Transfer!! (1/09/2008)

Hello again everyone,
Well, the unthinkable just happened: I'm getting transfered from Sviatoshinsky. I've been able to find out where I'm going also...it's outside of Kyiv finally, but I've already been there. That's right, I'm going to Ivano Frankivsk! Again! It'll be fun, I liked it a lot the first time; I just think it's funny that the place I go after 9 months straight in Kyiv is the one and only city that I've already seen outside of Kyiv. Apparently, I'm doomed to never see anything in between. I'll be serving with an elder named Elder Palsky, who'll be going home at the end of this transfer (I'll be "killing" him). From what I hear, not that I should be listening to rumors, but he has a girlfriend, Linda, who has waited for him viciously his entire mission; in fact, she literally writes him a letter every day. He has entire photo albums dedicated to her. He has DVD's of her talking to him. He has an alarm clock with her voice recorded on it. She buys him pairs of nice winter boots and coats, just in case the others are too cold. And next week, I'll fill you in on how many of these rumors are true.

After serving in Sviatoshinsky for almost 6 months, it's been really hard to leave. I've been here long enough that I've gotten to know the ward really well, so this Sunday I had to say goodbye to a lot of people that I know and love. It felt a lot like my farewell at home, although on a smaller scale. On Monday, I met with my bishop and his family. I'm pretty sure that Bishop Hariachi is the coolest guy in Ukraine. He's 24 years old, recently married, with a four-and-a-half-month-old son, Mark. He's really fun, and we've gotten to be good friends here. This has been my favorite area to serve in so far.

We've had another elder in a threesome with us for the past day or two. His name is Elder Hokanson. He's really tall, really big, and 24 years old. He's a little strange too.

The weather has been FREEZING cold. On January 1st, the normal cloud cover disappeared in favor of clear blue skies, and without the insulation, the temperature has dropped dramatically. It doesn't help that there's humidity and strong breezes adding to it all. The good news is, I'm staying very warm (thanks for the sweater, Dad!), and I've been able to avoid getting sick.

I'm glad my package made it home safely. Thanks again for everything you all have sent to me! For some reason, the mail here has slowed up, so a lot of elders haven't gotten some packages their families sent yet. Unfortunately, this includes Renee's package, so I'll have to wait a little longer to get that (especially if I'm off in Ivano...).

Well, have a good week, and I love you all!
--Elder Hurst