Monday, July 29, 2019

FROM SHELBY

We are going into week 3 of Jacobs time in the MTC.  We speak to him every Wednesday and every time the connection is a struggle. Dropped calls, frozen screens, etc... But we muddle through every time because something is better than nothing!

I thought I'd throw out this picture of his name tag, I think it's pretty cool...

The Russian continues to challenge him.  As we were talking he would speak to the other missionaries in his district in Russian, it was trippy!  He doesn't know much, but he knows enough to greet and ask the other missionaries very general questions.  I tried to get him speaking it on video and he caught me O_O, as you can see here he was kind of a booger about it...  :)


That's it, just thought I'd share these few tidbits from life in the mission!

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

MTC WEEK 2!!!!!!


Alrighty folks. Here's the Dealio. I'm going to try and fit as much info that I can remember as well as reasonably share in the time I've got. So lets get started! The first week was super insanely wild and full of stuff (like i said). It was a shame that i couldn't get out a letter letter last week, but Ill do my best now. I've been doing roughly 6 hours of in class learning a day of the Russian language. This means that they want me to study for, like, 2-3 hours outside of class. For those of you that know even the slightest bit about me, I prefer the good old hope it falls into my brain method. I don't think I've studied as much my entire senior year as i have these last two weeks😅. (Also i found these knock off google Emojis, so expect me to use them. I will try to do so sparingly)(that was probably a lie, i will use them at my leisure😁)  Anyways, we get a lot of time each day to study, which is brutal on the brain, but its amazing how much the time will fly when were are anxiously engaged in our work. At one point this week, me and my companion (Elder Fackrell) accidentally studied right through lunch. We were leaving to go and get it and met our class as they were coming down the hall to our class. this was the conversation.

 Me: Don't tell me we missed lunch, *Laughs Jokingly*. 
Elder Durphey: Ummm. Yup. 
Me: HAHA. That's funny lets go get some lunch *Laughs nervously* 
Elder Curtiss: No, we just came form lunch, you guys missed it. 
ME *Begins crying inside* I did what... 

Yeah, I think that is probably one of my saddest experiences since moving into the MTC😅. also probably one of the first times in my life where I unknowingly missed a meal! Lets see what else... We joined the MTC Choir this week and it was AWESOME. we sang Hurrah For Israel and we got to stand up for it. Generally (supposedly) they don't ever stand up for songs, so i'm not even mad that i got to participate in that. In closing i want to share with all a quote from Russel M. Nelson "Each day is a day of decision, and our decisions determine our destiny." Each day we are confronted with many many choices, some seem small, where others may seem much much bigger. Each decision we make can benefit our lives and in turn can impact the lives of those we are with. While being in the MTC I've had to make decisions that i generally wouldn't have made. Studying for up to 10 hours a day sometimes*cries a little*, or sticking to just one glass of chocolate milk at breakfast (by far the hardest decision) we make conscious and unconscious decisions all day every day. I challenge everyone to make the CONSCIOUS decision to try and make a choice that will positively impact your life or the life of someone around you. It doesn't have to be big, but just try. I love all you fantastic people and i cant wait to keep sharing my stories with all of you. So stay on the line and don't be afraid to return in kind with the stories that you feel are fun or interesting or inspiring. I can read everything throughout the week, but i only have time to respond on Wednesday. More Updates to come!! До свидания и люблю вас всех!

Me and My District (Folks in my class) and a really nifty picture I liked 

Monday, July 22, 2019

FROM SHELBY

The same day that Jacob sent the email below we were able to skype with him.  The connection was terrible and he could barely hear us.  They provide ear buds at the MTC for all of the missionaries, but Jacob did not seem to think they worked all that great.  He could hear me fine (yes!), Kiernan ok, and no matter what Mike said, Jacob could NOT hear him.  Apparently the earbuds are made by the same company as Alexa, because she can't hear a word Mike says either...much to his annoyance.

All of his roommates were in their room talking to their parents as well, so the boys were all talking at the same time and introducing each other to their families while we spoke.  Jake seems really impressed with the other boys, I think he'll be making some really good friends there.
He hung out on his bunk while chatting with us.
I found the blog of the senior missionary couple that are currently watching over the kids in Jake's mission.  Their time will be over just a few months after Jacob gets there, but for now they are a fantastic resource for seeing how missionary life in the Ukraine works.  Here it is in case you want to check it out : https://dcandsc.blogspot.com/  

I've actually spoken with the husband Dave Caron several times about "mission stuff", so it's likely that when Jacob arrives there he may hear that they know his mom...I'm not sure if he'd find that funny or frustrating. Oh well!  :)

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Week 1

HELLLOOOOOO. sorry I haven't been communicating, but I can read all your emails when to come in, so there is that. my PDay (personal day) is Wednesday so I literally had to wait an entire week to say anything to anyone. But today is the day. My first week here has been absolutely chalk full of things to do. They threw me into Russian the first day I got here, and I kid you not, I have never once studied this much in my life. They have us doing 6 hours of Russian a day and they want us to study for almost two extra hours of studying on the side. Luckily for me I've got a great Companion who is insane at learning and speaking Russian already, so he's gonna help out a lot. My district here is the absolute best, and they are some of the most spiritually ready missionaries I have ever met. We have shared a lot already, and the eight of us are pretty well connected at this point I'd say. we also have a great room group. There's only four to a room, so all of us in the room are getting along great which is really quite nice. ALSO, they have chocolate milk here, it's no Fresno State mud, but it will suffice for my needs:D. Anyways, the plain and simple truth is that they keep us very busy here, and I wouldn't have it any other Way. I really appreciate everyone that came to see me off Last Wednesday, I love to read what is going on with the people I know from home, so anything you feel you want to share is alright with me.