MTC Week 4

 Hello Everyone!

Short Version:

     The highlight of my week was getting my temporary reassignment. I have been reassigned to the Chicago Illinois Mission! I would never have expected to be called here for so many reasons, but I'm excited because they have the third highest populations of Russian-Americans in the United States. I've also heard rumors that a good portion of missionaries called to Russian speaking missions are being reassigned to Chicago, so that means I'll have a better chance being companions with someone I can practice the language with. I haven't heard at all about getting a Visa so until further notice, Chicago will be home for me. Other than that, it has been a typical Online MTC week: lots of zoom, lots of feeling the Spirit, and lots of studying. 

Long Version:

     Russian is coming along at a steady pace. I'm to the point where I can piece together simple sentences to convey sorta what I want to say. There have been a few Russian-only lessons and I feel confident enough to explain the gospel with my limited vocabulary, but the hardest part is when the people I'm teaching ask questions. I can sometimes understand what they are asking and I know what my answer would be in english, but have no idea how to answer them in Russian. So it's been slightly frustrating knowing I could answer their question if we both spoke the same language but that's something that will come with time. My new favorite word is благословение (Blagoslavaniya),

the word for blessing. Something about the way it rolls off my tongue brings a smile to my face. 

     One of the guidelines in the missionary standards booklet says, "Keep your language dignified and avoid using slang." My district, especially the elders, aren't very good at this since we're used to saying "bro" or "dude" all the time. To help this, we decided as a district that whenever someone gets caught using slang during class, the next time we have to sing a hymn, that person has to sing with their mic unmuted. So far Elder Hunter (said "bois"), Elder Gonzalez (said "sick") and I (lost a bet) have had to sing unmuted for everyone. There have been some disputes over what is and isn't slang, but we are considerably more sensitive to thinking about what we say before we say it.

     Another fun thing that I did this week was learn to sing "I Am a Child of God" and play along with my ukulele in Russian and Spanish. If you have any ideas for additional languages that I could learn it in, I'd love to try. 

     I've gained the reputation of having the worst internet connection in my district. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, my chromebook can not handle more than 2 or 3 people on Zoom. When it tries to stream all 13 of us, it falls to pieces. It usually ends up having a 3-second delay when I speak in class which makes it really interesting to try and time my comments or questions. I will be starting a Go-Fund me so I can buy a better computer so please feel free to contribute. Just kidding, it's not that bad. It really baffles me that my computer is acting up now though because it didn't have any problems in my college courses that had 100-200 people. 

     Half of my district got reassigned with me to Chicago, and the other half is going to Spokane, Washington.  If anyone of my Spokane/Western Idaho people are reading this, look out for some Russian speaking missionaries because they're probably from my district.

     Here is a great poem that I was reminded of today in Elder Jordan's (from my district) farewell talk in his home ward:

The Touch of the Masters Hand 

 By: Myra 'Brooks' Welch

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin,
but held it up with a smile; "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?" "A dollar, a dollar"; then two!" "Only
two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; three
dollars twice; going for three.." But no, from the room, far back, a
gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust
from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melody
pure and sweet as caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,
said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow.
A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make
it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and
gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not
quite understnad what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touch
of a master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin, A
"mess of pottage," a glass of wine; a game - and he travels on. "He is
going" once, and "going twice, He's going and almost gone." But the Master
comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of a soul
and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's hand.

     The part that stuck out to me was the fact that the violin did not change. Despite it's scars and bruises, the violin still had the potential to create beautiful melodies. When we look at others, it's easy to see the faults and mistakes that show on the surface. It's easy to see our own weaknesses and shortcomings when we look in the mirror. Yet, we all have the potential to be an instrument in God's hand. We all have dust that needs to be wiped off and a few strings that need tuning, maybe some more than others, but we all have infinite potential. "Come as you are,' a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, 'Don’t plan to stay as you are.' We smile and remember that God is determined to make of us more than we thought we could be." (Jeffrey R Holland). I'd challenge you this week to tune your own strings before you start trying to tune someone else's. People may not need another hand on their tuning peg. However, people DO need to be shown how to "tune their own strings" and we can lead by example. 

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