Well, two things are official: 1) Spring is here, and 2) I have been here for two months.
First, Spring. Everywhere I look, I see green grass coming up somewhere. I am almost surprised at the amount of grass in the city. I would have never guessed by the gray ground that grass would grow there. In the melting weeks, the city looked like a big trash can. In fact, one of my students described the city as such. That is no longer the case. People have swept, bagged, and burned the dead leaves, garbage and such over the last week. I saw about thirty black garbage bags full of leaves and things all stacked next to each other, waiting to be loaded into a truck.
One thing of interest is people sweep the streets- literally. I saw a man standing on the street using a broom to clean the street. Spring cleaning is the real thing here! With the arrival of Spring, the sun has come out as well. The last week had a high temperature of +20 C (or 68 F). I did some spring cleaning for myself and put away my winter clothes into my suitcases on Saturday. It is nice to walk to school with only a light jacket instead of a winter coat!
Second, my two month mark is here! It hardly seems like it could have already been two months since I was in the States. At the same time, I feel like I have been here forever. I call the house that I live in 'home' and still call the States 'home' as well. It can be quite confusing talking about moms and homes with the other teachers. It becomes hard to tell if they (or I) am talking about home in Voronezh or home in the States.
I learned how to make Овсяное from my host mom last night. They are a type of cookie that I love! I am super excited to make them for the rest of my life! I am sure they won't turn out quite as good as my host mom's cookies, but they might just be close enough. I also learned how to make Сомпот last night. That is a juice made from fruit. I love that too! Things to look forward to upon my arrival home!
I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to be here in Voronezh. I have realized the weaknesses I thought were strengths. I have also come to recognize my own personal standards as they have been attacked. I know what I want out of the future, and I am excited to work towards all of my righteous goals! The Lord has a plan for me that I am trying to follow.
It has been wonderful to attend church in the Voronezh Branch. The Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here reminds me very much of the Church in the early days. The Saints here have sweet and strong testimonies. I have been amazed at the strength they have in the truth of Joseph Smith and in the Book of Mormon. We have a member of the Branch Presidency who attends our Sunday School lesson. He never ceases to amaze me and remind me of who I am. I feel towards him as if he was my brother... maybe almost my father. Several times, Brother Zhenya has shared his conversion story with us and told us to "never go out of the Church". I have been so blessed to be born into a family strong in the gospel. I have also been given the privilege to be reared in the teachings of the gospel.
I am so excited to start a family of my own in the future, to rear my own children in the knowledge of the gospel and of a loving Heavenly Father. I know that joy and happiness come from living true to the values that are taught through the scriptures. I also know that the Lord will not lead His children astray if we strive to live worthy of His Spirit. He also provides a way for us to accomplish our righteous desires. I challenged myself to read the entire Doctrine and Covenants in a week, and I would not have accomplished that goal if the Lord had not blessed me with an empty day to just read. I am happy to say that I did finish reading the Doctrine and Covenants, although it was in eight days instead of seven. I learned a lot in those eight days, and I feel that I replenished my spirit's thirst for the time being.
This has turned into a novel. Have a wonderful day!
Пока
These are the crazy monkeys of the Basic Reading class. From left to right, there is Andrei, Olianna, Sonia, Dima, Posha, Senya, Igour and Zhenya. You can probably tell that they are really crazy monkeys by the picture, but they are cute and funny at the same time. Kids!
