I Am Staying In Odessa

So I will be staying in my area for another transfer......that means 5 transfers (6 months). That is a long time, I have never heard of anyone staying in an area for 5 transfers straight. But I guess that there is a first for everything.  So Elder Hilton and I will be together for a third.    I have a really good companion Elder Hilton is great.   We are good friends and he is really caring. His parents did a really good job raising him.

Zone

These are the GREAT missionaries in my zone in Odessa

More Fall Pictures

Odessa is beautiful in the fall.

Shapka

My Russian Face

My American Face

Look I grew ears!!!!!!

The hat it is made from a red fox

I bought a fox shapka (a fur hat) at the 7 K Market, I am ready to take on the COLD winter!!!!

Grapevines

A lot of Ukrainians in Odessa have grape vines

Elder Hilton

Picking and Eating Grapes!!!

Reach a Little Higher & Be a Little Better

 The sign says "End of Odessa" it is at the edge of my area.

 It is cooling off

 Fall is in the air!!!

So this week Elder Hilton and I have been talking to tons and tons of people. I feel a lot happier now even though most people that we talk to just shut us down right away. It feels so good to just walk up to a random person and just tell them why I am on a mission and what I know is true. It is what I have been called to do and I am so thankful for the loving mission president that I have that always pushes us to reach a little higher and to be a little better. I am so grateful for that.

Elder Muir

This week I went on exchanges with Elder Muir here are some of the things that we did:

Game night at the church, it was lots of fun.

We also tracked a building and we started to talk to a babushka in the lift. She was a neighbor of a member. Anyways when we got off the lift she ran to the member’s door and rang the doorbell and then she ran into her house. We didn’t want to go to the members since we were trying to find people to teach.  Anyway the member remembered me from last year when I was on exchanges in her area she thought that I had already gone home. I knew her son; he is on a mission right now in the Moscow West mission she was way excited to see me. I wasn’t wearing a sweater and she asked me if I was cold. I told her a little but that I would be fine. Long story short I ended up leaving that apartment wearing a red sweater. She wouldn’t let me leave without putting it on. It was nice to have since I was on exchanges I didn’t have my sweater with me and it has started to get cold here.

The next morning was the helping hands day. It was combined with the other branch in that area; it was actually the branch from my first area. It was neat to see so many old familiar faces and now I was actually able  to talk with them!   I saw Sergei and his family. He is doing great and is as strong as ever. It made me really happy to see him. For our helping hands project we just picked up trash along the railroad, it was really dirty.

"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Which Strengtheneth Me"

Last night we went tracing, we always pray before we start. The first door that we knocked on a lady yelled through the door. I told her who we were and that we had a message about Jesus Christ she was quite. I yelled back and asked if she was still there. She told us to wait then she came out. We talked for a little bit and pretty much taught her about the restoration at her door step. I had the chance to tell her the first vision. My testimony was strengthened at that moment. God really did restore his church once again on the earth today through Joseph Smith. I know He did. I love this work and I love being a missionary. Yes it is true that it is hard at times and discouraging but it is all worth it. I know that is how we grow and that is an eternal principle. I love this verse in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

I know that we can put all of our cares on the Lord. He knows what we must become and be. I love you all, I am so grateful for my family and I can’t express enough to our Heavenly Father how much I am grateful for you. You mean the world to me and that is why I am here. To help others know of this good news that we call the Gospel.