Pics June 6th 2016

Right by the church one evening! SO COOL!

My Companion does cool braids in my hair.

We made so many pancakes SO MANY!

Which side is Italian and which side is American???

Stan and missionaries

Sister Bairett and Sister Ivancovich

Sister Arnell and me PDay

Missionary life!  we can fall asleep in an instant on the floor!

"Don't Be A Cat. BE A DOG."

Ok. Getting clever about writing is getting harder and harder. This week we ate strawberries for the first time in months and months and months. We sang on the streets! For 3 hours and contacted tons while Elder Clark played the guitar! It was super fun. We took some members with us to go contacting. The reality of my future came crashing down #registrationforBYU. We found some investigators and met with our other ones. We are meeting with so many people and just loving it. I am tired every morning so much so that it is hard to read the Book of Mormon and study. I hope it is just an end of the mission working hard type thing. Whatever it is I love it. Helped a woman and her daughter who were crying on a bus. I couldn't talk to them so I wrote them a note that god inspired me to do and I passed it to them and told them to call us. She was so grateful. Just glad that we can serve anywhere we go. We saw Stan. We gathered strawberries with a stranger and she made us eat bowls and bowls full. It was beautiful. I learned how to use an ax and I chopped my first piece of wood. It took me a long long time. But with the help of Stan (seriously he had to put his arms around me and help me chop the wood) but I chopped the wood!!!!! ONE WHOLE PIECE. Sounds dumb but I was on top of the world. #learninglifeskills. We went to Kyiv and had a leadership counsel with president and his wife. It is my favorite thing to learn right from him. This is where he told us that as missionaries we "don't be a cat. We be a dog!" because cats are like sneaky and wait for you to pet them and just pose. But dogs run up to everyone and lick their faces off and smile and wag their tails and talk to everyone. That is what we must do! I loved it so much. Also our new office senior couple made us hawaiian haystacks and strawberry short cake and I cried because it was so good and so homemade and so american. We contacted a miracle and he came to english and we had a wonderful miraculous lesson with a man who has changed his life to find the truth and is now the elders new investigator! SO COOL.
We are called to do the work Jesus would do. We must live as an angel would live so that people can see the light in us and come unto HIM! Ukraine is a sacred place to me. I am a happy missionary and just trying to tighten up my skills and talents and the work God has entrusted me with. Thank you for the prayers for my Russian! I need it. I love you all so much. Have a wonderful wonderful week! Elder Ballard and the whole area Presidency come to my mission this week for 3 days! My companion is going to sing for them! I love you all! God loves you even more. Don't forget it.

Love Cectpa Karren

Our Mountain of pancakes! Running so we can eat them!

Sister Arnell does amazing hair!

letter to president

May 30, 2016

Dear President,

I am excited for the new transfer. This week has been a little bit crazy as you know. But I feel relieved and I am happy she is going to be able to be at home and work on feeling ok. I do love Sister Bairett. I love Sister Arnell. SHE LOVES TO TALK! It has been a while since I have talked so much so that is funny! We had a lot going on but still got a ton of good work done. Thank you for the oppurtunity to be an STL again. I am excited to go back at it but relying on Christ and God more and learning more and more and doing a few things a little differently.

I am not quite sure what to say this week but I feel good. I can breath again and just work!

I realized this week I still do not know Russian. I know that sounds bad. I know that in reality I know a lot. But I have realized that almost everything I have taught myself and learned is with so many mistakes. It is good to have Sister Arnell to correct me. I am trying to be more humble and just take it. I am just sad I still don't know as much as I would like to know! I am going to have a specail fast this week to get the case chart down. Because I need a lot of extra help and I think if I can just get that in my head everything else will run a lot smoother.

President. My last transfer I want to train. If that is an option and something God would want, I would love to do that. Just so that you know!

Thank you for everything you teach us. I am so eternally grateful for my experience in Ukraine. The people here have truly become my everything. I want to help God help his kids make and keep sacred covenants. So that is my focus! I have less than 3 months left. Can you believe that? I cannot. But I will give it my all everyday. This mission will always be the most amazing experience of my entire life. I love it all. Even the hard things have refined me! I always want to keep progressing and never stop! Thank you teaching me so many life skills and eternal principles. I LOVE YOUR FAMILY.Tell your wife that. Don't forget!

Thanks for everything. Let me know what else I can do!

-Cectpa Karren

May 30, 2016 Photos

adventures round 3

English class



Our investigators Daynara and her husband Dima.  The loves of my life.



Us and the elders and our stls put on a activity night for the youth here in bila and their friends and it was awesome. we played tons of fun active games and then we made an american surprise #SMORES first time in over a year! We sang by the fire too and it was amazing. so so fun! gonna miss elder clark!







TOO MUCH FUN!







Gotta get those awkward after English Class photos going on!

adventures round 2

An exchange and our wonderful Daynara!!!


Park Fantasma!


Oh Dima...I LOVE THEE! #potatoe



This is a snail.  In Russian the word is alamingly close to smile...be careful with that one.;)



We got caught in the rain. It was going to be a long long long walk home but we saw a member that had a car and they drove us home after we walked for a while!

the beginning of the adventures

May 30th 2016


this is a real dead moose and he was kind of sad so i wantde to make him happy. Happy last pday!



I finally went inside...



with my babushka scarf



A Russian Orthodox service is one of the scariest but interesting things i have seen. it was like alice in wonderland. i did not feel the spirit but the church was amazingly painted! but we had to get out of there after a little while of not feeling the spirit. but it was a good experience! There are really faithful grandmas here!