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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