loved ones,
i have so much to say for this week. as per usual.
i played my violin in church on sunday! it was so fun. ha. i love being at the point with violin that i can just pick it up and play when i want to, and it's not necessarily a stressful thing to worry about, especially with a musical number for church. it's so fun. and the girl who accompanied for me is incredible. accompanying is a skill beyond just playing the piano, and she is superb at both. it was great. i think the best part about it is that here, i only receive the rawest of reactions and compliments for the most part and otherwise, people don't say anything. raw reactions to things are my favorite--knowing that it's the true thoughts and not the obliged feeling to compliment. the girl i sat down next to after i finished playing just said, 'wow. that completely pierced me.' pierced? a+ for word choice. and there were a couple other similar ones. though i think my favorite was from ct.bingham. the first time he saw me after sacrament meeting ended, he immediately just said, 'whoahh. wow. you have master's hands.' or something like unto it. it makes more sense when i envision how he talks and how he said it. i don't even know how to explain it, but you could tell it just came out as his thought, not as something pre-prepared to say. i can't really claim the title of master hands, but i can't complain either. i heart violin.
our district is single-handedly keeping the doctors and hospitals of provo in business. ct.egbert has been sick the whole time with sinus problems and has had appointments trying to figure it out, etc. cectpa pace got sick last week after me, pretty sure it was my fault. dangit these close-quarters. cectpa holmes has been having chest pains of sorts, and has found out that she probably needs surgery to have her gall bladder out. so she'll probably be having surgery soon. and ct.bingham has had knee surgeries before, and he hurt it during gym the other day, so he's getting that checked out this week with an mri today and making a visit to a podiatrist. anyway. please pray for all of our health! it's getting crazy now that we only have 20/19 days left. and this place is making us crazy, i think.
i feel like i've hit a point with russian that i've reached before in my life with other things, specifically violin. the farther along you get, the slower the climbs and the harder they are to attain before a longer plateau before improving again. i feel like i've come to a halt of sorts in some ways, but at the same time we started verbs of motion this week, which adds many more things to memorize. it's kind of a frustrating place to be because i feel like i've stopped really progressing at all. but as cectpa pace said the other day, there's a reason russian speakers are here for 12 weeks instead of 9. even if i feel ready to go now, there's obviously a good reason why they use so many resources keeping us here at the mtc longer. 20 days. but it helps to have the perspective of when i hit that point in violin and knowing that progress does come, but you have to work a heck of a lot harder for it. so i'm pretty sure that's where i'm at right now.
this week i was realizing how much power there is in all the examples of missionaries i have in my family. number one, having a mother that served has made all the difference, especially when every member of her family also served. i'm so grateful for that example and growing up in that environment. so thank you, momma. and thank you to all my aunts and uncles that set such a good example. on that same note, it's incredible that both steve and doug married returned sister missionaries. that's a rarity to have that many missionaries within one family, especially within one immediate family. so thanks to all of you, the examples you set, and the stories you've told. sometimes when i'm feeling sorry for myself about russian, i think about the fact that kenzer learned three languages during her mission, not just the one and a half to two that i'll learn with russian and ukrainian. dutch, spanish, and popimento? (sorry, don't know how to spell it.) you inspire me.
a few nights ago, cectpa pace asked the stareishini for a blessing since she's been sick and was feeling awful. i wish i had a good way to describe the whole experience, but i really just don't even know where to begin. i love watching this process of boys turning into men. it's in the little moments. you could tell they were absolutely giddy in excitement, though humbled and nervous as well. we're quite certain it was the first time almost for some of them to participate in a blessing, though the one who voiced it had done so before. watching them all go back to get their suitcoats before hand and then anxiously stand around her before coming together? indescribable. the spirit in that room was palpable and sweet. we are so blessed to have the priesthood. we are so blessed that these boys are worthy for it and entrusted with it and willing to use it. it reminded me of the blessings in the process of putting my papers in/preparing to serve and especially my setting apart blessing. i think i've had more blessings in the past 8 months than in the past 8 years. i think i/members in general forget too often about the miracle of the priesthood. never forget how blessed we are. cvyashenstva.
have you all seen the new patterns of light mormon messages that were recently released that feature elder bednar? if not, you should watch them right now. they're inspiring and beautiful. LIGHT. :) also, i don't know how many people have or haven't seen the birthday celebration for president monson. but if you haven't, you should at least skip to bring him home (40ish minutes in, i believe) and the holy city, which starts an hour in at 1:12:30. it's beautiful, and the performance/the part at 1:17 when he can hardly sing because he's choked up for a moment? it's beautiful. listen and love. c.coulson and i sing it/rewatch it whenever we get a chance. the best.
yesterday afternoon i started thinking about all the people that are praying not only for missionaries as a whole unit, but for me specifically. family, ward members, friends. too often i don't think about that. it's so easy to get caught up in all that is thrown in our faces here and all that we need to learn, but there's a simple and yet incredible power in the knowledge of that many prayers in my behalf individually and for my behalf as a missionary more generally. last night in the devotional, sister carlson (wife of bruce carlson of the seventy) talked about the stripling warriors (there are 2500ish in the mtc right now) and the mothers of the stripling warriors. she said: are we being the missionaries our mothers are praying for us to be? and she also talked about how there are so many people praying for us. as it says in romans 8, if god be for us, who could be against us? nothing can separate us from the love of christ. and as it says in 2 kings, they that be with us are more than they that be against us. if only we could see the powerful force on both sides of the veil working to bring people to christ. it's empowering. so for all the support, thoughts, and prayers in my behalf: thank you, from the bottom of my heart. we feel them. and we are empowered by them. because of your faith.
a few shoutouts: lauren rose, there are 10 of us. i'll write you today! whenever i see mark i'm jealous that he gets to see you all the time. i hope your new semester is going well! // natalie elaine allen. you kill me. i'm only a little bit jealous you saw mumford. i hope you enjoyed every second for me. also, sometimes i think about the fact that you were only in this place for a week and wonder what that would be like. haaa. also, i adored what you said about forgiving any and everything. how did you know i need to soften my heart towards the girl that sings in the shower really loudly every morning before 6:30? haaa. but seriously. and also, i really have become so absorbed in mtc life. it's almost embarrassing. // grandma janette, your package was heaven sent. the fruits! oh, the fruits. we adored them. i love pineapple. real pineapple. and the peaches and apples? mmm. also, i spent a good few days just leaving the bread in the bag and opening it just to smell it for awhile before eating it. i loved it. THANK YOU! // mom, i think you need a photograph of a missionaries shoes with a name tag so you can tell it's from a missionary, and have romans 10:15 written beneath it. i ran across that this week and it reminded me of what you always say about loving missionary shoes.
cectpa coulson and i were selected to help in the teaching experience that they do with missionaries on the first evening in the mtc this week. we act as the missionaries as they do a sample 'how to begin teaching' first lesson of sorts. we're excited. and a little nervous. but mostly excited. and let's be honest, it's in english. how bad could it be? we never get english lessons. ha. this is a luxury.
twenty more days until i'm off to ukraine! i can't even wait. literally. ya jdu s neterpenem. (i wait with impatience=i can't wait.)
have an incredible week! (haroshoy nedeloy!)
lots of love,
cectpa em.
ps. the photo attached speaks for itself. haaahaaha. :) sorry. went a little crazy with photos today as we've gone back and forth in and out of the laundry room.
pps. i feel like when i write these letters home i never remember what i've said. sorry about that. even now, i have no idea what this one is really saying or what the main message of it is. it's mostly just a stream of consciousness based off of the bullet points i wrote down. awkward. nelovka. my apologies. if you made it to the end of this, my congratulations to you. :)
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