Week 20 Winter Wonderland

Hello family and friends! I hope you all had a great week this past week wherever in the world you are right now! This week was really great for me! I'm learning so much and growing more and more into the work!

IT IS GETTING COLD!! Saturday I remember walking outside and I think I shed a little tear of sadness because I had thought we were on our way back to warmer weather but that is just not the case. I think it won't be warming up even just a little bit any time soon haha. This week it snowed sooo much. Pretty much everyday! It's hard to tell how much because when you are living in a city of 1 million people and everyone walks everywhere it just gets all compressed down on the sidewalk, then after that turns into ice. People fall all the time its funny but also sometimes really sad! Lets just say we've had a lot of opportunities recently to serve Dnepr's older folks :)

Another cool things with all the snow is that usually all the moms in the city take there kids around in strollers like even in the winter!! (I know I do not even begin to understand why because it's ice cold) But when it snows they switch and use these awesome little sleds so just everywhere there is little kids around getting pulled by there parents or brothers and sisters in these sleds haha it's really awesome I think we should do the same in America.

This week was a good week of learning for me! As every week really seems to be. I'm grateful to be serving as a missionary at this time in my life and I feel many blessings coming as I do what I can to help the Lord in His great and marvelous work! This week was an amazing week of miracles! As we tried to get some meetings scheduled with people to teach or returning members at the beginning of this week nothing was really working out and it was apparent that we were going to have a lot of time to just go out on the street and gospel contact! I was excited for this opportunity because I have faith that as we worked hard in gospel contacting the Lord would bless us. Well as the week continued without much signs of sucess my excitedness began to waver a bit but I knew it was important what we were doing! By the end of the week we saw huge miracles! We had some good conversations with people we were able to get some contacts as well as a new person we are teaching Mitya he's really awesome and we will be getting him to church this coming week! I know that gospel contacting is just one of the ways on the mission we have to show the Lord our faith and out willingness and I know that he blesses us accordingly!

In accordance with the gospel contacting miracles I saw this week in those moments where maybe I was doubting a little I learned a huge lesson about what it means to have hope! Hope really dispells those doubt and concerns, during personal study I read in PMG about hope and it gave a definition that I really liked! (Hope is confidence and trust in the Lord that he will fulfill his promises.) It also reminded me of another thing I read that talked about how our confidence (or trust) shouldn't be in ourselves but it should be in Christ. I found that as I put my faith and trust in the Lord knowing that as I work hard and diligently that he will send those promised blessings and miracles my way and as I worked hard even though it was difficult at times I found that is exactly what happened! I feel like I have already learned so many huge and great lessons out here on the mission and I'm glad I still have plenty of time to apply them!

Mitya (Митя) is really cool we met him just out on the street and he is super prepared! When we called him to sent up an appointment he was asking us what we were going to talk about with him and he had already started reading in the Book of Mormon after we gave him the restoration he asked us when we could meet with him again and also what we are going to talk about with him! He's doing our work for us!! Hahah!

Having almost finished my training in what almost feels like no time at all I'm realizing why everyone says the mission really does go so fast! I love the opportunity I have everyday to repent and change and become a better and better missionary I can feel that growth and it's amazing me continuously! I'm excited to see what is down the road for me in my mission and if I'll be staying in Pobeda this next transfer or whatever the plan for me migh be!

Hope you are all doing really well! Remember that your Savior loves you as well as your Father in Heaven! Pray to him often he loves to hear from you and help you! This gospel has been restored on earth and given to us in these the last days to bless our lives! I know that as we live the gospel our Father in Heaven opens up the windows of heaven to us and blesses us in so many ways!!

Love,

Elder Halls