Week 26 - 3 Week Recap

Okay the first week I missed: hardest week of my mission so far. We spent the whole week getting dogged, contacting, on the streets and finding absolutely zero success. It was super tough but a huge testimony builder for sure.

LAST week was actually super fun, but my email time got cut super short.

I'll just give some highlights over the last three weeks and let everyone know that I am indeed very living and well and alive.

We had exchanges, and I got to go to my man Ivan's Basketball Game!! It was super weird but super cool. I've had a couple pictures with him. He loves us though. Loves English and America and basketball. I had to play some ball with him at the school! So I took off my suit and untucked my shirt and played with him wearing my dress shoes. I was slipping and sliding but it was so fun. All his teammates were watching and they loved it. They left to the locker room, and Ivan came back out and said "hey, so my coach was watching us play and he says you're really good. He wants you to come train our team every Tuesday and Thursday for an hour". I was with Elder Galmeister that day, and we looked at each other and I just said I'LL BE THERE. haha. So starting in a couple of weeks I'm going to be training a highschool basketball team here in Chernivtsi. Ivan is actually one of our investigators now, and is one of my favorite people I've ever met here in Ukraine by far.

We had a fall party and it was super dope. We had to buy a bunch of stuff for it and this lady yelled at me and stormed out of the party because I forgot to buy garlic, and also I bought a cucumber instead of a zucchini. I ruined the whole party. But it's all good! We are chilling now. The party was super fun. we had homemade pinatas and it was super fun.

We have finally started to find success. We have 2 investigators now and we hope they can progress well.

I collect lucky bus tickets now. They're 6 numbers and if the first 3 add up to the sum of the last 3 it's a lucky ticket. I have a ton of lucky tickets. I guess I'm just a lucky guy.

I went to the biggest outdoor market I have ever seen in my life. I bought a new beanie and gloves and I think I look like a thug but it's okay.

I have forced my self to like mushrooms and I put them in almost everything now. Flashback to me dry-heaving at a sweet old lady's house when she fed us mushroom slip goo. #RIP

This week i'm hitting my 6 month mark! On the 24th. Time hasn't honestly flown by for me and it definitely feels like 6 months or maybe 60 but I'm still loving my time here. The time WILL eventually come when it's time for me to go home, so I'm squeezing as much out as I can from every day.

Elder Galmeister and I wrote a song. It's called g-mail. It's super good. Not really though because we're missionaries and not rappers and super white - especially because it's winter, but it's still funny. We did it for the memories! I just hope my mom isn't going around showing it to everybody. 

We had a family feud game night for English practice and I got to be the Steve Harvey. It was really fun and super funny. 

I tried making Ukrainian blinchiki (pancakes) and I ended up burning all of them and then dropping the bowl of batter on the ground and it splattered literally nowhere else but up my entire suit - so that was really fun. Not.

We had so much fun go-karting last week.

It's my last week here with Elder Likhachiov. He leaves on Sunday at 3 PM, and then it's a new comp after that! We'll get calls on Saturday or Friday and I'll let you know what's going to happen next transfer! This has been a TOUGH transfer so far. Ups and downs with the work, the comp and just the life of a missionary in general. But, HARD is GOOD!! That's how you get tough. It's how you learn. How you grow. I talked about the growing pains of life and it rings even more true on the mission. The hurt is what we start to look for because it indicates progress and growth. 

I've been reading in the Book of Mormon in the Alma chapters. In the book of Mormon there are so many examples of EXAMPLES! The power of the example that Abinidai set for Alma is what influenced Alma to start preaching, and eventually baptize hundreds and hundreds of people. And also the examples of Ammon and Amulek that they set for King Lamoni and his father. Abinidai may have not even known that Alma was present at his prophesy to King Noah, until maybe the very end right before he died, and he didn't live to see the effect that his example had for the people that received his words. Brothers and Sisters, the way that we live and example that we give for other people is one of the most powerful things that we can do. When the way we live and act becomes a testimony and a natural way of life, it influences other people whether WE know it or not. People are always watching. There is always someone who sees your good works, and your not-the-best works. It is so important to let His love "consume our flesh" (2 Nephi) in a way that which we BECOME someone new from the love of our Savior. 

I hope we can all live in a way that we will positively influence the lives of those who surround us.

Have a great week.

Elder Stott

Woah - it's thanksgiving haha. I'll write something next week. too many blessings!! ahh!!!