Hey everyone!
It sounds like everyone is having an amazing week. Boys I am sure that you are having a blast just please don't shoot each other or at least don't shoot my dog. Also I am sure that Terry is sitting in the back spitting on Ty and Grant's backs.
Thanks for the letters! Mom, of course you are getting a million things done. Thanks for the email. I remember you telling me that story before but I loved hearing it again. I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me here. I will always start teaching and then in the middle of the part that I am teaching I will just look at Sister Movchanyuk and smile.
Dad, ....!
Penny, ......
Chase, ....
Ashley, ....!
So I have made it through my second full week here and my 3rd full month on a mission. It has been a hard but amazing week. The beginning of the week was really hard. Everyone was cancelling their appointments and I felt like we weren't really teaching a lot. Also the people that we were able to teach aren't really progressing and I think they just want to learn english. We had a lesson with Natasha, we taught her about the importance of coming to church and about the sacrament. She said that she would really try and we even offered to pick her up on our way. We also taught Vika again. Thankfully we were able to teach her at the same members house because the other member that we set the appointment up with cancelled on us 15 minutes before! We had a really great lesson. She said that she really wants to believe that it is true but she just doesn't believe that we can have these great amazing blessings. One night we had a lesson with Sasha. She is a woman that we met on the street that wanted to learn English. As we started teaching her she pulled out an Icon and tried to have us translate it and read the prayer that was on the back. We started to teach her about what we believe and she wouldn't let us talk. Finally when the lesson was over we got up to leave and I turned back to turn off the lights and she had placed the Icon of Mary in the corner of one of the pictures of Christ, it made me laugh. We then went to talk to the assistants to get some clothes that the elders had left in the office and Sasha walked in and tried to give an Icon to one of the elders, He told her that it would be really offensive and she stormed out of the church. The whole way home we were extremely jumpy because we thought that she would pop out of the corner. Sister Movchanyuk turned to me and said "something good has to be coming." And the next day something amazing happened.We met with Cvetlana, she is a referral from a member. She has been coming to church for several weeks but she hasn't wanted to meet with the missionaries. She finally agreed to meet with us but her husband wouldn't come. We met with her and sister Luba. We watched a talked from general conference and then we read a few scriptures and talked about repentance. Sister Movchanyuk showed her a scripture on baptism and she started crying and said that she wanted that (that was the only part that I really understood). After a few minutes of talking Sister Movchanyuk pulled out a calendar and we set a date for Cvetlana:D. My heart jumped, and I started crying, she was crying and Sister Luba was crying. I haven't been that happy in a really long time. She has really started taking steps to change her life and we are so excited for her and her family. She knows that it will be hard and that her life will not just all of a sudden be easy but she sees the big picture. This has made all of the preparation and all of the no's worth it. To see one person begin to change her life so that she and her family can be happy. It was a great week.
So about Sister Movchanyuk. She is from Harkov, Ukraine. She has lived in Italy with her mom for the last 5 years and she speaks Russian, Ukrainian, Italian and English! Russian is her native language but she speaks atleast 3 of them almost perfect. She is really short but she is the fastest walker I have ever met in my life! I feel like I am constantly out of breath and running to keep up with her. She is really nice and we get a long. We sing as we walk around the city from one place to another. Last night she was really mean to me! We went to visit Lena and we were on our way home for the night. We were sitting on the Marchuteka and I was closest to the window. She stood up and let a really really really smelly man sit next to me trapping me in the seat. Then the man infront of me closed the window and I was dying. I really don't think that I have ever smelled anything so bad in my life. I was trying really hard not to gag. After 2 stops it was so bad that sister Movchanyuk decided it was enough and we got off the Marchuteka 4 or 5 stops early and waited for another bus. We both put handsanitizer on our hands and sat and smelled them until our lungs felt like they had cleared out a little. We laughed all night about it. Well we should get going but I love you all and hope that all is well at home.
Give my Skin (Dakota) a berry berry big hug and a kiss! I hope you all have an amazing week! Thank for the letter and pictures I will look for them!Love, Cecmpa Larsen
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