And so it begins - WEEK #1 (and #2)!!

Wow. 

What a crazy week and a half! I was going to write an email last Wednesday because those are my p-days (preparation days - aka my free days) but I figured that since it had only been 3 days into my mission, I would wait until this week to write it. Also this was supposed to be sent on this Wednesday, but I forgot to send it haha so Saturday night it is. 

Forewarning this is probably going to be a massive email because a lot has happened and a lot needs to be explained. I promise future ones won't be quite as long. Bare with me haha. 

To preface, I am not going to be in Slovenia for a while. I am in what they call the MTC (missionary training center) where I will learn how to speak Slovene, improve my social skills, build my knowledge of Jesus Christ, practice teaching, and more. I will be in the MTC for a total of 9 weeks with 2 weeks on zoom and the other 7 in person at the Provo, Utah MTC. I leave for in person MTC this Saturday!! So exciting!!! I leave for Slovenia on March 22nd! I already have a countdown haha. 

Sunday 1/16:

I gave my farewell talk in church! Thank you to everyone that joined via zoom or in person. It was wonderful to see all of the support from my friends and family. If you missed it, you can send me an email and I will give you a quick rundown of what I said. After talking, we had an open house with Slovene food! A good amount of people came so thank you again to those who came. Later on that night I went and got set apart (kind of like the moment when a superhero gets their powers haha - it was the moment where I became a full missionary and got my name tag - now I am official). That was such a cool experience my parents and grandparents were able to be there in person with my brothers, sister-in-laws, and nephew on zoom. 

My fam over zoom for my setting apart

Monday-Tuesday (except Wednesday) 1/17-1/25 :

The first day of MTC was Monday!! 

At home MTC!

Every day I usually have classes from 10:30-1:30 pm, sometimes 2-3 pm, and 8-11 pm. My schedule differs depending on the day and what other activities we have signed up for. I know this sounds crazy to have class until 11 pm but it's only because of the timezone difference (Connecticut is two hours ahead of Utah). Also on Monday, I met my companion (as a missionary, you always have another missionary with you as an assigned buddy haha - it is kind of like a roommate but we go and do everything together), teachers, and district (the other missionaries who are going to the same exact area speaking the same language as you). Districts can differ in size especially depending on the area. You go to class with your district. My district is a little unique because my mission (The Adriatic North mission) has two different languages you can speak - Slovene or Croatian. In the Slovene district, it is just my companion and I hahaha. In the Croatian district, there are 3 other sisters and one brother. When we have class (besides the 2-3 one), it is just my companion and me with our teacher. Whenever we have bigger meetings like a meeting after a devotional to discuss what we have learned, we meet with the Croatian missionaries. 

My district (combined with the Croatian missionaries and 2 teachers)

Before the MTC, I had already met my companion through emailing back and forth but I got to talk to and see her for the first time on Monday. She is the sweetest person ever. Her name is Sestra Voigt. She is from Munich, Germany, and speaks perfect English. I love her SO MUCH!!! She is amazing and has an amazing testimony of Jesus Christ. In many of my emails, I will refer to people as "Sestra ___", "Brat ___" or "Starešina ___".  These are just the Slovene words for "Sister ___", "Brother ___" or "Elder ___". All of which are terms to address someone (similar to saying "Mr. ___" or "Mrs. ___". That is why I am called Sestra LaRose and not just Londyn LaRose. As far as teachers go, I have three! Sestra Kralj (she's actually FROM Slovenia which is super helpful with pronunciation and learning the language), Sestra Tuckett, and Brat Kunzler (both of them just got back from serving missions in Slovenia). I love them all SO MUCH and can't wait to see them in person. Before I served my mission, I met Sestra Tuckett and Sestra Kralj which was super cool. I saw Brat Kunzler but didn't have a full conversation with him. 

My comp  (Some people have said we look alike but idk)

In the 10:30-1:30 and 8-11 class, this is where we are taught a lot of different things, the logistics of being a missionary, how to teach better, how to study the scriptures, practice teaching, and overall just feel the spirit of the Holy Ghost and God's presence. Soooo cool!! One of my favorite things I learned the first week was the principle that we don't know everything and that is okay. As a missionary there is a lot of pressure to be perfect, know everything you're supposed to, and know what to say at all times. It is important to remember that we are not perfect, and God doesn't expect us to be. He just wants to see that we are trying. 

The classes from 2-3 are called workshops and these are so cool. Everyone that entered the MTC on the exact same day as I were all of this call. Guess how many people there were. 271!!!! That is crazy!! It was such a cool experience to see so many people that were also called to serve. The coolest part about it was I was able to see three of my roommates from college in the fall. Natalie Chaggares is going to Dnipro, Ukraine; Hannah Johnston is going to Tempe, Arizona; and Rachel Gill is going to Rhome, Italy. I took a stalker picture of each of them and then sent it to our group chat hahaha. Every day but Saturday we had one of these workshops. 

1st workout yoga session w/ Mom

Wednesday 1/19:

My p-day!!! In the MTC on p-days, you still have your evening class or other scheduled events. I had a workshop from 2-3, language tutoring from 5-5:30, and then class from 8-11. Other than that I hung out with my dad in the morning. We went into New Haven and got lunch chart food on Yale Campus. We went back to his work and ate there. We tried to see if we could get into the Beinecke Rare Book Library to see an original copy of the Book of Mormon (there are only 5 on the Earth!). Sadly it didn't work out. Later on my parents and I also went to a wrestling tournament to watch one of my friends in my ward go against my old high school team. That was cool to see some of my high school friends. 

Lunch with Dad 

Wednesday 1/26:

Today we plan on going to a reflexology appointment (like a massage but it hurts hahaha - it targets specific areas where you are hurting - def recommend unless you have a low pain tolerance). 

RANDOM OVERALL HIGHLIGHTS:

- My mom and I spent over 30 minutes trying and failing to pop a helium balloon by standing on it. We did fall several times but had no major injuries. 

The balloon

- My mom and I cuddled on the couch with the dog (not allowed!). I, unfortunately, am still allergic to my own dog so I did have a minorly major allergic reaction (poor Willow)

Forbidden cuddle with Mom and Willow

- My mom and I convinced my dad to go on our walk with us - it was 4 degrees - FREEZING

F r e e z i n g morning walk 

- SAD: I said goodbye to one of my best friends, Samantha as she went back to college :( 

- My mom likes to take stalker pics of me either through the door or through the window 

Stalker pic x1

Stalker pic x2

Stalker pic x3

- Had famous Pepe's pizza with the missionaries that are in CT (#1 pizza in the country )

- Every time I am in class my dog will sit outside to door and howl at me until I give in and let her in. 

Dog stalker (look closely - she reminds me of Michael Meyers from Halloween)

The annotated version in case you can’t see her

Acceptance 

FAREWELL TALK

 

Farewell Talk!!!

Good morning brothers and sisters!! I am very excited to be up here today. As most of you know I received my mission call to the Adriatic North Mission speaking Slovenian. When I first opened my call and read that I had absolutely no clue where or even what that was. If you go back and watch the video as I open it I’m pretty sure my first words are “what the”. The mission covers 5 countries Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzgovina and Serbia, Since I am speaking Slovenian, I will only be in Slovenia. Tomorrow I start my missionary training which is why I am speaking today. 

To start off my talk, I wanted to touch upon why I chose to serve a mission. Serving a mission is a big sacrifice because for a year and a half I will be away from my family and friends in a foreign country speaking a different language that I know very little about. It is nerve-wracking and a major commitment. Why would I ever choose to do this? Let me tell you about it. Since I was a young child, I always knew that I wanted to serve a mission. It was always going to end up happening but moving here solidified and added meaning behind that desire. For those of you who may not know, I moved to Connecticut from Utah when I was 11. The area that I used to live in before was a very small town. Most of the people there were members of this church. There were only a handful of people that weren’t. It was quite the change when I went from living in an area where nearly everyone is a member to an area where you are one of the few. This move helped grow my own personal testimony and strengthen my relationship with Heavenly Father however,, the greatest blessing was seeing two of my friends join the church. 

I have seen how coming closer to Christ has blessed their lives. I have seen them have the strength to get through their trials. I have seen the Lord’s hand guide them in becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. I have learned so much from their examples. 

I want to quickly share a story about one of them. This is about my friend Nattacia. She and I both attended Brigham Young University in Utah this past semester. She’s still out there right now which I am definitely FOMOing. There was a moment where she and I were eating lunch together and talking about the drama in each other’s lives. Somewhere in between conversations about the food, late homework assignments, and bad dates, we had got onto the topic of trials that go on in life and how we deal with them. She told me that if someone had come up to her asking for advice, she would interrupt them and ask, “Did you pray yet?” More than likely the answer was no so they would go say a quick prayer and would find that trial was not quite as scary, confusing, or daunting as before. Now this wasn’t a very long conversation we had but that phrase has stuck with me for a long time. It has just blown my mind that I didn’t think of it before. Now everytime I go through a trial or even a minor inconvenience like losing my car keys, I hear Nattacia’s voice in my head saying “did you pray yet?” If I’m being completely honest, I had a really hard time writing this talk. I was so stressed about making it perfect that I kept putting it off. Last night while I was writing down this part, I started to get frustrated because I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to say and things just didn’t flow right. Then low and behold. Guess who’s voice popped into my head. So I went and said a prayer and instantly ideas and vocabulary words just started wizzing all over the place in my head. It felt like one of those scenes in the movies when the writer finally gets over their writer’s block and starts writing at a million miles per hour. 

Anyways, to sum up my why, I want to serve a mission not only because I want to help others receive joy and peace through Jesus Christ, but because there are things I know I need to learn from them. 

You guys have heard me say my why for going on a mission, but I want you to think about your why when its comes to wanting to develop a relationship with God. How big is your why?  Small “whys” tend to have a short shelf life. For many of you here, you are on day 16 of your new year’s resolutions. That means for most of you, those resolutions expired two weeks ago maybe because your why wasn’t big enough! :) I want to exercise every day in 2022!... two days later…well, maybe not every day, my body needs time to recover… :) and it doesn’t help that the left over christmas chocolates are just begging you to eat them.. 

How can you make your why bigger?

The closer you come to Christ and the more you learn about Him, the bigger your why will get. It is impossible for that to not happen. Kinda of like how once you eat one christmas chocolate, the next thing you know you’ve eaten the whole bowl. Dad, if you’re wondering where all of the chocolate went, it was your wife.

For your mission, you get what’s called a mission plaque to go on the wall in this church. Mine is not here yet, but on this plaque, it includes a picture of you, where you are going, the dates of when you go and come back, and scripture of your choice. It took a long time for me to choose which scripture but eventually I settled on Matthew 17:20. It says “if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” I love the concept of faith being likened to a mustard seed because sometimes all it takes is just a little bit of faith. I have a necklace, ring, and keychain that all have little mustard seeds in them. I got the ring in the wrong size so it doesn’t quite fit me but I wear the necklace nearly all of the time to remind me that when all else fails if you just start out with a little bit of faith, nothing is impossible. The key word in that last sentence is “start”. It is important to remember that a seed has the potential to become far greater than just a seed. 

A seed doesn’t just stay a seed. You don’t plant tomato seeds, water them, pull out the weeds and do all of that work just for them to still be seeds. You plant the seeds and nurture them to grow into a plant that produces tomatoes, and even more seeds! Seeds are not for display only (joke about your necklaces, ring, and keychain)  

The scripture I read earlier says if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you can move mountains… what do you think that seed will look like after you watch that mountain move??? That seed has now become a forest of faith!

Just as a seed has great potential to become greater, we too are the seed of God and with the Savior’s help we can grow into our divine potential. That is His infinite and eternal Why… That is my why…to help others come unto Christ so they can reach their full, divine potential. 

I want to end by bearing my testimony in Slovenian. I’m hoping no one knows the language so they can’t tell me how bad my pronunciation is. 

Vem, da ta cerkev je resnična. Vem da preko njegove Odkupne Daritve Iahko prejmemo večno živiljenje. Molil sem in je Bog odgovoril na mojo molitev. Rad imam Jezusa Kristusa. Rad imam Nebeški Oče. V imenu Jezusa Kristusa, amen

 I know that this church is true. I know that through the Savior’s atonement, we can receive eternal life. I prayed and God answered my prayer. I love Jesus Christ. I love Heavenly Father. I know that I am loved in return. I am so excited to serve with the Slovenian people. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

SETTING APART