MTC 2nd week

2010 Nov 9

It never slows down here. I mean never. Every day is very busy, but it is a good thing that I have Sis Whiting as a companion because she is really good at planning and staying on task. Plus she is so happy and fun to be around. We had another amazing Devotional last Tuesday night. Elder Ballard came and spoke to us about being master teachers. Let me tell you, he is a master teacher. It is very uncommon to have 2 of the twelve apostles come consecutively. Every Monday night we have what is called 'workshops' which is pretty much a replacement for family home evening. We sign up for a class and in the class we are told about some aspect of Russian culture and then taught about some aspect of missionary work. Here is some of what I have learned so far. Most Russians are either Russian Orthodox or Atheist. Usually they are only religious though because of tradition. You can buy everything you would eat here over there except peanut butter is hard to find. We won't be allowed to eat any seafood or fish because their water is very polluted. I was told by a teacher that every missionary apartment has a very good water purifier so you don't have to worry about drinking the water. I probably won't have to worry about eating anything too out of the ordinary because usually missionaries aren't aloud to eat at any one's house. Anyways it should be fun. It was so fun to hear from everyone this week! I am glad the ward is still doing well. I continue to chip away at Russian. We are suppose to start teaching Lesson 1 from Preach My Gospel in Russian in a couple of weeks. Crazy huh! One thing that is emphasized here over and over again is the converting power of the Book of Mormon. I don't think I ever realized before how amazing a book it really is. I love having an hour every day to study from it. Tell everyone I love them.

Mom's comments: What Clarice says is so true about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. Reading the Book of Mormon when I was younger and even today has had such a profound effect on my everyday life. It testifies of Christ and our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness for us. We feel their love for us as we read it and feel the spirit of the Lord in our lives. I feel that from all the scriptures, but more especially from the Book of Mormon. What a great gift it is!