Another week down!

Hellooooo everyone!

Week 2 is done, and apparently I'm some kind of veteran here now. It's funny because you feel so old after even one week. I get to watch new missionaries come in every Wednesday, and it's super weird to realize that was me such a short time ago. I legitimately feel like I've been here for at least a month. But it's good! I'm learning so much.

My district continues to rock. I still can't believe the power of the testimonies that comes from everyone here, although we're really just a group of teenagers. It really testifies to me that missionaries are called of God. There is no way that I could make any sort of impact without Him.

Last week, our investigator, Igor committed to baptism. I know that it's just a role-playing activity, but I really loved teaching Igor, and I was so excited when he followed up on commitments, and when he said that he felt the Spirit. I'm super excited to start meeting and teaching people in Russia. I hope they're as patient with me and my small Russian vocabulary as these MTC investigators are....:)
This week, we started teaching Lena. She is sweet and so willing to listen to us, but she has a lot of questions. We get to meet with her again on Saturday, and I'm hoping that we can share something that helps her to really feel God's love. 

The language is improving... there is a lot to learn, and we haven't even started on most of the crazy grammatical rules yet, but I'm loving everything that we've gotten into so far. It's a beautiful language! I say my prayers in mostly-Russian now! I'm excited to get to a point where I can not only understand what my teachers are saying, but actually know how to respond to them in Russian. Haha, it's going to take a while. :)

The MTC choir is amazing. Basically everyone does it, so there are like 1000 missionaries every week, but I think that makes it even more powerful! I think that has been one of the highlights of my MTC experience so far. You can just FEEL the truth. It's wonderful. I also am super grateful for the devotionals here. We have two per week, usually by some past mission presidents or general authorities. They're always amazing.

The other day, in the middle of class, our teacher made us take a break from studying and run around our class building. So there we were in full church clothes, sprinting and shouting and laughing like crazy people. I think we probably scared all the missionaries who were studying outside, but it was super fun, and it was definitely a nice break from cramming our brains full. 

Some of my favorite quotes from this week: "He must increase, and I must decrease."
"Faith is stepping into darkness, knowing that the light will follow." --Elder Holland
"You're either serving time, or you're serving the Savior." --L. Lionel Kendrick

I love you all so much, and I'm super thankful for all the emails I've gotten! It means the world to me to have your support and love. Have a beautiful week! :)

Love,
Cectpa Montierth