well my week was hectic too. Definitely the deepest of lows and highest of highs all in one week with just unusual situations. My companion and i made a goal to actually get into a routine this week because we are just so thrown off. We were in a threesome still this week covering four wards and my companion went to Bulgaria Mon night-Thurs to renew her visa. Monday night we had to drop her off at a senior couples apt and then we kinda invited ourselves over for dinner :) we had a taco casserole and it was so awesome to feel (and taste) a little piece of America in the company of some amazing senior couples here. they really do so much for the mission. We met with the Parks who are the office couple for the mission office so he takes care of all the finances, visa trips, people coming and leaving, pretty much everything down to reminding us to change our water filters and check that our carbon monoxide detectors are working. Sister Park does a lot of coordination with the temple-we have to go through her to get clothes for the temple, and she handles our mail and any drama associated with that (for example she's the one who informed us a couple weeks ago that the post office workers were on strike so we probably wouldn't be getting mail for awhile), and she does so much more on top of being a ray of sunshine every time we go the office. It was so sweet to see them at home in their cozy Ukrainian apartment living their cute senior couple life together. We also met the Gregories who are a senior couple serving in Odessa, i think CES missionaries. And they are just hilarious-the funniest American comments about Ukrainian culture but you can tell they love being here. In our presidents letter today he shared with us a lot of the counsel he is giving the branch and district presidents and one of his pieces of counsel was that the senior couples are absolutely underappreicated and they have the most experience in the way the church is 'supposed' to be run, so he advised them that if they ever have a senior couple in their branch, let them observe how things are being run and seek their advice on what can be done better. Pretty cool. and true. So if youre reading this and thinking about serving a mission as a senior couple-DO IT! and just so you know, the couples here don't speak Russian or Ukrainian (thou they attempt), they are just the cutest couples from lowly Idaho and Utah. and they are here in Ukraine building the kingdom of God. They are just awesome for their sacrifice and pure desire and willingness to serve.
So what made my week a roller coaster? Well we paid a surprise visit to one of our investigators this week who has a baptismal date for next weekend....and she was....a little more than tipsy to say the least. Just a flood of frustrated emotions came to me right away, but im obviously so grateful we decided to go see her that night to find out what was really going on. then Saturday night we met with a couple recent converts from the center wards and one in particular expressed her lack of faith and belief in god because she hasn't seen her life change since her baptism in October. it was again, so sad and frustrating to see and hear her negative thoughts about god and the church. I sat there thinking, "wow, i don't want ANY baptisms if this is what's going to happen to them" so why did this happen to her? of course she has her own free agency to decide to read and pray every day or not, but is it bad to observe that maybe all the recent converts in these wards stick out like sore thumbs? i am just so grateful for our mission presidents new drive to get the members working with less actives/inactives. His philosophy that he keeps repeating is that 'why would the lord bless us with more baptisms and converts if we are not taking care of the ones we have?' and its so true. To go back to our investigator that obviously wasn't ready to make covenants with God, also, honestly, our ward is not ready to have any new recent converts. She didn't have any friends in the ward, so it we would have just thrown her into the sea alone if she were to get baptized. Recent converts absolutely need friends in the ward and need to feel like they are part of the ward. The missionaries can't and shouldn't be their only friends.
anyway, so these meeting were sad and caused a lot of introspection and reflection on how (1) important it is to teach clearly and simply so our investigators know the commandments (2) these investigators need friends in the ward before their baptism so that they have support after their baptism and (3) this one is a little abstract....but ive been thinking about my desire to work with homeless people with my nursing and why i have this undying desire to help them. i really feel like there is always hope, and i think i need to apply that to working with less actives and recent converts, they may be the outcasts of the ward (like the homeless are the outcasts of society) but i shouldn't lose hope in them and i, before i expect anyone else to be, i should be their friend. We are also starting to ask a lot out visiting teachers with the sisters because we are realizing how much the ward suffers when this isn't getting done.
Okay...now my high for the week. was yesterday at church. i just talked with everyone. and everyone had something to tell me and i understood them, and i replied and i showed my love and support for lots of different members. it takes such little effort to say hi and then it takes just a little more effort to ask how their family is doing and then it takes a little more to ask what they think about all of it, but i really feel like i strengthened my personal relationship with the members in our wards this week. And i took lots of notes because i know the big test will come next week to follow up with certain people on how they are doing. I think that will really show that i care and really am praying for them. I think what helped me have a better Sunday is that i have decided to get up early to have some personal study before the day starts. On Sundays, we don't have time for any study and i think it takes a toll, especially on the day when we should be most spiritually fed and prepared.
Okay, well, there's another week!
I hope all is well and warm in Vegas and the AZ!!
Sister kylie little
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