Sister Katie Webber: Piano (Wo)Man

It's 11 o'clock on the Sabbath Day, the regular crowd shuffles in....

You're reading the email of the newest ward pianist.

Before you begin laughing, or shaking your head, take a moment of silence and pray for me. The Lord has a sense of humor, that's for sure. For those of you who don't have any knowledge of my musical abilities: I have none. I know a total of 11 hymns, and that's because I spent hours memorizing them when I was 13 years old, and quit taking lessons not long after that. Sooo....this will be FUN. I already used up 4 of the hymns I knew on Sunday (Ps. I had to learn a sacrament hymn, and those things are stinkin HARD).

Well, I'm excited that I'm now able to email friends directly. That's a fun surprise to my morning! This week was really interesting. Me and my comp had to help the Elders clean out their apartment, referred to as "The Cave of Wonders" for all the garbage that missionaries have left over the years, because we're getting new elders! Elder Terry is leaving Lutsk (He went to Timpanogos and took a bunch of classes from Richard, and LOVES him. Ask him if he remembers Devon Terry from '11), and Elder Johanson from my MTC district is coming here. Then 2 new elders are joining the Lutsk clan to bring our numbers to 6! We needed some help since Elder Nielson and Elder Terry have been opening up Ternopil and are gone half the time.

We also got dumped upon this week. Just when all the snow had melted, we got 2 feet of snow in a 3 day blizzard. Yeaahhh....but it was a lot of fun, and really beautiful afterwards. I'm just counting down the days until summer (which I'm told I'll regret because of the humidity, but bring it on!).

There was an activity held for investigators on Saturday, and since the snow was so bad, all our investigators called and said they couldn't make it. The Elders were in their other area, and so it was just me and my companion, and 5 of the elder's male investigators. Yep. That was interesting, but we had a good time! Yesterday we also found a golden investigator through a less-active member. He happened to be there when we showed up for our meeting, and the member went on and on about the Book of Mormon, raving about it. He told his friend all about the church and the missionaries, and he wants to meet and learn more about it! We gave him a Book of Mormon, and he's going to meet with the Elders this week. I'm stoked!

Thanks for all the prayers for the language. I didn't even know everyone was praying for that specifically, but this week was SO incredible. It was like I had been plugging my ears this whole time, and just finally took my fingers out of my ears. Haha. I still can't understand everything, of course, but It was as if I was in a completely different realm. I was able to say things when I needed to, and communicate sufficiently (sufficiently being the key word). I've still got miles to go, but it's been a huge stress reliever. So thank you.

Last week President asked everyone to start reading the Book of Mormon, and have it finished by May 26. I've been reading about 15 pages per day because I want to get it finished by the end of this 4-week-long transfer. It's been an incredible experience because I'm trying to read it from the perspective of an investigator. I have gotten so much more out of it, and somewhere in the middle of some war-ish chapters in Mosiah, I stopped and realized: This book is straight from God.

That thought surprised me, because of course I knew that. Of course I've gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Of course I've read it multiple times before this. But my foundation was made even more solid by that small experience. I knew that if anyone read the book with an open mind and heart, they would know that it was from God. And if it's from God, it means that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that he restored this church. It surprises me that I ever went a day without reading. I can't imagine my life without this holy book, and yet I took it for granted. If only members of the church would read it more, and more thouroughly, and really search the words contained within, would they have a change of heart on a daily basis and become the people that our Father in Heaven wants them to become. That's what we're here for, isn't it? I'm grateful every day for this opportunity to be on a mission. I love it. I am growing so much from it.

I love you all. Thank you for all your love and support.

Love,

Sister Kate Webber