February 20, 2017

Week 52

Egri Baslayan Egri Gider

Sevgili Ailem,(My Dear Family),

Man, I don't know what to say about Pete. I remember when I was a kid he tried to teach me how to play rugby.  If/when you go to the funeral, give Eric, PonTip and Bea a big Turkish hug for me (they hug both sides of the neck here). Well Dad to answer your question (Are there traditions for celebrating your year mark there?) No, our volunteers don't do traditional stuff like that. Any typical thing like that is highly frowned upon in Turkey and Kazakhstan, which I'm grateful for, haha. Second, most of the people that speak English are where all the tourists go--like the Grand Bazaar, the mosques, and a lot of restaurants. They know just enough to give people their food.  Other than that, not a ton of people here speak English. Your gas station analogy was actually pretty accurate. Our pool of people we meet with is either completely empty or insanely full. That's how it is for all of the volunteers here. Mom, I'll continue with your questions: Zone conference was soooo good, better than when Yasli Katcher came! Yasli Neilson (in charge of all "volunteer" work in the church and a Seventy) and his wife went to Izmir, along with all the volunteer presidents in the Europe east area, and had a seminar. They came to Istanbul Friday and held a fireside for the branch. A ton of people showed up. He spoke on the Plan of Salvation and how asking the WHY question is a good thing. Then Saturday was zone conference. I don't have my notes with me, but he ans Sister Neilson were great.  Sister Neilson emphasized the importance of unity with your companion and how it reflects after the service. Yasli Neilson spoke a ton, but the main thing I got out of him was that I felt the love of the senior brethren for us. I couldn't count how many times he said how much he and the other apostles and general authorities pray for and love us. He also had us kneel and then offered a prayer at the end.  It was very special. He asked us if we feel safe here all of us almost shouted "Yes!" haha He was happy to hear that and wanted us to remind our parents of that. I HAVE NO WORRIES HERE. Volunteers in New York are at a higher risk than any of us. Don't worry that I'm scared or anything like that out here. Second, the exchanges we went on actually ended up not being for us. So, not much to report. Oh! actually I did have a three hour exchange with Yasli Yazzie. He is from AZ, 100 percent Navajo, and was in the Air Force ROTC before this. I talked to him a lot about that and he kinds made it sound like a nice gig, kinda made me think about that. Third, in my studies, I am 1Nephi chapter 16; really taking it slow. (Tell me how the Priesthood has helped you, strengthened your testimony, and changed your life since you've been on your mission) During my service I've had several opportunities to give blessings. One of them was in Germany my first week there.  It was for a member who had a really bad pain in his arm. We offered the blessing, and right after it, the member stood up and started waving his arm around like nothing happened. I was dumbfounded. I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys about that, I'm sorry. But yeah, that was sweet!  Not a ton of happy news this week, huh?  Next one will be better, Mom and Dad.  Sounds like Alli had a good week though, haha.  I love you all so much! Thank you so much for your love and prayers. Yasli Muncy

Yaski Muncy, Yasli Johnson