Ivano-Frankivs'k Week 3-- More Pictures

Ivano-Frankivs'k- Week 3 Pictures

Ivano-Frankivs'k Week 3!-- January 13, 2014

Hey!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes-- it was great!

   Sister Lewis and I went out to eat at Deseyatkas this really good Ukrainian food place on walking street. I had verinoky, and it was great. Remember the family  told you about that came to church on Sunday? They had told us to give them a call after the holidays to set up another appointment. (some of the Ukrainian Holidays in January: 6-Christmas Eve, 7-Christmas Day, 8-Saint Mary's Day) So I was super excited to call them and have an appointment on my birthday! So at 10:00 we called her...no answer. We thought...okay maybe she was at work with a customer and will call us back when she is done maybe 15-30 minutes...end of Language Study comes and goes still no call, so we contacted to Center and had lunch then around noon we called her again...no answer. By this time are worried about her, and if she is okay? Or was this her not wanting to meet with us again? We couldn't tell we felt that she was the king of person who would just say they didn't want to meet anymore. And as the day progressed we got more and more worried we tried to call a few more times throughout the day, but each time was the same...no answer. 

Other than that my Birthday was super fun we contacted lots of people, and even had a fun dinner at the end of the night.  For desert I had chocolate and fruit sushi thing. It was great! But sad since our investigator had dropped off of the face of the planet. 

   The next day we tried to call her one more time, and she answered!!!! We were soooooo happy! turns out she had just lost her phone.Who knew how annoying that could be for a pair of Missionaries! We were able to set up a appointment with her for that evening before Game Night at the Church at 6:00. When she got there she had her husband as well which was good. We wanted to show her "The Restoration" film to conclude our teaching of the Restoration. In talking before showing the film she told us that she had never felt the spirit and didn't know why. Sister Lewis promised her that if she would pay attention to the way she felt while watching the film she would feel the Spirit. 

   The whole time while the film was showing we were worried as to weather or not she would be able to feel it ad praying the whole time that she would, (and that no ones phone would go off or come bursting into the room.) When the film ended and the lights were turned back on we turned to her and she was crying. We asked her how she felt and she said that she felt good inside. We then testified to her that that was the Holy Ghost that she was feeling. She sad that she liked it and wanted to have it with her always. We told her that she could if she would be baptized. She said that she would, but first would have to stop smoking first (She had been doing some research of her own and found out about the Word of Wisdom) We told her that we would be there to help her the whole time. We the committed them to a Baptismal Date, and they said YES! On the First of February 2014! (ADAM! THAT'S THE SAME DAY AS YOU!!!!!!! ALSO HAPPY EIGHTH BIRTHDAY!!!!!) 

   All in all this has been a fantastic week! And it feels like it can only get better! I know that this Church is true ad that it was restored to us through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father who loves us ad wants us to return to him, and that through Jesus Christ that is possible. I know that he hears as answers each of us.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I have read ad prayed about it ad have received a answer to my prayer. These things I know to be true without a doubt. I love you all and am grateful for your testimonies and examples. 

Love 

Сестра Граф

A couple more pics- Ivano-Frankivs'k Week 2

More Pictures- Ivano-Frankivs'k- Week 2

Pictures- Ivano-Frankivs'k Week 2

Pictures!

1. Christmas in L'viv

2.The thing in the window is L'viv made of Gingerbread

3. Minnie Mouse in Photo-bombing us

4. Christmas Tree!

5. Ivano-Frankivs'k

6. We have a lake!

7. Walking Street (It's not snowing, Just alot of fog)

8. Ukaine!

 

 

Ivano-Frankivs'k- Week 2! January 6, 2014

This week has been amazing!

The First of January was crazy, after studies we went out to get our food for the week, because it was our P-Day, it was also as you all know, New Years Day. When we got outside, it was a Ghost Town. And none of the stores opened till 2:00 PM. Super crazy. We had a very fun P-Day though, after Sister Olds got into Ivano-Frankivs'k from her Visa trip to Bulgaria we were allowed to watch the film 17 Miracles.

Last Sunday we went over to Walking Street to meet with a referral. We had been told that she was more of one to go to and just give a small spiritual thought to. So we met her and it was a normal meeting, when it was time to go Sister Barnes was getting up and dropped her Book of Mormon. She then asked what it was and she wanted it! We've been meeting with her ever since. We'll go to her where she works, and teach her there, and some of her co-workers have sat in on the lessons and Including her we this week we got 4 new investigators! SO AWESOME!!!! She came too our Friday night activity and our Saturday night Sports night with her Husband. 

We invited her to Church on Sunday, but when Sacrament Meeting started they were not there. =(.........But.....then we got a call from them and they said that they were running late and wanted to know if they could still come. We told them OF COURSE! She and her husband got there at the very end of sacrament Meeting with their little five year-old boy. So Cute! They Stayed for the rest of the meetings and it was wonderful! She said that she wanted to come back. When they left she took with her the this past conference edition of the Liahona. We then got a call from her this morning saying that she had read ALL of it and that she loved it! So amazing that she read all of it in less that 24 hours! and the Conference edition too! I am so happy for her and can hardly wait until we can meet with her again after Christmas.

Also in contacting I was able to give out a copy of The Book of Mormon! SO HAPPY

Love you all so much I can't tell you.

Сесра Граф

Ivano-Frankivs'k Week 1-- December 30, 2013

Hey All!

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and that you will have a Happy New Year! Well...like I told the fam in the Skype Call I had on Christmas I just got TRANSFERED to  ІВАНО-ФРАНКІВСЬК(Ivano-Frankivs'k) My new Companion is Sister Lewis, and she is great! We are with Sister Barns right now while Sister Olds is coming back from Bulgaria, and we are both so happy that she is with us, because Sister Lewis and I are White-Washing here in Ivano.

It was so crazy with transfers, because most of us were going to our cities by bus. So instead of the 2 hour train ride we took a 3 hour bus ride. Super fun. By the time that we got to our house after it all, we made calls to people to invite them to the Ivano branch's Christmas party the next day.

At the Christmas Party the youth acted out the Ukrainian version of the Christmas Story. It was super funny and well...elaborate. Mostly because in addition to: Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Angles,The Shepards, and the Wise men; it also includes: Evil King Herod, Death, and the Devil. The story starts out like ours, but after the wise men present their gifts to Christ, King Herod comes in (I think to order the death of all the children it was all in Ukrainian and I didn't catch all of what he said), but then the Angel calls for Death who then with the devil kills and then drags the Dead King Herod off the stage and presumably down to ........ well it's a VERY dramatic telling of the story. (I have to say I'm kind of partial to ours although this one is super fun to act out)

Also before transfers When L'viv had its Christmas party they acted out one of their short movies that they watch every year.(Like us watching Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Clause is Coming to Town.) It was a strange combination of 'The Grinch,' 'Little Red Riding Hood,' and something else, I don't know what. Here's the story:

Once upon a time...

Santa was in his workshop doing Christmas related things. When in comes a crow that lures him out of the workshop while the crows friend, a Wolf, steals all of the Christmas toys and treats and the Wolf gets dressed up like Santa. They then steal Santa's Sleigh/Car? which is driven by a snowman. The snowman has no idea who the are so they dismantle him. Meanwhile there is a family of bunnies living nearby. The Mother and Father Bunny go out for some reason but tell their two little bunnies not to open the door for anyone. Santa Wolf comes along and knocks on the door and says that it's Santa! The little bunny says that Mom and Dad said not to let anyone in, but the slightly older, but still little Bunny says "BUT IT'S SANTA!" and lets him in. The littler bunny then goes through something like you would hear in Little Red Riding Hood, "What big Ears, nose, teeth you have..."(You get the picture) The Wolf then tries to get the littler Bunny, but she is too fast and instead he gets the slightly older, but still little Bunny and he runs away with her. When Mom and Dad Bunny get home they are very sad that their  Slightly older, but still little Bunny had been Bunny napped. Then the Real Santa comes and they all set off to save the  Slightly older, but still little Bunny. On the way they find Santa's Sleigh/Car and the poor dismantled snowman. They put him back together(after the little bunny has a small snack off of his nose. They the find the Wolf and he gives back all of the presents, and the slightly older, but still little Bunny. And they all lived Happily Ever After.

The End.

I'm so excited to be here in Ivano and to simply go forth and share this great message that we have with the people here. I love you all so much and hope that the rest of this year and the next will be great for all of you.

До Побачення
Сесра Граф

L'Viv Week 16!-- December 16, 2013

Hi All!

Things are going well This week was kind of crazy. Our sink was
leaking so when our land lady came to get the rent money we told her
about that. It was all good and she sent a Meister over to us on
Friday night to see what he would need to fix it. So the Elders had to
come over, since we are not allowed to be alone. He ended up trying to
fix it that night, but didn't have time. So that night we went without
water. Then on Saturday he came back and another set of Elders came to
'babysit' us. For some reason someone thought that it would be a good
idea to encase our water pipes in cement, so they had to saw through
that, and there were sparks flying. Crazy! I had lost my camera
charger, so was not able to take any pictures, but I will steal some
from the elders. But all was good because then that night I was able to
find it. It was at the other sisters' place! Super funny. 

Also the lights in our study room are out and there is something wrong with
the wiring so that is going to be fixed today by a different Meister.
Yay! We no longer will have to do all of our studies in the kitchen!
With all of this going on we have been able to really organize and go
through the area book

Сестра Граф