Monday 26 June 2017

Chickens, chicken feet and Lyudmila FINALLY:)

Happy 8 months to me today?!? Kinda crazy, I'm almost half way!
Also, Happy birthday Canada this week Yay! Canada is pretty awesome, all the American missionaries poke fun sometimes but I'm sure they're just jealous cause a lot of times when I tell people I'm from Canada, they're way happier than when they say they're from America lolol (not hating though of course I love America too)
This was another awesome week. Sorry for the no update last week... I actually did send one just stupid email didn't work or something:/ No worries though. I am alive and WELL. Everyday is great! It's pretty hot and humid here sometimes it makes me want to lay down in the marshrootka and sleep but other then that we're having a blast. Sister Spicer and I have lots of fun and laugh a lot:) We've also continued to see miracles this week.
Tuesday, We had district meeting with the Pobeda elders and they gave us a gift- Chicken feet!- haha Sister Spicer was in the same district as the Elder in pobeda in Kharkov and they had tradition to give each other creepy presents haha so that was funny. We gave them to the elders in center the next day:) Apparently people usually don't eat them here but they'll put them in broths or something. We met with an investigator Yelena and even though we still struggle to communicate and understand sometimes, the Lord does help us and it all works out in the end and it seemed like she had a greater desire to do what she needed to do to receive the blessings of the gospel in her life.  Then that night we wanted to just drop by some cookies at this cute elderly couple in the branch's house and so we called and asked if we could and then went over and they were super sweet, let us in and we talked a bit. And this sister told us that she was feeling pretty sad and worried that night because she had just learned that their grand daughter who's pregnant was really sick but then we called to come over to give them something and she felt that Heavenly Father was looking out for her and that was an answer to her prayers. Super sweet! I love being an answer to a prayer!
We met with a few members this week. This awesome couple had us over and we had sundaes! We also went kinda far out to a silo (village) to visit a sister that I hadn't seen since Sister Bolingbroke was here (and we petted a rooster) well this time we got to hold chickens!:)
So we have another investigator again this week! Lyudmila is her name, she's the mother of a member Sveta. Flashback again to my first transfer...  when we came to teach Sveta's 7 year old daughter some lessons, she came to the end of a lesson and then asked us when we were leaving "what do I have to do to be baptized?" Then she was busy every time we wanted to meet with her since then! Like more then two months.. but we finally got to meet her this Saturday and teach her! She's on date to be baptized but we might have to make it a little later. Turns out some miracles take a little longer to pan out but they do eventually!
Love and miss you all! Hope you have an awesome week:)
Cестра Хорн

Pics: -Ukraine is beautiful





I actually don't usually have vereniki (perogies) as much as you would think here but I actually had them 3 times this week!mmmm:) And these ones were some giant ones we found in the store!


Chickens






An ant we found on our window sill, carrying another dead ant! Then he threw him off the edge! haha
















Sister Spicer gave me this Russian CTR ring! Choose the right!



Cectpa Olga and her pretty flowers:)






waiting for the marshrootka

picking berries on our way to email today





chicken feet





Yum




Good Cheer

"Hey everyone! 
I hope everyone had a wonderful week as I did! I'm pretty just.. happy:)  Our mission's theme last transfer was " Be of Good Cheer!" and I love that. In my studies I noticed so much more all the many times in the scriptures that it talks about having joy and being of good cheer. It is actually something Christ says a lot. John 16:33
 These things have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peaceIn the world ye shall have tribulationbut be of good cheerhave overcome the world."

Love it! It is a good reminder to know that It's something the Lord tells us to do, He wants us to be happy:) and I usually don't have much of a problem being of good cheer but NOW... I have even less of a problem! Life is good. I LOVE my new companion! She is freaking awesome. So hilarious and we get along so well already it's crazy! She's from Sandy, Utah and is a soccer player. She loves to cook and bake so it's been pretty awesome having meals with her especially because she's also super healthy.We have been running every second morning.:) ( I kind of died, but I'm sure it will get better) We both are really excited to do an awesome work this transfer ( already hoping we serve two together at least) and we also both know how much we need to rely on the Lord and each other with the language and everything here to be able to do it so we've seen miracles already.

The first few days of this week were fun because we got to be a trio with Sister Hendricks ( My supposed to be mom- until I didn't come..awks lol) who is awesome too, while she waited for her trainee to come ( we joke she trains everyone). We had fun together but they're also both really hard workers and we already saw a miracle together. So Sister Hendricks stayed Wednesday too because her trainee's plane was too full, she came a day later and so we were on the street "English contacting" and Sister Hendricks asks the lady walking beside her " Hey, do you speak English?" and she says back with a fairly good accent " How do you know I speak English?" hahah she was surprised but we explained about our free English practice and how we're here to help people etc. and she was so happy to have met us. Turns out she studied English, is fluent in it and is teaching her 3 year old son it as well. And she's also planning on creating a class for mom's teaching their kids English ASL and she said it was perfect that she met us, two young nice native-speaking girls who were willing to come help. She even said it was like destiny! ... You could call it that.. or the hand of the Lord!:) So yeah, now that we're not teaching English anywhere (the elders teach in the center) we have an awesome finding opportunity already! 

Also we even have a girl we're going to start teaching because the elders passed her over to us and we made friends with her at game night.


 We all have the most amazing and loving Father in Heaven who loves us all SO much!! So grateful.

Love y'all have a good week:)

Cectpa Horne




Great times with sister Savran before transfers.












From tiny to Scary!

Monday 12 June 2017

JOY, TRANSFERS and Everything!!!

HELLO Everybody!! 

SO many things to say. And not so much time (because I still am not the best at managing my time lol oops) but mainly it has been an awesome week full of big events!

So first off on Tuesday we had Zone Conference which is always a good time! We have two elders in my districts who are both going home like today and they gave their farewell testimonies and made me cry! Elder Balyas and Oman: They're both from Ukraine and seriously so hilarious and awesome and I've become good friends with both of them in just a short time. Gonna miss them:/ but they said they'd probably visit!

Then we had exchanges in Zap with the STL's which is always fun! 

Then on Thursday Sister Joy D. Jones came to Dneper and there was a big conference. She is the General Primary President of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you might remember she came to the MTC when I was there and she's a great speaker and I could just feel the love she has for the kids here. Elder Katcher from the seventy also came and spoke and he also brought all the kids up who wanted to serve a mission and gave them a dollar to remember their commitment. It was so cute because this one girl Anya, from our left bank ward, I saw her after she met Sis Jones and she was SO happy she was crying it was So cute. She's adorable and is gonna be an awesome missionary.


OK Here's the BIG NEWS!!! TRANSFEEEEERRS were this Saturday and... I'm getting a new companion! And we're going to have two sister companionships in Dneper again! 

So Sister Savran and I will be splitting up..:/  which is a bummer because being with her for the last two and a half transfers we've become good friends and I've gotten used to serving with her, We've had our ups and downs but I love her and I'm gonna miss her! I'll still be able to see her often though. She'll be in the Left bank ward with Sis Busath and I  will be serving in Pobeda and Center wards with ... Sister SPICER! She seems super cool, I've only met her a couple of times, ( in the MTC actually! ) she's only been out on the mission for one more transfer than me- 2 in Ukraine - so this will be interesting! We are both fairly new and I still don't know hardly any Russian (although I had noticed my understanding has been improving! ) but you know what? I have faith. And I know it's all gonna work out! Somehow. haha. But with the Lord on our side we can do anything right? ya. I'm excited!

I'm going to miss all the members and investigators here in left bank. And also the amazing view of the city I got to see almost everyday from the bridge on the Marshottka!










Elder Larry S. Kacher and his wife Sister Pauline Kacher


Sister Joy D. Jones - General Primary President of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS 


Monday 5 June 2017

Water snakes and sala!

Hello Fam!
Yet another interesting and fun week here in Dnepro! We had a fun p-day last week where our friends took us on a roof of an abandoned building. Super cool and had a good view! Don't worry it was safe and legal :) We also tried  finding an activity where we played Frisbee and blew bubbles and drew with chalk in a park and it kind of worked because while the kids were having fun blowing bubbles I got to talk to a really nice mom who may have not been very interested but I got to practice my Russian and give her a pamphlet on the family. This P-day was also fun because we had a Nerf gun war with the elders! haha good times.











We did a lot of service this week which is always good, and it feels good to help the members here. We also visited a member and his non-member wife and their daughter who is disabled at their home in a silo and it was really cool, they had a goat and chickens and ducks. We went by the river for lunch and in just a couple minutes we found snails and oysters. We caught a frog and saw a bunch of water snakes! Freaky! And we saw one catch and kill a big, black fish.  
I also tried sala finally! It's this Ukrainian food that I've been warned about but it's really not that bad, it's just basically salty fat haha"

Also funny story, we were in the park teaching the rest of the Plan of Salvation to Marina the other day when this guy comes by, sees my scriptures, is like" Luke" Hey are you guys missionaries? What church? You're Mormons? Are you american? haha I was like no I'm Canadian, Where are you from? And he was from Edmonton!! Apparently he was just there on vacation. It was a little bit strange because we didn't get to talk much, he hurried off, but asked to take a picture of us first. lol Canadians, am I right? ;)




Love you!