It's Already Transfer 9!

Privet family!

Thank you all for your emails and love. It means so much to me to hear from home and how everything is going. I'm glad to hear that all is well. This last week was crazy as usual. I'll start out by saying who my new companion is- I'm now serving with Elder Nuzman from Draper, Utah! He is in his 5th transfer (my transfer when I first got to Saltovka) and we're getting along great so far. Something interesting about him is that he is a convert and is the only active member in his family. After his mission he plans on getting them active. He was baptized through member missionary work and has a pretty strong testimony of that. He was trained by a native here and his Russian is amazing already. Something we've already started doing is waking up at 5:30 to get extra Russian study in. It's super early but already I've noticed a difference in my language. I have a greater desire to study harder and learn more words (there's always more words to learn haha) Elder Nuzman is a great addition to the office, he knows computers pretty well and catches onto things quickly. We set some good transfer goals together and I'm really excited to achieve them. From Thursday after transfer meeting to Saturday night we were in a threesome with Elder Tadevosyan (elder from Armenia who only knows Russian) because he was going home but didn't have a ticket yet. So it was an interesting weekend/start to the transfer. I really don't like threesomes, they're hard to get stuff done in. But we were able to adapt to the surprise situation and I learned yet again that I can always receive the strength I need from the Lord to do hard things. Elder Nuzman and I were blessed with some miracles already our first few days together. We received seven contacts from finding and we're hoping to meet with all of them this week. We really need some new investigators here so we're faithful that some of these will become new ones! We received one from English night last Friday and we're going to meet with him and his wife tonight. This will be the second time on my mission that I teach a couple. (I taught a couple one time as a greenie but nothing came of it) Also we tracted into a guy who lives under the AP's apartment and wants to meet with missionaries so we'll be meeting him Tuesday night. All of these contacts are just coming up out of nowhere, it's amazing!

Also this week Elder Harrison and I met with Vladimir and taught him about member missionary work. He really loves the idea and is excited to get started. We're still trying to get his family involved in the gospel, it's a work in process. Besides these things that's pretty much my week. Like I said, we have good goals for this transfer and we're faithful that we will see great miracles through our service, we already are.

 

 

Happy 26th Anniversary to you mom and dad! I love you very much, thanks for everything you do for me.

Have a great week everyone! I love you and wish you all the best! Tell everyone hello for me and pass them my love!

с любовью,

Старейшина Каун

Украинская Донецкая Миссия

Where Did The Transfer Go?

Privet family!

Thanks for your emails, love and support from home, it really means a lot. I will start this email off with news about Vladimir - HE GOT THE PRIESTHOOD YESTERDAY! It was awesome, I'm excited for him. Now his home teachers need to start teaching him because the branch wants them to teach him the after baptism lessons, not us. We will probably help a little to start but the branch will teach him in the end. He's getting to know a few more members now so he's doing good. We're still trying to work with his wife and get the branch involved with her. I'll keep you informed as things happen. As far as the rest of our investigators, not a lot happened this past week with them because we weren't able to meet with them. No one seemed to have any time so we will be hoping and praying for some lessons this upcoming week. We met with a less-active family named the Dmirtenko's (I don't remember if I've written about them at all) They are an older couple and have stopped coming to church because of health reasons. They're really nice but just don't come so we're trying to get their home teachers over to them. We also met with Olya and Vitali, the English translators. They are an awesome family, probably my favorite one in the branch. (I'm sending a picture of us with them) We also visited the Grebnev family again, they are great. We're working with everyone we meet with to do their personal missionary plans. Some families are better than others at this but everyone is trying and seeing success.

Also this past week I went on two splits. The first was with Elder Bolingbroke, one of my zone leaders. We mainly just walked the streets while dropping by less-actives, we didn't have any lessons. We did receive a way cool contact so we'll see what happens with him. Elder Bolingbroke is from Layton and is in Elder Harrison's group so one transfer above me. He's an awesome missionary. My other split was with Elder Rooney, Elder Moss's companion. He is from California and is the oldest missionary in our district, two transfers above me. We taught a first lesson to a guy named Vladislav who was just in their phone and were able to put him on date, it was amazing! That's like one of the only times that's ever happened on my mission, putting someone on date the first lesson. So hopefully Rooney and Moss can start working with him more now and get him baptized. We also went finding on the streets as part of our split (we find everyday if you haven't figured that out haha) and got a few good contacts for them. Both splits were great this week.

Now for some comments/tidbits. I forgot to mention last week that transfer calls were coming out Friday. The time has already arrived again, it's crazy. Elder Harrison and Elder Robison both received calls in our district but everyone else is staying. SO this means that this Thursday I will get a new comp here in the office and that I will be the one who's supposed to know everything about the office haha. I'll be in the office for at least one more, but I suppose it's possible to be here for two more transfers so we'll see what happens. I think this has been my favorite district so far on my mission. We are all so close and have learned a lot together, it will be hard seeing two of us go but I'm certain that whoever comes here next transfer will fit in just fine. The Lord has everything worked out. This upcoming week 12 new greenies are coming into the mission which means 12 missionaries will be training, plus those who are already training. This means half the mission will be training next transfer, no joke! I am now one of the older missionaries here, it's really weird. As far as the Colemans go, the Hatches (previous senior couple) taught them everything they knew but we still try to answer questions they have as they're still new here in the office. The weather is getting cooler, definitely not as hot as it has been. And we were told that the water is OK to drink now so we don't have to buy our own anymore. Let's see, every third week in Priesthood they study the George Albert Smith manual so I've been hearing the lessons but I don't always understand everything. What I understand though is that President Smith was an awesome member missionary his whole life. After my mission I am planning on reading all of the teachings of the Prophets manuals and studying those. And Brynn, good luck this week with college! I'll be praying for you. I'm sure that you'll love it!

I love you all very much and continue to pray that all is well with you. Please send everyone my love and thank them for their support. Have a great week and keep on keepin' on!

с любовью,

Старейшина Каун

Украинская Донецкая Миссия

My Friend Vladimir Vovk

Privet family!

So this past week turned out pretty much as we expected - amazing, miraculous, and uplifting, full of hard work and humidity!! Elder Harrison and I achieved many goals we set during the week, including two new investigators and Vladimir's baptism of course! I will start off by talking about this. His baptismal service went just as planned and everything was perfect. It was perfect to have Brother Krasnik baptize him. That's how it should go every time with investigators getting baptized- by a member. Of course the investigator can choose but it's so much better, things go more smoothly. He was able to explain things to Vladimir and comfort him before the service started. And I stood as a witness of the baptism and it was so cool to think that "wow, we found him, taught him, and are now seeing him get baptized" I've been blessed so far on my mission to see the whole process happen with Akbar and Vladimir. It's so amazing how the gospel literally changes people and it all happens according to their faith and desires. Vladimir bore his testimony afterward and he basically said "If we're not on the right path than the path we're on is leading to destruction. We can't live without God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." He also said that he's been ready for baptism for a while and so was happy to finally be baptized. I don't know if I've mentioned the history of Vladimir that missionaries left with him but here it is. About a year ago sister missionaries here found him and taught him everything. It was Sister Ward and a russian sister (Sister Ward was in my district in Saltovka if you remember) So they taught him everything but then his teaching record said that he got scared of baptism. Fast forward to a year later and I was calling people in the area book and called him. When I called him the phone rang for over a minute and I was about to hang up but then he answered at the last second, remembered the church and missionaries, and was actually able to meet half an hour after that phone call. (That was in June right when I got to the office) So Elder Harrison and I started to meet with him. We had to answer many questions he had and then just basically remind him everything the sisters had taught him. And you know the rest. So this goes to show that no effort is wasted. We read this in Preach My Gospel. It doesn't matter what part of the work in the vineyard you do, the effort isn't wasted. The Lord doesn't forget our efforts, this is an amazing truth. (Hebrews 6:10) So we're sending the two sisters an email that he got baptized and I'm sure that they will love it. And the second half of the baptism happened yesterday. He came to Church and got confirmed! So Vladimir Vovk is now the newest member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Ukraine Donetsk Mission!! I'm so happy for him and grateful for the small role I could play in God's plan for him.

Earlier this week we had another visit from a General Authority, President Per G. Malm. He is the second counselor in the Europe East Presidency. You would recognize him because he has spoken in conference before. We had an awesome zone conference with him and I learned a lot. Something that really stuck out to me what he said was that "We can always trust the feelings of our hearts." It's so cool to be on a mission and hear from General Authorities, hear their testimonies. They testify with the same power and authority that we hold as missionaries. President Malm testified of the truthfulness of the restoration and that Jesus Christ lives. And that he knows these things by the same spiritual witness everyone receives. The mission just keeps getting better. Everyone is more unified and working to take the mission to the next level.

So I mentioned two new investigators. We met a man on the street a week ago and he was interested in English. We gave him a brochure and then he came at the end of church the next day. We then got his phone number and met him last Monday. He brought a friend so we taught them both. THEY REMIND ME EXACTLY OF DIMA AND VOVA FROM COLD MOUNTAIN! Very similar personalities, appearances, concerns, so that's pretty interesting. We've met with them three times during the week. Unfortunately, they haven't had time to read the Book of Mormon and they weren't able to make it to Church. We were pretty bold on our last lesson and explained that only through this church can they receive salvation. Their concerns are basically the same ones that all Ukrainians have. There is one God and it doesn't matter which Church leads you back to him. Who are we to say that through a book they can be saved, and on top of that some new church that is 1800 years younger than their Russian Catholic belief. All we can do is testify and invite. We're faithful that they will be able to read and pray about the message. I'll keep you posted about them.

And last but not least, the new senior couple came into country this week. They are the Coleman couple from Smithfield, UT! They will be permanently here in the office with us and are replacing Elder and Sister Hatch. Elder Harrison and I have been helping them get situated, like going shopping and translating for them. The Hatches are training them in the office and what they don't understand after this week we will have to teach them. So next transfer is going to be an adventure! And Elder Harrison will probably be transferred so that leaves me to help them with stuff and I'm supposed to know everything hahaha. It will be crazy but there's nothing to worry about, everything will turn out OK in the end. Elder Coleman is a convert and the Colemans chose on their papers to come to Ukraine so they're going to be an awesome couple here as most couples refuse calls to come here.

Now for some comments/tidbits. I'm excited to hear there's a push for missionary work in the ward. Use the personal missionary plan I sent you for some ideas maybe. And thanks for being awesome parents to me and helping me to get on a mission. I'm so grateful to be serving here and for the experiences that I have and will have. The Church is true, I know it with all my heart! Have a great week and remember that Heavenly Father is only a prayer away!

с любовью,

старейшина каун

украинская донецкая миссия

Where Am I?

Привет семья, как всё идёт у вас? Спасибо за то, что вы послали мне письма, я всегда рад слышать от вас и видить как Господа постепенно благославляет ваши жизни. Это прекрасно!

Hey family, how is everything going? Thanks for sending me letters, I'm always happy to hear from you and see how the Lord continually blesses your lives. It's awesome!

I also can't believe it's already August. We're already in week four of the transfer, next week transfer calls will come out again. Time is just cruising. This week went by pretty fast, every day is just packed with stuff, whether it's finding, teaching, or working in the office. I need to start off this email by giving you an update about Vladimir. Elder Harrison and I felt like dropping by his house last Tuesday to see how he was doing because he wasn't able to make it to church. We got there and he was outside with his wife. He had us come in and meet her. We've been trying to meet her ever since we first started to teach him but it's never worked out until now. So we met her and she was curious as to how we could help her. I don't know if I've told you this but they have a daughter with autism and they both take care of her even though they're old. Vladimir's wife is in charge of an organization that gives help to those with disabilities so she wanted to know how we could possibly give help to them. She said lots of stuff we didn't understand but we both basically said that we don't really know a lot about this subject but that the branch can help out and we just bore our testimonies to her. She is not very religious at all but after we prayed she said she feels a power behind her so that's a start. We're trying to get the Relief Society president over there to meet her now. Vladimir was able to meet with us on Wednesday. I wasn't on the lesson (I was on a split) but the lesson went good and then Saturday Vladimir had his baptismal interview and passed with flying colors!!! So this Saturday the 11th at 12:00 will be his baptism! Vladimir came to church again yesterday, they announced his baptism, and several members congratulated him it was awesome. And he has chosen a member we've had on our lessons with us to baptize him so pretty much everything's in order for Saturday! I'm so happy for him, he is an amazing man. Teaching him has been very humbling. His example has taught me more than what we've taught him. I have learned from him that worldly materials have very small importance in the grand scheme of things. Money is needed of course but what's important in life is family and growing together in the gospel. He is truly one of the Lord's elect here in Ukraine.

Elder Harrison and I have been doing lots of finding on the streets this week and have been blessed with some good contacts. We are hopeful that this week we can meet with them and get some new investigators, we really need some of those! Basically Vladimir has been our only investigator going anywhere. It's kind of strange, the same thing that happened in Saltovka happened here. We had a good pool of investigators and then one by one they just stopped meeting with us until we were just left with Akbar. So we are in search of more investigators now (but we're always looking for new ones though). We have been meeting with some awesome members in the area and helping them become missionaries. You might remember the My Zion idea that President thought of. Well he has now come up with a Personal Missionary Plan for the members to do missionary work and share the gospel with their friends to be used with My Zion. We are hopeful that in the upcoming weeks the members can give us some referrals from this. The members we've met with in our area so far are the Grebnev family (mom, less-active dad, 16 yr old son, 12 yr old daughter) They're a really cool family, we're working with the dad right now to get him back to church. the Bailey family- their names are Wendell and Tanya. So Wendell is an older guy from America who got a divorce and came here to teach English. He met this lady in the branch (Tanya) who also teaches English and was divorced and they just got married a few weeks ago. They now teach an addiction recovery program after church and actually, a guy that Wendell teaches English to who has been coming to English practice is now meeting with missionaries and is probably going to get baptized! So Wendell is doing some good member missionary work! And the last family is Olya and Vitali Kooshnerova. They are probably my favorite family here. They both know fluent English and are translators and have two young daughters. She also teaches an English Book of Mormon class every week. So we're currently working with these families. I sent you a copy of the personal missionary plan and challenge you all to do it!

Also this past week I went on a split with Elder Moss. I've been blessed to serve around him a lot on my mission so far. We've changed a lot since the MTC and we had a great split. We met a kid who was 18 on the street Wednesday and got his number then taught him the first lesson the next day which usually doesn't happen. It was a good lesson and now he's a new investigator for the other elders so it was a miracle! Also this week we went on a tour of the Donbass Arena which is where the Euro Cup games were played and where the Donetsk soccer team plays. It was a pretty cool experience, I got lots of pictures and am sending a few today. It's like a once in a lifetime experience to do a tour there especially since we can't go there to see games or anything. And this week we celebrated Elder Harrison, Robison, and Bolingbroke's year in Ukraine mark! They are all just a transfer ahead of me so next month will by one year mark here. Crazy stuff!

Now for some comments/tidbits. The weather here has been very hot and humid. Saturday was 100 degrees plus humidity and this week we heard it's going to be like 115 or something. It's basically like being in Hawaii, no joke. I feel like I'm on some island! I don't know how else to explain it. And our air conditioner doesn't work in our apartment so we just have fans but they don't do much haha. So it is a blessing to be in the office during this time of the year - AC and cold water to drink! Now for some other crazy stuff that happened this week. Our fridge stopped working lol. So we called our landlord and he sent some people to come today. They came and after a while said that the part we need isn't made anymore so we probably have to buy a new fridge or something, not sure yet. It's ridiculous. AND yesterday we found out from the APs and Senior Couples that all of the water in Donetsk isn't safe to drink, even from a filter because some radiation/sketchy stuff leaked in the water lol so now we have to buy water to use for brushing teeth, drinking, cooking. But being in the office we have our meals cooked for us so this is a huge blessing. So be thankful you have clean water this week!! I heard this stuff is in the news but we don't watch it obviously so maybe you can look it up and learn more than what I know. I'm glad to hear that all is well at home with you. Tell everyone hello for me. And I'm glad to hear the package made it home safely. I'm excited for your package! This upcoming week is going to be pretty busy but I'll tell you all about it next week, I don't have time to explain now.

I love you all and am thankful for all that you do for me! Have a great week and remember to choose the right!

с любовью,

старейшина каун

украинская донецкая миссия

ps- pics this week are me at the Donbass Arena, some food that Sister Lydia made (that is a purple cabbage and sweet onion salad) and a sign that says "Socialism - the way to a worthy life" Welcome to Ukraine!