What the What??

What the what? I'm still blown away by how fast time is going. It literally feels like two days since my last P-Day but it also feels like 567 years so that's nice and weird. This week has been soooo good. So good. Guess what? I GOT TO HOST SISTER MECHAM. Okay. I'll tell you the story because it's the coolest thing of my life. So, Wednesday Sister Parker and I got to host new missionaries coming to the MTC. We went to this meeting at 11:00 am and they told us how to be good hosts and not super bizarre and freak everyone out. So last Wednesday, 798 new missionaries eneterd the MTC. So round that up to 800 and I'm here for nine weeks so I will see 7,200 new missionaries enter the MTC. Isn't that crazy? Anyways, so they said that most likely we wouldn't be able to host our friends just because it would be highly unlikely we would be able to find them because 100 missionaries were entering every 15 minutes starting at 12:15. So, I started hosting. Sister Mecham wasn't supposed to come in until 1:30 so I knew I would have time to host more sisters than just her. So I hosted a couple of sisters and it got to be around 1:20. I was like, "This will be perfect! I'll totally get to host Sister Mecham." So then I get back to the curb and this car pulls up and there is no one to host except for me. I was so sad. I was happy to help this sister but I really, really wanted to host Sister Mecham. So I take the new sister around, show her where she'll be living, get her books, and take her to her classroom. By this time it's like 1:50. So I dejectedly walk back to the curb and am just so sad I didn't get to host Sister Mecham because surely they would have already come by now. Then, I hear "Sister Harris!!!" and I turn around and leaning out the window of the next car to come in is Mother Mecham. I lost it. The Spirit was so strong. So I ran all the way down and was able to host her. We both cried like leetle babies because it was such a tender mercy. Seriously, I felt so much love from Heavenly Father because it's not like hosting her was some life or death matter. I had been praying for it though and it mattered to me. How cool is that Heavenly Father listens to every prayer and cares about everything we care about? And then, to make things even better, we live on the same floor. What are the odds? That is not a coincidence. Out of the 1258 sisters at the MTC Brittany Mecham and I live on the same floor. How cool. Holler at the ladies of the Unit. We have little nightly chats and leave each other cute notes on our doors. I love being in the MTC at the same time as my friends. Totally the biggest blessing of my life.

 

A couple days ago we watched the Kiev Temple Dedication Mormon Message. Everyone, stop what you're doing right now and go watch it. 1. It's so good and it will just brighten your day. 2. The Russian people are so great. I feel like this magnetic pull towards them. I cannot wait to actually be there. 3. I CAN UNDERSTAND THE RUSSIAN BEING SPOKEN. Without the help of the English subtitles at the bottom. Haha. But really. I could understand a ton of what was being said and it blew my mind. Who would have ever thought that Amanda Harris would be speaking Russian one day? Not me, that's for sure. But I am so happy I get to learn Russian. It's the coolest language. What's hillarious is that we always run into English speakers at meals and gym time and they're like, "I don't understand why everyone talks about how hard it is here. It's just like Disneyland." Hahaha. Oh my gosh. I know they will have their own hard times and that everyone is called to their missions for a reason. I just want to be like, "We say it's hard because we're here to learn Russian. In nine weeks. That's kind of a big deal." Usually, I just smile and laugh because english. Haha. But in all reality, I am constantly surrounded by absolutely stellar people. There are some truly fantastic missionaries heading out into the world. In other news, choir continually proves to be the coolest thing of our lives. Right now there are about 600 people in choir. They announced on Sunday that they're expanding and it's going to be 1100 people. We're going to be having this special something (it's a big secret right now) in the Marriot Center that will be open to the public. We suspect the First Presidency will be coming because it's the same week all the new mission presidents are here. The choir gets to sing for that devotional though and we're all super excited. This week we are singing my favorite hymn, Lead Kindly Light. Which is perfect because I was having a hard time on Sunday. Elder Neely and all the Hungarians are moving to the new MTC on the other side of Provo today. So we had to say goodbye for the next 23 months on Sunday. It was sad and I wasn't prepared because I thought we would have a few more weeks of randomly running into each other. So I was having a hard time and then we went to choir and they handed out the music and it was my favorite hymn of all time. Heavenly Father is just the greatest. It was cool that three fourths of the Unit got to be reunited for a week and we did get to all talk to each other for about five minutes. I loved it though and it has been so good to see each other even for a short time. We've all got some pretty important work to do. I see Sister Reber around occasionally but she's leaving tomorrow! I'm so excited for her. She's going to be so great. Elder Fuller left this morning and I didn't get the chance to say bye but I ran into someone from his district and they gave me a message from him. I'm so happy we're both speaking Russian and we'll totes be able to talk in Russian together when we end up back in St. George someday.

 

Today, we went to the temple to do sealings. Missionaries are only allowed to be daughters or sons but it's still the coolest thing. There was this absolutely darling little old couple that was being the parents. I have never seen two people more in love than them. They just knelt there and smiled at each other like newlyweds the whole time even though they were easily at least 80 years old. Our entire district loved them. They were so cute. While I was in there I kept thinking about how grateful I am for eternal families and for the happiness the gospel brings me. And then I got excited all over again to be going to Russia and to share what I have with the people there.  In one of the devotionals a speaker talked about picturing everyone you talk to in white and how that helps you to feel love for them and get excited about their progress towards eternal happiness. And it's true. I pictured the people of Russia in white and happy like the people in the temple or the people in the Kiev Temple video and it made me stoked out of my mind to finally get there and start working. I'm ready to be there now. We had three districts leave yesterday and today so we are now the oldest Russians of the bunch. Weird. I remember coming in five weeks ago and being so impressed by how much Russian everyone knew and feeling like a freshman in high school all over again. And now we're the Seniors! So weird. I definitely do not feel like I'm old enough to be the oldest Russians here. I also do not remember a time I wasn't learning Russian. Haha. Tricksy Russian. I'll get it though. I'm determined and I know Heavenly Father is helping me a lot.  I love being a missionary. I love that I get this opportunity. It's the greatest thing. I'm grateful for all of you and I love you so much. Thank you for the impact you continually make in my life. You're the best of the best. Truly. I hope you have a most wonderful week!

 

 Love, Cectpa Harris

Half way done with MTC in 2 days!!! Weird!

As they say in Russian, "е май е!" You say that like, "yo my yo!" But none of us really know what it means because our teacher is native Russian and he says it's hard to explain. But he did say you can use it in situations where you're surprised or something. So I feel like it fits because in two days I'll be half-way done with the MTC. Weird, right? As of tomorrow I will have been here for four weeks. I don't even know where the time is going. It's nuts. This week has been good. We have just been trying our hardest to learn Russian and somehow teach in Russian. But you know it's really cool, because we're actually doing it. We have two investigators, саша and антон, or Sasha and Anton. We have taught them both a couple of times. The first time was really good. I was so surprised by how much Russian I could actually use. The second time... hahaha. It was awful. They didn't know what I was saying, I didn't know what I was saying, and I was focusing way more on the language than the investigator. Big mistake. But we just taught again on Saturday and I simplified everything and only used sentences that I made up and for sure could say and it went 560958 times better. It was insane. We talked about families and my companion and I both showed pictures of our families and told about them. We kept it super simple and just said that God loves us and wants us to be happy and that we have a Heavenly family in addition to the family we have on earth. The Spirit was there and even though it was a pretend lesson, it was so cool. I can speak Russian! Kinda. Haha. I'm learning and working super hard. Our teachers always talk about the missionaries that master the language and come home knowing so much versus the ones that come home talking like three year olds. I am bound and determined to master Russian so I'm putting absolutely everything I have into studying and finding ways to really learn how to talk to people. I know that as long as I'm working as hard as I can I will be blessed. I have totally already seen Heavenly Father helping me with the language. I can remember things and put the vocabulary I'm memorizing to use way better than I ever did in high school German class. I guess that's why we get set apart and get all those special blessings, huh? The districts that left for Russia a couple of weeks ago emailed us today and they already have an investigator committed to baptism. Crazy, right? We were so excited to hear that people are receptive and that the work is going forward in Russia. Speaking of Russia, we've heard some rumors going around and I would love some concrete information so if anyone wanted to let me know that'd be fabulous. We have three more districts leaving in six days so we'll be the oldest Russians in the zone then! I don't feel like I've been here long enough to be the oldest yet.

 

Last Tuesday for Devotional we had quite the surprise. Sister Sullivan and I do choir so we were there early for practice. We were singing Come Thou Fount which we were siked out of our minds about because, hello, best song ever. The director stopped us in the middle and was like, "I want you all to know how powerful this song is. Sing your testimony. Stop worrying about the notes and sing what you know. Sing of Christ. Something really cool is going to happen tonight and you would regret not giving all you have to this song." So we were super suspicious because in our minds, something cool = general authority. Obvi. So we go to dinner and everyone is buzzing with who might be coming for devotional. (Welcome to being a missionary. We get out of our minds excited over these kinds of things.) We go back to the auditiorium and wait for the Devotional to start. About 15 minutes before it starts a door opens, the whole room goes quiet, and in walks Elder Nelson of the 12 Apostles. You could just feel his authority when he walked in. It was so cool. He came with his wife and they each spoke to us. Sister Nelson spoke and asked us to, "Pray to find the investigators whose ancestors on the other side of the veil are praying for you." It was interesting because I've never thought of that before. When Elder Nelson spoke he talked about remembering the people we teach and remaining in their lives. He brought us greetings from the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12. It was just so cool to know that the Prophet (and the entire church for that matter) is praying for us. 

 

In other news, I saw Miriam the other day! She is the cutest missionary and I'm so excited that she's here. I also saw McCall Smith. I graduated with both of these sisters and they are going to take their missions by storm.  Wanna know the most unfair thing in the entire world? Okay. I'll tell you. So, we are for nine weeks. Nine weeks. And we are put in building 8M which is very nice and we love being in there. However, the other day we had to go building 4M and we walk in and it's straight-up like the Celestial Kingdom in there. It's newer and they have these beautiful desks and magnificient chairs that look super comfortable. It even smells beautiful in there. And do you know who that building is for? The English speakers. Who are here for like 10 minutes. I do not see the justice in this. Our theory is since they are here for five seconds they have to have the best accomadtions possible in order to love the MTC while we have nine whole weeks in order to find a love for it. But still. Supes jealous. Also, in Relief Society we always have musical numbers. So this Sunday they announce the musical number and then the accompanist on the piano and it was Elder Levi Neely from St. George, Utah. Cool, huh? It was, "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" and a sister sang, and Sister Megumi Gas from St. George played the violin and Elder Neely on the piano. They rocked it. It was hands-down the best musical number we've had so far. People are still talking about it because it was just that good. We were all blown away. Are you ready for the best part of Sunday? We got to take a nap. It was a Christmas miracle. Or just a normal miracle I guess. But it was definitely the best hour of my entire life. I love sleep. Whenever they ask us questions in Russian class about what we like or what we need I always answer, "cpotb" which is the verb for sleeping. My teachers probs think I'm the weirdest but that's okay. Haha. I'm hosting tomorrow. Which means I'll help the new sisters coming in and show them where to go for their classes and where their residence hall is. I'm super excited because Brittany is coming in tomorrow and I'm going to try my absolute hardest to be her host because could that be any more perfect? No. Oh, also, today we went to the temple. I love going sooo much. And we got to take Russian names again which is so cool. So one of the ladies at the temple asked me how to say the name I had and I told her. She asked if she did it right and I said, "Da." Because I'm used to only talking to Russian speakers and that means yes. But it for sure sounded like I said, "Duh." and I was so embarassed because she probs just thought I was super rude. Haha. Awkward. I cannot really think of anything else that has happened! Time is flying. Before any of us know it I'll totally be sending these emails from the Motherland! I get more excited and more happy to be a missionary everyday. Heavenly Father is so aware of me and constantly reminds me that I'm going to be okay and that I can do this. The tender mercies of the Lord are unreal. As soon as you start looking for them, they're everywhere. Everywhere. I know I have been called to Russia for a purpose and that with Heavenly Father I'm going to accomplish a lot there. I love you all and miss you more than you know! Thank you for the emails, DearElders ( I usually get the most in our district and it makes me feel like a total celebrity.), and letters. They mean the world to me and are honestly make all the difference. I couldn't be more blessed with the family and friends I have. You're all the best! Have the most marvelous week and I'll talk to you next week!

 

Much love,

 

Cectpa Harris

 

They dont send no junk to Russia!!

Hey, everybody! I cannot believe another week has already gone by. Time is flying but I am loving it. We just got 10 new Russians (so another district) on Wednesday so that brings the total in our zone to 80 but a zone is leaving today so we'll be back down to 70. Still pretty cool that just in my zone there are 70 people either going to the Baltic, Russia, or the Ukraine. I don't even know where to begin on this email. On Wednesday we had TRC- Teaching Resource Center. So basically we go to this building and talk to returned missionaries and volunteers in Russian. They aren't pretending to be an investigator or anything and we just get to share a spiritual thought with them and have a conversation. And guess what? WE DID IT. It was insane. I spoke Russian and they understood! What the heck? It was so cool though. Our people we taught were so nice and so kind to help us when we messed up a word or said something weird. Haha. We also had our second and third lessons in Russian with our "investigators" (they're really our teachers but they play investigators of people they really taught in their missions) Sasha and Anton. Our lesson with Anton was so cool. I knew wayyy more than I thought I did and we actually taught a 20 minute lesson. It's crazy how much we are learning and the pace we are learning. Heavenly Father is without a doubt helping us all out. But the coolest part of this week was Sunday. Sundays continue to be the absolute best part of the week in addition to P-Day. We had Relief Society and guess who spoke? Janice Kapp Perry. She wrote: As Sisters in Zion, I Love To See the Temple, A Child's Prayer, etc. It was THE coolest thing. I have never felt the Spirit more strongly than during her talk. She got up there and talked about how she came to write church songs but then she had us sing a medley of all her primary songs. And that was so cool. Plus it was Mother's Day so when she sang, "I see my mother kneeling with my family each day" I just lost it. I'm so grateful to all the women in my life who have been my mother. I have so many and I'm so blessed for that. But the coolest part wasn't then. So we sang that medley and then she started talking about this new song she had written in response to all the sister missionaries serving. So, she wrote a new song, it's to the tune of "As Sisters in Zion" but it's called "The Sisters of Zion." And then she announced that we would be the first ones to sing it. So we start singing this song and pretty much the entire auditorium just starts crying. Here's some of the words:

 

We'll go forth enlisted with Helaman's Army.

The angels of heaven are walking beside us,

we'll share our glad message with all who will hear.

The heavens have spoken and truth is restored.

 

I got chills just remembering how cool that was and how it was exactly what we all needed to hear. Later that night we had a district review where we all just talked about the day and what we had learned. President Craney, our branch president who was actually the mission president in Moscow three years ago came to ours and talked with us. One of the first things he said was, "They don't send no junk to Russia." And it was perfect. Being a missionary is crazy. You learn so much and a lot is expected of you so it's easy to get upset and want to throw things. But it really hit me when President Craney said that. They don't send no junk to Russia. We have all been called and we are going to Russia for a reason. Also, in Sacrament meeting one of the branch counselors said that he ran into Elder Ballard on Saturday and asked him what he would have the missionaries going to Russia do and know. Elder Ballard said, "Teach them to teach with the Spirit." Cool, huh? (I say cool a lot. Sorry.) That's probably the number one lesson I've learned this week: listen to the Spirit and have faith that Heavenly Father will help you with the rest. When I focus more on what I want to say and what the investigator needs the language comes 585754898 times easier. Some random lady from Salt Lake sent my companion Russian names to do in the temple so we got to go and do that today. The names on the cards and all the information was actually in Russian and the crazy thing was that I could read it and understand a good part of it! I felt like a pro because the ladies helping me in the temple had no idea how to say it and I was just rattled it off like it was nothing. Holler. Haha. I continue to see a lot of people that I know which is great. I can think of no better place to run into people than at the MTC! I ran into Charity Suttner which was cool because she knows Jill and Ben and everyone and because she's going to the Georgia Armenia mission so I told her my grandparents were some of the first missionaries there. She was really excited. I have seen Elder Neely a couple more times and he seems to be doing really well. If Karen is reading this and if the letters he sends home were anything like the letters he sent to the Unit (as in very brief with no detail) then know he is doing good! I met his companion and a few people from his district and they were all so, so nice and all kind of jabbering away in broken Hungarian. He always looks way happy whenever I see him so that should be a good sign! I have also seen Peter Fuller a few times and he's the greatest. We totes reminisce about SCHS and all the people we see in the MTC. And the fact that we are both learning Russian and will totes be recruited to be Russian interpretators when we get home.  My district continues to be the best ever. They are so funny. We are all going to Moscow except for two of the Sisters and they're going to Yekaternberg which is a little more towards Siberia. Anyways, I'm almost out of time! I love you all so much and am so grateful for all the letters and packages and DearElders. You're the best friends and family I could ever ask for. Have a most fabulous week.

 

Love,

 

Cectpa Harris

Pictures

  One of these is of our chalk board. We love to plan Post Mission trips. The other is of Elder Haueter and Elder Calderwood. That's what being a missionary feels like most of the time.

The Sisters of the district! So much love. That's all I have for this week! Love you all soooo much!

Saying goodbye to the family.


My name tag.

Mission Companions: Cectpa Parker and Cectpa Harris

My companion again.

The girl holding the flag in this one is actually from Moscow but she’s going to Finland on her mission. Cool, huh?

I'm still a missionary!!

Dear family,

I'm still a missionary. Sometimes that blows my mind. I look down at my nametag and I'm like, "1. What language is that? 2. I'm a missionary?" Not really, but it's still blowing me away that I'm here. I am loving the MTC. This last week is 405 times better than last week. I have the greatest district on the planet earth and that has made all the difference. The Elders are hilarious and I get along with all of them so well and the Sisters are quicly becoming some of my best friends. We are not supposed to say, "guys" or "dude" so I have to make sure to say elders and sisters. Or in Russian, "Ctareeshnee and Ceyestras" that's just how you would say it in Russian because I can't figure out how to access the Russian keyboard. We also have the coolest teachers. One of them, Brother Hale, just got back from Russia a year ago. He's so funny and our entire district is obsessed with him. We like all copy his manneurisms and make bets about what kind of car he drives. So we got him to tell us he has a girlfriend and we were all teasing him because he was leaving to go on a date. Then, it goes super quiet and I decide to say, "Return With Honor." But in this super, super weird accent. It was so funny. Our other teacher, Brother Daroshkin is actually from Russia so we are learning how to speak from a native. We are learning more Russian everyday and the crazy part is that we are actually retaining a ton of it. On Sunday we had this fantastic fireside given by Chad Lewis and his wife. Chad Lewis played for the NFL and now works at BYU. Anyways, he was the coolest speaker. His talk was the epitome of a coach giving a team a pep talk and it was exactly what I needed to hear. He told us we were great and that we are going to go out on our missions and we are going to succeed because the Lord didn't call us to fail. He went to the Taiwan Taichung Mission and as soon as I heard that I was stoked because that's the mission Ben Lieske is going to. Chad Lewis showed us a ton of pictures and it looked like he had so much fun. So cool. It was good to be reminded that yes, we are missionaries and that our purpose is to bring people to Christ but we can also have fun doing it. I'm super glad I'm going to Russia and not Asia though because the weirdest thing happened to me this week. So, I randomly woke up at 5:00 am one morning and I was like, "The heck?" So I got up to go to the bathroom and I walk outside my door and there is this Asian girl just crouched outside of my door in front of these boxes. I was terrified so I ran to the bathroom and hid in there for like 10 minutes and then I went back to my door and she was still there but now she was sitting on some paper towels and reading her scriptures. Then she like got up on her haunches and just looked at me. It was straight- up bizarre. So holler at frozen Mother Russia because I'd way rather deal with that kind of thing. Oh! We taught our first lesson in all Russian yesterday. It was the craziest thing. I honestly don't even know what happened. Haha. Our investigator just went off on stuff and I could pretty much understand what he was saying but I had zero idea how to reply in anything but English. So I said a couple things and then just let him talk. At least it can only get better from there. Haha. Time is beginning to fly. I saw Elder Neely again on Sunday and it was cool because I saw him like three different times and we actually got to talk for at least five minutes each time. He's doing really well and I'm really excited for the both of us. Also, I'm wearing pants right now it's just the weirdest thing. I had forgotten how much I love pants because I'm always freezing in a skirt. Sorry, this email is totally all over the place but I'm trying to remember all the cool things that have happened this week. Wanna know something really weird? There are an abnormal amount of midgets here. I've seen like six. Like legitimate little people. It's just very strange. We have 10 more Elders and Sisters coming into our zone tomorrow. Wednesdays at the MTC are so exciting when you're not the new missionaries coming in. I can't think of anything else that has really happened. We got to clean the showers? Hahah. It was gross. We actually clean with straight-up acid and we have to wear these black gloves. There's like this big hose you use and we feel like the ghost busters. Anyways, I'm happy. I'm learning a ton. Everyday my brain is just stuffed so full. Brother Hale gave us this talk yesterday about how this is such a cool time of life because it's the only time we will get to devote every part of ourselves to the Lord and how there is no better feeling than getting home from your mission and knowing you gave it your all, that you did everything possible. That was exactly what I needed to hear. I'm excited to be here, excited to serve in the Lord's work. It is hard but it's exactly where I need to be. I miss you all like crazy and pray for you all the time. Thanks for being the best ever. Love you!

 

Love, Cecpta Harris