Believe it or not, Daylight Savings Time really DOES exist in Russia

...And I must admit, it's a very very very nice thing to get an extra hour of sleep, even if it is only for one night. We actually turned our clocks back two weeks ago, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. Incidentally, I find it amusing that everybody still seems to be talking about fall as though it's still going on. That poor season ended weeks ago. Siiiiigh. The best things always go by the quickest. I do have a new debit card though (incidentally, my package arrived too. Thanks mom! I don't actually know what's in it, mostly because it was only just given to me, but it's here and it doesn't look like it's been tampered with, so I'm good to go) so I'll probably go out and get me a nice warm hat next week. Hooray!

So this week, because of course we're praying as hard as we can to get ten baptisms before the end of the year, and I'm convinced that because the Lord works in mysterious ways occasionally, we spent most of the week out on the street, contacting. Hooray! I'm not going to lie, it's still one of my favorite activities as a missionary because there are so many... interesting people out there. I love it. This week we started talking to a babushka who told us, "No, thank you. I'm not interested. You should try over the hill though. Lots of your brothers and sisters over there." When we asked who, exactly, our brothers and sisters were, she responded with the name of another church well-known for sending out missionaries and said again, "your brothers and sisters. They'll love you." When we told her that that wasn't actually who we were representing she said, "Oh. Well then. In that case, DON'T go over that way. It's a terrible idea! Don't do it!" Haha, I don't think I'll ever get enough of babushkas.

This week I was also given the English-Speaking test by a man on the street. Our conversation went something like this:

Him: "American, huh? What state?"
Me: "Oregon."
Him: "Uh huh. And you study...?"
Me: "At Brigham Young University."
Him: "Right, right. Let's get back to the location of your 'state'. Where is it, exactly?"
Me: "Well, you know California, right? And Washington? Oregon is right in between."
Him: "Right in between. Of course. [Here he began speaking what I'm sure he thought was English, but didn't actually register as anything I'd ever heard before.] What kind of accent do I have?
Me: "Russian."
Him: "Wrong! Really now, you should probably know - elders learning Russian are MUCH more fun to talk to than sisters trying to practice their English. You should stick to the things you know."

Ha. I'm amused. I wonder, however, if my American parents are aware that their American daughter who was born and raised in America is apparently Russian. Somebody should let them know at some point. Otherwise things could get terribly embarrassing.

In any case, that's apparently all that I have for you this week. So. Enjoy yourselves, have a wonderful week, try not to get sick, and remember that I love you.

-Sister Read.

Incidentally dad, I can't tell you how often I think of the Twelve Chairs when we're out and about. Mel Brooks definitely knew exactly what he was doing when he made that film. And that's all I have to say about that.