Дорогáя семья́ (Dear family,)
Я чýвствую very inadequate right now. Я чýвствую значит “I feel.” That is why you are getting a 3rd letter in this envelope. Don’t post this letter until after next Sunday. I’m not really supposed to tell anyone this until after that, but I figure since you are not здес (here) than it will be alright to share this with you.
I just got called to be the new coordinating sister. I’m not exactly sure why or even what that all entails, but I really feel like they’ve got the wrong person. My companion, Сестра Wilson has been called as the new music coordinator. That didn’t surprise me at all, but MY calling did. What must they be thinking? No, I don’t know, but I do know that whatever they ARE thinking it will benefit me, and our branch. Now that I think about it more, they probably wouldn’t have called the other 2 сёстры because there is a lot of tension between them, but I know that’s not the only reason why the two of us were called.
Anyway, it feels crazy because I just became Senior Companion and now this. It will be good for I know that “the Lord God will help me” – 2 Npehi 7:7. It feels weird I think also partly because of something else they told me. I found out today that the Branch Presidency gets a letter from our teachers each week talking about us. It always makes me nervous when I found out people are talking about me when I’m not there, even if that something is good. Брат Shipp told me they said I am fantastic at the language, one of the best in our district. That made me feel good, but at the same time, it made me feel like I have even more to live up to. Which is probably good, but, (this is going to sound bad, but it is true) I like it when people have low expectations of me so I can surprise them by doing better than they expected. When people have high expectations of me, I have to do even better to surprise them. That’s a great responsibility for me. Anyway, now that you will all know how awful I am, I should probably not tell you that President Fillmore told me pretty much the same thing, except he said that since I was accelerated in the language, I should work on helping the others, even if that means that I don’t go as fast. That’s fine with me, I like helping people and especially since I love languages that is an easy thing for me to do.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. I spoke AND sang in sacrament meeting today, weird, huh? I also met a Sister Atwood. She is from Nashville, Tennessee, but we wondered if we were related somehow.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Army of Helaman
Family,
Well, I had a little extra time today, so I thought I would write some more.
Something interesting happened last night. With this new program we are trying out, we had to have senior companion interviews with the district leader. The district leader is a Старейшина, of course, so I didn’t know how that was going to work. We left my companion in our classroom and then the district leader and I went into another room, alone. It felt really weird, but we kept the door open so it wouldn’t be too weird, but it still was. I’m used to interviews with out учители (teachers) and our Branch Presidency, but not with another missionary. It was good, though he asked about our companionship, how I like the district, how I, as a Сестра, feel about the Старейшины standing for us and taking our trays as well as how he is doing as a district leader. It was great to have him want my opinion on things.
We are singing today in sacrament meeting, all of the Сёстры in our branch. (Right - Sisters Skabelund, Johns, and me) It will be great. Старейшина Cox from our branch will be playing the piano for us. It is nice.
I bought a Russian t-shirt. It says, Russia-Россия has a Russian flag and says Хорошо! on the bottom (that means good). It is nice, I think I would like more t0shirts по-русски, but I’m not sure where I’ll get them.
We are moving. Right now our branch lives on the 1st floor of our building, but this next week we have to move to the 4th floor, and there are no elevators. It is going to be a pain to pack and carry our luggage all the way up there, and then have to go up there every day. I guess we will get lots of exercise while we are here, but I would still rather not. I think the people who have to be here for 12 weeks should get to be on the 1st floor, but I guess they don’t agree with me. Oh, well.
It’s amazing… there are so many talented sisters and Elders in the MTC. No wonder they are being sent out to preach the gospel. Did I tell you about singing the Army of Helaman and the changes that were made? Well, just in case I didn’t, I will tell you again. Some of the words were changed and so we sand, “For we are now the Lord’s missionaries, to bring the world His truth.” It is so true. Of the missionaries here in the MTC, we are going to all parts of the world. Each one of us has been selected by an apostle of the Lord to go to our particular mission. How grateful I am for their willingness to do what they do and their insight and spiritual prompting that has placed me where I am at this time. I know this is where I am supposed to be, but knowing that only makes it a little easier. I am also so grateful for YOUR support. How blessed am I to have a family who is willing to sacrifice for me to be here and serve the Lord.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
Well, I had a little extra time today, so I thought I would write some more.
Something interesting happened last night. With this new program we are trying out, we had to have senior companion interviews with the district leader. The district leader is a Старейшина, of course, so I didn’t know how that was going to work. We left my companion in our classroom and then the district leader and I went into another room, alone. It felt really weird, but we kept the door open so it wouldn’t be too weird, but it still was. I’m used to interviews with out учители (teachers) and our Branch Presidency, but not with another missionary. It was good, though he asked about our companionship, how I like the district, how I, as a Сестра, feel about the Старейшины standing for us and taking our trays as well as how he is doing as a district leader. It was great to have him want my opinion on things.
We are singing today in sacrament meeting, all of the Сёстры in our branch. (Right - Sisters Skabelund, Johns, and me) It will be great. Старейшина Cox from our branch will be playing the piano for us. It is nice.
I bought a Russian t-shirt. It says, Russia-Россия has a Russian flag and says Хорошо! on the bottom (that means good). It is nice, I think I would like more t0shirts по-русски, but I’m not sure where I’ll get them.
We are moving. Right now our branch lives on the 1st floor of our building, but this next week we have to move to the 4th floor, and there are no elevators. It is going to be a pain to pack and carry our luggage all the way up there, and then have to go up there every day. I guess we will get lots of exercise while we are here, but I would still rather not. I think the people who have to be here for 12 weeks should get to be on the 1st floor, but I guess they don’t agree with me. Oh, well.
It’s amazing… there are so many talented sisters and Elders in the MTC. No wonder they are being sent out to preach the gospel. Did I tell you about singing the Army of Helaman and the changes that were made? Well, just in case I didn’t, I will tell you again. Some of the words were changed and so we sand, “For we are now the Lord’s missionaries, to bring the world His truth.” It is so true. Of the missionaries here in the MTC, we are going to all parts of the world. Each one of us has been selected by an apostle of the Lord to go to our particular mission. How grateful I am for their willingness to do what they do and their insight and spiritual prompting that has placed me where I am at this time. I know this is where I am supposed to be, but knowing that only makes it a little easier. I am also so grateful for YOUR support. How blessed am I to have a family who is willing to sacrifice for me to be here and serve the Lord.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
Saturday, July 30, 2005
A great call
Mom,
I got your letter today. To answer your questions, that would be great if you would get me a fan and just put it with my temple clothes. If grandma finds a better one for you, I would appreciate that, too.
That’s really great about Dorothy’s friend. I hope she will start to feel more comfortable at church. I don’t know why she wouldn’t feel comfortable, the sisters are great up there. It is probably just a little different for her. I’m sure that if she keeps going, she will come to love it.
It’s interesting, but we actually get to do Missionary Work. We go to the Referral Center and take inbound/outbound calls. Though I often have the phone hung up on me, I sometimes get a call that is beautiful and makes me feel great. I had one of those today. I talked to a woman from Cairo, GA. I sent her the missionaries with a Finding Faith in Christ video. It was great. That is our goal in the RC, to send them the missionaries. The nice thing is, we only want to talk to those who want to hear, so we’re not pushy and if someone asks us to not call back, we don’t. Plus, we only call people who called us first. Sometimes it is hard because people can be rude, but then you get these great calls, and that makes up for the bad ones. That is really what missionary work is all about, finding the people who want to hear the truth and helping them to come unto Christ.
Anyway, we are actually doing work now in class, so later!
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. Thanks for writing! I appreciate every letter I get! Also, keep the envelope I’m sending this in…I MADE it.
I got your letter today. To answer your questions, that would be great if you would get me a fan and just put it with my temple clothes. If grandma finds a better one for you, I would appreciate that, too.
That’s really great about Dorothy’s friend. I hope she will start to feel more comfortable at church. I don’t know why she wouldn’t feel comfortable, the sisters are great up there. It is probably just a little different for her. I’m sure that if she keeps going, she will come to love it.
It’s interesting, but we actually get to do Missionary Work. We go to the Referral Center and take inbound/outbound calls. Though I often have the phone hung up on me, I sometimes get a call that is beautiful and makes me feel great. I had one of those today. I talked to a woman from Cairo, GA. I sent her the missionaries with a Finding Faith in Christ video. It was great. That is our goal in the RC, to send them the missionaries. The nice thing is, we only want to talk to those who want to hear, so we’re not pushy and if someone asks us to not call back, we don’t. Plus, we only call people who called us first. Sometimes it is hard because people can be rude, but then you get these great calls, and that makes up for the bad ones. That is really what missionary work is all about, finding the people who want to hear the truth and helping them to come unto Christ.
Anyway, we are actually doing work now in class, so later!
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. Thanks for writing! I appreciate every letter I get! Also, keep the envelope I’m sending this in…I MADE it.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Long letter
July 27, 2005
Dear mom, Lizzy, and Sara, dad
I really enjoyed getting and reading your letters. We aren’t allowed to read them in class, but I had time to read a couple before class,. I started on Sara’s, though I didn’t finish it, but it made me laugh so hard that one of the Старейшины asked me what happened. So I said this: “My sister moved into my room and my cat is NOT happy!” It amused me, though I am very sorry that Gizmo is being a brat. It is probably a combination of things, though. I think it is partly because I’m not there, but also because he perceives your moving into my room as an invasion of his territory (in which he allows me to reside) and possibly even as you trying to take my place.
So, about the week thing, it is good for you to write to me, and I think you CAN remember, Sara, if you really want to. By the way all though it was nice to get 3 letters in 3 different envelopes at the same time, it’s not really necessary if you are mailing them on the same day. You can just put them in one envelope if you like and save postage. Plus, if it would be more convenient to type them, you can go to DearElder.com and send letters to me that way instead. I don’t think you have to pay for postage that way either. If that is the case, it would be really nice if you would send copies of the emails I receive by that (copy and paste) while I am in the MTC so I won’t have to read so many when I get to Russia. Wow, that sounds weird … When I get to Russia. Right now it doesn’t really feel real, but I’m sure it will when I leave in 8 weeks. It will have to. It is crazy to think I am a third of the way done and in 2 weeks we will be half-way through. That means that the last of our Сёстры will be leaving. We should be getting some new districts right after that, but that doesn’t mean we will get new sisters. There are, after all, 3 Russian branches.
Oh, Sara, don’t say, “nothing too interesting.” Серёзна, я хочу чтобы ты говорила всё! (Seriously, I want you to tell me everything!) It doesn’t matter how small, it will be important to me и я хочу слишать его (and I want to hear it). You really shouldn’t bruise yourself. What can you do to yourself in my bed? It’s HUGE! And it’s not against the wall. Oh, don’t move any of my stuff, though you can watch my movies and if you really want to read my books, you can, as long as you take care of them (you know, don’t ruin the spines, bend the pages, or get things on them). And put them back where they go. Also, don’t go looking through my stuff unless mom asks you to find something for me because I’m not sure if I hid presents. So don’t go looking because I said that, either. And lastly, of course, I want to hear about Gizmo, but I also want to hear about you.
Elizabeth, I almost called you Lizzy, but I still call you that in my head, извините (sorry). I’m glad you are taking good care of Gizmo. How is the new water-dish working out? The old one is in the dark room. You should give the pump to dad to see if he can get it to work. Then you could but the new one upstairs where Sugar could use it, too. Just a thought. – I already told you that you were good at coloring those pictures, and I’d have to agree that the ones you colored looked like they were printed that way. – As for the singing, that’s great that you got to sing, too. Do you know the girl well? – Kidnapping is fun, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten Dairy Queen out of it. Lucky you.
Well, if you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of answering your individual letters in order from youngest to oldest. Next time I’ll switch it around, just to make things interesting and keep you guessing. So, that means it is mom’s turn.
First, I have a weird request, something to add on to the ever growing list of things I want. I’m sorry about that, but hopefully these few things will be the last. First, I am missing my dark green colored pencil. Could you look in my desk for it? I don’t know if it’s there, but if not, could you get me one (crayola would be preferable, but not absolutely). I don’t really want the other ones because they’ll take up space. Another thing, or rather the last thing, hopefully, is my night face stuff. It is in a bottle and you can see some funny looking liquid stuff in there. The bottle may be in a box. It should be behind my DVDs in the same general area as my nail polish. That would be very nice.
Anyway, mom, I’m glad Sara is giving you funny things to say, even if she isn’t trying to. As for Zion’s Camp, that is really interesting because they didn’t really DO anything, right? It’s been kind of hot here, but I don’t think it’s been THAT hot, though it’s hard to know since we are inside most of the time and luckily our building is air conditioned. – That’s really lucky about the van. I guess you are already being blessed because of your helping me on my mission. Instead of paying $160 to fix the can, you only have to pay $91 for my shot. So, almost half as little. Then again with the hail storm, the damage could have been a lot worse. – Writing a little every day is a good idea. It doesn’t really matter what day you send your letter on, but Friday is my P-day. I’m really only supposed to write letters on that day or on Sunday, but I want to write as soon as I get it, though I managed to wait a whole day to start on this one.
July 28, 2005
One more thing before I forget. I lost a really nice bookmark before I left. It is plastic. On the top are a stack of books a little thicker than the rest of it. If you could check for that, I would really appreciate it. I LOVE that bookmark and it was a present from one of my old roommates.
So, lets see, what have I been doing lately? It’s really hard to tell because my days just all run together. Last night we taught по-русски in the TRC, more than last week. I think it went very well, at least the first time. The first time, we taught a missionary, so it was easier because he only knows a little Russian, and he read the scriptures a lot slower, so we could actually follow along. He “didn’t know how to pray” (that means his character as an investigator didn’t know how) but luckily, that happened to us last week, so I had prepared how to tell him that. It was pretty good. The next time wasn’t as good, but it is hard to understand Russian.
On Tuesday we went to talk to a native in the LRC. His name is Valentin and he is from Moscow. It was hard because we had to get to know him по-русски, though in the end, we talked to him in English. It was really interesting thought.
July 29, 2005
Today is P-day. It is hard to believe that we have been in here for nearly a month and that we have less than 2 months left. That is great because we’ve already reached the end of the menu are going back to the beginning. It is very annoying because they only have enough different food for the English missionaries. The rest of us have, to repeat them over and over again, and unfortunately for me, 2 of the weeks I like pretty much nothing they serve. Luckily they have lots of choices and always have cereal and sandwiches to be made.
Oh, I ran into (not literally) a girl from Minot. I don’t remember her last name, but I’m pretty sure her first name is Carey. (I don’t know how it is spelled, though). She works in the cafeteria. I saw Lizzie van Walkenburg a few weeks ago, but I think she is out in the field now, or at least very soon. I don’t know when she came in. I have also run into several sisters that I knew at BYU. I had classes with them. 2 are going to Argentina and 1 to Japan. Oh, 1 is going to the Baltics, Russian speaking. I’ve run into a few others, but I don’t really remember them. One sister acted like she knew me, but I did not recognize her at all, so it was kind of creepy.
We went to the temple this morning. It was great. We had more than twice as many men than women. My entire district was in our session. It was great. I think that they purposely get temple workers who speak our language to work when we go. This is the second time we’ve gone and the second time I’ve had a worker speak to me по-русски/
Oh, the bookmark I asked you to find for me does not need to be SENT to me. Ok? I just don’t want to NOT have it when I get back.
So, I think I figured out one reason why I have a hard time sleeping here. Besides the fact that I share a room with 3 other girls, our beds squeak and shake, and I have Russian on the brain, Gizmo is not here. I’m used to him sleeping with me and now he doesn’t. Sad, huh? Oh well, I will hopefully eventually get used to it. I’m sleeping a little better since I started listening to music while I fall asleep, but I am still always tired. But it is basically impossible to get 8 hours of sleep. I can’t fall asleep right on time and the other sisters are always waking up early to study. It makes me feel like I should, but I really need sleep.
So, have I mentioned that all my district thinks I’m a genius? (It’s hard to remember what I have and have not told you). I think this is mostly because Сестра Wilson tells them I am, but it’s kind of annoying. I don’t mind that they ask me questions and stuff, but it bothers me that they use me to put themselves down. That is getting better since we made a district goal of no-self abuse (you know, like telling yourself that you are stupid). Now I can just point at the board when they do things like that. But it doesn’t stop them from making comments like, “Since you’re pretty much the smartest person in here besides брат Снег …” and other things like that. Which I don’t mind in moderation, but when everyone gets in on it, it makes me really uncomfortable. I’m not here to be, what is the word I’m looking for, I guess maybe put up above everyone. I’m here to learn and grow along side them, not have them compare themselves and think they are doing bad because of this. I had a conversation with my companion last night and she told me I remind her of her sister. This particular sister, she says, does better in everything and so she never wants to do things that her sister is doing because she doesn’t want to compete with her. I told her, this isn’t a competition! And that is true. It’s not, but when they act like that, it makes it feel like it is.
Anyway, I guess that’s all for now. Don’t forget to write.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. Don’t throw my letters away. If you don’t want them, I will, but if you do I will want copies.
Ok, well dad kind of gets his own letter, but only slightly since everyone can read it and really only because I didn’t get his letter until today. I have to say I was very surprised because I just never pictured you writing to me, even though I said you needed to. I am glad you did, though. It came at a time when I was feeling kind of down. I think my companion has an issue with me and I don’t know what to do since she won’t tell me, even when I ask, but it makes me feel bad because I think she tells the other sisters. It shouldn’t be that way, but I’m pretty sure it is. See, this morning we had a companionship inventory because we are supposed to and we were supposed to mention any problems we might have with our companionship. So, I mentioned some things that had been bothering me, but when I asked her if she had anything to add, she didn’t really have anything to add. But afterwards before we left for lunch, she was talking with another Сестра and crying. She said she was crying because she is tired and maybe that is true, but I don’t really believe that. So, anyway, the point of the story is that I was feeling really down and we went to do study the Book of Mormon with our district. Afterwards we had a discussion and our district leader (the one who picks up the mail) asked us to wait because he had a letter. I thought he was going to say for Сестра Wilson, my companion, but it ended up being for me! And so, while we were waiting, I was trying to figure out who it was from. I thought maybe Erin or one of my other friends, but it ended up being from you! I was so surprised, but very happy. It’s kind of interesting that most of the missionaries say, if there is one person who they want to hear most from, it is their dad. I know it is difficult to write but I have faith that you can do it. Especially if you use DearElder.com. That is practically email, it will just take me longer to respond.
Thanks for getting that for me. I really appreciate that. It’s funny, but I even forgot that it was coming out. I guess that is a good sign, that I am forgetting about “Babylon” as they call it here. Thank you for telling me about what training was like in your day. That was really great. It is too bad we don’t get to ask the prophet questions, but that’s ok because now there are a lot more of us.
Well, I look forward to hearing more. Let me know how the drive goes, but you don’t have to wait until then to write me.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. How is the website coming?
Dear mom, Lizzy, and Sara, dad
I really enjoyed getting and reading your letters. We aren’t allowed to read them in class, but I had time to read a couple before class,. I started on Sara’s, though I didn’t finish it, but it made me laugh so hard that one of the Старейшины asked me what happened. So I said this: “My sister moved into my room and my cat is NOT happy!” It amused me, though I am very sorry that Gizmo is being a brat. It is probably a combination of things, though. I think it is partly because I’m not there, but also because he perceives your moving into my room as an invasion of his territory (in which he allows me to reside) and possibly even as you trying to take my place.
So, about the week thing, it is good for you to write to me, and I think you CAN remember, Sara, if you really want to. By the way all though it was nice to get 3 letters in 3 different envelopes at the same time, it’s not really necessary if you are mailing them on the same day. You can just put them in one envelope if you like and save postage. Plus, if it would be more convenient to type them, you can go to DearElder.com and send letters to me that way instead. I don’t think you have to pay for postage that way either. If that is the case, it would be really nice if you would send copies of the emails I receive by that (copy and paste) while I am in the MTC so I won’t have to read so many when I get to Russia. Wow, that sounds weird … When I get to Russia. Right now it doesn’t really feel real, but I’m sure it will when I leave in 8 weeks. It will have to. It is crazy to think I am a third of the way done and in 2 weeks we will be half-way through. That means that the last of our Сёстры will be leaving. We should be getting some new districts right after that, but that doesn’t mean we will get new sisters. There are, after all, 3 Russian branches.
Oh, Sara, don’t say, “nothing too interesting.” Серёзна, я хочу чтобы ты говорила всё! (Seriously, I want you to tell me everything!) It doesn’t matter how small, it will be important to me и я хочу слишать его (and I want to hear it). You really shouldn’t bruise yourself. What can you do to yourself in my bed? It’s HUGE! And it’s not against the wall. Oh, don’t move any of my stuff, though you can watch my movies and if you really want to read my books, you can, as long as you take care of them (you know, don’t ruin the spines, bend the pages, or get things on them). And put them back where they go. Also, don’t go looking through my stuff unless mom asks you to find something for me because I’m not sure if I hid presents. So don’t go looking because I said that, either. And lastly, of course, I want to hear about Gizmo, but I also want to hear about you.
Elizabeth, I almost called you Lizzy, but I still call you that in my head, извините (sorry). I’m glad you are taking good care of Gizmo. How is the new water-dish working out? The old one is in the dark room. You should give the pump to dad to see if he can get it to work. Then you could but the new one upstairs where Sugar could use it, too. Just a thought. – I already told you that you were good at coloring those pictures, and I’d have to agree that the ones you colored looked like they were printed that way. – As for the singing, that’s great that you got to sing, too. Do you know the girl well? – Kidnapping is fun, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten Dairy Queen out of it. Lucky you.
Well, if you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of answering your individual letters in order from youngest to oldest. Next time I’ll switch it around, just to make things interesting and keep you guessing. So, that means it is mom’s turn.
First, I have a weird request, something to add on to the ever growing list of things I want. I’m sorry about that, but hopefully these few things will be the last. First, I am missing my dark green colored pencil. Could you look in my desk for it? I don’t know if it’s there, but if not, could you get me one (crayola would be preferable, but not absolutely). I don’t really want the other ones because they’ll take up space. Another thing, or rather the last thing, hopefully, is my night face stuff. It is in a bottle and you can see some funny looking liquid stuff in there. The bottle may be in a box. It should be behind my DVDs in the same general area as my nail polish. That would be very nice.
Anyway, mom, I’m glad Sara is giving you funny things to say, even if she isn’t trying to. As for Zion’s Camp, that is really interesting because they didn’t really DO anything, right? It’s been kind of hot here, but I don’t think it’s been THAT hot, though it’s hard to know since we are inside most of the time and luckily our building is air conditioned. – That’s really lucky about the van. I guess you are already being blessed because of your helping me on my mission. Instead of paying $160 to fix the can, you only have to pay $91 for my shot. So, almost half as little. Then again with the hail storm, the damage could have been a lot worse. – Writing a little every day is a good idea. It doesn’t really matter what day you send your letter on, but Friday is my P-day. I’m really only supposed to write letters on that day or on Sunday, but I want to write as soon as I get it, though I managed to wait a whole day to start on this one.
July 28, 2005
One more thing before I forget. I lost a really nice bookmark before I left. It is plastic. On the top are a stack of books a little thicker than the rest of it. If you could check for that, I would really appreciate it. I LOVE that bookmark and it was a present from one of my old roommates.
So, lets see, what have I been doing lately? It’s really hard to tell because my days just all run together. Last night we taught по-русски in the TRC, more than last week. I think it went very well, at least the first time. The first time, we taught a missionary, so it was easier because he only knows a little Russian, and he read the scriptures a lot slower, so we could actually follow along. He “didn’t know how to pray” (that means his character as an investigator didn’t know how) but luckily, that happened to us last week, so I had prepared how to tell him that. It was pretty good. The next time wasn’t as good, but it is hard to understand Russian.
On Tuesday we went to talk to a native in the LRC. His name is Valentin and he is from Moscow. It was hard because we had to get to know him по-русски, though in the end, we talked to him in English. It was really interesting thought.
July 29, 2005
Today is P-day. It is hard to believe that we have been in here for nearly a month and that we have less than 2 months left. That is great because we’ve already reached the end of the menu are going back to the beginning. It is very annoying because they only have enough different food for the English missionaries. The rest of us have, to repeat them over and over again, and unfortunately for me, 2 of the weeks I like pretty much nothing they serve. Luckily they have lots of choices and always have cereal and sandwiches to be made.
Oh, I ran into (not literally) a girl from Minot. I don’t remember her last name, but I’m pretty sure her first name is Carey. (I don’t know how it is spelled, though). She works in the cafeteria. I saw Lizzie van Walkenburg a few weeks ago, but I think she is out in the field now, or at least very soon. I don’t know when she came in. I have also run into several sisters that I knew at BYU. I had classes with them. 2 are going to Argentina and 1 to Japan. Oh, 1 is going to the Baltics, Russian speaking. I’ve run into a few others, but I don’t really remember them. One sister acted like she knew me, but I did not recognize her at all, so it was kind of creepy.
We went to the temple this morning. It was great. We had more than twice as many men than women. My entire district was in our session. It was great. I think that they purposely get temple workers who speak our language to work when we go. This is the second time we’ve gone and the second time I’ve had a worker speak to me по-русски/
Oh, the bookmark I asked you to find for me does not need to be SENT to me. Ok? I just don’t want to NOT have it when I get back.
So, I think I figured out one reason why I have a hard time sleeping here. Besides the fact that I share a room with 3 other girls, our beds squeak and shake, and I have Russian on the brain, Gizmo is not here. I’m used to him sleeping with me and now he doesn’t. Sad, huh? Oh well, I will hopefully eventually get used to it. I’m sleeping a little better since I started listening to music while I fall asleep, but I am still always tired. But it is basically impossible to get 8 hours of sleep. I can’t fall asleep right on time and the other sisters are always waking up early to study. It makes me feel like I should, but I really need sleep.
So, have I mentioned that all my district thinks I’m a genius? (It’s hard to remember what I have and have not told you). I think this is mostly because Сестра Wilson tells them I am, but it’s kind of annoying. I don’t mind that they ask me questions and stuff, but it bothers me that they use me to put themselves down. That is getting better since we made a district goal of no-self abuse (you know, like telling yourself that you are stupid). Now I can just point at the board when they do things like that. But it doesn’t stop them from making comments like, “Since you’re pretty much the smartest person in here besides брат Снег …” and other things like that. Which I don’t mind in moderation, but when everyone gets in on it, it makes me really uncomfortable. I’m not here to be, what is the word I’m looking for, I guess maybe put up above everyone. I’m here to learn and grow along side them, not have them compare themselves and think they are doing bad because of this. I had a conversation with my companion last night and she told me I remind her of her sister. This particular sister, she says, does better in everything and so she never wants to do things that her sister is doing because she doesn’t want to compete with her. I told her, this isn’t a competition! And that is true. It’s not, but when they act like that, it makes it feel like it is.
Anyway, I guess that’s all for now. Don’t forget to write.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. Don’t throw my letters away. If you don’t want them, I will, but if you do I will want copies.
Ok, well dad kind of gets his own letter, but only slightly since everyone can read it and really only because I didn’t get his letter until today. I have to say I was very surprised because I just never pictured you writing to me, even though I said you needed to. I am glad you did, though. It came at a time when I was feeling kind of down. I think my companion has an issue with me and I don’t know what to do since she won’t tell me, even when I ask, but it makes me feel bad because I think she tells the other sisters. It shouldn’t be that way, but I’m pretty sure it is. See, this morning we had a companionship inventory because we are supposed to and we were supposed to mention any problems we might have with our companionship. So, I mentioned some things that had been bothering me, but when I asked her if she had anything to add, she didn’t really have anything to add. But afterwards before we left for lunch, she was talking with another Сестра and crying. She said she was crying because she is tired and maybe that is true, but I don’t really believe that. So, anyway, the point of the story is that I was feeling really down and we went to do study the Book of Mormon with our district. Afterwards we had a discussion and our district leader (the one who picks up the mail) asked us to wait because he had a letter. I thought he was going to say for Сестра Wilson, my companion, but it ended up being for me! And so, while we were waiting, I was trying to figure out who it was from. I thought maybe Erin or one of my other friends, but it ended up being from you! I was so surprised, but very happy. It’s kind of interesting that most of the missionaries say, if there is one person who they want to hear most from, it is their dad. I know it is difficult to write but I have faith that you can do it. Especially if you use DearElder.com. That is practically email, it will just take me longer to respond.
Thanks for getting that for me. I really appreciate that. It’s funny, but I even forgot that it was coming out. I guess that is a good sign, that I am forgetting about “Babylon” as they call it here. Thank you for telling me about what training was like in your day. That was really great. It is too bad we don’t get to ask the prophet questions, but that’s ok because now there are a lot more of us.
Well, I look forward to hearing more. Let me know how the drive goes, but you don’t have to wait until then to write me.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. How is the website coming?
Friday, July 22, 2005
Temple
We got to go to the temple today and for the first time ever there were more men than women, twice more actually. It was pretty cool, though none of the Старейшины in my district were in that session. They had to hit the next one. Anyway, it was great.
I came home from the temple and Сестра Wilson and I decided to take a nap, so we did. That was nice and we woke up in time to go to lunch. After lunch we went to class, but no one else showed up so we came back to our room to study our scriptures.
After our study we had laundry, but then we went to the Bookstore to check things out. We ended up ordering some Russia T-shirts, but I was looking for a passport holder but they didn’t have one, so I guess I’ll have to check back later.
Well, I guess that’s all for now. My days are running together and I can’t remember what, I said last time, so good-bye for now.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
I came home from the temple and Сестра Wilson and I decided to take a nap, so we did. That was nice and we woke up in time to go to lunch. After lunch we went to class, but no one else showed up so we came back to our room to study our scriptures.
After our study we had laundry, but then we went to the Bookstore to check things out. We ended up ordering some Russia T-shirts, but I was looking for a passport holder but they didn’t have one, so I guess I’ll have to check back later.
Well, I guess that’s all for now. My days are running together and I can’t remember what, I said last time, so good-bye for now.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
Thursday, July 21, 2005
A little time
Well, I have a little extra time today because we started early on our service project, so I thought I would write to you.
I was feeling really sick yesterday night. I’m not exactly sure what I have, but it is not fun. I had a sore throat, was losing my voice, was congested, and had a headache. Then last night I got really bad stomach cramps. When we got back from class, one of the other sisters asked me how I was feeling and I said, worse. So Сестра Nielson told me to sleep in today and even not go to class if I needed to sleep longer.
We had service this morning, and I thought about sleeping just so I wouldn’t have to clean, but because that was the reason, I got up and helped. Plus, I didn’t think I would be able to get back to sleep, and I didn’t want to miss class because we are being trained to do outbound calling at the RC (Referral Center). If I miss class, my companion has to miss class, so that wouldn’t be good either.
Anyway, I was wondering if you could send me a few things. They aren’t really important, so don’t worry about sending them quickly, but try to get them here before I leave for Russia. #1 I need a pair of flipflops. I have a pair of flipflops that would be perfect for my heads. They are brown with flowers on the straps. If you can find them, that would be great. They all tell me I will want them to shower in Russia and it wouldn’t hurt to have them here as well.
#2 Stickers – This may sound like a weird request, but they tell me the kids in Russia LOVE stickers. I have a bunch, but they may be difficult to find. If you can’t find them, don’t buy any. They are not that important. I know they are with my scrapbooking supplies. I think they are in a box with my paper that I either put behind the TV in the family room, or under my desk in my room. The box is cardboard and has my paper slicer/plastic bags in it. If they are not in there, they should be in the plastic box under the FOOT of my bed. If you would look for them and send them, that would be great. Don’t send the large sheets of stickers, just the normal size ones that you buy in packs. Some should be cats, and that should help you know which.
#3 may be hard to find. I need socks that are made for dress shoes. They just go over the toe and bottom of the foot but are small so they aren’t visible when wearing dress shoes. I was going to send for them here, but it’s not an emergency and that is what they prefer shoppers to be sent for. They will be good because they will keep my feet and shoes from smelling bad and I think it will protect my feet from my shoes as well. Сестра Shelton got 3 pairs for $12 at Nordstroms. You might want to check at JCPennys or Payless Shoes or something like that, if not, maybe Becky could look at Nordstrom’s and send them to me. 3 pair would probably be fine, but if I could have 9 pair that would be better. That way I can wear them clean before I can do wash. Whatever is fine.
Like I said, these aren’t emergency things, but I would like to have them before I leave the MTC. You can probably just wait, send them all together and maybe even send them with the pictures. You don’t have to send a lot of pictures, I would just like a variety. I wouldn’t mind some of me when I was little, too. Just use your judgment on how much to send.
Well, we have now been trained on outbound calling. I’m really nervous to do this because Сестра Nielson had a really bad experience a few days ago. She called a man who had been reading anti-Mormon literature and he kind of went off on her for an hour and made her cry. He also told her that he had gotten 4 missionaries to leave the church. I hope I don’t get anyone like that. But, this will be a good experience for me, I hope. As long as people are nice about it, I’m sure I’ll be fine. But it is still nerve wracking while I sit and wait for my headset to beep to let me know that someone is online for me. I guess the more I do this, the better I will be able to do it, but I really don’t like talking to people I don’t know over the phone, so that makes it difficult, too. But, like I said, it’s a good experience for me to have anyway. But the beep is loud and always startles me.
Anyway, I guess that is all for now.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. I just had a great call with a woman in Kansas. The missionaries will be sent to her to give her a free Lamb of God video. That really made me feel good.
P.P.S. As I was typing up this letter, I just wanted to make a comment. I actually never used those flipflops in the shower. I did wear them around the apartment as a house shoe, but the showers weren't as bad as I was warned they were going to be. In fact, a lot of my ideas about what to expect that I got from people in the MTC, were wrong, but that made my expectations so low that I was pleasantly surprised.
I was feeling really sick yesterday night. I’m not exactly sure what I have, but it is not fun. I had a sore throat, was losing my voice, was congested, and had a headache. Then last night I got really bad stomach cramps. When we got back from class, one of the other sisters asked me how I was feeling and I said, worse. So Сестра Nielson told me to sleep in today and even not go to class if I needed to sleep longer.
We had service this morning, and I thought about sleeping just so I wouldn’t have to clean, but because that was the reason, I got up and helped. Plus, I didn’t think I would be able to get back to sleep, and I didn’t want to miss class because we are being trained to do outbound calling at the RC (Referral Center). If I miss class, my companion has to miss class, so that wouldn’t be good either.
Anyway, I was wondering if you could send me a few things. They aren’t really important, so don’t worry about sending them quickly, but try to get them here before I leave for Russia. #1 I need a pair of flipflops. I have a pair of flipflops that would be perfect for my heads. They are brown with flowers on the straps. If you can find them, that would be great. They all tell me I will want them to shower in Russia and it wouldn’t hurt to have them here as well.
#2 Stickers – This may sound like a weird request, but they tell me the kids in Russia LOVE stickers. I have a bunch, but they may be difficult to find. If you can’t find them, don’t buy any. They are not that important. I know they are with my scrapbooking supplies. I think they are in a box with my paper that I either put behind the TV in the family room, or under my desk in my room. The box is cardboard and has my paper slicer/plastic bags in it. If they are not in there, they should be in the plastic box under the FOOT of my bed. If you would look for them and send them, that would be great. Don’t send the large sheets of stickers, just the normal size ones that you buy in packs. Some should be cats, and that should help you know which.
#3 may be hard to find. I need socks that are made for dress shoes. They just go over the toe and bottom of the foot but are small so they aren’t visible when wearing dress shoes. I was going to send for them here, but it’s not an emergency and that is what they prefer shoppers to be sent for. They will be good because they will keep my feet and shoes from smelling bad and I think it will protect my feet from my shoes as well. Сестра Shelton got 3 pairs for $12 at Nordstroms. You might want to check at JCPennys or Payless Shoes or something like that, if not, maybe Becky could look at Nordstrom’s and send them to me. 3 pair would probably be fine, but if I could have 9 pair that would be better. That way I can wear them clean before I can do wash. Whatever is fine.
Like I said, these aren’t emergency things, but I would like to have them before I leave the MTC. You can probably just wait, send them all together and maybe even send them with the pictures. You don’t have to send a lot of pictures, I would just like a variety. I wouldn’t mind some of me when I was little, too. Just use your judgment on how much to send.
Well, we have now been trained on outbound calling. I’m really nervous to do this because Сестра Nielson had a really bad experience a few days ago. She called a man who had been reading anti-Mormon literature and he kind of went off on her for an hour and made her cry. He also told her that he had gotten 4 missionaries to leave the church. I hope I don’t get anyone like that. But, this will be a good experience for me, I hope. As long as people are nice about it, I’m sure I’ll be fine. But it is still nerve wracking while I sit and wait for my headset to beep to let me know that someone is online for me. I guess the more I do this, the better I will be able to do it, but I really don’t like talking to people I don’t know over the phone, so that makes it difficult, too. But, like I said, it’s a good experience for me to have anyway. But the beep is loud and always startles me.
Anyway, I guess that is all for now.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. I just had a great call with a woman in Kansas. The missionaries will be sent to her to give her a free Lamb of God video. That really made me feel good.
P.P.S. As I was typing up this letter, I just wanted to make a comment. I actually never used those flipflops in the shower. I did wear them around the apartment as a house shoe, but the showers weren't as bad as I was warned they were going to be. In fact, a lot of my ideas about what to expect that I got from people in the MTC, were wrong, but that made my expectations so low that I was pleasantly surprised.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Just for mom
I guess this is your own personal letter since no one else has written me. I kind of wondered if you had when I sent my last letter, and that made me feel a little bad, but my chastisement was for these who hadn’t yet written me. You can choose whether or not to let others read this, but I would appreciate you not letting Lizzy and Sara read until they have each sent me a letter. I hate to have to say that, but letters are my only connection with the outside world, серёзно. If you want to know what it is like to live inside a bubble, 
live in the MTC. Its even weird now for me to see cars when I do. That’s when you know you are really in a bubble.
(Left - The sisters in our branch in front of the big map, pointing to where we are going. Sisters Skabelund, Shelton, Egan, Christensen, Nielson, me, and Wilson) Well, I guess I am getting better at Russian, though it is a slow process of learning things here and there. But, on this Wednesday we are teaching the first lesson “по-рýсски” (in Russian). That will be a challenge, but it will be good. Unfortunately, I kind of feel like I am just memorizing sentences right now and not really learning vocabulary. I still pray in Russian and English though in class we pray 100% in Russian. Its really amazing how fast we can learn.
Every Sunday we have an interview with one of the members of our Branch Presidency. This time we met with President Fillmore. I and the other Сёстры went up after Relief Society to do so. The Сёстры in the other companionship went first. Then Сестра Wilson so I was the last one. My companion came out crying, so I wondered if there was something wrong. I went in, and one of the first things he said to me was, “The first time we met, I had the feeling that you are someone I will never have to worry about.” That made me feel really good. It surprised me, though. Then he asked me if that was true and I said, I think so. We talked about some other things and we talked about learning Russian. He said, “I trust you will go beyond in learning the language not just stick with mission vocabulary.” He counseled me to pick up a newspaper every now and then when I get there. I hope he is right, but I guess I must trust that he knows what he is talking about.
My companion really wants to read the new Harry Potter book. Брат Снег, one of our teachers, told us that some Mission Presidents will let you read approved books when you reach a certain language point. He also said some missionaries read Harry Potter, so that is what she is shooting for. I figured I might as well shoot for that, too. Of course, there is no guarantee that would be one of the books he would let us read, but if not, maybe I’ll do that when I get home. It would be kind of cool to be able to say I had read Harry Potter in Russian. Of course, there are always things like War & Peace and other originally Russian novels.
I’m thinking that maybe I will minor in Russian when I get back. Of course, that may mean I am in school longer, but I’m sure that would be beneficial to me, no matter
what I end up doing later in life. (Me with Sisters Skabelund and Nielson outside of our residence)
Lets see, I guess I am starting to settle down into a routine, though I still find it hard to sleep at night, both getting to sleep and staying asleep the whole night. I think the trouble I’m having with falling asleep has to do with a number of things. 1) Our beds make noises and when anyone moves, I hear that. 2) We sleep in bunkbeds and when Сестра Wilson moves in her bed, it moves mine. 3) I have a lot on my mind. Anyway, I’m sleeping a little better at night. I started listening to music to help me fall asleep but I’ve also been praying for help. In addition to that, I traded mattresses with another Сестра and now my mattress isn’t so soft.
Anyway, tonight is another devotional. I’m actually getting sick, so I don’t know how well I’ll sing, but I’m going to go anyway and at least pretend to sing. Perhaps if I take water with me, I will be able to make it.
I don’t know, I guess I don’t really have anything else to say for now, but I had a little bit of time while I was waiting for different things all day.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. Seriously, don’t let Lizzy and Sara read this or any other letter until they have each sent me a letter, every time. That is the only thing I can think or to give them incentive to write me.
live in the MTC. Its even weird now for me to see cars when I do. That’s when you know you are really in a bubble.(Left - The sisters in our branch in front of the big map, pointing to where we are going. Sisters Skabelund, Shelton, Egan, Christensen, Nielson, me, and Wilson) Well, I guess I am getting better at Russian, though it is a slow process of learning things here and there. But, on this Wednesday we are teaching the first lesson “по-рýсски” (in Russian). That will be a challenge, but it will be good. Unfortunately, I kind of feel like I am just memorizing sentences right now and not really learning vocabulary. I still pray in Russian and English though in class we pray 100% in Russian. Its really amazing how fast we can learn.
Every Sunday we have an interview with one of the members of our Branch Presidency. This time we met with President Fillmore. I and the other Сёстры went up after Relief Society to do so. The Сёстры in the other companionship went first. Then Сестра Wilson so I was the last one. My companion came out crying, so I wondered if there was something wrong. I went in, and one of the first things he said to me was, “The first time we met, I had the feeling that you are someone I will never have to worry about.” That made me feel really good. It surprised me, though. Then he asked me if that was true and I said, I think so. We talked about some other things and we talked about learning Russian. He said, “I trust you will go beyond in learning the language not just stick with mission vocabulary.” He counseled me to pick up a newspaper every now and then when I get there. I hope he is right, but I guess I must trust that he knows what he is talking about.
My companion really wants to read the new Harry Potter book. Брат Снег, one of our teachers, told us that some Mission Presidents will let you read approved books when you reach a certain language point. He also said some missionaries read Harry Potter, so that is what she is shooting for. I figured I might as well shoot for that, too. Of course, there is no guarantee that would be one of the books he would let us read, but if not, maybe I’ll do that when I get home. It would be kind of cool to be able to say I had read Harry Potter in Russian. Of course, there are always things like War & Peace and other originally Russian novels.
I’m thinking that maybe I will minor in Russian when I get back. Of course, that may mean I am in school longer, but I’m sure that would be beneficial to me, no matter
what I end up doing later in life. (Me with Sisters Skabelund and Nielson outside of our residence)Lets see, I guess I am starting to settle down into a routine, though I still find it hard to sleep at night, both getting to sleep and staying asleep the whole night. I think the trouble I’m having with falling asleep has to do with a number of things. 1) Our beds make noises and when anyone moves, I hear that. 2) We sleep in bunkbeds and when Сестра Wilson moves in her bed, it moves mine. 3) I have a lot on my mind. Anyway, I’m sleeping a little better at night. I started listening to music to help me fall asleep but I’ve also been praying for help. In addition to that, I traded mattresses with another Сестра and now my mattress isn’t so soft.
Anyway, tonight is another devotional. I’m actually getting sick, so I don’t know how well I’ll sing, but I’m going to go anyway and at least pretend to sing. Perhaps if I take water with me, I will be able to make it.
I don’t know, I guess I don’t really have anything else to say for now, but I had a little bit of time while I was waiting for different things all day.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. Seriously, don’t let Lizzy and Sara read this or any other letter until they have each sent me a letter, every time. That is the only thing I can think or to give them incentive to write me.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Letter number 2
July 10, 2005
I have a little time to write while waiting for our weekly Sunday Fireside to begin, so I thought I would, though I may not get this sent off until after my prep. day.
Sundays are interesting here at the MTC. I woke up at 6:30 but didn’t have to be anywhere until breakfast at 8:00. During that time the Старейшини meet in Priesthood. After breakfast, we didn’t have anything until 9:30 when we went to be interviewed. (We have an interview with our branch presidency every week). We weren’t interviewed at that time because we had to be to Relief Society by 10.
I enjoyed that so much! It was more like General Women’s Conference. It was great. After Relief Society, we had a new sister meeting. We had lunch right after that. After lunch was sacrament meeting and District meeting (kind of like Sunday School). We met with the other new district in our branch. Following district meeting we finall
y had our interviews before heading back to our room for study time. (Left - The sisters from our branch: Sisters Nielson, Egan, Skabelund, Shelton, me, Wilson, and Christensen) I didn’t accomplish a whole lot because Сестра Wilson and I decided to go to choir practice at 4:15. That was an hour long but was great. The way they have it set up, the Sisters are in the middle, forward section with Elders on each of the sides and in the back. It sounded great to hear that many Elders singing. After choir, we had to hurry to the cafeteria for dinner. Then we finally had time to study so I was able to get my Book of Mormon Study done before our fireside which is starting now.
Anyway, that was a good fireside. President Kohlert and his wife spoke to us. Now we will be having an evening with the president, or very soon anyway. I had some funny and good experiences today. Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE being a Сестра? Well, I do. It’s kind of hard to explain but I will make an attempt, but first I will tell you about an insight that I had. You know how I was wondering why sisters were supposed to be 21 and guys only 19 to go on missions? Well, I thought of 2 reasons why this is the case. First, because girls are less likely to go for guys younger than them, it makes it less likely there will be problems with missionaries “hooking up.” That is why sisters are older. Elders are younger because most are graduated from High School by then, but are still young enough that it is a good time to teach them to respect the sisters. That brings me to why I LOVE being a sister. The Старейшины, well at least the ones that have learned, all stand when we come to the cafeteria table and even when we enter the room. Also at the cafeteria table, they take care of our trays when we are finished eating. Probably the BEST thing, though, is that they let us cut in line. Basically, it is just so they know we are different and respect us, or at least learn to treat us with respect. It is great, better even than being at BYU.
I love my district. The Старейшины in our district are always so happy to see us, and that makes me feel good. The Сёстры in our branch are also great. I’ll be honest with you; this is very hard. Sometimes I feel like I won’t be able to do it, but then I see our Сёстры and I know this is not only going to be worth it, but that I can make it. I still don’t see myself speaking Russian fluently, but then again, I’ve only been learning Russian for 3 days.
Oh, now my good experiences for the day. First, right after sacrament meeting, we stood in line to shake the hands of all the members of the Branch Presidency. Also in line was President Fillmore’s Father-in-law, who, I might add, is the one who thought of the MTC. He is getting really old and doesn’t remember a lot, but he loves being around missionaries. I shook his hand and he told me that I was going to have a great time and that this would be one of the best experiences I’ll have. Then he pulled me close and said into my ear, “Now, don’t let those elders fall in love with you.” I started laughing and just said, thanks! President Fillmore was next in line and he said, “Just forget what he told you, he’s starting to lose it.” I laughed at that, too.
Then in choir practice, Сестра Wilson and I sat down next to some Soers (I don’t know the plural for Sister in French). One of them, we started talking to. She told me she had already met me. I think her name was Soer Jensen. I vaguely remembered seeing her on the first day here. She told me on that first day that she had seen me in line and thought I had such a kind face. She then told me she thought, “She must be really nice.” I think that is probably the best compliment I have ever had in my life. It’s funny because all the older Сёстры in our branch keep telling me I’m so sweet. It’s great to be loved. I just hope I will be the best missionary I can be.
July 12, 2005
I’m singing in the choir today for the MTC devotional. We are singing, “Here Am I” by Alice and Larry Beebe. It is a great song. You should look for it and get me a copy before I come back. Richard E
. Cook is speaking. I thought I remembered seeing a broadcast of an MTC devotional, but maybe not. (Left - Sister Shelton hid in my closet one day and jumped out to scare me. It was quite unexpected, but it didn't stop us from being friends!) If they do broadcast it, you should record it for me, at least the singing part. If not, that’s alright.
I was reading in 2 Nephi the other day and I found a great scripture. I started wishing that had been my favorite scripture for my plaque, but then I realized, I don’t remember anyone asking me about that. Are they even doing those anymore? If they are and its not too late, I would really prefer that one, so here it is: 2 Nephi 7:7-9.
“For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. And the Lord is near, and he justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth. For the Lord God will help me . . . .” It’s not all of verse 9, but I like it to end with that. That’s how I feel right now and I think that is my new favorite scripture.
I had a weird, awful dream last night. I dreamt that my companion, Сестра Wilson relooked at her call and realized she wasn’t really going to Russia Samara with me. Instead she was going to California (Russian speaking – there is one in Sacramento). I was dumbfounded in my dream. I kept thinking, what? You can’t do that to me! It was very sad.
This week has been much better so far. I haven’t felt at all like I can’t do this, even though it is hard. Being in class 12 hours a day is not easy, especially when most of that time is spent trying to learn a language that feels like a tongue twister to me. But, I have to admit, its not like I’m doing bad, not even close. Its just that I really want to know it all right now and get to Russia. I learned a very important word the other day. It goes into a sentence like this: Я скучáю по вам. It means I miss you all. I said it to the other Сёстры in my branch the other day. Сестра Nielson got so excited and said something to me that I don’t understand or even remember now.
That was an awesome devotional. I really loved it. Elder Cook had some great insight how to have a “million-dollar mission.” He told us that if a mission is going the way it is supposed to be, it will be hard work, but it is worth it. Well, this is almost exactly how he said it, “Missionary work, if done right, is hard work, but it is the most satisfying work.” That is so true, it is hard, but I know its going to be worth it.
July 15, 2005
It is Heather’s birthday today and I realized I don’t have her address to send her a letter, so I guess I can’t do that. So, I guess this is a warning to everyone: if you want to get something from me in the mail, you need to send something to me, first.
Now, I don’t know if you have sent me something, but I have not received a single letter from anyone and the only mail I’ve received is from Carly and it was a wedding announcement. That was awesome, but still, I want more mail. So, I have come up with a solution. Mom and dad you MUST send me an individual letter at least once a week. Nothing less will be acceptable unless you don’t want to hear from me. Lizzy and Sara must also each send me a letter once a week. These letters don’t have to be long, but you can tell me what you are doing/leaning/feeling/funny stories or spiritual experiences you’ve had. However, I will NOT accept just a letter saying, “Hi Rachel, I’m good, love whoever.” There MUST be substance.
If anything you will become good at noticing the little things that happen during the day, and I promise they are there if you look for them. (Left - Sister Shelton polishing shoes at the end of the day. I had no idea how big a part of my life cleaning shoes was to become . . .) I am even going to write to Becky to tell her she must write to me once a week. However, I will only send one letter home and 1 to Becky. This is simply so I don’t have to write 5 letters about the exact same thing every week. I don’t have time for that. Now, if I have time to write a long letter home, YOU have the time to write me a paragraph at the VERY least once a week. Plus, don’t write the same thing every week either. I might as well not get mail if it is exactly the same every week.
I should probably tell you, mail is very important to missionaries. In the MTC we spend most of our time in class and mail is the one thing we have to look forward to, besides PDay. If you don’t get mail, its kind of equated with not being loved. Now, I know you love me (how could you not?) but you don’t want everyone to think you don’t love me.
I’m going to have to buy a pair of flipflops, but I’m not exactly sure where I’m going to do that. Maybe I’ll just wait until I get to Russia because I don’t want to have too much extra weight. But, the showers are disgusting there and I’m told I will want to wear a pair while I shower.
Oh, could you send me a picture of our family? The one we took at the MTC would be good so I can have a current picture. I wish I would have brought more because they told us Russians LOVE pictures and will want to see pictures of everyone. So send me lots of pictures. Maybe you could even print off some pictures from my computer for me to have. Mom, you should have my password. My pictures are located on the C drive, I think you can try going to start, my pictures. If that doesn’t work it is on D under my documents/my pictures. Actually, now that I think about it, that’s probably where they are, but I’m not positive. Anyway, pictures of me when I was little, of my roommates, of you all, of my friends, those would all be good things to have pictures of. You can use your discretion and feel free to print copies for yourself. The pictures of my roommates are easily found on my website as well. I don’t want pictures of cars or houses because its not good to show those things to Russians, so avoid pictures that show those things if possible. I mean, don’t be Naziish about it, just keep that as a general rule. Oh, you can also look through my scrapbooks and see if there are any good ones in there. I wouldn’t mind one from Hawaii or something like that just for fun. Oh, no pictures of landscapes, either. Russians like seeing people and being told who they are.
Since this may be my last letter (only if you don’t write me of course, by the way, if Lizzy and Sara don’t write me, they can’t read my letter. ENFORCE THAT! That will give them incentive to write to me) I will try to make it a little longer. It is really strange, I don’t feel like I am really going to Russia. I feel like I am at school. Even being in class 12 hours a day doesn’t change that. It just makes me feel like each day is a week long. I lose track of time so quickly. I never know what day of the week it is and I really can’t figure out how long I have been here without difficulty. I only have one complaint and surprisingly it is not the food or how hard the language is. No, it is my bed. The other Сёстры tell me my bed is one of the softest, but it hurts me. I don’t sleep well at all. It takes me forever to get to sleep and I wake up constantly during the night.
Well, I guess I have one other negative thing to say, though it is a little better now I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I love my напарница (companion, female not male) but I know that she kind of resents me because I understand what they are talking about in class, Russian Grammar. I’ve even told her that Old English had all of the cases Russia has, but she still resents me for understanding it. There is nothing I can do about that. This is what I love, this is my kind of fun, learning another language. Anyway, its bad because that makes me feel like I can’t do my best, but I’m going to keep doing that because I WANT to be able to speak Russian. I think, however, if I hadn’t wanted to go to Russia for so long, it would be very easy for me to walk away. It still would be easy, but I still have a strong desire to go to Russia and serve the people there, as difficult as it is going to be.
Anyway, other than those two things, it really is great being a missionary, especially a sister missionary. My district is great.
Oh! I was so excited last night. Some of the Старейшины in my district asked me to teach them English grammar. I had so much fun doing that. It’s kind of funny because everyone got this idea in their head that I’m really good at this, but I’m really not. I hate them thinking of me that way because I am at the same level they are and it makes me feel like they are waiting for me to mess up. But teaching English grammar really made me feel like they weren’t putting me up there as someone to fail anymore. Instead I became someone they could turn to for help. THAT is what I really want. They really are great and I’m sad that 6 of them are NOT going to Samara, but at least 6 ARE. We have so much fun together and I think they really respect the Сёстры. That is a good way for them to start their mission.
Well, I guess I’ll finish there, but I must warn you again, if I don’t receive a letter by next p-day, no letters! I will spend my time studying Russian rather than wasting precious time writing to people who don’t care enough to write back promptly. If you have sent a letter, great, just keep in mind what I said earlier.
Love
Сестра Атвуд
I have a little time to write while waiting for our weekly Sunday Fireside to begin, so I thought I would, though I may not get this sent off until after my prep. day.
Sundays are interesting here at the MTC. I woke up at 6:30 but didn’t have to be anywhere until breakfast at 8:00. During that time the Старейшини meet in Priesthood. After breakfast, we didn’t have anything until 9:30 when we went to be interviewed. (We have an interview with our branch presidency every week). We weren’t interviewed at that time because we had to be to Relief Society by 10.
I enjoyed that so much! It was more like General Women’s Conference. It was great. After Relief Society, we had a new sister meeting. We had lunch right after that. After lunch was sacrament meeting and District meeting (kind of like Sunday School). We met with the other new district in our branch. Following district meeting we finall
y had our interviews before heading back to our room for study time. (Left - The sisters from our branch: Sisters Nielson, Egan, Skabelund, Shelton, me, Wilson, and Christensen) I didn’t accomplish a whole lot because Сестра Wilson and I decided to go to choir practice at 4:15. That was an hour long but was great. The way they have it set up, the Sisters are in the middle, forward section with Elders on each of the sides and in the back. It sounded great to hear that many Elders singing. After choir, we had to hurry to the cafeteria for dinner. Then we finally had time to study so I was able to get my Book of Mormon Study done before our fireside which is starting now.Anyway, that was a good fireside. President Kohlert and his wife spoke to us. Now we will be having an evening with the president, or very soon anyway. I had some funny and good experiences today. Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE being a Сестра? Well, I do. It’s kind of hard to explain but I will make an attempt, but first I will tell you about an insight that I had. You know how I was wondering why sisters were supposed to be 21 and guys only 19 to go on missions? Well, I thought of 2 reasons why this is the case. First, because girls are less likely to go for guys younger than them, it makes it less likely there will be problems with missionaries “hooking up.” That is why sisters are older. Elders are younger because most are graduated from High School by then, but are still young enough that it is a good time to teach them to respect the sisters. That brings me to why I LOVE being a sister. The Старейшины, well at least the ones that have learned, all stand when we come to the cafeteria table and even when we enter the room. Also at the cafeteria table, they take care of our trays when we are finished eating. Probably the BEST thing, though, is that they let us cut in line. Basically, it is just so they know we are different and respect us, or at least learn to treat us with respect. It is great, better even than being at BYU.
I love my district. The Старейшины in our district are always so happy to see us, and that makes me feel good. The Сёстры in our branch are also great. I’ll be honest with you; this is very hard. Sometimes I feel like I won’t be able to do it, but then I see our Сёстры and I know this is not only going to be worth it, but that I can make it. I still don’t see myself speaking Russian fluently, but then again, I’ve only been learning Russian for 3 days.
Oh, now my good experiences for the day. First, right after sacrament meeting, we stood in line to shake the hands of all the members of the Branch Presidency. Also in line was President Fillmore’s Father-in-law, who, I might add, is the one who thought of the MTC. He is getting really old and doesn’t remember a lot, but he loves being around missionaries. I shook his hand and he told me that I was going to have a great time and that this would be one of the best experiences I’ll have. Then he pulled me close and said into my ear, “Now, don’t let those elders fall in love with you.” I started laughing and just said, thanks! President Fillmore was next in line and he said, “Just forget what he told you, he’s starting to lose it.” I laughed at that, too.
Then in choir practice, Сестра Wilson and I sat down next to some Soers (I don’t know the plural for Sister in French). One of them, we started talking to. She told me she had already met me. I think her name was Soer Jensen. I vaguely remembered seeing her on the first day here. She told me on that first day that she had seen me in line and thought I had such a kind face. She then told me she thought, “She must be really nice.” I think that is probably the best compliment I have ever had in my life. It’s funny because all the older Сёстры in our branch keep telling me I’m so sweet. It’s great to be loved. I just hope I will be the best missionary I can be.
July 12, 2005
I’m singing in the choir today for the MTC devotional. We are singing, “Here Am I” by Alice and Larry Beebe. It is a great song. You should look for it and get me a copy before I come back. Richard E
. Cook is speaking. I thought I remembered seeing a broadcast of an MTC devotional, but maybe not. (Left - Sister Shelton hid in my closet one day and jumped out to scare me. It was quite unexpected, but it didn't stop us from being friends!) If they do broadcast it, you should record it for me, at least the singing part. If not, that’s alright.I was reading in 2 Nephi the other day and I found a great scripture. I started wishing that had been my favorite scripture for my plaque, but then I realized, I don’t remember anyone asking me about that. Are they even doing those anymore? If they are and its not too late, I would really prefer that one, so here it is: 2 Nephi 7:7-9.
“For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. And the Lord is near, and he justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth. For the Lord God will help me . . . .” It’s not all of verse 9, but I like it to end with that. That’s how I feel right now and I think that is my new favorite scripture.
I had a weird, awful dream last night. I dreamt that my companion, Сестра Wilson relooked at her call and realized she wasn’t really going to Russia Samara with me. Instead she was going to California (Russian speaking – there is one in Sacramento). I was dumbfounded in my dream. I kept thinking, what? You can’t do that to me! It was very sad.
This week has been much better so far. I haven’t felt at all like I can’t do this, even though it is hard. Being in class 12 hours a day is not easy, especially when most of that time is spent trying to learn a language that feels like a tongue twister to me. But, I have to admit, its not like I’m doing bad, not even close. Its just that I really want to know it all right now and get to Russia. I learned a very important word the other day. It goes into a sentence like this: Я скучáю по вам. It means I miss you all. I said it to the other Сёстры in my branch the other day. Сестра Nielson got so excited and said something to me that I don’t understand or even remember now.
That was an awesome devotional. I really loved it. Elder Cook had some great insight how to have a “million-dollar mission.” He told us that if a mission is going the way it is supposed to be, it will be hard work, but it is worth it. Well, this is almost exactly how he said it, “Missionary work, if done right, is hard work, but it is the most satisfying work.” That is so true, it is hard, but I know its going to be worth it.
July 15, 2005
It is Heather’s birthday today and I realized I don’t have her address to send her a letter, so I guess I can’t do that. So, I guess this is a warning to everyone: if you want to get something from me in the mail, you need to send something to me, first.
Now, I don’t know if you have sent me something, but I have not received a single letter from anyone and the only mail I’ve received is from Carly and it was a wedding announcement. That was awesome, but still, I want more mail. So, I have come up with a solution. Mom and dad you MUST send me an individual letter at least once a week. Nothing less will be acceptable unless you don’t want to hear from me. Lizzy and Sara must also each send me a letter once a week. These letters don’t have to be long, but you can tell me what you are doing/leaning/feeling/funny stories or spiritual experiences you’ve had. However, I will NOT accept just a letter saying, “Hi Rachel, I’m good, love whoever.” There MUST be substance.
If anything you will become good at noticing the little things that happen during the day, and I promise they are there if you look for them. (Left - Sister Shelton polishing shoes at the end of the day. I had no idea how big a part of my life cleaning shoes was to become . . .) I am even going to write to Becky to tell her she must write to me once a week. However, I will only send one letter home and 1 to Becky. This is simply so I don’t have to write 5 letters about the exact same thing every week. I don’t have time for that. Now, if I have time to write a long letter home, YOU have the time to write me a paragraph at the VERY least once a week. Plus, don’t write the same thing every week either. I might as well not get mail if it is exactly the same every week.I should probably tell you, mail is very important to missionaries. In the MTC we spend most of our time in class and mail is the one thing we have to look forward to, besides PDay. If you don’t get mail, its kind of equated with not being loved. Now, I know you love me (how could you not?) but you don’t want everyone to think you don’t love me.
I’m going to have to buy a pair of flipflops, but I’m not exactly sure where I’m going to do that. Maybe I’ll just wait until I get to Russia because I don’t want to have too much extra weight. But, the showers are disgusting there and I’m told I will want to wear a pair while I shower.
Oh, could you send me a picture of our family? The one we took at the MTC would be good so I can have a current picture. I wish I would have brought more because they told us Russians LOVE pictures and will want to see pictures of everyone. So send me lots of pictures. Maybe you could even print off some pictures from my computer for me to have. Mom, you should have my password. My pictures are located on the C drive, I think you can try going to start, my pictures. If that doesn’t work it is on D under my documents/my pictures. Actually, now that I think about it, that’s probably where they are, but I’m not positive. Anyway, pictures of me when I was little, of my roommates, of you all, of my friends, those would all be good things to have pictures of. You can use your discretion and feel free to print copies for yourself. The pictures of my roommates are easily found on my website as well. I don’t want pictures of cars or houses because its not good to show those things to Russians, so avoid pictures that show those things if possible. I mean, don’t be Naziish about it, just keep that as a general rule. Oh, you can also look through my scrapbooks and see if there are any good ones in there. I wouldn’t mind one from Hawaii or something like that just for fun. Oh, no pictures of landscapes, either. Russians like seeing people and being told who they are.
Since this may be my last letter (only if you don’t write me of course, by the way, if Lizzy and Sara don’t write me, they can’t read my letter. ENFORCE THAT! That will give them incentive to write to me) I will try to make it a little longer. It is really strange, I don’t feel like I am really going to Russia. I feel like I am at school. Even being in class 12 hours a day doesn’t change that. It just makes me feel like each day is a week long. I lose track of time so quickly. I never know what day of the week it is and I really can’t figure out how long I have been here without difficulty. I only have one complaint and surprisingly it is not the food or how hard the language is. No, it is my bed. The other Сёстры tell me my bed is one of the softest, but it hurts me. I don’t sleep well at all. It takes me forever to get to sleep and I wake up constantly during the night.
Well, I guess I have one other negative thing to say, though it is a little better now I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I love my напарница (companion, female not male) but I know that she kind of resents me because I understand what they are talking about in class, Russian Grammar. I’ve even told her that Old English had all of the cases Russia has, but she still resents me for understanding it. There is nothing I can do about that. This is what I love, this is my kind of fun, learning another language. Anyway, its bad because that makes me feel like I can’t do my best, but I’m going to keep doing that because I WANT to be able to speak Russian. I think, however, if I hadn’t wanted to go to Russia for so long, it would be very easy for me to walk away. It still would be easy, but I still have a strong desire to go to Russia and serve the people there, as difficult as it is going to be.
Anyway, other than those two things, it really is great being a missionary, especially a sister missionary. My district is great.
Oh! I was so excited last night. Some of the Старейшины in my district asked me to teach them English grammar. I had so much fun doing that. It’s kind of funny because everyone got this idea in their head that I’m really good at this, but I’m really not. I hate them thinking of me that way because I am at the same level they are and it makes me feel like they are waiting for me to mess up. But teaching English grammar really made me feel like they weren’t putting me up there as someone to fail anymore. Instead I became someone they could turn to for help. THAT is what I really want. They really are great and I’m sad that 6 of them are NOT going to Samara, but at least 6 ARE. We have so much fun together and I think they really respect the Сёстры. That is a good way for them to start their mission.
Well, I guess I’ll finish there, but I must warn you again, if I don’t receive a letter by next p-day, no letters! I will spend my time studying Russian rather than wasting precious time writing to people who don’t care enough to write back promptly. If you have sent a letter, great, just keep in mind what I said earlier.
Love
Сестра Атвуд
Friday, July 8, 2005
First letter from the MTC
This is the first chance I've had to write and I thought I should take the time to inform you that 
you will be having a bill coming to you. (Left - me in front of the sign at the MTC) After we separated, I was sent to go through the immunization line. There I was informed that the prophet has recently added a new shot that no one knew about, meaning all new missionaries had to get it. It is for meninggococcal meningitis and unfortunately cost $91. I didn’t have any way to pay for it, so they said they would bill you. I hope you will be able to cover that.
Since then, it seems like I have gone to meetings non-stop. Yesterday alone, I was in class for 11 hours and 30 minutes. We are separated into branches which are then separated into districts. 2 new districts were added to my branch, so that means we each go to different classrooms. The other district spent all day learning just the alphabet. My district learned block and script letters, some phrases, how to bear our testimony, and we even started on Russian cases. Can you believe that?
My district consists of 12 Elders (Старейшина) and 2
sisters (Сёстры) which is me and my companion, Sister Wilson (Сестра Уйлсон). (Right - My family: Sara, Becky, me, mom, Elizabeth outside of the MTC) What I have written in Russian is the script, so I don’t know if dad can read that, so here it is in block: Старейшина, Сёстры, and Сестра Уйлсон. I’m not going to do that anymore because I need to practice Russian script. It’s difficult because И becomes и, so it throws me off when I read it, and others.
We normally would have gone to the temple today, but the Provo temple is closed for maintenance, so our branch had a nice testimony meeting instead.
Oh, I forgot to mention, 6 of the Elders in my district are going to Samara. 4 are going to Ukraine Donyetsk (where our other 2 roommates are going) and 2 are going to Russia St. Petersburg. The other district has 8 going to Ukraine (including our 2 Сёстры), 2 going to Russia Vladivostok, and 3 going to Russia Yekaterinburg. I didn’t check the spelling on those, sorry. In our branch there are 9 more going to Samara, 12 more going to Ukraine Donyetsk, 6 to Yekaterinburg and 5 to Vladivostok.
No others are going to St. Petersburg but at least 1 is going to Ukraine Kiev. (Right - the new Russian sisters: Sisters Egan, Christensen, me, and Wilson) I don’t know where the others are going. Other than meeting and classes, we’ve really only had time to eat and run the errands Брат Snow (our teacher) has given us. I have managed to pick up a shoulder bag. We also had to get a Russian hymnbook which we will start using today. They also want us to pray in Russian by the end of the day. We will see if that happens.
Well, I guess I’d like to leave you with my testimony, in Russian, of course. I will give the translation, but to figure out how to say it, you will have to look at the script letters I’ve written on the back with the block. That way dad should be able to figure it out. (I marked the stressed vowels).
Я знáю что Кни́га Мормóна и́стинна. Я знáю что Джóсэф Смит был прорóком Бóга. Я знáю что Бог жив и лю́бит нас. Во и́мя Иисýса Христá, ами́нь.
Well, I hope you got that.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. I found out I will be getting a name tag completely in Cyrillic before I leave.
Extreme P.S. I realized as I was transcribing this letter that I didn’t give the translation of my testimony. This is what I said: I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that God lives and loves us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Also, the blog doesn't support a font that shows the difference in script letters, so that kind of gets lost.
you will be having a bill coming to you. (Left - me in front of the sign at the MTC) After we separated, I was sent to go through the immunization line. There I was informed that the prophet has recently added a new shot that no one knew about, meaning all new missionaries had to get it. It is for meninggococcal meningitis and unfortunately cost $91. I didn’t have any way to pay for it, so they said they would bill you. I hope you will be able to cover that.Since then, it seems like I have gone to meetings non-stop. Yesterday alone, I was in class for 11 hours and 30 minutes. We are separated into branches which are then separated into districts. 2 new districts were added to my branch, so that means we each go to different classrooms. The other district spent all day learning just the alphabet. My district learned block and script letters, some phrases, how to bear our testimony, and we even started on Russian cases. Can you believe that?
My district consists of 12 Elders (Старейшина) and 2
sisters (Сёстры) which is me and my companion, Sister Wilson (Сестра Уйлсон). (Right - My family: Sara, Becky, me, mom, Elizabeth outside of the MTC) What I have written in Russian is the script, so I don’t know if dad can read that, so here it is in block: Старейшина, Сёстры, and Сестра Уйлсон. I’m not going to do that anymore because I need to practice Russian script. It’s difficult because И becomes и, so it throws me off when I read it, and others.We normally would have gone to the temple today, but the Provo temple is closed for maintenance, so our branch had a nice testimony meeting instead.
Oh, I forgot to mention, 6 of the Elders in my district are going to Samara. 4 are going to Ukraine Donyetsk (where our other 2 roommates are going) and 2 are going to Russia St. Petersburg. The other district has 8 going to Ukraine (including our 2 Сёстры), 2 going to Russia Vladivostok, and 3 going to Russia Yekaterinburg. I didn’t check the spelling on those, sorry. In our branch there are 9 more going to Samara, 12 more going to Ukraine Donyetsk, 6 to Yekaterinburg and 5 to Vladivostok.
No others are going to St. Petersburg but at least 1 is going to Ukraine Kiev. (Right - the new Russian sisters: Sisters Egan, Christensen, me, and Wilson) I don’t know where the others are going. Other than meeting and classes, we’ve really only had time to eat and run the errands Брат Snow (our teacher) has given us. I have managed to pick up a shoulder bag. We also had to get a Russian hymnbook which we will start using today. They also want us to pray in Russian by the end of the day. We will see if that happens.Well, I guess I’d like to leave you with my testimony, in Russian, of course. I will give the translation, but to figure out how to say it, you will have to look at the script letters I’ve written on the back with the block. That way dad should be able to figure it out. (I marked the stressed vowels).
Я знáю что Кни́га Мормóна и́стинна. Я знáю что Джóсэф Смит был прорóком Бóга. Я знáю что Бог жив и лю́бит нас. Во и́мя Иисýса Христá, ами́нь.
Well, I hope you got that.
Love,
Сестра Атвуд
P.S. I found out I will be getting a name tag completely in Cyrillic before I leave.
Extreme P.S. I realized as I was transcribing this letter that I didn’t give the translation of my testimony. This is what I said: I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that God lives and loves us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Also, the blog doesn't support a font that shows the difference in script letters, so that kind of gets lost.
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