General Conference, a Ukrainian wedding, and Vika's getting baptized!!!

Just so you all know, this was possibly the best week of my mission so far. (Although, let's be honest, I basically just love being a missionary, so every week is wonderful. but this one was particularly exciting, as you may have concluded from the subject line.) Let's start with General Conference. Wasn't that incredible!? I don't have words (in either English or Russian) to describe how powerful of an experience that was and how much I didn't want it to end. What a glorious blessing it is that we can sit at the feet of prophets and apostles and listen to their messages, directly from God to us. What a miraculous blessing! The missionaries and members in Dnepropetrovsk gathered in the Center Branch this Saturday and Sunday to watch the broadcasts. The 20ish missionaries, president and Sister VanBruggen (and other Englishly inclined individuals) watched in a small classroom while the members and investigators watched in the chapel. There was a powerful Spirit there as we all gathered to listen to our prophet. It caused me to reflect on the past two conferences of my life, which are very dear to my heart. One year ago, I was finishing up my mission papers and watching General Conference at home with my dear family. that's a very sweet memory to me. And then last conference, I was in the MTC - Saturday up in the Conference Center itself singing in the choir with my best friends, and Sunday sitting in a room with 2000 other missionaries listening to the prophet. And then this Conference, sitting in a small third-floor room in Ukraine with people I have grown to love so much. *happiness* It just felt so good to be with the members from all three branches in Dnepr and talk with them and our investigators. It was kind of like a wonderful family reunion with so many of my favorite people all in the same room.

I actually ended up missing President Monson's announcement of the missionary age change, due to being enlisted by my mission president's wife to be her companion for a few minutes to act as a translator as we tried to find a lost wallet at the dry cleaners, but I watched it online just now. and I was deeply moved by that. I'm so excited for all that this will mean to the work in the Lord's vineyard! I have a few thoughts i'd like to share with you all about General conference and some of the things that stood out to me. I was greatly impressed with the importance of family. I am so grateful for my family and for all the support that they give me and all that they have taught me. I also am looking forward to someday being married in the temple and raising children in the way that the Lord has asked. I also was filled with an intense excitement to remain faithful to the Lord for the rest of my life. There is nothing I want more than to spend my days in the Lord's service - not only here in Ukraine, but once I return home. I loved what Elder Whiting said about temples, and as he talked about the sacred nature of temples, I was filled with gratitude for those sacred houses of the Lord. Some of my most cherished memories are when I was in a temple of the Lord - I am so grateful for those holy houses. I especially love the phrase "Holiness to the Lord." If you look in Exodus 28:36, another term for 'holiness' is 'consecrated.' I really like that phrase - 'consecrated to the Lord.' That's the way that I want my life and mission to be - fully consecrated to the God that I love with all my heart.

Elder Nelson's talk held particularly special meaning to me. :) I loved how he invited everyone in the world to "Ask the missionaries." That made me excited and was a powerful reminder of how much the Lord has entrusted us with as His full-time representatives. And I loved Elder Packer's comments on letting the lower lights be burning. I am grateful to be standing here in Ukraine making sure that the lower lights are always burning so that God's children can find their way safely to Him. When Elder Scott mentioned the Rostov, Russia mission and the Kyiv temple, needless to say, everybody in the room got really excited! And Elder Holland's talk - wow. I was deeply moved by that. I love the Savior so much, and I am grateful to be here feeding His sheep. I want to spend my entire life in His service, and never leave Him. I could probably write all day about conference itself, but I should probably tell you some other things that happened.

Like the fact that in the 30 minute break between sessions on Saturday, Vika told us that her mom gave permission for her to be baptized!!!!!! Vika is the eight-year-old sister of Lena who is 20 and was baptized a couple months ago. They are the sweetest girls in the world, and they come to basically every church function. Vika is practically a member, and says that when she grows up she wants to be a missionary. A few days ago, she told her mom that she wanted to be baptized. Her mom then asked Lena a bunch of questions about the church - she had let Lena make her own decision, but wanted to learn more about this organization before letting her younger daughter join - and said she would think about it. Once my companion and I found that out at our lesson with lena earlier this week, we started praying that her mom's heart would be softened and Vika could get baptized. So when we heard the news on Saturday, we were elated!! Vika practically knows everything she needs to to get baptized, so teaching her is going to be pure joy. Our first lesson with her will be tonight, and I'm incredibly excited! 

On Friday I witnessed my first wedding ever! Tatiana and Anatoli, two recent converts, were married in downtown Dnepr. The ceremony was very short (and in Ukrainian . . .) and without a lot of pomp, because, as Anatoli said, the most important part is happening in a year at the Kyiv temple. :)

Yesterday evening, due to a series of events that would usually be seen as inconvenient, we were standing outside in a park, unable to find the woman we were supposed to have met with there. I was on the phone with the elder who had set up the appointment, seeing if he happened to have the woman's phone number. Just at that moment, a 20-year-old woman, hearing me speak english, came up to us, asked if we spoke english. She's from Nigeria, so her native language (in addition to her tribal language) is English. within probably 30 seconds, she asked if she could look at the Book of Mormon, then asked if she could have one. And then if she could have our number. And then if we wanted to come to her apartment right then. Wow - those are basically all the questions we ask, so we were beyond excited. She took us to her hostel (which is really cool! it's an international student hostel, so there was very much a university atmosphere, and I loved it. also, her ninth-floor view of the dnepr river was stunning) and we had a first lesson. She is basically incredible. She is one of the most believing people I've ever met, and her love of the Lord is inspiring. We sang some songs together and talked about the gospel. She quickly became one of my new favorite people, and I'm excited to continue meeting with her. It's so neat how God always puts us exactly where we need to be!

- Sharisa