Led of God

This week, although very slow lesson-wise, was an incredible testimony to me of how God always leads His missionaries. We had so many small experiences this week where we happened to be in exactly the right place at the right time to talk to somebody who was interested. Most of the time when we go contacting, people aren't interested in talking to us. (Especially when we go contacting on the street just outside our apartment where a new Protoslavny church is under construction - there are a lot of devoted Protoslavs around there.) Once in a while somebody will take our church or English-practice invitations, and sometimes somebody will even talk to us for 60 seconds when we stop them. But most of the time we just get the distinctive hand wave that means they're in a hurry and are not interested in whatever we are offering. So the best contacting comes often comes when people approach you with their questions, and that's what we experienced a lot this week. I'll share a few of them, just to illustrate.

We were walking out of our lesson with our favorite Sergic-speaking investigator (Sergic being a mixture between Russian and Ukrainian - the speaking of which does not very much aid in my comprehension or acquisition of the Russian language, but it's kind of exciting once in a while. More comprehensible than that full-out Ukrainian she sometimes speaks to us.). As we were walking down the dirt road, conversing about strategies to preclude future 2 hour lessons of Sergic-laden stories and insert more gospel discussion, a man sitting on a bench outside his dome called to us. "Girls, what are those badges you're wearing?" We changed our course and started talking to this man. We had a wonderful discussion about salvation and the importance of good works. His sincerity and interest in the gospel moved me deeply, and he even asked if he could have a Book of Mormon - it's always exciting when that happens! 

Another time, we had just gotten off the metro and were meeting some elders for a lesson. As we walked, I felt like I should take my Book of Mormon out of my bag (where it had been because our mission has started trying a "put your materials away" approach to contacting every once in a while - it's sometimes less intimidating to people if we walk up to them with empty hands. So I'd been trying that. Works sometimes.) We stood by the entrance of the metro, looking for the elders. Suddenly, a man asked me if I was holding a Bible. I told him it was the Book of Mormon, another volume of scripture like the Bible. He told us that he is a believer (I love how people here say that all the time! That they are a believer or a believing person.) and we had a really good conversation and he wanted to learn more.

Yet another time we were waiting for our investigator to meet us outside the branch for our lesson, when a man approached us. He was very interested in the church and what we had to offer, and he took a pamphlet or two and expressed interest in coming to church. Another time, I was talking with the lady sitting next to me on a marshrutka. She was one of the nicest people I've talked to, and she was telling me all about her work at a music academy and how her children study music and how she has two grandchildren. (On a side note, marshrutky are probably my favorite place to talk to people - people can't just walk away from you, and you can just have a conversation about anything and bring it back to the gospel without worrying about losing the 30 seconds of their interest.) Our conversation was so interesting, that I almost didn't realize it was time to get off until I saw my companion make her way to the front. Frantically, realizing I had not yet told her why I was in Ukraine in the first place, I reached into my bag for a church invitation as I stood up. Unfortunately, I grabbed a card with just the church website, and not the local branch information. Completely out of time, I handed her the card, told her I was a missionary and that she should find out more, and squeezed my way off the vehicle. As I walked away, I was really disappointed that not only had I not gotten her phone number, but she didn't even have the info of when to come to church. But I suddenly remembered that she had told me that she isn't from Dnepropetrovsk - I realized that if I had given her the branch info card, it wouldn't have done her any good, but since she had the church website, she could find out more about the church in her area. So I think that maybe even grabbing the wrong card from your bag can be a result of being led by God. That was pretty neat.

Anyway, those are just some of the experiences from this week that really strengthened my testimony. God truly does lead His missionaries, even when we don't realize that we are being led. I don't know if any of those people we talked to this week will end up joining the church, but I know that each of them was supposed to talk with us at that exact moment in time. Each of them walked away from our conversation a little happier, feeling a little better about life. And if that's all that comes from it, it's enough. I really am just amazed at how perfectly God directs us and how He knows exactly where each of His children is.

Drum-roll for the most exciting news of the week . . . . Vloda has a baptismal date of July 7th!! We are all super excited, especially Vloda herself and her best friend (also a member) Natasha. Vloda is the 12 year-old that we've been teaching, and she is one of the sweetest, most wonderful people I've ever met. She will be such a strength to the five other members in Povelgrad, and she will be a wonderful example to her own family. It has been an incredible experience to work with someone who is so completely prepared and excited for baptism. She just makes me happy. :)

We made rootbeer this past week! That was pretty exciting. Sister Hooker received some rootbeer extract from home (in honor of her up-coming year-mark this Friday!) and we put it to good use. We used cream soda for the base instead of just plain soda water, so it was sweeter than normal, American rootbeer, but it was still quite delightful. Haven't had a rootbeer float for a while, so that was enjoyable.

President and Sister Nielsen go home this Friday. I've really enjoyed working with them these past two months - they are both incredible servants of God, and I'm grateful to know them. It will be sad to see them go, but they've served well and it will be exciting to welcome the VanBruggens to our lovely Dnepropetrovsk. 

At district meeting (which is always a highlight of my week!) one of our elders said something I really loved. He was talking about a woman they met who had a Book of Mormon from . . . somewhere - nobody really knows where. He then bore his testimony that there are only 20 of us missionaries here in Dnepr (and only 56 in the mission) but there are so many angels and other unseen powers working for us and with us. That is so true. There are miracles that we can't see that are going on right now to prepare the hearts of the people here. This is truly the work of the Lord, and He is laboring with us. I'm grateful to be a part of this.

- Sharisa