Donetsk Zone Conference! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY - SUN SHINING, PIZZA, SISTER LYDIA'S CABBAGE SALAD AND HER BANANA CAKE - WHAT MORE COULD THE MISSIONARIES WANT? THEY WANTED A SPIRITUAL FEAST AS WELL AND THAT IS WHAT THEY GOT! IT WAS AMAZING. THE ZONE LEADERS WERE GREAT WHEN THEY HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD AS THEY TALKED ABOUT CHAPTER 10 IN PREACH MY GOSPEL(TEACHING SKILLS). UNITY, USING THE SCRIPTURES, RESOLVING CONCERNS AND NEVER GIVING UP ON LEARNING THE LANGUAGE. PRESIDENT FRY SPOKE ON FALLING INTO THE TRAP OF SAFE REBELLION (A TALK THAT SISTER BEDNAR GAVE A FEW YEARS AGO). SWEET TESTIMONIES WERE BORNE FROM OUR MISSIONARIES LEAVING NEXT TRANSFER AND FROM OUR RUSSIAN SPEAKING EUROPE EAST AREA NATIVES. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!! I LOVE THESE MISSIONARIES!! THERE WAS SUCH A POWERFUL YET PEACEFUL SPIRIT IN OUR MEETING. IT WAS THE BEST FEELING EVER!!

Olya's Batism

This was a special day where a young married couple experienced great joy in their lives. Vitally baptized his wife Olya. Vitally has been a member for a few years now but hasn't come as often to church as he did at first, however, he continued to attend English class. He noticed a young woman attending for some time and observed her and was drawn to her. After several months he showed up at her house with some flowers, introduced himself and proposed! Olya had been selected(months prior) to be the Kinghorns interrupter. The Kinghorns are the Humanitarian couple in the mission. She was being exposed to the church bit by bit. She was drawn to the church and enjoyed the company of many CES youth as well as the missionaries(couples, sisters & elders). Vitally had started attending Church more regularly and was especially interested in preparing to go to the Temple. He wanted an Eternal Marriage and Olya was the one he wanted to spend Eternity with. She was very surprised to see him and didn't really know him. Her answer was "maybe we should date first." Well they did date and they were married and Olya was indeed ready for Baptism. She was spiritually ready and it showed in her countenance. It was indeed a glorious day! Every day a new soul comes unto Christ through the waters of Baptism is a glorious day! I will never forget this day. I will never forget the love that was shown between a husband and wife on this day. Just after Olya came up from the baptismal waters - she kissed Vitally as if to say "Thank you! I love you!"

New Missionaries March 2009

It's time for New Missionaries again!!! We love it when our newest ones arrive. They come with such a great spirit about them and it gives us "New Life" here in the mission. I am spotlighting Elder Shipp first: He is from Mesa Arizona. He enjoys wrestling, violin, choir, golf and rock climbing. He has served in various leadership positions in the Church as well as at school. His trainer is Elder McArthur and they will be serving in Novia Doma(Kharkov area). Next is Elder Hyer: He is from Las Vegas, Nev. He was the Valedictorian in his High School, an Eagle Scout and received many, many awards for high achievement. He enjoys tennis, volleyball and chess. His trainer is Elder Sutherland and they will be serving in Gorlovka. Elder Tillotson is last but not least: He is from Okatie, South Carolina. He enjoys lacrosse, cross country, hunting, fishing and Latin. He is an Eagle Scout and has served in leadership capacities in his ward. His trainer is Elder Hunt and they will be serving in the Novia Doma(Kharkov area). We love our new missionaries and are excited they are here!!!

The Best Zone Conferences Ever!!!

We had five separate zone conferences this time. It was great to meet in smaller groups. We talked about our "Mission Goals". Our long range goal of 150 Baptisms this year. Our medium range goal of 1 Baptism per District per Transfer. Our short term goals - Placing a Book of Mormon everyday, 15 quality lessons each week, and speaking Russian fluently from 5pm -9pm each day. It was very exciting to see the missionaries faces! The brand new missionaries - said why so few baptisms? The fairly new missionaries said - very attainable. The missionaries that have been out over a year said - that's stretching ourselves, and the missionaries fairly close to going home said maybe but not realistic. It was very interesting. Then they talked about Ephesians 6:12 and D&C 27:15-18 "Putting on the Armor of God." As we study the missionary white handbook we are putting on the Armor of God. The breastplate of righteousness is to be obedient to His will and learn what you should learn and what you should do. Be what you should be. Truth - starting our day out right with studying. Keep your feet shod with the gospel and remember repentance, faith and our covenants we've made. The shield of faith - principle of action - God endows power as we act in faith and we will be able to withstand the fiery darts of satan. The Helmet of Salvation is the hope and faith that protects our mind. The Sword of My Spirit - the armor on the front of our body only protects those who do not turn and run. Don't turn away the still small voice. The spirit bears us up and strengthens us. The spirit protects us physically and spiritually. Talks were given by the assistants about the dedicatory prayer that Pres. Packer gave at the opening of Ukraine for missionary work. It was very powerful and said that hundreds of thousands would want to know the truth and would be baptized. Many of those who have received their P. blessings are from different tribes here and in "Mormon Doctrine" it talks of the lost ten tribes and how they will seek out Ephriam for their blessings. That is exactly why were are here! It is happening! As we are obedient - the Lord will open the doors and they will seek us out for their blessings!!! President Fry gave an excellent talk comparing us to a kite. We need string, a person to hold the string, the wind, wood reinforcement crossed in the middle and a tail. The string is the commandments and it needs to be attached to the heart of the kite or to our heart. The person holding the string is Christ. The tail adds stability and is prayer, faith, hope etc. The wind is opposition that helps us grow and soar. Christ holds tightly to the string and lets it out bit by bit as we learn more about his commandments and obey them. If we feel we can do it alone and cut the string - we crash and burn so to speak. As we soar higher and higher - we gain more freedom and knowledge and our testimonies grow. As we are obedient - the Lord blesses us! As missionaires our blessings are seeing the joy the gospel brings to these people we teach. I use to get really bugged when my son would write home about numbers etc. I didn't want the mention of numbers when we first got our call to go on this mission, but studying Preach My Gospel and listening to the DVD's that go along with it - I caught the vision. I don't remember which of the Apostles said it but he said very powerfully - sharing the gospel is our responsiblitiy! If you don't set a goal - it won't happen. The people here are ready - many have been studying and coming to church for years and still aren't baptized. If they don't set a goal - it won't happen and they are being deprived of their blessings. It is up to us as missionaries and members to see to it that they are not deprived of their blessings that they have waited for a very long time. If we truly love our fellowman and God, we will want to share the gospel and it is our responsibility to do so. As the zone conference progressed, the missionaries caught the vision, and everyone felt the spirit bare witness of the important work we are here to do. Each night we got home from zone conference, we would get a phone call from one of the district or zone leaders that they had put someone on date! Ochen horosho!!!

New Missionaries

We have some great new missionaries in our mission. Let me introduce them: Elder Smith is from Mesa AZ. He is an Eagle Scout and enjoys sports, painting, drawing, hiking and camping. His trainer is Elder Woodhead and they are serving in Alexsavka. Elder Cullen is from Provo UT. He enjoys sports, the violin , the guitar and computers. His trainer is Elder Ehrisman and they are serving in Makeevka. Elder Walton is from Provo UT. He enjoys architecture and mechanical drafting, band, choir, drama, remodeling, landscaping, reading and biking. His trainer is Elder Barnum and they are serving in Solvtica. Elder Moore is form Centerville, Ohio. He enjoys jazz band, playing the saxophone and piano and he is an Eagle Scout and has received his Duty to God Award. His trainer is Elder Crowther and they are serving in Sumy. Elder Hansen is from Cedar Hills, UT. He enjoys rock climbing, cross country, hiking, back packing and storytelling. His trainer is Elder Misiurenko and they are serving in Petrosky. Elder Allred is from Mapleton, UT. He enjoys soccer, music, skiing, biking and entrepreneurship. His trainer is Elder Noyes and they are serving in Gorlevka. Elder Richardson is from Wilmette, Ill. He enjoys playing the electric upright basses and has performed at several concerts including Carnegie Hall in New York City. He also enjoys and has studied the Chinese language and culture. His trainer is Elder Tsaturyan and they are serving in Lugantsk. Sister Vasileva is from Kharkov and is waiting for her visas to come through so she can go to the MTC in Provo and then on to her mission in Romania. Her trainer is Sister Glenn and they are serving in Mariupol.