This last Friday we taught our first lessons with Olga and Egor with no Russian notes and man, going into them I was so nervous. We usually have our questions written down and some of what we want to say in case we forget what to say (which is quite prone to happen), but this time we went in with our scriptures and a few pamphlets to use for pictures and they were our best lessons that we have had! When we taught Olga, we went in thinking we were going to teach her about the Plan of Salvation, but before we started we asked her if she had any questions or doubts. She told us she was still unsure about Joseph Smith and whether or not he was actually a prophet and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We spent the rest of the lesson sharing scriptures on faith and bearing our testimonies and at the end she said that she would pray about Joseph Smith! The lesson wasn't anything groundbreaking, but the spirit was so strong and with our simple testimonies and by using the scriptures we were able to help Olga strengthen her faith. We have never really just taught a lesson like that before without any planning because usually we are so focused on what we needed to teach, instead of who we were teaching (our Russian has also gotten a lot better! It is so great to see the progress. Week 2 me would've never thought that she could've taught the restoration with no planning and all in Russian). It testified to me of the importance of teaching by the Spirit. He knows exactly what people need, and if we are in-tune with him, we will be guided as to what we should say (and it will be 10x better than what we could ever say on our own). I am so grateful to have seen this first hand, and it makes me so excited to be able to do this for the next 17 months.
This week for our Sunday devotional we heard from Brother Mills, who is in charge of all the MTC's around the world. His talk gave me a much needed lift and he talked about living in the moment of your mission and not wasting your time worrying about things you don't have control over. Our missions will hold some of the greatest memories of our lives, and we should be 100% in our missions for the next 18 months to 2 years, otherwise it'll be wasted. This really struck me because especially at the MTC I feel like this is just something in between me and finally getting to Ukraine. And if I think that way, then it will be. But if I instead see it as an opportunity to grow and learn and become a better missionary, then that is what it will be. The time we are given on this earth is exactly what we make of it. We can't control everything that happens to us, but we can always use the gift of agency to react to our circumstances. I am so grateful for this, and as my time here at the MTC comes to an end (and my days of everything being scheduled for me coming to an end with it), how I spend my mission will rest solely on me and my companion. I want to look back on my mission, knowing I did everything I could to serve Christ and bring others to Him (sorry, that was sort of rambling, but it's just been something I've been thinking a lot about lately).
Some other stuff:
-WE GET OUR FLIGHT PLANS ON FRIDAY. It's crazy and I am so excited but also freaking out inside so it's weird.
-We got the picture from a few weeks ago when the Mongolian government official came to our class and we laughed at how happy Brother Griffiths looks in it. He was in his prime there.
-In our last lesson with Egor we were teaching him about baptism (he accepted our invitation to be baptized last week! Even though it's not real, it feels a little real and you got to recognize the small victories, even if they are fake), and he asked if he needed to cancel his old baptism when he was a baby. When we finally understood what he was asking, it was so hard to explain in Russian haha but we did it and it wasn't too bad.
-I had a tender mercy to end all tender mercies happen to me today! As my companions and I were walking out of the temple, who should also walk out but Craig and Kathy Smith (they are my mom's cousins but we stay with them all the time so I feel like they're just my aunt and uncle). Oh my goodness I could not believe my eyes! Needless to say lots of hugging and "I can't believe you're here!" ensued. Thinking back on that, it is so cool to see how many things needed to happen in order for us to have met up so perfectly. Just seconds more or less and it never would've happened. It was such an answer to my prayers because lately I've been thinking a lot about my family and how much I miss them as they're all starting new semesters, classes, and lives in other countries. It was the greatest and I still feel like I'm on cloud 9. Wow I am so grateful for my loving Heavenly Father! He does answer prayers, sometimes it's something small and sometimes it's seeing actual family at the temple.
That is all for this week, there is so much more I could say but, as always, I must keep these to a manageable length (it's good practice because once I'm in Ukraine I will only have an hour or two to do all my emailing--yikes!). To close, I want you all to know how much I love and appreciate you. If you've stayed with me to week 8 and are still reading my long emails, I just want to say thank you (even if you haven't, we're all cool). I know that our Heavenly Father loves and knows each of us perfectly and wants nothing more than for us to be happy and for us to make others happy. His hand is always in our lives, and I have seen so many tender mercies that didn't have to happen, but they did because He loves me and cares about me. Even with all of my times of doubts and selfishness, he is always there. Saying that I am grateful for Him and my Savior seems so inadequate (every week I feel like it is less and less adequate), and I feel so blessed to be able to show Him my gratitude by serving His children and my brothers and sisters.
I love this work and I love all of you so much! Do something good for someone else today, or tell them why you are thankful for them. It will make this world so much brighter!
Love,
Cectpa Kropelnicki
Our district with the Mongolian government official and his wife
Me with Craig and Kathy Smith
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