Russian to Serve: Привет!

Shalom!

This week has been bittersweet. We said goodbye to our friends who have been here with us the whole time we were here, and we became better friends with the new elders. It's not easy being at the MTC, but I think I'm going to miss it here. I can't believe I'm a week and a half away from leaving!

Yesterday during Tuesday Devotional, I was singing loudly as per usual, and some elders in our zone were sitting in front of us singing in Russian, when our zone leader, Elder Palmer, challenged the elders to sing in Russian louder than I was singing in English. I gladly accepted thinking I'd win without lifting a finger. But, while I was hitting a high note... My voice cracked so BAD! It was hilarious! Imagine the sound of a large bird squawking and that is precisely what my voice sounded like. I guess I've learned my lesson, though... Sing Alto in order to beat them next time.

This week was pretty great! The anticipation for the end of our MTC stay is getting almost too hard to bare considering that in a week and a half we'll be in Russia. BUT, fear not! I'm not allowing it to let me slack off. I love Russian AND the Gospel too much to do that.

So on Sunday, we were going to watch The Testaments during movie night, but for some reason they couldn't find the DVD. Luckily, we got to watch On the Lord's Errand, a movie about Thomas Monson, the prophet. It was actually exactly what I needed. I loved hearing about the prophet and about his life. He truly is an amazing person. He isn't perfect, but he hasn't let his weaknesses stop him from following the Lord, and I think that's something we all can learn from. Just because something is difficult for us the first time, or just because we fail at first, doesn't mean that we cannot do it. And just because we haven't always followed the Lord or always tried to be our best selves, it doesn't mean we can't start to do so now. The wonderful thing about Jesus Christ and His gospel is that NO ONE is lost from Him, and we can all start over when we do things that we aren't proud of.

I love the Lord, and I love that I get to serve him for the next 16 months now. I can't believe how fast the days have gone, but I can't believe how happily they've passed, even if they haven't been easy.

I hope all your weeks are going well and I love you all!

Sister Jarvis

P.S. This is the last week you all will be able to send me mail at the MTC!

Just a reminder in case you've wanted to send me a letter my address is:

Sister Jarvis

AUG-03 RUS-ROS

2009 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84602

This is a terrible picture, but it's still our zone. LOVE THEM ALL!