Week 53: площади лошади

Alright everyone I don't know if you're all even ready to hear about a week as great as this one was. We'll just have to wait and see how many of you can make it all the way through reading this one...

Well we've got to start with some stats again from this week.

Hugs with drunk men: 1

Watching Elder Rasmussen be chased by a drunker man: 1

Speaking Russian with and Englishman in Ukraine even though we both better know English: ✔

Candies distributed: 2

2 Elders and big dreams 2 дня (that's days for you non Russian speakers): AKA

Лошади на площади (horses on the square)(in Russian its cooler because it rhymes)(try throwing it in the Google translate)

Alright this week we had big plans we cut 2 days out of our schedule so that we could spend them 12 hours sight and sound contacting in the busiest place in the city. Yeah the central square. I won't lie I was afraid at the beginning 24 hours of contacting in 2 days is a heavy load. 

But it was literally sooo much fun!! We saw sooo many miracles so much success we had a load of conversations with all these people and it was just miracles left and right! We gave about a box and a half of Books of Mormon. And took even more than that contacts!! Like 80 or something. Had 608 meaningful conversations in 2 days. (In our mission we have a standard of 10 conversations each day its from President Ballard, so each week we should have 70) I know the Lord blessed to be able to do this there were so many miracles and tender mercies I saw.

 We met a family a mom and dad and a young daughter I had a very strong impression that they're ready for the Gospel. We have a first lesson with the father on Tuesday I'm very excited for that.

There was also a moment where one man I talked to had just bought some candies from a store and i began speaking with him on the square he wanted to share he's candy and gave me some. I held these two candies in my hand and looked up to see a old lady standing with a cane begging for money. I knew what to do. I walk up and gave her the candies. It made here day and her face lit up with the biggest smile. What a tender and simple lesson to me that sharing and service is always so much better than keeping for your self, turning outwards we can not only bless others but bring happiness to our lives.

After so much work and really going out and doing all we could I thought to myself what lesson had I learned here. And I thought about the one. Thought about if  I spent 2 whole days on this square just to fund that family or just to have such a tender moment with that old lady it would've been worth it. My big lesson was that the work and labor we put in the service we give it's always so worth it! 

Exchange

I was in the super cool and freshly fresh River town of Zaporozhe this week. They have a dam there that is literally super cool!! I love all things involving water even just looking at it so that was a blessing for my eyes for sure I'll try and send some pictures so everyone can witness of the beauty. I was with Elder Hubbard on the exchange and it was really great! He's pretty велик. Lots of good things happened and at the end of the day he some how knew how to make tortellini soup and it was probably the best meal I've had in months. Can't complain!

Woah almost forgot

This week I hit my year mark of the mission. Pretty spectacular day! Haha. I was glad to spend it contacting for 12 hours! What better way to spend it then finding those ready for the Gospel?? No better way! That's right Haha. I'm so grateful for my mission and all the blessings I've already seen in my life from it. I'm grateful for lessons learned, the growth I've seen in myself and my testimony, for the people I've met along the way: missionaries, members, investigators. All the above! Too many life changing experiences but I'm so happy to be where I am and wouldn't have it any other way. I wish I still had another 2 years but I'm glad to at least have another 1 Haha! 

The People (what it's all about)

The Lord is blessing us with soooooo many miracles!!! My testimony of consecration and that the Lord is preparing people for this message is growing incredibly strong. 

We also had a lot of lessons this week. We began teaching someone new this week Dima who is progressing very well. We had 2 lessons with him AMD he came to church. He has a desire to be baptized and we talked with him about a date and he wants to pray and get his own answer and then reconvene with us and plan. He's a wonderful brother and its amazing to see how prepared he is for all this. We're excited to get him a baptismal date this coming week and help him towards that. The Lord is bringing to us those that are prepared and we're seeing many miracles. Another man Sergei we met on the street and gave a Book of Mornon at the moment he doesn't have work or a home but he showed up to church and really liked it I was able to teach him the Restoration sitting there before the meeting started! He's super ready and prepared and we're super excited to start teaching him. We found 12 more new people this week and the work is progressing super well! We have some people preparing for baptism and were really excited for what's to come.

Духовная Мысль

D&C 58:27 talks about doing good works and being anxiously engaged but I also love the scripture after D&C 58:27, v . 28 "For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves." I think a lot of people in the world just go through the motions things happen and they base decisions of that but what I know more and more each day is that, God has given us our agency and we have the ability to choose make decisions and act no matter what our situation is like. The power is in us to be these anxiously engaged people we know who the Lord wants us to be! I know its attainable and it's all our decision, were are agents to act and not just be acted upon.

Alright all you readers out there good work! Go change the world

Love, 

Elder Halls 

Лошади на площади

my shoes journey to a better life. That's Anton he's the new convert I talked about last week. He's a Cobbler, he does his job good. Keeps us in the game if you follow me