thanksgiving dinners + 1
tiny stomach = well you can imagine what it equals to. For the past
couple of days we have been trying to get people into the True
Christmas spirit! We have been showing them the "He is the Gift" video
on Christmas.mormon.org. I have not got your letters yet. Transfer
calls come this Saturday. I think I am staying here for another 1 1/2
months for a total of 6 months in Delta Junction. On Saturday I will
be Done with training! Yesss! haha It was stressful but I sure have
learned a lot! Elder Modlik is a great missionary! He wants to go to
the City and not in the country. He does not like the country. But I
love the country and don't like the city!

Well the Highlight of this week brothers and sister was.....
Thanksgiving! It was my first Thanksgiving on my mission in the 16
months I have been here. How did I not have a Thanksgiving last year?
Well I was in Alaska When Canada had there thanksgiving and then I got
transferred to Canada Before American Thanksgiving. So that's how I
did not have a thanksgiving until this thanksgiving! At 10 a.m. We
went and played at the Football Turkey Bowl! There was a total of 12
People there and guess what it was negative 20 outside! While we were
playing our Eyelashes were freezing together, our hair was ice, and so
was everything else! They had me play quarter back and we won! haha!
We were on Defense and I went to go and dive for this guys legs before
he entered into the Endzone and when I dove I nicked his right foot
and his left boot came up and split my chin, but I could not feel it
because my face was frozen! So it didn't draw  blood until I got into
the Apartment! I put super glue on it and its all good! What I wore to
the Freezing Turkey Bowl was my black Thermals with a hoodie on and a
beanie, with white Shorts and my Wonder woman Socks! Haha it was
awesome! We had 3 Thanksgiving dinners! one at 2, one at 5 and one at
7! We picked up a couple potential investigators! Well that was the
Highlight of the week! Transfer calls come Saturday, and I will be
done training. I am happy but sad at the same time because Elder
Modlik is the bomb!  The Church is true! I love you guys!

Elder Russell
Alaska Anchorage Mission
Delta Junction & Tok Branch