Week 91: The path to happiness

I hope that I can communicate all that happened this week and all of our efforts! As always it's a joy to be serving together in the Lord's vineyard. I truly love Ukraine, as i spoke with my family today i was over come with that realization as I talked about these streets, these people, and this country! I remember prayers offered in the MTC each night with my companions as we knelt together and in our best broken Russian prayed for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. I've been so blessed to get to know so many of them and I'm so grateful!

Sister Hall
We had a really great devotional from a professor at BYU. Her name is Sister Rosalind Hall and President Wirthlin kept calling her Sister Halls which I'm sure in some way is probably my fault haha. But I get the same thing all the time from some of the Senior couples that call me Elder Hall. But what do you? Що ты скажешь? 

Mission Conference 
We had like what you would call a Zone Conference but we added the whole mission because since it is on Zoom why not just have the teachings 1 time with everyone instead of 4 times with each individual zone 3 hours each! So to save time we split Zone Conference into two sections and part 2 will be this week! 

We had many successes this week as well as some shortcomings. There is always a desire to do more and better that accompanies the joy we feel as we take part in this work. One highlight of this week was a moment we had to give the Book of Mormon to a brother by the name of Yusif. He lives in the upper corner of our area and was about a 45 minute walk away so we took the time and it was a special experience. We sat on a bench with him for a couple minutes and explained what this book was and the spirit was very strong. We should rejoice in all these small little blessings and miracles that happen! 

We've been in touch with a returning member Franklin who has come to the past 3 weeks of the English Worship group! Which has been really exciting! Previously he hadn't been coming to church at all and we'd had very little contact with him. We are trying to get him in touch with another brother Emmanuel and feel that it would be a good friendship and support to the both of them if we can get them together. 

Sasha who we've been teaching for almost 2 months now is doing well. He made it to church this week and he really enjoys it. He's been doing a good job of studying the Book of Mormon and has a friendship with Dima who was baptized back in February. We had a really great lesson and we were reading together 3 Nephi 11 and we had planned to talk about baptism as we finished the reading and began to discuss his phone died! It was too bad! Either way we had a really good lesson and the spirit was very strong as we read that special chapter. We set up a follow up meeting for tuesday when he was able to charge his phone back up. He's progressing well. I feel that we need to challenge him a little bit to get him pondering deeply all that he is learning. It's amazing to see how the Gospel has made him a happier and more joyful person as compared to our first few lessons with him.

We had a miracle on Monday! We went through our contacts and were making calls and sending messages as we would normally do. And I had a great conversation with a brother named Maksim. We talked and I shared some of why we are here as missionaries. He said he would love to talk, "later." I wasn't sure exactly how much later that meant but I was pleasantly surprised when he called us an hour later and we were able to have our first lesson! We taught very clearly and powerfully. It also felt very personable with him which was really cool. He agreed to read the Book of Mormon but felt that praying about it was still too big of a leap for him. We continue to work with him and hope he will begin reading and keep his commitment. 

We continue to teach Peter! We are kind of at a loss with him. He reads the Book of Mormon daily and believes it to be the word of God. We've invited him to be baptized but he feels that his baptism is already adequate and believes it was done properly with authority. We are trying to help him understand deeper Priesthood authority to help him know what that really means so he can make this really big last step. He's learning so much and growing and we are trying to continue to have him earnestly pray to know if he should be baptized. It feels though that he is shut off to the option which is a challenge for his prayer to be answered. 

We also had some lessons with members this week including our Branch President. We shared much of what we learned from Sister Hall as she spoke with us on Tuesday! It was a very uplifting and spiritual lesson. We really can accomplish much as we are instruments in God's hands! Even the smallest little decisions that we make can influence others for good and we can help others. We are all brothers and sisters and we are all in need of love and kindness from one another. It's a blessing to learn these lessons right now and I know they will bless me as I move forward throughout my life. 

We also had a lesson with Maksim Kretov. He's having a hard time getting involved with the branch now that he is back in Kharkiv and so we are trying to help him come to church services with the branch. We did have a lesson with him this week. He's pretty busy and it's definitely a challenging time for him to make the time for the most important things. We feel like it will be really good for him when he can come to the branch and his family is able to come back to Kharkiv from Donetsk. Vova another recent convert was able to come to church this week which was the first time in a while! What a miracle

Preparation Day!
Today we went out for a run!! It was quite the venture we took!! Woah! We ran by these old train tracks in the forest and there were all these bikers going past! Way fun! I'll send some pictures!) 

Spiritual Thought!
Many people, actually I will say all people in life have the need to be happy and joyful!! While the world would say otherwise true happiness comes from Gospel living!! The adversary would have us believe otherwise. The pleasure of the world and what the world would say is joy and happiness is often "the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe." (2 Nephi 1:13) Alma taught his sons powerfully, "I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness." (Alma 41:10) I know and add my testimony that the path to happiness is a life of Discipleship! As we follow our perfect example Jesus Christ we will experience that eternal happiness and joy together with our families. It is our choice! 

27 Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds. -Alma 42:27 

Love you!
Elder Halls




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