Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Week 7 - Out of the frying pan...

...And into the fire.
First off, I should explain. Sister Thrall and I have a new companion so we are now in a three person companionship. She is the new native sister in our Branch along with 3 Elders. She is from Ukraine going to the Russia Moscow West Mission. She always does not speak much English. This is going to be very interesting because whenever she is not with her Elders or in class she needs to be with us. And since she does not speak English everything will need to be in Russian. this is going to be an interesting change, but a good one I think. Last night after the devotional the natives were done for the day but no one else was so we needed to stay with her because there was no one else in her temporary room. We must are Russian to the test. Well, we know that we can ask about families and asked her about herself and she showed us pictures. It was a very humbling experience for Sister Thrall and I and helped us realize just how little we know. The sister complimented us though and said we spoke pretty good Russian after only two months. Thankfully, she is patient and expressed a desire to help us as much as she can.
In about a week and a half all of the older districts will be swtiching to 100% Russian for the two weeks before we leave. In preparation for that, our district decided that this past week we would have two days where we speak 100% Russian. It was interesting. By the end of the day we were all very very tired. I actually had a harder time switching back to English. It was a much more quiet day than it has been in the past. I can understand most of what my teachers say but it is sometimes hard to respond back.
Our district is at an interesting stage. We are all anxious to head off to our missions but also terrified because that 100% Russian days show us that we are not ready. At one dinner I was talking to my companion and she said that she was tired of Russian and did not want to talk. We all understood the sentiment. I had another interview with my teacher and he says that I am doing well with the language and that I am a good teacher. It was very comforting to hear and uplifting because at the time I was getting frustrated with myself for not using a grammar principle correctly when I knew the rules.
Someone warned me before coming to the MTC that I would find dumb things hilarious. I have seen that. At our meals sometimes we play banana phone where we talk to eachother with bananas to our ears as if they were telephones. It helps keep our sanity and always brings a good laugh.
Yesterday we had another great devotional, this time by Elder Russell M. Nelson. Our group has been particularly lucky. So far we have heard from 1/3 of the Quorum of the 12 Aposles. We are hoping that before we leave to hear from two more. He encouraged us all to continue using Preach My Gospel, even after our missions. He also talked about recharging our batteries. He told us that we should be like car batteries that recharge themselves while on the road.
Tonight Sister Thrall and I will be teaching in the TRC again. Tonight we will be talking about why we are here on earth, where we came from, and where we are going after death. Our lesson last week went all. Sometimes it is hard to prepare for TRC because we are teaching our progressive investigators about 3 times a week. Those are going well and it is interesting to realize how everyone is on different levels and with some your need to take concepts more slowly than with others.
I love you all and am continuing to work hard. It is not easy but it is worth it. The Lord is blessing me so much and it is amazing to know how much He loves and has already helped me. This work is so important.

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