Sending two more Missionaries to the MTC

Lubov and Yanna both left for the MTC

Lubov and friends say goodbye

Yanna, accompanied by her mom and sister, came from Mariupol ( 2 hours south of Donetsk). Yanna will serve in the Russia, Novasabertsk Mission. Her mom and sister are not members. President Fry set Yanna apart and you could tell that the spirit had touched them both. Yanna's sister said she'd never heard such beautiful words before. She is now meeting with the missionaries.

Lubov and her family. Lubov means "love" in Russian. Her family are members of the Church. They are from Makevka. Lubov will serve in the Ykatrineburg Mission in Russia. Makevka is about a half an hour from Donetsk. Lubov's mom is the Young Women's District President. We have become good friends. She is an excellent seamstress and has done some sewing for me.

Lubov's family and friends that came to the setting apart.

ESTONIA

I really looked forward to our annual seminar. I wanted to be spiritually fed and I was! I had been preparing myself for some time. Elder Perry, Elder Rasband and the Area Presidency spoke! They focused on "The Rescue" of our less active members. They discussed how as those that are brought back bring with them family that want to hear the gospel and be baptized. We are seeing that in the mission. As our missionaries reach out to the less active - they are coming back and are being welcomed by their old friends. Their children or relatives are being taught the gospel and are entering the waters of baptism. We have passed the number of baptisms we had last year and there is a different feel in the mission. It is so AWESOME!

We were able to attend the Helsinki Temple and what a great experience. We looked forward to this and could hardly wait to attend. We felt so spiritually fed in the temple. I soaked up every word as if it were for the first time attending and yet I felt like I was at home. My Eternal Home. I never have had all my senses come so alive before. It was wonderful, wonderful to me. I love my Savior and I am eternally indebted to him.

OUR TIME WITH JEFF

Our son Jeff, came to visit us in July and stayed until August 4th. It was great to have a bit of home with us. He was here for 4 weeks and we took him to all the meetings. He gave us so many helpful hints for the mission. He served in Peru, Lima North Mission. His mission has been established a lot longer than our mission here. It takes time to establish and organize a mission in such a way that some of the older missions are. There aren't that many things to see but he got to see all of the major cities that we have missionaries in. The sunflower fields were in full bloom and that in itself is awesome to see. There are a few historical sites in Kharkov that we saw and we ventured into a salt mine that actually was quite facinating. We also went to Slavanogorist which is very beautiful and quite the hike up the hill(no mountains in this part of Ukraine). I would have to say that the countryside in our mission is breath taking at times throughout the year. Jeff helped fill the gap for we truly have been empty nesters in a far away place. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute he was here. He and Vladimir ( our driver) hit it off and it was fun to watch them tease each other. President Fry and Jeff did their normal thing of hiding from each other and then jumping out and scaring one another. It has been a great release for us to have him here. All and all it was great to have him be here. We hated to say goodbye. As soon as he got on the plane - I missed him already!

August Group Departs

Our goodbye dinner at 3 Fat Guys. The Assistants, our Son Jeff, Sister Howard, and Elders Oldroyd, Dorman, Norman.
Wow the time went too fast! Look how happy they are and I say boo hoo!!
Elder Norman and Elder Dorman.
Elder Dorman and Elder Tsaturyan. They both served in Sumy at the same time.
Elder Wright and Elder Norman. Elder Norman leaves and Elder Wright doesn't leave until Nov. Elder Norman has reached out to many while on his mission.
What a great looking group!! Elders Olroyd, Norman and Dorman were in the MTC together. Sister Howard came in with another group but goes home with this group. That' how it is for the sisters because their service is only 18 months.
Elder Dorman has great memories of his service.
Elder Olryod has had some great experiences.
Sister Howard has touched many lives here in Ukraine. We miss you all! Thanks for you service!

Donetsk Zone Conference

Happy Birthday to all of you!!!!

Setting goals for the next 6 weeks.

Zone Leaders working on goals.

Elder Salomonson and Jeff.

Our wonderful sisters: Sister Khilova, Sister Ward, Sister Howard, Sister Belkina.

Our great and wise Assistants: Elder Wright, Elder McKinney, Elder Tsaturyan, and Elder Norman.

Still working on our goals.

Elder Oldroyd and Elder Huckstep.

Elder Noyes and Elder Stevens gave a great presentation on the Liahona. They talked about the story of Nephi and his bow. There are always trials in our life and do we complain or murmur or do we remain strong. Follow the word of Christ found in Alma 37:43-45. Following the words of Christ is like following the Liahona, Mission President etc.

What's up? Elder Huckstep, Elder Oldroyd and Elder Williams.

Elder Shumway and Elder Kerr.

Elder Dorman and Elder Woodhead

Elder Kearsley and Elder Cullen

Elder Mikhilov, Sister Belkina, Sister Ward and Elder Tsaturyan.

Elder Crowther, Elder Norman and Jeff.

Elder McKinney and Elder Noyes.

Elder Thompson, Elder Thompson again and Elder Tillotson

Elder Allred, Elder LaMarr and Elder Dorman

Elder Shumway and Elder Valverde

Elder Young, Elder Kerr and Elder Hess.

Elder Woodhead

Sister and Elder Mead

Elder Moon, Elder Balser, Elder Williams, and Elder Stevens. Elder Balser gave a great presentation on Pride and Humility. Mosiah 3:19 - Put off the natural man and be submissive - be humble. Pride is of the natural man "I know better than others and my leaders". Pride is a false sense of trying to make us feel better to justify our actions. Humility is a long lasting feeling of joy and happiness.

Many of our missionaries have musical talents. This is Elder Taylor and we appreciate him and his talents.

Elder Martineau studying.

President Fry looking over his notes during lunch. President Fry touched on how Nephi went thru the right line of Priesthood Authority when he made a new bow and wanted to know where to go and hunt. He talked about the Holy Ghost and how he can help us recall all things to our rememberance. He talked about a talk Pres. Monson gave in the Priesthood session - Pray fervently, Study diligently and Live righteously. He gave an inspiring message.

Sister Ward, Sister Howard and Sister Belkina.

Part of President's presentation - he had someone play the left hand on the piano to a hymn and asked if anyone knew the hymn. Then the right hand and asked the same question. Then both hands and yet the song is not complete without the words being sung. He and his assistants sang the song. He compared this in teaching by the spirit. Our lessons are not complete unless we invite the spirit. Our companionships are not complete unless we invite the spirit etc. It turned out to be very inspirational with the way he tied it in. Thanks to our son Jeff for the idea.

Elders Thompson, McArthur, Dorman, Cullen, and Moon.

A send off to Elder Dorman.