Мені Не Подобається Мухі (I Don't Like Flies)

HELLO EVERYONE! I just spent a good 20 minutes of my pday trying to kill a fly that was hanging out in my room so if this email isn't as long as the ones I usually send it's because I had to donate a significant chunk of my time to being an exterminator just barely. But, in spite of that little detour, my pday has been great today! I got together with some other Elders to play some pickleball today, and that was a total highlight of my week. I also totally forgot to get a photo, so if you're reading this just imagine three people who are really good at pickleball and then some random Ukrainian Elder who for some reason keeps hitting the ball into any other court but the one he's in and you'll have yourself a very accurate picture of what was going on. That was such a fun time, and it was fun to see Elder Lloyd for a bit because he leaves for his reassignment in the Arizona Tucson mission on Tuesday! I'm so excited for him, and I can't wait to see all the good he's going to do in his reassignment and in his original call to the England Manchester mission! We got talking while we were together today, and somehow it came up that I have been in the MTC for exactly 6 WHOLE WEEKS NOW! That is so crazy, because if I was speaking another language with the Latin alphabet, I would have already left for my reassignment. I still have three more weeks though, so as much as I want to get out in the field, I still definitely need that time to learn some more Ukrainian and get a better handle on the language. I'm looking forward to these next three weeks, and can't believe how fast time goes by. I always thought it was pretty funny how missionaries all said that the time goes by quickly, but it totally does. The best I've ever heard it said was that every day has "managed to feel like the longest and shortest day ever". IT DESCRIBES THE MTC PERFECTLY! I really do love every single day I've had being set apart as a missionary though, and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I highly recommend and give it a 10 out of 9. P.S. I know this is a little late, but GOOD LUCK to everyone who started college these past couple weeks! You are all going to thrive haha. This week we had a devotional given by Elder Teixeira of the 70 (I think; don't quote me on that) and his wife and they gave a super inspiring message that they used a fishing metaphor for. There was a time when two fishermen both went fishing for the same 12 hour period. They left their homes at the same time and returned at the same time as well. However, one fisherman used his time efficiently and had his line in the water for 10 of those hours, while one took a while to get to the fishing spot and didn't use his time very well, and only ended up having his line in the water for 2 hours. Which one caught more fish? Obviously the one who fished for 10 hours. What led to the different levels of success for these two fishermen? It was in how they used their time. Now what does that have to do with the gospel? When Sister Teixeira shared this, she related it to missionary work, but I would like to relate it to our own lives. We only have a limited time in our day to do everything, from going to school/work to eating dinner. A lot of the time, it may not seem like we have enough time to do things like read our scriptures, or to pray, or to go to church even. However, when we do those things that are the BEST things we could be doing (like the fisherman keeping his line in the water), we will be blessed by our Heavenly Father. It may seem like we don't have enough time to get everything done, but when we prioritize the best things before we prioritize the good things, we will always have enough time. The more time you have your line in the water, the more fish you will catch. The more time you spend doing the things Heavenly has asked us to, the more blessings you will receive and the better off you will be. I would like to testify that I have seen this in my own life, and especially as I'm in the MTC. We all have many ways to use our time, but when we use it to do the things that bring us closer to Christ, everything else just falls into place and we receive additional blessings. I would invite all of you to make these simple things like reading the scriptures, praying, and going to church priorities in your life, and I promise you that as you do that, you will get more done in your everyday life than you would think you would ever have time for. THE CHURCH IS TRUE! I love all of you and hope you have the best week! - Elder Horsley