get close to those around you.

3/28/16

At the beginning of my mission I used to really wonder how I could ever become the missionary I dreamed of being and why it couldn't be faster? I now have seen that I have indeed changed. It was not all visible at the beginning and I would get so frustrated wondering why isn't my Russian ALREADY perfect? Why can I not convert 1000 people?! Why am I stressed and scared when I should just love it all and understand what to do and when to do it? I wondered what on earth the whole waiting process was good for and why I needed to wait for all of those things and not just BE THAT all at once. Didn't God want me to be all of those things perfectly so I could be the best I could be to teach these people? No. I was good enough for the people, I taught then in my weaknesses, and I am good enough now because we take this process of becoming perfect one day at a time, one step at a time. Everyday if I did all that I could possibly do in the state of understanding that I was in, that was good enough for the Lord to work with. We learn line upon line. We cannot immediately change from black to white, it is a process.

Through the Atonement we grow and we change. We learn throught those "growing pains". Without those growing pains the change would not stick and we would end up returning back to who we were before. That is not the point of change, is it?

I now see that the Lord's way was good. I know that I have changed and want to continue to change. I am grateful for the gradual progression. God will continue to work with me as I allow Him to and I will allow Him to, because His way is SO much better than my way.



This week we had a Zone Conference in Kyiv. We wanted to get our missionaries moving forward and feeling lifted and energetic. We definitely did that and they all left the meeting ready to GO GO GO and it was so spiritual and such a success. Just next time we need to make sure and ask President before we give them a commitment that we later found out was forbidden. no big deal he just called us into his office before we headed out and let us know that they were going to have to send out a mass text telling them not to do what we told them to do. That was funny and embarrassing. But we just changed the wording so that it would not be misunderstood and still sent out a commitment and we called all our missionaries on Sunday and they are really trying to reach out to more people and gather in Israel and it was really incredible to be a part in that. We are trying to hasten the work of the Lord. WHY? The Lord himself is coming. It is near. We need to be ready.



Something I have been thinking about a lot this week I think all need to hear:

I have a testimony of the temple. We SHOULD be going as often as we can. No excuses. Excuses do not help us to make it into the Celestial Kingdom. Excuses are for weak men and not people with the potential to become like Gods.



I have a testimony of the need of LOVE for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Even if it is hard our WARD is our responsibility and our extended family as much as God is all our Father in Heaven.

GET CLOSE.

Love them and lift them. We all need it a lot. There is a wonderful example of this kind of love for one another here in Bila. Families are celebrating each others successes and banding together to mourn with those that are mourning and praying with and for those who need. Please just LOVE each other. Forget about all the dumb things in the world that pull us apart. We are brothers and sisters and christ and we all are on the same path and we WANT to make it to the same place. Give more to them. And God will reward you. I promise it is worth it. Forgive each other. Love each other. no matter what. I feel that EVERYONE needs to hear this and work harder at this. We are our brothers keepers. Let us go forward with love.



We had such an amazing lesson this week with Larissa. She is living proof that God sends His angels ahead to PREPARE his people. She is ready and prepared by the Lord for the message we have to give. How amazing is it that I get to meet the elect! We talked about tithing and read some amazing stories in theBible and Book of Mormon and I used a story I heard from Nana a while ago. Larissa has READY faith. I do not know how else to describe it. She is already in Alma 14 last time we talked to her and she is just receiving light from God! She knows the Book of Mormon is true! She knows the church is true! She is progressing and growing closer and closer to God! She WANTS to pay tithing and to fast and she is just inspiring.



I love Bila. I have a lot to say and not a lot of time! I am grateful for this experience and everything involved in it! It is amazing.



I know that the Savior loves every single one of us. He loves YOU. He did everything He did, for you. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master and best friend LIVES. Everything is possible because of Him. That I know.



I love you. Be safe. Be happy. Let the sun shine through you so that everyone can see it. I will talk to you all soon! Have a wonderful week.



PS: I get  a mini missionary for this week and guess who?! My favorite mini missionary in the world Sister Kokoreva!!!!



Love you all!

HAPPY LATE EASTER. We will have our ukrainian easter May 1.



💜Cectpa Karren

Ukrainian scarves over our noses because of so much smoke.  When the driver that is supposed to take a bus full of people on a 1 1/2 hour drive that starts the ride off by smoking and entire pack of cigarettes = two Muslim Ukrainian moron sister missionaries :)

Baby goats I snuggled with. 

Fun

Love my goats!

More baby goats

We rebuilt this little shed for this sweet old neighbor of Stan's. It was amazing.  Dad Stan said you would be SO PROUD OF ME if you could see me.

I am learning life skills and I can now use a chainsaw and a handsaw and build a shelter. Wahoo! WORD TO YOUR MOTHER!

Stan and service projects in the snow.

Service Project

Dima made these paper ships and they were for each of us.

This is Dima's Wonderful reactivating Mom I am so proud of! She is ready to go to the temple!  

Little Brother Dima and his sweet Mama

Me in a burrito!  In English class we were supposed to think of a childhood memory. Sometimes on our mission we start to lose our minds and it is hard to remember life before. All I could remember is how Dad would come into my room to tuck me into bed at night and he would tuck me in like a Mexican burrito with all the blankets around me.  So I told the English class about that and it was funny.  Everyone laughs at me all the time.  I don't know if that is a good thing...?  Sister young then made me into a burrito that night and behold, here I am, a mexican burrito!

Easter Egg tradition

Ukrainian Easter is May 1st but we still celebrated

Ukrainian colored eggs

Sister young and cadbury eggs

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

Exchanges

 An investigator sewed us matching aprons. She is cute and really old. and moving away.

The pool where Dima got baptized

Our Branch President Ganadi baptized sweet Dima. 

Dima got baptized!!!

My sweet Dima

Dima getting his hair blow dried in the sauna so that his hair wouldnt freeze outside after his baptism

Dima and his cute mama :) best ever

i want to be a missionary from the scriptures.

This is what Ukrainian looks like. But I still only speak Russian! Dima is getting batptized Saturday March 19!!!! we are holding it in a suana it is going to be fun. :) I love you all!

x

to celebrate that we will still be in bila!

This was last weeks family home evening with Dima Sheka and his mom who is reactivating and their neighbors Maria and Ivan they are active members and we love them to death! 

​

I want to be a missionary in the scriptures.

Our miracle Dima

Love this kid

This is happiness in one picture!

There was woman's day this week and the men in the branch put on a celebration for us. they even gave us a flower.

This was one warm day when my comp was sick so I sat with the windows open to catch some sunshine

Some goals I have I wanted to share with you:

-Read the Book of Mormon every single day without fail.
-Wake up at 6:30 every day without fail.
-Keep a daily journal- record miracles
-Increase relationship with God through prayer
    -keep a revelation book
-Pray for each of our sisters by name everyday
  -know them
  -know their needs
  -talk to them often
  -correct them
  -love them
-Represent my Lord Jesus Christ how ne needs me to be. LOVE SERVE BE HUMBLE PATIENT
-Follow every prompting of the Spirit exactly. Always be worth and ready to hear His voice.
-Finish the Russian Book of Mormon and start again.
-Use every moment to be amissionary-reach as many people as I can and testify.
-Increase my personal study with the Lord- learn from His hand through the scriptures every single day.
-Remember my Savior everyday. Use His atonement. Get really good at repenting immediately and everyday.
-Pray for each investigator by name, daily and know their needs. Seek guidance from God!
-Find those with real desire to baptize.
-CRY REPENTANCE AND BAPTIZE CONVERTS
- 20 lessons a week!
-Speak only Russin. Diligently use my time to correct and improve my language. Pray for the gift of tongues! The gift of tongues is long enough to try your faith but fast enough to be a miracle.
-Always seek inspiration then teach by the Spirit
-Have FUN!
-Pray for the people of Eurpose to open their hearts to the gospel. Gather Israel!
-Memorize scritpures and references.
-Adopt culture onto myself

OK I have to go but I love you!
Love KY. PS: We are STL's of 6 sisters again hooray!!

GO WATCH the HALLELUJAH video for easter! IT is amazing!

My Sister Cectpa Young

Me and my sister. In the village outside dimas house waiting for a bus 

Yana and her daughter. Dina and his daughter Alyona.

On Mon, Mar 14, 2016 at 4:42 PM, Kylie Karren <kylie.karren@myldsmail.net> wrote:
Привет! Я Думаю я буду просто писать на Русском сегодня. :)
Hi!

My thoughts from my studies this week:

I wanted to know how we could reach more people faster because it seems kind of impossbile to reach everyone with just 4 missionaries here. So I was praying and studying and I found some cool things I wanted to share with you today. EXAMPLE:
Alma 26:4 "Behold thousands of them do rejoice and have been brought into the fold of God."

By faith men may bring thousands of souls to repentance. So the key ingredient is FAITH.

How many men does it take to bring thousands of souls to repentance?
-Only a few! The Sons of Mosiah.

How could they do it?
-They had great faith and they "reaped with all their might, all the day long did they labor." -Alma 26:5

I know what kind of missionary I want to be.
I have felt lazy sometimes thinking that I am working really hard but still feel that something is missing.

I want to be like Ammon and his brethren. It is not impossible. All they did to be so special was to humble themselves TO THE DUST and forget their own selves and they gave God full control to work through them.

They were powerful, worthy, happy servants of the Lord.

I believe God can make anything out of me if I let Him, EVEN IN RUSSIAN.

Yes, I have gradually make progression. But now I have only 5 months left on this mission. So, I want to see what God and I can do together.

Am I ready to really and fully and truly give myself up all my little selfish things and do ALL the will of the Lord?
It is time. It has already been time! I have been giving more and more but I wanna just give it all!

I need to help God help His children make it back to Him. He knows this work is more than possible. I want to be His good servant.

I believe in Him when he says if we have faith men  may bring thousands to repentance. LET'S GO!

No turning back.

I am so grateful for the trust and revelation through the scriptures of God!

I love my mission. This week was good. Sister Young has been getting pretty frequent and bad headaches though. Any suggestions? This week we will have a baptism of an 11 year old boy named Dima! IT will be amazing. And we are going to have an exchange in Vinnitsya.
Happy to be here! Have a great week!

-Cectpa Karren

Dima and his family.

Our miracle Dima! He is getting baptized March 19th in a Sauna.  I am so happy!!!!

Another recent convert yana and her daughter and dima with the wooden leg and his daughter our investigator alyona :)



 

the children of god

March 4, 2016

"How can they answer all the questions we have in our hearts without even knowing?" -Larissa (investigator)

"They can because they are the children of God."

-Galina Starinskaya (member)



March 5, 2016

Galina Sheka and Dima Sheka are our miracles today. We went out to the village first thing this morning. Dima is so ready for his baptism on the 19th, we just need to make sure we find a font for him...

Anyway, we had a really good lesson about Lehi's vision in 1 Nephi 8. We talked about reading scriptures and following the prophets words. He said it is hard for him to understand the Book of mormon, and that is understandable - he is only 11! But he did say that he wants to just try to continue to read anyway!

We talked about prayer and coming to church too. He prays everyday and every week comes to church. He has even become a huge example for his sweet inactive mother. I wanted to know if he has a testimony so we talked about that too and he bore his testimony to us. Then his wonderfully sweet amazing mom whom I love so dearly (and has even started wearing a little bit of makeup when we come); she bore her testimony and she told us "Sisters. It is time I come back to church. It is already time! I am coming, tomorrow!" I could have cried. To see this little boy and his mom coming unto Christ TOGETHER is magical. God does his work. Dima is a strong, important boy and his influence and faith (child like faith) has changed his mama's heart. They now read and pray together. They are open and honest with each other. While Galina read Dima cuddled up close to her resting his arm around her, his face completely enthralled with the story. It was such a beatuiful moment! I got to witness it!

Galina and Dima are coming to church tomorrow! God does NOT forget His children. Sometimes even the tiniest bit of faith performs GIANT miracles! Galina is resturning and preparing for the temple. She is returning! Dima is following His Savior's example and he is getting baptized!!

So our morning was fantastic. We are so happy. GOD IS SO HAPPY. We feel so much love!



Today we also received transfers...

The long awaited news was revealed...

GUESS WHERE?!

BILA TSERKVA!

another transfer together!

It is too good to be true and never ever happens. People do not stay together more than 2 transfers in our mission. Not ever. Sister Young has already been in Bila for 6 transfers! So we knew that she would get transferred! Our elders called and we were silent for a while then we screamed and sister young fell on the floor laughing. We are crazies and so excited to keep working! We have much to do! And we get to continue! Wahoo!!!



This is the time I have been wiating for my whole mission and have been striving to find and do this. I have faith it can happen with my hard work, combined with the conversion of the investigators to the Lord who really does ALL this work! This is the time I read about in my (setting apart) blessing. It is happening! I am a real missionary. I am a leader. I am striving to be obedient and to be better, to repent more, to follow God's will. I speak only in Russian. I am growing and God is really helping us to work like missionaries in the scriptures! People feel the Spirit testify POWERFULLY through us. We are always striving to be humble, honest, bold, teaching with love and tenderness and always striving to stand as Christ's personal representatives. I still have so far to go to really become who God wants me to be, but I am loving the journey and I am really trying, really praying now, really actively using and remembering the atonement, and we are helping others do all the same. We need to study hard, work more diligently. We need to be strong, not fear and continue to perform miracles as God's physical hands!



We also met wtih 21 year old Tanya! She has really become insterested even more since Anya suddenly up and moved to work in Dubai. :(

I love Tanya. She is such a good girl. Last time I felt a little of what God feels for her and my eyes got misty, as I told her God loves her and knows her and sees her. She has a lot a lot to do right now, but says with us at the church it is the only place she wants to be! Today we watched the Joseph Smith video with her and asked her to really pray about our church. She asked us about our baptisms. We testified. We asked her that when she prays and receives an answer will she get baptized?! SHE SAID YES! with all of her heart.

But she knows she needs to pray. She immediately prayed to know. I felt the Spirit so so strong.



We taught a really fun english lesson today. We did a mock court case with all the people. It turns out Vova really did steal the candy even though he was not proven guilty. We talked about "obeying and honoring the law" and we taught them Gods laws #commandmentswithhandsignals

It was so fun! They ate it all up. President's advice about just really pouring our love into doing the service of teaching English was so good. Glad we followed! I love these people.



Later today we travelled to a potential investigators house. Her name is Tamara. Her invalid son Denis died a while back. There is a man named Sergei who lives there too.They have a very humble house. A small room with a small kitchen and couch pulled out as an awful bed for the both of them and that is it. Their door was a cardboard sign they somehow attached to the wall. They were amazing. Tamara is still greatly grieving about the death of her son and not quite ready to move on. Sergei was outside smoking, but I invited him inside for our lesson. He was one of the nicest men I have ever met. Our message was brief. But even with that, I watched as the Spirit testified to them- especially Sergei. His heart was touched, even if just a little. I am so grateful to have met them. They are the children of God. We hugged Tamara on the way out and Sergei kind of hugged us too (ooops) but it was just really sweet.



I love Ukraine. I love Bila. I am the luckiest daughter of God. I am staying! I am so glad. We have a lot to do and I am so ready to continue.



Love ya lots,

Cectpa Karren

Family Home Evening with the Prishepchuks and we studied it was awesome! 

Jackie the dog and their crazy gray cat.

Our investigator Larissa.  She is changing her life and ours!

I am a Ukrainian Princess

We couldn't resist!

baptismal date!

Great week! We had a good exchange in Kyiv with the office sisters. I was with Sister Bulseco and she is great! Still pretty new and really fresh and wants to just learn learn learn. It is really good and she really needs the influence of good missionaries who just want to give it all and she will just fly! So that was really great. I did not have any concerns with her at all it was just really nice to serve by her side this week! When we got to the apartment I had the immediate feeling to check the Area Book and it was good! That thing (and they have 2) has not really been updated since August or so! We moved people around and got them to start to organize and realize just by us going through and asking them questions how important it is to update their area book/book of salvation!



It was fun and I got pretty sick Friday but I am all better now and. I just love my calling so much I could just do if forever!!! PLEASE LET ME DO IT FOREVER MOM AND DAD?!?!?!?!?



Ok love you all. Have a good one!



Bye :D

This is Sasha and his family. His wife is the Relief Society president and Sasha is not a member. He has been meeting with missionaries for almost a year now. We are really trying to get him to pray about baptism because he already lives the life of a member but without the promises and blessings of baptism so that is our purpose right now. He has grown a lot even just in the time I have known him and is bearing his testimony about principles of the gospel now when we meet. He loves the book of mormon and loves god just wants time. Soooo we will wait a little bit longer and just keep on working until we get a different revelation for Sasha and what we need to do! 

We visited a recent convert and her sweet daughter drew this for us. It was raining outside and we came in without an umbrella so she drew one so we would not be cold. I am the blonde and the outfits were totally the same as in this photo. ;) So sweet.

This is 11 year old Dima and guess what?!?!?!? BATPISMAL DATE: March 19!!! Pray for this sweet boy and his less active mom so that he can be ready for baptism and his mom can return to church! we love them. His mama cried when she heard that he wants to follow the example of the savior and get baptized! Wahoo!!! It was a wonderful moment. Sister Young and I danced all the way to our next appointment!

Our District and Kyiv temple!  I love to see the temple.

Love, Cectpa Karren