Ukraine week 37: Snow day

Dear Family

So I don't know why this was sent on maceys email but I'm going to sent it to her back and you too mom because who knows what happened.

I'm glad the chickens are Finlay laying and just in time for Easter. Q. Do brown eggs make good Easter eggs I know green ones do but what about brown ones.

Well this week was going to be a regular week with some hick ups here and here cause of transfers but everything basically went out the window. 

So Monday was good we went over to this older Lady's house and her grand daughter lives with here they are both really strong members and really nice and Anton the return missionary was there too fixing their wifi so we all had a really good lesson together.

Then Tuesday came around and we had planned to go into Kiev to have district meeting and yeah got a text at 6:30 in the morning telling us that it would happen latter that week so we didn't know what to do so we winged it. Also something cool this week is I finished the old testament finally. I started about 4 transfers ago and haven't read very consistently until these last 2 transfers and man sometimes the old testament is boring and then great it just depends on the book. We also as a mission are starting to read the book of Mormon 8 pages a day so that will be good but its sort of stinky cause i wanted to read the new testament, and finish Jesus the Christ together but that will have to wait.

Then Wednesday we found out that our district leader is getting a short term missionary who is native and so that is cool andwe had a lesson with one of our investigators and he was drunk and told us he didn't want to change so that was really sad but life is ours to choose what to do with it. If only he knew who bought us and how easy it is to take advantage of his gift.

Then Thursday we finally had district meeting and the weather was awesome like +10 C so that was awesome but for some reason we keep having false springs and elder Vernon said that we would have a blizzard soon as a joke but he would have held his tong if he knew what was about to happen.

FRIDAY!!!!!!!  the blizzard hit and it hit hard so we started out with contacting to the church in the snow and everyone refused us cause it was really cold. We then got dogged and then weekly planned and then back out into the blizzard and by that time the snow was up 2 feet and we had to get back to the church so we took the long way to get there safe. We got to  our meeting at the church and shoveled the way and the wind was blowing hard and then elder Vernon thought it would be fun to walk through the blizzard in the park and yeah so we did and by that time the snow was 3 to 4 feet deep in some places and so in our nice pants we walked through the blizzard and that was way fun.

Saturday we had a cool day with missionaries planned with the stake in Kiev and with the young men and we got outside and there was like 4 to 5 feet of snow all over everywhere and no snow plows just tractors so they are slower so we tried to hitch hike there but no one was driving so we told the elders there that we couldn't go, and it was OK because only 2 young men showed up so we decided to shovel people out of the snow and that was fun.

We found this little old lady shoveling some snow at this apt. building with a wooden shovel and so we helped her and then out of nowhere like 10 other guys caught our service bug and so we cleared the whole parking lot place and that was fun the guys there were funny and one guy once he found out that we were from our Church he knuckle bumped me and did in the name of Christ and that was weird but funny.

Then Sunday came and we had branch conference and no one came cause the snow was still really bad but we were there and shoveled the whole parking lot again and then we cut church short cause the plan fell through having stake people come because of the weather so we came home had lunch and my back really started hurting so I put on my back brace and took it easy the rest of the day and now I'm much better.

So that was my week full of cataclysmic snow storm it was fun

Love Elder Naumann

Week 36:The Last Temple

Dear Family, 

Well this week has been a good one with Transfers and Temple and Interviews with President and No sickness well on my part, that's good right.

So first this week we have been getting stuff ready for transfers cause we didn't know weather we would be getting white washed or what cause new mission and all. As we started this week we had the prospects of going on exchanges and I was stoked cause the guy I was going to be with is going home in a week. That didn't happen.

English was good this week or I should say the first one on Tuesday but we weren't able to be here on Thursday so who knows what happened on Thursday.

On Wednesday we went on exchanges but not with the guy I wanted to be with, But with our zone leader in our area, cause lets just say a sick week full of 0's and a space heady district leader gets you a rescue trip from the zone leaders so yeah that was fun. Me and elder Christensen went together out to a lesson which went well but the man who we were meeting doesn't want to stop drinking and his wife begs him but he doesn't change so its really hard to help someone who doesn't want help. We also went to the only less active members we have met with ever and they have some mental issues so they don't really understand why they need to come to church but that was fun.

Thursday came and we were planning the whole day to be in Kiev but we started out being together at the church with the district leader and the zone leader and they left but brought back a former investigator ( we didn't know ) He was quiet and had read the book of Mormon so that was cool and then we found out on Saturday that he was this crazy guy who calls us all the time saying he is on the walk.... in really bad English so yeah. We taught him the first lesson and then we left to Kiev to have interviews with president and those were great he is awesome but took us 2 hours to get there and then we went to the temple for maybe our last time cause it wont be in the mission so that was a really good trip with 4 total hours of travel.

Saturday we got dogged twice but that wasn't the best part. We met with a man named stepan and we met him a month ago and he was way way cool like a 60 year old man always in a nice suit and with a cool hair dew and we met for another 2 hours and it was awesome he is so elect but really busy so cant meet for another 2 weeks but that was a really good thing cause I think he has potential.

Well the rest of the week was boring except the transfer info which was really uneventful cause we are staying and that's really rare to be 3 transfers with one comp. but not really cause this next transfer is only 4 weeks and that group is huge and then the next group after that has a huge group leaving and a huge one coming in and the missions will be fake splitting so that's crazy. 

I didn't get your package yet but maybe this next week cause we went in on Thursday and it wasn't there but mail gets in on Saturday so maybe on Tuesday i will get it. Oh something I also forgot to thank for is the pen kyle its the best thing I have I love it thanks.

Well I'm glad everything is warm there cause its still cold and I'm glad Josie got in advanced woman's choir and happy birthday Josie you are sooooo old crazy. get better dad and I'm glad to hear everything is well. 

Love Elder Naumann

Ukraine Week 34: sickness

Well I'm really sad to hear about the news of Lori and her grandson and I feel that those kind of experiences are really hard and I'm praying for Lori cause all things are for a reason and it may be hard, but we need to remember that the lord doesn't forget about any of his sheep and he is taking care of all, especially the lost ones. 

This Sunday I had to describe the prodigal son and it was interesting to do it in Ukrainian but I remember the savior describing to the Pharisees on who the man who forgives debts loves more and the one who has the most forgiven. This life isn't the end there is a chance for all of us to make it home I know it.

So like I told you last week we went and visited this family in a village and the husband was sick and we spent like 2 hours at their house and you guessed it that was enough to kill us both.

Last Sunday Elder Vernon was sick and then Monday and then Tuesday and so well we didn't do much but I let him rest and did some home business like phone calls and organizing and that was good because then Wednesday he wasn't too sick but like usual with two people living/ doing everything together, I got sick so on Wednesday we worked on this English project at the church so we didn't have to do much and then off to a fun member who's granddaughter looks like an actress from the walking dead so that was funny and we gave them an ax also fun an funny story well really only to missionaries so I wont tell it but lets just say missionaries had it in a different area.

So then Thursday came and I was really sick and Elder Vernon was sick again too so that was poopyand so we stayed in until English and English only had our member there so we watched the ces devotional in English and he didn't understand much.

Then Friday and Saturday was basically all inside cause I got really sick and being sick and having chocolate and candy from America doesn't make you a skinny person so lets just say kyle all the candy is gone but that's OK that's what its for right so yeah thanks for that again kyle. 

Really the only highlight from this week was District meeting where the whole district surprised me and made me a cookie and brownies and that was funny cause I brought brownies too cause this other elder had his birthday on Saturday and so we had lots of food. But it was really nice everyone remembered and I got some phone calls from other missionaries wishing me a happy birthday but yeah good stuff.

Oh something else cool was we had this genealogy activity at the church and I was surprised on how many people showed up, like 25 and I was expecting like 5 or maybe 10 but it was cool and we had food and we talked about how barley they have gotten the websites in Russian and if any of you remember PAF, yeah they all still had that so they are just sort of in the stone age but they are getting better and so that was fun. 

Mom don't make fun of us boys we like sticks OK and when we spend like 10 hours cutting them we need to do something productive with them.... And that's way cool you get to come to Europe, do you want to visit me. I recommend not to do that Ukraine isn't that exciting do something like go to Germany and cool European countries like that.

OK I know I look Like I'm swimming but that's OK because I'm a really good swimmer and its not hard to walk around all the time and swim. Yes getting my stuff tailored is an option but I don't know where here in Bovary I knew of like 20 places in lviv to have it done and I hear that its like 2$ to get a suit done so maybe sometime soon. 

Well i love you all and I know the lord is watching over you while I'm gone so know that zombies cant get to you because the lord will wait until i can save you all. 

Elder Naumann