Family!
Alright. Yes. Mhm. Missionary work. Yes.
It's been a pretty good week. A bit strange, though. For me, at least. A few weeks ago, President Campero visited our branch, and realized that none of the members know what they're doing in regards to the leadership of the church. Campero set out to fix that. How can he fix it? Through the missionaries, of course! So he called my companion to be the branch secretary. Now he has a bunch of branch leadership meetings to go to where he essentially is establishing a standard for the functioning of the Church out here in Lugansk. He knows how to go about all that, since he's served in branch presidencies back home and he's Russian and all. But it's not my calling, and I can't contribute a whole lot. So I have had a lot of alone time in the freezing cold church building to read or play piano. That's been a good chunk of my week. Not that I'm complaining- I do love having time to read the scriptures and everything. And I've been re-reading Jesus the Christ, so that's all good.
Oh, I think it was Bailey that mentioned President Uchtdorf's talk a few weeks ago where he was called to be the Elder's Quorum Teacher in Texas. Funny enough, we have a situation here that is very similar to that one. We have a Canadian named Lance in our branch who speaks essentially no Russian. And he was just called to be the Elder's Quorum Teacher. It's very interesting having a teacher that is trying to speak in Russian to a room full of Ukrainians and missionaries. We missionaries are the only ones that actually understand everything that goes on in those lessons, between Lance's broken Russian and the quorum members' comments. It's very interesting.
Lance is actually kind of a mission mystery. No one really knows why a Canadian self-proclaimed cowboy is out here in the boonies of Ukraine. He doesn't even seem to know. We have a lot of interesting exchanges with him. I'm sorry, but no amount of writing will do the situation justice. It's just interesting.
R and N are doing very well (that's the branch president's son). They've been through essentially every lesson that they need to hear before baptism and they are still very accepting and open. It's so refreshing teaching someone progressing so well! Every other one of our investigators is stuck in a point where we can't really help them a whole lot to do what they need to do. There's a point where the missionary lessons aren't enough to motivate further growth and the investigator has to take steps of his own. People we are teaching are having a hard time with this, in many different ways. We can only pray for them and continue meeting with them.
This Friday is Transfer Calls. That's when the AP's (Assistants to the President) call everyone that will be transferred to a new area and tell them they need to pack up and get ready to go to Transfer Meeting. We have been very interested in discussing possibilities of what will change. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be leaving Lugansk this transfer. I'll know next week! Oh, the anticipation.
Hmmm... I can't think of a whole lot else that I can share right now. My current district of missionaries is awesome. We have all become pretty close friends, and we have very good times together. I'm enjoying my mission, and consistently trying to make every minute count. I'm satisfied thus far- and it's already been 5 months! Since entering the MTC, at least. That is so weird to think about! Time flies when you're having fun.. or when you're working like crazy to bring about the kingdom of God on earth! Oh, missionary life.
Thanks for telling me all the news from back home! I really appreciate that more than I can say. I love having a picture in my mind of the goings on back home. It actually really helps me to focus on the work at hand, and not wonder about home life.
I love you! Love you, Dad! Love you, Mom! Love you, Bailey! Love you, Aubrey! Love you, Joseph! And if anyone else is reading this, I probably love you too. Just in a slightly different way. Короче, I love you, family!
Til next week!
Elder Brandon Porter
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
"Hyperboles are the best" - 10/17/11
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.
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.
"Referrals! Missionary hey-day!" - 10/10/11
Dear Family,
Alright. It's been another week. Yes. I made the realization the other day that next week marks my 5 month mark of being out on a mission. That's so weird! I feel very young in the mission still, yet I'm in the swing of things here and I know how things run. It's a strange stage to be in on the mission. But, going with what Elder Bennett (I think it was..) said in Conference about when he was climbing a mountain, I decided to look back on the journey I've already traveled. I have definitely come a long ways. Further than I had thought.
I looked through some old Russian notes from my first days in the MTC yesterday. At times lately I've felt slightly incapable with my language capabilities, sometimes feeling like I have been stagnant in my learning. It was good to look back and laugh at how little I knew in the MTC. I realized that I have learned a ton of Russian- I just hadn't seen it in the progression of things. It's great to have the capability to look back on where I've been. Now I am reading Russian at a fairly consistent rate, which is awesome. Have you ever realized that when you read, you don't actually sound out each letter? As we read, we fill in our previous knowledge of the words we're reading. Usually people only read the first and last letter of a word and get a glimpse of the middle, from which you make the assumption of what the word actually is based on that information and context clues. That's all nice and everything, but when you're starting from scratch with a language, it goes very slowly as you painfully sound out each individual letter. Luckily I'm beyond that stage and I can read words like "свидетельство" at a glimpse. That's a good feeling.
Mom asked what I do on P-Days. Well, you're reading the bulk of my P-Day activities right now. Most P-Days revolve around our internet time, because hearing from home is the biggest thing on our mind usually. But besides that, let's see.. We window shop sometimes to see what fun stuff they have in downtown Lugansk. Each P-Day is based around some other activity that we want to do. Like one time we made pizza at the other elders' apartment (since we don't have an oven), sometimes we go to one of our apartments and just hang out and talk, playing guitar. That's most usual. Don't get too excited about the guitar, it's a terrible guitar that some missionary left here months ago. Still fun to play a guitar though! There isn't a whole lot else I can tell you about P-Days in general, since they're just chill time with other missionaries.. Today we're going to go make shaurmas, which are like Ukrainian burritos, full of vegetables, cheese and sausages. I love them. And they're actually Armenian, I think.. Ah, well. They're too good for me to care about their nationality.
The highlight of this week was a miracle that we had. We were doing studies in the evening when Antamanov suddenly felt like he should call the branch president. He called and found out that his son and his girlfriend were over there right then and wanted to hear a message. We had met with them just earlier that week, last Sunday, and had placed a KM (Book of Mormon.. in Russian) with the girlfriend, N. We came, expecting to just have a very basic lesson with them. We found out that N had read through 1 Nephi 17 and was enthralled with our message. R, branch president's son, has taken missionary discussions before and has been filling her in on some details. They were committed to baptism right then and there. They are so sincere in their desire to know more of the Gospel! We've met with them once since then. They're keeping all their reading commitments and actually coming up with spiritual insights of their own! Those of you who have taught anyone anything Gospel related know that that is very unusual. At least it is in my experience. So, they are progressing perfectly and should be baptized within a month or so. I'm so excited for them! They're great. And they told us about how they have a bunch of friends who are interested in our message! Referrals!! Missionary hey-day!
Not a whole lot else happened this week. I love you, family! For some reason, I've felt really good this week. Kind of buoyed. Thank you for your prayers and your thoughts. I'm doing my best out here, and hoping to have some great success soon! Thanks for all the news from back home, I love hearing it.
Anyways, til next week,
-Elder Brandon Porter
Alright. It's been another week. Yes. I made the realization the other day that next week marks my 5 month mark of being out on a mission. That's so weird! I feel very young in the mission still, yet I'm in the swing of things here and I know how things run. It's a strange stage to be in on the mission. But, going with what Elder Bennett (I think it was..) said in Conference about when he was climbing a mountain, I decided to look back on the journey I've already traveled. I have definitely come a long ways. Further than I had thought.
I looked through some old Russian notes from my first days in the MTC yesterday. At times lately I've felt slightly incapable with my language capabilities, sometimes feeling like I have been stagnant in my learning. It was good to look back and laugh at how little I knew in the MTC. I realized that I have learned a ton of Russian- I just hadn't seen it in the progression of things. It's great to have the capability to look back on where I've been. Now I am reading Russian at a fairly consistent rate, which is awesome. Have you ever realized that when you read, you don't actually sound out each letter? As we read, we fill in our previous knowledge of the words we're reading. Usually people only read the first and last letter of a word and get a glimpse of the middle, from which you make the assumption of what the word actually is based on that information and context clues. That's all nice and everything, but when you're starting from scratch with a language, it goes very slowly as you painfully sound out each individual letter. Luckily I'm beyond that stage and I can read words like "свидетельство" at a glimpse. That's a good feeling.
Mom asked what I do on P-Days. Well, you're reading the bulk of my P-Day activities right now. Most P-Days revolve around our internet time, because hearing from home is the biggest thing on our mind usually. But besides that, let's see.. We window shop sometimes to see what fun stuff they have in downtown Lugansk. Each P-Day is based around some other activity that we want to do. Like one time we made pizza at the other elders' apartment (since we don't have an oven), sometimes we go to one of our apartments and just hang out and talk, playing guitar. That's most usual. Don't get too excited about the guitar, it's a terrible guitar that some missionary left here months ago. Still fun to play a guitar though! There isn't a whole lot else I can tell you about P-Days in general, since they're just chill time with other missionaries.. Today we're going to go make shaurmas, which are like Ukrainian burritos, full of vegetables, cheese and sausages. I love them. And they're actually Armenian, I think.. Ah, well. They're too good for me to care about their nationality.
The highlight of this week was a miracle that we had. We were doing studies in the evening when Antamanov suddenly felt like he should call the branch president. He called and found out that his son and his girlfriend were over there right then and wanted to hear a message. We had met with them just earlier that week, last Sunday, and had placed a KM (Book of Mormon.. in Russian) with the girlfriend, N. We came, expecting to just have a very basic lesson with them. We found out that N had read through 1 Nephi 17 and was enthralled with our message. R, branch president's son, has taken missionary discussions before and has been filling her in on some details. They were committed to baptism right then and there. They are so sincere in their desire to know more of the Gospel! We've met with them once since then. They're keeping all their reading commitments and actually coming up with spiritual insights of their own! Those of you who have taught anyone anything Gospel related know that that is very unusual. At least it is in my experience. So, they are progressing perfectly and should be baptized within a month or so. I'm so excited for them! They're great. And they told us about how they have a bunch of friends who are interested in our message! Referrals!! Missionary hey-day!
Not a whole lot else happened this week. I love you, family! For some reason, I've felt really good this week. Kind of buoyed. Thank you for your prayers and your thoughts. I'm doing my best out here, and hoping to have some great success soon! Thanks for all the news from back home, I love hearing it.
Anyways, til next week,
-Elder Brandon Porter
"In life we can always learn something" - 10/3/11
Family!
So, it's been another week. Yup. There it went. I can't believe how fast it goes sometimes. Each day feels really long, but the week is gone like that. You can't see it, but I snapped there, to illustrate how fast it actually went.
Dad asked me to tell a little bit about my daily routine, so I'll try here. Here it goes:
Wake up at 6:30, pray and shower. Slip in and out of consciousness, trying to motivate myself to exercise. Don't exercise. Around 8, have breakfast, then have 3 hours of studies. One hour is for personal scripture study, one for companionship study (discussing what we learned in conjunction with lessons we have that day) and one for language study. Lately for language study I have been reading as much as possible out of the Книга Мормона and making sure I understand what is said. Every day I'm getting tripped up on fewer words, so that's good.
Usually we have one or two lessons set up in a day. We meet them at the branch building and teach them there, because they don't trust us to come into their homes and teach them. That's just how Ukrainians are. As we wait for investigators to show I usually go to the sacrament hall (if you can call it that) and play piano. We usually have about 3 member lessons in a week, and those ones we can actually show up at their house and visit with them. We ride a marshutka when we have to go long distances (I think I've described those before. Tiny bus-type things with crazy drivers). Most people live in the city in a "dom" (Like "dome"). These are essentially apartments that are shoddily made and they fill up any possibly space in the back of and on top of buildings. That's probably confusing. Don't worry, it's communist. But some people live in "lichne dom"s, or "personal homes". These are all over the country side and are anything from a trailer to a nice home. It's pretty random.
Anyways, we get home around 8 and have dinner (yes, we make our own dinner) and do an extra hour of studies. For the first 12 weeks being trained, you have to do this extra hour of studies out of a training manual. Essentially we are just told to read and discuss Preach My Gospel a lot. Good stuff. After that we make calls to try and set up lessons with people, and we plan out the next day. Then we sleep.
I'm sure that you realize that there is a lot more that goes on in any given day. But that's about all I can say that really.. makes sense. Ukraine doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you try to describe it in words. It's weird that way.
So, I told you that Misha was getting baptized this Saturday. That was almost true. He was way excited for it and he passed his interview last Friday with flying colors. He wanted Antamanov to be the one to baptize him. We were obviously very excited for this. Then on Saturday he called out of the blue and told us that he never wants to talk to us ever again and the like. That was kind of a low blow. Antamanov was very depressed after this news, not wanting to do anything the rest of the day. But we had a lesson with Gabriel, a recent convert from Africa, and I forced him to go. Good thing, too. The moment that we started that lesson, the Spirit was so strong. Gabriel said exactly what we needed to hear to lift our spirits, and we were all able to learn something. The best thing about that for me was that I was able to feel the Spirit bring things to my mind to inspire others, and I realized that those things were already in me. I had been wondering that day whether I had anything of worth that I could personally share with people around here that some other person couldn't provide. The Spirit was able to show me that I can fill people's needs in my own way through His help. Basically, that was a very good lesson and each one of us heard what we needed at that moment.
I've been thinking a lot about the Gospel. Funny enough. And in my reading I found that the Spirit is a spirit of truth. It dawned on me that this isn't just some church that God gave us- it's eternal truth that God is sharing with us. Studying further, I found the principle that there must be opposition in all things. What begins must end. The conclusion that must be drawn from that is that anything eternal is and has been for all time; no beginning and no end. Truth found in the Gospel, in the arts, in sciences, it's all eternal truth that works together and it is all from God. That also led me to think about how charity is the only thing which "never faileth" (Moroni 7:47?). Charity is the Love of Christ. His love has no beginning and no end. We can share in that. I just love going deeper into these doctrines. It's so.. enriching.
I had a terrible lesson this week that got me thinking a bit about this more. It was with a sister in the ward. She thought that she knew everything that we were going to say, and kept finishing our sentences saying, "See? I already KNOW all this." The spirit of contention was very prevalent. It got me thinking about how I at times have thought that I know everything that a teacher is saying in Sunday School or things like that. But it's that very moment that you think that which is when there is something much deeper that the Lord could be teaching you. I've come to realize that there is something to be learned in every instance in life. No matter how cliche the lesson is or how much previous knowledge we have on the subject. In life we can always learn something.
Now you know a bunch of my recent spiritual thoughts. Take it for what it's worth. Not a whole lot else noteworthy happened this week, so I think I will end it there. Just letting you know I'm working hard and enjoying my mission. Now to just get some Ukrainians in the water!
Til next week!
Love,
Elder Brandon Porter
PS. Could you send me Taylor's mission mailing address? While you're at it, let anyone know that they can send me anything and that I promise that I will respond to everything I receive. Thank you!
So, it's been another week. Yup. There it went. I can't believe how fast it goes sometimes. Each day feels really long, but the week is gone like that. You can't see it, but I snapped there, to illustrate how fast it actually went.
Dad asked me to tell a little bit about my daily routine, so I'll try here. Here it goes:
Wake up at 6:30, pray and shower. Slip in and out of consciousness, trying to motivate myself to exercise. Don't exercise. Around 8, have breakfast, then have 3 hours of studies. One hour is for personal scripture study, one for companionship study (discussing what we learned in conjunction with lessons we have that day) and one for language study. Lately for language study I have been reading as much as possible out of the Книга Мормона and making sure I understand what is said. Every day I'm getting tripped up on fewer words, so that's good.
Usually we have one or two lessons set up in a day. We meet them at the branch building and teach them there, because they don't trust us to come into their homes and teach them. That's just how Ukrainians are. As we wait for investigators to show I usually go to the sacrament hall (if you can call it that) and play piano. We usually have about 3 member lessons in a week, and those ones we can actually show up at their house and visit with them. We ride a marshutka when we have to go long distances (I think I've described those before. Tiny bus-type things with crazy drivers). Most people live in the city in a "dom" (Like "dome"). These are essentially apartments that are shoddily made and they fill up any possibly space in the back of and on top of buildings. That's probably confusing. Don't worry, it's communist. But some people live in "lichne dom"s, or "personal homes". These are all over the country side and are anything from a trailer to a nice home. It's pretty random.
Anyways, we get home around 8 and have dinner (yes, we make our own dinner) and do an extra hour of studies. For the first 12 weeks being trained, you have to do this extra hour of studies out of a training manual. Essentially we are just told to read and discuss Preach My Gospel a lot. Good stuff. After that we make calls to try and set up lessons with people, and we plan out the next day. Then we sleep.
I'm sure that you realize that there is a lot more that goes on in any given day. But that's about all I can say that really.. makes sense. Ukraine doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you try to describe it in words. It's weird that way.
So, I told you that Misha was getting baptized this Saturday. That was almost true. He was way excited for it and he passed his interview last Friday with flying colors. He wanted Antamanov to be the one to baptize him. We were obviously very excited for this. Then on Saturday he called out of the blue and told us that he never wants to talk to us ever again and the like. That was kind of a low blow. Antamanov was very depressed after this news, not wanting to do anything the rest of the day. But we had a lesson with Gabriel, a recent convert from Africa, and I forced him to go. Good thing, too. The moment that we started that lesson, the Spirit was so strong. Gabriel said exactly what we needed to hear to lift our spirits, and we were all able to learn something. The best thing about that for me was that I was able to feel the Spirit bring things to my mind to inspire others, and I realized that those things were already in me. I had been wondering that day whether I had anything of worth that I could personally share with people around here that some other person couldn't provide. The Spirit was able to show me that I can fill people's needs in my own way through His help. Basically, that was a very good lesson and each one of us heard what we needed at that moment.
I've been thinking a lot about the Gospel. Funny enough. And in my reading I found that the Spirit is a spirit of truth. It dawned on me that this isn't just some church that God gave us- it's eternal truth that God is sharing with us. Studying further, I found the principle that there must be opposition in all things. What begins must end. The conclusion that must be drawn from that is that anything eternal is and has been for all time; no beginning and no end. Truth found in the Gospel, in the arts, in sciences, it's all eternal truth that works together and it is all from God. That also led me to think about how charity is the only thing which "never faileth" (Moroni 7:47?). Charity is the Love of Christ. His love has no beginning and no end. We can share in that. I just love going deeper into these doctrines. It's so.. enriching.
I had a terrible lesson this week that got me thinking a bit about this more. It was with a sister in the ward. She thought that she knew everything that we were going to say, and kept finishing our sentences saying, "See? I already KNOW all this." The spirit of contention was very prevalent. It got me thinking about how I at times have thought that I know everything that a teacher is saying in Sunday School or things like that. But it's that very moment that you think that which is when there is something much deeper that the Lord could be teaching you. I've come to realize that there is something to be learned in every instance in life. No matter how cliche the lesson is or how much previous knowledge we have on the subject. In life we can always learn something.
Now you know a bunch of my recent spiritual thoughts. Take it for what it's worth. Not a whole lot else noteworthy happened this week, so I think I will end it there. Just letting you know I'm working hard and enjoying my mission. Now to just get some Ukrainians in the water!
Til next week!
Love,
Elder Brandon Porter
PS. Could you send me Taylor's mission mailing address? While you're at it, let anyone know that they can send me anything and that I promise that I will respond to everything I receive. Thank you!
"I'm not the newbie" - 9/26/11
Fam!
I gave up on numbering the letter, if you hadn't noticed. I don't really know anymore.. Weeks are beginning to blur together.
First, thank you for all the pictures from your vacation! That was really cool to see. I especially enjoyed seeing the kids trying to read Russian/Ukrainian. Joseph's amazed face at seeing both books made me laugh. Also, you guys have already changed a bit. Aubrey and Joseph look older than when I left. Weird! Bailey looks like.. like she feels older. That's the best way I can describe it. Mom and Dad, you look the same as always. Keep it up! People have actually commented on how Mom looks very young when I share my picture album. And then they ask where my Dad is, because he isn't in hardly any pictures (since he took most of them). I have to point out some obscure picture for them and they're like "Oh, THERE he is!" So, send me more pictures of Dad!
This week a lot happened. First things first, we met with M and J a couple times. M is very ready for his baptism- October 8th! So exciting. And J is totally ready. We just need him to see that it's time for him to be baptized. We had one of the most spiritual lessons ever with him this last week, and he still left saying he needs to think about it. I'm praying very hard that he can be baptized on the 8th as well. Also, the other guy who was going to be baptized, A, ended up not wanting to learn the gospel and just wanted to access our welfare and unload his problems on us. That wasn't initially a problem, as we're willing to teach anyone, but it got so bad with him that we had to drop him. I hope he comes around at some point.
This week was Zone Conference also, on Thursday and Friday. Since Lugansk is about 3 hours away from Center Donetsk, we came in on Wednesday evening and stayed with local elders until Friday night. I really enjoyed seeing the other missionaries in my Zone. I had forgotten that there were more than 4 missionaries in the entire world! Lugansk is so out of the way that nothing/no one really makes it out to see us. I got to see Elder Harris again, which was awesome. We are pretty close now. I feel like I've known him for years now, yet it's only since being MTC companions in May... Weird mission time. Also, the new set of missionaries were in- I wasn't the newbie! I'm through with being the complete youngest missionary in the mission! Woot! I was actually able to give some language study advice to some friends that I already knew from the MTC who came in this transfer. I felt very good about that.
President and Sister Campero are awesome. President Campero gave us a ton of mission statistics in Zone Conference, but he always seems to make it interesting and fun. He's a very light hearted, loving man. And then the Camperos came up to Lugansk on Sunday for a bunch of interviews in our branch. Since we had the keys to the building, we had to wait around until he finished. I got to spend most of that time talking to Sister Campero. She has a very interesting life story. I have so much respect for her - she is learning English while serving in Ukraine! Her English really is very good, but she's self conscious about it. I was able to communicate a little bit in Spanish with her, but I realized that Russian has corrupted all of my foreign language vocabulary. I am able to understand most anything said in Spanish or German, but I can't respond very well because Russian words bubble up to the surface. Anyways, I had a good time talking to her and it was a great experience.
Today we don't have a whole lot of time at the Internet club, so I'm going to have to cut this a bit shorter than usual. I love and miss all of you! Thank you for keeping me updated on life back home, I appreciate it very much. You don't even know how much.
Til next Monday!
Love,
Elder Brandon Porter
I gave up on numbering the letter, if you hadn't noticed. I don't really know anymore.. Weeks are beginning to blur together.
First, thank you for all the pictures from your vacation! That was really cool to see. I especially enjoyed seeing the kids trying to read Russian/Ukrainian. Joseph's amazed face at seeing both books made me laugh. Also, you guys have already changed a bit. Aubrey and Joseph look older than when I left. Weird! Bailey looks like.. like she feels older. That's the best way I can describe it. Mom and Dad, you look the same as always. Keep it up! People have actually commented on how Mom looks very young when I share my picture album. And then they ask where my Dad is, because he isn't in hardly any pictures (since he took most of them). I have to point out some obscure picture for them and they're like "Oh, THERE he is!" So, send me more pictures of Dad!
This week a lot happened. First things first, we met with M and J a couple times. M is very ready for his baptism- October 8th! So exciting. And J is totally ready. We just need him to see that it's time for him to be baptized. We had one of the most spiritual lessons ever with him this last week, and he still left saying he needs to think about it. I'm praying very hard that he can be baptized on the 8th as well. Also, the other guy who was going to be baptized, A, ended up not wanting to learn the gospel and just wanted to access our welfare and unload his problems on us. That wasn't initially a problem, as we're willing to teach anyone, but it got so bad with him that we had to drop him. I hope he comes around at some point.
This week was Zone Conference also, on Thursday and Friday. Since Lugansk is about 3 hours away from Center Donetsk, we came in on Wednesday evening and stayed with local elders until Friday night. I really enjoyed seeing the other missionaries in my Zone. I had forgotten that there were more than 4 missionaries in the entire world! Lugansk is so out of the way that nothing/no one really makes it out to see us. I got to see Elder Harris again, which was awesome. We are pretty close now. I feel like I've known him for years now, yet it's only since being MTC companions in May... Weird mission time. Also, the new set of missionaries were in- I wasn't the newbie! I'm through with being the complete youngest missionary in the mission! Woot! I was actually able to give some language study advice to some friends that I already knew from the MTC who came in this transfer. I felt very good about that.
President and Sister Campero are awesome. President Campero gave us a ton of mission statistics in Zone Conference, but he always seems to make it interesting and fun. He's a very light hearted, loving man. And then the Camperos came up to Lugansk on Sunday for a bunch of interviews in our branch. Since we had the keys to the building, we had to wait around until he finished. I got to spend most of that time talking to Sister Campero. She has a very interesting life story. I have so much respect for her - she is learning English while serving in Ukraine! Her English really is very good, but she's self conscious about it. I was able to communicate a little bit in Spanish with her, but I realized that Russian has corrupted all of my foreign language vocabulary. I am able to understand most anything said in Spanish or German, but I can't respond very well because Russian words bubble up to the surface. Anyways, I had a good time talking to her and it was a great experience.
Today we don't have a whole lot of time at the Internet club, so I'm going to have to cut this a bit shorter than usual. I love and miss all of you! Thank you for keeping me updated on life back home, I appreciate it very much. You don't even know how much.
Til next Monday!
Love,
Elder Brandon Porter
"Interesting reflection point"- 9/19/11
Family!
How's it going? Ukraine has been treating me pretty well lately, so I'm doing pretty awesome. Good companion, good district, great area. . . it's all going pretty good.
With my first transfer finishing up this past week, it's been an interesting reflection point. It feels like I just got in country, still. I don't feel that much more prepared now than if I had just stepped off the plane. But then I look around at the things I'm doing and how much I am understanding, and I've realized that I actually have come a long ways. Sometimes I will speak to members that understand English and they will speak Russian as I respond in English. It is a strange, yet satisfying feeling to know that I can do that. And in Russian I can communicate a lot. It's just painful at times. Imagine squeezing your brain, trying to wring all the Russian you know out of it. That is what it feels like some days. But, again, it's gotten worlds better in the last transfer!
I've also realized that I've never really struggled with the missionary work itself. All the little spiritual thoughts and testifying and such have never been a problem for me. The only real barrier there has been the language itself. I count that as a huge blessing. In the MTC, at least, I talked with a lot of people who said that they didn't even really know how to lead a discussion about gospel principles or how to convey their message. I absolutely love teaching others what I know to be truth, and the Gospel is the ultimate truth that's out there.
This week I had one of my favorite lessons of the mission thus far. It was very literally a "Great Spirit" lesson, like that of Ammon teaching King Lamoni in the Book of Mormon. I was on split with Elder Arrington, who's been out for two transfers more than me, and we taught this awesome guy named A. It was primarily a discussion about the nature of God and the purpose of being obedient to Him. His idea of God was that He is just a conglomerate of all the spirits of every living thing in the world, and that by following good principles we stay "in grain" with this Great Spirit. We had a great discussion about this. In talking we got him to see how closely most of his views match up with that of our church, and we were able to lead him through a simple discussion about the Plan of Salvation as well. Oh, and I led this lesson. It was a great feeling to be able to be the primary means of bringing light and truth to someone else. A left very satisfied with the discussion, and agreeing to continue meeting with missionaries. The only thing that was sad for me is that A is in the other elders' area, and so I won't get to teach him more. But, it's not about me. It's about him finding truth and coming to a knowledge of God.
Speaking of, M (the first guy we had on date forever ago) is finally about to get baptized! There were complications in how we could get someone to give him the baptismal interview, but now that's all worked out and he's set to be baptized on October 8th. He has come so far spiritually. He is very excited to be baptized. I can't wait until the day he does get baptized. I just wish I could bottle up that excitement and give it to other people here. Some people are just THIS close, but they need to have time to think and they talk themselves out of it. Ukrainians are not the kind of people to make big life changes on a whim. This is why we missionaries are here.
About my life.. hmm. What has been going on in my life? I've just been missionary-ing, I guess. In my free time I find myself thinking a lot about music. I play piano when we wait for investigators and we come up with random songs as we walk around the city. Music always lifts spirits, I've found. Music is awesome. Music is life. God knew what He was doing when he created music for the enjoyment of man.
Well, there's not a whole lot else going on at the moment. Just trying to find more people to teach. I'm asking President Campero if we can bring back English Club in our mission. We get asked all the time by people on the streets when they can meet with us for some English practice. That's my latest idea for getting to find more people to bring to Christ. Serve the people by teaching them English. I think it could be very effective.
Anyways, I love you, family, and I look forward to your next letter!
-Elder Porter
Brandon usually sends an additional letter to me. Here are a few excerpts from that letter, as well.
I'm doing great here, thanks for asking, Mom. Yup, I get to stay with Antamanov for another transfer, at least. We get along very well, which is nice. Most people in the mission don't get along so well with others, and I've been told that I will be a very desirable companion because I'm so compatible with anyone.
Yes, Lugansk is the chosen land of the Donetsk Mission. It's a smaller town than other areas, and it's generally cleaner, the people are nicer, and every missionary's favorite fast food, Blinok, is based around here. The main reason that most missionaries jokingly call it Рай (heaven) is that there are tons more girls than guys living in this city. I have no idea how that works out, but it is very true. My favorite thing is that there are tons of med schools and the like around here, so I get to meet people from all over the world, primarily Africans. Africans are always so polite and happy to talk, I love it!
About Sundays. So, the only people who have keys to the church are the branch president and both sets of missionaries. Basically, if anything is going on at the church, missionaries know about it and usually have to be there. On Sundays we meet with the branch president to discuss the progress of our investigators. As for sacrament, we are lucky enough to have over 4 members holding the priesthood at any given time, so we don't have to pass or bless the sacrament usually. It's always more meaningful if members do stuff like that. Pretty much, missionaries are like an appendage to the branch presidency here. We act kind of as members with a duty to greet people, make people feel welcome, and help them integrate into the Mormon culture. It's interesting. And then there's other nights in the week, like FHE on Monday or Sports night on Saturday where we are in charge of leading the youth that come to the activities. Basically, there's a lot for us to do here.
Love your son,
Brandon
How's it going? Ukraine has been treating me pretty well lately, so I'm doing pretty awesome. Good companion, good district, great area. . . it's all going pretty good.
With my first transfer finishing up this past week, it's been an interesting reflection point. It feels like I just got in country, still. I don't feel that much more prepared now than if I had just stepped off the plane. But then I look around at the things I'm doing and how much I am understanding, and I've realized that I actually have come a long ways. Sometimes I will speak to members that understand English and they will speak Russian as I respond in English. It is a strange, yet satisfying feeling to know that I can do that. And in Russian I can communicate a lot. It's just painful at times. Imagine squeezing your brain, trying to wring all the Russian you know out of it. That is what it feels like some days. But, again, it's gotten worlds better in the last transfer!
I've also realized that I've never really struggled with the missionary work itself. All the little spiritual thoughts and testifying and such have never been a problem for me. The only real barrier there has been the language itself. I count that as a huge blessing. In the MTC, at least, I talked with a lot of people who said that they didn't even really know how to lead a discussion about gospel principles or how to convey their message. I absolutely love teaching others what I know to be truth, and the Gospel is the ultimate truth that's out there.
This week I had one of my favorite lessons of the mission thus far. It was very literally a "Great Spirit" lesson, like that of Ammon teaching King Lamoni in the Book of Mormon. I was on split with Elder Arrington, who's been out for two transfers more than me, and we taught this awesome guy named A. It was primarily a discussion about the nature of God and the purpose of being obedient to Him. His idea of God was that He is just a conglomerate of all the spirits of every living thing in the world, and that by following good principles we stay "in grain" with this Great Spirit. We had a great discussion about this. In talking we got him to see how closely most of his views match up with that of our church, and we were able to lead him through a simple discussion about the Plan of Salvation as well. Oh, and I led this lesson. It was a great feeling to be able to be the primary means of bringing light and truth to someone else. A left very satisfied with the discussion, and agreeing to continue meeting with missionaries. The only thing that was sad for me is that A is in the other elders' area, and so I won't get to teach him more. But, it's not about me. It's about him finding truth and coming to a knowledge of God.
Speaking of, M (the first guy we had on date forever ago) is finally about to get baptized! There were complications in how we could get someone to give him the baptismal interview, but now that's all worked out and he's set to be baptized on October 8th. He has come so far spiritually. He is very excited to be baptized. I can't wait until the day he does get baptized. I just wish I could bottle up that excitement and give it to other people here. Some people are just THIS close, but they need to have time to think and they talk themselves out of it. Ukrainians are not the kind of people to make big life changes on a whim. This is why we missionaries are here.
About my life.. hmm. What has been going on in my life? I've just been missionary-ing, I guess. In my free time I find myself thinking a lot about music. I play piano when we wait for investigators and we come up with random songs as we walk around the city. Music always lifts spirits, I've found. Music is awesome. Music is life. God knew what He was doing when he created music for the enjoyment of man.
Well, there's not a whole lot else going on at the moment. Just trying to find more people to teach. I'm asking President Campero if we can bring back English Club in our mission. We get asked all the time by people on the streets when they can meet with us for some English practice. That's my latest idea for getting to find more people to bring to Christ. Serve the people by teaching them English. I think it could be very effective.
Anyways, I love you, family, and I look forward to your next letter!
-Elder Porter
Brandon usually sends an additional letter to me. Here are a few excerpts from that letter, as well.
I'm doing great here, thanks for asking, Mom. Yup, I get to stay with Antamanov for another transfer, at least. We get along very well, which is nice. Most people in the mission don't get along so well with others, and I've been told that I will be a very desirable companion because I'm so compatible with anyone.
Yes, Lugansk is the chosen land of the Donetsk Mission. It's a smaller town than other areas, and it's generally cleaner, the people are nicer, and every missionary's favorite fast food, Blinok, is based around here. The main reason that most missionaries jokingly call it Рай (heaven) is that there are tons more girls than guys living in this city. I have no idea how that works out, but it is very true. My favorite thing is that there are tons of med schools and the like around here, so I get to meet people from all over the world, primarily Africans. Africans are always so polite and happy to talk, I love it!
About Sundays. So, the only people who have keys to the church are the branch president and both sets of missionaries. Basically, if anything is going on at the church, missionaries know about it and usually have to be there. On Sundays we meet with the branch president to discuss the progress of our investigators. As for sacrament, we are lucky enough to have over 4 members holding the priesthood at any given time, so we don't have to pass or bless the sacrament usually. It's always more meaningful if members do stuff like that. Pretty much, missionaries are like an appendage to the branch presidency here. We act kind of as members with a duty to greet people, make people feel welcome, and help them integrate into the Mormon culture. It's interesting. And then there's other nights in the week, like FHE on Monday or Sports night on Saturday where we are in charge of leading the youth that come to the activities. Basically, there's a lot for us to do here.
Love your son,
Brandon
"Lugansk - Ukraine starts here"- Week 6
Well, Family, it is the end of my first transfer. I've made it. Be proud of me. I'm still going to be trained by Antamanov for the next transfer, but it is definitely a milestone to be past the first transfer!
In our district of 4 elders, only Elder Calvert (our district leader) is leaving. Our district has grown pretty close, I love it. We're expecting to have another awesome transfer the next 6 weeks! (or 7 weeks. They might extend this transfer a bit.) Antamanov and I get along very well in all areas, and so I have thoroughly enjoyed serving with him so far. And Elder Arrington is cool, too. We discuss music a lot. He's a bassist and was in a band back home. It's very cool to find things in common with those you serve around.
This last week has been crazy, just in general. It's been the Dyen Rozhdyenia Goroda, which is essentially the birthday party for the city of Lugansk. They have shirts everywhere that say "Lugansk.. Ukraine starts here!" It's been interesting having all the festivities all week. And since I'm in the city center, we've been in the thick of all the celebrating. Concerts everywhere, little kids dancing and singing.. I never knew that a city could all come together and perform for one another as much as these people do. It's been pretty cool to be here for all that.
Unfortunately, because of all this celebrating, we haven't been able to get a ton of missionary work done. Most people that we called were out partying all week. And we couldn't contact on the streets because the streets were filled with drunk rubiata (Russian for "guys" and missionary slang for "guys that want to be a nuisance to missionaries"). So there hasn't been a whole lot we could do. We did get lessons in, though! We've got two people still on date, but we're having to push their dates back again since they have been too busy to meet with us and learn everything they need to know. You know, most churches don't have such a rigorous standard for baptism. That's one thing that has really impressed A, one of the guys on date. His major issue with the Adventist church was that they just did a mass baptism for him and like 200 other people. There was no real meaning to their baptism. That's why we work with people individually in the Church. Each soul is precious and needs to be handled with dignity. I hope that we can find more people to handle dignifiedly, though.. That'll be this next week.
So, not a whole lot has happened this last week, because of all the celebrating. I've just been enjoying life here in Ukraine and all. Doing missionary work to the best of my ability. Oh, in addition, I've been practicing a bit of piano. We have all of our lessons at the branch building, and we have to wait a while for each meeting, so I usually get to go mess around on the piano for a bit. That's been pretty fun. I thought that was probably noteworthy to include here.
It's no surprise that Aubrey's doing well over at VSAA. And I thoroughly enjoyed Bailey's letter about Skyview. And Joseph is in school all day now. Tell him not to worry about the length of school. It only gets longer. Or maybe don't tell him that. I don't want to depress him too much. College is awesome though, he has that to look forward to.. in 12 years.. hehe.
That's good about the scripture study. We've really been hammering with members lately the importance of consistent spiritual nourishment. It is living water, after all. The bread of life and all that. Keep up the good work!
Yeah, I remembered it was 9/11. And I do remember that day. Sitting in the 4th grade classroom, watching the news reports about planes crashing into towers, wondering if anyone I knew could possibly be on those planes. That was a strange experience. What was weird, too, is talking to Antamanov about it. Everyone all over the world watched 9/11 happen just as solemnly as we did. He saw it live at like 2 in the morning in Siberia. Isn't that strange to think about?
That's odd that it's so sunny over there. Has it been just this last week? That'd be pretty funny, because it has been extremely hot here until the last week, where I keep thinking that the grey sky makes it look like Washington.
My journal is filling up fine. I don't let myself go to sleep until I write a full page in the journal every night. It's a pretty good habit to be in, I think. And I think I'll be fine on journal paper at least for another year.
You asked if I am confident in speaking Russian... Yes and no. We have a couple of English speaking members here in Lugansk, one from Canada and another from Nigeria. They've been here for at least 2 years each, but I dominate them in language skills at this point. It's a firm testament to how quickly the Lord can work through us as missionaries, or anyone for that matter. So, yes, I am pretty confident. But, that said, I have such a long ways to go. There is no way I will get this without a lot more consistent work and a lot of the Lord's help. It's amazing how well learning a language parallels learning in the Gospel. You need constant growth, or else you're actually regressing. But, Russian is pretty cool, and I can communicate any spiritual thought pretty well, given the time to find the words. Steadily improving!
I am anxiously awaiting the written letters you said are coming. So far I've gotten mail from my MTC mission president and from Jeffrey. Mail is always a great thing, especially for missionaries.
So, I love you all! I'm glad that you seemed to have a good first week of school. I'm excited for Bailey starting Seminary today! That'll be great. Read those scriptures.
Til next week!
-Elder Brandon Porter
In our district of 4 elders, only Elder Calvert (our district leader) is leaving. Our district has grown pretty close, I love it. We're expecting to have another awesome transfer the next 6 weeks! (or 7 weeks. They might extend this transfer a bit.) Antamanov and I get along very well in all areas, and so I have thoroughly enjoyed serving with him so far. And Elder Arrington is cool, too. We discuss music a lot. He's a bassist and was in a band back home. It's very cool to find things in common with those you serve around.
This last week has been crazy, just in general. It's been the Dyen Rozhdyenia Goroda, which is essentially the birthday party for the city of Lugansk. They have shirts everywhere that say "Lugansk.. Ukraine starts here!" It's been interesting having all the festivities all week. And since I'm in the city center, we've been in the thick of all the celebrating. Concerts everywhere, little kids dancing and singing.. I never knew that a city could all come together and perform for one another as much as these people do. It's been pretty cool to be here for all that.
Unfortunately, because of all this celebrating, we haven't been able to get a ton of missionary work done. Most people that we called were out partying all week. And we couldn't contact on the streets because the streets were filled with drunk rubiata (Russian for "guys" and missionary slang for "guys that want to be a nuisance to missionaries"). So there hasn't been a whole lot we could do. We did get lessons in, though! We've got two people still on date, but we're having to push their dates back again since they have been too busy to meet with us and learn everything they need to know. You know, most churches don't have such a rigorous standard for baptism. That's one thing that has really impressed A, one of the guys on date. His major issue with the Adventist church was that they just did a mass baptism for him and like 200 other people. There was no real meaning to their baptism. That's why we work with people individually in the Church. Each soul is precious and needs to be handled with dignity. I hope that we can find more people to handle dignifiedly, though.. That'll be this next week.
So, not a whole lot has happened this last week, because of all the celebrating. I've just been enjoying life here in Ukraine and all. Doing missionary work to the best of my ability. Oh, in addition, I've been practicing a bit of piano. We have all of our lessons at the branch building, and we have to wait a while for each meeting, so I usually get to go mess around on the piano for a bit. That's been pretty fun. I thought that was probably noteworthy to include here.
It's no surprise that Aubrey's doing well over at VSAA. And I thoroughly enjoyed Bailey's letter about Skyview. And Joseph is in school all day now. Tell him not to worry about the length of school. It only gets longer. Or maybe don't tell him that. I don't want to depress him too much. College is awesome though, he has that to look forward to.. in 12 years.. hehe.
That's good about the scripture study. We've really been hammering with members lately the importance of consistent spiritual nourishment. It is living water, after all. The bread of life and all that. Keep up the good work!
Yeah, I remembered it was 9/11. And I do remember that day. Sitting in the 4th grade classroom, watching the news reports about planes crashing into towers, wondering if anyone I knew could possibly be on those planes. That was a strange experience. What was weird, too, is talking to Antamanov about it. Everyone all over the world watched 9/11 happen just as solemnly as we did. He saw it live at like 2 in the morning in Siberia. Isn't that strange to think about?
That's odd that it's so sunny over there. Has it been just this last week? That'd be pretty funny, because it has been extremely hot here until the last week, where I keep thinking that the grey sky makes it look like Washington.
My journal is filling up fine. I don't let myself go to sleep until I write a full page in the journal every night. It's a pretty good habit to be in, I think. And I think I'll be fine on journal paper at least for another year.
You asked if I am confident in speaking Russian... Yes and no. We have a couple of English speaking members here in Lugansk, one from Canada and another from Nigeria. They've been here for at least 2 years each, but I dominate them in language skills at this point. It's a firm testament to how quickly the Lord can work through us as missionaries, or anyone for that matter. So, yes, I am pretty confident. But, that said, I have such a long ways to go. There is no way I will get this without a lot more consistent work and a lot of the Lord's help. It's amazing how well learning a language parallels learning in the Gospel. You need constant growth, or else you're actually regressing. But, Russian is pretty cool, and I can communicate any spiritual thought pretty well, given the time to find the words. Steadily improving!
I am anxiously awaiting the written letters you said are coming. So far I've gotten mail from my MTC mission president and from Jeffrey. Mail is always a great thing, especially for missionaries.
So, I love you all! I'm glad that you seemed to have a good first week of school. I'm excited for Bailey starting Seminary today! That'll be great. Read those scriptures.
Til next week!
-Elder Brandon Porter
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