ZONE CONFERENCE!!!!

Dear Friends and Family!

This week was Zone Conference! It was SO awesome! And not to be too crazy, but we found out that we will be having a MISSION CONFERENCE in a month! Which is awesome because I LOVED zone conference! I'll tell about it in little bit...

But first, this week was good! I am happy and healthy! It is HOT here, but the leaves are falling off the trees, which leads me to believe that at some point it will cool off! Who knows! 

 

ice cream with sister leavitt! Happy birthday!

This week we were crazy busy with exchanges and with zone conference! but It was good! On Tuesday, I was on an exchange with Sister Busch! Remember her??!?!?!? She goes HOME, like AMERICA HOME, in 9 days! Just over a week! I can't believe it! I'm going to miss her. So it was AWESOME to spend a day with her! We taught a couple lessons and we also just got to talk. I've thought a lot this week about how STRANGE it is that the church throws 2 (or 3) random people together, in a random country, for 6 weeks...and expects them to survive! And not only do we survive, but we become like BEST FRIENDS. strange. But REALLY awesome! What a blessing in my life! 

I also went on an exchange this week with Sister Goncharova. It was so fun! We went out searching for one of our less actives...

 mapping out less actives...sister leavitt thought this was "so darling"

 

we ended up walking like 10 miles. I felt kinda bad because she fell asleep during dinner. Poor girl. But that night, we met with Nina and Vlad for the last time.  :( Sad. 

 nina and vlad before they went home! :(

 

Before they left we gave them the pictures that we took. They gave us their address so I hope I can write them! It will be my language study! :) On their last day here, Sister Goncharova and I showed them the Ukraine Temple Video (watch it!- Liza is in my branch!) and we also talked about the Plan of Salvation! There was a really sweet spirit. We talked about how we can feel the spirit on our own by reading the scriptures and praying! It was aweosme! Sister G (Sorry, getting long to type!) and I also started a conversation on a bench with a lady named Oxcana. She was so nice! She was going to come to church yesterday, but had something come up, so we are going to try and meet with her this week! I REALLY hope that I can meet with her again! She really does love me! I called her on Saturday night and she was SO nice and sweet! So that was exciting to talk to her! Pray for her!

Thursday and Friday I was back with Sister Leavitt. But it didn't last too long, because on Saturday, Sister G. finished her mission and went home. She had to leave before the transfer ended because she had "Bookaviel". It is a big youth conference for everyone in Ukraine. It is basically just like EFY and this is only the 2nd year. It is a huge thing for the youth of the church here! They go all year without seeing many members and they look forward to this conference all year! I hear great things about it! But anyway...sister G left, so now Sister Hunt is back and we are trio for the next 2 weeks! It is going to be so good! 

 Also, because sister hunt and I and sister leavitt are back together, I went to suvorskey, where natasha is! Remember her?? She is doing great! A member moved in with her and... wait for it... they are living the mission schedule!!! They study every morning, separate and together. She is reading Preach my Gospel, she has a missionary planner, she is participating in church and it is her desire to help the missionaries every day. She talks to people about the gospel all the time! I am so proud of her :) Isn't that awesome :)

Saturday... ZONE CONFERENCE! I had no idea how much I would look forward to zone conference! basically it is like Christmas! The night before, we were so excited! We were like dancing around and planning what to wear and yeah....it was fun. Then the next morning, we got to go to the church, have interviews with President, see our mail! 

 MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT !

 

(Thanks everyone that wrote me, You are so nice!!!!) , and we even got ENGLISH LIAHONAS! -- so exciting! then we got to study for a little bit, then we had zone conference! 

President Klebingat talked a little bit about the signs of the 2nd coming, then we talked about our goals as missionaries, exact obedience, Russian, memorizing scriptures, our calling, and normal missionary stuff. Then we also got to hear President's conversion/life story. It is crazy! I don't have time to tell you all of it, but seriously it could be made into a movie! It could even be a romance because part of the story involves him selling his car to use ALL his money to fly from Idaho to New York to propose (using a 10 dollar ring) to a girl he had met less then a week ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which, in case you were wondering, is Sister Klebingat today :) How cute! But basically, I learned that my mission president is like the coolest person in the world and this awesome leader! I am so blessed that he is leading and guiding me here! I know he is called of God!! 

Also, after Zone Conference was great because I got to open my letters and packages! Seriously, thank you so much! Y'all are awesome! I am so blessed! Seriously, the elders kept coming up to me during zone conference and saying, "Sister Ford, Congrats!" And I would be "for what?" and they would say, "the most mail!" and I would smile. :) It was a blessing! ;) 

sister hunt and I in a taxi! 

So I love you all and I am happy to be here serving with all my heart, might, mind, and strength! I love you and I am praying for you! Be happy! Enjoy the last bit of Summer! :) The church is true! I know it is! Do missionary work! ;) 

Sister Ford

 

 more birthday!

 

 last lunch pic- ALL THE sisters came

the menu!

Happy Birthday Sister Leavitt

Dear Family, Friends, Loved Ones, 

This week was EXCITING! Sister Leavitt turned 21 and like most missions around the world, we got the week off. We took a Black Sea Cruise and tanned at the beach most of the week, but also flew to Paris for a dinner. It was so exciting and relaxing! I am so...TOTALLY JOKING! :) But seriously, it was her birthday this week! It was on Saturday! But we celebrated today. We went out to lunch with all the sisters from our zone! We picked a really cute sidewalk cafe.  It was so cute! And the food was SO GOOD! Sister Leavitt and I are also planning on buying some ice cream later today to celebrate also! And maybe doing a little bit of shopping if we have time!

 

I don't know what this is, she was having computer issues and this is not the 

picture I am sure she meant to send. 

 line at mcdonalds

But the day of her actual birthday was crazy! For some reason, we were so blessed to have 4 lessons! That is so busy! We had 2 lessons with investigators and then one with a potential investigator and then one with a less active! The day was so crazy busy! Our first appointment, we were going to help our investigator clean her floors. So we go to her house (Neonela) and she sits us down, pulls out a piece of paper and says, "Girls, I already cleaned the floors because I have this list of questions. So now we have 2 and a half hours to talk about Spiritual Things". oh my. That's a long time! But we had a really good gospel conversation! But after her, we quickly grabbed a birthday lunch and then headed to our next appointment. Another appointment we had that day was with a less active named Yawna and her daughter Veka. We took a member with us and just talked to them. We invited them to church the next day. After that appointment, we had to hussle to make it home on time. When we were on the bus home, Sister Leavitt had her wallet stolen! So that was a bummer way to end the birthday! But overall it was a really good day! 

So anyways, back to the beginning of this week. This week we had ANOTHER enxchange. I went to Illyschascov with Sister Nielsen! 

 ice cream on exchange

It was a really good exchange! On the bus back to their apartment. I sat next to this old man. We had a really long conversation. It was so funny! He asked me where I was from, why I was there, and then how old I was. When I said 19, he said, "I once read an article about a 19 year old in Africa that married a man that was 106 years old. I'm only 88, so I'm sure it could work". Haha So awkward. When I told him no, he offered his son. Also awkward. When I didn't get off on the same stop as him, he got to the front of the bus, turned around, and in a loud voice says, "Goodbye Katia - in Russian obviously" So funny! (BTW- when someone asks me my name, I almost always say Katia, the Russian version of Kati. So much easier to understand!) So that was a funny moment of the exchange! 

 Even in Ukraine... Will and Kate in the Soviet Times

One of the best parts of the exchange is that we went running down to the beach the next morning. It was beautiful! I wish I could've taken my camera with me because the sun and the water and the sand was beautiful! Sometimes Ukraine is such a pretty place! 

Another great part about the exchange is that I got to see a less active that I met with during one of the other exchages. We talked for awhile and then after, she told me that she didn't want me to leave because she liked talking to me. It was really special to feel like I would be missed! 

 MONEY rent and MSF... not as much as it looks

The other major thing that happened this week was that I was sick. The night after our exchange, I went to bed. Then in the middle of the night, I woke up and was freezing. So I grabbed my winter pajamas and put them on and then got back in bed, but was still like shaking and shivering! And it went on all night, with me not being able to sleep. Finally I pulled out my thermometer, to discover that I had a temp of 102.3! Opa! So I have been recovering from that. It really wiped me out for a day but now I feel so much better! 

my new shirt

Ok...now for the HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK!

The first would be the less actives that I mentioned, Yawna and Beka! They are a highlight because they came to church on Sunday! And the branch was so happy to see them and help them feel included! It was SO happy! 

A major highlight would also be Vlad and Nina, the mother and son that are here with a member. We taught them a couple times this week. They are AWESOME! One time we taught them, we showed them the Lamb of God! they loved the movie and expressed the desire to show it to their friends. So tonight (their last night here) we are going to give them all the movies that we have, so they can watch them and so they can show their friends! I am so excited :) we also gave Vlad his very own Preach My Gospel! It was so cute! We wrote our address and our emails and they promised to write! I hope they do because I will be so sad when they leave! 

The member that Nina and Vlad are here with is named Katia. She sends this message to my parents, "tell them that I love your daughters. Thanks so much for letting them be here. They are doing good work. I love them. Thanks for raising them to be so awesome." She is a sweetheart! She would definietely be someone who I would want my parents to met! :) 

Another highlight would have to be Laressa. She is a lady that loves the priesthood and general conference, but hasn't been baptized yet. We are trying to help her realized that she is ready and worthy to be baptized! So pray for her! She is a super sweet, humble, old lady. It is so much fun to meet with her!

The Colvins also fed us Dinner yesterday for Fast Sunday. It was basically the best meal I have had since coming to Ukraine! Enchiladas! YUM! I miss Mexican food sometimes! :) 

Also there is so much to look forward too! We have ZONE CONFERENCE this Saturday! Also, mail will come (first time this transfer) on WEDNESDAY! I can't wait! :) 

Love you! Write me! Pray for me!

Sister Ford 

Another week in Ukraine

Dear Family, 

This week was a good week! It is funny because I think if I wrote any earlier then today, I wouldn't have said that, but it is true. I think I learned a lot this week, but I also had fun and felt the Spirit so strongly as I went about my work!

This week began with me thinking a lot about the work that we are doing. All last week, we didn't have ANY investigators. We had dropped a couple that weren't keeping commitments and we hadn't found any! We would talk to SO many people and get rejected almost every time. Dad- The letter you sent where you talked about keeping track of how many people rejected you because then you could know that you were at least working, remember that?? We kept track one day, 38 people rejected us- and we stopped counting after that! Opa! So things were a little frustrating, so one morning, I studied about faith. I studied how the Lord will grant unto us "all things that are expedient unto Him", if we have faith. Sister Leavitt and I thought a lot about that. We felt that asking and REALLY praying for a new investigator was expedient to Him, because we are here sharing His gospel and inviting people to come unto him. We also felt that we had enough faith that if we asked for a new investigator, we would find one! So we prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed...and worked and worked and worked and worked...and NOTHING. We talked to everyone...no one was interested. But we had faith, and we had faith in His timing and His way. So even though we were disappointed, we didn't give up. Finally, last night, we had a lesson with a member. After the lesson, we had planned to go drop by a Less Active Member's House.  But we felt instead that we needed to go talk to people on the street. As we started walking, I felt a strong impression to turn around and walk the other way, away from where we lived. We listened to that prompting and we were just walking. We didn't see anyone and we were wondering how we were EVER going to find anyone, when we spotted a older couple, sitting on a bench across the street. We crossed the street and asked if we could talk to them and they said that we could. We talked about the gospel, our families, what we believed, and why we were here. At the end of our conversation, they asked for a Book of Mormon and gave us their number and agreed to meet again! We are so excited to meet with them tonight! They are so cute! They also are married and have been married for a LONG time, which is really rare in Ukraine! This will be the first couple that I will teach so I am excited! So it was a great lesson that we learned.  God will give us what we ask for, if we ask in faith; yet he still does it in His own time and in His own way. We show our love for Him by enduring until our answers come, realizing that sometimes they come late, sometimes they come in a different way, and sometimes, however hard it may be to accept, His plan is different then ours. But they come and His ways are higher then ours, so even if it is hard to accept, someday it will turn out better then we know at this moment! 

This week, because we are in a new area and a new companionship and because we didn't have any investigators, we spent a lot of time meeting members. We have been forming some very valuable relationships, which became very evident on Sunday.  We were asked by the Relief Society President to give the Spiritual Thought. We prepared a spiritual thought about helping the Less-Active Members of the branch. At the end of the Spiritual Thought , we passed out a sign up sheet asking for help, and the times that they were available.  We had 12 ladies (about 70 percent) sign up to help. They gave concrete times specifically for this week! We have at least one sister to help us everyday this week, which will be awesome! I love that our branch is so willing to help us with missionary work! 

This week we also met with a lot of Less Active Members. It is sad because here, so many people leave the church or stop coming because they are offended or upset by another member. If I could just teach one lesson to all the members, it would be that this gospel is perfect, but the people are not. I wish people could accept that are be more loving and caring towards others. Everyone is having a hard time and everyone needs a friend. Be that friend to all that you see!

One of the less active ladies that we wanted to meet with was named Alexandra. Funny thing about Ukraine, all the ladies here seriously have one of like 20 names, which makes it hard to know which one you are talking to.  Our phone lists people by name and then some characteristic trait they have, such as Sveta Music, Lena Cute, Julia MTC.  It is rather funny! But anyways...back to the story...We wanted to meet with this less Active and we called and called and called, with no answer. So we decided that we would go track her down at some point and try her home address. That Sunday at church, we had met another Alexandra.  We set up an appointment with her, then when the day came, we realized that we didn't have her address.  So we called her, got her address and realized that our two Alexandra's were the SAME PERSON! She had gotten a new phone! That Sunday at church was the first time that we had been there in months! And (because we are supposed to talk to everyone on Sunday), we had immediately talked to her and asked to meet with her. She told us that she felt so loved because we had offered to meet with her, when she thought that no one would care if she was there or not. It was great to be able to help her feel welcome! 

This week we are on a break from our English course so we spent a lot of time inviting people to learn English! It is always so much fun to English advertise! We talk to a lot of awesome people. We had a great conversation with a man named John (that's his English name). He is a seaman and he wanted to improve his English so he can talk normally. Also, we had a great experience about asked a lady about English. She wasn't interested, but as so as we walked away, we heard her tell her son that He had to go to this English thing, because she wanted him to be successful in life. That was pretty awesome :) One last English experience. We were walking along when all of a sudden a huge bug flew into my eye. It was so painful. But awkward because I was like trying to get it out and my eyes were watering. And a man approached and is so confused about what is going on when all of a sudden Sister Leavitt invited him to learn English.  He was so confused about what was going on but he said he would try and come to the English.  It was so funny!

This week we made cinnamon rolls, that was awesome.  

 We also found salted butter for the first time! Today we went to METRO. It is a store like Costco. It made me feel like I was in America, instead of the tiny grocery store we normally go to. I was so happy :)

  right now in Odessa is the International Film Festival. We got lost one day and ended up in one of the outdoor theaters!

 us with sister hunt and Goncharova!

 us on our beds(??)

I have a testimony that people notice us! This week we had a man come up to us on the street and tell us that he had a friend (Adele- but not the singer) who had told him about these cute Americans who were learning Russian to teach the gospel. It was really sweet. I was especially grateful that Adele, a member that we met with, had such high standards and was happy to talk about us. 

I love this church and I love you all! :) Stay strong! Send me letters and emails! :) 

Love, 

Sister Ford

PS- If you are interested, here is a sample of my Russian. It's not great, but it's coming along! We write a letter to Sister Klebingat every week in Russian and this is part from this week! You can try to Google Translate if you want, I don't know how good Russian to English translation is! :) 

Это неделя, мы встречались с моногамии членами Церкви.  Это было хорошо потому что нам надо знать и создавать дружба с членами Церкви. Вчера, Мы спросили дать духовный мысль в Обществе Милосердии. Мы спросили наши сестры помогать нам на уроке с менее активный членами Церкви. Когда мы передавали список и спросили за помощь, у нас была 12 сестры что говорить что они будет помогать нам! У нас есть сестры, кто будет помогать нам каждый день. я очень рада работать с членами Церкви это неделя! 

I (Jenni-Kati's mom) translated it google translate...

This week, we met with members of the Church of monogamy. It was good because we need to know and build friendships with members of the Church. Yesterday, we were asked to give a spiritual thought in the Relief Society. We asked our sisters to help us in the classroom with less active members of the Church. When we passed the list and asked for help, we had 12 sisters say that they will help us! We have a sister who will help us every day. I am very pleased to be working with members of the Church this week!

New Transfer!!-Surprise! Mini-missionary

Dear Everyone! 

This week was CRAZY! I feel like transfer weeks usually are, but I've only ever experienced one so I don't really know! But anyways... 

So this week, Sister Hunt and I said goodbye to Sister Busch as she left our companionship to  train a new missionary down in Illyvtcsok (a small city on the beach South of Odessa).  That was kinda sad.  Our last day, we went out to pizza at Olios.  

 Sis. Hunt and I at Olios!!

 

It was fun, because we decided at the beginning of the transfer that if we had a baptism, we would eat lunch there! We were so excited and we went after district meeting.  That same day, every companionship in our district decided to eat there also. It was kinda funny, the workers didn't know what to think! 

 

 Our district

On her last day, we also had a music practice for a musical number that we did.  I don't know what it is about Ukraine, but musical people here are INTENSE! It was the most intense practive EVER! We started with squats, and stretches, and head swinging, and breathing exercises. It was CRAZY! And not to mention, there was no AC so we were sweating.  It was exciting. 

The last thing we did on the last day with Sister Busch was met with a lady and Natasha, our new member. We had a great lesson and then she fed us these delicious sweet rolls! It was fun! She also has the FATTEST dog I have ever seen.  This lady, baba Gancharova, is short and just about as round as she is tall, and her dog looks just like her. It is funny to see them together. But alas, her and the dog are both SUPER sweet ;) 

OH! Cool story, On Wednesday, Sister Hunt and I were together advertising for English when we came across this bridge! It was one of those Love bridges, where people attach locks and then throw the keys over the edge. It was so pretty! We were walking across it, when one of the locks caught the eye of Sister Hunt. We walked over and it said, "Provo Utah, LDS temple"! Crazy right! Small world! It was really awesome! 

 

 

So anyways from this point forward, my new companion is Sister Leavitt. She is 20 years old, darling, and super sweet! Her family works in Ukraine sometimes, and she studied Russian before her mission. She is super sweet and nice and caring! I LOVE HER! She is one transfer older then I am, and because she already knew Russian, she was only in the MTC for 2 weeks, in Spain.  So fun fact, both of us started our missions on the same day! March 27th! 

So the first night, Sister Hunt and Leavitt and I hosted a music night! It was so fun! We had like 20 members/investigators there. We had a sweet little girl sing about summer, and a couple young women sing/play the recorder, and then missionaries did some numbers. My district leader actually is a really good singer. He has some CDs out (I think) and he sang on a EFY Cd a while back, so of course, he stole the show.  haha :).  

But anyway, after the music night, one of the girls that performed (Lassia) came up and said that she wanted to serve a mini mission and asked if she could use our phone to call Presidet. So we let her and then she did and that was that. A little while later, actually when we got home, we received a call from the Assistants, telling us that either Sister Hunt or I was going to be put with a short term missionary.  Sister Hunt asked if she could, so they told us that in two days, Sister Gancharova, would be serving with her this transfer. It was a really sudden change, but we were excited! 

 

 

Fast Forward two days, when we pick her up and do weekly planning. OH boy! It was crazy! We quickly discovered that Sister Gancharova knows like no English. But we love her anyways! She is a darling 16 year old. It is funny because she is actually serving in the same area that her grandma lives! (See above baba Gancharova!!!!). But Sister Hunt is serving with her and I am with SIster Leavitt. The first day was really hard for everyone.  It was ALL russian and super hard to communicate! But thankfully, things are so much better now! We all are doing so great! 

So then Sister Leavitt and I were all by ourselves. It's been fun, a little crazy because I actually spent most of my time last transfer in the area that is now Sister Hunt's area, so I hardly know anyone, and Sister Leavitt doesn't know anyone either! So we have been trying to get to know people, especially people in the ward and in the Relief Society.  We set up a buch of member lessons this week, which is awesome because we will get fed a lot :)  

Most of the time when we have a lesosn with a member, they feed us because they are nice. I remember one time this week, this lady gave us ice cream, with homeade fruit jam and homeade juice, and candy. And  then as we were leaving, she gave us all the leftovers.  We basically walked home with our bags stufffed full of food! it was so funny! :) 

This week we also took 2 investigators to a Relief Society activity.  We learned how to make Greek Salad.  The ladies in Relief Society love me.  I think it because they think it is so funny because I can't really talk or understand anything.  They also think I am so cute because I am the first 19 year old in this ward so I am so young compared to all the other former sisters there! There is one lady espcially! Her name is Galina, and she loves me! I think she hugs me 6 times everytime she sees me! So cute! She told me that I am her favorite missionary. :) Everytime she sees me, she tells me that I need to relax more often.  It is really cute. 

 

HOW TO SLAM A SUPER KONTIK

Read all directions before beginning :) 

 

Step 1: 

Prepare a cup of Hot Chocolate.

 

Step 2: 

Open your package of Super Kontiks

 

Step 3: 

Find the hole in the super Kontik, where the filling was put in.

Step 4: 

First bit a small portion off, biting off the part with the hole.

Step 5:

Then flip the cookie over and bit off a small part directly across from the first hole

Step 6: 

Then place the cookie into the hot chocolate and suck the hot chocolate through the cookie, like a straw.

Step 7: 

The moment that you taste hot chocolate, quickly put the whole super kontik in your mouth and EAT IT!

 

Step 8: 

Be happy

 

So yesterday, all four of us went to visit a lady in the hospital.  It was a good visit, but the trip there was a little eventfully. I have been debating all day about if I should even tell you what happened, and I decided too, because I think it has a good moral to the story, but you have to promise not to freak out. (Especially you...MOM! Don't freak!)  Good? okay! 

So we got to the hospital, which was a bunch of buildings all in a complex. We were looking at the map of the hospital when two men started to approach us.  They were drunk (of course).  This actually isn't uncommon, people, especially drunk men, approach us all the time. Usually they leave us alone after we tell them to leave. But anyways....back to my story. They started trying to talk to us, you know, telling us that we had nice legs (always the weirdest compliment- we wear skirts over our knees...) and that they could help us know where to go.  We told them that we didn't need help and that we knew where to go but they kept pestering us, so finally we just walked away.  Normally, that is where it ends, but these two men followed us. So scary! I was walking in front of the other sisters and they stopped and I kept walking for about 2 seconds. By the time I realized that they had stopped, these two men had cornered me. I was stuck with one man blocking me from the sisters and the other approaching. They were saying things that I didn't understand and coming closer and closer.  By this point I was praying in my heart so much and I was saying to them over and over (in English), "Leave me alone, Stop it".  I was close to tears and had no idea what to do when suddenly one of them grabbed me.  The color drained from my face and I was more scared then I had ever been in my whole life.  THANKFULLY, at that moment, the moment he grabbed my arm, Sister Leavitt came up and said something and they both ran away. It was such a scary moment and I was shaking because I was so afraid. It took me a while to calm down (actually I didn't talk to a single man the rest of the night) but once I did, I realized how blessed I had been.  After that moment, I asked Sister Leavitt what she had said that was so effective so I could learn it.  She thought for a moment, then said, "I don't remember, I just knew you were in trouble, so I just ran over and words just came to my mind of what to say".  She said, "I know it was the spirit protecting us". And I totally agree. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't been there or if she hadn't said something.  I know I was protected, but it was still SO scary! I had a rock in my stomach and it took a while, like into today, before I felt comfortable again.  But I realized that I will be safe, I have the Lord on my side.  And also, I have my companion. She won't abandon me and together, we will be safe and ALWAYS have backup! 

So please don't  worry about me, that isn't common and we are usually very safe. :) Plus we have the Lord watching over us! He really does protect His missionaries :) I know that is true! 

I love you all! Pray for us, and pray for missionaries all over the world! Pray for opportunitues to do missionary work yourselves! I really do pray for you often and love you SO much :) 

Sister Ford 

a late picture of last weeks baptism...