It has been a really good week though, we have had so much fun! We have been doing some contacting and things because we still are short on investigators, we got some names of less actives to start working with so I am excited to start doing that. The families that we were given all have younger children, I love kids! So it will be fun to start working with them, if we can get in.
This week we did some service out in the village. It was my first time out in the village, it was really fun. Just imagine what you think that Ukraine looks like, what you thought it looked like before you saw pictures of the cities and things, and that is what a village or "selo" looks like in Ukraine. We went out with the 4 Elders to help the family of the old branch president harvest beets. Seriously, it was so fun!
We took an hour bus ride out there, got off on it was so cool! We had so much fun!
It is actually relatively simple to harvest beets, they are sticking out of the ground, you just grab them and pull, then throw them on the trailer on the back of the tractor. It took us about 3 hours and two loads of the trailer to get all the beets out of their field. After filling the second load of beats in the trailer we, of course, hop on top of all the beets in the trailor and ride through the village in the trailor being pulled by this old Soviet tractor to their house. It was so cool! How many people can say you have done that in their life... subtracting maybe missionaries who served in Ukraine and Ukrainians. When we got back to the house we dumped the beats out in a pile. Then you take a knife and you have to cut the tops off of all the beats. That was cool, so we would cut the tops off then throw them into this other pile, literally throw them because their were 10 of us working on the pile that was the size of a shed. The Polyshooks, the family that we were helping, were so nice and they had even brought a non member friend to help, kind of a nice way to get him introduced to the missionaries.
He definately won't forget the missionaries either. I can't remember his name, but he was so nice. He has read the Book of Mormon twice and doesn't believe it. Elder Robinett was trying to get him to come to church and was trying to address his concerns. Sister Rudolphi took the more abrupt approach, by knocking some sense into him! Literally! She threw a beet right into the side of his head, hard enough that it hit him and broke in half. It was so funny! She did it on accident, but it was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life! You should have seen these beets too, some of them were bigger than my head, so it is not like they were little things that we were throwing around. It was so great! He was such a good sport about it, but I am sure that he had a headache after that, just saying the missionaries we make lasting impressions on people's lives!
P.S. There were all sorts of animals on their farm and the elders caught a baby duck! I got to hold it!
We were in the village all day on Friday. Sister Polyshook made us borsch for lunch, so good! And sandwiches with Ukrianian salad, potatoes and the staple of bread. It was really good! All 6 of us missionaries, the Polyshooks, their friend squished on this little table. Pretty sure I got the awkward spot where I was sitting almost in Elder Peterson's lap we were so squished! It was really fun though, in Ukraine you always need to eat all the food on your plate as well or it is offensive. THEY GIVE YOU SO MUCH FOOD!!!!!! I seriously make myself sick trying to finish it! We had a bowl of borsch, a bowl of potatoes, a sandwich, salad, and you have to have bread. It is a lot of food and they keep piling it on your plate, especially when you sit next to Elder Peterson who piles more food on my plate when I am not looking because he thinks it is funny! The food here is SO good though, I don't know how you are living on that American stuff.
Saturday and Sunday we had conference! That was so great! We watched it in Ukrainian of course, and I was able to understand most of what was being said. I really enjoyed Elder Holland's talk and one other, I can't remember who it was that spoke. We downloaded it onto my iPod in english to listen to this week, so that way I can better understand what was being said exactly. Conference was good, we didn't have the best of turn out from the members and no investigator's came, sadly.
In between sessions we had lunch, borsch, naturally, and we baked some treats as well. It was really good, I had made conference bingo for the kids, but no kids came, sadly. Don't worry, during the last session on Sunday the missionaries played it, and the members thought it was a good idea to keep us awake.
Saturday night we had sports night again, believe it or not that is the highlight of my week AND I am good at ultimate frisbee. Just so you all know, it is way fun and I am good at it, I am not the last one to be picked for teams! Kind of a big deal if you know anything about my severe lack in coordination. It was a really fun time! And afterward Yeva called me, so I talked with her on the phone for a bit.
The weather here is normal, my rain coat is just fine for the moment, I am buying a bigger coat today. I have gone to the second hand here and bought some more sweaters for super cheap and I have been fine. I will need to buy boots in about a month though, when it starts to snow.
Things have just been plugging along. The Elders found a new investigator who is a hairdresser... seriously considering to have him cut my hair, I still have not colored it. There just has not been the time, maybe today though. We haven't had any snow here.
Yeva has called me 3 times this week, missing me. She is the greatest, I love talking to her. I told her all about the harvesting of the beets, she was just in an uproar laughing at me. It was really such a fun experience, next year mom, when you come to get me, we will come help the Polyshooks again, because you would have loved the experience.
Sister Echols emailed me today, she said that she will try to call you this week or next. She has some gifts for you and just wants to meet you. She is the best! I love her, it will be so fun for you both to just talk all about me!
My Ukrainian has gotten better, Elder Peterson insists that I am better than him, he is crazy becuase that is not true. I was able to understand conference though, that was cool. I didn't understand every word, but I got the overall gist and key things, phrases out of it, that was cool! I got to talk to Elder Tribett on the phone, that was fun! MIss that missionary, he is such a good missionary. I had to call him to find out where to find the game Apples to Apples online. It is such a big hit at english to play, everyone loves it. We played it in Uzh, so I suggested it here, it was great! So many people come to english here! They all loved the game too!
Oh, p.s. I am now a tea drinker! They have fruit teas over here that EVERYONE gives you, and we can drink it as long as it is not black or green. I LOVE IT! I literally drink a couple of glasses a day becuase it is getting colder here.
I think that is about it, nothing to amazing!
LOVE YOU!
(Elder Peterson is from American Fork. His family comes into the salon all the time)
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