Week 43: Gone Fishing

Alrighty alrighty folks looks like another week has came on through! I'll let you know a little bit what we've been up to!

Sickness is not a weakness

So my awesome companion Elder Trounce this week sadly came down with a fever on Monday and then was out of the action Tuesday as well as the fever morphed into some crazy nausea stomach stuff. When that was going on it gave me the opportunity to make like probably 200 calls Hahaha.. It was a lot but in all it taught me a really big lesson  about missionary work! We can do missionary work and accomplish our purpose in so many ways! But the thing I noticed more than anything else was the joy that comes as we do all we can to bloom where we're planted. Maybe inside our apartment isn't the best place to be effective. However, because that was where we were gonna have to be as I put forth all the effort I could focused on what I was doing I did all that work so happily and I felt great power and the spirit with me along the way! 

Fishing for Слушателей 

Then luckily by Wednesday he was enough back in working shape that we got him out on the street to at least stand behind a table and give out and talk to some people about the Book of Mormon! That was pretty interesting. If I were to describe what doing a Book of Mormon table is like in many ways it's a lot like fishing. You get all your stuff set up, you bait your hooks (set out the Books of Mormon/pamphlets), then you stand there and you try to look really nice so people will come up and talk to you. Just like with real fishing you're always hoping to catch that prize big nice fish. And those same hopes are of course in our minds. In Lake Powell for example we usually fish in the morning on the house boat. We've got a pretty good view of all the fish swimming around our hooks. They're the good fish to catch like the Catfish, Sunfish, or Bass. Then there are always the garbage Carp that are almost shameful to pull in. We're always trying to avoid those ones. Doing the Book of Mormon table is almost exactly the same. A lot of waiting until some of the fish start getting interested in what we've got to offer. Eventually we get a couple people walking up to see what's going on, checking things out. Eventually we're getting some really good action fish are biting. we might be luring in some prize catfish who are really interested when BAM a crazy Carp (super drunk man) scares everyone away or throws a pamphlet on the ground or something. There always seemed to be a carp menace at Lake Powell. Sometimes they're even around so much we end up catching them multiple times until we go away. This also happens with the Book of Mormon table Haha. It seems to be really easy to reel in the Carp. However in midst of the rubble and chaos these carp make sometimes we can still catch our prize golden bass. And that's what happened this week. Zakaria is a champion of a fish 

Matthew 4:19

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Zakaria

We found Zakaria as previously mentioned doing the Book of Mormon table! He's super awesome. After we met him he called us not 20 minutes later and said he wanted a Book of Mormon in his native tongue or Arabic and that he wanted to know more about it. We met with him on Sunday and he's super prepared!! It was such a huge testimony to me to see how the Lord is bringing about his work! They're people ready prepared to accept this message! They need what we have and know. They may not know it yet but it will bless their lives! Zakaria expressed a desire to be baptized and to restart and change his lift we are super excited to start working with him to get him ready for that point!! I know he'll make it!

The Sound of Music

On Friday we went to the busiest street for an hour or so as a district to give out some cards to our English practice and as we were doing so this man who had had a LOT to drink rolled up. He was speaking English/Russian/Ukrainian whichever was convenient. He wasn't really saying anything that made any sense but oh boy was he saying it with feeling we were kinda trying to send him off along his way further down the street so we could resume handing out cards. Meanwhile not very far away there's a band playing on the street some Ukrainian jams. We're talking to this man and then he freezes as the band begins to play their next song. He immediately forgets about everything he's been doing continues his yelling but now the lyrics to this song he obviously knows and loves he starts moving his right hand with a pointed finger motion to the ground to the beat and heads off singing and dancing in the direction of the band. Drunk people are something special.

Spiritual Thought! 

Okay this week I read the story of Esther! It was super cool I guess I'd heard it a little but never really thought about it much. But as you know or maybe don't know. Esther was a Jew and was chosen by the King to be his Queen. One of the Kings advisors was trying to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom and Queen Esther realized that she was the only hope the only one who could save her people. Esther 4:11  

"That whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live."

Esther knew she had to go in and talk to the king. But that by doing so if he didn't extend her the scepter she would be killed. Esther loved her people enough that for her it was worth the danger. She went in and as we know she did save her people. 

I think of all the hard things we are often asked to do in life. There are many different things that might be a challenge different for everyone. Living the gospel fulfilling our callings and following the Lord and teachings of his prophet isn't always the easy path. But as we are pushed by love of the Lord just like Esther was we can do all the things that otherwise seem hard and challenging!

Love you all and hope you're enjoying some summer time!!

Elder Halls

Coming in from NikoTown

Живчик (zhivchik) my favorite Ukrainian Beverage 

We made some cabbage tacos

New York Street Pizza

The whole Nikolaev Gang