Miracles

The Lord blessed us with so many miracles this week! I don't know quite how to adequately express the wonder and gratitude we feel at how visible God's hand has been in our work lately. We feel so loved, and also know that God loves the people He is bringing into our path. I'd like to share a few of those miracles with all of you.

First of all, WE FOUND A FAMILY!!!! Like, a real family, with three children, and a mother and father who are both interested in the gospel. Words can't quite capture how incredibly exciting that was to me and Sister Kochel. It's been my dream ever since I got to Ukraine to teach a family, so to finally have one is amazing! How we found them is a really neat story, too. We went out to this very distant region of our area (about 40 to 60 minutes away from where we usually work) and were doing some tracting. Meerny, as the area is called, is a very rural region, surrounded by rolling hills and it's absolutely gorgeous! (It reminds me of Spanish Fork/Mapleton/Salem/Payson [sans mountains], so I absolutely love going out there!) Unlike the city center, the rural areas have a lot of chassney domes, or individual houses. So we were going around ringing the doorbells on the gates and talking to people in their yards. Neither Sister Kochel or I had been in that particular area before, so we were just walking and choosing whichever streets seemed right. (Also, that was a huge testimony to me that the direction of the Spirit is so subtle that we don't usually realize we are being directed. Sometimes one of us will have a strong feeling to go a certain way, but most of the time it is so subtle that we don't realize that we're being led. It's really neat.) As we approached this particular house - several twisted, dirt roads into the unknown region - we saw a couple young girls in the yard. We called out to them, saying hi, and the mom who had been standing in the doorway came out, opened the gate, and talked to us. She invited us inside the yard and we talked with her, her little girls, and her husband. Then they invited us in for tea and for dinner. We talked about temples, eternal families, and the Book of Mormon. They promised to read the Book of Mormon and come to church (they sadly didn't make it yesterday, but hopefully next week!), and they were just such kind, sweet people. It was the cutest thing ever, as we were eating dinner, to watch the dad hold his little girls on his lap and feed them from his plate. It made me so happy to be with such a wonderful family. And, the interesting thing is, they're moving to Canada in a month or two for the dad's work. Hence, they absolutely loved my Canadian companion. :) They thought it was so neat that they were going to Canada, and Canada had come to them. Definitely not a coincidence. Hopefully they will continue to have an opportunity to be involved with the gospel when they're in Canada, and we're going to try to help them progress as far as we can here before they leave! I just love this little family so much, and I want so badly for them to accept the gospel, because I know how much it will bless them and strengthen their family.

We'd set a fairly high goal for the number of contacts we wanted to get this week, and we definitely saw miracles as we exercised our faith to meet that goal. One experience was rather funny. We were out on Meerny (right before we found the family! That was a good day.) and this woman came off a side-street, looked at our tags and asked if we were from a church. We said yes and began explaining about the church a bit. Before we said much at all, she folded her arms, assumed a very commanding position and demanded, "Save my soul!" I've definitely never had that happen before, so we were a little taken aback. But we started to talk to her about Christ and the Atonement. She asked to exchange phone numbers, and as soon as she had written hers, she turned around abruptly and walked away, yelling over her shoulder for us to call her. Sister Kochel observed that was the easiest contact she's ever gotten. ;) 

Another day we were contacting down Karla Marksa when a man stopped us and asked if we were Mormon missionaries. He told us he met with missionaries a few years ago, but had been in Russia for the past few years and hadn't been able to find the church. He even remembered the names of the elders who had taught him, which made me happy. We got his information and he told us how much he loves the Book of Mormon (especially the story of Nephi) and Joseph Smith. He was so excited that he had run into us and can finally get back in contact with the church. 

Yesterday evening we were still one contact short of our goal (the number totaling ends Sunday nights) as we headed out to meet with a less-active. We'd been on the marshrutka for a few minutes when this young man walked in, and I could tell he'd noticed my tag because he kept looking at me. He sat down next to me and the first words out of his mouth were (in English), "You're from America, right?" I told him that I was in fact American, assuming he'd heard of the church and knew that most of the missionaries here are American. I asked him how he knew about the church and he gave the cryptic response, "I'm from Kyiv." I thought maybe he'd seen the temple there or some of the many missionaries walking Ukraine's capital city, so I showed him a picture of the Kyiv temple and asked if he knew that building. He stared at it for a while, but finally said he's never seen it. I then asked if he'd seen missionaries in Kyiv, but he again said no. By this point I was rather confused as to how he knew enough about my nametag to identify me as American (especially because he told me that I don't look American but that I look like a Ukrainian girl), and indeed I never cleared that mystery up and remain baffled at this moment. But I believe the Spirit works not just with missionaries, but with those who are prepared to hear the gospel, so it's quite likely that a still, small voice told Constantine that this girl on the bus was from America and could speak English with him. I asked him if he wanted to know more about the church, and he said yes. Unfortunately, I had about 15 seconds before I had to get off at my stop to get his number. BUT, when Constantine found out I was exiting, told me he'd get off, too. So we stood on the side of the road for a few minutes, exchanging numbers, talking about the church, and getting to know each other. He's about 25 and lives in Kyiv but is in Dnepr for a month visiting relatives. He didn't seem to believe us when we assured him that there are missionaries in his home city, too, which was kind of funny, since there are so many more missionaries in Kyiv than in Dnepr. We're hoping we can get him a good foundation in the gospel before we pass him back to our Kyvian missionaries. Anyway, that little experience was a miracle on so many levels. Not only did we meet our goal for the week, but we found a son of God who I know needs the gospel right now. Those are just some of the wonderful experiences we've had with God bringing our paths together with those who are ready. (Honestly, I think about how incredible it is that we're on the exact same marshrutka, or walking the exact same street as people who are searching for the church . . . there's no way any of this is a coincidence. God really is directing us and our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.)

I don't know if I've mentioned how we coordinate Sundays here. Since Sister Kochel and I are over two branches that meet at the same time on opposite sides of the city, we always go on splits with members for church. (The members are so great to sacrifice their time and travel to be able to do that for us! I quite love them.) It's a lot of fun to always be with a Ukrainian companion at church - it's a super great opportunity to get to know them better. This week, our young adults (whom we often ask to be our companions) were in Kyiv at a church conference, so we were with some older women who are absolutely wonderful! I love the members here so much. They're incredible pioneers.

I don't have time to write about all the miraculous, Spirit-charged lessons we had this week, but we honestly were just blessed so much. I know that the Lord is working with us, and He is working with the people here. I am so grateful to be able to be an instrument in His hands and help people who are searching for the truth.

-Sharisa