Week 34

New area!!!! Center Kiev!!!!

i was so excited to hear that my next area would be center Kiev! more than wanting to serve in Odessa (the California of the mission), i wanted to serve here. it is where i stayed my first exchange here and i don't know if you remember me talking about it at all, but it is definitely full of distractions for me, but i know that with greater distraction we have to develop a stronger will and concentration on the work (why there are so many awesome members of the church in sin city ;)

Since there was no transfer meeting i just woke up and packed Thursday morning, we took a twenty minute taxi ride across the river to my new apt, we switched companions and from that moment on i was sister Pliha's companion. sister Zanger and sister Plihas old companion took the taxi to the mission office to pick up sister Zange'sr greenie. it was really weird to just switch off and on into a new area like that. Something about a big transfer meeting or a train ride to a new area helps to mentally prepare to serve in a new area, so its been kind of hard to adjust. Sister Pliha is from Latvia (again-another Latvian companion! maybe somewhere down the road we'll find out why), she is just one transfer younger than me, and she speaks Russian, Latvian, German, and English...and she is a missionary called to the Kiev mission to learn and speak Ukrainian. her Ukrainian is not coming along very well because its hard to learn it when her Russian serves her fine. But she's going to help me a lot with the language. I'm excited. but i feel like i did my first transfer again when she runs her mouth in her fluent Russian with the members and i don't get much of it...i thought i was doing pretty good but being with her has already opened my eyes to the fact i still have a long ways to go...it'll be good.

So, center Kiev....what to say about it...i am so excited but i have quickly learned that this move has been an upgrade in some ways and a downgrade in others. examples: I don't know how hyped America is getting about this,but the Euro cup 2012 for soccer will be here in Ukraine and Poland. i live maybe 3 blocks from where they are building the new stadium for it....awesome...but with that the country is preparing itself for all the limelight/tourism and tearing all the sidewalks and streets and re paving everything...so there is tons of obstructive construction walking up and down the street. upgrade example. our church building in my old area was four flours we rented out of a warehouse building right next to a reanok (were the bobushky sell their veggies and meat on the streets), here in center, our church building (the stake center) is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to a Ferrari showroom. downgrade example....my companion informed me that because of all the construction in the neighborhood and the fact that all the buildings are old, not only have they not had hot water ALL summer in their apartment, the sewers are really bad so we can't flush toilet paper down the toilet. I cant flush toilet paper down the toilet. ehem. we can't flush toilet paper down the toilet. yea. it gets complicated, especially when i forget... when she told me this i was already thinking how i could possibly plan my meals so that i would only have to go to the bathroom when we are at the church. but then we went to the church and same thing there too...you can't flush anything down the toilet. hm. its interesting....

walking the streets of Kiev is like walking the miracle mile shops or the forum shops. today we passed a store showcasing Versage china. and then above all the stores are the European style apartment buildings-very Boston/San Fran like. ...like i said though, i am going to need to be strong, stronger than usual to stop window shopping and start talking to people on the street.

yesterday was my first Sunday in the new wards... very interesting to have to move wards and see the similarities but also differences between the wards that are in the same stake. i have been praying to know how we can help the people in these wards and this morning i was prompted to start to read the book of alma in the book of Mormon...maybe because that's where alma gets his second wind and picks up the missionary work, but i came across a few verses that i think are definitely going to mold how i and my companion approach this area ---alma 4:3-4,19...we are going to bring these people to a remembrance of their duty and how? by bearing pure testimony. and loving them of course. we had some good times in my old wards but i see some good times ahead too.

I think it is such a great blessing to be serving in this area, i am soooo excited. i may be spending some of my pdays looking for a new apartment to move into though....good news is that the warm water was turned back on my second day here, so that was a huge blessing. actually in Ukraine, its kinda normal to have the hot water shut off for a few weeks at a time through out the year. earlier this summer even in my nice apt in my old area, the hot water was shut off for two weeks. we survived but it was hard. my companion said that when the hot water gets shut off in winter is when its bad.

i am a little sick with a head cold, i think its my body just reacting to the changes.

I love you all, have a wonderful week :)

sister little