Time Flies!

Three weeks! One third of the MTC! 21 days!

.....it does NOT feel like 21 days.

I have finally started to turn into a missionary. When one of my roommates broke down crying the other night, I didn't know what to do and just quoted scripture for 10 minutes. When I talk about my college roommates, I call them my companions sometimes. When new people came in yesterday who I knew, they yelled "Kalli!" and I about jumped as high in the air with fright as the wizards in Harry Potter did when they heard the name "Voldemort." It was like my past....haunting me....

Just kidding :) Sister Parsons and I still don't know what to call each other. Calling each other our first names is SO weird, but calling each other sister parsons and sister abbott sounds weird too...too formal. We joke that we knew each other before this life by a different name, and that is why it sounds so weird.

Weird Sister Parsons moment:
In the temple today, we were sitting in the celestial room, and we looked in a mirror and we looked like sisters. No, not missionary sisters. Like almost twins. Our faces were shaped exactly the same and our hair is only one shade different....It was the STRANGEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED.

Sestra Parsons and Abbott

SO this week was basically the same awesomeness as all the other weeks, but here are some highlights--

Earlier this week a sister was feeling down, so her companion organized a giant sound of music production in the hallway before bed. I had to be Ralph. That was interesting. (This is all I will say on the subject).

Our investigators (our uciteli (teachers)) are really actually trying us. It is hard! And Slovak is hard, man! This week, we found out that apparently, there are all these different cases for every single word. So you have to change every verb, adjective, noun, well, practically every word, to fit the context of the sentence. It is surprisingly not frustrating. This is one of those moments when I know I am being supported by the Lord, and this is where I'm supposed to be. It is indescribable--to have that spirit with you all the time.
Hahah quickly--while we were learning the grammar principles, Starsi Kuhlmann says "Satan is real!"

We were all taking turns saying the different vowel sounds, and we beat boxed. With slovak vowel sounds. Welcome to mission insanity.

These are the kinds of discussions Sister Parsons and I have in Slovak: SP: "Why did you eat my cake?" SA: "Because you rejected me and ate my cake!"

Our companions subjects are nothing less than amazing. We just started studying Jesus the Christ together, and really, Jesus IS the Christ. I love this book and I love the insights we share! It is amazing the way that the Lord teaches you through the spirit when you are really trying to learn. We are amazed that we are so similar since we have come from completely different backgrounds! It is a really weird feeling to feel like I've known her my whole life--I've already told her more than I've told most of my friends back home (no offense)! But really. We were put together for a reason.

Sister Parsons got to talk to our mission president on the phone this week when she was figuring out some things with her parents visiting her, and it was so great! Presdient McConkie is the kindest man. Slovakia is ready for us! (We are not ready for Slovakia). But yeah! I guess they only have sisters in 3 cities--trencin, kosice, and bratislava. And, since there will only be two sisters when we get there, he is going to bring in a czech sister (!) for half a transfer to help train all four of us. Scary! Ja som bat' sa!

Volleyball is still fun. There were some naive stateside people who were at gym for the first time and hadn't quite grasped the concept of "Tied fun to fun." it was so funny to see them get so upset when their companions weren't setting the ball for them etc. etc. We just were laughing about it and talking in slovak saying "Ti si mukel!" (you are a muggle!) and "Ja som bat' sa" (I am scared). It was seriously so funny.

P.S. I gave in to the donuts, they are so yummy.

Lastly, I got to host this week!!! Oh hooray! The only bad thing about this is that I've discovered I'm a very sympathetic crier, so whenever there was a sobbing family, I had to hand them off to a different sister (hee hee). But it was SO fun. I loved taking the new sisters around to their rooms and seeing all their faces when they first entered the MTC. They are all so sweet and they come from all over the world! Best day ever.

Just one tidbit this week that I really feel like I need to share: We are really working on not comparing ourselves to others. We watched the parable of the talents, and I discovered a wonderful scripture: 2 Corinthians 8: 14: "But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be at a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality". Equality is a totally different concept than we see it usually in the world! If we can use our strengths to build others up and be humble enough to accept their help with your weaknesses, the strength of the group will be incredible.
Here is a wonderful part of Pres. Uchdorf's "forget me not" talk that goes along with this:

"I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.

Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

It’s wonderful that you have strengths.

And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths,1 but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect,2 and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself."

Anyway, hopefully I will send some pictures today. Love you all!
Sestra Abbott
Enjoy the view.