Many Are Called But Few Are Frozen: Week 6

Week 6 already. Wow. You can't explain time in the MTC unless you've been to the MTC. It flies by but also goes by slow. I think we get some new Russians this week and that's always exciting! One of the sister missionaries that left for Vlad last week wrote us and told us Vlad is completely different than what she thought. She said it's hot and very humid. Everything is green. I look up the weather for Vlad and Brigham everyday because it is on my missionary portal. The weather right now is basically the same but it seems like the low is always colder in Brigham. But once the winter rolls in it's going to be a whole different story! Especially if I'm in Siberia! We had a sub this week because Brother Clark went camping. Her name is sister Gish and she mostly told us stories about her mission! She served in Moscow. She said it's a normal thing to see dead bodies in the street because they get drunk stumble outside in the snow and freeze to death because of how cold the nights are. She said the Mafia loves the missionaries! Sometimes some of the mafia members convert over to LDS after they change everything in their life. But sometimes they're connected in it. She said some Elders in her mission were teaching a mafia person and he said, "If anyone messes with you, you tell me first and not your branch president." haha The missionaries never took him up on that offer I hope! Told us some other stories that might scare you mom so I'll just tell you them when I get home.

We did Skype TRC! We actually talked to someone who lives in Russia! The man we talked to is named Alexander. He lives in Moscow and was baptized about 10 years ago. He served a mission in Samara. He asked if we knew anyone that was going to the Moscow mission and we told him little deeds and tried to remember all the Elders that were going and he was like what no sisters are coming! Haha our teacher says that he tries to get all the sisters to marry him haha. He said all the missionaries know him as the "candyman" and that's because he always gives the missionaries candy. He was talking to us in English like 50% of the time haha. We asked him if he would read the book of Mormon every day and he said he would try. We told him it's either a yes or a no and he was like so "do or do not there is no try" and Elder Brower whispers to us that's like Yoda right? Well, he heard him and said "that is Yoda" and then told us how to say that in Russian! When we had to say goodbye he did the Spock sign with his hands I think he said live long and prosper but he said it in Russian so who really knows.

Can you send me the book "the missionaries little book of inspirational stories" Elder Perry has it and it seems really cool. This week flew by. We don't have our flight plans yet, but I think we fly to Vegas and then from there go to Seoul. Don't know how long the flight is but I know it's super long. Some day's I think I know Russian and I'm getting the language but then the next day I realize I know nothing. I am understanding cases a ton more than I thought I would. Our teachers say that is the most important thing to get while you're in the MTC because you'll pick up the language when you're there but nobody will understand you no matter how many words you know if you can't conjugate right. Love all the time we have to study the scriptures! We have about an hour or 2 a day but it never seems long enough. It's cool reading them from a missionaries perspective especially the sons of Helaman. Whenever I read about them I substitute my name in for theirs and Russians in for Lamanites. The people of Russia need this gospel. They need hope in their lives. That's what I can give them. The poem I sent you yesterday is awesome! Describes how religion isn't free in Russia and a lot of the time people don't get baptized because their family or friends would disown them if they did. President Clark told us a story of how a man committed to be baptized and then missionaries warned him that because he had done that they would now prove to him the church is true. They said up until the time he got baptized Satan would be throwing at him everything he's got. And that the next few weeks were going to be really hard. But he has no need to fear because God would be with him. They got a call 2 hours later from that man saying that all his friends just beat him up. SO the missionaries asked, "So what are you going to do?" He said get baptized of course. That proves what I'm doing is right. Awesome people in Russia! I can't wait