Week 43: The Slippity Slip

So little time and lots to say!
    We had zone conference this week about the Christlike attributes and I am so excited to apply what I learned into the missionary work and the rest of my life. I'm convinced that the stuff we work on and develop during the mission is not meant only for the mission. Basically, we as disciples of Christ, should be recognizable as disciples of Christ. This is something we all know, but I think we forget when we get caught up in the day to day life. We as missionaries even forget- which is ironic when we forget because we are so busy doing His work.
    We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with our whole zone and Kyiv west zone too! It was DELICIOUS.

    We also had exchanges with the Cherkassy sisters which was a blast! It is so cold and it snowed again today! I think the highlight of my week was last night after a sleet attack from on high as we were walking home and I almost slipped like 6 times from the church to our bus stop. The best part was that literally EVERYONE on the streets was slipping on the ice everywhere you looked, and many actually did fall and we were key witnesses to these hilarious and tragic accidents. It was weird to me that we were the only ones cracking up about it.

That’s it for me though. LOVE YOU ALL!
Sister Vehar

Week 42: IT'S CHRISTMAS?!?!?!

HEY EVERYBODY THIS SISTER MISSIONARY IS PUMPED BECAUSE IT IS PRACTICALLY CHRISTMAS TIME AND I'VE HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER.
    The grocery stores already have Christmas trees in every corner, it already snowed, and you know I already slipped the first day. Sister Soucie however, slipped on some ice and face-planted into the asphalt- we're pretty sure she has a concussion so we've been taking it easy since.
    We taught Sasha again and I don't think I've ever had a worse lesson- the Spirit wasn't there and he literally just talked over me the whole time. We want to pass him off to the elders cause he might actually listen to them, but it's very possible his main reason for meeting with us is that we're "two young, beautiful, American girls"- UGH. I'm just trying to help these people come closer to Christ!
    We had exchange with the Pechersky sisters this week and seriously, I love all the sisters I get to serve with! I'm actually grateful in the end to be an STL (Sister training leader) so that I can get to know all of these sisters so much better! We actually had a way cool experience on exchange because Sister King and I felt that we needed to visit this less active, Elya, and the only address information we had was her apartment building, which was incredibly hard to find and ended up not being complete! But we found the building in the end, and then proceeded to ask all of the old ladies that approve you to go into their building if they knew our friend, and turns out her last name was wrong on our list! But, one of the nice old ladies helped us find her and as we roll up to her apartment, Elya showed up two minutes later! Miracles all around!
    Really, I love this work so much! The members here are so amazing and I've realized how helpful missions are for what I want to do with my life after the mission. The members are so dedicated to the gospel that it truly is a lifestyle for them here. I think in America, we get so carried away in life that we forget- but the people here, who have close to nothing, see the Gospel for what it really is and it is the center of their life. I hope that I always have the perspective the Ukrainians have and that I have while on the mission. The Gospel really is the central reason we are here so we should remember to keep it as the central reason we do everything. This life is amazing! I love you all! Hope you all have great weeks!🎄❄⛄

Week 41: I'M FREEZING

Happy Monday everyone!!

This little Arizona girl is freezing her tail off and just crying that this is FALL and winter has hardly even come yet. Don't worry, I have a coat, boots, and the Holy Spirit to warm me this winter hahaha I'm going to die.

Not much happened this week- I apologize in advance for the short email. We got a new investigator, Sasha! This guy is our neighbor and I'm sure he is so concerned that two young American girls are living in Ukraine on their own. He told us he is officially our security and if anything goes wrong we need to call him ASAP. He's hilarious. We contacted him on the street two months ago, so this will be an awesome teaching experience.

We also had interviews with President this week which is always good.

We went to the mall today too and that was lots of fun.

Love you all! I wasn't kidding when I said short!

Have great weeks!
Sister Vehar

Week 40: Happy Halloween!

    Hope you all had fun celebrating Halloween! We weren't allowed to do much so Sister Soucie drew cat whiskers on herself and wore all black to sports night. That's all we can pretty much do when this country thinks Halloween is a Satanist holiday and you leave zero time to plan a good party- but it's all good- we got Thanksgiving and Christmas still and those will be bomb!
    This week was pretty wild as we left our area 6 out of 7 days. We had to say goodbye to our dear Sister Thompson, but she's off to do good things as a trainer. We got to go to Missionary Leadership Council and it was really fun to see everyone there and be spiritually uplifted too!
    We got to do service at an orphanage this week which was really awesome! We raked up tons of leaves and it wasn't completely freezing cold! We also got to go to the temple with one of our recent converts and it was so cool to watch her get baptized again since I wasn't there the first time lol. We also had the chance to go to stake conference and see my sweet Sister Moore! I actually got to be on a lesson with my old recent convert Sasha with them and it was awesome to catch up with everyone!
    We also had a huge Ukrainian party this week that was tons of fun! Cool story- a guy named Valeri walked in and asked what we have to offer him- so we gave him everything we could think of. He asked what time church was the next day and we told him about stake conference and he offered to drive us! So on Sunday he drove us and the elders to stake conference and loved it! We met with him afterward with the elders and I think they will start teaching him. After this meeting, we got on the marshrutka to go home and an eighty something year old woman got on and before she could grab onto anything, the driver gunned it and she went flying from the front to the back of the bus and was sprawled on the wheel indent (that’s what we call it) of the bus. Everyone was in an outrage and was screaming at the driver in her defense. The driver stopped the bus and told a more violent guy to get off and then the bus driver got off himself and wouldn't leave until he got off. The guy wouldn't get off until he got a refund- this country is insane- nobody got off although there were some punches thrown, but don't worry they never made contact. Basically, this was the craziest experience on the crazy 542 and that's saying something. We got home safely though.
    Many memorable experiences here in Ukraine. Hope everyone had a great week!
    Love Sister Vehar

Week 39: I'M HAVING THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE

Happy Monday e'erbody!

    How are you doing, cause I'm doing great!
    Man, our trio is WILD! Sister Thompson goes contacting crazy and I admit I have learned so much from her. Contacting can be fun and is actually really enjoyable!! My companions are the two loudest sisters in the mission. I swear we are always screaming and I'm just honestly surprised that our neighbors haven't come upstairs ready to kill us. Maybe that apartment is vacant or something....

    Anyway, the work is BUMPING thanks to my girl, Thompson! We met with a blind woman, Tatyana, who has come to our English practice for years now and has met with the missionaries a couple times. She has the most heart-wrenching story I have ever heard. She is 59 but looks 70 because her neighbors were drug manufacturers and they basically poisoned her with the side effects of these drugs, and therefore she is blind as well. She had to leave her home to escape these effects and has been homeless since. She thinks God did all this to her to spite her and thinks He is just cruel- which kills me. She is so angry at God right now and she cannot believe that He loves her. It makes me so sad how little hope she has. We told her she could live forever with her Heavenly Father and she said she doesn't want to ever live with Him or even live at all- I kid you not we cried with this woman both times we met with her. She is progressing little by little though. She is already recognizing the miracles God has sent her and she told us three good things about her day and one of them was that she got to meet with us! She is so cute! I just want her to be happy! At the end of every meeting, she already smiles more and is just a little happier. It truly reminds me why we are here.
    Anyway, now the BIG STUFF- ELDER COOK CAME AND WE HAD MISSION CONFERENCE AND IT WAS AMAZING! I learned so much about how to better serve the people in this area! We are all doing our best when we are working our hardest and we shouldn't get frustrated with ourselves when we aren't perfect, because it is a lifelong process. I needed to hear every word Elder Cook shared with us! He also shared the firmest testimony with us that I have ever heard- He said, "I know His face, I know His voice". I can't say anything more powerful than that.
    I was very thankful for the opportunity to see all my old friends again! I finally have people from the MTC I can have reunions with! I'm no longer lonely!!
    I love my mission so much and I can't imagine doing anything else right now and I am just so thankful and sure that I made the best decision I have ever made my whole life!

Have amazing weeks everyone!

Sister Vehar

 My MTC group!! RIP I'm the only Sister

 My companions! (Soucie, Vehar, Thompson)

  The entire Ukraine Kyiv/Moldova Mission *first time together since becoming a new mission on June 27, 2018

All the Sisters with Sister Caron.

My Baby Moore!!

Week 38: I Woke Up in Ukraine!

Happy Monday everyone!

We had a really packed week including two back to back exchanges, so Sister Soucie and I weren't companions for almost three days. It was pretty wild.
    The first exchange, I left to Pechersky (Center Kyiv) and Sister Soucie stayed in Kharkovsky. It was so much fun! I was with Sister Daines and we contacted a ton (witnessed a lady do a photo shoot for an hour with a leaf- I was unaware of how many angles there are) and ate lunch with their investigator. They also have a fry cart there- I was in HEAVEN!
    Our second exchange was BOMB in the sweet land of Cherkassy! There were so many TREES! I love FALL! The trees are so colorful here- I know this sounds so pathetic, Arizona girl- My favorite color is now gold! hahaha Basically, it's just gorgeous here! I love it. Cherkassy was just such a small town that reminded me of Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls)- the people there were like family. I would definitely be so down to serve there.
    We are actually in a trio all of a sudden with Sister Thompson! She came in with Sister Moore and it is tons of fun! She will only be here for a week before she gets a companion and goes back to her area.
    The subject is from Sister Soucie when she woke up on the bus and saw all the beautiful nature. Haha love that girl!
    Oh also, I HIT HALFWAY TODAY! It's okay, we're just not going to talk about it! Anyway, I love all of you and hope you all are doing well! Have amazing weeks everyone!

Sister Vehar

 Sisters Vehar and Soucie

 Sisters Vehar and Slocombe

Week 37: "Jesus is a good driver"

Happy Monday everyone!
    It's already been another week- trust me I'm shocked too. We shared lots of laughs this week! It was just one of those weeks where everything is hilarious and you constantly are laughing, which I am always happy to have!
    I love the people in my area! Unfortunately, not a lot of those people are those who we are teaching- our teaching pool is so small I might go insane, but it's okay because we are learning to find people better since we are doing it so much recently!
    One of the finding activities we do in the Kharkovsky area, now that it is getting colder and darker. is Bible videos! We project them on the wall of the church and it is so cool. This week we made hot cocoa to give out to people and it was a HIT! We will be doing it as often as we can.
We meet with an adorable less active family about every week named the Daniels (they're half Welsh) and they have a 4 year-old, Ethan, who is honestly the love of my life- he is the cutest and the source of this week's email's subject line. As part of our spiritual thought, we asked what characteristics Christ has and precious Ethan's first response was, "Jesus is a good driver- the best people always are and Jesus is the BEST"! This kid had me dead! This was honestly the highlight of my week other than the womens' session- those talks were BOMB! I don't care if you aren't a woman- go watch them. They are very secretly talking about missionary work and we can all improve on that.
    If we're going to be honest, there were a lot of downs this week, but I know that my Heavenly Father loves me because He also gave me a lot of ups- just a lot of small tender moments that made each of my days; such as Jesus being a good driver. Heavenly Father knows just exactly what we need each day and we can choose to focus on the good or we can just take a second to enjoy the tender mercies and just revel in how much our Heavenly Father cares for us. This world is amazing and I am reminded of that as I look around and see the trees changing colors or see a bunch of cute little puppies. So who cares if it was a rough week. This world is gorgeous and wonderful! We are so lucky to be here! I love you guys and so does Jesus!! Have amazing weeks and remember the tender mercies!

Love,
Sister Vehar
1. Selfie
2. Sister Soucie is a model
3. Modeling continued
4. Our Bible and hot cocoa night
5. Our book table