Week 96: Доброе Утро!

July 20, 2020

Family! Friends! Hello!! Its Elder Halls haha

Street Meet

Sooooo we have permission to give people Books of Mormon and see, briefly people on the street. We still don't sit down with anybody and teach lessons but понятно anyway this week we had a few times we met with people on the street! We met with Dima, Ahmed, and Mohammed. Dima has been giving out copies of the Book of Mormon left and right and so we gave him a few more! The others are people we are teaching right now! I'll send some pictures!

Zone Conference

We had Zone Conference and we definitely have the greatest zone in existence wow I love these missionaries! And we also had mission conference and we have the greatest mission ever too! And I mean it wow! As president Wirthlin says frequently, "I've told a few of the brethren that the Ukraine Dnipro Mission is the best mission in the church and nobody has every told me otherwise." So there you have it! Greatest mission haha

Проповедуем!!!

A big part of this week has been working with Igor who is the brother that has been investigating the church for years. The spirit really does lead and guide and we've felt prompted to do a lot of work to help prepare for baptism. He has previously been a little impatient but discussing with him and talking about preparing for his baptism very soon has given him great peace and comfort. We plan this week to do a few review lessons to talk about the missionary lessons and to teach principles we feel need to be emphasized at this time. We've been in touch with President Mikhailovski and President Kalashnik, the Elders quorum President. They both already know him and we've been discussing how to help him prepare best. We will soon have an assigned minister and a lesson with the branch President participating. Igor made it to church this Sunday as we called him and he really enjoyed it! Pray for Igor we hope he will be baptized very soon!!

We've continued to teach Samuel who is progressing really well! He has begun to read the Book of Mormon and he really enjoys the English Worship service on Sundays he was there this week making it a second time. We felt inspired to ask him questions on our lesson such as, "Do you have a desire to follow Christ?" And other questions and this was really cool! I think it's good for those we teach to ponder these kinds of questions. It's cool to give them that opportunity to express their feelings and desire. I think it helps them realize other things they should do if they have that desire! And that's been the case with Samuel.

I really loved the Zone Conferences this week! The one that was together with the whole mission as well as our Kharkiv Zone Conference. I was inspired and uplifted by all that was shared! I know that much of what was shared is the mind of the Lord for our mission at this time. There were many things that we can do and incorporate into our missionary work! I was excited about all these things and working together with Elder Wilson to accomplish them! Specifically this week we took some time to do a community service project. We picked a small street out of the way that we felt could use a little help and we took our masks and gloves and some plastic bags and got everything all cleaned up. It was really fun!

We had English practice this week on Friday. We've been doing English practice throughout the Zone for a couple of months now and this week we just had great success on the practice! We have a couple of members of the church who attend. Specifically Dima and Martin. And it was cool how this week Martin really made friends with Nikita on the English practice and he even invited him to church! I thought that was so cool and it was awesome how English practice helped to make that possible! Nikita wasn't able to come to church this week. He got the days mixed up but hopefully next week!

We continue teaching many others Wahid, Ahmed, Peter and Peter. They are doing well and continue to progress at various levels. Its been a miracle to see how finding has continued for us! This week the Lord has blessed us with great success and progress in our teaching! And I've always been impressed by how much it's his doing! He really does give the increase as we do our small and simple tasks in helping out brothers and sisters come unto Christ. I've pondered a lot this week the work that missionaries do each and everyday. They all in special and unique ways do the Lords work.

Spiritual Thought

I love the closing verse of a hymn we sang this Sunday.

29, A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief

Then in a moment to my view

The stranger started from disguise.

The tokens in his hands I knew;

The Savior stood before mine eyes.

He spake, and my poor name he named,

“Of me thou hast not been ashamed.

These deeds shall thy memorial be;

Fear not, thou didst them unto me.

The rest of the hymn sheds special light on how meaningful this verse really is!

All the small and simple works that we do to help our brothers and sisters are known by the Lord. As we serve them we truly and surely only serve Him! That was a powerful moment as the spirit witnessed to me that the Savior is aware of all my efforts to help others and serve be more like him! He see all your efforts as well!! He loves you and is so proud!!

There is great things happening this week! We are excited to work with those we are teaching and strive to find more people to teach as well!

Elder Halls