Sheppert, David

I'm chilling in the MTC an extra day because of my reassignment to Tempe AZ, and I'm on the Monday P-day schedule now. I will keep it short. Christmas was awesome, and all about Christ. Super spiritual. I cannot wait to get to Tempe tomorrow. I want to share this true gospel with everyone, especially those who are having a tough time in life, because the gospel can help everyone.  If you put Kishkumen and Teancum in an old abandoned Nephite city, who comes out alive?  The Book Mormon is true and the keystone of our religion. If you believe it, read it. If you aren't sure, read it and see for yourself.  Tempe here I come, Старейшина Шепперт Photo:  Elder Sheppert made it to the Arizona Tempe Mission! 

And now I begin mine Christmas epistle unto mine brethren in the land of the 'Couve. Nearing the end of my labor with the people of the MTC, the Lord has called mine district another way.  The Russians are continuing to be more aggressive on the border, and the church has decided to pull all the missionaries out of Dnipro and move them to Kiev. They have also said that they will not be sending any more missionaries to Ukraine at the moment. Due to this, my district has been reassigned, half to Layton, Utah, and my half to the Arizona Tempe mission. I am so hyped!! If I know anything, it is that God knows where we all need to be.  One of my teachers called one of the friends he taught, and I had the opportunity to talk to him in Russian. It was going great, but then I forgot to say my question like a question. I focused on my words and didn't emphasize certain words. Instead of saying, "Does your mother love your brother more or you?" I said, "Your mother loves yo...

Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday! I wish there was some way I could tie my recent birthday to some gospel related topic coming up in the next week or two. It would also be cool if I could tie my thoughts back to Christ, and relate it to my namesake: shepherds. Well, nothing comes to mind right now. I guess I will just talk about life as a missionary.  Let me take you to a time long ago. The setting is a lovely MTC campus, but something was amiss. A pair of missionaries were not with the others. They were in an empty classroom, cramming in as much Russian as they could. Sweat was dripping down their foreheads as if they had just finished watching and following an at-home fitness video from the 80's (Richard Simmons probably). They, had arrived at the MTC two days prior. They kept at the studying for 3 straight hours, then flipped on a camera and joined a zoom meeting. It was a TRC, where they would have to teach a man a lesson about the gospel, in RUSSIAN. They were...

The week has once again flown by. I have received many a birthday wish. To all of you who sent, I will jokingly reply: I've had twice the time I'd like to know half of you, and half the time I'd like to know the other half. I will let you decide which group you fall in. This week I decided to beat my brother's legendary MTC record 12 ice cream sandwiches in one sitting. I picked a Monday, a competitor, and a table. The man with which I was to compete was yet another Finn. We each grabbed 3 ice cream sandwiches and started eating. As we began taking bites far too large for a man set on failure, I jumped to an early lead. I was up 4-3, … 7-6, and then I hit a wall. I started to slow down and the Finn started speeding up. He was a machine. He got 10 when I was at 8. Where my colon told me to find the nearest hospital, his stomach would tell him to move a couple seats closer to the Ice cream sandwich stash. When it was all said and done, I refused to lose to the legendary f...

Ladies and Gents,       It has been another day in the life. We act like it is no big deal to walk out with a nametag on. I LITERALLY get to be a representative of Jesus Christ. How cool is that? (That was a rhetorical question. It's pretty insanely cool).      I love learning Russian. Over the past couple weeks, I have picked up a couple of Russian sayings. My favorite, translated to English is, "I'LL SHOW YOU WHERE THE LOBSTERS WINTER!!" This basically means "That was the last straw" or "I'm gonna' beat you up." Pretty cool, huh. I don't intend to use this phrase during my mission, but if someone says this to me, I will know to run as a fearful brother would when he destroys his sibling's 2000 piece LEGO Millenium Falcon.       In other news, I keep running into Finns. The Terminator has left for Sweden, but 2 new Finns have moved in. Not just to my Branch, or district, but to my room. They are extremely cool and spiritu...