It's P-Day Again . . . Whaaaaa . . . ?

Hello everyone! Oh, it's been so nice hearing from you all throughout the week! I love getting your handwritten letters and DearElders! They make me so happy! :) Also, BECKY IS MARRIED!!! That's so exciting! Congrats, Beck! Your pictures are SO BEAUTIFUL. I sobbed in a computer room full of elders (embarrassing moment of the MTC #9082049820958590). I'm so so so sad I couldn't be there, but thanks to Nikki, I got to feel like I was there for 2 seconds. Thank you to all who contributed the photos! I love them! Thank you Camille for your pictures too! AND JAMIE! Thanks to everyone who has written me and sent me pictures! I love them. :) Speaking of wedding things, Whitney and El'ayne! I need you to write me and tell me how things are going! Beth and Melody, you too! AND Liz Biorn! I need your address!

Oh man, this week has flown by. It seems like it was P-Day just yesterday. My days are still weeks and my weeks are still days. The MTC time warp has taken hold of my life. Hahaha but I love it. AND GUESS WHAT! WE GOT NEW RUSSIANS LAST WEDNESDAY! Oh my goodness, I just love them. I'm really sad because the district that welcomed us in and took us under their wings, they left yesterday... :( So sad to see them leave, but I know that they'll all be wonderful missionaries! They already are, and I know they'll be so great for the people of Russia. The next district, the ones just that are just a little bit older (in MTC time) than us leave in 2 weeks. After that, we don't get new Russians until the 28th! So that means that when the district above us leaves, that Sister Taylor, Sister Miller, and I will become the sister training leaders for sisters going to Russian speaking missions! TRAINING LEADER...? ME? Hahaha oh man. That will be interesting. But the newbies are coming along nicely! They're all so smart already. I actually know two of them, Sister Staley and Sister Cardon, from BYU-I. They took Russian 101 from Sister Jensen while I took 102 from Brother Felt! How crazy!

So...this week's been all about our investigators. I love them so much. It's so cool how the Lord lets me love people I don't know very well, or that I just don't even know! We've been teaching lesson after lesson after lesson! We have 2 investigators now, Makc and Victor. I think I told you a little bit about them (I...can't..remember..! AH!). But Makc is 25, really laid back and seems pretty chill about life. Which is great...except when it comes to taking and keeping our commitments, he doesn't want to do anything. He doesn't have a reason for it, other than he just doesn't want to. It hurts my heart because I KNOW that if he would just pray that things would look up for him and his family. He's such a special person and he's looking for light. I know the gospel would give it to him if he would just pray. But we're working on it. He enjoys the lessons and always calls us his friends. So that's been awesome! I love teaching! Even when it's hard and I feel like a failure...I always learn so much from teaching! 

Victor...ah, Victor. He's so cool! He's 50, nearly homeless, and looking for a job. We've been working with him a lot on hope and faith...So funny story. We committed him to pray, but he thought he had to be in church to pray. So he went to the church WITH THE BOOK OF MORMON WE GAVE HIM! And...his pastors yelled at him. In the lesson we didn't know what was happening so it was just like he was yelling at us! Hhahahah then I took a second to translate it and was like, "Oh...oh...wait...OH! I UNDERSTAND!" So then we taught him about not having to be in church to pray and all that stuff. It was a little scary to have a Russian yell at you even when he's not really yelling at you. :P But it's amazing. Victor's so amazing. He's so willing and able to learn the gospel...and he WANTS to do the things we're committing him to do. It's amazing. It's the best feeling in the whole world when an investigator finds out the truth for themselves. It's amazing. I've never felt happier for another person like this!  I love my investigators and hope that they keep progressing!

So...anyway..the language! Russian is so cool. I'm struggling a little bit because I still feel like I'm being held back. We haven't quite caught up to the level I'm at yet, but I'm doing everything I can do learn more and more. I still get asked a TON of questions, but now it's fun because they actually know what I'm talking about when I answer something. I don't have explain the case or the verb conjegation (how on earth do you spell that?! AH! My brain is making room for Russian by taking out more and more English), or declinations.. So that's nice! And our district seems to be surpassing the district above us in skill. :) Which is AWESOME! It's so cool so see individual progress in just the 3 weeks we've been here. The gift of tongues is real, everyone! I know it.

Speaking of the gift of tongues, I bore my testimony on Sunday for Fast Sunday. I bore a simple testimony about the gift of tongues. I said that recently I'd been frustrated because I wasn't where I wanted to be in the language, and so I couldn't bear (is that the right bear...? bare...? AH!) the testimony I wanted to, used the words that I wanted to. But then I realize...a simple testimony borne in broken Russia is way more important and powerful than an eloquent, beautiful testimony in English that doesn't have any feeling. I also talked about how I KNOW that the Holy Ghost is real. I know it because I've had to HEAVILY rely on the Spirit to guide conversations during lessons. I mean, we've been teaching lessons completely in Russian since day 3! There is NO way we could have done that without the Spirit. I'll admit, I am awesome at Russian, but not that awesome. If we don't have the Spirit, then we don't have anything. I also learned that I have to give the Lord everything that I've got because He has given me everything I have.

I love you all. I really do! I pray for you every single night. I hope that all is well in your families and I can't wait to hear from you! Don't hesitate to write, email, or send pictures! I would love to hear from each and every one of you! Pray always, love unconditionally, and stay excellent. :) 

All my love and more,
Sister Biorn

P.S. ...guess what! I'M ON AN ADVENTURE! And what a beautiful adventure it is. :D