Hello everyone and happy Monday! This week was great as always in beautiful Ukraine, and I'm proud to say that I didn't have to wear my big jacket once this week (even though I probably should've last night, but I really wanted to put that in this email so last night I was a little cold).
This week we had some high highs but also some low parts (so all in all a normal week as a missionary I think), but the BEST part was having FHE at a member's home and we invited two of our investigators, Alina and Anna to it and it was so good!! We watched the resoration video and talked about Joseph Smith and then we did an object lesson with Jenga blocks that we stacked on top of a copy of The Book of Mormon and talked about how everything we do in this church is built on the Book of Mormon (tithing, keeping the sabbath day holy, service, missionary work, etc.) and if the Book of Mormon was taken away, everything would fall. They loved it and at the end we played Jenga and ate brownies and it was a great time. Members are SO important to this work and we would have such a hard time without their help. And side note, don't play jenga with open cups of juice nearby.
Zeena has also been doing so great this week even with working literally all day, every day (and trying to get her boss to pay her for the last 2 weeks). Every time we visit her at the store her face lights up and she tells us that she knows that everything will work out for her with her trials right now. It is so cool to see the transformation that has come just from the few months that we've known her. Before she would always be down about the things that were not working out for her, but now she is so positive and has such faith! It's amazing. This gospel and the message we share with people can really change lives. I feel so blessed to be able to see that first hand. She called us this week and told us that she recieved an answer that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he translated the Book of Mormon! And she found her answer in the Pearl of Great Price of all places (you never know where or when it'll happen I guess), and she has such a strong desire to start over and be clean from her past life, and we're trying to help her see that baptism (even though she has already been baptized in another church) is the only way to do that!
We also had a lesson with Alina and we could tell that she's been reading about our church on the internet because of her questions (there is SO much garbage on the internet here about us, it's frustrating to say the least), but the great thing is that she came to us to ask about it instead of just dropping off the face of the earth like some investigators do! And she sincerely wants to know more about our church and we had a really great lesson. She says that she's started to pray every day and she has really noticed a difference in her life which is awesome! We invited her to be baptized again on Saturday night but even though we know she is SO ready, she still is nervous to make that big of a step. But she'll get there and we're helping her see that it itsn't the end of the journey when you get baptized (and you don't have to know everything before that time), but that baptism is the gate to coming closer to Christ and becoming like Him. She is amazing though, I always forget that she is just 19!
Other than that our week was pretty normal, lots of trying to talk to people on the streets, Zeena's boss giving us a plate of Baklava and Turkish delights for free (soooo delicious and we say no thank you, but then he insists so because we are good people we struggle through it haha.), teaching english at the refugee shelter (seriously always a highlight of my week. They are the sweetest kids), and meeting with an inactive sister (Sister Sveta--she wants to prepare to go to the temple!).
-Also, I knew that Ukrainians were superstitious, but man, they are really superstitious sometimes haha! There are quite a few things that you definitely can not do or else you won't have babies or find a husband or will be cursed. At english practice we talked about folk stories and fairytales and it was hilarious to hear all their folk stories (and sometimes a little scary). And someone mentioned Baba Yaga (which is so weird let me tell you. She lives in a hut with chicken legs?!) and all I could think about was Ant Man and the Wasp haha! It's a real thing here!
-We walked with Zeena last night and she made us promise to invite her to our weddings haha and our anwers were both "конечно!" (of course) and that made her really happy haha. I love that woman.
That is about all for this week. Sister Larson and I are going into Odessa center and then we have have zone conference tomorrow which will be awesome as usual. It will be a good week! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki
Monday, March 25, 2019
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Week 17: Womens Day!
Hello everyone! Sister Larson and I got permission to go to the opera here in Odessa and it's closed on Mondays so this week Saturday is P-day for us (but it also means 2 less days to talk about soo..).
This week the weather was so nice and warm in Odessa--I'm hoping that the days of huge winter jackets are finally over (until next winter!). We went to the beach this week with the kids from the shelter for displaced families from Donesk and we played games with them and taught some english, fed the seagulls, and tried to find the prettiest seashell. They are the nicest kids and they also taught us some Ukrainian games:)
Quite a few people weren't able to meet with us last minute this week, so that was kind of hard, but we found a new investigator, Оля (Olga) and she is really awesome. She is going through a really hard time in her life and I know we met her right when she needed us. She is already reading the Book of Mormon and she's coming to an activity we're having today for Relief Society! Woot.
Friday was Women's Day which is like Mother's Day for us. It is such a cool holiday! It's also really big here and everyone is selling flowers and wishing women on the streets "happy holiday!" and it was such a good day! Two kids from english practice gave Sister Larson and I chocolate bars for women's day, and our branch president's family stopped by our apartment and gave us flowers and more chocolate:) The people here are the best! Sister Larson and I also baked chocolate chip cookies to give to women in our branch (they don't have brown sugar here so their minds are always blown when they try them haha).
This week while we were contacting on the streets, Sister Larson was letting me take the lead and start conversations (which I am learning to love) and I saw a Babooshka walking the other direction across the street and I had a feeling that I couldn't shake that we should go and talk to her. I tried to convince myself that it was just my own idea that didn't really matter, but I did a "We Bought a Zoo" 20 seconds of courage thing and we went and talked to her. She ended up being the nicest angel of a lady. She was so suprised and happy that two American girls chose to come to her country and talk to people about God and Jesus Christ. She took a Book of Mormon and it was just a really great conversation that lifted my spirits especially. It can be tough sometimes while contacting to stay positive and confident when a lot of it is people ignoring you or not being able to understand you. It was a tender mercy to be sure. This work is hard, but I always see so many blessings and tender mercies when I am devoted to this work and follow the spirit.
Alina is doing well--thank you everyone for all your prayers! She is still having a hard time feeling like she's ready for baptism, but she is SO ready and is such an amazing, bright light of a person. She still has some doubts but she will be baptized! I know it.
Zeena is finally coming to church tomorrow (because she's not working on Sunday) and we are so happy! She hasn't been able to come because of her job but now she can and Sister Larson is giving a talk so Zeena is super excited for that too:) She is having a hard time still with not drinking tea but I think going to church and feeling the spirit there will really help her.
That is about it for this short week! I love you all SO much and I so appreciate your emails and words of encouragement. Thank you!!
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki
This week the weather was so nice and warm in Odessa--I'm hoping that the days of huge winter jackets are finally over (until next winter!). We went to the beach this week with the kids from the shelter for displaced families from Donesk and we played games with them and taught some english, fed the seagulls, and tried to find the prettiest seashell. They are the nicest kids and they also taught us some Ukrainian games:)
Quite a few people weren't able to meet with us last minute this week, so that was kind of hard, but we found a new investigator, Оля (Olga) and she is really awesome. She is going through a really hard time in her life and I know we met her right when she needed us. She is already reading the Book of Mormon and she's coming to an activity we're having today for Relief Society! Woot.
Friday was Women's Day which is like Mother's Day for us. It is such a cool holiday! It's also really big here and everyone is selling flowers and wishing women on the streets "happy holiday!" and it was such a good day! Two kids from english practice gave Sister Larson and I chocolate bars for women's day, and our branch president's family stopped by our apartment and gave us flowers and more chocolate:) The people here are the best! Sister Larson and I also baked chocolate chip cookies to give to women in our branch (they don't have brown sugar here so their minds are always blown when they try them haha).
This week while we were contacting on the streets, Sister Larson was letting me take the lead and start conversations (which I am learning to love) and I saw a Babooshka walking the other direction across the street and I had a feeling that I couldn't shake that we should go and talk to her. I tried to convince myself that it was just my own idea that didn't really matter, but I did a "We Bought a Zoo" 20 seconds of courage thing and we went and talked to her. She ended up being the nicest angel of a lady. She was so suprised and happy that two American girls chose to come to her country and talk to people about God and Jesus Christ. She took a Book of Mormon and it was just a really great conversation that lifted my spirits especially. It can be tough sometimes while contacting to stay positive and confident when a lot of it is people ignoring you or not being able to understand you. It was a tender mercy to be sure. This work is hard, but I always see so many blessings and tender mercies when I am devoted to this work and follow the spirit.
Alina is doing well--thank you everyone for all your prayers! She is still having a hard time feeling like she's ready for baptism, but she is SO ready and is such an amazing, bright light of a person. She still has some doubts but she will be baptized! I know it.
Zeena is finally coming to church tomorrow (because she's not working on Sunday) and we are so happy! She hasn't been able to come because of her job but now she can and Sister Larson is giving a talk so Zeena is super excited for that too:) She is having a hard time still with not drinking tea but I think going to church and feeling the spirit there will really help her.
That is about it for this short week! I love you all SO much and I so appreciate your emails and words of encouragement. Thank you!!
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki
At the beach with the kids from the shelter
Monday, March 18, 2019
Week 18: The Church of Jesus Christ of the Entire World of Saints
Hello everyone! spring is in full swing here in Odessa and we have now gone a full week without our big jackets and I'm feeling great about that. This week was chalk full of miracles, prayers, an opera, and also some Italian-themed baklava. Buckle your seatbelts.
On Saturday night Sister Larson and I went to the opera house in Odessa center (literally 50 steps from our branch building--so cool) to see Katerina, which is a Ukrainian opera based on one of Taras Shevchenko's poems and it was SO COOL. It had traditional Ukrainian dancing and of course ended in a betrayal closely followed by a suicide (because operas). Before the opera we went to a Relief Society activity where we learned how to make Hawaiian haystacks with Sister Anderson, then went into Odessa center, got dinner and ate on the Potemkin Stairs (look it up--they are so cool!). Saturday was a great day to say the least.
We also had a lesson with Alina and we had Sasha, our branch president's son, help us on it and it was a really solid lesson (even in a cafe with boderline-inappropriate music videos playing in the background. Living 45 minutes from your branch building is SO hard. I never knew how important church buildings were before I got here! But we are hopefully going to get our own building in four months! And then we can always have our lessons there. Woot.) Alina agreed to keep the Word of Wisdom and although she won't be ready for our original baptism date, we're hoping in 2 weeks she'll be baptized! She is just super hard to meet with because she's in university right now, but man she is so prepared and ready.
We also had a lesson with Zeena and a member, Sister Raya (who is a literal angel and if every church member was like her we would have zero problems. Ah I love her to death), and any lesson with Sister Raya is guarenteed to be awesome and this lesson was no exception. It started a little rough though. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and when we talked about how we know that God has a body of flesh and bones, Zeena was kind of shocked and didn't want to continue because her whole life she has been taught that God is a spirit that we can't comprehend or know. It was pretty uncomfortable for a little, but then we bore our testimonies and read some scriptures about God and talked about it together and wow you could feel the change in the room. The spirit was so strong and Zeena actually felt peace about the fact that God does have a body like we do. It was such a good lesson and we could not have done it with without Sister Raya. She is so golden, and so is Zeena. She had such sincere questions and we invited her to be baptized once she knows that this is the true church and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and she said that of course she will! She hasn't had a confirmation yet but we fasted for her yesterday and I know she will recieve it. She told Sister Larson and me after the lesson that with girls like us, how could the church not be true? Ah I almost cried she is the sweetest. She also told us that when we met her on the street all those weeks ago, she was in a really bad place and was starting to not believe in God and was even considering suicide because she felt so alone and unloved. God knows and loves each of us and I feel so humbled to have been led to her. She is so special.
Some other stuff from this week:
-Babushkas are the BEST and we were shopping at the gorcery store and it was pretty warm outside so when we came into the store I took my jacket off, but literally the minute I did a little Babushka came up to me as I was picking out apples and told me that I was going to get sick because I didn't have a jacket! Haha it was great and so I put my jacket back on (bc getting sick is the worst!) and the babushka was very pleased.
-We made lemon bars this week for a lesson with a member and one of our investigators but they bailed last minute and while we were sitting at the tram stop thinking about what to do instead, a guy came up to us and told us he knew who we were (which never happens because people here never come up to you and start talking unless they're drunk or crazy), we were "Those missionary people from the Chruch of Jesus Christ of the Entire World of Saints" haha. He was pretty close. He ended up being a really nice guy and we gave him a lemon bar (which ended up being SO good even with our super bad oven) and we started talking to him about our church. He told us that he met with the elders five years ago. It was cool how a cancelled appointment turned into running into someone else that we could share our message with (and our lemon bars).
-The clothing store that Zeena works at turned into a baklava store and we visited her after church and she gave us some free baklava (because her boss loves us haha). It was funny though because the whole store is decked out with paintings of Italy and it's all Italy-themed, but they sell baklava, which is definitely Turkish haha.
-We are also teaching a girl named Anna who is the greatest and just a really good, pure person. She came to church with us yesterday and we taught her the restoration lesson and gave her a tour of the building. She loved learning about family history and how families can be together forever. She is so prepared and we're kind of racing against the clock to teach her because she goes back to the cruise ship in a few weeks.
This week was busy and I've noticed that when we're really busy we are always a lot happier and more filled with the spirit. It is not just spiritual stuff and miracles galore, but we did see a lot of that this week and I will be forever grateful for them, especially when things are hard (because there are always hard times, no matter what's happening). I love this work and I love the people here. Thank you everyone for your emails and prayers for the people we are teaching. I love you!! The church is true! Have a great week.
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki
On Saturday night Sister Larson and I went to the opera house in Odessa center (literally 50 steps from our branch building--so cool) to see Katerina, which is a Ukrainian opera based on one of Taras Shevchenko's poems and it was SO COOL. It had traditional Ukrainian dancing and of course ended in a betrayal closely followed by a suicide (because operas). Before the opera we went to a Relief Society activity where we learned how to make Hawaiian haystacks with Sister Anderson, then went into Odessa center, got dinner and ate on the Potemkin Stairs (look it up--they are so cool!). Saturday was a great day to say the least.
We also had a lesson with Alina and we had Sasha, our branch president's son, help us on it and it was a really solid lesson (even in a cafe with boderline-inappropriate music videos playing in the background. Living 45 minutes from your branch building is SO hard. I never knew how important church buildings were before I got here! But we are hopefully going to get our own building in four months! And then we can always have our lessons there. Woot.) Alina agreed to keep the Word of Wisdom and although she won't be ready for our original baptism date, we're hoping in 2 weeks she'll be baptized! She is just super hard to meet with because she's in university right now, but man she is so prepared and ready.
We also had a lesson with Zeena and a member, Sister Raya (who is a literal angel and if every church member was like her we would have zero problems. Ah I love her to death), and any lesson with Sister Raya is guarenteed to be awesome and this lesson was no exception. It started a little rough though. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and when we talked about how we know that God has a body of flesh and bones, Zeena was kind of shocked and didn't want to continue because her whole life she has been taught that God is a spirit that we can't comprehend or know. It was pretty uncomfortable for a little, but then we bore our testimonies and read some scriptures about God and talked about it together and wow you could feel the change in the room. The spirit was so strong and Zeena actually felt peace about the fact that God does have a body like we do. It was such a good lesson and we could not have done it with without Sister Raya. She is so golden, and so is Zeena. She had such sincere questions and we invited her to be baptized once she knows that this is the true church and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and she said that of course she will! She hasn't had a confirmation yet but we fasted for her yesterday and I know she will recieve it. She told Sister Larson and me after the lesson that with girls like us, how could the church not be true? Ah I almost cried she is the sweetest. She also told us that when we met her on the street all those weeks ago, she was in a really bad place and was starting to not believe in God and was even considering suicide because she felt so alone and unloved. God knows and loves each of us and I feel so humbled to have been led to her. She is so special.
Some other stuff from this week:
-Babushkas are the BEST and we were shopping at the gorcery store and it was pretty warm outside so when we came into the store I took my jacket off, but literally the minute I did a little Babushka came up to me as I was picking out apples and told me that I was going to get sick because I didn't have a jacket! Haha it was great and so I put my jacket back on (bc getting sick is the worst!) and the babushka was very pleased.
-We made lemon bars this week for a lesson with a member and one of our investigators but they bailed last minute and while we were sitting at the tram stop thinking about what to do instead, a guy came up to us and told us he knew who we were (which never happens because people here never come up to you and start talking unless they're drunk or crazy), we were "Those missionary people from the Chruch of Jesus Christ of the Entire World of Saints" haha. He was pretty close. He ended up being a really nice guy and we gave him a lemon bar (which ended up being SO good even with our super bad oven) and we started talking to him about our church. He told us that he met with the elders five years ago. It was cool how a cancelled appointment turned into running into someone else that we could share our message with (and our lemon bars).
-The clothing store that Zeena works at turned into a baklava store and we visited her after church and she gave us some free baklava (because her boss loves us haha). It was funny though because the whole store is decked out with paintings of Italy and it's all Italy-themed, but they sell baklava, which is definitely Turkish haha.
-We are also teaching a girl named Anna who is the greatest and just a really good, pure person. She came to church with us yesterday and we taught her the restoration lesson and gave her a tour of the building. She loved learning about family history and how families can be together forever. She is so prepared and we're kind of racing against the clock to teach her because she goes back to the cruise ship in a few weeks.
This week was busy and I've noticed that when we're really busy we are always a lot happier and more filled with the spirit. It is not just spiritual stuff and miracles galore, but we did see a lot of that this week and I will be forever grateful for them, especially when things are hard (because there are always hard times, no matter what's happening). I love this work and I love the people here. Thank you everyone for your emails and prayers for the people we are teaching. I love you!! The church is true! Have a great week.
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki
With Zeena at the clothes-store-turned-baklava store where she works
At the opera
A special brunch our branch put on for Women's Day
Monday, March 4, 2019
Week 16: Exchanges, transfers and broken traffic lights
Hello everyone! This week we had exchanges in Chernomorsk and I found out that I will be staying here in Odessa and killing Sister Larson (be her last companion)! Which is great because this is the best area and I have the best comp.
Tuesday we had exchanges and I was with Sister Federova who is from Ukraine so I learned a ton from her. She helped me a lot with my russian and we visited an investigator at the museum she works at (which was super cool) and talked to her for a while and she gave me some books she wrote about the conflict in Donesk. She wanted to give us black tea and so we talked a little bit about the word of wisdom and about Joseph Smith. It was really cool to teach with a native speaker, a little intimidating but Sister Federova always paused to let me say some things and bear my testimony. Exchanges were great, but I missed Odessa at the end of the day, and Sister Larson:)
We also met with Zeena a couple of times this week and talked about how our church is the only church on the earth with the fullness of the truth and God's authority. She's having a hard time seeing that even though all churches are good, one church has the fullness of the gosepl of Jesus Christ. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and she loves reading it--she reads it every day at work. And she says the sweetest, most sincere prayers. She's having a hard time (again) because her boss can't pay her right now, but she told us that she has faith that everything will work out because God knows her and is looking out for her. She says she knows this because He sent us to her when she most needed it in her life. I love her!
We also met with Alina this week after english practice and talked about fears and trials and I know that Satan is attacking her with doubts and worries that she isn't good enough or that she can't change. We talked about how every time we are scared or feel inadequate, that is Satan trying to keep us from progressing and becoming like our Father in Heaven. Fear keeps us from turning to the Savior and it is the adversary's favorite tool to use on us. It makes me so sad to think of how many good things every person hasn't done because they were afraid. I've had quite a few times even in just 6 weeks where I felt like I should talk to someone or say a certain thing and I didn't because I was afraid I would say the wrong thing or would sound stupid, but something I've really learned these past 6 weeks (and I know I will continue to learn) is that the only outcome of giving into fear and discouragement is more fear and discouragement. We won't get better unless our trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ outweighs our fears (which is never from them). I know that things can be a little scary sometimes! Talking to people in a language you're still learning, about a topic like the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is not a walk in the park! But I have never felt bad about any time I've pushed through my fears and opened my mouth (sorry for that tangent).
We also went balloon contacting in the park and even though it was freezing cold we had huge success! It was awesome. Sister Larson and I got 3 new contacts and the kids absolutely loved the balloons (also, I can now make a balloon dog and I am more than a little proud of myself. But sometimes the front legs are way longer than the back ones. It's a work in progress). It was also super crazy because we litterally saw like 6 people that we either know from enlgish practice, are teaching, or that we found when tracting in their apartment building. It was insane but awesome because I know we were suppose to see them all. It's weird how many times we'll see people we're working with outside even though there are like a bajillion people living here. Its such a testament to me of how there are no such things as coincidences and Heavenly Father is in the details of all our lives.
About the broken traffic lights, from our apartment we can see an intersection that can be crazy even when the lights are working, but this week we had some crazy wind and the traffic lights went out so it was complete chaos and it was hilarious to watch. Usually when that happens in the states people will treat it like a four-way stop but NOPE not here it was just a battle of who had the most guts/stupidity to just go and trust that the other cars going would stop. Sometimes a bus would block it and pedestrians were running for their lives across the street and there were lots of angry drivers. But as far as we know, there were no accidents, which is a miracle haha. needless to say, it was very entertaining to watch, and lasted for like 6 hours which is crazy because it's a super busy intersection!
That's about all the big news! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki
Tuesday we had exchanges and I was with Sister Federova who is from Ukraine so I learned a ton from her. She helped me a lot with my russian and we visited an investigator at the museum she works at (which was super cool) and talked to her for a while and she gave me some books she wrote about the conflict in Donesk. She wanted to give us black tea and so we talked a little bit about the word of wisdom and about Joseph Smith. It was really cool to teach with a native speaker, a little intimidating but Sister Federova always paused to let me say some things and bear my testimony. Exchanges were great, but I missed Odessa at the end of the day, and Sister Larson:)
We also met with Zeena a couple of times this week and talked about how our church is the only church on the earth with the fullness of the truth and God's authority. She's having a hard time seeing that even though all churches are good, one church has the fullness of the gosepl of Jesus Christ. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and she loves reading it--she reads it every day at work. And she says the sweetest, most sincere prayers. She's having a hard time (again) because her boss can't pay her right now, but she told us that she has faith that everything will work out because God knows her and is looking out for her. She says she knows this because He sent us to her when she most needed it in her life. I love her!
We also met with Alina this week after english practice and talked about fears and trials and I know that Satan is attacking her with doubts and worries that she isn't good enough or that she can't change. We talked about how every time we are scared or feel inadequate, that is Satan trying to keep us from progressing and becoming like our Father in Heaven. Fear keeps us from turning to the Savior and it is the adversary's favorite tool to use on us. It makes me so sad to think of how many good things every person hasn't done because they were afraid. I've had quite a few times even in just 6 weeks where I felt like I should talk to someone or say a certain thing and I didn't because I was afraid I would say the wrong thing or would sound stupid, but something I've really learned these past 6 weeks (and I know I will continue to learn) is that the only outcome of giving into fear and discouragement is more fear and discouragement. We won't get better unless our trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ outweighs our fears (which is never from them). I know that things can be a little scary sometimes! Talking to people in a language you're still learning, about a topic like the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is not a walk in the park! But I have never felt bad about any time I've pushed through my fears and opened my mouth (sorry for that tangent).
We also went balloon contacting in the park and even though it was freezing cold we had huge success! It was awesome. Sister Larson and I got 3 new contacts and the kids absolutely loved the balloons (also, I can now make a balloon dog and I am more than a little proud of myself. But sometimes the front legs are way longer than the back ones. It's a work in progress). It was also super crazy because we litterally saw like 6 people that we either know from enlgish practice, are teaching, or that we found when tracting in their apartment building. It was insane but awesome because I know we were suppose to see them all. It's weird how many times we'll see people we're working with outside even though there are like a bajillion people living here. Its such a testament to me of how there are no such things as coincidences and Heavenly Father is in the details of all our lives.
About the broken traffic lights, from our apartment we can see an intersection that can be crazy even when the lights are working, but this week we had some crazy wind and the traffic lights went out so it was complete chaos and it was hilarious to watch. Usually when that happens in the states people will treat it like a four-way stop but NOPE not here it was just a battle of who had the most guts/stupidity to just go and trust that the other cars going would stop. Sometimes a bus would block it and pedestrians were running for their lives across the street and there were lots of angry drivers. But as far as we know, there were no accidents, which is a miracle haha. needless to say, it was very entertaining to watch, and lasted for like 6 hours which is crazy because it's a super busy intersection!
That's about all the big news! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki
The museum in Chernomorsk
Making crepes at our apartment
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