Training 4 Ukraine : i am helping them REMEMBER WHO THEY ARE

3/21/16

I do not care if any one here remembers my name. What would that bring me? I want people to remember the feelings and the impressions they had on their journey to conversion. I do not care if they remember who it was that brought them there, I just want them to remember only one powerful missionary who always testified, always cried repentance, always corrected and challenged and lifted with love as a representative of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All I want them to remember is that piercing effect that the Holy Ghost brings to the heart when truth is spoken. I want to help others to come unto Christ, not only for baptism. I want them to come unto Him through accepting the restored gospel through faith in jesus christ and his atonement, repentance, and baptism by immersion and receiving the Holy Ghost so that they CAN endure to the end. We cannot endure to the end without these things.

I want all of us to make it back to our Father is is patiently waiting for our return. He is a just God and we NEED to act in order to return to Him. He is a merciful God also and He gives us strength where we fail and even a million chances to try to be a little bit better because He wants us all to come home.

ALMA 28:9-10 "that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance... when I see many of my brethren coming to the Lord their God, then my soul is filled with joy."

The first day of Spring came and went and it snowed. BUT DIMA SHEKA GOT BAPTIZED. We gave a talk about baptism and related it to a yellow flower linking his rebirth at baptism with spring time and the rebirth that happens on the earth!

We sang a special musical number about the Savior and after the people that were there just couldn't stop talking about it. I think they had never heard accompaniment (is that a word) other than the normal format of hymns and I played and sang with Sister Young in Russian. It was beautiful. Dima is so clean and it was just a huge miracle! Everything went smoothly and he is now a confirmed member of the church with the gift of the Holy Ghost. I cried during his confirmation. It was so beautiful.

We also had a pretty amazing meeting with Sasha and his family this week. We felt we kind of needed to shake his fence a little (like my Uncle Jason taught me). We read Mosiah 18:8-10 about baptism and he finally opened his mouth and was more honest with us. He told us how he really felt. My heart pounded during this lesson as we testified and invited and cried repentance. We were missionaries from the Book of Mormon. We did it with love. We followed God and we followed all promptings. Sasha understands our purpose and our love for the Savior and He understands it is time for him to get serious and to ACT. He is going to pray about baptism. FINALLY. We promised before God and His angels that God will answer. I know hat God is waiting for Sahsa to commit, because he has already shown so much faith and humility to come as far as he has at this point! He is a valiant son of God and he is ready to act and his life if he chooses right will change for good. We do the work of God.

I love God's children. I am called to help them REMEMBER WHO THEY ARE. So I will continue to do just that. God is my everything and he is my best friend and I know that he answers prayers.

I love you all. Hope you all have some special personal moments with God this week.

Have a wonderful week.

Love

Cectpa Karren

Alyona and Nazar our investigators

Alyona pretending to be Cectpa Karren. She is saving up to buy a doll and she is going to name her Karren.

My cute companion

My cutest companion and this wonderful hero and member of mine named valentina!

The baptism interview in the village. HE PASSED!!!

also exchanges. sister pugosava did not want to sleep on the bed so we made her one on the floor and i thought it was so weird but we threw all of our clothes and blankets and stuff down there to try and make it some what comfortable