What a crazy and wonderful week it has been! I am now in Khmelnitsky, which is just crazy, I feel like I am in my first transfer except I can understand and speak the language better, but other than that I have no idea what is going on!
This week was wonderful and so hard, I really didn't want to leave Lutsk, it broke my heart! We took our District picture and it is quite a doosy, you just have to love it! I think that we are the only ones that fully understand or appreciate how wonderful it is, but that is ok! It is just for us anyway!
Wednesday we went into L'viv by bus. It took us 4 hours and we enjoyed the last 4 hours that we had together. With everything that happened our District was super close and we all knew that it wouldn't be the same once we all got split up. In L'viv, kind of funny, the mission driver, Ihor, picked us up at the bus station and we were just telling him about all of our adventures this transfer and he said that it all made sense now. We were like what? What made sense? He said that we don't act like a District, he said there was something different from us as we interacted with one another, he said it was more like a gang. Like, we all had each others backs. He speaks english, so it was kind of funny to have him say that phrase.
It was really cool to hear him say that we even put off the vibe of being really close. When we dropped Elder Jolstead and Elder Mollinet off at one of the apartments before getting to the church, Elder Lippert gets back in the car and says, "I feel like my family just got torn apart by divorce." So pathetic, but that is just how we all felt. Trials will bring you together.
In fact, my little story became the central point in the training meeting this time. I guess that President asked Sister Edwards to go into training meeting and tell them all about our last transfer together and all that happened to let them know that missions are hard and that it is just ok to sit on the ground and cry sometimes, but after the trials you are blessed. It was quite ridiculous. My new District leader was like, I knew that the Elders joked about you being high maintanence but I had no idea that all that had happened. It was quite funny! I guess I have a reputation now, I just hope that it doesn't hold out for too long, or that it doesn't get topped by anyone.
I got into Khmelnitsky on Thursday and it is just wonderful! We had english that night and that was great! I got to meet one of the members here, Dima is his name. He actually just got his mission call the the L'viv Ukraine mission. So he will not being going far from home to serve. He is great, and his english is wonderful! He helps with my Ukrainian and english as well, by correcting it. When I gave a talk yesterday he took out a piece of paper and wrote down all my mistakes so that I could work on fixing them. Thanks Dima...
Friday and Saturday I just got acquainted with the area and id our weekly planning and some area book work. My new companion, Sister Plewe is just wonderful, but really shy. I think that I have talked her ear off and asked a million questions. I just want to know all about this town.
I am so excited to get out and do some missionary work here, I have missed it so much from being sick! This transfer is going to be interesting, that is for sure! So, here in K-town, it is really new still, like Uzh. It was almost like coming home on Sunday when there were only about 20 people at sacrament meeting and it is just small and lovely. I missed my little kids at church too! Oh, and p.s. our church shares a building with a club. So, you can go upstairs to the church or you can go down the stairs to babylon. It is quite interesting, there are always choices and consequences in life.
On Sunday we met with the branch president and some of the members. The members here are just SO excited to help with missionary work, they want the church to grow so badly here, it is just wonderful! I want to work with them and help them be able to share the gospel, it is going to be so great! I am excited!
Our District leader, Elder Asay, he is a good old farm boy from Wyoming, and I just adore him. He is just awesome and that typical farm boy, he wrestled, grew up with 5 brothers, he is just so great! He told me the other day that if I ever brake any bone just to call him and with some pvc pipe and duct tape he could fix me right up. It worked for his cows plenty of times... yeah. This is only his 4th transfer and he is district leader and training. His little trainey.. oh my goodness, he is just so little, especially compared to Elder Asay. Elder Obook, I guess is how you would spell. He is native. Actually, he speaks hardly any english at all.
I talked to him the other day for a bit and it is quite interesting for both of them. They really can't communicate super well. The other night they called me and Elder Asay had me translate for him so that they could have a real discussion about something. It is kind of crazy, he is such a great little missionary though, kind of shy. I have been trying to talk to him to help him out a little bit.
We also have another set of sisters in our district, this is a first for me, I have always been the only set of sisters. It is Sister Wallace, my MTC companion and her companion Sister Peterson, who was actually Sister Edward's companion in the MTC.
Our district is quite young, which is so crazy! I have always had older elders to kind of look forward to for help with language or translating. Not anymore! All I can say is that my language will be getting a lot better this transfer!
I am so excited for this next transfer, new city and I am healthy! This branch is just so little and I want to help it grow, the members want it to grow so badly, they are so wonderful! There is no place like Ukraine!
Love you all!
Sister Shaughnessy
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