Four Months!

Temple visit with Vika

Another slow week and not much to write about.

We had exchanges this week here in Rivne. I was with Elder Kovolyav, he is from Eastern Ukraine. Awesome missionary. The funny thing is his family lives here in Rivne. So we got to stop by them and share a thought with them and eat! Super cool experience.

We had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Kyiv on Friday and attend the temple with the branch! We didn't think we were going to be able to go but we got permission because our recent convert Vika was going for her first time. It was an amazing trip. Surprisingly we had 17 members attend! We also got do work for the member's really close family. All of the old ladies brought ordinance cards with them and we did the ordinances for their fathers and brothers. It was SOOOO cool!!

On Tuesday we had our game night. Since Elder McGrath and I both love golf, we set up mini golf course around the church. It was super fun! They go into it but we don't know if they really understand how golf works. They were pretty much playing hockey. Even though we were using hockey sticks we explained they cant hit the ball again until it stops but I don't think anybody actually did that.

Elder and Sister Andrus, a senior couple here, came out to Rivne to do inspection. They are an awesome couple, such wonderful people. They took us to lunch and left us with some cookies and some other goodies. They also came to church yesterday with us and thank goodness because Sister Andrus plays the piano so I didn't have too. The down side is I had to do so much translating. I honestly just made stuff up sometimes because I had no idea what they were saying. But it all worked out!

Mini golfing with the members

One short thought! I was reminded of a scripture that I love at the very end of the Book of Mormon: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God." I love this scripture! I love how at the end of the Book of Mormon it is again just inviting all to come unto Christ and deny yourselves of ALL ungodliness, then, and only then, is His grace sufficient for you.

з Любов'ю,
Старійшина Матуа

Me and Elder McGrath at the temple

Lunch between temple sessions

My favorite member family in Rivne, Polischuks

A member said he would give me one...if I wasn't a missionary

For dinner we made pancakes and buttermilk syrup