Zdraveyte Fsichke!
Hows it going?! I LOVE being able to get on the internet and check all the emails I have. Its so fun. People ARE reading my emails and they DO care about me. Who knew? Lol. Im playing.
SO! Whats going on in Sister Kinkeads life?! Well..lets see....
Sister Killian has been sick this past week. We went over to Cnejas house to read to her from the book of mormon. She is blind. Her 3 grandkids were there and they were crawling all over Sister K. They were hacking and coughing and wiping their mouths and nose on their shirt. Ugh. Poor Sister Killian. Luckily and fortunately, Im fine lol. I am not sick at all. Shabam.
Its been snowing and freaking cold here in Plovdiv so we havent been able to streetboard at all. We have reverted to tracting everyday but I dont mind, I love tracting. We had a lot of success this week. We did Plan of Salvation approaches and bore our testimony about it. You could see suspicion mixed with intrigue in the bulgarians eyes. I liked it. Whenever we do the Book of Mormon approach they always come up with an excuse of either 1) Im sick and I cant talk 2) I have a baby I have to take care of 3) I have all the answers, I know everything or 4) No. You are a sect!
Hahaha. Ah geeze. Gotta love it.
Sister Killian and I are being taught by a blind english teacher named Rose-eats-uh? lol. She is teaching us Bulgarian. She is awesome. She makes us roleplay and works with us in grammar, which Im thankful for. I need all the help I can get. We went over last week for our first lesson and it felt like I was right back in the MTC feeling discouraged. Bulgarian is hard and it really pushes you into humility lol. I felt good about the lesson but it was also a reality check of where I need to be and how far I have to go still. I vented to Sister Killian that night about it and she was really good to me. She gave me words of comfort and related her greenie transfer to mine. Sister Killian is so awesome. We laugh so much and she really knows how to make me feel better. Last night after we had called in, we sat on her bed and giggled about stupid stuff. Girl talk before bed. It was so fun. We already made a pact that we will never forget about each other and that we will definitely hang out after the mission :) Friends for life! haha.
Bryce gave me an instrumental Coldplay CD for christmas. I finally got my hands on a cd player here in Bulgaria!! Portable cd players here in Bulgaria dont exist, I dont know why. Only stereo cd players exist and they cost from 90 to 120 lev. HAH. So! Sister Killian and I snatched the stereo from the primary room and brought it home with us. I tried out my coldplay cd and LOVED IT. AHHHH COLDPLAY! I missss them. I am so grateful for Bryce sending me that cd. Man, that boy knows how to put a smile on my face, seriously lol. Thanks Bryce :)
I have really felt the love of my Heavenly Father this past week. Sister Killian and I have really bonded and that has really invited the spirit in. We have had heart felt companionship studies and we have really grown close. Its amazing the love that Heavenly Father has for each one of us. He only wants us to be happy and he knows whats best for his children. He is a God of order. Sometimes I sit back in personal study and shake my head. Oh Heavenly Father, I am but a child and you just know everything and how its all going to work out hehe. I love my Heavenly Father!
This past week Elder Myrick let me teach the entire english lesson to our students. It was SO FUN! I taught them family words and drew a family tree and would ask them who people were in bulgarian and they would have to respond in english. Myrick said I did a great job :D My english students are so patient with me. I love them. Im looking forward to thursday! I am going to teach them hobbies and interests. They are going to tell me what they like to do :)
We had movie night this past saturday. We invited investigators and everyone in the branch. We watched the entire Joseph Smith movie. The spirit was so strong in the room. It was definitely a reassurance as to why I am here in Bulgaria. I am here to teach people about the gospel and how it can make us so HAPPY in life! It was awesome. I felt bad for the people in the branch though. The entire movie was in english and the subtitles were so small but everyone stayed and watched.
Ok, so thats my week in a nutshell. I have one funny comment to end this email. Sister Killian and I drew a cartoon rollercoaster with 2 people in the car. One with its hands up and the other is saying, 'Can you please let met OFF?! I need to throw up!' Hhahahahaha. That is the mission in a nutshell. You just love it at times and other times you just need to be let off so you can breathe...or throw up..hahahaha. I love it.
Have a good week all. God Bless you! I love you!
-Sister Kinkead
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Email: February 22nd
Hey all!!
This will be a lengthy email - I looked through my journal and I have a lot of adventures I need to talk about!
First off, I just want to say one thing - food and music are great together. This morning as I was sitting down eating bread with peanut butter and honey ontop, I listened to some Moody Blues, Beatles and then to top it off, The Mamas and Papas. Oooooooh man. What a heavenly morning. Dont worry all, in my mission, its alllllll good. Im allowed to listen to music like that hehe. Its great. I love music....*sigh*
SO! Adventures from this past week in Bulgaria!!..Here we goo..
Sister Killian and I went to Dyado and Babas house. (Gpa and Gma in bulgarian). They are an elderly couple in the branch who everyone calls gpa and gma lol. Sister Killian and I went over to share a message out of the general conference issue and to see if we could get a referral. We sat down in their bedroom/living room and Dyado brought us dirty dirty glasses and poured some cheap pop into them. He then brought out a foggy plate with some cake on it. I was freakin out. I have to drink out of this very dirty glass and then eat off this dirty plate? which...I have no idea where its been?! lol. I look at Sister Killian and whisper to her that my glass is very dirty. She looks at me and says, "Just wipe the top off where youre going to drink and just drink it...." Im thinking...what?! lol. I felt like I was on the fear factor hahahah. We sat and talked some and watched as everyone else ate and drank, including sister Killian and I had barely touched any of it. I finally gave in and thought it would be easy to start off from eating off the dirty plate. I ate some of the cake, making sure that I was about where Sister Killian was with her cake. Then, after noticing that everyones glass was about half full, I knew I needed to start downing my drink so I wouldnt look out of place with everyone else. I put the glass up to my mouth and began to drink. The pop was fine and I couldnt taste anything bad so I just going. I made sure to leave my glass a little bit full so no one would ask if I wanted more. Sister Killian made the mistake of drinking ALL of her pop and, of course, Dyado asked if she wanted more. She said no and Dyado and Baba started to say stuff like, "Dont you like it????" or "Im sure you want more!!" Hehehe. Its really a game you play when it comes to some of the tricky stuff you put down your throat. Needless to say, I had diarrhea the next morning.....Ahhhhhh Bulgaria....lol....
Ive noticed that I benge eat here in Bulgaria. Im not sure why? Maybe I have a tape worm lol. But seriously...I eat SO MUCH. I have like, 6 meals a day lol. I ate so much one night that I made myself sick...I went to bed thinking, 'Ugh...I want to throw up" Lol. Im glad Im making sure that I never starve here in Bulgaria but...making myself full to the point I want to throw up? Ehhhhh. lol.
Bulgarians love getting out their cell phone and taking pictures of Sister Killian and I. Lol. I think its the funniest thing. I do a little catwalk for em. Sister Killian just grumbles lol. I dont think she likes the attention. Bulgarians just think we are the craziest people they have ever seen. Its fun.
We had Zone Conference this past week. It was really fun to meet more missionaries and make some new friendships. I loved conference. Why? Because 1) It was in English and 2) I really felt the spirit. Its hard when you go to church and you dont feel spiritually uplifted at all. You are suffering from a headache of not knowing whats going on and you feel so completely drained. Bah. I dont really like church here....its hard to like it when you sit for 3 hours not knowing whats being said. Bah.
So Sister Killian and I have been doing a lot of tracting this past week. We tracted into this one door with a Dyado and a Baba. They told us right off the bat that they were prevaslav but they invited us in. We sat and talked for a bit. We met their 40 yr old son who seems to have some kind of physical problem. Baba Krassi, which is her name and Dyado Vulko, didnt really want to hear what we had to say but they gave us chocolates and lemonade. Baba Krassi started to warm up to us and by the end of the visit, we were taking pictures with each other, laughing and giving hugs. We learned that Baba and Dyado really love their son and want him to get better but they have no money to take him to a doctor. Its really sad. We saw pictures of him before he had the condition and he traveled the world and did all kinds of things. So sad. Were going back to bring them some of the pictures we took and to read a verse out of the Bible because thats the only book we are allowed to read in their home. I love the family. I feel very close to them only after meeting them once. Pray their hearts will be softened.
Sister Killian and I went out to the Turkish restuarant here in Plovdiv with Andrea. Andrea is 29 and in the peace corps here. We met up at 6 and get this..I didnt get my food until 8:15 pm. UH YA. I was ticked. Apparently the place had been re-done and the turkish mafia was alll over it. I felt so out of place the entire time. All eyes were on us and everyone around us were rich mafia men. I could tell they didnt really want us there but we were. I feel I didnt get my food because the mafia family comes before anyone else. Of course, asking 3 times where my food was, they kept telling me that the kitchen was just going slow but I know that was a lie. I was soooo mad. It made me really homesick for restaurants in the states where they actually give you food on time. Were never going back there. The food wasnt even that great. Bah.
Sister Killian complimented me the other day on the fact that I can become friends really quickly with anyone around me. She said that she was surprised that Tawnya, the gypsy girl from church, has really taken a liking to me even though she cant speak english. Sister Killian said it took her forever to get close with her, it made me feel really good. I cant speak the language, I cant play any instrument, like all the other girls here but at least I can be friends with people lol.
Sister Killian and I had a lesson with Ganey. A lady from english class. She doesnt understand why she needs more than the bible. She wanted a few examples out of the Book of Mormon as to why we need it. FOR SOME REASON, Sister Killian read the verse about Adam fell that men might be etc etc. Im thinking, WHAT? Lol. You had to pick such a TOUCHY subject?! lol. BUT LUCKILY that morning, I actually I had studied up on the fall and why it needed to happen. I explained to Ganey why it happened and how it has benefited us. We committed her to read the book of mormon and pray about it but she just kept going in circles. "But WHY do I need this?" Ugggh/ We had already explained that to her, like, 6 million times lol but we were patient and hopefully she WILL read.
Last night Sister Killian and I were tracting in a bode (apartment complex). We got chased out by an old baba and she locked us out. She kept yelling, "Sect! Sect!" Sister Killian was like, WE ARE NOT A SECT! hehehee. I love bulgaria adventures.
WHEW! I think that about much sums up my life here in Bulgaria thus far. Hopefully my email was entertaining enough to read the entire thing lol. Have a good week everyone. The gospel is awesome!!
-Sister Kinkead
This will be a lengthy email - I looked through my journal and I have a lot of adventures I need to talk about!
First off, I just want to say one thing - food and music are great together. This morning as I was sitting down eating bread with peanut butter and honey ontop, I listened to some Moody Blues, Beatles and then to top it off, The Mamas and Papas. Oooooooh man. What a heavenly morning. Dont worry all, in my mission, its alllllll good. Im allowed to listen to music like that hehe. Its great. I love music....*sigh*
SO! Adventures from this past week in Bulgaria!!..Here we goo..
Sister Killian and I went to Dyado and Babas house. (Gpa and Gma in bulgarian). They are an elderly couple in the branch who everyone calls gpa and gma lol. Sister Killian and I went over to share a message out of the general conference issue and to see if we could get a referral. We sat down in their bedroom/living room and Dyado brought us dirty dirty glasses and poured some cheap pop into them. He then brought out a foggy plate with some cake on it. I was freakin out. I have to drink out of this very dirty glass and then eat off this dirty plate? which...I have no idea where its been?! lol. I look at Sister Killian and whisper to her that my glass is very dirty. She looks at me and says, "Just wipe the top off where youre going to drink and just drink it...." Im thinking...what?! lol. I felt like I was on the fear factor hahahah. We sat and talked some and watched as everyone else ate and drank, including sister Killian and I had barely touched any of it. I finally gave in and thought it would be easy to start off from eating off the dirty plate. I ate some of the cake, making sure that I was about where Sister Killian was with her cake. Then, after noticing that everyones glass was about half full, I knew I needed to start downing my drink so I wouldnt look out of place with everyone else. I put the glass up to my mouth and began to drink. The pop was fine and I couldnt taste anything bad so I just going. I made sure to leave my glass a little bit full so no one would ask if I wanted more. Sister Killian made the mistake of drinking ALL of her pop and, of course, Dyado asked if she wanted more. She said no and Dyado and Baba started to say stuff like, "Dont you like it????" or "Im sure you want more!!" Hehehe. Its really a game you play when it comes to some of the tricky stuff you put down your throat. Needless to say, I had diarrhea the next morning.....Ahhhhhh Bulgaria....lol....
Ive noticed that I benge eat here in Bulgaria. Im not sure why? Maybe I have a tape worm lol. But seriously...I eat SO MUCH. I have like, 6 meals a day lol. I ate so much one night that I made myself sick...I went to bed thinking, 'Ugh...I want to throw up" Lol. Im glad Im making sure that I never starve here in Bulgaria but...making myself full to the point I want to throw up? Ehhhhh. lol.
Bulgarians love getting out their cell phone and taking pictures of Sister Killian and I. Lol. I think its the funniest thing. I do a little catwalk for em. Sister Killian just grumbles lol. I dont think she likes the attention. Bulgarians just think we are the craziest people they have ever seen. Its fun.
We had Zone Conference this past week. It was really fun to meet more missionaries and make some new friendships. I loved conference. Why? Because 1) It was in English and 2) I really felt the spirit. Its hard when you go to church and you dont feel spiritually uplifted at all. You are suffering from a headache of not knowing whats going on and you feel so completely drained. Bah. I dont really like church here....its hard to like it when you sit for 3 hours not knowing whats being said. Bah.
So Sister Killian and I have been doing a lot of tracting this past week. We tracted into this one door with a Dyado and a Baba. They told us right off the bat that they were prevaslav but they invited us in. We sat and talked for a bit. We met their 40 yr old son who seems to have some kind of physical problem. Baba Krassi, which is her name and Dyado Vulko, didnt really want to hear what we had to say but they gave us chocolates and lemonade. Baba Krassi started to warm up to us and by the end of the visit, we were taking pictures with each other, laughing and giving hugs. We learned that Baba and Dyado really love their son and want him to get better but they have no money to take him to a doctor. Its really sad. We saw pictures of him before he had the condition and he traveled the world and did all kinds of things. So sad. Were going back to bring them some of the pictures we took and to read a verse out of the Bible because thats the only book we are allowed to read in their home. I love the family. I feel very close to them only after meeting them once. Pray their hearts will be softened.
Sister Killian and I went out to the Turkish restuarant here in Plovdiv with Andrea. Andrea is 29 and in the peace corps here. We met up at 6 and get this..I didnt get my food until 8:15 pm. UH YA. I was ticked. Apparently the place had been re-done and the turkish mafia was alll over it. I felt so out of place the entire time. All eyes were on us and everyone around us were rich mafia men. I could tell they didnt really want us there but we were. I feel I didnt get my food because the mafia family comes before anyone else. Of course, asking 3 times where my food was, they kept telling me that the kitchen was just going slow but I know that was a lie. I was soooo mad. It made me really homesick for restaurants in the states where they actually give you food on time. Were never going back there. The food wasnt even that great. Bah.
Sister Killian complimented me the other day on the fact that I can become friends really quickly with anyone around me. She said that she was surprised that Tawnya, the gypsy girl from church, has really taken a liking to me even though she cant speak english. Sister Killian said it took her forever to get close with her, it made me feel really good. I cant speak the language, I cant play any instrument, like all the other girls here but at least I can be friends with people lol.
Sister Killian and I had a lesson with Ganey. A lady from english class. She doesnt understand why she needs more than the bible. She wanted a few examples out of the Book of Mormon as to why we need it. FOR SOME REASON, Sister Killian read the verse about Adam fell that men might be etc etc. Im thinking, WHAT? Lol. You had to pick such a TOUCHY subject?! lol. BUT LUCKILY that morning, I actually I had studied up on the fall and why it needed to happen. I explained to Ganey why it happened and how it has benefited us. We committed her to read the book of mormon and pray about it but she just kept going in circles. "But WHY do I need this?" Ugggh/ We had already explained that to her, like, 6 million times lol but we were patient and hopefully she WILL read.
Last night Sister Killian and I were tracting in a bode (apartment complex). We got chased out by an old baba and she locked us out. She kept yelling, "Sect! Sect!" Sister Killian was like, WE ARE NOT A SECT! hehehee. I love bulgaria adventures.
WHEW! I think that about much sums up my life here in Bulgaria thus far. Hopefully my email was entertaining enough to read the entire thing lol. Have a good week everyone. The gospel is awesome!!
-Sister Kinkead
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Email: February 15th
*Note: this is Briana's first email from Bulgaria, her first email got lost and hopefully I'll be getting it soon*
Sorry about last week. I wrote a huge email but it didnt go through? I dont understand. Anyway, I sent it again to you mom through my other email address so hopefully you will get it this time and you will be able to forward it out. I am so sorry I made you worry and stress out mom lol. I am fine :)
So after you read and understand where Im at and all my little adventures check out what happened THIS past week.
This week Sister Killian and I worked pretty hard. We had 60 successful approaches and 5 receives and guess what? WE BEAT THE SISTER RECORD for the ENTIRE mission for successful approaches. TRUE STORY! We are AWESOME lol. We are upping our game this week and we're hoping that we'll have lessons soon. Tracting in Bulgaria is hard but its what I love most. I've memorized my book of mormon approach for tracting doors. Im pretty proud that Im making strides here in Bulgaria. I try and smile at everyone I see even though 90% of them never smile back lol. I also try to remember that these people are Children of God and he loves them as much as he loves me. Sometimes its hard to believe..hehe Im horrible. Wanna know something funny? This country has an official "Nap Time" lol. Its from 2pm-4pm. During those hours, Sis Killian and I cant tract so we have lunch, language study and prepare to head out to tract at night. I wish I could nap lol...I also wish America had an official nap time...but I would probably go over the 2 hour mark..lolol.
Ive come to notice that the only nice people here in Bulgaria are the muslims. Sister Killian and I were invited to this muslim home. Two turkish boys who gave us literally fresh squeezed orange juice with crackers. They offered to make us dinner but we said no hehe. They were very nice and we talked about the similarities between muslims and mormons. They said they would come to our english classes because they want to perfect their english so we will see if they really show up.
Random fact: Did you know that in Bulgaria they have scented AND colored toilet paper? Right now we have peach scent...hehehehe. Lol. Oh bulgaria.
Yesterday was Valentines day. It was a blah day. Not much success at all. Sister Killian and I decided to go out to eat to celebrate an early birthday for her. It was a legit place and the food was glory. The best part about it was that the waiter brought both of us each a yellow flower for valentines day. Awwwwwwww. It was nice!
Tomorrow we have Zone conference here in Plovdiv so all the elders and sisters from the zone are coming in. I am so excited! We are all going to go out bowling today for Sister Killians birthday! EXCITING! its nice to come together and hang out with each other. I am excited to see Sister Speth and Elder Law!!
I went to the Ampitheatre here last p-day that the romans built!! It was awesome. I got lots of pics. WHICH, by the way, Elder Jones was a sweetheart and gave me his card reader so I can upload pics and send them to you all!! Yay! So be looking for some pics :)
Hmm what else. OH YA! Sister Killian and I were waiting at the bus stop the other night waiting to go home. A big group of about ten 15-17 yr old boys came up to us and surrounded us. They contintually cussed us out for about 10 minutes. Each of them were laughing and snickering. I smiled lol. I thought it was funny. Sister Killian got annoyed and was tempted to yell something at them in english but she refrained. Good job Sis K lol. Bulgarians are crazy people.
Hmm ok mom, so I have a list of things I would like to have here in Bulgaria..
-Brownie mix
-Cookie mix
-Taco seasoning
-Kool-aid packs
-Crest toothpaste
-Uh....womanly things...if you get my drift. They sell like, 6, in a package and expect you to pay like 6 lev for it! I dont think so.
I think thats about it for now. Anyway, I need to email President Roth! I love you all and I miss you!!!!
Once again, sorry mom for all the worry and stress I put you through, I love you!! :)
-CECTPA KHNKEND
Sorry about last week. I wrote a huge email but it didnt go through? I dont understand. Anyway, I sent it again to you mom through my other email address so hopefully you will get it this time and you will be able to forward it out. I am so sorry I made you worry and stress out mom lol. I am fine :)
So after you read and understand where Im at and all my little adventures check out what happened THIS past week.
This week Sister Killian and I worked pretty hard. We had 60 successful approaches and 5 receives and guess what? WE BEAT THE SISTER RECORD for the ENTIRE mission for successful approaches. TRUE STORY! We are AWESOME lol. We are upping our game this week and we're hoping that we'll have lessons soon. Tracting in Bulgaria is hard but its what I love most. I've memorized my book of mormon approach for tracting doors. Im pretty proud that Im making strides here in Bulgaria. I try and smile at everyone I see even though 90% of them never smile back lol. I also try to remember that these people are Children of God and he loves them as much as he loves me. Sometimes its hard to believe..hehe Im horrible. Wanna know something funny? This country has an official "Nap Time" lol. Its from 2pm-4pm. During those hours, Sis Killian and I cant tract so we have lunch, language study and prepare to head out to tract at night. I wish I could nap lol...I also wish America had an official nap time...but I would probably go over the 2 hour mark..lolol.
Ive come to notice that the only nice people here in Bulgaria are the muslims. Sister Killian and I were invited to this muslim home. Two turkish boys who gave us literally fresh squeezed orange juice with crackers. They offered to make us dinner but we said no hehe. They were very nice and we talked about the similarities between muslims and mormons. They said they would come to our english classes because they want to perfect their english so we will see if they really show up.
Random fact: Did you know that in Bulgaria they have scented AND colored toilet paper? Right now we have peach scent...hehehehe. Lol. Oh bulgaria.
Yesterday was Valentines day. It was a blah day. Not much success at all. Sister Killian and I decided to go out to eat to celebrate an early birthday for her. It was a legit place and the food was glory. The best part about it was that the waiter brought both of us each a yellow flower for valentines day. Awwwwwwww. It was nice!
Tomorrow we have Zone conference here in Plovdiv so all the elders and sisters from the zone are coming in. I am so excited! We are all going to go out bowling today for Sister Killians birthday! EXCITING! its nice to come together and hang out with each other. I am excited to see Sister Speth and Elder Law!!
I went to the Ampitheatre here last p-day that the romans built!! It was awesome. I got lots of pics. WHICH, by the way, Elder Jones was a sweetheart and gave me his card reader so I can upload pics and send them to you all!! Yay! So be looking for some pics :)
Hmm what else. OH YA! Sister Killian and I were waiting at the bus stop the other night waiting to go home. A big group of about ten 15-17 yr old boys came up to us and surrounded us. They contintually cussed us out for about 10 minutes. Each of them were laughing and snickering. I smiled lol. I thought it was funny. Sister Killian got annoyed and was tempted to yell something at them in english but she refrained. Good job Sis K lol. Bulgarians are crazy people.
Hmm ok mom, so I have a list of things I would like to have here in Bulgaria..
-Brownie mix
-Cookie mix
-Taco seasoning
-Kool-aid packs
-Crest toothpaste
-Uh....womanly things...if you get my drift. They sell like, 6, in a package and expect you to pay like 6 lev for it! I dont think so.
I think thats about it for now. Anyway, I need to email President Roth! I love you all and I miss you!!!!
Once again, sorry mom for all the worry and stress I put you through, I love you!! :)
-CECTPA KHNKEND
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Phone Call: February 2nd
Briana finally got to leave the MTC yesterday as they flew her out from Salt Lake City, Utah to LA California. While on an 8 hour lay over at the airport in LA, she got to call me!!
We chatted for about 20 minutes as she told me her adventures in the MTC and how glad she was to leave her 9 week stint there. She said the food was horrible and the studying way intense. She relayed her testimony in Bulgarian to me although she said she was not comfortable with the language which made her really nervous.
Her #1 spiritual lesson thus far: to have faith in God and Jesus Christ. She said 'How else could I leave my life for 18 months and live in a foreign country? I have to have faith.' She learned to lean not on herself, but God as well as her companion, teachers and friends.
Her #1 social lesson: communication. It really is essential to communicate, effectively and properly! Briana mentioned that her and her companion have to be on the same page at all times if they are to share the message of Christ to others. When they got in arguments, she had to work through it instead of ignoring it.
Funny story, she mentioned they were playing cards in the airport before they were to leave for Germany where they would have another 8 hour layover until they finally left for Sofia Bulgaria. She said one of the sister missionaries poo poo-ed her playing with cards. I asked her if they were playing cards or what. She gafawed (If you know Briana, I am sure you know this sound!) and said they were Book of Mormon Go Fish cards.............. not poker.
She had to leave but it was so nice chatting with her!
We chatted for about 20 minutes as she told me her adventures in the MTC and how glad she was to leave her 9 week stint there. She said the food was horrible and the studying way intense. She relayed her testimony in Bulgarian to me although she said she was not comfortable with the language which made her really nervous.
Her #1 spiritual lesson thus far: to have faith in God and Jesus Christ. She said 'How else could I leave my life for 18 months and live in a foreign country? I have to have faith.' She learned to lean not on herself, but God as well as her companion, teachers and friends.
Her #1 social lesson: communication. It really is essential to communicate, effectively and properly! Briana mentioned that her and her companion have to be on the same page at all times if they are to share the message of Christ to others. When they got in arguments, she had to work through it instead of ignoring it.
Funny story, she mentioned they were playing cards in the airport before they were to leave for Germany where they would have another 8 hour layover until they finally left for Sofia Bulgaria. She said one of the sister missionaries poo poo-ed her playing with cards. I asked her if they were playing cards or what. She gafawed (If you know Briana, I am sure you know this sound!) and said they were Book of Mormon Go Fish cards.............. not poker.
She had to leave but it was so nice chatting with her!
Email: February 1st
Yo everyone!
My flight for Bulgaria got cancelled today. Yep yep. We got to the SLC airport and eventually found out that the NY airport was closed, among many others. 6 missions had to return to the MTC. Oh the mtc....lol. I had an experience while waiting in line today at the airport for check in. A man was infront of me but my district was infront of him. I didnt say anything but I wanted to be with my district so we could all check in at once. I think the Delta assistant noticed that and he let me by the man and let me stand with my district. The man who WAS infront of me but who was now BEHIND me FLIPPED OUT. He was raising his voice at me, saying some things like this.."Hey!! She shouldnt be infront of me! I WAS HERE FIRST!! Woman! You are BEHIND ME!! I was here FIRST. I have been WAITING! IM SICK OF THIS GARBAGE!!!".....ya....I let him by, as well as the whole district because 1) We wanted to stay together 2) He was scary lol. Sister Child said I looked like a lost puppy. But ya know..when youve been around nice friendly people for 2 months? and walk back into the world where people are yelling in your face? Wow. Its a shock at first lol. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD! Ahh. Gotta love it.
So! We leave tomorrow at 3 am for the SLC airport..once again lol. We will be flying to L.A. then to Germany and then to Bulgaria. I have a 7 hour layover in L.A. and an 8 hour layover in Germany. I have no idea what were gonna do lol. We will arrive in Sofia, Bulgaria at 11 that night. No big dinner with the Mission President :( I was really looking forward to that, bah. Anyways, ya, thats whats going on.
This past week has been challenging but very good. Saying goodbyes are NEVER my thing. Making friends and then having to leave them is really hard, its like saying goodbye to your family all over again. Sad, very sad. Im not looking forward to leaving my district and separating ourselves in Bulgaria..they are my family :( I love em!
Our teachers were showing us pictures of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people. Every picture with a person in it, the teacher would say, "This person is freakin NUTS!" or "This person is the CRAZIEST person Ive met" or "Oh Manle! These two people were characters..wow" Lol. I have come to the conclusion that bulgarian people are really all crazy people lol. The places where we will be tracting looks like Mexico and the houses/apartments are worse than you've ever seen in America. From the pictures, Bulgaria looks very very very dirty and very very poor *obiviously*. Brother Mattinson, Crowther and Purvis *My teachers* all think I will be in Starzagora for my first area. Sister Rogers is there. Apparently Sister Rogers is very outgoing, hard-working and is very direct. Hmm. Reminds me of someone lol.
Welp! Pray that my district and I get off to Bulgaria tomorrow! We want out of the MTC. Its just so disorienting to leave and then....to come back...lol. No schedule, no nothing. We slept for 3 hours hehehe. Mmm.
All right! I love you all!! Keep in touch! Ciao!
-CECTPA KNHKEND :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)