Dear Family (including spirit brothers),
OH HAY itz ya boy Elder Moore reppin the RVA here on the mish. I wrote letters on the first day but haven't mailed them yet. I thought we were going to email the first evening but apparently aint nobody got time for dat here. My pday is Thursday, but they let us email today so y'all know Im alive.
Where to even begin?? The first day was crazy. Gma and I got Jdawgs with Yup and Hebe as a great last meal. We said goodbye before the curb so I hopped out ready to go. Surprised my host a bit. I got my lang stuff, nametag, etc and got moved in then went to my first Armenian class. Brother Carlson and Sister Crawford are our first teachers, they are awesome. They wouldnt speak english the first day and a half. When i finally heard Bro Carlson speak english it threw me off guard, esp cuz his Armenian accent is so great. Day one he worked mostly on the alphabet. 39 letters, plus they have two forms of each letter, one for writing and the other for print/typing. Plus upper and lower case, and a lotttt of the letters look the same (like Ns, Us, Ys, or Fs) Plus a lot of letters look like english letters. Arm A looks like our W, and a lot of other examples. Super hard stuff, but we kept at it. Its day 3 ish and I can read! Kinda. It takes me a bit, and some of the less commonly used letters trip me up, but I can read a lot of stuff. There are a lot of different sounds you have to make with your mouth, reminds me of Navajo a lot. I can do every sound except rolling Rs and a different softer roll. But Im workin on it.
On the second day we learned how to teach some basic gospel stuff, testimony stuff. yesterday (2nd official day, but I'll say day 3) we had to teach our first lesson with our new investifaker (we all know he's a member), Artock (rough phonetics there) Even though he's fake he does a great job of not understanding when we try to use english, and also not understanding much about the gospel. We planned a very basic lesson about God and Christ, and I prayed. I used my cheat notebook a couple times, but got through a lot of it. My comps dont really approve of using what we've written down, but idk how they expect the spirit to be there if we cant even get our some mangled Armenian. So i feel fine about it, and Im using it less. Our second lesson is in a few hours. We're going to attempt to teach him to pray, then ask him to do it and prepare to be baptized. At first, I felt that asking about baptism that early was a bad idea- not only could you scare him away, but he could say yes and really not be ready or aware of what he's getting into. But my zone leader had a great point (he's studying greek) he had an investifaker that he'd taught a number of times, but didnt mention baptism until like the 6th lesson. The guy "felt" like he was being tricked, like they were subtly trying to get him to agree by not mentioning it till then. So we're asking if he'll prepare to, not if he will right now. People we teach should be aware that our end goal is baptism, even if we then back off it. They shouldnt just think we're there to satiate their curiosity.
About my elders. Im in a triumverate (3some sounds iffy to me) Elder Miller is from UT and Elder Davidson from SoCal. Then there's Elder Mills from England (cool right?) and Elder Shields from Oregon. Then we have 4 sisters, one of which is 25 and from provo. And thats it! Theres a whopping 9 of us. Elder Miller is a bit timid and awkward. He's def a cookie cutter Utah kid. Elder Davidson is pretty uptight about stuff, but he's easier to talk to. I think i've been blessed where I am. With either one of them as solo companions I wouldnt be happy, same if i was with Elder Shields. Elder Mills cracks me up, but his heart is still at home, and he has obedience issues. Its def diff coming from London. But we have lots of fun, and we'd def be trouble as comps hahah. So its a good thing im in a tripanionship, I get to keep my sanity. My companions walk super duper fast. Idk if theyre in better shape or its the lack of O2 or the fact that I believe in enjoying the journey, but I walk a good pace just to keep a visual on them. Half the time its because they've forgotten something, which is frustrating.
The food here is okay. The lines are awful, but we manage. Basketball is pretty fun. Chase wasn't lyin, the people here are slow on the court. Theyre all shooters. Normal that would be my game haha b but when they all shoot I take it hard to the hoop! Kinda. But yeah a quick up fake and they're gone, then theyre impressed I can finish. Once I can breathe again I'll be tearin it upppp.
Other notes... no one seems to know for sure how long we're gunna be here. My teachers say 12 weeks, that the shortening hasnt happened for us yet. My branch pres thinks 9 but isnt sure. My mailing address says March 18th, which is 10.5 weeks. So who knows. But I know that our teachers and even Artak are speaking real slow for us, so im going to enjoy the relative comfort of living here and work hard till they tell me to split.
Im superr tired. I always sleep pretty well and feel good in the morning but then I see its 2pm even though it feels like 10. The cold makes my thumbs ache and my knees are super sore. I bought another wrap for my knee and those help a bit. Its ca ca ca crazy cold too. I wear earmuffs every time I step out and sometimes wear a sweater.
I think that's all I have. How are the dogs? How was the trip South? Hows tyler enjoying my computa? Whens my CTR ring coming? My district is stoked to see it. Haha they all laugh when I show them my fam pics and how much hair I used to have.
Oh bt dubs shout out to Kellie, Uncle Mike, and Sarah Kemer for the letters and the Bleyls for the postcard. Much much much appreciated. To everyone else from whom I have not heard, friendship revoked.
Cant wait to hear from you guys on thursday. Cant wait to call you in 3 months and show off my new language! haha. Armenian has some rough sounds but it has a really pretty flow to it. I like it. And apparently the Arms. love the fact that people from America come all the way over and try to learn their language and customs. So thats good, hopefully theyll go easy on me. I feel good about learning it, obv theres a long way to go, but Im def up there in my district. Between Mrs Bagby, Ward, and studying French grammar i have some serious advantages.
This place has an interesting feel to it. I wont say I like it, but I know its the place to be before going to Armenia.
I miss you guys tons. If someone offered me a flight home itd be a tough call, but Ima stick dis out. its an investment.
Much love,
Yeretz Moore
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