Week 3!

Hello Family and Friends.

What an amazing week to be here at the MTC! First off i want to tell you about last night. So every Tuesday we have a devotional and guess who spoke to us? Elder Richard G. Scott of the twelve Apostles!!! Everyone so so shocked! See they dont tell us who is gonna speak so we always try to guess and when he walked in it was like the biggest gasps of air ever! His talk was seriously AMAZING!! He first focused on us missionaries and I just felt li8ke he was speaking directly to me. He kept speaking about how hard it is to learn another language and to not get discouraged and that the Lord will help you! He then talked about prayer and vital it is to us as missionaries. At the end he bestowed a blessing upon all of us. It was the coolest thing ever to hear an Apostle in person give a blessing upon all the missionaries that we may learn the language and that we may have success. So once he finished we sang a hymn and right as the girl who was going to say the prayer starting walking towards the stand Elder Scott jumped back up and stopped her and went to the stand to talk some more. He told us he does not want us to fail and that we have been called to serve from God. It was the best talk ever. I feel the talk has changed me and made me so much more excited to get out and serve the people of the Ukraine!

Also my companion and I have been singing in the choir. So last night we sang "Nearer My God to Thee" for Elder Scott. It was the most powerful song i have ever sang in my life. I had chills the whole time. After we finished Elder Scott got up to the podium and said with tears in his eyes, "I feel like i have died and gone to heaven." I felt so special at that moment to be part of the choir.

So ill tell some more about the rest of my week. Last Wednesday we partook in our first TRC teaching experience. Its when students of BYU or locals come to the MTC and we teach them in Russian. It is so much fun! The people usually help you so much and just want to talk to you about your mission especially!

We did 3 more SYL's this week where we only speak Russian to each other! They are getting better. We arent having silent meals anymore as a district. There is usually more talking now.

So this week I was able to give to blessings to members of my district! It was so such an amazing experience! The first was for a Cectpa(sister) in my district. She has been sick for a few days and she asked me for a blessing. It was such a cool experience to have my district help perform the blessing and i also asked my teacher to join in. He is so fun! Then the same day at night time I performed another blessing for an elder in my District. We as a district joined with the district next door in the dorms and did the blessing. The elders next door have become like our best friends! They are all going to the Baltics Russian speaking. We do everything with them. They are so much fun.

My district has become very close. We all love each other so much. Every day our Russian is getting better! We sing in Russian everyday! that is coming along! It is hard to sing because we are still trying to get used to the new alphabet!!

We had two districts from our branch leave on Monday! It was sad to say by to them! They taught us so much! There were about 8 elders going to Kiev in the bunch! My really good friend Elder Knight just left! He told me he would email me all the details and what i need to survive!

Over all it was a great week in the MTC! Ive had so many spiritual experiences and i am so grateful to be on a mission at this time!

Oh and THANK YOU so much for all the DearElders that you all keep sending! I am so sorry I havent responded to most of them! I am working on it! I am so busy! I promise i am getting them and love all of them! Please Please keep sending them! They make me happy! Mailbox # 154

Elder Grochmal

(Ryan has had a few visitors in Provo since he has been in the MTC. Apparently the "run into" him at the temple while he is there with the other missionaries...haha!)

These are some Elders who left for the mission field this week!