Hello again everyone, it is I, Elder Hurst, once again. Well, it's transfer season again, but as usual lately, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be staying in Sviatoshinsky for another transfer; Elder Higgins is going to be leaving, however, so I'll be getting a new companion here shortly. It's kind of fun staying in an area for so long; I feel like I know this area like the back of my hand, and I know the ward far better than any other ward I've been in. In fact, if anyone comes to visit Ukraine with me after I finish my mission, this is probably the sacrament meeting we'd go to. Also, we somehow lucked out and have gotten to live in a usually-reserved-for-senior-couples apartment, which means it's one of the nicest apartments in the mission. And this will be my fourth transfer in it.
We had Thanksgiving this past week, and it was a lot of fun. Our mission president's wife, a senior sister, and a senior couple all made dinner, which was really good; real turkey, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes, with corn and stuffing and something with green beans that tasted good. (I haven't had lunch yet today, so this is making me pretty hungry). Every district then did a skit, which included one district bringing in a live chicken and another district acting out the Church film "The Touch of the Master's Hand," only instead of being a violin it was an apple, and it was about the importance of washing fruit in bleach here. Then, we got to watch Fiddler on the Roof, and you have to understand, our mission rules here are that we can only watch movies produced by the church, so when we got to see this, it felt like the greatest movie experience of our lives.
Anyway, on a somewhat more disturbing note, I had a 37-year-old woman flirt with me on a metro. She had me cornered, and since this was Ukraine, there were so many people packed on around us that escape was impossible. She offered me candy and wanted to trade ties with me (why she was wearing a tie I'm not too sure). I refused, but she then decided showed me pictures of her kids, which include a daughter who is my same age. Creepy. Apparently, she lives in a different city (Zhytomer); she asked if I was ever going to visit there. I said, "Da ni," which is a handy little Ukrainian phrase that means, "Nope!" (In Russian it's "Da nyet," by the way). I was pretty glad to get off of that particular metro.
Well, that's all the news from me. Say hi to Hazel for me, and tell her that I'm the coolest uncle she'll never meet for another year. Oh, before I forget, no one ever told me where Steve got his call to! I got the song email a few months back, and then all of a sudden he's mysteriously going into the MTC!
--Brett
PS - I can't remember if I said this last week or not, but thanks for the package Mom!
Happy Turkey Day! (11/22/2007)
Happy Turkey day! Well, our office elders here decided to send an email with a really large attachment that filled the rest of my inbox space, so I wasn't able to get anyone's emails today, except for Grandma and Grandpa Hurst's. I spent a little time since then cleaning it out, but that means my email's going to have to be kind of short today.
We had a very cool experience last Thursday. The night before, we had planned out our day like always, and had things in a certain order; after study, we would place up some English flyers near a metro stop called Akademmistechko, and then after lunch (so at about 2), we would stop by some less active members and try to give them a church magazine. However, on Thursday morning, one of our investigators called and told us that he wanted to meet us that day at 3:30, but it would be halfway across town. We agreed and decided to skip our stop bys and put up english flyers for a little longer; then, we both had a feeling that it would be better to do our stop bys and postpone our flyers instead. So, after study, instead of going to Akademmistechko, we went to where our stop bys were (a street called Tupolyeva). It took us a while to get down there because Tupolyeva is pretty out of the way--in fact, missionaries hadn't really visited this area in a very long time. We went down and walked up to the first apartment, where no one was home. Suddenly, from the doorway to the apartment building we heard someone say, in perfect English, "Missionaries!" Startled, we both turned, and saw a girl about twenty five or so. As it turned out, she was a member of the church from Oregon who was here as part of an English teaching program. Apparently, she had been having a really hard time here, and that day was especially hard. She wanted a priesthood blessing, but, this being Ukraine and she not knowing Russian or Ukrainian, she didn't really have any hope of getting one; however, she said a prayer that morning that she might be able to get a blessing. She then went for a walk to calm down a bit, and saw Elder Higgins and I walking into an apartment building. When we gave her a blessing, I had the most distinct impression I've had in a long time that we truly are instruments in the Lord's hands. There's no feeling quite like realizing that you are the answer to someone's prayer.
Well, that's all the time I've got today. Have a good and happy Thanksgiving, and I'll write again next Wednesday!
--Elder Hurst
PS - Thanks for the package Mom! It got here safe and sound, and has been thoroughly enjoyed since then. I think that every spare minute of my day has now been taken up by Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
We had a very cool experience last Thursday. The night before, we had planned out our day like always, and had things in a certain order; after study, we would place up some English flyers near a metro stop called Akademmistechko, and then after lunch (so at about 2), we would stop by some less active members and try to give them a church magazine. However, on Thursday morning, one of our investigators called and told us that he wanted to meet us that day at 3:30, but it would be halfway across town. We agreed and decided to skip our stop bys and put up english flyers for a little longer; then, we both had a feeling that it would be better to do our stop bys and postpone our flyers instead. So, after study, instead of going to Akademmistechko, we went to where our stop bys were (a street called Tupolyeva). It took us a while to get down there because Tupolyeva is pretty out of the way--in fact, missionaries hadn't really visited this area in a very long time. We went down and walked up to the first apartment, where no one was home. Suddenly, from the doorway to the apartment building we heard someone say, in perfect English, "Missionaries!" Startled, we both turned, and saw a girl about twenty five or so. As it turned out, she was a member of the church from Oregon who was here as part of an English teaching program. Apparently, she had been having a really hard time here, and that day was especially hard. She wanted a priesthood blessing, but, this being Ukraine and she not knowing Russian or Ukrainian, she didn't really have any hope of getting one; however, she said a prayer that morning that she might be able to get a blessing. She then went for a walk to calm down a bit, and saw Elder Higgins and I walking into an apartment building. When we gave her a blessing, I had the most distinct impression I've had in a long time that we truly are instruments in the Lord's hands. There's no feeling quite like realizing that you are the answer to someone's prayer.
Well, that's all the time I've got today. Have a good and happy Thanksgiving, and I'll write again next Wednesday!
--Elder Hurst
PS - Thanks for the package Mom! It got here safe and sound, and has been thoroughly enjoyed since then. I think that every spare minute of my day has now been taken up by Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
It looks like Christmas (well...it looks cold at least) November 14 2007
Hello again! Thank you all for your emails. It was fun today to get on and, in total, have 18 new emails to read. It was especially enjoyable because my companion, who has already gotten 4 packages in the past transfer and a half from home, and who gets about 5 letters a week on average, only gets about 2 or 3 emails, so at least I beat him there. Take that, Higgins.
This was a fun past week. This Sunday, our Primary had their annual program, and they had us get up and sing Called to Serve with them (in Ukrainian, of course). It was a lot of fun. I love little Ukrainian kids. One little boy didn't want to sit up front without his dad, so his dad came up and sat in the little wooden chair with his son on his lap; later, the same kid had a line to say about how coming to church helps his faith grow, and after he kind of mumbled it out, he looked at the congregation and said, "Understood?!" (As missionaries, we realized that he was just taking a personal interest in helping our less active members appreciate the blessings of church attendance. Maybe we should take him with us on lessons--as long as he can sit on his dad's lap).
On Sunday also, it started snowing, and it didn't stop until we had about 5 inches of snow. Then, on Tuesday, it started snowing again, so there's a lot of the white stuff all over. On Sunday night we were walking to a member's home for a meeting with them and we had miscalculated the distance, which made for a thirty minute walk through unshoveled dirt roads in what felt like a blizzard, every so often passing drunk men in t-shirts and jean jackets. Those of you in somewhat warmer climates (ie, anywhere else), think of me. Ah, Ukraine!
Also, before I forget, next week is Thanksgiving; first off, happy thanksgiving!, and second off, we'll be having our P-Day on Thursday (turkey day itself), so my email will be a day late again. We'll all be going to a big church building in Center to have a good homecookeed Thanksgiving meal, courtesy of Sister Davis and our senior couples. I'm pretty excited.
All right, that's it for me. Have a good week! I love you all!
--Elder Hurst
This was a fun past week. This Sunday, our Primary had their annual program, and they had us get up and sing Called to Serve with them (in Ukrainian, of course). It was a lot of fun. I love little Ukrainian kids. One little boy didn't want to sit up front without his dad, so his dad came up and sat in the little wooden chair with his son on his lap; later, the same kid had a line to say about how coming to church helps his faith grow, and after he kind of mumbled it out, he looked at the congregation and said, "Understood?!" (As missionaries, we realized that he was just taking a personal interest in helping our less active members appreciate the blessings of church attendance. Maybe we should take him with us on lessons--as long as he can sit on his dad's lap).
On Sunday also, it started snowing, and it didn't stop until we had about 5 inches of snow. Then, on Tuesday, it started snowing again, so there's a lot of the white stuff all over. On Sunday night we were walking to a member's home for a meeting with them and we had miscalculated the distance, which made for a thirty minute walk through unshoveled dirt roads in what felt like a blizzard, every so often passing drunk men in t-shirts and jean jackets. Those of you in somewhat warmer climates (ie, anywhere else), think of me. Ah, Ukraine!
Also, before I forget, next week is Thanksgiving; first off, happy thanksgiving!, and second off, we'll be having our P-Day on Thursday (turkey day itself), so my email will be a day late again. We'll all be going to a big church building in Center to have a good homecookeed Thanksgiving meal, courtesy of Sister Davis and our senior couples. I'm pretty excited.
All right, that's it for me. Have a good week! I love you all!
--Elder Hurst
Hello Again! (November 7, 2007)
Hello again everyone!
Well, we had a good week. One of the companionships in our district had a baptism this past Saturday, so we invited one of our investigators, Lilya, to come and see it. She came and brought her niece along with her, and they both enjoyed it. We plan on meeting with her this Saturday and giving her a baptismal date...we’ve set up a plan to keep in contact with her until then and to prepare her for it, so we have some good hopes about that.
This past Thursday we had the chance to go to a little selo (village, in case you speak English) outside of Kyiv called Irpin. Irpin’s a little larger than most selos, so it has a lot of apartment buildings in addition to little cottage-type houses (they aren’t as nice as they sound...). We met with a member family named the Nakrasov’s. Brother Nakrasov teaches at the militsia academy (“militsia” meaning “police;” it goes back to the Communist days—police were considered “protectors of the elite and rich,” so they organized instead a militia, or, in Ukrainian, a “militsia”). He had us take pictures of ourselves with his militsia hat and jacket on. We weren’t too reluctant.
We’re starting to see a Ukrainian winter finally...and unfortunately. I miss summer already. The temperature just dropped a good deal, leaving us in our winter coats and beanies (which we got for free from a man in a street market because he respected us coming here as missionaries). We had our first snow of the season a day or two ago; it was just a light dusting that melted pretty quick, but still...I remember when it was swelteringly hot as if it was yesterday...
All right, well, I hope you all have a good week! I love you!
--Elder Hurst
Well, we had a good week. One of the companionships in our district had a baptism this past Saturday, so we invited one of our investigators, Lilya, to come and see it. She came and brought her niece along with her, and they both enjoyed it. We plan on meeting with her this Saturday and giving her a baptismal date...we’ve set up a plan to keep in contact with her until then and to prepare her for it, so we have some good hopes about that.
This past Thursday we had the chance to go to a little selo (village, in case you speak English) outside of Kyiv called Irpin. Irpin’s a little larger than most selos, so it has a lot of apartment buildings in addition to little cottage-type houses (they aren’t as nice as they sound...). We met with a member family named the Nakrasov’s. Brother Nakrasov teaches at the militsia academy (“militsia” meaning “police;” it goes back to the Communist days—police were considered “protectors of the elite and rich,” so they organized instead a militia, or, in Ukrainian, a “militsia”). He had us take pictures of ourselves with his militsia hat and jacket on. We weren’t too reluctant.
We’re starting to see a Ukrainian winter finally...and unfortunately. I miss summer already. The temperature just dropped a good deal, leaving us in our winter coats and beanies (which we got for free from a man in a street market because he respected us coming here as missionaries). We had our first snow of the season a day or two ago; it was just a light dusting that melted pretty quick, but still...I remember when it was swelteringly hot as if it was yesterday...
All right, well, I hope you all have a good week! I love you!
--Elder Hurst
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