New Transfer!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

This last week was crazy! I am now officially training and boy, it is strange! I didn't realize how much the trainees look up to older missionaries! I'm bad because sometimes I just assume that she already knows things that she doesn't know. Hence why she almost didn't get off the bus today... Scariest moment of my life. I'm having so much fun teaching her all the fun, weird, cute, happy, sad, and cultural things about Ukraine! The last few days have been WAY insane! Sister Kelly has had quite an interesting welcome to the country! But she is a rockstar and loving every minute. 

Sister Kelly and I at the temple! 

She is cute and nice and sweet! Also, older then me... weird. We are having a lot of fun with Suvorosky so far! We set some awesome goals and I am excited to achieve them!

So from before Sister Kelly came:

Sister Nielsen and I had our last few days together. We spent a lot of time doing registration stuff, including a 7 hour roundtrip to her old area. It was a little crazy! Finally we made it on the train headed up to Kyiv and said our goodbyes! I'm going to miss her but I know that she will rock it in Vinnitsya! 

 Last picture together with Sister Nielsen!

One awesome tender mercy that we had during our last few days together was an email that I got from a lady last week. During our first week of the transfer, we met at the church with a couple that was thinking about adoption. We talked about their situation and the Elders gave them a blessing and then they left. We were so lucky to get a email that described their decision and thanked us. We sent back some pictures telling them good luck! 

 Wishing good luck and love to our American Adopting Friends! 

It is such a blessing that here in Ukraine, we can help people that only are here for a short time and then return to America!

District Picture! Next transfer there will only be 4 missionaries in my district...weird!

Also, we had another game night Tuesday Night. It started and after 20 minutes, the only people that were there were the branch president and one member and the missionaries. So we said a prayer. and started eating our refreshments. Within minutes, two teenagers came in. They asked if they could bring some friends. They agreed. Within 5 minutes, they had brought back 15 other teenagers! It was so fun and a small miracle with us! We taught them Spoons, Speed, Uno! It is fun to open the church up and have a good place where these kids can play. Most teenagers (especially boys) already drink and smoke by the time they are 13-14, so they need somewhere where they can have clean fun and we provide that! Next time, we have a Mormon Message about how in Life, "All of God's Children wear the Same Jersey". It goes along well with the games!

The Suvorosky Group!

Kyiv:

Being up in Kyiv was so fun but also so tiring! We got on our train in Odessa at almost 11 at night on Wednesday night, then rode all night and got there in the morning. 

 Sleeping on the train

Once we were there, we went straight to our training meeting. There we meet with the trainers and President for a while. Then when it was time to meet our trainees, they took us into the chapel, where they were all sitting. Then I got to meet Sister Kelly and get aquainted a little bit! It is crazy that the Lord trusts us so much! Think about it, We get paired with someone that we have never met before, travel to a random city in a country that we have hardly been in before, and then fend for ourselves and do missionary work. Weird... But it works! Everytime!

So anyway, we had meeting until 5, then dinner. Then we got to go out contacting for the first time. Sister Kelly and I headed out, The first man that would actually talk to us was SUPER creepy, Poor Sister Kelly was so excited because she thought he was actually interested in the gospel and then was so disgusted once I translated what he was saying. Eventually we started a conversation with a lady. We asked her what brought her happiness in her life. Then when she responded family, we talked a little bit about the importance of families in our life. She was really nice. Then Sister Kelly went back to the hotel and I went with Sister Hunt to stay with Sister Lee! What a special tender mercy! 

 Sister Lee, Hunt and I :) 

We got to talk and catch up! It was so fun to see her! We may have stayed up a little later then we meant to...but it was fun! I love her and Sister Hunt! I have been blessed to meet so many awesome people on my mission! Not just those two, but others as well!

The next morning, Sister Hunt and I headed back to the hotel. We tried to get a taxi for like an hour, and then the moment we got the taxi, we found out that President decided not to invite the trainers. So we got out of the taxi, found Sister Lee again and got to do all of our studies with them! Then later, we took the Metro to the temple! 

 

Sister Kelly and I at the temple! 

 Odessa trainers and trainees! 

We got our trainees and headed to the train station. Sister Hunt and I were the oldest sisters so we were in charge of it all! So weird! We didn't know anything about Kyiv or anything! We had never even taken suitcases on a train before! But everything worked out really well! I was able to find a phone left in a taxi, help check 15 suitcases, help everyone find money and buy winter clothes. Basically everything...I think maybe I know more then I think I do... I get so surprized when I realize how much I can acutally do and communicate with people.

Then we headed home to Odessa! It was good to be home!

Sister Kelly and I:

So Sister Kelly and I did weekly planning, set goals, made some plans on Saturday. On Sunday, we went to church. 

 

Marina and I, a girl that came to visit! She stole my camera and took a TON of pictures !

 one of her pictures...I can't tell if it looks good. But it is the missionaries in Suvorosky now. 

Now, in order to help the church be open more so people can come see, we study at the church. So we were studying at the church when this man came in. He was drunk. I called the elders and they told me that he was harmless so I gave him a Liahona and told him to read it. He did and then eventually showed us part that he "thought was interesting". Only later did we realize that he STOLE OUR PHONE! I was so upset!  We found out that he had stolen our phone when he called the elders. The elders tried to chase him down, but they didn't find him. And our phone is gone. We have one right now that belongs to the zone leaders. It is nice, but we lost our landlord's number, which was sad because we couldn't call him and ask him to turn on the heat... Sad because it is freezing! We finally got it though so it should be warm tonight :) 

 Teaching Sister Kelly to super kontik! :)

I forgot to mention this but IT SNOWED WHILE WE WERE IN KYIV! What is this?? I'm wearing many layers of tights and sweaters and such so I am staying warm...for now! 

Getting cold! And sometimes rainy! 

Also, I'm sending home a branch photograph that they took this week! This is my branch, isn't it cute?? :)

our branch! :) 

 

So that was basically my week! Snow, phone stolen, training! I am having so much fun! This work is awesome! I can't wait to watch general conference this week! Did you hear how many missionaries there are??? SO MANY! I love it :)

I LOVE YOU ALL! have a great week :)

Sister Kati Ford

Mission Conference and Temple!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

What a fun, crazy, tiring, exciting week it has been! I had so much FUN this last week, but it was crazy!

I don't even know where to begin right now! Maybe I will talk about the weather first! IT GOT COLD! and rainy! I was actually cold! I thought maybe it would snow...but then I converted the temperature from Cel. to Far. and then I realized that I was just a whimp. I'm not even going to say the temperature... It was that bad! haha :) But today is warmer. Thankfully.

So our branch has a recent convert. His name is Isaac. He is African and doesn't speak very much Russian, or English. But we communicate in English, because he knows enough. He is AWESOME! He spoke yesterday in church about "The Power of God" (And yes, he has an awesome African accent). He speaks in English but then the branch president translates it into Russian. Anyways...This week I helped him find scriptures for his talk. It was fun.

I also did an exchange this week. Back with Sister Leavitt! It was fun! Weird to be back in my old apartment with none of my stuff...I realized how much I love my new house too! It's still nice! :)

Our pool

me in the pool! WHICH IS EMPTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) Just to make that clear :)

Wednesday when we were walking to the church, we said "Good Evening" to a man walking by. He turned around and said, "Americans!' Which for us, is actually a pretty normal greeting. He told us how he had met with missionaries before and had a Book of Mormon and believed that it was God's book. Then he gave us his number and said we could meet! The best part of this story! He wants us to meet with him AND HIS FAMILY! That's so exciting! He has a wife and they have ben married for 35 YEARS! He has 5 Children and 5 Grandchildren! Families like this just don't exist in Ukraine so this is HUGE! I really hope that this works out! Pray for him (Vlarry)! And pray that we get the opportunity to meet with him! and his family!

Thursday we had a lesson with Natasha and she called before and asked if she could bring a friend. Of course we said yes, so we met Giorgi, her friend from Georgia! He knows some Russian and some English so we can communicate. He is interested in the Book of Mormon so we gave him a Russian one, they don't have one available in Georgian yet. But he was really nice. With Natasha we helped her translate a letter to Stephanie Nielsen. We are going to send that this week. Hopefully it makes it safely!

Then on Friday morning, we got on a train! How fun! 

on the train

at the Kyiv train station (which is so pretty)

We had a 11 hour ride up to Kyiv, so it took all day! Finally we got to Kyiv and it was rainy. So we found our way to the Metro and figured out how to get to the Sister's apartment in Center Kyiv. That night 10 sisters stayed there! It was a little crazy! But good! I slept on the floor but I slept fine!
Then the next morning we had our mission conference. It was really good! Elder Evens from the Missionary Department and the 70 came and President Bennett from the Area Presidency was there. They talked a lot about doing missionary work with the members. It was interesting. I was glad to have been there, even if it was only for 3 hours!

Then we went to Dominoes (it tastes just as good here in Ukraine!)

Then we got the opportunity to go to the temple! It was so great! We walked in and immediately I just felt like home. It was so peaceful. The temple in Ukraine is beautiful! It is very similar to other temples but has some details that make it seem so Ukrainian! I loved it! Because all the sisters from Odessa went and also Elder and Sister Evens, and also President Bennett, the session was in English. But some parts were still in Russian. Someday I want to do a session in Russian. It is such a beautiful language! But then we walked (in a mini flash flood :) ) to the train station and headed home! It was a crazy two days! Our train went all night and we got to Odessa Sunday morning and headed to church! Crazy!!! But so fun! I loved seeing all the other sisters from my district! It was crazy though because when I first came into the mission, I was one of 16 sisters. Now there are more then double that and I don't really know any of them! Hopefully I met them all someday! :)

Anyways, that was this week! I love you all! Make good choices! Be happy! Share the gospel!

Love,

Sister Kati Ford

LAST WEEK IN AMERICA!!!!WHAT!?!?!?!?

My Branch Email-

This week was really good. I am just super surprised by how 
fast the days go by! I can't believe that in a week, I will be 
in Ukraine, sharing the gospel with people there! I can't 
wait until I'm there and can help them learn of Christ!

This week I had something hit me really hard. This is what
 I wrote in my journal, "During Personal Study today, I had 
the best study ever. I had been reflecting on how I could 
be a better teacher, when I decided to try and teach like 
Christ would. I found an article that taught about some of 
his teaching methods, such as Sharing Scriptures, Parables, 
loving them, Trusting them, asking them questions, and asking
them to testify. After I read that I was thinking about one of 
our investigators, Maria. When I was studying for her, I 
tried to use as many of the teaching methods that Christ 
would use. As I was pondering, an idea came to me to try 
and explain that Christ would help her with her burdens. 
So we came up with a object lesson explaining that because 
Christ suffered the Atonement for us, we are never alone. 
He will help us lift our burdens. We shared a scripture in 
Matthew that talked about our burdens being made light 
through him. When we shared this message with Maria, 
she felt the love of the Savior through us and through the 
Holy Ghost. I really felt like I taught like Christ would teach 
her in that lesson. My love for Maria grew so much during that 
lesson because I really wanted her to understand and feel 
of Christ's love. I realized that Christ is the perfect example 
to us, in every aspect. He was the perfect friend, perfect 
teacher, perfect missionary, perfect brother, and we can 
learn a lot by following his example. I want to try to be 
more like him in every aspect of my life."And it's true. I 
love my Savior and I know as I strive to be more like him, 
I can be a successful missionary! What a blessing to be able 
to be associated with him everyday. He suffered for all of 
us, and sharing the joy of that message is so much fun! We 
get to help others feel hope and joy, which is a HUGE blessing 
for us!The other thing that I noticed this week is how much 
I love my investigators. When I think about leaving them 
next week, I get super sad. I love them, and I just really 

want what is best for them. I imagine it will be so much 
harder once I get to Ukraine and they are real people!

So this week went by SUPER fast!! It seems like just 
yesterday I wrote home, and now I am again!!! Say What?!?!?!

I had a cold this week.  That is pretty typical, most people 
get a little sick right before they leave!  But I'm all 
good now!! :)

WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLAN!!! YAY!! we are really leaving!

So we leave the MTC at 4:00 in the morning next Tuesday.  
We get to the airport at about 5.  We check in and then 
we can CALL HOME!!  There is no time limit and I can call 
home during our layover also!  :) Our flight leaves at 7:50 
and we fly to DC where we have a 2 and a half hour layover 
from 2:30 - 5:00 ish.  Then we fly from DC to Austria!!!  
Then we have an hour there and we fly to Kyiv!!! Our 
travel is about 24 hours!!  Fun!!! There are 18 missionaries 
flying to Kyiv, so it will be a PARTY!! or just a lot of 
sleeping, haha :)

 I will probably call about 5:30 SLC time (7:30 your time) and then at about 2:30 

DC/Michigan time.  So if you want to be prepared!! :)

This week, we weren't quite productive as week past.  
We finished our book so we have been doing a lot of 
review.  And review games.  We do a lot of basketball and 
such.  It is a lot of fun!  Also, a lot of contacting!!!  
It has been good practice! :)

Russian mistake of the week:  So in Russian, the 
words for "man" and "car" are very similar.  Like 
one letter different.  So a lot of the time when 
we are teaching the Law of Chasity, people will 
talk about relationships between a man and a women 
but accidentally say a car and a women.  Our Elders 
did that in a lesson this week and their investigator 
was like on the ground laughing.  So I need to be careful 
about that one!!!

This week we have done a  lot of culture learning.  
It has been fun!  Russia and Ukraine have a sad history, 
so it is sometimes super sad to learn about.  But we are 
going to bring them happiness, so that is good!

One highlight of this week was one of our lessons 
with Sasha.  Afterwords our teacher pulled us out 
of the classroom and told us how awesome our lesson 
was.  That was super exciting to hear!  We had our last 
temple walk on Sunday.  Which was sad.  I still can't 
believe that we are leaving!  Like, really leaving!  Oh boy!!!

Our firesides this week were awesome!  On Sunday 
night, we had our first repeat.  Mary Edmonds came 
again and was just as funny as last time!  I love her stories!!  
This is one joke she told,

"One day there was a mouse with her baby mice.  
They decided to go on a picnic.  When they were on 
the way, a big cat appeared.  The mama mouse jumped 
between the cat and her baby mice and said, "Woof Woof!" 
The cat ran away.  Then the mama mouse turned to her babies 
and said, "That is why you need to learn a foreign language."

haha... I just realized that maybe that wasn't super 
funny...I thought is was... anyway... haha! :)

Oh maybe I should talk about this...So remember last 
week when my foot was all bruised.  Well...It wasn't 
getting better...So I went to the doctor and they sent me 
to get X-rays!!! I rode in a car for the first time in 8 
weeks!! That was weird!!! :) But anyways...we went 
and waited (Mom- Doc was on the TV and I thought of you 
(: ) and then I got 3 xrays and then went back to the MTC.  
The other sisters in the car had to go somewhere else so we 
drove all over Provo!  Like all through BYU and by the 
hospital and stuff.  It was super awesome to see the real 
world!!!  I loved just looking out of the window!  It felt like 
home!So anyways...got back to the MTC and talked to the 
doctor... It isn't broken...thank goodness.  But he is 
concerned about it so he gave me a walking cast.  I will 
go back and get it checked on Friday and then hopefully 
I will still be cleared to leave!  I'm pretty sure I will still 
leave but pray for my foot!! :)

Last night was our last Tuesday night devotional!  It 
was so good! :) He talked a lot in the scriptures and I 
loved hearing his insight on common scripture passages 
and how they applied to missionary work.  I think I will 
miss devotionals the most once we are gone!!! and our 
teachers, and our district.  Basically everything!! :)

So life is good and being a missionary is really good!  
Sorry my letter is shorter, there isn't a lot to say after 
8 weeks here! But I can say that I love the MTC!  I love 
the Spirit here and I love being surrounded by so many 
different missionaries that are from all over the world 
and serving all over the world!  I love the devotionals, 
I love my leaders, I love my teachers.  It is just so great!  
Someone said that, " The MTC is a haven for those that 
make it so" and that is so true! If you have a mind to 
love the MTC, you really will! And it is seriously great!  
I think I could spend 18 months just here...except I 
really want to start teaching people and making my 
own food haha! :) And if they had Cafe Rio haha :)

I have a few minutes, so just some advice to anyone 
that may be reading this that is going to the MTC soon:

1. Take short showers.  Keep the lines short!  We 
had a sister that would go around every morning saying, 
"Girl's camp showers, not prom showers"

2. Mail is so great.  Write your missionary friends often!  
They will love you for it!

3. ALWAYS go to choir. You will not have the full MTC 
experience if you don't go to choir!! Seriously!! And go 
early...There isn't always room for everyone!

4. Do what you are supposed to do, when you are 
supposed to do it!  Sleep when it is time to sleep, 
eat when it is time to eat, and EXERCISE when it is 
time to exercise.

5. Enjoy spending the time with the other missionaries.  
It won't be long before it is just you are your companion 
alone, all the time!

6. Have a good attitude.  No one wants to listen 
to a complainer! 

7. FREE BOX!!  I know so many sisters that have 
awesome stuff from the free box.  
Just a random little secret about the MTC haha

8. Enjoy the food.  It is American after all. My 
favorites and the gyros, biscuits and gravy, and 
anything Mexican.  They also have good soup!  
and if I can eat it for 9 
weeks, anyone can enjoy it for a little while!

9. Know that you are not perfect!  No one is perfect!  
As Elder Holland said, Imperfect people are all Christ 
has ever had to work with.  Just try your very best!

10.  Love your branch presidency and district and zone 
leaders.  They want to help you!

11. BE HAPPY!  This is missionary fun, not missionary 
work! ( haha I typed that out backwards first...I'm glad 
I noticed and fixed that!)

12. Sisters, be modest.   Everyone knows where 
their knees are! They should be covered when you 
are sitting and standing!  Just be smart! :)

13. Don't be afraid to share!  Everyone get sick of 
their own clothes.  There has never been a day when 
someone doesn't borrow something from me!  It's fun!

14. Love your district!  Be friends but also remember 
that you are here to work and learn! 

15. This is where missionaries are trained!  Become 
a better missionary while you are here and by the 
time you leave, your gospel flame should be burning SO bright so 
that you can share the gospel, get rejected, and still love it! :)

Love you all!  I KNOW that this church is true!  I know 
the Book of Mormon is true!  I know that through Jesus 
Christ, we can find happiness and joy!  I love this gospel 
and the joy it brings me!  I love my family!  I love my 
friends!  Write me, before Saturday or Friday with 
DearElders!  After that, send it to UKRAINE!  Next time I email, 
I will be in UKRAINE!  I CAN'T WAIT!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Sister Ford :)

Week 5! All I can say is that this week was crazy!!

Dear Everyone,

This week was crazy.  No joke...crazy!  Things happened and I remembered thinking, "Did this really just happen??".  But it was good too!

First of all, Let me tell you an awesome 
story.  So...as many of you know, I sometimes sleeptalk.  I have done that a lot since getting here.  One of the Sisters in my room has a hard time sleeping so she will come up to me in the morning and tell me about what I said the night before. It is pretty awesome!  But last week, She came up and told me that I was sleeptalking...IN RUSSIAN!  How boss is that??!? So cool, right?!?  I was super stoked!  It was basically the most awesome thing EVER!  :)

Anyways...

Weird Thing Number 1 - Thursday was sad because one of teachers just all of the sudden decided to go to Africa.  Random...I know.  So we had a goodbye party for him.  

(saying goodbye to one of teachers, Brat Hofman)

He showed us a bunch of mission pictures of Russia and such.  He also had lived in Ukraine, so he told us all about that also.  It was pretty awesome.  It just made me want to leave the MTC right then!  Too bad I still have 4 weeks left!  So we were all bummed that he left.  Then a few days later, we walked into our classroom to see him sitting there!  His visa didn't go through in time so he couldn't go.  Weird...I know!  So he isn't our teacher anymore (we got a new one), but he is still helping us out.  So that was the first random thing that happened this week.

Weird Thing Number 2 - So I have been running almost everyday since I got here.  But I guess this week was when everyone decided to notice!  EVERY time I run, some elder or sister says somethings about how long I have been running for, or how much I must like running.  They aren't even people I know and most of the time, I just overhear them talking about it.  It's weird.  But I have been getting faster so I do lap a lot of people, especially elders.  hehe :)

Weird Thing Number 3 - Every week, we go in and do assigments online.  We walked in this week and it was a speaking Russian test.  It was weird because we had no idea we were having one!  Talk about stressful!  But funny too!  But mostly stressful because they were hard questions!  Like, "describe the difference between Martin Luther and Joseph Smith?".  How am I supposed to know that IN RUSSIAN! It was a little crazy but good :)

Weird Thing Number 4 - I found out on Thursday that I was doing the musical number for Sunday in Sacrament.  That was a little weird, but it ended well.  We did an arrangement of "I know that my Redeemer Lives". It was so pretty, and for only having a few days, it actually went really well! I played the violin, Sister Barnes played the piano, and Sister Robertson sang.  It was so much fun!  I know that music is a great way to share the gospel and I loved being able to play a violin again! Weird thing about the musical number is that there was no music stand so I had Sister Lee hold my music while I played.  It was so funny!!!!! But it all worked out great! :)  

Weird Thing Number 5 - I spent over an hour all by myself!  Sister Sink had an interview with the district president and so while she was talking to him I was just in an office all by myself.  It was so weird.  I didn't even know what to think!  It was funny that it has only been a few weeks but I'm already used to always being with someone else!

Weird Thing Number 6 - I totally called our Speaker for Relief Society.  I was talking to Sister Hunt and I was like, "Sister Oscarson is going to speak today" and she was like, "No."  But then I was right!  I was so pumped!  It was SO awesome! It was her first offical assignment since she got called to the YW president.  I even got to meet her!  I gave her a hug and told her that I loved her!  Then we talked about my mission a little.  She said, "Tell them that I love all the Young Women everywhere, even in Ukraine".  So then I was like, "Man, I just love you so much" and she hugged me again.  But seriously, I love her!  She is AWESOME!  Her husband served as a mission president when she was 25!  How crazy is that!!?!?! But that was a highlight for this week!

Weird Thing Number 7 - We found out that we have an entire new schedule.  you know how I sent you an example day...Well now it is totally different!  Oh well!  Change is inevitable, I guess!  I'm curious to how long it will take me to get used to it!  We eat 45 minutes later now, which after eating a set time everyday for a month, will take some getting used to!  But it will be good!

(Ben and I.  Ben is going to Finland.  He leaves today, I think.  Ben is Ashley's friend!) 

Weird Thing Number 8 - We are getting so weird!  Like slap happy all the time.  We come up with stupid songs, we die laughing of the dumbest things, and the littlest things make us so happy.  It is crazy.  I  composed a song (in Russian) about loving Tide-To-Go and now the I feel like all Russian Speakers know it.  It makes me so happy!  But it is weird. Evidence of this is some of the pictures I sent home this week...We are weird!

(Sister Hunt and I at the temple!  She is so cute and I love her! :) )

(This includes sister montgomery, sister lee, sister robertson, sister hunt, and I.  We had some fun!  :))

Weird Thing Number 9 - That Laekynn came in and left before I did, even though I came in before she did!  She left this morning!  

 sad :( But I am so excited for her to share the gospel in Vegas!  She will be great!  I will miss seeing her everyday!  I love that girl!  

Weird Thing Number 10 - After we got back from teaching, we discovered that one member of our district, poor Sister Montgomery, had tested positive for the flu and was quarantined.  It was so funny!  But we feel bad.  They moved her out of our dorm to a totally different building.  And because our district was around her, we all had to go to the Health Clinic.  Hence, the Tamiflu.  

All of us are on it for the next 10 days to hopefully prevent us from getting sick also.  It was so funny at dinner last night when all 10 of us popped our pill at the same time.  It was great!  Everyone around us thought we were crazy!!! Until she gets out of her quarantine, I am in a trio too, which is different, but fun!

Anyways...Now do you understand the weidness!  Thankfully it was also really good.  I felt the spirit a lot, our lessons were good and I laughed a lot!  I love being a missionary! :) Below is what I wrote to the branch this week 

"This week was interesting, to say the very least. I feel like a bunch of very unexpected things happened, which was kinda crazy. With Sister Sink losing her grandma, and Sister Montgomery being quarantined, meaning that I am also companions with Sister Barnes stressed me out a little but it's been ok. I know unexpected things happen in the mission field so I guess it is good to be prepared.  
This week we taught Sasha two times. We taught him about the Atonement and then in the next lesson, about the first half of the plan of Salvation. I am so excited for next week when we are going to teach him (finally) about eternal families. The lessons last week (especially the one on The Plan of Salvation) went so well. I think I am almost to the point where I hardly need notes anymore, just for a few words that I don't know. He is progressing so well. It is really exciting because not only is he keeping his commitments, he is exceeding them! We asked him to read part of a pamphlet only to find out that by the next lesson, he had read the whole thing! He seems so excited to learn!

We also taught Tonya and Christina this week. That was exciting because we have never taught them. The lesson went really well, but it was also difficult because it is a struggle to try and decide what the best way to teach them, because even though they get taught together, they are two different people with two different sets of needs. I'm excited to teach them again this week!

This week for my personal study, I tried to change up the way that I study the Book of Mormon. I tried a couple different techniques that I really liked. First, when their was a list of attributes (like Alma 7:23) I would define the meanings of each attribute and think of an example. The other techinique was to really apply it to myself. I did that with Alma 14. I thought about how the Lord helps me through my trials and He has a plan for me. Studying the Book of Mormon everyday has really helped me realize how true it is. This book has blessed my life so much. I know that it is the word of God. It contains so much help and I know that if someone reads it, ponders its truthfulness and prays about it that they will come to know that it is true!"

 So...I love you all!  I know the church is true and I love being a missionary...weirdness and all! Write me this week!  Please :)

Sister Ford