I am alive. Don't any of you worry a wiff about my safety. I havn't seen a riot, a fire, or any guns. Just a bunch of missionary miracles here in my world. I will include a story I sent to my mom because that is all I had time for. Cause I love my mom the very most.
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Dear Mother,
Right now I drink banana milk and cereal breakfast with my girl sister Nielsen! WE ARE TOGETHER AGAIN :) Dreams. I am once again in Borshakievski area just off of Center Kiev (we like to call it the Kievian ghetto. People are poor here. Our members (all active 200 of them (with 300 less active) are champions.
THIS WEEK WAS INCREDIBLE. We took an adventure to something known as a cello . It was an hour and half bus ride to a place that we do not know. It started to get dark as we journeyed out there with instructions from one of the few members we know who knows english it was a little mystery to solve.
Off too find a less active family:
We arrive to this desolate little town with no one to ask directions (it is Ukraine and there surely are no street signs) we go into a little store and ask for the right street. It is my Ukranian dreams come true as we walk down the snow cloaked streets. Snow is falling. It is freezing and the cutest little lamps light our way down this barren brightly snow covered street. The houses have no numbers.. how are we ever going to pull this off.
Sister Nielsen prayed that we would find some humans for help:
Here the humans come. The cutest mom and her son pulling a sled! Am I dreaming??
Well we had already been to one unlabled house. There we stood and I was almost certain it was the home that we needed to be too. So after 2 minutes of just standing there... I pushed the gate. CLANG. The hissing noise that we heard behind immediately stopped. Now my mind begins to reel. They know we are here. We just trespassed. We have not knocked or done anything to make our presence known. 2 little babies just trying to give some cookies to a family. We are going to die. They are going to shoot us. It is over. We just stand there for several minutes whispering and waiting for someone to come out and give us a piece of their mind... or their bullets! (no one has guns here I was just losing my mind) We don't know if we are at the right place.. ahhhh
That is when Sister Nielsen prayed.
So the lady is soooo nice (as most Ukranians who we ask for help are.) and she led us right back to the gate that I had just infiltrated. Oh glory. Sooooo here she stands with us, and now we must knock. We knock and she leaves us to stand here at a gate (15 feet from the house that seperates the home from the street) Right as we knock a dog begins to bark. Ferocious. (I just say a little prayer that when I BROKE INTO THEIR GATE --- that this dog did not bark... MIRACLES)
so we stand there. and stand there. Not knowing what to expect. All my past expereience with dropping by less actives.... They slam the door in your face. "nope nope nope" " I don't wanna see you, don't wanna here you" "Your church is a cult, and I left a long time ago" "nope nope nope" Here I am just buckling down for the worst. (for some scary man - Even tho the list does not even meantion a man) To come out here and show us whats up! ahhhhhhhh. No one comes for a long time. The dog just keeps barking. I am so ready to turn in and go home. hahahha. but we wait. Then we here someone yell "Who is there?(we cannot see the house or the door we are outside of a tin gate) oh doom. "It is the sister missionaries" "WHO" "The sister Missionaries" SLAM. silence......... The jangling of keys.... SOMEONE IS COMiNG.
open the gate. a woman.
about 40. I can tell. This is the right place. uhh oh.
"The mormons??"
oh no.
"yes....."
"OH GIRLS!!! COME IN! It is so good to see you, we are so happy to see you, are you cold?? Come in come in !
Did you come just to see us?
"YES :) "
and then the rest of my dreams come true as she feeds us. Gives us warm tea. slippers to wear. Shares pictures with us. ate cake with her and her 20 year old daughter who is SO CUTE. They are bright and warm people.
Constantly tells us how glad she is to see us. We met her children they were perfect. They are wonderful. She still wears her CTR ring. They are not even all girls (all the names on the ward list are wrong) .... something weird is going on here, and we still have a mystery to solve. but mom I literally found my Ukranian mother this night. I felt an instant connection to them. I feel like if I ever came back to kiev this is the home I would want to go to. We stayed at their house for an hour and a half and just talked and talked! As she walked us back to the bus stop she told us how glad she was to see us. I told her this was seriously one of the best nights of my mission) She just ran over and tackle hugged me and then the 3 of us walked arm in arm all the way to the bus stop. Crunching through the snow. She gave us the biggest kiss and told us to come back soon! DREAMS mom. dreams. We are going to help this family. It is my new life purpose
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I am so happy to be here. It is cold like popsicles. Grateful for my coat. wearing all my sweaters. Living the dreams with sister nielsen. We are mastering Ukranian Mexican and we ARE the Borshakievski sisterssssssss.
I am going to see the LAVRA!!!!!!!!
I love you
Sister Powell
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