Stayin One More in Cold Mountain!

Hello family! So as you can see from the title of this email I didn't receive a transfer call so I'll be staying here six more weeks starting next week. I'm excited to stay here for one more transfer! I don't feel like I've done everything I'm supposed to do here yet so I think that the Lord has a few more things in store for me. I am excited to keep working with the investigators that we have, especially Dima and Vova. HOWEVER, I will be getting a new companion this Thursday. Elder Robison's outta here already, it's pretty crazy. No one was more surprised than him to get a call. He was only here for one transfer and he thought he'd be here for a while but he's going back down to Donetsk somewhere. But such is life on the mission I guess haha. So I'll be sure to tell you all about my new companion next week. I feel like I barely got to know Elder Robison but I'm sure I'll still see him throughout my mission. We did the best that we could do here in Cold Mountain and I will continue to keep it up until I leave.

This past week was kind of a trying one. We had lots of high goals and planned on meeting with several invstigators but we got dogged four times! Our only lesson that worked out was with Dima and Vova. They really like the idea of the Word of Wisdom which is awesome but they still don't quite understand the importance of baptism. We planned an awesome lesson for them but then it fell through so hopefully we can teach them that lesson this week and get them on date. Dima has prayed about the Book of Mormon but hasn't received an answer yet and Vova said he hasn't prayed about it but that it appears to him to be true. They are really awesome guys and are making good progress. In the Lord's time I feel that they will be baptized. I just need to be patient!! Also this past week I had my first ever family night! Elder Schoen and I tried to have one but it never worked out. A family that used to be less-active has started to come back to Church again and was able to meet on Monday night. He used to be in the district presidency but then went in-active. They are the Morgoon family and are amazing. They have excellent thoughts about like every Church topic and they strive to share the gospel with their neighbors and friends. It's weird that they went in-active, right? But I am excited to keep meeting with them and getting to know them a little better throughout my last transfer here.

Besides getting dogged a bunch this week, we pretty much just did finding on the streets and in the area book. President Campero wants us to find as much as we can when we're not teaching. We talked with a very interesting babushka on the street a few days against We asked her if we could help her with her bags and she said no, so we tried to give her the little brochure that we pass out and when she found out we were Mormons she flipped out! I've never seen an angry babushka until now! She was just bashing the Church and saying that we don't believe in Christ blah blah and then she said that she was a zombie! "Yeah, I'm a zombie and I died a year ago!" It was a crazy contact. But in the words of Elder Robison, "Even zombies need the gospel" haha. Besides her, we didn't find too many other people to talk with. There aren't a lot of people on the streets sometimes because it's starting to be freezing. When we tell people we're from America the first thing they always ask is if we're cold right now haha. But besides these factors and it being a trying week, I am excited to keep working my best to find the Lord's elect.

Now just a few comments on your emails. It sounds like your experience with the Spirit was indeed humbling, Mom. That's how the Spirit works I'm finding. And I can't believe that Gerrit/Elder Seymour is going to Turkey! That is really cool. Tell his mom that I was looking forward to finding him in Bulgaria for my visa trip but that it's awesome he's going to be in Turkey. He'll do great there.

Well, I think that's all for this week. I'll keep you posted on what happens with getting a new companion and starting the next transfer. I still can't believe that I will be in my greenie area for 4 transfers of my mission. That is 1/4 of my mission in Cold Mountain! But I know that the Lord still has things for me to do and learn before I leave. I just hope I do what I'm supposed to do here. I love you all very much! Have a great week, okay? I'll talk to you later!

с любовью,

старейшина каун

украинская донецкая миссия