Zone Conference

On Friday we had the most incredible zone conference ever. I'm pretty sure there are no words in the English (or Russian) language to describe how completely phenomenal it was. The focus of the conference was become a consecrated missionary and we talked a great deal about what that means. The time we are out here serving truly is not our own time, but the Lord's - that's something I'm sure we've all heard since before we entered the MTC, but the realization of what that really means came to us with increased power this past weekend. President VanBruggen has made a lot of changes in the mission, and many of the new rules will be a challenge to implement, but I am incredibly excited because I feel that this is exactly what the mission needs at this moment in time. For the past several weeks I've been having thoughts and impressions on how to become a better missionary and changes that I personally need to make - and I was amazed at zone conference to hear those things addressed and the bar raised for all of us. It was definitely a witness to me that this is what God needs for this mission at this time, and that He also prepares the hearts of His missionaries to accept and implement change. We all walked out of the branch building that day after 7 hours of meetings different missionaries - we'd been counseled that there's no way we can ever go back to who we were before that day, and I know that is true for me. There are miracles about to take place here, and we as the Lord's missionaries have to be working as hard as we can to help the Lord fulfill his glorious promises to the people of Ukraine.

We've already been able to see some of the miracles result from these changes. (The changes basically focus on more time on the street - shorter meals and p-days [when possible], longer working days, fewer study hours on Sundays and district/zone meeting days, as well as doing away with the position of office elders so they can be on the street all day, too. In addition, we're increasing our focus on the Book of Mormon and trying to get as many copies into the hands of these people as possible. Those are the more physical changes - the core of it is that we have to be completely consecrated to the Lord and in love with the work so that we can have the spiritual power to be able to find and teach everybody who is waiting for the gospel. It's exciting.) Sunday night Sister Kochel and I were out tracting (before, Sundays were usually filled with church and studies, leaving only a couple hours for work, so this was the most we've been able to work on a Sunday) - and I have never experienced so much success tracting before! At the first gate we knocked on, a woman accepted the Book of Mormon and invited us back in a week to talk about her study. A few doors later we met a mother who was very interested and gave us her contact info and told us to come back. We'd only been out for maybe 30 minutes when these menacing clouds began gathering and the wind started blowing. As rain started to fall, we told each other that we really needed to find a miracle house where somebody would let us in, since when we'd left at 9:30 that morning, the weather had been clear and we were not prepared for rain. And we found that miracle house!!! We stood outside this gate where we could see a family inside, gathering their things and taking them inside to keep them out of the rain. We called to them and knocked, but they didn't come open the gate. We were about to give up, when the father came over, opened the gate, and talked to us. I told him that we were missionaries and we had an important message for him about how he can live with his family forever. To my complete surprise, he told us to come in. He and his wife sat us down and we began talking about families, temples, the church, and the Book of Mormon. By this time, the rain was pouring, and they told us we needed to wait there until it let up. (Let's talk about tender mercies!) So they gave us fruit tea (that may be the only time I've truly been grateful for tea in my life - I usually don't like it, but being slightly wet and cold, combined with my lingering sore throat gave me a sudden appreciation for that hot liquid) and talked with us for at least an hour. We shared the Restoration story and they were very open and interested. (And their 2-year-old daughter was one of the cutest kids I've ever met!) They agreed to read the Book of Mormon and apply Moroni's promise, and told us to come back on Wednesday. By that time, the rain had let up, so we headed back out, walking on cloud nine because we had just found another family.

Church yesterday was fabulous! I was at the Pobeda branch. (And I know we shouldn't have favorites . . . But I do. I think I'll always be partial to Pobeda. That was the branch that put on my welcome party, and the members are so kind and welcoming and there are a lot of children - it's just a great place and I'm excited every time it's my turn to go there.) President and Sister VanBruggen ended up being in that branch, too - they're making the rounds of the mission, trying to meet the members in each branch. They'd brought with them Elder and Sister Loveridge, a senior couple serving in Armenia who were visiting for a few days. Which meant I got the privilege of translating Sunday School and Relief Society for Sister VanBruggen and the Loveridges. (Elder Loveridge wasn't in Relief Society, but you know what I mean.) Pretty sure it was the roughest translation they've ever been given for a meeting, but I had a ton of fun. It's one thing to sit in church and try to understand Russian for yourself, but it's another thing to comprehend it and put it into another language for someone else. I suddenly have much more respect for translators. :) After church, my exchange-companion Marina needed to stay to branch council, so I was able to get a ride back to Center (to pick up my real companion) with the VanBruggens and Loveridges. I hadn't been in a car for nearly 3 months, so that was a fun experience. (Also, after spending just those few hours with the Loveridges, I felt such a bond to them. So this is my plug to any of you who may be reading this who are contemplating serving a senior mission - do it! We little missionaries really need your support, example, and experience. Something about having senior couples around just helps us feel at home even though our parents are far away. The end.)

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but on Tuesdays we do service at a children's hospital. My companion and I, along with four elders who are not in our district but work in one of our areas, scrub walls, floors, doors, and stairs in this giant Ukrainian hospital. It's a lot of fun, although it wears me out every time. ;) This last week was especially fun, because we got to talk with a lot of the kids there. These two little boys in particular were really cute - they were about ten, and they came up to me and very politely asked if they could speak with me for a bit. They asked if I was also (they must have talked to our elders or something . . . I don't know exactly) from America, and we talked for a while. I was impressed with how mature and polite these little boys were - they seriously spoke like they were twice their age. It made me happy. Ukrainian children are basically just completely adorable.

We had a really neat experience this week with a less active. We'd been given the names and address from the elders of a mother and daughter who haven't been to church in years, and we just showed up at the door, basically only knowing their names. The daughter was at home, which turned out to be a miracle, because she lives about an hour away but had been visiting her mother. She had intended to leave the previous day, but things had come up, and now she would be leaving an hour after she knocked on her door. (I know, right? Pretty cool.) She lives too far away to come to church, and she says she misses it. We talked with her about the Book of Mormon, and she has a very strong testimony of it. She talked about how she hasn't been reading it lately, but that now, because of our support, she would begin again. That was a really neat feeling - knowing that the Lord had arranged things perfectly for my companion and I to be able to help this woman again return to the Spirit-laden pages of the Book of Mormon. God truly directs this work.

--Sharisa