Good Bye Uzhorod

WOW! What a week!?! I think that my emotions have been around the block a few times! We got to celebrate my 6 months on the mission. That is scary! I can't believe that it has been that long, I feel like it is all going waaaaaay faster than I want it too! I love these people to much, no way another year is long enough to be here. 

Also, random! So, Sister Garrett and I got volunteered by our lovely Elders here to go to this doctor open house thing. I guess that the two most random cities in the world that I can think of, Corvallis OR and Uzhhorod Ukraine are "Sister Cities." So Brother and Sister Rampton, who live in Corvallis, came into Uzh this week. They have been coming here for 20 years to help establish family mediciene here in Ukraine. They called the Elders to find out where the church and had lunch with them. I guess that they were working with the doctor that helped me when I had my allergic reaction to juice to set up a family clinic here and it was opening this week, the church had donated a lot to the cause as well, and they were hoping to get some missionaries as representatives; so of course, send the Sisters!

It was like the most random thing ever, but we had so much fun! Half english, half Ukrainian, translating for people, all kinds of stuff. They were so nice, and we basically just took a tour of the clinic, that ironically I had already received medical care in, and were introduced as representatives of the Church. It was super simple, we took a bunch of pictures and even met the mayor of Uzhhorod.

We still are running pretty low on investigators here in Uzhhorod, so we spent most of this week hitting the streets, which are getting colder. Mel, our one investigator wasn't able to meet this week at all because of work, which was unfortunate. We had a few good conversations with people and have just been walking EVERYWHERE! It has been so fun though, me and Sister Garrett just make it fun!

Our members, Sasha, Anna, and Yeva have been gone since Thursday. They were able to go on a temple trip and do baptisms for the dead in Kyiv. I was SO excited for them! Sister Garrett and I met with Anna and Yeva on Tuesday and talk about the temple with Anna. She had never been before, obviously, she has only been a member 2 months, and Yeva has been to the temple a few times. It was SO helpful to have Yeva on the lesson. She explained pretty much everything, about how it works, what will happen, where to go, it was so great! I really hoped that Anna would have a great experience with the temple.

Also, on Saturday we got transfer information. Pretty much, if my email isn't that exciting that would be why, my brain is a little bit on overload. Elder Terry, Elder Tribett and I are being transferred out of Uzhhorod. It made Sunday quite the bitter sweet Sunday. Elder Terry had us leaving missionaries bear our testimonies. I cried. Pretty much I cried during the whole sacrement meeting. It was terrible. I love these people so much! Yeva wasn't at church because she had decided to stay in L'viv and see Sister Echols one last time before she leaves on Wednesday, back to the States. Sasha and Anna had just returned to Uzhhorod about an hour before sacrement and came. It was so great, Elder Terry asked them to tell about their experience at the temple. They both had the best time! It was so wonderful to hear all about it from them.

We also had Brother and Sister Rampton at church, Elder Tribett was translating for them. That was weird, having my words translated from Ukrainian to English as I shared my testimony. It will definately throw you off when you are speaking.

OH, and Sasha was ordained an Elder!! He is the first melche.... yup, don't know how to spell that, holder in our little Uzhhorod group! It is so amazing! Sasha is just the best and that will be such a blessing for him and his family! His little brother, Ivan got the priesthood, he passed the sacrement for the first time last Sunday. Uzzhorod is just the best!

So, I am sure that you all want to know.... I am being transferred into Luds'k. It is a city more northern, close to Poland. They have some of the cleanest Ukrainian, which will be super helpful! It is going to be so weird! I get a new companion, Sister Rudolphie. There are 3 sets of Elders there, the zone leaders are in my district. I don't know anyone that I will be serving with other than Elder Peterson is being transferred to Luds'k as well, he is from my MTC district. So that will be nice. Sister Rudolphie came in with Sister Garrett, so I will be finishing training her in my new area, she has been in Luds'k one transfer already. It will for sure be an adventure.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have served here in Uzhhorod though! It has been truely amazing, and part of my heart will always be with these people. Who knows, maybe I will be back?

Fruits and Vegetables

I don't even know what to tell you about this week. I laugh at all the letters I get from all of you, you make it sound like I am this great missionary, and I don't do anything it is all the Lord, I am just the lucky girl that gets to witness the miracles. I don't know why I am the one that is so blessed. I think that I am the one that goes in and teaches the lessons, but I know it is not me, nor my broken Ukrainian that does it, it is the Spirit, and the ones I go into teach end up teaching me. Same with this training thing, I am supposed to be training my companion, but she really is the one that is training me.

This week was  wonderful, as they all have been, and time is just passing by so quickly! This week I have been out 6 months, that is scary! My lovely companion likes to keep reminding me. It has been such a blessing to be here, I love this place so much, I don't know that I ever want to leave, these people are really just the best!

So let me see, this past week.... So last Monday, Sister Garret planned our P-day to a "T." We had this great idea for the Elders, we wanted to make them home made cards because of all the hard work they put in, all of them are so amazing, we just love them, they are the greatest and put up with a lot from us, so we had a plan. Elder Naumann can make brown sugar, so we had him make us some, so that we could bake chocolate chip cookies, and make some cookie dough for Elder Tribett since that is his favorite. Long story short, it took us pretty much all day to cut out and scrapbook these cards, make them cookies and also cook some zuchini bread for later that night. We got it done though and they are amazing! I wish I had the pictures, they are on Sister Garrett's camera, but we personalized each one for their personality, they were all so great, we couldn't pick a favorite! Elder Johanson's was a computer, with the tag line "Take a Mega-Bite out of this!" Elder Nauman's was sheet music, I literally cut out a G clef, that was a miracle, with the tag line "I hope this is the high note of your day." Elder Terry's was a tennis racquet and it said " Thanks for serving up a 40-love everday." And then Elder Tribett's was a GQ magazine, and his had a few tag lines on it, but it said "Men's fashion; Do's and Doughn'ts." We thought they were quite clever and they looked so good!
That night we had FHE because on Wednesday we were to be in L'viv, so we met at the church early so that we could eat our fruits and veggies. Sister Lattin had this game she wanted to play of "Stand for fruits and veggies" and so Elder Tribett took in very seriously, so for the past 2 weeks we have all, everyone in my district, eaten 80 DIFFERENT fruits and veggies. Not kidding! We have eaten them ALL RAW! Here is the list, some you have not even heard of;
Banana, nectarine, plum, pear, apricot, apple,  orange, manderine orange, pineapple, guava, coconut,red papaya,  yellow papaya, avacado, tomato, watermelon, muskmelon, brussell sprouts, beats, potato, cabbage, lettuce, peas, green beans, bell pepper, onion, leek, eggplant, dates, cucumbers, carrots, corn, lemon, line, grapefruit, olive, grapes, cauliflour, broccoli, squash, mango, kiwi, garlic, radish, turnup, horseraddish, cherry strawberry, red current berry, black current berry, purple onion, white onion, peach, fig, bulgarian pepper, chili pepper, other pepper that we didn't know the name for, pomegranate, raspberry, purple cabbage, ginger, cherry tomato, celery root, fezaleek (ukrainian), fig peach, kumquat, spinach, pumpkin, Kabaloba (ukrainian), cranberry, pomelo, mushroom, green onion, blue berry, bilberry, zucchini, shepovi (ukrainian), horlposharn (Ukrainian). We have all eaten those, all raw, it has been interesting, some are truely awful, some are actually not too bad! Like fig peach, that was actually really good!

Anyway, so Tuesday it was pretty normal, we got caught in the rainstorm of the century coming home from the church though, it was insane! We got SO wet! We got home at 9, planned then packed for the night train into L'viv. We made banana bread too while we waited. The Elders came and got us a little after 11, the train left at about midnight. It was fun at first, we had to wait for our sheets to come, so we talked in the coupey with the Elders and ate some warm banana bread while we waited. That was probably the worst train ride though, I was freezing all night! We got into L'viv at 6:30 in the mornina. Sister Garrett had to play piano all of Zone Conference, so we had to get ready as fast as possible and head to the church for her to practice. She had to play the hymns and for the musical numbers for the Sisters and Elder Naumann.

Zone conference was really good, except I started to get a cold. There was a lot about our purpose as missionaries, it really stuck out to me. We also did a lot on planning, how we can be more effective at it. That was really helpful, it answered a lot of questions Sister Garrett and I had about planning. After Zone Conference, which by the way the "Stand for Fruits and Veggies," ended up being nothing like what the Elders had thought, so we ate a lot of random stuff for the experience, but hey, why not?! After Zone Conference I tried to find Olya, all around L'viv in the freezing rain, and I forgot my coat in Uzh. It was an adventure, and I never found her. We still are not allowed to proselyte in L'viv, so we did a lot of English Contacting. For dinner, we ate at McDonalds, no joke. The fries are still the same here, and I still love them! That was interesting though trying to order in Ukrainian... we had fun though!

That night we left on another night train for home. We got in that morning at 6. That night we had english, I can't really remember too much about it, I wasn't feeling well, so I sat in the corner by the heater and pretty much looked like death. Elder Naumann offered a blessing, but I had too much pride for that. The next day at MCM though he offered again, telling me I looked like I had been hit in the face with a baseball bat, no joke, isn't he just the sweetest! He still feels bad for saying it, I tease him for it often. I did take them up on it though, it was a little rough. I feel a lot better now, don't worry!

Saturday President Lattin and Sister Lattin came into town, and they are still here. We have been having planning sessions with them and some meetings. They are so funny, they have a translator with them, but we translate a lot for them, that is hard! I was helping Sister Lattin on Sunday, that was a difficult thing, I could tell her what they were saying, but what she wanted to say back... not so well. We survived though. Just this morning Sister Lattin was sitting in on our companion studies, it was really great! She is just the funniest lady, so bubbly and just that mormon mom type, just loving everyone!

We did receive some new rules at Zone Conferenced, we have to speak our language from 10am-5pm Tuesday through Sunday and 6pm-9pm on Mondays, that will be interesting, Sister Garrett and I will learn fast that is for sure! Also, no haircutting. Elder Naumann gave me this Ukrainian Sign Language stuff that he had, which is really cool, so I am trying to see if that will help me memorize the words faster; I will let you know how that goes.

This week was so crazy! We went to L'viv, President's been here, I looked like I got hit with a baseball bat, baked a TON of banana bread! All sorts of exciting things, you can never be bored in Uzhorod!

Eating Raw Fish.....Yuck!!!

First of all, birthday shout out! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Stacia, Natasha, Lisa, Mom, and Ryan... I think that is all the birthdays coming up, or that have passed in the month. з днем народження свіх!!!! This week, like all of them have been, was just the greatest! I honestly don't even know where to begin with it all, yet again! I already have a journal a transfer thus far in my mission with all the great experiences that I have had, I don't know that I am going to be able to get them all home if I keep up on this rate, but there is no way that I want to forget a day of this amazing adventure!

Let me start with last Monday, after email, because that was the real adventure! I thought I was going to die, the poor Elders in my district, they get phone calls all the time from us, and they are either for help with language or to have them listen to our life stories because I still don't full understand every word that is spoken to me. We keep their life entertaining, we will just say that!

So Monday, after internet, we had District Lunch and discussed some secret things that will be disclosed next week. Then we did our grocery shopping, went home, had 7 minutes to sleep on the couch really quick and relax on our p-day before we had to catch a marshrootka into center for a lesson with Silvia. We wanted to talk with her about repentence and baptism again, see if we can keep her progressing and feeling the Spirit and be able to take the steps in her life to be baptized like her children. 

Well, we get to the door of the house and all we hear in yelling, so it takes us 3 times of knocking before Silvia gets to the door. Sasha is there, Silvia is there and her sister Emma, whom we have never met before is there as well. She came in on a suprise visit for a few days. So we sit and start getting to know her, Silvia's oldest son Stepon comes in as well, he just moved back from Kyiv, so he speaks mostly Russian, I talked with him a bit, Russian still hurts my head, and Ukrainian is still a little rough for me to understand, but it is getting better. Then it was time for dinner.

Ok, this is the point where I thought I was going to die, becuase in Ukraine Baba's always dish your plate up for you and they give a ridiculous amount of food. So Emma, being oh so kind, dishes up dinner. It was raw fish, soaked in vinegar with sliced up onion. No joke. I was going to die. I was going to die, you can ask Sister Garrett, the look on my face then entire time I was eating it.... OH MY GOSH!!!! I would take a bite, then have a drink, then talk some more, then take another bite, I couldn't do it! I did it though, that was a tender mercy of the Lord, I did it. I ate all 3 pieces of fish soaked in vinegar and onion. I know, you are all dying right now, please laugh! The Elders laughed too when we told them. It was so awful!

After dinner Sister Garrett and I taught our first real lesson together, we taught the Restoration to Emma, Silvia's sister and gave her a Book of Mormon. She lives closer to Ivano though, so we are going to pass her contact info onto the Sisters there. It was really cool to be able to teach with her for the first time. It was fairly ok, Sasha was there and he bore great testimony and helped when we could not find the right words. Then Silvia also helped as well, it was kind of a multi lingual event, Stepon came in for a bit, speaking some Russian, I pretend that I know Ukrainian, Silvia and Emma speak Romanian together, since that is their native tongue and me and Sister Garrett would give each other hints or other words in English. It was quite eventful! Emma did agree to read the Book of Mormon and pray. We will see if anything comes of it! Sasha is just so молодець!!! He is such an example to his family!

Wow, that was a lot to say, but that was just Monday, and it was awful! We told Elder Tribett the story when he called that night, he handed it to us, he said that he would not have eaten the fish, we can say that we have allergies to fish... So now he told us after I thought I was going to die eating that raw fish.... EW! Sorry, it still is a little too soon for me! Even just thinking about it now.... EW! 

Moving on.... This week has been quite rainy and cold the weather here is more bipolar that Utah, it goes from hot to cold pretty darn quick. We have spent a lot of time finding new investigators. English this week, was great! We played Apples to Apples with them, that was so fun! It really got them talking as well. We also were able to meet with Mel from English.

She is so amazing! She is 17 and a dancer, Sister Echols and I contacted her the first time and she was not very nice about us wanting to talk about God, but she was interested in English. Her english is great! She has come faithfully every week and 3 weeks ago she took a Book of Mormon when we had had a Spiritual thought on the Book of Mormon. She has read all the way through First Nephi, in Russian, Russian is her native tongue. Sister Garrett and I set up a time to meet with her after English, it was amazing! The lesson was in English, some Ukrainian and Russian, we wanted to make sure that she understood, and she says that her Ukrainian is awful, so we practiced simple Russian during language study a bit so that we would be able to explain certain key points to her if needed. My accent apparently sounds better in Russian than in Ukrainian...? We had gone in planning to teach her the Restoration, but she had a lot of questions that could be answered with the Plan of Salvation. So we taught that instead, totally directed by the Spirit. It was almost harder for me to teach in English than it is in Ukrainian, I couldn't remember the English words! There was a few times that I did lapse into Ukrainian a bit because the phrase of word just was not coming to me. That is ok, it just means the Gift of Tongues in real!

After the lesson, it was just amazing! She prayed, and the Spirit was just there. She really is seeking the truth! We are going to meet with her after english practice each week. Sadly she wasn't able to come to church this week though!

Also, we have found that our District is the most musical in the Zone! We have the only 3 piano players and Elder Naumann sings wonderfully... So guess who's District is doing all the musical numbers?! Poor Sister Garrett has to play the piano for everything, me and Elder Terry backed out of that one. She does so good! We have had some practice with them because Elder Naumann is singing and Sister Garrett is playing the piano, Elder Terry and I do paper work things while they practice. The other day I got to cut out ALL the Apples to Apples cards we were going to use for English... that was a lot of work.

Yesterday was a crazy Sunday! We had 18 people at church, that doesn't happen very often and in our little room, that is a noticable difference! We had some visitors from L'viv, and they brought their one year old, and also Marian and Ivan brought some friends to church. Elder Tribett was beaming when that happened! Those boys are just the best! Also, Ivan was able to receive the Priesthood, so next week he can pass! That is so exciting! Him and Sasha can now do that sacrement together. The visitors from L'viv came down and were only in town for a day. I didn't talk to them too much, but the little boy was quite the active little thing! You forget what it is like to have kids at sacrement meeting! It was fun though! He liked sticking house keys into outlets.

This week was just another adventure, and I am so excited for this week up and coming! We are going to be in L'viv for a Zone Conference. YAY! I love it here, the people are the greatest, the Elders are the best in Uzhhorod, and I am pretty sure that I have the best companion ever!

Church Picnic

Hello all, what another great week that we had in Uzhhorod! I will start by saying that the weeks are just flying bye, I don't know how they pass so quickly! This week was so great!

On Monday, after internet, my worst fear came to pass... not really! But my uncles will appreciate this story. So, like people know, if you have ever eaten steak with me, I don't usually cut my own meat, I am a baby and I have people do it for me, well Monday we had a District lunch and since I can't read the menu, neither can Sister Garrett, the Elders ordered for us. We got steak, they totally laughed and watched me struggle to try to cut my own food, in my defense it was a butter knife I was using. I just thought I would share since everyone made fun of me at home, telling me that I would go on a date one day and make a fool of myself, don't worry it wasn't a date, I was just with 4 Elders. No big deal.

Oh, and this week the lightbulb in our kitchen was taken care of, thank you to the Elders. We didn't get time on Monday, so we figured, hey we will just wait until next Monday. They found out and went and bought us a lightbulb. Poor Sister Garrett got to climb up onto the counter to put it in. Let there be light!

This week we did a lot of contacting around trying to get some new investigators. Right now we are only teaching S, which is getting harder and harder. She still has that guy living at the house, that is the only thing that is keeping her from being able to be baptized. Hopefully soon we will get a breakthrough with her. She is just so wonderful, I want her to have the blessings that come from baptism in her life. I just love that lady, our little Ukrainian Mom. She asked me the other day if I was sick because I have lost weight. She told me that if I keep losing weight I am going to go home and my mom is going to wonder why no one fed me and loved me when I was in Ukraine. She is just the best.

So, on Saturday, at the encouragement of S we had a ward picnic. It was really so fun! There were about 25 of us there, including the missionaries. It took up most of our day, we invited all the members and some of our potentials from English. It just so happened that O was in town as well, I was SO excited that I got to see her, it had been WAY too long! She is doing really good, she loves the University in L'viv, but I think that she really enjoyed being home. She hasn't gone to church yet in L'viv, so I don't think that she feels like she has a connection there yet. Elder Ward found out, I had to call him for something Saturday night, he was mad that I had seen her before him, and he is serving in L'viv.

The picnic, let me tell you! It was interesting, we had 4 languages going on, English, Ukrainian, Russian, and L and Y speak Hungarian to each other. M and I came as well, so they were playing all sorts of games. We had an American Football, that was fun, and that is a big deal. We threw that around a bit, sad to say that my football throwing skills have gone down hill, not that they were that great to begin with anyway... We did a lot of just talking and enjoying the time. We set up a meeting with M, a young Russian girl who has been coming to english, after the picnic, she wants to know more about the Book of Mormon and why we are so happy all the time. Good thing we have all the answers for her.

M and I, I just love those kids. They will be getting the priesthood soon, that will be so exciting! At the picnic they had so much fun playing with the Elders. They each stole a name tag from us, I gave them my old one since I have changed the spelling of my name on my tag and got new ones this week. They are the best kids. We set up a fire and the elders pulled off making some pretty amazing hamburgers, it was almost like being at home. There was a river and what O called a mountain, as a backdrop. We also, of course had some Ukrainian favorites as well, like shashleek... pretty much the best meat that you will taste. I don't really know how they make it, other that cooked over an open fire and it tastes amazing! I made some Revel Bars and cream puffs for dessert. It was just the funnest, we were all so tired after it though! Just in time to come home for some weekly planning!

Sunday was really good as well, I think that all the missionaries were still tired from that picnic. I had to speak as well, still scary no matter how many times I do it. This was Y's first Sunday as Relief Society President though, and she did SO well!! Afterward she was SO nervous that it wasn't right, but it was so great! It was all on family and raising kids.. so me and Sister Garrett are in Relief Society with S, L and Y, all grandmothers. That was awesome, I got told that they think we are going to be great mothers and then they gave us all this mothering advice. It was awkward, but the point was that Y did really well at directing everything. It was great!
This whole week was just great! No super crazy adventures, but it was so fun! I just love it here!

We are truely seeing miracles here! Heavenly Father loves his children!

Until next time!

Because of the letter I received last week from the Mission President I am going to have to start blocking out the names of those Karissa writes about and will can not post pictures of anyone from Ukraine, so I will just post pictures that have Karissa in them, which is not very many.

Apparently, my name Karissa has to Klarissa in Ukrainian because I guess in the Russian version of Ponoccio? I don't know it that is spelled right, that is the name of this evil monster type thing! I have 4 people tell me that this week when I tell them my name is Klarissa in Ukrainian and Karissa in english... so I am stickin to Klarissa only! and P.S. I changed my nametag in Ukrainian...I am not сестра шанесі, it is the more correct way to spell it because of the way that we pronounce it.

The Church is growing

WOW! This has been a week! I don't know where to even begin! I cannot
believe that it is September, first of all! On the 27th of this month
I have been out for 6 months, my mission will be 1\3 of the way over!!
WHAT THE HECK?!! Time is going to fast, I don't want that to happen,
I love you all at home, but just come visit me in Ukraine. You need to
meet all these people that have blessed my life!
Well, this week, what have we done this week.... First of all, the
light burnt out in our kitchen, so we have spent the last week trying
to cook dinner with a flashlight and then eating in our living room,
Sister Garrett, yet again, probably thinks that I am crazy, but I am
just having fun. There is nothing we can do about it, but I am pretty
sure that today a lightbulb will be bought.
This week was very rainy and we spent a lot of time on foot out
contacting our little hearts out. I am grateful for the rainboots that
I brought with me, the rain here is like Teresa's wedding. I think
that all of my companions have heard that story a time or two. I feel
like my language ability has increased a lot, because I have no choice
but to speak and to understand these people and it works. The Lord is
blessing me every second of everyday and I am able to say what needs
to be said. It truely is the gift of tongues. We had a great day on
Tuesday when we found out that Silvia had kicked her man friend out,
that way she could get baptized with the boys. Wednesday she had her
interview and passed! However Wednesday night she had let him move
back in again. That was a heartbreaker. She knows it is true, but just
can't get rid of that guy, he is the only thing standing in her way.
We will continue to meet and work with her. Anna, she has been
avoiding us. It has been really hard to meet with her. I talked with
Sasha about it a bit and he says that he doesn't know what we can do
other than love her. She gave up her job and her friends for the
gospel, she knows it is true, she is just struggling right now. Good
old Sasha, he is just the best. Hopefully we can meet with her soon
and get her going again.
On Saturday, let us just talk about saturday for a moment! Marion and
Ivan were baptized! Sasha's little brothers were baptized! How cool is
that?! It was so exciting! They are 11 and 14 and I love them! Elder
Tribett and Elder Millard started teaching them, and Elder Johanson
and Elder Tribett continued after Elder Millard left. It was so great
though, Sasha was just beaming!
On Friday we met Elder Tribett and Elder Johanson and they took us to
a tie store so that we could buy the boys a tie for their baptism to
give them along with a triple, some airheads from Sister Echols and
some other little candies. Then Friday night Sister Garrett and I
spent some time unpicking and resewing them to be the right sizes for
the boys, Marion is just SO little! We also started our baking
adventure in the dark with a flashlight, and of course the Elders have
to call at that moment and ask what we are doing, "Just baking in the
dark for the baptism, it is normal."
We also spent all Saturday morning baking for the baptism, the new
favorite around here is cream puffs filled with nutella. Funny story,
so Saturday we have english planning, we get to the church a little
before because we wanted to fill the cream puffs, so we start filling
them, get them all done and then it was perfectly on time to start
english planning and the Elders are still not there, we get this text
saying that they are going to be late. Well, I get this idea, it is
sunny outside, let us go set the nutella outside, have it melt a bit,
then we can fling some chocolate on top of the cream puffs to make
them look pretty, right?! And while we are waiting for it to melt I
would make some phonecalls to members/ investigators. Well, I have my
spoon and the nutella, and we walk outside to set it on the bench, and
Sister Garrett follows me because we can't be alone, right? Well the
door closes on us. It locks. So we are then stranded outside the
church, all we have with us is Nutella and spoons. Naturally what do
you do?! So we sat on the bench and had to wait for the Elders... and
we did have spoons, so we may have had a spoonful or 9 of some
nutella. It was quite funny! Sister Garrett felt so bad, I just
laughed. We ate ourselves sick with that nutella though.
Saturday night was the baptism, it was so great! I was so sad though,
Silvia and Anna both didn't come, just Sasha. Brat Roman from L'viv
came, he is our techinical "Leader" as branch president in L'viv, and
we are still just a group, not even officially recognized by the
church. So we had a great night, the baptisms went so well, then we
went to the church for talks. Sasha gave a talk, as did Yeva, it was
really good. Sasha was just beaming that his brothers were baptized.
We then ate some treats! I made Elder Tribett give the boys the gifts,
he didn't want to, but he had taught them from the begining, Mr. I
don't like kids, whatever. He loves those boys, you can tell, and who
wouldn't love them!? Marian LOVED his tie! Loved it, he even learned
how to tie it and kept untying and tying it over and over again,
showing everyone! It was the cutest thing ever! He even tied it,
grabbed his bag and walked around the corner yelling that he was going
to work. He is just he best kid ever, I love him!
During our little after party Brat Roman was having interviews with
members and missionaries, giving them callings to be sustained in
Sacrement the next day. I am now the official first counselor in the
Relief Society and Yeva is president. We don't really have a relief
society right now we just meet and read a talk together, but we want
to start getting one up and running, so I am now working with Yeva to
get that going, she has no idea what relief society even truely is, so
we have some work to do to get it all up and running.
It will be so good though to finally start getting things handed over
to the members and have it not be the missionaries branch anymore. We
are getting it on track to becoming a branch, hopefully soon. Elder
Terry took over "The Ward" (if you think about it, it is punny) as
group leader, Yeva is Relief Society President, I am first Counselor,
Pavlo is teaching Sunday School, Viktor is teaching priesthood, and
Elder Nauman is the Missionary Coordinating leader, Sasha is his first
counselor, and Elder Tribett is teaching Institute. All this was
sustained yesterday! With Brat Roman present.
We also had fast Sunday, little Ivan bore his testimony, let us just
cry out of cuteness! I was dying, it was the cutest thing ever. He
just gets up there and bears his testimony and it was so good and just
a simple cute one. I look back and Elder Tribett has this HUGE smile
on his face! AH! It is just so great here!
Uzhgorod is such a special place!