Possibly Insightful Ramblings

Today marks one month since I took off my little black badge and began the journey of returning to a life I’d forgotten. I feel much the same way I did after my first month living in Ukraine – looking back I feel like it has been the fastest and longest month of my life. I’ve gone to school for three weeks now, written some papers, learned some o chem, renewed friendships, made a lot of new friends, learned how to take care of mutant, green-glowing worms, but most of all, I’ve learned a great deal about how to live.  Being back at the campus on which I studied for years before my mission is a somewhat surreal feeling. It brings home to me all the changes that have occurred in my life. There are, of course, those superficial changes, such as my tendency to sing hymns and Primary songs in the grocery store in a delightful combination of Russian and English. And my propensity to call people “sister” rather than their first names.  And replying to non-Russian speakers in Russ...

You use terms like "key indicators." You awkwardly pause whenever someone asks your name You don't recognize your name when you actually do say it to people You speak in Russian to kids and puppies You have a mild panic attack when the person walking with you turns a corner and you can't see her for a split second You quote The District. All the time. You have to actively restrain yourself from stopping every single person you see on campus to engage them in a gospel conversation You feel sad when you hear English spoken You constantly ask, "Is this a consecrated use of time?" You miss drinkable yogurt You are filled with intense joy while eating Little Caesar's pizza because there is no dill or mayonnaise on it  You feel guilty in stores if you're not making conversation with everybody around you You wish you could just hop on a marshrutka instead of walking everywhere You try to stick with a 'companion' as much as possible. Y...

Early Tuesday morning, Sister Dimick, Sister Lewis, and I woke up for the last time in the comfortable bedroom of the mission home. It was quite fitting that we had begun our journey as missionaries together 18 months before, and now were ending it together. It seemed to us that we had just barely flown into country, and now President was driving us to the airport to get on the plane that would take us away. It was a very surreal feeling as we went through security, said our goodbyes, and boarded the plane to Kyiv. My heart was full of emotion as we flew away and I watched the Dnepr river and the streets and buildings I love pass from underneath me. After an exciting layover in Kyiv where we all managed to make it to our planes on time, I had a wonderful conversation on the plane to Amsterdam with a man from Kyiv. He quickly became like a grandpa to me and he shared with me his wisdom from many years of travel (not to mention he taught me the word 'vestibular' in Russian). We...

A week ago, I was talking to President vanBruggen on the phone and he told me that the new missionaries were going to be delayed entering the country for two weeks. Excited, I expected to him to tell me that I could stay for those extra two weeks until Sister Esplin's new companion arrived. But alas, he did not grant such a thing, telling me that my mother and the missionary department would be strictly against such a state of affairs. So last night I sent my dear little Sister Esplin away with a temporary companion and I am now sitting in the mission home looking at the Dnepr River and thinking about how much I love my mission. As sad as I am to be leaving my mission, I am filled with intense gratitude as I think about all the blessings of this past year and a half. I would not trade this time of my life for anything in the world. I will be infinitely grateful to a loving God who allowed me to serve His children in this beautiful land of Ukraine. We saw so many miracles t...

We had the opportunity of traveling up to Nikolaiv and Kherson this week for some wonderful exchanges with the sister there. I just have to say, that we have an incredible set of missionaries in our mission. It's such a blessing and privilege to get to be here and work with them! In Nikolaiv, Sister Mellor and I saw a lot of miracles as we worked together. My favorite one was probably a young girl named Masha. She turned 14 yesterday, and she was very interested in reading the Book of Mormon and meeting with the sisters. We set up a lesson with her right when we met her, and the sisters have met with her twice since I left. Even though I only spent ten minutes with that little girl, I love her dearly and I pray that she will soon be baptized. We also had the opportunity of teaching the mother-in-law of one of the members from Dnepr. It was so neat to see the member, Galina, again! That made me really happy, and it was a beautiful reminder that God truly knows exactly where each of...

Yesterday I witnessed one of the biggest miracles of my mission. Even as I write, this, however, I realize that it's not going to have the same meaning for anyone who wasn't here and didn't witness the entire unfolding of events with me. So just bear with me and try to feel how miraculous and exciting this was. Vika, Maxim, and Galina came to church yesterday (as per usual now!). And Maxim was even wearing his white shirt and tie for the second time. But the astonishing miracles were that the family stayed for the entire three hour block for the first time ever, Maxim bore his testimony in Sacrament meeting, and their little baby Nika received her name and blessing. It was one of the happiest moments of my life when a kind, older brother in the branch pronounced a sweet blessing on little Nika. I was very moved as he promised her that she would grow up in the gospel and one day take upon her the name of Jesus Christ through baptism. I felt such peace during that blessing, ...

Last Monday we had a wonderful lesson with Tanya in which we discussed temples and family history. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so excited to go to the temple before - she pulled out her calendar right there to figure out what day she would be able to take a train up to Kyiv to perform baptisms at the temple. She is hoping to go in the beginning of August, and I pray that she will be able to make it. She's an inspiration to me. Yesterday after church, we introduced her to the family history missionaries who got her started with researching her family line. Family history and temple work just get me all excited - this truly is one big redemptive work of salvation! Wednesday evening I took my first ever ride on an electric train. The air conditioning and the doors that opened if you touched them were quite the treat. Even better than that, though, was a wonderful woman named Laresa. Instead of the compartments we usually ride in on normal trains, this train had bu...