Week 6

So, this is my senior companion's final P-day! He's going home next week, and I get a new companion! It's gonna be pretty weird not having Elder Riddle around anymore. But, he has to go back to Utah and start living life, so I guess it's OK!

The weather changed really quickly on Tuesday, which absolutely killed me for a couple of days. I was glad I had ibuprofen with me!

We had shepherd's pie for Thanksgiving, which was delicious! Thanks, Dad!

I ended up in Nikolaev again last week, which was interesting. I think I've spent more time in Nikolaev than in Kherson at this point! It's pretty crazy. This time I was on a companionship exchange with my Zone Leader, Elder Shaha. Elder Shaha is going home next week too! Anyway, we went and contacted all day, got cussed at by a guy when we asked him how his day was going, got a really tastey chocolate bar called a "Lion" bar, and then I went back to Kherson.

Saturday, nothing really happened. I honestly don't remember what we did, all our appointments fell through and then we cleaned the branch building.

Then Sunday, the Mission President and his wife came down from Dnepropetrovsk in order to see what was going on at the branch and decide how many missionaries our branch could actually support. It was really nice to have them there, the meeting went very well. Still, it's stressful. We don't know what's going to happen here, or who's going to be staying here, or really anything at all.

So, that's basically the state of things here. Lots of things are happening, but we don't really know what those things are, and I don't know what they are especially because it's really hard to understand Russian. I am getting better at that, though, so there's always that to look forward to!

Also, the sun is shining today for the first time in like a week and a half! Which is really nice because the sun goes down at 4 O'clock anyway, so if it's cloudy it gets dark way too fast!

Peace out everyone!

Turns Out It's Week 5!

So, this week was traumatic!

I went back to the other city again this week, this time for the whole week. While we were there I was with Elder Montgomery and his companion. That is, until Elder Montgomery's companion was released for medical reasons and we were then left alone as two 19-year-old kids who have been in the country only 4 weeks and don't speak very good Russian and then told to go do missionary work. Yeah, that was fun...

It actually was super fun though, it's really cool to not have a senior companion around to solve your problems. Builds character. And stress. Lot's of stress.

The whole situation was rendered even funnier by the fact that in about two weeks, I'm probably going to have to train a new missionary! I'm going to have been here 6 weeks, and I'm going to have to teach someone else how to live in Kherson! And the best part? They're going to speak even less Russian than I do!

Just take a moment to appreciate how awesome that is. I'm so excited! It's going to be so much fun!

Anyway, Elder Montgomery is in the same boat, he's probably going to have to train too.

Sidenote, the food we made this week? All delicious!

Also, thanks to those who sent recipes. They will be much appreciated!

Cool thing, the sister missionaries here had a baptism on saturday right after we got back from Nikolaev! Super awesome!

Anyway, happy thanksgiving to all!

I Think It's Week 3!

Alright, so, do you remember how Ukrainians eat everything with ketchup and that ketchup isn't really ketchup it's just weird sauces? Well, I had a fun experience with that this week!

We were staying in another city for a couple of days for zone training, and the apartment we were in, the Elders there didn't have much food other than pasta and chicken. One of the Elders has some kind of medical issue, so he can basically only eat boiled chicken. So, we made boiled chicken and pasta. It was really nasty because it was super bland.

To solve this problem, Elder Montgomery, an Elder who came to the mission at the same time I did, offered me the ketchups from his fridge, to which my only response was, "Don't even ask, just bring it!"

So, Elder Montgomery handed me some sauce and said it was some kind of steak sauce. We couldn't read the packet because it was in Ukrainian, and the alphabet is different, and the words are weird. Anyway, I opened it up, and it smelled a lot like mustard. Like, very mustardy. It was super strong. I thought it smelled like the kind of mustard you might put on beef wellington, but I didn't think too much about it. It was pretty thick, but I poured a bunch out onto the pasta and took a huge bite.

I reallized once it touched my toungue that it was, in fact, exactly the kind of mustard one would make beef wellington with. Normally, only a little of this would be used, because it's basically pure mustard and it burns like all get out. I had just put a very large amount in my mouth. It was at that point that I realized I had only a few seconds left to live.

It was pretty hilarious just how spicy it was, it totally cleared my sinuses! It was also delicious, and highly recommended!

Basically, what I learned from this is that from now on I'm just going to put random ketchups on pasta and hope for similar discoveries, because that was super fun!

By the way, the pasta sauce I made? Delicious.

Not much else happened this week that was noteworthy, except for now we know without a doubt that a lot of the branch members resent us and also think that we're useless. So that's fun, because we're just going to keep working 14 hours every day to help them with their problems and strengthen their community and love for one another! I didn't come to the other side of the planet just to let them get in the way of me helping them. Nope, not happening! I had to learn Russian so I could even communicate with them, I'm not giving up just because they aren't willing to work with us!

It's going to be an interesting time here in Kherson!

P.S. if you know any recipes that would be really cheap and that can be made without a lot of equipment, please send them! They will be much appreciated! Also, send them with metric conversions (grams, liters, etc)

2 Week!

So, I'm in my second week now! Still don't understand Russian, so that's a thing. It's ok though, because if you smile and nod, or answer questions with "I don't know" and then quickly ask your companion, you generally are ok! I mean, I've made this far by doing that!

No, I speak a lot more than that. I actually am understanding a surprising amount! Sometimes it's totally guessing, but it's usually what they're looking for!

I went to a McDonald's on Thursday. That was interesting! It tastes like, a million and a half times better than any American McDonald's!

To give a sense of what the currency is like here, you can buy a Big Mac meal (Burger fries and drink, the whole deal) for about 56 Grievn (I don't know how to spell it in English, sorry). That means that it only costs about 2 dollars for the meal. It's pretty crazy. I bought a snickers the other day for about 7 Grievn.

On the plus side, this keeps me from spending too much money, because buying anything makes me feel like I've just spent too much because of how high the prices are. It's super weird the money that we have to carry with us sometimes.

Usually we just cook for ourselves. We've had Borsch, some sandwhiches, rice, pasta, french toast, mashed potatos. Interesting thing, Ukrainians eat literally everything with ketchup! Also, ketchup can refer to pretty much any sauce! So that's fun! I've gotten to eat macarroni with ketchup several times already. Elder Riddle says he's been doing that his entire mission. In response to this, I'm going to make some real pasta sauce for our apartment. We're picking the ingredients up today.

Also, Ukrainians don't understand how Americans make pizza. I had a pizza the other day that was supposed to be American. It had chicken, peppers, ham, and olives on it. It was delicious, like everything else I've had here, but it was definitely NOT Americana! Did I mention it was delicious? Because it was. Delicious. 10/9, would eat non-American American pizza again.

For anyone who wants it, I have a new mailing address. Word of warning, I don't know if it will get through to me. International shipping is sketchy. Also, packages are super expensive to send, so I don't recommend it.

Karla Marksa 27A 5th floor
Dnepropetrovsk,
49044
Ukraine

I would love to send some pictures, but I don't have an SD card reader, and we email from an internet cafe, so I don't know how I'd get those pictures onto the computer. Also, they would be primarily of food and long stretches of flat ground, because it's illegal to post pictures of Ukrainian citizens on the interwebs. So that's fun! Maybe the day will come when I can figure out how to send my pictures. Maybe. We shall see!

I am allowed to tell you about people though! We have one investigator who's a super cool 60 some-odd year-old guy! I shall name him Joe for you, because I don't know if I should mention people even by their first names. Better safe than deported/imprisoned/never-heard-from-again.

Anyway, Joe has a mustache and a really bad smoking problem. He's also hilarious! He seems to basically be an eternal investigator though, he doesn't wan't to let go of a lot of his Russian Orthodox habits and thoughts, but he also wants to continue to progress with us. It's interesting, but we're not sure how much longer we'll be able to teach him.

Other than him, we don't really have other investigators. We're searching though!

Jehovah's Witnesses are fun to talk to! Especially when they stop you in the street or try to interrupt your lessons so they Bible-bash you! It's even more fun when you don't understand what they're saying and your companions have to defuse the situation while you stand there, smiling and nodding and occassionaly bearing a testimony of the Book of Mormon.

See, that's the kicker! We don't Bible-bash, but the Jehovah's Witnesses really want to Bible-bash! They challenge you to it as if it were some kind of wizard's duel, like you're going to stand on opposing mountain tops and shout scripture at one another until someone's mountain crumbles! It's not true of all of them, most of them are just good people who are willing to let you go about your business and talk to the people who want to talk to you. But, as always, there are a few who make my day with their antics. It's fun, and confusing, and I don't know why it happens, but it does, and it amuses me!

Moral of the story: don't try to Bible-bash with Mormons. We don't like it, and it's not going to lead to anyhting positive. Actually, don't Bible-bash period. Just state what you believe in a humble and dignified manner without trying to prove one way or another. You'll turn out all right!

Peace out!

I... Have Arrived

I'm here! In Ukraine! I love it SO MUCH! I can't even describe the feeling of being here! At least not without a long reflective piece... which, of course, I will write, because I love that kind of thing!

Begin!

After nearly five days with maybe an hour or so of sleep each night, We landed in Austria, prepared to make the final leg of our journey to Ukraine. The weather was dreary, foggy and windy. We were surrounded by many Russian speakers. Some of the members of our traveling group were speaking very loudly in english, and they were attracting attention. I turned to one of my companions, and in Russian I whispere, "No more english! Don't speak in English! Not before we are in our homes in Ukraine!". He whispered back his agreement in Russian.

And, we boarded the small plane from the runway. Aboard, all the stewardesses spoke German, so I took the opportunity to speak with them a little in German. We soared above a vast see of white for a long time, the clouds appearing as if they were mountains of snow directly beneath us. It set in finally; we are almost in Ukraine.

The plane landed, and we exited the plane onto the runway. My first sight of Ukraine was of a soldier carrying an AK-47 close to his chest. His Russian smile seemed to say "Welcome to Ukraine."

And welcome I was. I could not describe my feelings upon seeing the flat ground which stretches in every direction here, the ground that is flatter than I have ever seen in my life. The only way to describe it would be to say that I felt as though I had been away from my home for longer than years could count, and I was finally returning. For this truely is a home to me now. I could not tell you how, or where, but I have seen all these places before now. I have seen these people hurrying in the streets and riding in the vans which serve as public transportation here. I have seen the trees which tower above me, and the ill-maintained buildings which tower over those. Truely, I have seen them before, but not known it somehow. Perhaps, only in my dreams.

I serve now in the city of Kherson, a place where the sea is nearby, colse enough to feel its infulence on life. This place calls out to my very soul in a way I do not understand. A way I cannot understand. I love this place and these people so dearly, yet I have only a limited ability to understand them, only a tiny glimpse into their hardships. Perhaps this is charity. Maybe the pure love of Christ, the Savior of the World, has found some place in my soul, a place where I can carry a small portion of it with me at all times. For the people of Ukraine, my very soul burns. All of my thought is bent on them. All of my time. Still, it is not enough.

Ok, that's good! That was nice! Cool, I dig it!

Anyway, the branch here is small. They are very understanding of my lack of language skills, and they do their best to help me learn. Sometimes. Sometimes, they forget that I don't speak Russian, or they forget just how little I understand. To hear a native speak Russian is entirely different to hearing an American speak Russian. You have to really, REALLY listen. Harder than you've ever listened before. Even doing that will only get you  a few words here and there.

But, I will learn. With time, I will learn.

My companion is Elder Riddle, and this is his final transfer. He's been here 2 years already, so he speaks very well. With his help, and with the help of our branch president, who is a native Ukrainian missionary from Kiev, I will learn quite quickly.

Anyway, I hope this answers at least some questions you may have!

Good luck everyone!