1st Mission Email!

We received this e-mail from Elder Olivier on August 25, 2021.

Здравствуйте! (That took me forever to type haha)

I'm officially more than 1/3 done with my online training to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! I've already completed over 3 weeks of training, and have less than 6 weeks left before I fly out to Ukraine.

So far, it's been a blast to meet my district (a group of other missionaries learning Russian) and my teachers. My companion, Elder Lohman, is a super great guy and he's fun to work with. My teachers are also super great, and they all have served missions in Russia.

I also had a chance on Saturday to try some Ukrainian food from a market in Philadelphia. I'm normally not one to critique food, but with all respect to the country and culture, let's just say if that's the type of food I'll be getting in Ukraine, I think it's likely I'll lose some weight while I'm there for two years. So hopefully I'll learn to like the food haha. Also a note on food–– there is a popular dish in Russia and Ukraine called Olivier salad, so all 3 of my teachers have asked me on 3 separate occasions if I know my last name is a type of salad.

Recently I had a chance to study Ether chapter 12 in the Book of Mormon. I really like verse 27, which says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." If we have faith in Jesus Christ, he can help us overcome our weaknesses. As a new missionary called to speak Russian, I know there is a lot I have to learn, so I'll have to rely on the promise in this verse.

Старейшина Оливье

(For the minority of you that don't speak Russian, that means Elder Olivier)