My BFF Hermana Mathews has inspired me by following in the ways of Sidney Poulton by the means of an Awkward Awesome post. I shall follow her example.
AWKWARD:
- Me. Just thought i would throw that out there.
- When you are walking down the street, doing the usual "On the Lord's errand" strut, when you realize that the dress you were wearing underneath your skirt has risen and bunched up to give you the lumpiest pelvic pouch and buttocks known to Ukraine
- Need i mention the title again?
- When you try to sneak one out silently during the silence of personal study, only to break the silence with one not so silent....
- Hermana Mathews, you say you got two ton Tilly ankles? Well i match you with a nice set of two ton Tilly knees
- Ukrainian mobs complete with picket signs and car tire barricades
- When you're bathroom walls are made out of nothing but what seems to be paper and amplifier speakers. It's a lot of perfectly times coughs or a, "Quick! Find something to crumple!"
- Let's just admit it, bathroom moments for missionaries are nothing but awkward
- When you walk into one of the church rooms to grab something and look behind you to see a little boy run into the room, closing the door and locking it and shutting off the lights. "Nooooooo!" (Deep voice paired with slow motion run with outstretched arm) Let me tell you, this little boy thought it was a hoot as i banged and fiddled with the lock only to then burst out into the entire foyer filled with church members
- When you thought you would be one of the cool missionaries and playfully tap a little boy on the head with a hymn book, only to highly miscalculate the distance between head and book....And hello concussion
- Turns out that there is a lot to learn from Spongebob Squarepants. If you have watched one of my particular favorites episodes when they are selling chocolate you will get a very good feel of The Tracting, "No No's." Sadly, i had to learn all of these from experience. "Don't say "I love you" within the first 10 seconds of contact....check."
- When only the slightest difference in pronunciation can go from,"Hi, we're Christians" to, "Hi, we're peasants."
- When the trainer becomes the trainy (HUMMBLED!*mortal combat voice*)
- When you find out that one of your former investigators died...
- When you are walking down the street and finally pick your prey, but as the victim comes nearer and nearer your nerves build up until your finally release it all out in a barking, "ZTRATsvitsya!"
- When you're living in a country at war
- Introducing yourself to a woman you approached saying, "Hello, my name is Sister Roe." Only to see her very scrutingly look at your nametag, and you are preparing yourself for the burst of laughter because apparently Ukrainians are VERY humored by names consisting of only two letters. Only to then see her look at your companion and say, "but YOU'RE name is Roe!" Ha! Nice one lady, but as you can well see my companions name is Sister.......Roe?! What the....? Apparently the Elders thought they would be funny and switch our nametags on our coats when we weren't looking. Good one Elders......it is so on.
- Denial. I've get it a 100+ times a day and I'm STILL working on adjusting to it
AWESOME:
- Stopping a woman in the dark on the way home, barfing a Russian testimony on her, actually being listened to, setting up a time to meet again, and then running home in the dark with the sole of one of your boots coming off and still not getting home on time. Hey, we tried, and that's what counts.
- A bag of chocolate pillows when you are on lock down for 36 hours
- 24 hour exchange with Sister Batalova! An amazing 21 year old sister from Russia who taught me some great lessons about great leadership
- When your potential investigators become creeps. Ukraine never seems to be out of stock...
- When you hear Sister Batalova brushing her teeth and realize that you are not the only one that hawks when finishing
- Reading through the ancient 15 year old area book to find that humor actually existed in Elders back then. "You would be spending your time better licking your toes than visiting this man..." Thank you Elder. Noted.
- The wave of comfort that you can get from reading the scriptures
- The most AWESOME moment of all! I'm going to just say right off that is now up in the Top 5 highlights of my mission. So one morning as i was saying my morning prayers i prayed for the opportuniy to serve somebody that day. I don't know why, it's not something that i regulary pray for. I guess i was just wanting to see somebody happy, and be the one to help. The day went on, the ususal day full of inactive and former investigator contacting when we came to a large and busy crosswalk right in the center of Brovary. We were waiting for the light to turn green when we i saw that a woman with two children in the back of a very old car were having trouble getting their car started up. It died right there in the center. Now let me tell you Ukrainians are not one to wait around so after a lot of honking cars began to just drive around. The green light for us came on and we crossed, we past right in front of this car and i could see the woman becoming more and more frazzled. We cross the street when i just couldn't take it any longer. So i rip open my shirt to reveal my Super Sister Missionary costume, put on my cape, and go over to this poor panicing mother and knock on her window. Scared the poor woman half to death, but she opend her door and i just said, "Можна Помочь?" (mOzhna pOmach = can i help?) And she just light up and thanked us over and over. So we, in skirts and all got begind that car and pushed it (thank you slightly declining hill for making me a lot stronger and a lot more impressive than i really am) right into a parking spot. I just remember thinking with almost a lump in my throat, "My prayers were answered!" Couldn't even count how many times she thanked us. It was the most amazing feeling to know that you were in the exact place, at the exact time that the Lord wanted you to be. Lesson Learned: 1) THE LORD HEARS MY PRAYERS. 2) PRAY FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE.
- Meeting a babushka on the street and getting hot pink kisses on the hand and sent away with a cookie and blessed posterity
- Winning the battle against discouragement! A daily battle, but sometimes you just got to take things one day at a time
- Having an amazing companion who is not afraid to lovingly kick you in the pants when you're being a butt
- Gaining an obsession for the Book of Mormon. I want to know EVERYTHING.
- Recognizing a difference and strength in your life after receiving a blessing from the Elders only days before
- Actually finding all of the former investigators homes! They weren't home, but hey i still count that as a success seeing how Ukrainians don't believe in numbering or labeling anything around here
 |
| A classic soviet playground |
 |
| Ukrainian housing |
 |
| No there are not little Ukrainian gnomes living underground.... No they are not bomb shelters... |
 |
| They are underground food cellars! Pickles, picked cabbage, if you want it pickled, they got it! |
 |
| A quick capture out of Kiev of the broken down barricade |
 |
| I want to know who contributes the tires? I think i saw a couple "bob carts" in with the mix. Good ol' patriotic babushkas. |
 |
| 24 hour exchange meetings in McDonalds |
CHALLENGE:
For all of your who have received your patriarchal blessing i challenge you to do a study of your lineage! If you're anything like me i promise that you will feel a deeper sense of where you came from, who you are, what is purpose is, and that you are a part of God's plan. Use the index, Bible dictionary, Gospel Principles, church website, and all the other unlimited sources the Church gives to help and guide you. I have yet to find a concern or need in my life that the church can not help me with.
CHALLENGE FOR BEGINNERS: Go onto lds.org and watch the video "Stop it." I have been blessed enough to not have to deal with this sort of treatment, but can somewhat relate as i was one of those "bathroom girls" who found more comfort in the solitude of a bathroom than out in that jungle. I think the main message that we can all learn from today is that bathrooms are the places of all things awkward and awesome. WARNING: Tears may or may not be shed.
Have an amazing week filled with opportunities to serve!
XOXOXOXO
-Сестра Ро
No comments:
Post a Comment