Slow, Slow, Slow

Slow, slow, slow week this week.

Our investigators are doing a really great job of not answering their phones, so we've had only one lesson this past week. That has led to lots and lots of contacting! Not a problem for us, we've been having a really good time with it. 

Funny story with contacting - usually nobody talks to us. They see us from a mile away in our white shirts and ties and already decide how they're going to respond to us no matter what we say. This week we helped a member move and didn't have time to go home and change so we did some contacting in our regular-human clothes. EVERYBODY ACTUALLY STOPPED AND TALKED TO US. It was crazy - absolutely crazy. Our goal is to have 10 conversations with people each day which usually consists of us stopping them on the street, introducing ourselves, our purpose, and trying to talk to them some more but by that time they usually already reject us and say they're either 1. not interested or 2. way too busy for our message. It was so much easier in regular-human clothes, that we got a combined 18 conversations (most of them were quick, but they still count) in a world record pace of 30 minutes. We were kind of losing our minds. 

Russian is coming along a lot better! Yesterday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting and as far as I can tell it was the most understandable one I have given so far. I quoted a lot from Preach My Gospel and from the prophets which made it pretty easy when you have perfectly written Russian already right there in front of you. After sacrament meeting, Bishop asked me to be a part of a SECOND presentation about how to give a good testimony. I'm getting the sense that he's not a big fan of some of the stranger testimonies that get born in sacrament meeting. Makes me laugh sometimes just thinking of how similar this ward in Ukraine is to the ones back in the United States. Living proof that the church is true everywhere and I love it. Anyways, during the presentation 4 members of the ward gave examples of what a 'bad' testimony is and I, being a missionary who can barely speak Russian, can only give a good, basic testimony. During the rest of the presentation, I understood a surprising amount! It's been wonderful to feel the Lord's help with Russian as the Gift of Tongues has become more and more apparent. 

Another amazing part of this week - interviews! I love going over to the Kumferman's so much. Sister Kumferman always makes the most amazing food for us. This week, she made burgers and I got the wonderful opportunity to grill them! That was so much fun in it of itself. Then we played Ticket to Ride, Hearts, and Scum while I waited for my interview and while my companion was getting interviewed. 10/10 experience. One of the most fun moments of the whole transfer to just enjoy spending some time with the mission President in interviews and with his wife outside of them. Great opportunity to kind of unwind and de-stress over the course of the transfer. 

Culture moment for the great country of Ukraine - one of the most interesting parts of Ukraine is the bus system. There are three forms of bus in Ukraine. There is the автобус (off - toe - boos) which is just like buses in America. They're extremely rare, very large, and for some reason take the dumbest routes. They legitimately take the least efficient routes possible. Very confusing. The much, much more common type of bus is the маршрутка (mar - shroot - ka) which literally translates into 'minibus'. That's a pretty good way to describe it, but I think a more accurate description would be glorified van. The third form of bus is also called a маршрутка and is literally just a big van. We take the second form, the most common form, usually multiple times a day. They're very interesting experiences. Most of the time, it's fine. I grab a seat, somebody comes and sits next to me, I try to talk to them, and it goes OK. Contacting on the bus is usually a pleasant experience. My go-to strategy is "Hey, I'm studying Russian, can I practice with you?" The conversation then almost always proceeds as follows: "Sure. Why aren't you studying Ukrainian?" "Well, I'm studying Russian right now, but I'll study Ukrainian later." "Ok." *insert awkward silence* "So, where are you from?" I ask. "Kyiv. Of course." "Cool. I'm from America." *I attempt to insert the fact that I'm a missionary here and that my church is so awesome* "Really? Do you like it here?" "Yeah, I LOVE Ukraine. It's so great." This usually stuns them. "What? America is so much better though!" "No way, Ukraine is awesome. I think it's just as good." More confusion. *insert more awkward silence* "What do you like about Ukraine?" They ask. "The food. And the people of course. They're so wonderful." Then we usually proceed to talk about Ukrainian food for the rest of the ride. Of course, I try to insert my purpose in being here, but they love to talk about the food here. It always leads to good, friendly conversations. I couldn't complain though, the food here truly is amazing. Another really interesting thing is how we pay for the ride. It's always really cheap - only a few Ukrainian notes. The interesting thing is that people always sit down, pull out their money, and then ask the person sitting in front of them to pass the money to the driver. Everyone does it like this. It gets passed all the way up, the driver (who simultaneously makes change and drives) then sends the change back through the same system. The honesty and trust just really blows me away. Sometimes the bus is absolutely PACKED full of people. People here do not have the same sense of 'personal space' as people in America do. People PACK the little bus full of people. There have been multiple times where I am pressed up against multiple people or pressed up against the door. If somebody needs to get off at the next stop, they just somehow squeeze through the whole crowd gathered in the center aisle and slowly make their way toward the door, making full body contact with everyone on the way. Thankfully, I've felt like I have been violated only a few times on the bus. 

One of the other great things we've done this week was today on P-Day! To celebrate the upcoming 4th of July, almost all the missionaries in the Kyiv area came together to play a really ghetto game of baseball in this little field that is randomly in the center of Kyiv. It was so much fun to see so many people again and to have a good time playing sports. 

I love serving so much. This has unquestionably been the greatest decision that I have ever made in my life. I know that this church is true, I know that Jesus Christ lives, and I know that God loves every one of us and is involved in the details - even in times of difficulty and trial we can find peace and joy through God and Christ!

Have a great week, love you all so much!

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