SO COOL!!!!
hyelo my familia! Wowee, so much to say! I'm here safe and sound, and too excited to have jetlag...plane ride? just fine...i didn't sleep a wink and we were stuck in the runway at new york for 5 hours...some medical emergency thing. We got to know the people on the plane really well. There were TONS of jews...they were going through vienna to jerusalem to study. five of them cornered me in line for the bathroom and shot question after question at me...haha, i held my own. They're respectable people...they really live their religion and respect us for living ours. So Vienna, meh, I only rushed through the airport and said "donkashern" to everyone i saw...but Dnepr! Oh! Such a cool city! The very first thing we went to the branch and the memebers had a little program for us. They fixed us borsche and pig fat on bread and kifel (it's like drinking fat thick rotten sour cream...mmmm) Then i spent the night at the presidents and the elders went to the APs...We woke up to a fabulous breakfast and studied with the APs and had an orientation meeting...I asked president neilson some simple questions like, "How many sisters are there" he said "jsut ten" then I said, "Oh, so what are the chances that I'll serve with a native?" he said "pretty high chances cectpa jones...you're the only american." Jaw drop. HA! All of my companions (unless i train) will only speak russian! so moving on to cectpa KOHDRATEBA (kondrateva) She is absolutely incredible! She's a fiesty little russian from st. petersburg. She comes from a strong family (he parents were temple presidents in sweden) and she has a fire for this work. My first impression of her was of utmost FEAR. We were going to our area and we walk up to this tiny little Marshrutka (what we ride every day) and she was like, "no. we are not riding that for ten hours with 6 missionaries and 10 bags." Next thing i know, after some yelling and really fast russian, not only does she somehow get all our money back, but we waltz up to this massively nice bus. How she did it, i will never know.
So we speak russian. She speaks english well, but she's adament on me learning this language. I am too! The most frustrating this is that I'm not yet understanding everything i hear. If I really focus, I can make sense by piecing the works i know together, but ugh...it's just a long and slow journey. I can't be too hard on myself though. I've only been here a few days!
Oh. And...so i am basically living every missionaries dream in Dnepropetrovosk. Not only do i have the hardest working native companion (she leaves in tolka 2 transfers, so she knows how to teach...wow) But I am being trained in paradise...oh yes. Not only am I in Crimea, but in the paradise of crimea, CEBACTOnOL (sevastopol) It is absolutly gorgeous here. We just got back from this little harbor town called balklava and we hiked (yes!) up to this falling apart war bunker tower thing and climbed up to the top where we could see just the bright blue and green "black" sea for miles. We scaled some rocks (missionary safe) down to the water which is as clear as glass...The beaches are mostly rocky, but there are a few little coves of sandy beaches...its absolutely gorgeous! From our apartment, we has a great view of the sea and our branch is right on the sea. Literally two seconds away. I'm really really lucky...it's really a mercy from the Lord that I'm here...that I was able to hike today and work outside for service on saturday and be in the heat around all this beauty...huge mercy.
The members here are hilarious! We get a lot more in the summer because our city is were everyone in eastern europe come for vacation, but we have maybe 15 active members. We've been teaching a lady and her friend, Ena and Galina, and they love us...they live in sinferopol, so it's hard to get out there every day, but they have a ton of quesitons. Cec. Kondrateva has me prepare for one section of the lesson so she can make sure that I can practice. I was able to teach about the atonement on Saturday. Obviously, I can only teach really simply, using the same words over and over again, but she said that we answered questions that she has had for over three years about the atonement. The spirit is real. I can't believe I'm here and actually teaching people the restored gospel...finally. I almost started crying in our first lesson with Ena...as a watched her russian mouth babbling away, I just felt so happy to finally be here! I am fully dependant on the Lord and on Cec. Kondrateva right now, but I know I'll soon be able to understand (cec. K said I'll understand everything in a month...oh...ha....) and soon i'll be able to help people better.
So its hot, its fun, its tough. Oh! and goats just roam around here. One started chasing us yesterday, and when we turned the corner, we saw five more following this little babushka...haha...
Yesterday was independence day for Ukraine, but sevastopol (and crimea in general) kind of hate ukraine. They think their Russian and theres actually some dispute on whether Russian owns it or not. So they had a parade and some signs, but no one was really watching.
Oh man, diving into the work has been exciting. I'm stil learning and trying to learn the best way to communicate with these people, but it'll come. The Lord is on my right hand and left...and if I act, he will bear me up. I know that. This work is nothing like i thought it would be...it's 1000% better than the MTC, and you know I loved the MTC... so you can imagine!
Next time you send a package (maybe for christmas or whatever) throw in a couple loose short sleeve shirts that are kinda nice, but just breezy (that I don't have to wear a shade shirt with. It's hotter than haites down here and even up in Dnepr in the summertime...those would be good to have. I have to wear an undershirt with most of my clothes and its hotttttt.
My favorite thing so far is probably borche (beet soup...its delicious!)...or bliencheeky (kinda like crepes, but deliciouser) and oh the cok! I'm not much of a juice drinker at home, but this is not juice. It's is pure nector from the gods...thankyou zeus
There are blackberry bushes all around our apartment...mmm...we don't have any money yet, so we will be living on that for a while :)
Just send letters and packages to the mission office by the way...if anyone feels like writing. I think it'll just be easier...and that way i don't have to be distracted by our mailbox.
welp, love you all, work hard at whatever you're doing and you'll be happy...that's a constant truth for life...just make sure it's not drug dealing...
cectpa jonesky
ps - good luck at school everyone. Weird that summer is over! I feel like i just walking into the heart of it. schastleeva!
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