The last few days...

Today was an exciting day for Elder Grochmal!  He left the MTC at 5:00 am to begin his journey to the Ukraine! After a flight to Washington D.C, he left for Austria and is flying all night, he will arrive there and quickly transfer to a flight to Kyiv, arriving there about 12:30 pm local time. His flight from SLC had 30 missionaries on it and his flight to Austria has 18 missionaries, all going to the Kyiv, Ukraine Mission. 12 sisters and 6 Elders. He called us quickly in SLC , then for a longer talk in D.C. He was able to talk to Mom and Dad, Caroline, Nate and Rachel and Megan and Justin. He spoke to us in Russian and actually sounded really good. He ate a Cafe Rio salad for breakfast in SLC and Chipotle for lunch in D.C.! Needless to say, he was very happy about that! He is so excited to get to the Ukraine and see where he will be assigned. He loves everyone and appreciates your letters and support!   

Ryan, Heidi and Karlie. Heidi is going to Washington D.C. Karlie is going to Norway and Lou Bob is going to the Ukraine. (Of course)

Ryan and Jacob!!! Jacob is going to Romania.

Week 8

Hello Family and Friends!!

Well only one more week and I will be boarding a plane and heading off to the UKRAINE!!! This past week has been so amazing here in the MTC! So first off we got our travel plans last Thursday! We were going crazy when we got them. Its a big deal because its like all we look forward to for the past 8 weeks. So my travel plans look a little like this:

Leave MTC May 28 at 4 am

Leave SLC at 7:50am

Arrive in DC at 2 pm local time

Leave DC at 5:35 pm local time

Arrive in Vienna, Austria May 29 at 8:35 am local time

Leave Vienna at 9:45 am local time

ARRIVE IN KIEV at 12:40 pm local time!!!!!

I am seriously so stoked and cant wait to get over there. I know it is going to be a very long journey but It is going to be so much fun. We have 18 missionaries traveling with us to our mission on the same day. There is 6 Elders and 12 Sisters! Also this week we got our new Russian name tags! We were waiting to get them forever and were so stoked when we finally got them. I will send a pic of my new tags!

Well this past week was so awesome. First off last Tuesday we had another amazing devotional! Elder Nelson from the Quorum of the Twelve came and spoke to us! It was so amazing to have another Apostle come and talk to us. He was so amazing. As soon as he walked into the room everyone just stood and went silent. There was such an overwelming feeling of the spirit when he walked into the room. I am so grateful to get to have two apostles while I was here at the MTC! Also the choir which I was a part of, sang Come Thou Font!! It was seriously so cool and such a good experience to get to sing infront of an apostle again.

On Wednesday my companion was pretty sick so we just stayed back all day and didnt go to class. I pretty much just studied and hung around all day. It was pretty fun.

On Saturday we got to skype with Russians again and teach them a 40 minute lesson. It was so much fun again to get to talk with natives and hear about their conversion story. So we asked him how did you find the church? and he went off for like 5 minutes in Russian about his conversion. My companion and I just sat there and nodded our heads. Then after he asked us if we understood what he said. We laughed and said just a little. He then told the whole story in English. haha. It was a pretty amazing story. None of his family accepted the Gospel but he did at 16 then served a mission in Kiev! It was cool to ask him because basically every single member in Eastern Europe and Russian are converts to the church since the church is so new to that area.

So on Sunday my companion and I got "released" as zone leaders.They dont really call it getting released because it is not realling a calling you get set apart for since we are already set apart as Missionaries. So yah Sunday was our last day and we had to hand down the torch. It was seriously such an amazing experience to get to serve as District Leader and Zone Leader while here at the MTC! I seriously learned so much while serving. I learned that I need to forget about myself while I am out here and worry about others and care and love for others. My Zone here at the MTC definetly has something special about it. Everyone just got along so well and looked out for each other. It made our duties a little easier. But I got to meet with my branch presidency on Sunday by myself and how special that was. I absolutely love them so much. They taught me so much since being here and i was lucky to get to become such good friends with them. They find it hard since we have so many missionaries to get to know everyone but since we worked with them every week, my relationship with them is amazing.

Well I guess this will be the last time hearing from me until I am in the Ukraine. Good bye America for the next 22 months!!! I cant believe how fast my time has flown here at the MTC! I loved every single minute of the MTC and especially all the friends that I made. I learned so much while being here it is ridiculous. The spirit is so strong here at the MTC and I am just constantly learning whether it is Russian or about Gospel principles. I am just constantly feeling the spirit and feeling good. Well I hope everyone back home or where ever you may be is doing well. I love all of you so much. I couldnt be doing this without all of you. Thanks for all the support everyone. I wish I could write about 30 individual letters but I just dont have the time. I love you all so much. I know that this church is true. I know that I am here on a mission for a reason. Its not for me its for the people of the Ukraine. I am here to help bring them unto Christ. I am just here to deliver the message while the Spirit does the teaching. Once again I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Grochmal

P.S. this being my last week I would love to here from all of you. I really just want to hear from you all so bad before I leave. I know once I get over there it will be harder for you to send me letters. You can send me emails once I get there and I will get them. But please I would love some DearElders these next couple days to help me as I prepare to embark on this amazing journey! Mailbox #154. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Week 7

Hello Family and Friends!!!!

Another awesome week at the MTC! I cant believe I have been here for 7 weeks already and will be leaving in 2 weeks! I am so ready to get out in the field.

Well this past week was very very busy as usual. So last Wednesday we got new Russian missionary that came into our Branch. As Zone Leader we had to welcome them on wednesday and give them a little orientation. It was so much fun to get to know all of them. There was about 10 of them and 8 of them are going to Kiev!! There is 6 sisters and 4 elders. Then on Thursday night we give another big orientation with the whole branch presidency. It was so awesome and so much fun to once again bond with the new missionaries and make them feel as welcome as possible.

This past week we continued to teach our "fake" progressing investigators just about every single day. Our lessons have been going so awesome and the language is very difficult but I feel more confident every day. I know that the Holy Ghost helps me so much in my lessons. So on saturday we were teaching our investigator Anotolee and it was our final lesson because we had his baptism schelduled for Sunday. So we were just teaching him the process of baptism that he will partake in and then reviewing the interview questions. From the beginning of the lesson things didnt feel right. He was not paying attention and kinda being aggressive towards us. We started asking him the baptism questions and all of the sudden he was saying no to everything and that he doesnt want baptism anymore. I know that this was a fake investigator but it felt so real. We have taught him for 5 weeks and he was so excited then he just fell away. I tried bearing my testimony to him so sincerly and telling him that i know he knows the church is true etc. But he would pay attention and ask to pray and leave. It was a real eye opener for my companion and I. It showed us a little bit of real life. Our teacher talked to us after class and obvuoulsy told us he did this to us on purpose but he didnt do it to anyone else. He said that we need not be mad our investigator but feel sad  for him. It helped me alot and I told me teacher thank you for doing it cause I learned alot.

So on saturday morning we got to Skype with real Russians. So every week we have TRC where usually BYU students come to the MTC and we teach them a lesson. They play themselves as members so we just teach like a family home evening lesson. It is so much fun. So saturday we did our TRC through Skype with a Russian living in Latvia. We taught him a 40 minute lesson obviously in only Russian. It was so cool to speak with a native who lives there and teach him a lesson. It was so suprising that we were able to hold a 40 minute lesson in Russian. I was shocked after with how much we knew and the ability to speak with him and just have a conversation.

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to the oldest district in our branch. They have been here with us ever since we got here but there 9 weeks was up and they were all headed off to Russia. We became such good friends with all of them so it was very very hard to say goodbye. They woke us up at 4 in the morning to say bye. I cant wait to here from them about the journey and experiences in Russia!!

Tonight for devotional the choir is singing Come Thou Fount!!! I am so excited! I love singing in the choir so much. I know I am not the best singer but the spirit is so true when we sing. Thats the only reason I go. And i hope to get my face on the screen while we sing. haha.

So I see Jacob every single day here in the MTC. We have basically the same meal time so its nice to see him the caferteria and talk to him for a while. Also I am soooooo stoked on Truman's mission call. My companion grew up in New Zealand actually and he said that the south Island is so ridiculously beautiful. I am so happy for him. I love hearing about mission calls because since being here I want everyone to serve missions. I absolutely love the mission so much. My testimony has grown so much and the spiritual experiences that I have felt are out of this world. I know this church is true with all my heart. There is no where else I want to be right now than out here serving the Lord.

I love all of you so much. Thank you for all the letters and dearelders that you all send. I have only have two more weeks in here so send as much as possible cause once I get to the Ukraine letters are ridiculous hard to get. Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

я люблю вас

старейшина грокмал

Elder Grochmal.

Week 6

Hello Family and Friends!!

Well 6 weeks down in the MTC! Only 3 more weeks from today and I will be boarding a plane to go to the Ukraine!! I can't believe I am leaving for the field so soon. I am seriously so excited to get out there and start serving the people! One of my good friends from the MTC left to Kiev three weeks ago and I get his weekly emails every week. After reading them It has made me so much more excited to get out there. He is having a blast!

This past week was so amazing. First off last Wednesday I got to host Jacob when he showed up here at the MTC! It was the greatest experience ever. I was so excited to see him and just welcome him to the MTC. It was awesome to see his parents too! Its always nice to see familiar faces. I took jacob and checked him in and them we went to his dorm and we just chilled for like 30 minutes and talked about life. It was so nice to be back together with him. I then took him on a tour of the MTC and showed him everything and then I took him to class. I see him every single day during all of our meal times. It is so much fun to see him and ask him how things are going and see how Romanian is coming along. Also while being an escort at the beginning I escorted a early arrival missionary from Canada. He was from Medicine Hat and going to serve in the Winnipeg mission. It was pretty funny to talk to him about Canada and everything. He was a good guy.

This past week has been crazy busy. Being Zone Leader is very difficult but so much fun. I have gotten to know almost every missionary in our zone very well. Our zone is so big so it has been hard. We are still the biggest in the MTC. I have alot of responsibilities but my campanion and I have been doing well. I love our Branch Presidency so much. My Branch President was a mission president of the Moscow mission so he is fluent in Russian. He talks to us all teh time in Russian and I have no clue what he is saying. It is prettty funny!

So at our Sunday night Fireside we had Chad Lewis come to speake to us!!! For those of you who dont know him he played in the NFL for the Eagles for about 10 years. He served a mission in Taiwan. It was seriously one of the greatest talks ever. It made me so stoked to go and preach the gospel. It was like a giant pump up talk. It brought me back to the old days when Coach Curran used to give us pre game speeches to get us excited and ready to play. Chad Lewis was basically giving the whole MTC a giant pre game speech before we head out of here. It was so awesome. He talked about his time in the NFL and how since he served a mission chinese that he is now the Chinese Ambassador of the NFL. He is seriously so amazing!

So we started a new schedule last week. I absolutely love it so much. We have alot more time for studying. We also have an extra 45 minutes in the morning to get ready. Lately my campanion and I have gone running in the morning and have been doing some crazy workouts. It has been so fun. We still get our normal Gym everyday so we play basketball almost everyday.

Our lessons this past week were so amazing. My comapanion and I have been working super hard so our lessons can go more smooth. We have been teaching full 20 minutes lessons without any notes at all. We taught all teh commandments this past week which were very difficult because of all the new vocabuluary but they went awesome. Also we combined with one of the new districts and we practiced teaching them. I got to teach and elder one on one the whole first lesson about the Restoration. I was so shocked how much Russian I knew and my ability to teach him without using any notes or anything. It was so crazy. Russian is so fun and interesting actually. Almost every single word you say, you have to change the ending and put it into a case. We have 6 cases. But about 30 different endings. It is so hard to put them in the right case but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty sweet. You dont have to put your sentences in any order at all. Because of the endings the words can go anywhere!

Well I love all of you. Thank you so much for all the Dear Elders and letters. I love them so much and they make my days so much better. Love you all.

я люблю вас

жизен хорошо

мне наравитса мтс

я благодарный быт здесь

люблюв,

старейшина грокмал

Elder Grochmal.

Week 5

Hello Family and Friends!

As you can tell my p-day has changed to Tuesday now. We got a whole new schedule that started last week! I love it so much. It works in our favor way more than the other schedule we used to have.

Well this past week was pretty awesome. So much went on and I learned so much this past week.

First off I was let go as district leader on Sunday. It was so amazing to serve for the last 5 weeks as our district leader. I learned so much about being a good leader and how to minister to others. It was so great to get to help all the missionaries in my district come closer to Christ by teaching them and trying to be a good example.

Well as soon as I was told I was not District Leader anymore my Branch president pulled my campanion and I into a room and he asked us to be the new Zone Leaders!!! We obviously accepted and we started our duty as Zone Leaders on Sunday. It has been so much fun so far. On sunday we have so many meetings and we get to sit on the stand during sacrament. Every night we go around to all the rooms of our zone and check up on everybody. It has been so awesome to get to know everyone so well and feel all their testimonies. Right now we have the biggest Branch in the whole MTC! There are about 50 branches. So my companion get to watch over about 80 missionaries! Its seriously so crazy. Most branches have between 20-30 missionaries but we have 80. We got 28 new missionaries last Wednesday for our Branch. They are all so amazing. I have gotten to know all of them so well and become such good friends with all of them already. I am so grateful for this new calling as Zone Leader!!!

So my companion has had this thing wrong with his foot since he got here. So we went to the health center and they told him he needs to get new shows asap. So we got to go shopping out in the real world for a couple of hours. We had a shuttle take us down to like downtown Provo area and they droppped us off and we walked to a shoe store. We were there for a while then after we walked around for a little. It was so weird to be outside of the MTC! It was our first time back in a car for a month!! It was so cool cause everyone was like honking at us and waving and yelling hey elders!! It was such a fun little field trip out of the MTC!!!

Like I mentioned earlier we started a new schedule yesterday. We have gym last thing at night 3 times a week. So last night we got back from gym 30 minutes before any other missionaries got back to the dorms. So I thought of a brilliant idea to do as a zone with all of our missionaries. So there is this Russian song called Katusha and we all learned how to sing it. It is about 3 minutes long! So our whole zone went into the hall and did wall sits against the wall in a huge line and then we all sang Katusha. It was seriously one of the coolest things we have done here! it was so cool to hear all us missionaries singing this song in Russian. Oh and of course my legs were dying after. We then got in a line and did lunges around the whole building while yelling sila everytime. It means like power/strenght in Russian. It was pretty awesome. Our Zone has become very very close and it is so awesome to spend time with all of them.

This past week I think I taught about 5-6 lessons to fake progessing investigators. My Russian is getting better everyday but it is seriously sooooo hard. We taught our two investigators the word of wisdom yesterday and it was so difficult. It was all new vocabulary we havent really studied. My teacher doesnt want us using notes at all either so we just had to go for it. It actually went very well and we were able to get our point across I hope. Not sure if we made complete sense but it was all good.

Well the MTC is amazing. I cant believe I leave here exactly 4 weeks from today! May 28 is my departure date!! So insane! I cant wait to get out to the field and start teaching the people of the Ukraine. I cant believe how much I have learned since being here. Everyday we study about 60% Doctrine and only 40% Russian. I am so happy we get to learn so much about the church and how to teach our investigators.

I am so excited for Jacob to get here on Wesnesday. It is seriously all i can think about. I am going to try to be his host at the curb!

Thanks for all the Dear Elders and letters you all send me! I love every single of them and appreciate them so much. Please keep them coming. Love you all so much.

Here is a little Russian. It takes forever to type so here is just a little.

я знаю что церковь иисуса христа святых последних дней истина

ya shnau shto terkov eesoosa christa cvyatee posleednee dnee eesteena

I know the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.

я люблю тебя

ya loblue tebia

I Love You

старейшина грокмал

Staresheena grokmal

Elder Grochmal