Hey family!
Thanks for your letters mom dad and Kyle! Dad, your insight about receiving the Holy Ghost when confirmed was way cool. It is a gift but we still have to choose to live worthily in order to use it in our lives. The army of Helaman sounds like it was a success and we really need things like that over here. Thanks for your letters and I’ll pray about everything about when I’m coming home I got the schedule for BYU so we'll see what happens.
This week was the biggest tender mercy ever. It just builds my testimony about how when you go through trials and try your best, God blesses you with more than you can handle. I have a new companion, he's from Utah Roosevelt? Something like that and he’s great. we work so well together, I’m not training but my comp just came from being trained ...and a few days ago we taught a lesson and it was his 3RD lesson in Russian....how he's gone 2 transfers without any RUSSIAN lesson where everyone here speaks RUSSIAN....beats me. He's 180 degree change from my last companion. It’s a huge blessing. So here's my story for the week. This is one of my favorite experiences on my mission. We had a lesson with 3 of the youth where we teach a little English lesson and then a spiritual thought. Their names are Alena, Sveta, and Kostia. They are all 17 and SOOO strong. Sveta was inactive for 3 years, and my 1st Sunday here was her 1st day back and she came only b/c of a youth night that we started the Friday before, for the 1st time. She hasn't missed Sunday yet and now she wants to serve a mission. But that day at district meeting we set a ton of way good goals that we ACTUALLY will accomplish. There is some much faith and work in this new district and we are all so motivated and SO STOKED for this transfer! My zone leader is my MTC comp....I’m literally serving in paradise right now. But in our lesson, we started talking about missionary and we all got SO PUMPED. The faith of the youth here (the few) is SO strong and blows me away. I can’t even describe the feeling that was there when we met together. The topic of missionary work came up and they all got so excited, i was prompted to share our goals that we made that day and they were so excited about everything. We shared with them how in America we have Mutual every week and that there are callings and things to go along with it, they were shocked. And they were so pumped about everything, then we shared with them that it’s going to be like America here someday and but we just have to have more members and a functioning program. We then talked about how missionaries here, don’t do what missionaries at home do. Missionaries in other booming places teach people. the members find and the missionaries teach (at least that’s how it’s supposed to be) Pres Hinckley said that the better way to missionary work is through the members, members on lessons...etc. And we talked about the situation in Ukraine right now and how were progressing but we have SO FAR to GO! They eventually came to the conclusion that it’s all in the members' hands. They even said that, b/c missionaries can only do so much, but missionaries LEAVE and members stay. They got so pumped and Alena said this “I want to receive my celestial glory in the Donestk temple"...I was blown away. My description doesn’t to any justice for how much progress was just made in this area. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of the spirit that was there. It’s finally starting. the spark its happening and I hope I get to help it out while I’m here. I love my life, I’m literally in paradise. My mission isn’t about numbers and baptisms. It’s all about how I can become more like my Savior. We are literally building the kingdom here. And striving to do what our Savior did and is still doing. I can't imagine not coming here and going through everything...I’m just so grateful for everything I’ve learned. I know this letter probably doesn’t sound all that crazy but that’s just b/c I cant type or write well haha but I also want you to know that after that meeting with those kids, I couldn’t fall asleep I was so amazed. The Spirit was so strong and I felt God's love so strongly. It was a very powerful experience. I’m just so happy to be here and it'll be a hard day when I have to take my tag off. Keep working hard and I love you all with all my heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment