Week 28: Elevator Stories

Helloooo everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend! Summertime is coming and we are so close. For the kids here it's the last week of school, so they are pretty psyched, and every day now there are stands lining the sidewalks with fresh strawberries (for practically peanuts) and even though people keep telling us to wait and they will get tastier, we've already bought SO many strawberries--this summers going to be great!

Also--transfers were this week and yep I am staying in Odessa! I am really happy. This is the best area in the mission, hands down. It is also the hottest in the mission so pray that we don't die of heat stroke in a marshrutka.

We started the week with doing registration in center for Sister Butler. The branch president of the Center Branch (Dima) helps all the missionaries do registration here and Sister Hatch was trying to make small talk and instead of asking him how his new baby was (his wife just had a baby girl last week), she asked him how his new girlfriend was hahaha. It was awesome and Dima got a big kick out of it.

We were also able to do some service for Sister Raya in our branch and it was seriously one of the highlights of the week. Service is the best and Sister Raya has done so much for our branch, it was nice to do something for her. Plus we were finally able to meet her son (who doesn't really want anything to do with the church but he was pretty nice to us and he wants to come to english pracice now!). We did it with the Elders and Sister Raya was even doing it with us (we were carrying old wooden logs from one house on her street to another house) even though she is in her 80's! Babushki here are beasts.

This week we also met with Jenya who works as a security guard at ATB while he was working and we gave him a Book of Mormon and talked to him a little bit about it (he didn't have a lot of time) and invited him to church this Sunday. He really wants to come! And he was asking all these questions about what he should wear and if he should wear a tie--I really really hope he can come.

On Thursday after soccer we sat on the field with Obi and gave him an english Book of Mormon, and talked to him about it and had him read Moroni's promise at the end and the spirit was so strong when he read it, it was awesome. We're trying to help him to get to church this Sunday, but he usually has soccer games :( When we played with him this morning he told us we five were like his family! Aww Obi is the best!!

We finally set up an appointment with Alina this week for before english practice, but she canceled last minute and said she was too busy. That was a big bummer. But we are not giving up! This week is the week, I can feel it.

We also met with some of our branch members and did lots of contacting. When we were contacting on Sunday we ran into a super nice lady that had met with the missionaries before us last winter and already had a Book of Mormon and we got her number and are trying to meet with her this week.

Ok, as for the title of the email (I apologize for the length)! On Saturday we were tracting with the Elders in an apartment complex and we get to the 9th floor and I step out of the tiny elevator that we are all crammed in together and the minute I step out, this old fat, boxer-clad Ukrainian man (beer bottle in one hand, cigarette in the other) starts yelling at me to leave and all this stuff and so I book it back into the elevator with the elders and sisters, and we sisters go two floors below to tract and the
elders go one floor below the crazy man. Sister Butler, Sister Hatch, and I start doing our tracting thing, ringing doorbells to talk to people about the best book ever (aka the Book of Mormon) and a few minutes in we hear more yelling and the elevator doors open and it's our elders. They tell us that the crazy man is coming down the stairs and was saying he was going to "make us leave" and so the elders thought we should just try a different building and leave this one. So we all get into the tiny, dimly lit elevator and press the first floor button, and then the elevator just stops. The elevator broke! And then the crazy guy starts yelling at us again through the closed elevator doors and we are low key freaking out a little bit at this point. We said a prayer together (never thought I would have to ask Heavenly Father to help us get out of an elevator) and yelled for help and eventually the elevator started to go again, and the doors opened (not where the crazy man was--blessing) and we ran out and booked it down all 12 flights of stairs to the bottom as the crazy man yelled at us from above to never come back. Ha yeah don't need to say that twice. So I officially have my first stuck in an elevator story! Good times. Sorry, that was long. But, good story.

Well that is about it! We are doing good here in Odessa. The work's a little slow and Russian is still Russian, but I love my comps and every day is an adventure and being a missionary is pretty great, even when it's hard.

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Kropelnicki

Us with our soccer friends--Obi is on the left

Week 27: АТБ and soccer contacting!

Hello everyone! I'm proud to say I got my first sunburn this week. Woot. It was hot this week and it wasn't even close to how hot it will get! Can't wait.

This week we had the mid-transfer training meeting and instead of having to take a 12-hour bus there, we got to just skype in. I think I prefer the bus.  HA kidding. One part that I really liked was when President Wirthlin talked about when the area patriarch (he only comes to Odessa every once in a while) came last and gave patriarchal blessings, all 12 tribes were represented in the over 80 blesings that he gave. It's so cool! We are literally gathering the decendants of Israel and I feel so grateful to be a part of it!

We also met with Zeena this week and we ate some baklava and talked about Nephi 11 and the love of God. She still loves to read the Book of Mormon and she really loves meeting with us, but she doesn't have a very strong desire to be baptized which is a little hard. We're going to keep meeting with her, but not as often I think. Keep her in your prayers though--I know she will get baptized one day.

This Thursday was also Вішиванка (vishy-vanka) day so we wore our vishy vanka (traditional ukrainian embroidered clothing) to english practice. It was so fun! We also talked about Ukrainian superstitions at english practice... in summary there are a lot of them.

The Odessa area also had a big "mini mission" youth activity and Sister Hatch and Sister Butler and I got new "companions" for the day. It was so much fun! We visited some branch members with them and finished with ice cream. It was a good time.

Some extra stuff:
-We were buying groceries this week at our grocery store (АТБ) and Sister Hatch started to talk to the security guard as she was checking out and he was really interested in the Book of Mormon, and then our cashier was listening in and asked Sister Butler and me for our number because she was interested too, and then we gave the guard a pamphlet, but by that time all the cash register people were listening in and they wanted to know more about what the heck 3 girls are doing in eastern Ukraine, and in short АТБ contacting was a success. It was so cool! We walked out of the store like "what just happened?"

-Update on our morning soccer: We have gone every day this week and now everyone at the sports facility knows us! It's the best! We met this guy from Nigeria named Obi who is playing soccer here and he is SO nice. He even played with us for a little bit this morning and he was so good about not schooling us too bad (it was still pretty rough though...it's not hard to make us look bad :)

-We also went to the catacombs today with the elders and it was SO cool! We did it in Russian because the english tour wasn't for another hour and it was awesome. I felt like I was in the Russian version of National Treasure. People hid out in the catacombs during WWII and they stretch out for miles (it's pretty easy to get lost in them unless you have a guide). Светлана (Svetlana) the babushka kept us safe though.

This week we had some rough contacting and tracting experiences, but it's made me think about how if our confidence and trust is in the Lord, what happens to us doesn't have to really effect us that much. I know that Christ is always with me, and even though it can be really hard here sometimes, it's never too hard for the both of us! :) And even when we were feeling a little down, that's when I really noticed the tender mercies. I know Jesus Christ loves all of us--espcially you!! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Love,
Sister Kropelnicki

Sister Butler, Sister Hatch, and me in our vishi-vanka dresses

Our "Mini Mission" companions

In the catacombs

Week 26: Exchanges and brown sugar!

Hello everyone! This week, I am sad to report, I was not able to stay sans leggings. It got so cold and rainy! I felt like I was back in Seattle, which wasn't a terrible feeling to have because I miss my city a little bit, but nonetheless, dang.

In other news, we had exchanges this week and I was with Sister Федорова (Fyoderova) who is Ukrainian and this was her last exchange! So no pressure on my part, but it was actually pretty good! Our exchange actually ended up being on Zeena's birthday, so after we all met up in Odessa Center (and Sister Hatch and Sister Butler went with Sister Sereda to Sister Sereda's area in Chornemorsk), we stopped by the store that Zeena works at. We bought some baklava and turkish delights (she wanted to treat us but we insisted :) and talked about the Tree of Life story with her and compared it to the sweets that she sells and how she wanted to share them with us, just like Lehi wanted to share the fruit with his family. It ended up being a really great object lesson and Zeena loved it. We're doing a "meet the missionaries" activity next Sunday at our branch and we're really hoping that she'll be able to come. The only problem is that she used to have Sundays off but now she has Wednesdays off instead (grr).

We also met with one of our members on the exchange and talked about temples and then we went and did some contacting. We met some kind of rude people, but we had some really good conversations. One lady that we talked to told us that she had done too much bad in her life to be able to come to church, and we talked about how we are never too far down one way to be able to come back to Christ. It's like in Romans 8:39 (read it!).  We are never out of the reach of His love and infinite atonement.

After we finished our exchange we went to the post office to pick up a package for me from my family!! And it was... BROWN SUGAR. Which (if you are not familiar with Ukraine) they do not have here. You bet we made chocolate chip cookies that night. I have the best family!

This week we were also able to meet with Arture (who we brought to the baptism last week) and his mom, and we taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and drew it out on a paper and it was a really great lesson. We invited him to be baptized and he said he would think about it. Pray for him! He likes to act all "too cool" but he's a really great kid and he loves to read the Book of Mormon.

Other random stuff:
-Sister Hatch accidentally took off someone's doorknob as we were tracting in an apartment building (we tried to put it back on, but I think it was having problems before we got there)
- When we were contacting earlier in the week we found a super nice turf soccer field that is open to the public in the mornings and we bought a soccer ball and it's the best! We even got our elders to play with us this morning and it was so fun! I am so dead and so out of shape though.

Thank you all and have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Kropelnicki

A package from my family!!!

Happy birthday to Zeena!

Week 25: Baptism in the Black Sea!

Hello all! Another week gone, time goes by so quickly on a mission--it's crazy! This week the weather decided to go back to winter for a little but Sister Hatch and I have stuck to our no more leggings pact (much to the worry of the nieghborhood babushku, we may become infertile as a result of not wearing them but we are sticking to it).

This week we met with some of our branch members (they gave us MORE easter bread (booyah), did some tables in the park and talked to people about the Book of Mormon, and also did more balloon contacting in the park (always a fun time. I now know how to make a sword, dog, and mouse, in any color ;) People never really believe that they are actually free balloons and it's perfect because as we make the balloon for their child, we get to tell them about our church and why we're here! It's the best.

We also have had really awesome luck (not luck, blessings!) this week with contacting on the marshrutka. One of the guys we talked to and then met with later just kind of wanted to go on a date with us (little awkward but he did take a Book of Mormon), but the other guys is really interested in the church and we met with him to talk more about the church and then passed him to the elders (hopefully he comes to church next week! He wasn't able to come yesterday because it was a big Ukrainian holiday). It was really cool to see how there are always people around you all the time that are interested in the gospel. It made me kick myself for all the times I just sat on a marshrutka on our way back to our apartment from center Odessa!

On Saturday we were able to go to a baptism in the Black Sea (because the one in our branch is being re-done) and it was SO cool. It was on a beautiful beach and it was just a great day. The Center Elders taught the guy (Sergey) and he was so happy when he walked out of the ocean!

We also were able to meet with Zeena on Wednesday and it was great to see her after so long but also a little rough. We asked her if she would be able to come to church on Sunday and she said that she loves meeting with us and always feels good around us, but she doesn't think she needs to go to church or be baptized. It was frustrating because she knows the Book of Mormon is true but she thinks that all churches are good and even though we've talked to her about the priesthood before, sometimes things don't seem to stick. But we'll stick with her, it might just not be her time yet. Keep her in your prayers though!

That is all for this week, thank your thoughts and prayers! I love you all!

Love,
Sister Kropelnicki