Family,
I'm doing really well right now. I've hit a stride here with missionary work. I'm used to the area, my mission district, and the work itself. So, life is good. It's just now starting to get pretty cold here in Lugansk. We had a week of really cold weather before the heat turned on in our apartment (which happened yesterday), so in that week I often bundled up in a sea of blankets in order to do not freeze to death while studying the scriptures. That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Hyperboles are the best.
R and N are doing awesome! They are very willing to meet often and they pore over every reading assignment we give them. They are so ready for this gospel, it's unreal. We've had two lessons with both of them this week, as well as two lessons with just R. They are progressing very very well.
It's great to hear that Jeffrey is doing well, and that Taylor is doing well too. Taylor has some crazy days ahead of him, that I don't exactly envy him for. Any news on how he's doing with the language or anything? I'd love to have little updates. And it's good to know that Jeffrey got my letter! Also, I can relate to his struggles that you related in that excerpt from his letter. Missionaries of the world unite!
I actually just the other day rediscovered my pack of seasonings. We are very excited to find uses for them in the near future. I don't know yet which seasonings would be good to have more of, but thank you for what you've sent! And brown sugar and peanut butter would be fantastic here. I've been really craving some no-bake cookies lately and things of the like. Those are really good ideas. Also, we just discovered the soup recipes that you sent me, and since it's getting colder, we are going to start trying it. I'm excited! By the way, do you know any kind of substitution for chicken broth? Or a different name for it that I could find? In English, of course.
I'm doing pretty good on clothes right now. I can't really think of anything I need in the near future. In fact, I'm not using all of my clothes that I have now. I have a couple sets of socks and underwear and such in a type of shrine in my suitcase, because they've never been washed or worn in the Ukraine. They are a reminder of dryers of the past. Soft clothes. Mmmmm.
Tell Bailey I sympathize with her struggles with Hattan in Geometry. I absolutely hated Geometry. No, not all math was created equal. When God came to the creation of geometrical proofs, he grimaced and told man, "I'm sorry". I'm sure of it. I could gripe about it with her if she'd like. Koroche, I'm not a fan. (and I just realized that's not an english word.. we use it like one here. It means "basically", essentially)
In response to what you said about scriptures, Mom, scriptures definitely are awesome. Like you with your red pencil in D&C, I've gotten a lot of use out of my scripture marking crayon things. I love being able to look back through my scriptures and have previously marked scriptures pop out at me in multicolored goodness! But I've noticed that I tend to have a hard time reading things that were marked in red. So I've taken to marking things that are bad examples in red marks (i.e. Gadianton robbers in 3 Ne. 3:7). There's always so much to learn from the scriptures. Pretty intense reading, too.
As for specifics on this week, there's not a whole lot. I've taken to reading a lot, especially since Antamanov has been sick on and off for the last two weeks. I've read Articles of Faith, Lectures on Faith, John Bytheway's "What I wish I knew before my Mission", I'm rereading Jesus the Christ, and I'm still reading in the scriptures, of course. Missionaries often bring books out here and then leave them in apartments, so I have fun finding little surprises around the house.
My Russian reading speed has pretty well stabilized. I realized that my reading of the Kniga Mormona (for those of you not familiar with the Russian language, that's the Book of Mormon) is pretty consistent and I can finish a chapter in about the time that it takes me to read it in English at a thoughtful pace. I don't often understand every word, of course. It's Russian. But, I can read consistently, which is what counts. That means that my learning curve will skyrocket. Yes!
I can also learn words from listening now. That may sound trivial, but it's a pivotal moment. Up til recently, I could only catch words in conversation that I already knew. But now, I find that I can pick up new phrases that people say and add them to my vocabulary. I'm moving up in the world!
Speaking of learning words, I had a funny exchange with a member yesterday. Antamanov was talking on the phone and she and I were small talking a bit. I hate small talk, by the way. But that's beside the point. In this discussion she asked me if I had a "holiday" tomorrow, meaning P-day. But I didn't know the word for "holiday", so I was really confused. She just kept repeating the same word, expecting that to help me somehow. Finally Antamanov came over and told me what it meant. The sister then rebuked Antamanov saying something along the lines of "He's been here so long and he hasn't learned the word for holiday yet? What's wrong with you?" I realized after that exchange that most of my vocab involves action and motion. There's not a whole lot of time for me to learn words involved in relaxation. Interesting to think about.
So, I'm doing good out here on the opposite end of the globe. Just so you know. And I will be sending more updates in one week's time. So, stay tuned!
Love you, family!
-Elder Brandon Porter
PS. Could you send me Taylor's Denmark address? I realized once I got his MTC address that he was going to be gone too soon to get my letter.
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