Week 20 - A Basketball Miracle and The Slam

This week was SUPER good.

Last Monday we had a super big service project. We went out to a village and painted a house from 9-5. This whole experience was a HUGE mess of miracles all around. I'll start from the beginning. We were on splits at the bus stop, waiting to go to the Celo to paint this house. While Elder Sanders and I were waiting, we were just talking and this dude walks up and is about to get on one of the buses. He heard us talking, looked all confused and said, "Yo, y'all from America?" I was SO HYPED. We talked just a little bit.  His name was Ike. Later that night, we were planning to go play basketball with our friend Juda we met like 6 weeks ago (I wrote about meeting him). I felt a prompting to invite Ike to meet us to go play basketball. I ran up to his bus and said "Yo Ike! If you're want to play some ball tonight, meet us at the fountain in the center at 7! It's gonna be sick!". He just said, "Oh y'all are hoopin? Aight!"  I reached out for a handshake but his bus door closed on me. I was super sad we didn't get his contact info or anything else. I just hoped that he would come!

We got to the house and painted all day. My patience has never been tested so much. All the time we were there, the 5 year old son thought I was a bad guy. Non-stop, this little dude was punching, spitting, spanking me (how humiliating), yelling, throwing sawdust...you name it and this little guy was doing it. I survived despite my quarter-life-crisis with a 5-year old. After we finished up, Elder Sanders and I left a little early to head to the fountain! The father drove us down the huge hill to the bus stop. While we were in the car, I realized that I didn't have the keys to our apartment, and we didn't have time to go back up and get them from the other Elders. I was SO mad. And we were running late. We got on the bus, figuring that Elder Sanders could loan me some shorts. Halfway home, he checked his pockets. No keys, to either apartment. I was devastated. I brought my basketball shoes on my mission for this exact moment and I BLEW it. We got to the center with 10 minutes to spare. We sprinted to 4 different sports shops, and second hand stores. Closed, closed, didn't have shorts, didn't have shorts. YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!! We waited, sadly, ohhhh so sadly by the fountain in my painting clothes. I had to face it. I was about to play basketball in paint pants and tennis shoes.

We see Juda walking up with someone else! Another guy. I ran up to greet him. I made eye contact with him, his friend, back to him, and then did a double take. "Ike?! What's up man! Wait. How do you know Ike, Juda?". Juda says, "I told you I had a brother didn't I?" THEY WERE BROTHERS! 6 weeks ago we met one. That morning we met the other. Literally the coolest guys out there. I explained to them, ever so shamefully, that I had no clothes. They just started talking. Ike had shoes, Juda had shorts. We went to their apartment and they hooked it up! We went and played some INDOOR basketball for the first time. I was rusty at first. The best moment is when I told them to dunk, they did (they're like 6'3 and SUPER athletic) and then I did right after them. They LOST it. We were even closer from that moment. And just like we learned from General Conference, there are no such thing as simple "coincidences". Heavenly Father is very much involved--even in the smallest details of our lives. What an awesome experience. I'll have to get a picture with them. After we played ball, the University was locked up, so we had to go under a gate, throwing our backpacks over top. Felt kinda sketch. But here I am. 

On Tuesday we went and talked to the big lady (status-wise, not size) of the University and we're waiting on some paperwork to be able to start up the club there! Super excited. At our own English class later that evening, we had 63 show up!! Blowing any old numbers out of the water. Was so fun!! On Wednesday we held a little get-to-know-Americans at a different university. It was a smaller one, an all-girls one. It was super fun too.

Thursday, we went to the tower building in the center of Ivano. One pic is from the bottom and the others are from the top. Super fun!! We ate at a burger place.. let's just say I miss Red Robin. It's just not the same!! haha.

Friday through Sunday consisted of watching General Conference in English, then Ukrainian. It was so good. Next week I'll have to attach all my thoughts. I still have some to watch, and lots of things to think and ponder about. What a great experience it was though.

One of my Conference sketches

This next week will be our mission conference in L'viv. I'll get lots of pictures. 

Have a great week! Serve someone!

Elder Stott

Some Ukrainian food pics: The first 3 are the SLAM experience with Elder Lukach. The smaller packages are these chocolate-covered wafer cookies. They have holes in one side, so you bite a tiny bit off the opposite side and then use them like a straw to suck milk up into the cookie from your bowl.  (that's milk in the bigger bag). Then you microwave it and kind of mush it up. It is so good. Respect the Slam. The last picture is a take on soup and salad. Enjoy :)