Elder Dillon Stott - Ukraine, Kiev Mission: Week 3

Hey Everybody!

This week has been by far the best at the MTC. Today we got 20 new missionaries, but unfortunately for me, they are all Russian speaking. Our zone has now doubled in Elders, and almost doubled in Sisters! We have 5 languages in our zone now. 1 Ukrainian, 1 Latvian, 2 Lithuanian, 3 Armenian and like 30 Russian speakers. Super diverse and really confusing sometimes!

This week was super spiritual for me. Sister Gray is honestly the best teacher of all time. She always has the strongest spirit, yet is so funny and smart and knows how to teach so well! She always teaches exactly what I need to hear. What's awesome is that sometimes she will speak in English even though she's not really supposed to, just because she wants me to understand a concept to the best of my abilities. I'm always excited to learn something new from her. This week we have talked a lot about the importance of building relationships with the people that we serve on our missions, and with everyone in general. It feels so good to want to teach someone just because of the relationship that you have with them. The fact that you would want to share your gift of the knowledge of the Gospel because you love them so much - is a really amazing thing. We have all had teachers or mentors or people we look up to in our life. We've had the ones who just show up to get the job done, and not really put in much effort. We've also had those teachers and mentors who feel more like friends than they do just a teacher. It's crazy how big of a difference a good relationship with someone can make. I've definitely been thinking a TON about the most influential teachers and role models in my life thus far.

Something I've been really trying to focus on this week is reading the scriptures and "feasting upon the words of Christ". There is soooo much that we can get out of an individual verse of scripture. I have truly found that it is better to spend 30 minutes on a chapter or even several verses instead of just reading straight for 30 minutes. So many different verses can be applied in our lives in so many ways. It's crazy how much you can get out of just a couple verses. I know that our prayers are answered and we can receive those answers through our diligent studies.

This week we have also talked about "being on the right path". It really doesn't matter who you think is spiritually ahead of you or behind you. We are all on the same path after all! We have the same goal, same destination as our peers. If you're not on the path, it's not all of a sudden game over. Just get back to the right path and you will always be heading in the right direction. It's impossible to be going the wrong way when you're on God's path. If you're not on the right path, do everything in your power to get back on! I know our lives can be blessed by this principle.

The highlight of this week is kind of a big one! (This one's for you, Brother May!) There is a choir of 32 people that my companion, Elder Malmrose, and I got chosen to be in! We will have the opportunity to sing 6 songs for the Mission President's Seminar this weekend. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of the Church will all be in attendance! We are also going to be singing in a sacrament meeting for them as well. It's going to be such a cool experience. Hopefully by this time next week I'll be writing about shaking Elder Holland's hand or something! haha.

I feel more and more blessed every day in the MTC. We truly have so much to be thankful for. I cannot WAIT to go and serve the people in Ukraine. I'm 1/3 of the way done with my time in the MTC! It's coming up real quick.

Thank you to everyone for the emails, letters, and packages! It's like a mini Christmas every time.

Much Love,

Elder Stott