Things that make me happy

I've realized that as a missionary, certain things make me endlessly happy. And to any other person, those things would seem very trite and not sposoben (um . . able) to make one happy. But I have had so many sweet experiences this week that have brought joy that is deeper than any I knew before my mission. I wish I could somehow help you all to feel the joy that I experience when an investigator keeps a commitment or when we feel the Spirit on a lesson. It's real and powerful, but words don't quite capture it. But hopefully you can taste a little bit of the joy of missionary work as you read about some of this week's happiness. 

First of all, Vika came to church!!!!! (For someone who is morally and grammatically opposed to the usage of several exclamation marks in a row, that ought to tell you how excited I am about that.) Wednesday night was one of the most sublime moments of my life. I don't remember if I mentioned this, but a couple weeks ago we were talking with Vika and her family, and Vika told us that there was no way she could come to church yet - that her little baby would have to be at least a few months older before she would be willing to take her to church. Although I was devastated at that moment, I felt a deep peace and hope come over me, knowing that God is a God of miracles and that He would somehow prepare a way for them to come to church sooner than that. We had made little progress in the intervening weeks, but Wednesday night we had one of the most powerful lessons of my mission. We discussed temples and the incredible work that takes place in those sacred houses of the Lord. As we looked at pictures of the inside of the Kyiv temple and discussed the different ordinances that are performed there, Vika leaned over to her husband Maxim and said, 

"Do you want to go to the temple?"

My heart almost melted. Maxim replied that, yes, he did indeed want to go to the temple. There was a sacred feeling of reverence and love as we discussed eternal families and the power and peace only available in the temple. At the end of the lesson, Maxim, Galina, and Vika all committed to prepare to go to the temple, and Maxim committed to prepare to be ordained an elder. And they promised that they would come to church that Sunday! I can remember few moments in my life that have brought me more joy than hearing Maxim promise that they would all come to church together. God changes hearts, and He works miracles in the lives of His children. We left that lesson basically flying.

Saturday night I called Vika to make sure that she was still planning on coming to church. And I was again filled with joy as she confirmed that they indeed would be there the next morning. There had been some pretty heavy rain that day, and I don't think I have ever prayed so hard for rain to stop so that they could come to church the next day. To my great joy, Sunday dawned bright and clear. And I will never forget that moment when I walked into the chapel yesterday morning and saw Vika, Maxim, and Galina sitting there in a row with little baby Nika. (And shortly after they went home, the rain started again . . .) I don't think it will be an easy road from here on out until Vika is baptized, but I feel like the biggest hurdles has been overcome. I am so grateful for a God who loves His children and works miracles in their hearts and lives to bring them closer to Him. 

Another thing that brings me joy is finding new people to teach. One afternoon we were outside contacting on our way to a lesson when we received a call that the lesson fell through. We continued our way down the street talking to people. In the 12-week training program in our mission there is one day a week where we have an hour of study right before dinner, and it was almost time to go home and study for that additional hour. But I didn't want to - I felt like we still needed to be outside on the street talking to people. So we continued and shortly after that we met a sweet older woman named Lydia. She was instantly drawn to our smiles, and she told us that she felt like we were relatives and that she knew us from somewhere. She invited us to come to her home right then, and we began teaching her about the Book of Mormon. She told us that she really wanted us to also meet her grown son, and partway through the lesson he came home from work. We were able to teach him as well, and they were both incredibly excited to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon. They invited us back the next day, and that lesson went really well, also. They both expressed to us the power that they feel when they read the Book of Mormon and that they also feel that with us. They were unable to come to church yesterday, but I pray that with time they will be able to. It was really neat to see the Lord's timing in all of that. Lydia told us that she and her son had been having a bit of a conflict and that he hadn't been speaking to her for the past couple days. But when we showed up, the relationship was healed and they began communicating again. God truly does know all of His children and exactly what they need and when they need it. As we were leaving the second lesson with them, Lydia told us that meeting us was a very important event in their lives. I pray that we can help them understand just exactly how important this is.

Church members and their love, support, and service also make me happy. Tuesday morning we got a call from President S, our branch president. I asked him how he was doing, and he replied that things were very bad. Concerned, I asked what was wrong. In a very serious tone he told me he was going to send me his email address, and that I needed to email him a picture of myself because he hadn't seen us for so long and he'd forgotten what I look like. That made me laugh pretty hard. It had been exactly a week since I'd last seen him, but it did feel like a very long time. He invited me and Sister Esplin over to his family's place to share a spiritual message that night. We planned to share with them the plan of salvation, and I was very touched when Sister S. said, "How did you know that that's what I needed to hear?" It was a very sweet reminder to me that as missionaries we are able to receive revelation not only to bless our investigators, but the members as well. We had a very spiritual discussion of God's plan for us, and Sister S. discussed with us how she was going to share that message with her loved ones. I absolutely adore that family, and I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to know and work with them. 

We did a good deal of work with members this week, applying the principles from zone conference in asking members for referrals. It has been a joy to get to know some of the members better and feel of their strength and testimony. The members here are such incredible missionaries! Everybody that we talked to this week about missionary work had a few names of people they'd already discussed the gospel with and for whom they had been praying. I really admire the members here, and I'm grateful for their service and missionary effort. I pray that the combined efforts of the members and missionaries will lead to many of the members' friends being baptized. 

People reading the Book of Mormon make me happy. Friday after English practice, we had a lesson with a young woman named Karina. This was our second lesson with her, and when we asked her how her reading of the Book of Mormon had gone, she replied that she had read over 300 pages. Completely surprised, I didn't quite know what to say to that. She shared with us how she feels the book is good and helps us know how to live. She hasn't yet prayed about the truth of the book, but committed so to do. We watched with her the Restoration film, and afterward she expressed how much she felt like Joseph Smith in her quest for truth. The Spirit was very strong as we promised her that she had found the truth. She said she wasn't ready yet to agree to baptism, but that she will keep working to find that out. I really love that young woman, and I pray that she will gain a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

My mission in general just makes me happy. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord in Ukraine. I love the people here, and I love sharing with them the light and joy of the gospel. This is honestly the greatest thing I have ever done in my life, and I'm grateful God blessed me with this opportunity. 

-Sister Nay