This week has been contacting mania for me and my companion! Seriously, crazy amounts. We only have one investigator and we're probably dropping him, so looks like "[CONTANCTING] IS BACK ON THE MENU, BOYS!" It's honestly pretty fun. We've been trying lots of new things to make contacting a little more interesting. This week we went against the cultural taboo and actually tried some serious amounts of tracting.

It was truly miracle after miracle. We were contacting past a building and we saw not just one, but TWO doors which were miraculously left slightly ajar. This is a big deal because if a door is closed there is no way you're getting in unless someone who lives there lets you in (which is so rare). The two doors just stuck out to me so strongly and I could not ignore the feeling that we needed to get in there. I took my companion and we prayed behind the building to know if we were truly being led there. We felt good about it, so we went in! Knocking is actually so much fun sometimes - something that I never believed I would ever say from my days back in Denver. We knocked the entirety of the first section - nothing. We then entered into the second door and kept knocking - nothing. Nobody interested. 

Even though not a single person was receptive to our message, it was one of the few times where I've truly felt like I was being led. I was just filled with happiness. I think it's just a testimony building experience for me that we can be happy even through trials if we remember our purpose and always remember our Father in Heaven's plan for us. It reminds me of the Lord's counsel to Joseph Smith in section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants, verse 7: 

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;"

Even when we're going through difficult times, we can still feel peace and joy thanks to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even in the face of rejection time after time, I can honestly say that contacting this week was a blast. Those doors being open truly did lead us to someone ready to be taught the gospel, and that was me! One of the greatest blessings of a mission is how much you learn. My knocking on door after door after door is not going to convert any investigator to the gospel, but it will convert me, so I'm willing to continue to push forward trying to spread what is the most important and most valuable thing that we have in this world.

During a different contacting session we were able to find a man who was interested! We gave him a Book of Mormon and he gave us his number. It's our first number that we got this transfer, so we were so excited that my companion gave me a hug. Pretty fun moment. 

One other miracle that we experienced this week came through member work. We had a day where we had absolutely NOTHING planned in. We, admittedly, were not super excited to spend another entire day contacting so we tried to set up some lessons. It was amazing! 3 people were able to do it that very day. The lesson that stood out the most was the final lesson. We went to their apartment and began to talk about the Book of Mormon and our favorite verses. She had not been to church in a long time, but she still remembered her favorite verse, Ether 12:6. She asked us to share her favorite verses and my companion shared 1 Nephi 3:7. We testified to her that we know that God provides a plan for all of us to obey his commands. After she had read and we began to testify, she began to cry. It was such a spiritual moment. We'll continue to work with that wonderful small family and help them receive the full blessings of the gospel. 

Me explaining the Book of Mormon to Ukraine's most celebrated poet, Taras Shevchenko himself. He didn't give us his number though, but maybe next time.

Us eating with some of our homies from English practice after English practice. There's a place called L'viv Croissants which makes, you guessed it, some pretty great croissants.

Me take a picture next to a couple of old friends. We actually just found a bunch of really strange, cool wooden carvings in a park and decided to take a bunch of pictures with them. They were very cool but some were just weird.

Life in Chernigov would not be complete without riding a few cannons and enjoying the view.

This one got a lil' rodeo on me, but I kept him under control. Taming a cannon is hard business.

Anyways, love y'all! Have a great week.

BONUS PICTURE! Here I am inside of the oldest church in Chernigov. The Orthodox churches are extremely interesting - there's no places to sit, they're covered in icons of priests, candles are all around, and gold is everywhere. They're very fun to look at on P-Day.