June 7, 2020
გარჯობა მეგობრებო!
Exactly one year ago yesterday, I
was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. June 12th will mark my one year anniversary of entering into the
Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. If this occasion didn't pop up, I
don't know if I would've written this email, so that's pretty lucky. In this
email, I'll take some time to reflect on all that has happened in the past year
by going through and highlighting the best parts of each portion of my
mission.
MTC
The MTC was a hoot and a half. It
was nine weeks on that fairly tiny campus with a clear view every day of the
exact room I slept in while I was at BYU. It really was super fun. Since we were
there in the early summer, we got the opportunity to meet our new mission
president, President Picard. That was a great experience. He really is an
incredible man. Plus I can always rub it into the other missionaries' faces that I was the first Georgian missionary that he ever met. Being with 10
Armenian speaking missionaries was fantastic but was not great for my language
skills. Not having anyone to talk to except my teachers was not super convenient.
It was also summer, so the teachers were gone for longer lengths of time for
vacation. With all these factors in place, I was able to learn a lot of
Armenian. Not to say it's not super cool to know some words, but the ratio of
Georgian to Armenian knowledge is much too high. The MTC was also where I
started to develop actually good study habits. That's right. College and high
school were nearly useless for that. I actually became disciplined in my
studies and I grew a great love for studying the language and the scriptures.
It was such an easy life there in Provo. It was necessary. I learned a lot
about myself, but the most important skill I developed was the ability to
recognize the promptings of the spirit.
Transfer 1: Elder Hunt/Delisi
After days of travel, I finally
ended up in Tbilisi, Georgia. My first night in Georgia was weird. I didn't
have many expectations, but the ones I did have were not high. I did not sleep
well that first night, but that's just because I was sleeping on a garbage cot.
My sleep was not optimal for my whole first transfer. My first full day was a
zone conference and a baptism. That's super unusual. I gained a lot of insights
that transfer with Elder Hunt. I learned some dos and don'ts of being a
district leader. I learned some dos and don'ts of training. I learned some dos
and don'ts of studying. I learned a lot of do's and don'ts. He was supposed to
train me and I was supposed to be trained by him. I have no doubt about that.
We really did learn a lot together. We could've been better at a lot of things,
but that is the case with literally everything in life. I learned how to think
deeper and pray more sincerely in those first three months here. That pondering
and prayer has led to many great discoveries and pieces of personal revelation,
including my own reasons and purposes for being called here to Georgia.
Transfer 2: Elder Nilsson/Delisi
& Saburtalo
My favorite Canadian! This was a
really interesting transfer. We moved apartments, I broke my toe and I got made
district leader of a four-person district. Elder Nilsson and I got along very
well. Probably the best I got along with any of my companions thus far. We
debated about something almost every day, which you might think were arguments,
but I assure you they were in the spirit of learning and fun. We also learned a
lot from each other and we had some very, very, very memorable experiences that
I doubt either of us will forget. Christmas was also pretty good. Going to
Armenia is always fun and spending time with the other 3/4 of the missionaries
is good for us.
My favorite part of the transfer was
the last four weeks. At that point, another one of the most experienced Elders
went home for a surgery that had to be done in the US. That same week, we found
out that another district leader was going home the next week, just three
weeks early. This turned our district into one of just two companionships.
During the remaining three weeks, the four of us became very good friends. We
grew to understand each other very well and we were able to teach and
communicate with each other more effectively. There was a true sense of love
and unity between us all and it was one of the most spiritually uplifting
experiences of my life. During that transfer I began learning the importance of not
only knowing but understanding. The connection between these two principles is
applicable in just about every situation you find yourself in. Whenever you gain
knowledge, you grow and appreciate that thing about which you have learned, but
when you understand something, you grow a love for it and you can work with it
better. This is true for relationships, the gospel, music, math, and everything
else.
Transfer 3: Elder Bergeson &
Elder Herr/Saburtalo & Quarantine
Training! Just about every missionary
in Georgia has to train another missionary at some point. I got my opportunity
earlier on, but I did not get to finish due to COVID-19. But let's focus on the
weeks leading up to this madness. In the weeks with Elder Bergeson I realized
that I have a talent for patience. Now, I don't have anything against Elder
Bergeson. He was a really motivated, hard-working missionary. Just about
immediately after I met him I noticed the 'just-graduated-from-high school'
vibe from him. It was in no way inexperience. That is expected anyway since no
one knows what a mission is like. He was just the classic intelligent
jock from high school and all that comes with it. This was the most negative of
his attributes. The most positive was his absolute diligence in learning the
language. He picked up on everything so quickly. He was learning things in his
first couple of weeks that I had learned the week before he got to Georgia. He was
good. Really good. I'm excited for his return. With him, I learned a lot about
myself and how I want to perceive people and be perceived. I learned that
having patience and immediately forgiving for the little things makes things go
smoothly. I also realized that when one person in the companionship is
committed to getting along with the other, things will work out nicely. Then
the second person might get upset, but the key is knowing how much of that is
your own fault and reconciling accordingly. If you get upset, it's your fault.
If you upset somebody else, it's your fault too. But the ratio will change with
each scenario.
Well halfway through the transfer,
everybody went home. We all know this part of the story. We've all gone through
it. We all had to adjust a lot of things. We had to spend our time differently
and with different people. Our routines are messed up, but it's getting easier.
The biggest thing I realized from those first couple weeks of uncertainty, was
that everything has a way of working out the way it should. If you zoom out
enough (pun intended), you'll find a place where it just all falls into place.
You don't even have to take a religious view of this principle. It's just true.
It just so happens that it's true in the religious sense as well.
Transfer 4: Elder Springer/Temka
This marks the fourth transfer in
which I am over the Saburtalo area. I don't know if I've learned what I'm
supposed to yet this transfer, but I have a guess. Repentance. When it comes
down to it, that is all we are supposed to teach as missionaries. That is
repenting or returning towards the ways of our Heavenly Father. This is a daily
matter. Are you perfect? Then repent. Repentance is constant. We should always
be working towards continual repentance and perfection. What else is this life
other than our time to prepare to meet God?
This next year will be interesting.
It'll all be in Georgia. I'll be the most experienced missionary in the country
in five weeks. I need to step up. I need to repent just as you do. Yes, I know
you do. Pray. Study. Do the things you find are needful in order for you to be in
a better place with our Eternal Heavenly Father. I will too. I promise.
Anyway. I hope everything improves
for you all as it is for us. Have a good rest of the year and I'll try to have
a good next year. See you soon.
--უხუცესი ფიშერი
