It's a new world

So this week has been pretty crazy. So much has happened. So I will start off with the plane trip. We started off going all the way to Amsterdam and it was definitely the longest I have ever flown. On the plane I meet this guy from Kuwait. Yeah it is the middle east, but don't be alarmed he is the nicest guy ever. I ended up talking to him and giving him a book of Mormon. He is a photographer and showed us some of his pictures. They are amazing. Then in Amsterdam and Russia nothing really important happened just chilling in the airport. Then we got to Armenia and meet our Mission President and his wife. They are so amazing I love them so much. We hung out there for a couple days and had to do interviews and such. While some were getting interviewed, the first counselor in the Mission presidency showed around Yerevan a little. I will attach some pictures of Yerevan. It was super cool seeing the old Architecture. Then I got put in my area the next day with my companion Elder Johnson. We are in Vanadzor and it is the third biggest city in Armenia. This place is pretty cool. people are always out side. Very different from home.

When I meet people here they all think that I am Chinese, but no worries. I can see why they think that. The important thing is that you can tell that they have a love for other people. The people here are amazing. 

So this week we have a few people we have been teaching. One got a baptismal date for next week, but just needs to stop smoking so that he can be baptized on that date. The other one is a little kid he is 9 years old and is trying to decide if he is going to be baptized. Its weird because his mom is a member. I know when I was 8 years old I did now question baptism. I just did it, but I think it is good that he is trying to figure it out for himself and only 9 years old. That is how we gain a testimony. He has said yes, but wants to study a little more. He should be baptized in 2 weeks if he goes through with it. 

The food here is pretty good. There is a lady in our ward that we call "mom" that made us food last night and is super nice. 

Yeah this week has been amazing. I didn't really understand a whole lot, but everyone here is amazing and I can tell that they love their Heavenly Father. Even though we had 67 people in our branch and 29 people in our group this week, they all love our Father in Heaven. It doesn't matter if there were only 10 people in church. This church is true and the work is moving forward. Always say your prayers and read the Book of Mormon- it is important. I love all of you.

Elder Sproul 

This is Armenia. One of them is the Memorial for the Genocide. The one that looks like a circle and the other statue is mother Armenia. 

I am ready

So yeah this week not very many things happened. I think the most eventful things that happened is we had infield orientation and we got to do a thing called people in our purpose. So in infield orientation they just went over things that we would be doing in the field. They kind of went over stuff I already knew so it felt really long because it was an all day thing. We started at 8 in the morning and did not get done until 5 for dinner.

People in our purpose was really cool. What we did there was we were being missionaries to an "investigator" and introducing them so that the new missionaries could kind of see what that was like and they would take over from there. It was cool because it was a little bit of a change of pace from our regular class day. 

This week I have been really focusing on making sure that I say my prayers with sincerity. Sometimes when I was back home I would get in a rut of saying the same stuff in our prayers, but we are having a conversation and we need to treat it as such. 

The Church is true and I come to know that each and every day. Always say your prayers and read The Book of Mormon is it the most correct of any book on this earth. 

Sorry the letter wasn't that long this week its just always the same here, but I will have more to write about next week once I get to Armenia. I am so excited to be in Armenia and serve the Lord. 

Elder Sproul 

Days of MTC on countdown

This week not a whole lot happened. I feel like all of the weeks are blending together and it just feels like we are doing the same things over and over again. On Friday we all got our flight plans. I will be leaving on May 24th and arrive in Armenia on May 26th at 2 in the morning. It is definitely going to be a long day of travel, but I can not wait for that day to come. 

So this week I think the thing that stood out most is that I am district leader now. So on Tuesday I got to lead the district review. There is really not that much responsibility, but its just cool being the leader now. Other than that this week we got to Skype someone from Armenia and had an amazing devotional. 

It it really weird because when I talkto Armenian people, I immediately have this love for the people. The Lord really does call you where you are supposed to go. All of the people there are amazing and I can wait to just spend time with them and get to know them a little better. I have not met one person from Armenia that is not nice - its really is crazy. Granted I have only meet like 3 or 4 people, but still its cool. 

So the Devotional this week was amazing. It was the Relief society president for the whole church who came and talked to us. She told us a bunch of stories of what her kids said were the most important things on their missions. The two things I remember the most is to love the people and open your mouth. Do not be afraid to open your mouth if the Spirit tells you to say it than say it. I may not know all of the words, but who cares as long as I have the Spirit they will feel that. Loving the people I think is the most important thing. If you love the people you will want to see them succeed and come unto the gospel. They are all children of God and deserve to hear the message of the true Church.

I love all of you guys and cant wait to tell you all about Armenia in a week a half. The Church is true and if you are ever struggling with anything even something small dont be afraid to ask God because he is there and will help you. Follow the spirit and everything will be okay.

Elder Sproul 

I'm speaking Armenian, kind of

This week was one of the toughest week because of what we heard on Monday. Armenia no longer has a stake and it is really sad because a lot of the members are not going to get the same money that they got before so they can eat. In some ways I think it could be good for them because it will force them to work harder. It's just sad for all of the people there and what they are going through. So when the two area 70s told them that they are no longer going to be a stake and apparently a bunch or people disagreed and walked out of the church. They are still members and all that, but they just need to realize the church is true no matter who your leaders are. The Church decided to do that because when it is a stake the members have a lot of responsibility and they just were not doing as well as they could with that responsibility. Now that it is a district, the mission president is head of the whole district. so he is kind of like a stake president. Also, now that so they decided to destake them, the mission would be running them and they could put missionaries in charge. Right now there are 5 missionaries that are branch presidents so it is very possible that I could be a branch president some day. It would be super hard to have to tell them that I could possibly have to tell them that I cant give them money for their food. 

Other than that though this week was pretty good. I got to skype an actual Armenian. It was crazy how much Armenian I actually knew. When she slowed it down I could understand most of what she was saying, but it just seemed like she was slurring her words, but i will get used to it. as I am over there more and more. 

This week we also had an amazing devotional. The speaker had 5 points of what you can do to serve a good mission.

1 Work as hard as you can 

2 you are never alone

3 put aside the world

4 love the people and your companion

5 dont be afraid to fast

If I do these things I dont see how the lord wont help me to touch the people of Armenia. 

This week has I have grown probably the most I have my entire mission. I am  realizing the importance of the Book of Mormon more and more and know that Jesus Christ loves everyone. No matter what you do Jesus will be there for you. 

Keep working hard at home. I love all. The church it true and the atomement is real. 

So these pictures are pretty normal except this week I dropped a skittle and it broke exactly in half.