You know the saying, "When it rains, it pours". That was this week, literally and figuratively. We got poured on this week.
In
the literal aspect of things, there was a couple days this week, where
it would rain and downpour and then stop and then start again. It was
impossible to predict! A complete sunny day would turn into a rain pour
within 10 minutes. Ukraine... It also had a funny habit of pouring rain
whenever we were outside, walking, with no umbrella. It was fun! I love
the rain!
But figuratively, let me try and paint this picture of this week:
Our
really golden potential investigator totally rejected our offer to
learn about the gospel, our golden family has been avoiding us to no
end, our cute progressing investigator, in the middle of a great lesson
where she asked about baptism, suddenly announced her plans to vacation
in Crimea for a month. So our teaching pool has basically shrunk to
nothing. But we will find more!
This week, on
Thursday night, our landlady called, and told us that they are going to
remodel our apartment and she had a replacement apartment for us to move
into. But we had to move out by Saturday. I'm not sure that is legal,
but in Ukraine, anything goes... So we quickly packed up all of our
stuff, and all of the random missionary stuff and on Saturday, the
elders helped us as we moved. The new apartment was right down the
street, which was nice. As far as this temporary apartment, we are
praying that it will only be temporary. It is old and has some fun
quirks. Again no hot water, and our stove and oven are an adventure. Our
beds... I don't even think you can call them beds. But This morning we
unpacked and cleaned. I hung up all my cards and quotes and you know
what, I think it will be okay. At least we have a roof to keep all of
the rain out :)
I know last week, I said that I was feeling better.
Yeah... not really true. I ended up visiting the doctors a few times
this week. I think I have had enough of Ukrainian doctors, where most
things are pretty normal, but every once in a while, they say or do
something, and you are like, "really?" But this doctor place was super
nice and the doctor spoke english (YES!) and so that was an adventure.
None of the tests that the doctors have done have found anything, but
they think that it is a gluten intolerance. So that will be an
adventure, especially since my mission food staples are bread and pasta.
We will have to get creative :) But not going to lie, a few self-pity
tears have been shed.
So yeah, I
could keep going and mention a couple other things, but I think you get
the picture :) But moral of the store, This week has been hard for me.
Really hard. Today I read a conference talk from President Monson, and
part of it really comforted me. He said:
"Our Heavenly
Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and
grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through
which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience
heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we maybe tested to
our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the
better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches
us,and to become something different from what we were—better than we
were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were,with
stronger testimonies than we had before."
So I know,
that God is just helping me to grow. He is shaping me into the person
that he wants me to be! And it is hard sometimes, but it is good! I can
so clearly see the growth that I am making and the lessons I am learning
and that is a huge blessing in my life! So although, things are hard,
I'm just going to keep on swimming through the rainstorms. And like
President Uchtdorf has said, I'm not going to wait for the rainbows
without taking the time to enjoy the rain! That's so true, I've seen so
many blessings this week!
For example:
Our branch
president is getting married this week! I consider it a blessing that
the relief society asked us to help them prepare. I love weddings :)
Our elders had a baptism, the husband of a member. I love seeing the gospel bless the lives of other people!
I had so many emails to read this week! thanks everyone for the love!
And most of
all, I've learned that there is always a reason for a smile and a laugh.
Last night, in a huge tender mercy, Sister Larcabal and I found a book
of Bible Jokes. For example:
Who is the fastest runner in the whole Bible?
Adam, he was the very first in the Human race.
hehehe. So we laughed at those for a long time last night!
So everything is looking up!
Pray for Ukraine! :) I love you all! Yesterday marked 4 months until I
am home! I can't believe how fast time is flying! Scary!
Love,
Sister Kati Ford
PS- Funny Story, This week we were on the computers and noticed that there was a new Mormon Message. I watched it (http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3609934299001)
and then it got to a point where they showed a picture of this man
named Walter, who was dead. I was watching it and got so confused,
because Walter looked just like my GRANDPA! I must of watched it 3-4
times, trying to figure out if maybe my grandpa had a long lost twin, if
I had been super forgetful during my mission, or if maybe my grandpa
was Walter. I could not figure it out for the life of me! Thankfully,
the problem was solved today when grandma emailed me and told me that
Grandpa had played a role in the new mormon message! Well, grandpa, you
did a great job :) I loved it!
Sorry also, I took pictures this week, but forgot my camera at home. :(
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