I'm Home.

Oh my blessed family and loved ones!

Okay, okay, so much to say so little time! Fist off I hope I don't offend you by saying this but... I'm home. Like I love you all so much but the MTC is where I belong, and I feel more in place here than anywhere else, and I know it will feel like that for another 8 weeks and 6 days but when the the time comes for me to get to the wonderful land of Ukraine that will be home to me! The only thing that I have to complain about here is the fact that you guys cannot come and experience this with me!

It is absolutely incredible here! The spirit... holy cow is SOOO strong! Like every morning I walk outside and I think to my self "Wow the air feels really thick today.... yeah with the spirit!" It is such a blessing to be here when missionary work is such a huge thing! The place is PACKED!!!! Everywhere you look you see wonderful soldiers in God's army and it is the coolest thing. Both the Elders and Sisters walk around with such a bounce in their step, a smile on their face, with purpose in their stride and the amazing light of Christ in their eyes!

Everyday has been such an adventure here, and I have loved every second. I'm not just saying that! Like everyone was telling me "the first few days are really hard, but if you get to Sunday you'll be fine!" Umm... I hate to break it to you but I've been fine this whole time! You guys are a bunch of babies!!! ;) Just kidding! But seriously the Lord has blessed me so much while I've been here. Like the second I start to get like a sliver of homesickness Elder Brad Hauck (friend from High School) will pop his head in just to shake my hand and talk to me for a second, or I'll turn the corner and randomly bump into Elder Mason Paxman (also friend from High School), or Hermana Kiera Wright (friend from High School) will sneak up behind me and give me a much needed tight hug! Obviously Dixie High is repping here and it is legit! My district hates me because I always see people I know and they get so jealous! Haha I love it, I love my friends and the amazing examples they have been to me.

The first few days of the MTC were total crazyness! Due to the HUGE amount of missionaries teachers are scarce. Our district didn't actually have a real teacher until yesterday... so we have been teaching ourselves. It has been really cool to see our progression. Yeah it has been stressful, because we've been teaching an "investigator"... in Russian... since Friday. Crazy? Ya! So I would just go in and say Russian words than English words, pray that I would have the spirit with me and hope for the best. But now we have a teacher and I'm learning SO MUCH!!! My district is the best ever!! Missionaries from other districts would come in and literally be blown away by the bonds that we already have. At the end of the first day we were talking to each other like we've been friends for years! All the other districts in our building always tell us how jealous they are of the unity we have. So that is always really cool!

Okay now for the spiritual stuff. Disclaimer: some of this will blow your mind, Heavenly Father is amazing and some of these things may be too awesome to handle!

So the first day we came in we did a lot of orientation stuff. We went to little fireside type thing where we were welcomed by the MTC presidency and they spoke briefly to us. One thing that really stuck out to me in this meeting was a promise given to us by the President's wife she said "When you were set apart as a missionary, you were set apart from the world." What an amazing blessing! With all the filth and stupid things going on in the world, I'm so grateful that I don't have to be apart of it for at least 18 months.

Easter Sunday in the MTC. BEST THING OF MY LIFE!!!! We had the presiding bishop of the church and his wife come and speak to us. They came for sacrament meeting so they wanted us all to be in the room with them. We all packed into the "great and spacious building" auditorium... and some into the overflow and we all partook of the sacrament together! over 3,000 people at one time taking the sacrament! I wish you could have seen the elders, how reverently they went about making this ordinance as spiritual as it could be. It was incredible, and the spirit there, I cannot even describe. The bishop talked a lot about Easter and the resurrection of Christ and his sweet wife did the same. It was so good to not think about Russian for just a little while and just soak in every thing he had to say. I take super good notes on everything so when I get home we'll just go through all of my notebooks because my time is so limited on the computer! Sorry! But that night we had Sister Sheri Dew come and talk to us, and can I say wow? The focus of her talk was Christ isn't our second chance he is our only chance and I know that to be true!
So I wanted to share this story for last, because it is the thing that has inspired me the most since I have been here. There is and Elder in our district, Elder Jones, he's a young one, 18 turning 19 pretty soon. But anyways the first few days we were here at the MTC I told you our district immediately clicked and came together! But Elder Jones was having such a hard time! I tried everything I could to help make him feel included but nothing was working. You could tell he was super depressed all the time and while all of us were struggling with the language he was REALLY struggling... He couldn't say words that we have known how to say or days. It was so hard for me to see him struggle like this, and I kept wondering why. Every time I prayed I included him in my prayers asking Heavenly Father to just help him feel love and peace! But Friday night as we were all beginning our planning an Elder came in and told Elder Jones it was time for him to get set apart. "Get set apart?!?!" I thought "Oh duh!!!" Before he walked out the door I went up to him and promised him this is exactly what he needed and from now on he will be successful. With a hesitant smile he left the room to get his blessing. As he left I began thinking of how hard the last few days must have been for him! I could never have done the things I did the first few days with out the beautiful blessing that President Sullivan gave me or the sweet one that dad gave me before I left. How grateful I am for those blessings, thank you! I didn't see Elder Jones again that night but the next day I did and what a change!It was like night and day! Now he is the most friendly elder in our district he is our district LEADER and he is learning Russian just as fast as the rest of us!

The Priesthood is amazing, blessings do such great things that we ourselves cannot. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to bring this joy to others.

I want to end this email with a small testimony. I know this church is true! Why else would I leave my amazing family and friends?? HE LIVES!!! Christ died for us, but it didn't end there, He is risen He is risen! I am so grateful for Him and His love and sacrifice for us. I want to boast a little now... I can speak Russian.. like, kind of good. I am bearing my testimony in Russian and I am praying in Russian, I'm reading Russian, and I am talking to people in Russian, and Russian isn't easy, it's like way hard. I've only been here for like 6 days and I can do these things. But I say these things just like Ammon says in Alma 26:11-12 "I do not boast in my own strength nor in my own wisdom; but behold my joy is full, yea my heart is brim with joy and I will rejoice in my God. Yea I know that I am nothing as to my strength I am weak; therefor I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things;... for which I,(Mariel) will praise His name forever."! I have no doubt in my mind that I am doing all of these things because of the Lord. There is NO WAY I could learn this language as fast as I am without His help.

You all are the best, I love you more than you'll ever know! Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them and they are such a blessing, thank you! Thanks for the letters, I look forward to mail time everyday so keep them coming! :)
The church is true! Keep up the good work everyone love you so much!
Love,
Sister Mariel Lee
xoxoxoxoxoxo