"We cram so much into our schedule here, it's insane." - MTC Week #2

Dear Fam (and anyone else reading this),

Well, this last week has gone by much faster.  I can't believe it's already P-Day again!  The weeks go by very fast.  Which is funny, because looking back on individual days, each day has felt so long.  We cram so much into our schedule here, it's insane.

The Mormon world is a very small world.  I've met up with friends from back home here, like Tim Farnsworth (now in California) and Steven Robertson.  Plus you can make connections back to almost any one, like for example I've seen Rachel Zwingli's boyfriend here, met people that know Bailey Rhoads, and so on.  It's kind of weird being in such close quarters with so many other Mormons.

My scriptures have never been so colorful!  I frantically mark scriptures, because I know that if I don't, I will forget the reference and beat myself up over it later.  It's kind of nice to just have tons of time set aside just to feast on the word of God, but it never feels like enough time.  I'm always the one everyone else is waiting up on to go to a meal or something.  You can't get enough.  And I think that it's important to have that attitude because some elders don't have that attitude of continually trying to learn, and they are dying here.  They get so bored, tired or depressed.. the scriptures don't let me feel that way.  When I start missing home, I read more intently.  It works, I can tell you that.

So we have been teaching what is called "progressing investigators", which is where our teachers pretend to be one of the people they taught on their missions and we teach them as companionships.  It's different to get into that mindset of acting out a discussion, but very rewarding.  The other day we taught Brother Tate's investigator about Jesus and his Atonement.  It led to how we know the love He has for us and that we will see him again, and the Spirit was so strong it made Brother Tate cry.  We were on such a high the rest of that day! 

We have learned a few things about Russian culture, but mostly the funny stuff.  Like, we got Brother Porter to tell us a Russian joke.  See if you can understand:

There's a German, and American and a Russian that are abducted by aliens.  The aliens want to prove which race is smartest, or the  most clever, so they put them each in seperate safe rooms with absolutely no way in or out, give them two small steel balls and leave them there for a day.  When they come back to check the rooms, they see that the German is throwing the balls at the wall.  That's interesting, they think.  They check on the American, who is juggling them with one hand.  He obviously is more clever than the last, they think.  When they get to the Russian, they find him in the middle of the room crying.  They ask why he is crying.  The Russian looks up and says "I broke one of the balls and lost the other."

Apparently it's a pretty big joke there.  That's their kind of humor.  Brother Porter said that for the week after he heard that, he was like "Why was the Russian crying?..."  constantly.  I thought that was funnier than the actual joke.

Speaking of jokes,  we have one missionary that is from Moscow (and going to my mission!) that told us something funny.  He said that a missionary in his hometown tried teaching an investigator about what we are all about as a church, so he referred him to 1 Nephi 3:7.  But he accidentally showed him 3 Nephi 3:7.  Look it up.  You'll see why that investigator was kind of freaked out.

We've been singing a lot, in the MTC choir and otherwise.  We open and close each class with a Russian hymn too, and I am getting pretty good at reading Russian.  Funny thing, though, is that the hymns often don't translate exactly between English and Russian.  For example, we sing 'What Child is This?' a lot, but translated literally from Russian, it means 'What is up with this Kid?'  We have a lot of fun with that one.

Hey, if anyone back home wants anything church related in another language or anything, let me know.  Apparently missionaries get 20 - 40%  off of the sticker price of everything.  I've been drooling over all of their foreign stuff.  I'll end up buying some Ukrainian stuff before I leave.  And probably Cantonese hymns.  Just because it's so awesome. 

By the way,  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY!! I sent you a birthday letter.  Let me know when it gets there.

And, I don't mind getting mail here.  Let me rephrase that: Write me!  A lot!  Mail is everything to a missionary here!  I have appreciated what I've gotten so far, thank you!  Keep them coming!  I promise it won't distract me.  In fact, it's more distracting NOT to get mail here.  So keep the Dear Elders coming.

If I come across anything else I need from home, I'll let you know, thanks!

Gotta go, time's up..

Love you, fam!

Elder Brandon.. Porter

PS. Could you send me Scott and Ann's address?  They sent me a gift (three awesome ties) from Scott's work, and I want to thank them