LAST FIVE DAYS IN THE MTC

Բարև ձեզ!

Hello everybody! It's crazy how fast this week has flown and that it's already time to head out for Armenia on Tuesday! We got our flight plans on Friday, which was exciting because it was a day earlier than we expected them! We fly straight from Salt Lake City to Paris and then Paris to Yerevan. We really lucked out.

Noah, I just got your letter and I'm so glad things have been good for you this summer, and I hope lacrosse isn't beating you up too much. I hope you score another goal too! And yes, I'll definitely let you know how Armenia is. :)

Claire, let mom know that I got a haircut, no worries.

This week has been an interesting one. Everyone's starting to get excited and a little bit nervous to be leaving. My companions and I have been helping out with the new missionaries in our branch going to Indonesia and Madagascar, so it's also been interesting to have that contrast and think back to when I first came into the MTC too. It feels like yesterday and an eternity ago at the same time.

We went to the temple for the last time in quite a while today, and I sure am going to miss it. So make sure to go to the temple as much as you can! Not necessarily because I'm going to miss it, but because you can and it's so close! 

I know there were funny things that happened this week that I wanted to share, but I can't really think of them at the moment. So sorry 'bout that. I'll just jump to what I've been thinking about a lot this week.

We've been studying and working on teaching lessons 4 and 5 in PMG, so I've been thinking a lot about commandments, laws, and ordinances, believe it or not. The more I study and contemplate about it, I just realize more and more how merciful God is. Maybe that doesn't really seem connected at first, but I had a huge lightbulb moment the other day with how all God wants is for us to be able to have eternal life, the life He has, and how all of the things he has put into place for us in this life are to help us prepare for that. I was studying tithing the other day in Genesis and the Doctrine and Covenants and I realized that tithing is not only a way for us to show our faith in God and that we know He will provide for us, and it's not only a way to put the kingdom of God first, though it is both of those things. It's also a way for us to sanctify our lives too. And that makes so much sense to me. Plus it's just so merciful that God gives us a way to sanctify our lives too(and lots more than just tithing), because I don't know if I'd really be able to figure out how to sanctify my life on my own. Maybe that makes sense when I write it out, maybe it doesn't. But it makes sense in my head and I'm so thankful for that realization.  Anyway, I could go on and on about how merciful the law of tithing and other commandments are, but I'll stop there. 

It's been kinda interesting because I think it's been easy for a lot of missionaries to get kind of relaxed with little rules or using their study time wisely because we're leaving so soon. And then there's the other side of it where there are missionaries who are starting to freak out just a little bit because 9 weeks went by a lot faster than they thought. I've really been blessed with a great district that's stayed pretty on task. With how fast everything has seemed to go so far, it's made me realize even more how fast this mission is going to go by, and even how fast this whole life goes by. And just important every minute is. 

I thought I'd be a whole lot more nervous to be leaving, and while there is a little bit of nervousness about being somewhere I've never been before, I really do feel at peace, and excited. It's going to be a crazy, hard, and awesome adventure. 

Ձեզ սիրում եմ! 

Քույր Քիֆեր

P.S. I remembered a funny thing. Two days ago I woke up my companions at about 1:30 in the morning because I was praying aloud in my sleep. I was really bummed because it was in English and not in Armenian...

P.P.S. Our investigator had another "dream/vision" this week. This time though, not so great. He wanted to get baptized so quickly but now he's waiting because Christ came to him in a dream and told him to wait to be baptized until the second coming. And yep, that's what really happened to the real investigator too. 

P.P.P.S. I want to tell you more things about Armenia that I learned but I'm going to have to put it in a letter because it's too much to type right now.

P.P.P.P.S. I LOVE YOU MY FAMILY AND.. GUESS WHAT?? THE NEXT TIME I WRITE YOU I'LL BE IN ARMENIA!!! 

P.P.P.P.P.S. I love being a missionary. 

P.P.P.P.P.P.S We had an awesome devotional this past Tuesday and the Sister speaking with her husband started out by quoting the Sound of Music. The "I Have Confidence" song. It was funny but also made me realize that we really can have confidence in ourselves and what we're doing if we're always trying to do what's right. Love you!