This week was packed and Sister Larson and I saw so many miracles and tender mercies. Once of which was Зина (Zeena). We were english contacting (where we pass out cards for our english practice here) and when we gave one to Зина she almost burst into tears when she heard it was free. She told us that she recently quit her job and was looking for work but she needed english for a job she is trying to get. She came to english practice and afterwards we talked about why we are here and what church we are a part of. She was really interested and we have met with her every day this week and taught her a few lessons. She is amazing! She calls us her angels that God sent to her and it has been so incredible to see the progress she has made in just this week. She has been struggling to find work and pay her rent and our elders gave her a blessing on Wednesday in one of the members homes and it was such a sweet experience. Зина said she felt warm and calm and just really good during the blessing and she says she knows this church is true! She also read some of the Book of Mormon and she said she knows its the word of God and she came with us to church this past Sunday. Wow she is amazing. Keep Зина in your prayers! Her friends and family are pretty anti Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints but hopefully we can change that:)
This week we had District conference with all the branches in our area and Elder Martino (the President of the Europe East Area) and President Wirthlin (our mission president) spoke along with the branch presidents. It was such a good meeting, and it was nice that some of it was in english (and a translator would translate it into Russian for the congregation). Almost all of the speakers talked about how important it is for our conversion to this gospel reading the Book of Mormon every day is. I have read the Book of Mormon every day for the past 3 months and I can add my testiomony to theirs that it is the simplest and easiest way to stay near to God and stay firm in the faith. Read it!! Even if its a few verses, it will bless you. They also talked about how important members are in finding and bringing back people that have left the church. People leave for different reasons, but regardless of why, we can always be the reason they come back.
Some quick random other things:
Marshrutkas (the bus/van things that people use for public transportation) are crazy and you will be packed into one so tight with 30 other people and you will think "there is no way that another person can fit in here" and then the next stop two more people squeeze their way on and its great. Personal space really has no meaning here haha. Also, I am not looking forward to summer on a marshrutka because in the winter its hot in there as it is! Also, the drivers are like cash registers on top of being drivers and they will get peoples change as they're driving and will more than occasionally text as they drive and its great. I love Ukraine.
We had zone conference (which is just for the mission president and the missionaries in our zone) and some of us missionaries sang I Need Thee Every Hour and it was really nice. Singing in Russian is so fun. We talked about getting to know the members and how important they are in missionary work because we won't always be here, but the members will be.
Speaking of singing, after district conference on Sunday, Sister Larson and I joined in on the members' choir practice and it was one of the greatest thing I have ever been a part of. The warmups they did were kind of hilarious and everyone was just laughing as we forcefully breathed in through our noses while squatting or turning to the side or biting our tongue but our choir director was dead serious that these techniques would revolutionize our singing. Sister Larson and I were dying. It was awesome and was by far the best choir practice I have ever been a part of (sorry Mr. Riggs;).
The tale of the twin companions continues because every night over dinner Sister Larson and I ask eachother questions and we are consistently blown away/slightly freaked out at how similar we are. This week we found out that we both loved Breyer Horses when we were young, would make jumps for ourselves to jump over when we were "horses," we both played Zoo Tycoon for hours on end, we were obessed with The Saddle Club, and all of my family's favorite movies are her family's favorite movies. The list goes on but to summarize I love her to death and is the greatest companion. She never wastes any time and she loves the people and the people here love her so much. I feel so lucky.
I had my first raw herring this week (which is popular here) and it was interesting. The texture was what kind of got me. But in general I love the food here, and they have a lot of dishes that remind me of polish food that my Papa and Nana make (but not quite as good as their homemade pierogi ;). The fruit here is really good and fresh and they have a million different fruit juices and they are delicious. The only thing Ukraine needs to work on is brown sugar and cream of tartar (they don't have those anywhere and so chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies are kind of ruled out for the time being, but its ok, they have so many different types of candies and lots of yummy bakeries). I've also had borscht which was actually really delicious!
Russian is coming along and it is really cool to see the little bits of progress that I make every day (sometimes every few days) and I know that as I keep practicing and opening my mouth, I will continue to improve and hopefully be able to find people that have been prepared like Зина. Being a missionary is hard sometimes, but the good parts are so good and I know this is where I am suppose to be. I love Ukraine and I love the people I am serving.
Until next week! I love you all. Thank you so much for your prayers and emails. You're the best.
Love,
Cectpa Kropelnicki
Pictures:
1. Giant chocolate croissant!
2. Dinner with our branch president & his family
3. All us sister missionaries who serve in Odessa Center
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