FAMILY! Happy Christmas to you...i will not believe that it's already the middle of December. What happened to July? haha...time is flying before my eyeballs and I can barely stand it. Cectpa Kondrateva is leaving on Saturday. Like home leaving. Моя Мамочка!! It'll mos def be a new adventure. She's so funny right now...she just doesn't know where to put herself...here or home. I'll really miss her!
Our нина doesn't have a baptismal date anymore. She decided that she's not ready to live the law of chastity. You know, she wants a family so badly, but she's not quite sure how to do it right...but she still wants to be baptized and she came to church yesterday. Church yesterday was AMAZING! We had 4 investigators show up which is an absolute miracle....we had a great meeting, low on the crazy comments, saturated with the spirit. It was 3 of our investigators first time at church, and first impressions mean something. It was a real answer to our prayers! One of our new investigators (well the elders are meeting with her and her mom) is just...i can't even describe her...i just exlope with love for her. Her names Lena, she's 19 years old, and she's consistenly coming to everything...english, fhe, church, p-day stuff...she is open to the gospel, understanding of our sweet language skills, happy to help out with anything, and just shines with christ's light. She's the first person in Ukraine that I've felt a real, sincere friendship with....of course I love the people here, but theres a difference between that love and friendship. She's a blessing for ME! I straight up was like, "Hey Lena, we have church tomorrow at 10...you should come!" She was like "OK! I will!" and then she actually does...ugh....i love her. I hope and pray with all my SOUL that there will be more to come for her...
Our work in Sevastopol is picking up again...we hit a hard month this part November when we literally lost 6 or 7 investigators in one week. That followed no-show after no-show and hours of tracting and contacting with no success. Maybe it was a little refiners fire, if you will, or the droop in the sine curve before it slopes back up...but I know that consistancy (or constancy :) haha) is key through those times. If we prove to be just as strong and diligent - if not more - through the crappy times, then we prove to God that we can't be shaken through a little rumble in the road. Then He blesses us with exactly what we need. I love what Dad wrote me last week, about "concecrating" this time to the Lord. I'm trying to up my anti (anty? auntie? ha) this month...to really use my calling as a missionary to build up Sevastopol. It's just, we have the help from God right now and I don't want to waste it. I'm trying to figure out how to be the most effective I can and stay sane at the same time. It's SO easy to get caught up in the "thick of thin things" as President Monson says...even if they are good things. President Scott said that somtimes Satan doesn't bother distracting us with the big things that he knows won't shake us, but he distracts us with other good things, "righteous" things, that only serve to distract us from our main purpose...returning to God in families - and helping people around us do the same. I experience this everyday...like on the marshrutka when I could have a 30 minute ride home to be off in my own world and give my brain a break...or not. When I'm on the street and laughing and recalling funny memories with my companions, walking by people we pass...hmmm. Or at church when I could be "getting a lot more out of my english scripture study"...or try my hardest to be intune and respect the speakers and teachers. It's a constant struggle... but i'm getting better!
It got cold this week and snowed for like 8 flakes and then stopped :( The rest of the mission is in a winter wonderland...lame. We'll see...maybe we'll wake up to whiteness...i really should be grateful for the warmish weather...a least i still have all my toes and fingers and stuff. I heard that a missionary up in Poltava lost two fingers this week from frost bite. haha..just jokin
This morning we went on such a great adventure...We woke up way early (well just at 630...it's still early for me :) and ventured into a little grove of trees and burned cectpas shoes and a couple of her shirts...we bought some stuff at the renok (I still don't know what it is) but the lady said that it would definitely burn...well it burned....right in my face! I built this great little fire, thinking all was all cool with my fire-making skills, and then doused it with the mystery stuff and once the match was lit, so was everything else :) man alive...haha...gave me a little fright is all. I'll never buy a mystery fire burning liquid from the renok again....
WElp...love you guys a whole whallop and a heap! I'm loving life and working hard and trying to serve the Lord the best I can. Keep you encouraging and uplifting letters coming! They help me a lot. Hwave aw gweat week...stay strong...cover yous...pray for the robbers to trip and fall...urge the donkey backwards and forward...please pass the butter...I'm a little ballet swan...sprinkle the "seasoning" on the food at the cannery...and stay away from the nursery...i heard it's dangerous and broken....
lots of loveeeeeeeeeee
cectpa jones!
ps...do you want me to call christmas eve late or christmas day late or after christmas?
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