today's email...are you kidding me?

So, Elder Russo sent me this email today.....
Mom, here is what I want for my birthday!

ok well

1. one box of crows!!!
2. packet of beef jerky
3. at least two packets of ramen noodles!!
4. strawberry nesquick!!!!!!!!!
5. mike and ikes
6. hot tamales!! 
7. one of those huge laffy taffys that dad likes
8. some Reese peanut butter cups for my companion
9. butterfingers!!
10. candy sours if possible, its the little red balls that you find at the 1 dollar cheap section in gas stations!
11. milk duds!
12. starbursts
13. great red vine licorice!! the one that dad likes!!

and that's all the candy i want, other than i that i don't think i want anything else lol im suffering from a lack of America!! and junk food!! dont send any clothes i have everything i need for clothes and stuff and ohhhh most important, i would love a picture of the family please a new one of you guys and a letter from each one of you, that would make my dad!! i love you so much and i hope i didn't ask for too much junk food but hey its my birthday!!!! love you!!!

Hard work for Elder Russo

Hi Mom

I'm doing good, my feet are fine with my new dorky shoes, ha ha how has technology taken over our home?... save your money for buying cheesecakes and goodies for me ha ha!!
Ive started exercising at night when I can, I'm still big , I still have muscle mass but I'm gaining a little belly and I'm not too happy about that.. lol... but it will be gone soon... hopefully ha ha.....
but anyways I've  had a great week, I am the new district leader and i have a lot more responsibilities now and I am loving it and going to be traveling way more now, for example I'm gone all this week,  going to Toulouse and Lyon and then to Montpelier and all many more places I yet don't know. It will be fun!!  we had a surprise zone conference last Saturday , president Romney is changing and giving us a lot of new things to help us work better with the members, its making me realize that the mission quote" is not just tracking and contacting" but the real success is with the members, which is true, i hope when i get hope i will get the chance to work with the elders a lot more than i did before! Our branch here in Albi is doing a 40 day consecutive fast for missionary work ( one member fasts each day equaling a total of forty days) and we are seeing the results, people are contacting me!! and I have been meeting some really nice people!! So yeah, oh today is my 8 month mark, so weird saying that, i feel like i have so much left and at the same time i feel like i have nothing left, its weird.
well mom i have to go, I am going to Toulouse in a few hours I need to prepare for that. I  love you so much and make sure Gabi emails me again and Conor too!!!
Love you love you love you Love you love you love you Love you love you love you Love you love you love you Love you love you love you
Elder Russo

Something new...

This week was an amazing week you have no idea, i got to meet the new president and he is just awesome!! He listens , he responds to all my emails, he just great im happy he is here. i love the last president but he was too business and didnt really get the time to get to know me, but the new one has the time and hes doing a great job.

We travel so much, ive been on a buss for a minimum of 3-4 each day. President is going to get us a car soon so that we can save our time to work instead of traveling so much, but i did find a part of France that i know that you would just love! its in the country and its just so pretty and peaceful, all the houses there are around 150 years old! i know this because i was in one, its crazy but its so cool.
Mom I just want you to know that I love you so much everything that you have done for me and that you continue to do or me, we talked about love today in zine conference and it's changed the way I look at things , I talked a lot about you today and also, and how much I know you both love me so much , to give me things, a car, food, to punish me to teach me, there's just so much , I really love you mom!!!

My address : les missionnaries 20 rue dominique de florence bat c appt 14 81000 Albi France

Silly Elder Russo, working hard, craving junk food...

 Hello Mom,
 The Library is now closed on Mondays so I will be doing emails on Tuesdays for now on.
This week went well nothing too new since the last time i emailed you and dad. Elder Couloumbe and i are working hard here, we are trying to open another church up in a city just underneath us and that's our goal , it's a city called Castre, there are some members who live there already and we need to find more people so we can open up branch in Castre ! But its going to take a lot of work so this is only the beginning!! Everything is going great with my blue(New Elder-Companion), he's awesome, hard to understand because his french is Canadian French but we understand each other pretty well, I'm also teaching him English!! its lot different now being the senior companion and also a trainer, it's a lot of work! hmm i don't know what else to write but email me when you can!! oh and with the shoes, did they come in yet? and if they did and when you send the package can you put ohh i don't know maybe some beef jerky or some crows or something cause you love me!! cause you know i love you!! and i hope you have a great week and i love you!!

Love Elder Russo

Back from Geneva....

 Hey Mom,
I have a little time to send some emails to you and dad, things here are going great!! i received Elder Coulombre from Quebec Canada!! speaks only french and a little of English and he is awesome , I'm kinda nervous to train him and all how to be a missionary but I'm super pumped for it too!! they messed up my birthday again on my legality i swear its getting pretty annoying, president isn't too happy about that considering that i am illegal for the moment lol well not really but technically. i Hope everything is going good at home i heard Conor was robbed that's sad to here i hope he gets it back or something but i guess there's a lesson to be learned in all things! well i got to go, Love you so much here's a little miracle that i had yesterday i hope you like it!
I recently had a really sweet miracle just yesterday when i got on my train to come home with my blue, and we lost our seats because the trains were all messed up so we had to sit in between the train cars in these tiny little seats, well there happened to be a lady sitting in the same little space as us and she started talking to us and stuff asking who we were, we ended up teaching her to restoration and the plan of salvation to her and it was awesome i could just tell that the lord prepared her to meet us at that exact time , and the best part was that when the trains stops usually people get out and smoke and when it first stopped everyone got out and all of a sudden she realized and told us " im a smoker i always smoke when the trains stops but with you guys i don't want to smoke i dont care about it at all wow i just feel so good" after she said that at us she told that to all the others that were around her too, the spirit was so strong it was awesome, those moments when someone is so ready and when they are really in  need of the Gospel and they just accept it makes my mission,i got her address and i passed it to the elders that live in her city so i hope that they teach her and that she gets baptised!!

love you, Elder Russo

Hello everyone....

Hello Mom,
I'm trying to stay focused , it's not easy but recently everything is making me think of home, kinda bugging me, my companion is almost done with his mission and that's all he talks about, lol, it's getting annoying, french people are so much different from Americans I'm just glad to live in America ha ha but i still love him we get along great and I love France. This week we did a lot of traveling! We went to toulouse twice including about 8 hours of annoying buss travel, I can't wait to drive a car again you have no idea mom, we got to see our Mission President for the last time, he finishes his missoin this week and we recieve President Roney, so a lot fo things are going to be changing soon! I get to go to Geneva Switzerland soon, I was suppose to go tuesday but it got cancelled so I will go in about a week to get my legality stuff finished. Then transfers are here too , we are alomost positive that something is going to change for us here, we think that he might take us both out but we arent sure, we never know its always a surprise!
Missionary work here is struggling, not a lot of people to teach and our members aren't too active either, so nothing new around here, kind of a slow week, oh yeah we had stake conference, and Elder Henry B Eyring talked to us and also Elder Nelson from the twelve! I also got ot see all of the members from Carcassonne my first ville, it was sweet to see them all again! I can't wait to go visit them again after the mission!! Well nothing much more to add I think thats all thats happened here recently, my Skin issues is backt an all time worse right now, this friday doctor Belbahri is coming up with some creme that he gave me before that worked great so hopefully he shows, and if not ill talk to sister murdock so you don't worry about it ok.
Well that's about it for today mom love you so much and thank you for your love!!

Elder Russo

Little something from Elder Russo

Hello Friends !!!
 Elder Russo is sorry for not emailing a long letter for everyone. He has moved again and again, now I think he will stay. He is now in Albi France, small town, not much there.He has a new French Companion and he is doing well. After reading his email today, he is happy and learning so much about Heavenly Father and himself. He is grateful for his family and friends and for the Gospel in his life. He asked for letters, it is hard sometimes at night.He loves reading.
Thank you for your love and support. Elder Russo will call this weekend for mothers day, I am so very excited. I will post more information next week.
I updated his  address. If you mail him anything, please send it to the Mission house or you can send it direct to his apartment, but use registered mail or Express mail. That way he will get it. Thank you !!
Stella