Elder Jacob Fisher : My Armenian is Getting Better (And the Russians Are Coming)

July 10, 2019

My Armenian is Getting Better (And the Russians Are Coming)

გამარჯობა!

This week has been great! I have decided that Tuesdays are always the best day. Only one period of class. Devotional and devotional review are both amazing!! The speakers are super great and the insights that everyone gets in our district meeting are always enlightening. Brother Muir is gone for the rest of the week, so I have had substitutes that don't know the Georgian language so I have to just work on my own. So far I have had a Russian teacher, Brother Belnap, and a Ukrainian teacher, Sister Stromberg. Apparently, a good number of you may know Brother Belnap if you learned Russian at the MTC in the past 2 years. Crazy number of connections with him. I also had some really good doctrinal discussions in English with both subs. The spirit was very strong and I gained some new insights each time. With Brother Muir being gone, the Armenians have lost a source of humor. His ties are hilariously short all the time. And he always looks unimpressed. We love him. But he needs to fix his ties.

The Armenians had an English fast this week. That means very little communication with them throughout the day. Luckily, I am able to understand a good amount. They all had their "NO ENGLISH" signifiers, so that everybody knows that they can't communicate with them. I put on a little tag that said "ENGLISH TRANSLATOR". Since I have a better understanding of Armenian than anyone else at the MTC, I am able to help others communicate with the Armenians. Sometimes it turns into a big game of charades where they include some Georgian and other Armenian words I know. It is fun to do that, but a bit unfortunate that I can't easily speak with my district. Whatever, it's important for their development. I don't really get that opportunity, but there's a reason God has for me learning Georgian alone, so it must be for the best.

Independence Day was good. We had a short devotional with our zone about religious freedom. We were forced to stay up late and watch the fireworks. My companion and I were not fans. Choir this week was good. The normal choir director was not there, we had a sub. Elmo Kek. Brother Elmo Kek (This may or may not be the correct spelling of his last name). That is right his first name is Elmo. As a result, Elder Lott has decided to name one of his children Mo. He has good list. Almost as good as mine. Today we are getting 22 new Russian speakers. It's so crazy. There are so many new missionaries here today.

To end, I would like to have a word with you all on the power of asking questions. I'm finishing up this email and, my companion, Elder Butterfield is doing some study on The Book of Mormon. He going through and finding each time it refers to Jesus Christ. There's some ambiguity in who is being discussed. The God of the Old Testament, Jehovah, is the same as the God of the Book of Mormon, but sometimes it does appear to be referring to God the Father. About ten times as I've been writing emails today, he's pulled me away to ask who is being referred to. We discuss, reread, look at footnotes, and we come to an answer each time. He asks the same question, but in a different way each time. I learn and he learns. I've seen the power of a good question do a lot. Be able to answer good questions. Currently I'm reading Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage. The insights in that book are incredible. Of course I will recommend The Book of Mormon to you all first because its insights are unmatched, but both are worth your time. Not only should you be able to answer questions, we should be able to ask excellent questions. Ask me questions. Ask your parents good questions. Ask your spouse good questions. Ask your heroes and teachers good questions. There is a lot to be learned on both ends from a good question.

ნახვამდის!

--უხუცესი ფიშერი

Elder Lott staring at Crazy Aaron Putty