Week of December 17, 2012: Incorrect Scaffolding of Human Time

Oh hello everyone. We got transfer calls! I am staying here in Ruse and working with Sister Tate, whose last transfer it is! (How could that sentence have been worded more correctly?) Anyway. I'm excited to stay in Ruse, the "Windy Apple," or more correctly, "The Hottest and the Coldest," (weather-wise) and I haven't quite gotten ready to disattach from the people here, nor the . . . people. It's all about the people, really. I'm also really glad for Sister Walch and will miss her a lot. She's cool. If she's reading this in two years for some reason, hi

 

Okay. This week continued the trend of ridiculously accelerating fastness for no reason. Partly because we had a zone conference in Varna on Friday, and also a Christmas Super Party on Saturday that took A MILLION YEARS to prepare. I'm sorry to continue to say the same dumb missionary letter things ("This week just FLEW by!!" "I love THE people!" "What a GREAT week!") but sadly they are all necessary and true missionary things. And also, let me tell you something. Missions are AWESOME because they help you see through the blurry, incorrect scaffolding of human time. You start in the MTC and you feel like you are going to be there until you die, and that every minute is like a year of boring. Then you get through it and start liking it and building things with your mashed potatoes. Then you have your first transfer and it feels like three lifetimes full of slavery and joy and morbidity and magic. Then the next one goes faster and you find yourself actually feeling in control of things. I don't know. I guess I'm saying that on my mission I've learned some things about eternal priorities. Because a mission really is like a mini-life and teaches you a lesson about lifesize-life. (Remember the movie "Life Size"? Why didn't it win an Oscar????) One, that we're really on the earth for a ridiculously short amount of time. Two, that sometimes it will seem long - but that's because we're learning and growing the most. And three, the further along and more joyful it gets, the faster it goes. Time just becomes this filter through which you glimpse God. Okay, term paper over.

 

Here are some things I did this week:

 

1) Sneaked around in an icy night putting up posters for our English class, feeling like some kind of viligante or French Resistance dude. Even though it's LEGAL.

 

2) Did a photo shoot with Sister Walch in front of the broken green railway car that's in front of our church for some reason, wearing our magical thrifted Christmas sweaters and holding a tiny elha (Christmas tree!). I will send them posthaste.

 

3) Watched "Anastasia," argued about its merits as a documentation showcasing Eastern Europe. I'm on the "It Doesn't Have Any of Those Merits" side.

 

4) Contacted for our new English classes ("Excuse me, are you interested in learning English? I speak English!! Come back!!! Rihanna speaks English!!!! Don't you like her??" etc.) 

 

5) Met a cool new guy named Deyan who wants to learn! And then a snowstorm happened. 

 

6) Perfected the use of the "over the nose and mouth" baba face scarf thing for snowstorms.

 

7) Bought a Santa suit from a store full of Chinese knicknacks.

 

8) Went to a crazy store called "Jumbo" and bought tiny metal (not "mental," as I first typed) Christmas trees. For the setting of our Christmas dinner party tables.

 

9) Watched the First Prezidancy (dancy! like they like to dance! hee hee) Christmas Message about 30 times with various investigators. It's funny how all these things I never knew about as a normal, slightly-lazy member of the Church are suddenly so crucial to my life, like things like devotionals and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Conference!!!! Being translated into Bulgarian!! We went over to our investigator Rumi's house (have I talked about her? she's the adopted "aunt" of Sevda, can't really see or walk very well, but sharp as an icicle and speaks French and some English and lived in Libya for like 10 years) and watched it with her and her husband, Kolyo, who mostly is against the Church. It was very tender. If you haven't watched that Devotional, go ahead and do it sometime. It's pretty good. Rumi struggles to admit or voice her faith, or even to have any (she was an atheist during all of communism and made fun of people who believed in God), but when President Monson speaks she ALWAYS cries. It's cute and tender. The Spirit was very strong and helpful, like a good messenger from God should be. And her husband even softened up a little and we sang Christmax carols with the ol' guitar.

 

10) Zone confrince!! Fun! Christmas!!! Got two packages (from GG and Mom - thank you guys!!! so needed and grateful!!)!! And learned the True Meaning of Christmas. I can't tell you what it is, though.

 

11) CRAZY CHRISTMAS PARTY TIME. If you thought that chaos and Relief Society meltdowns and party disorganization was limited to your home ward, think again! The Church truly is everywhere, and it really felt just like being at home and trying to organize a party and everyone flipping out. But it turned out awesome. We had like 40 people, Dyado Koleda showed up and passed out oranges, we sang Christmas songs with my guitar and there were some meatballs. 

 

12) And then about 10 people at Church, because it rained and got ridiculously icy everywhere. But it was a great Sunday.

 

Anyway. I also have recommitted myself to leaving behind the World (and all that that implies) and giving myself up to the love and charity of the Savior. It's the happiest way I've ever lived, and I recommend it. It makes things like dieting and clothes and jealously and insecurities and stress and jaw clicking seem very momentary and not a big deal, even funny.

 

I love you guys. Read the Book of Mormon, every day, if you can. It will be the best thing you've ever done. I'll send pictures next week.

 

Love,

Sister Campbell

Sister Campbell: Week of 12/10/12--Music Is Cool

I'll open with the thing that is most important in terms of not-forget-a-bility. This week I heard a hilarious thing on the radio. Frequently radio DJs here (who have the same jargony/blabby voice and tone that American DJs do, which is encouraging/depressing) announce songs with English titles they have just played, often with hilarious results. Well. This week, a Tupac song was playing in our taxi that I didn't know the name of, but something about something something hard life something. And after it, the DJ said, that was "Letter To My Unborn Child," but he said it in this accent and it was HILARIOUS. When I get home I will describe more perfectly what it was like but MAN it was good. Also we heard a pop song, a few seconds later, which had lyrics that consisted entirely of "I have a camera! I have a camera! Paprazzi paparazzi paparazzi!!!" repeated over and over. So there you go. Pop music changes lives.

 

Now on a "real" "missionary" "work" note. We had an interesting week. It snowed! We have been waiting excitedly for snow for a long time now (why? I don't know. snow kind of makes missionary life painful and difficult, but what can two poor little snow-deprived-mild-west-coast-climate girls like Sister Walch and I do?) and last night it finally snowed and stuck a little!

 

Oh, I learned how to successfully play "Angels We Have Heard On High" ("Chuxme Peyat Angeli") on the pianee! Not even the easy one, but the green hymn book one! And played it for an opening hymn! So that was cool. 

 

One time Thomas asked me in a letter about music here at church and I never really answered. So I will now. Until about 2 years ago, all branches in Bulgaria had a little paper-cover spiral bound hymn thing with about 20 hymns in it, all translated with varying degrees of shoddiness (I know because I've used it and been shocked by the results and awkwardness). Now we have the actual exact same looking hymnbook as in English-speaking areas, with the green cover and marble inside pages and stuff, except it has Bulgarian "Himni" on the front. And people here LOVE singing and yet hate it. It's interesting. It's interesting to read about a place before you go to it and read "Bulgarians love singing! Choirs! Traditional music!" and then come here and compare it to that. But basically, hymns are one of the most important parts of church/worship/people's conversion. Every time. It really has amazed me and made me realize the importance of music in church in a way I took for granted before. I've also noticed this when I have taken the guitar to lessons and opened lessons with hymns, or just sung for older, inactive, sick ladies who can't come to church anymore. They love singing and hearing singing so much, and it's kind of awesome. Anyway. I wish I could play more real hymns on the piano, and now the "I told you so" of any parent who ever encouraged me to do so is made real.

 

And a final note: I looked at an English hymnal we have at the church, and got so confused and disoriented. Not like that dumb missionary "I'm so lost in the language!!!!" garbage, but I really can't remember a lot of important English hymn lyrics right away, or at least they're all packed away into a back part of my mind I don't use. Silent night, holy night, all is calm all is bright, round yonvirgin mother and child? Holy . . . infant? Ha ha. Just kidding. But really.

 

Okay. Music is cool. Everybody here also just KNOWS like 20 or so folk songs, like traditional Bulgarian songs, which is cool. So this Saturday, we'll be having a branch Christmas party, which may or may not be somewhat chaotic, and there will be a performance of traditional Bulgarian songs and apparently we're making 30 cabbage rolls for everybody? I'll let you know how it goes. Oh also, this Friday is zone confrince and after that we have transfer calls! So I will probably get a new company onion one of these days.

 

This week we also:

 

1) Made/decorated Christmas cookies with an investigator and her cute daughter.

2) Bathed homeless lady again.

3) Went on a ridiculous goose chase for a mattress pump for a member.

4) Had a really, really good lesson with Seifitin in which we made him teach us the first lesson as review, and it was so good! Stupid repetitive words. But I just felt the goodness and desire to learn emanating from him, I spose you could call it "The Spirit" or something. And then we went outside and it was all quiet and snowy. The Spirit is cool! Use it.

 

Anyway. Merry finals week or whatever. Merry Thomas-is-in-Korea. I love you guys. stay safe and happy.

 

Sister Can-bull

Elder Campbell, Week of 12/10/12: Galaxy On The Ground

Dear 가족,

It's hard to believe how much has happened this week. We left really
early last Monday morning, and spent about 20 hours on planes, which
was interesting. We went to the Tokyo airport---it didn't actually seem very big or busy, but when we
flew over Tokyo it looked like a big galaxy on the ground. It was
pretty cool.

We got to Busan on Wednesday. It's a pretty cool city. It's really
big, but when it was built they left a lot of the natural landscape
intact. There are big mountains just sitting in the middle of the
city. We stayed at the mission home for a bit, which was nice, and met
our mission president . . . on Friday we found out who our
companions are. Mine is Elder Kang Jae-sung (강제성). He grew up in Korea
and lived in America for a bit. He's really great---he's funny, but
also serious about helping people and learning and growing. We went to
our area on Friday---it's a place called Jinju, about two hours away
from Busan.  

Thomas in Korea~

Introducing . . . Elder Campbell!

Thomas leaves for Korea on Monday, December 3rd.  We have sent him warm gloves and socks and we miss him so much.

His address is:   

Dongnae P.O. Box 73
Busan, 607-600
South Korea

Week of November 26, 2012: Day of Gratefulness!

Happy day of gratefulness! That is how you say it in Buglarian. It was QUITE an INteresting WEEK. I made 3 (three) pies. Two pumpkin, in which I bought an entire orange pumpkin (pretty hard to do around here - there are almost no orange pumpkins, only like butternut squash dealies they call "tikvi") and slaughtered it and roasted it and for three days prepared it. I also destroyed a T-shirt soaking it and squeezing out all the juice. But I made pies!!!! Of the pumpkin varieties. Would you like to "pump" me for details? Okay.

 

I also made an apple one, which was very big, and made my own caramel sauce ( that sounds like an expression for getting in big trouble or something - "well I've really made my own caramel sauce today, man") and put it in there. So it was an APPLE CARAMEL pie. Then we gathered 'round the glass table at the senior couple, Eames', apartment, and ate a Turkey (capitalized? it was very thin and fatless, in a hilarious contrast to the American butter-fed juiceballs we have everywhere) and some bread substances and potato substances, and I was cranky and refused to care to play Phase 10 or Uno, because, as anyone who knows me knows, I hate games of all sorts, particularly ones that involve "thinking" or "reason." But it was still fun. Also we were taking pictures of the foodstuffs, and Sister Walch was tipping the caramel pie at an angle such that all the apple.caramel juices started running out a little, and I guess everybody thought it was funny when I shouted nervously, "The juices! THE JUICES!" It was a Bam moment, probably.

 

What else. OH Seifitin got baptized. I guess that's pretty cool. It was one of those things where you're sitting in the church all day building the portable pool out of sticks of steel and plastic, and rigging up those familiar old heating tongs, and flipping the breakers every time they flip off because too much electricity is being used, and sitting on the floor in the breath-visible-cold church and wondering if it will all work OUT if he will even SHOW UP but then it all goes perfectly. We even sang "Tursya Nebesni Dugi" (I Like To Look For Rainbows) in Bulgarian!! With my gui-tar!

 

So that's that. It was an exciting week, and I'm getting worse and worse and worse and writing in my journal. Any advice for that? Anyone? Help????

 

I love you guys. I am grateful 4U.

 

Love,

Sister Candle

Week of November 19, 2012: See the world!

On Friday, I was in Varna and saw a giant plastic zippered suitcase/bag made out of tarp material (a unique product here that is mainly used to transport giant amounts of plums or onions) (plumnions) that had on the two big sides, big pictures of Spiderman, and on the tiny sides, "See the world see the world see the world" in a pattern. This was probably the most moving or significant part of the week, or at least, the one I wrote down in my planner to tell about.

 

So on MONDAY we had dinner and watched the full-length Joseph Smith movie ( the one Thomas is probably seeing every Sundee in the GremTC) with a new member named Stefi (have a told about her? probably) who is fifteen and goes to singing school and is giggly and very fifteen-y, which is cool in a branch that is dominated by the elderly. And on Tuesdee we taught the Law of Chastity to Seifitin, who it turns out is Turkish!

 

Also our senior couple, who is currently acting as branch president (jointly) was present, and we had a good little time trying to explain THAT particular commandment, in Bulgarian, to a poor bewildered but awesome shy man.

 

OH! Here's a thing that happened. Last week Sister Walch and I were walking away from the internet zala toward the church, when I saw a woman in front of us clearly do that thing where people notice a different language being spoken and start turning around and staring. She was smoking and wearing a giant fluffy white hat and fuzzy white coat and looked like a very original character. As we passed her and continued walking along, I waited for the inevitable: "Do you speak ______ language?" called from behind us. She asked it in Italian, I think, probably ABOUT Italian. We told her that no, no Italian. Smiley smiley. And then she asked German. Nope, no German. Slovenian? Nope, even less. And finally we told her we spoke English and she said, like many people, "I speak! A little," which was actually the extent of her English. And then, finally, in Bulgarian, asked the most important and best question I have ever been asked on my mission (or in life?): "Do you want me to sing you something in Slovenian?" We said, obviously, Now? Here? On this sidewalk with people walking past? And she nodded vigorously and then started singing a slow, operatic type song with her eyes open SUPER WIDE and smoke issuing from her mouth, pausing for one moment to ask, "Do you smoke?" and then continuing on with her song. Probably for about 5 minutes or so. And then we told her, we work at that church over there! Come by and sing with us sometime! Address, here is a pamphlet! And ran away, trying not to laugh.

 

We also had continuing awesome lessons with Seifitin (who told me that it is a tradition in Turkey, as in Japan to sit on the floor around a low table to eat). He gets baptized this Saturday, so we'll have lots of that stuff to prepare this week (setting up the pool, which we dragged from Varna in seven giant orange fabric bags, filling the font from the toilet, heating it up with those crazy heating tongs). It's just funny. When you know someone who's getting baptized and teach them (I REFUSE to use the phrase "when you have a baptism" or "when you baptize somebody". So selfish!!! THEY are getting baptized, not us!!), it is all kind of not like you expect it to be. I've noticed this every time. It's not like, constant joy and accomplishment and ANGELS and wooo! It's more just like, Wow. The Lord is so merciful, even though I'm stupid and prideful. I just realize how grateful I am to have what I have and know what I know, and realize how little I had to do with this person changing their life.

 

Anyway. I love you guys. This Thursday we're having dinner with our district for Thanksgiving and I'm making 3 pies, so wish me luck! I love you all.

 

P.S. We have been asked not to email anyone outside of family. So sorry. I will love and receive all emails and letters, but can't write back unless you have Camblasplund blood. :( Write me a letter!

 

Sister Scrundle