Week 40 - UZHGOROD

First Week In Uzhgorod!

Well, my first week in my newest city has absolutely flown by. Being in a trio of missionaries makes the work so different. So far, I'm absolutely loving it. Being with Elder Wonson again has been super fun, and being with Elder Mangum for the first time too has been an absolute blast. We're working super hard in this new city, and finding a ton of success already. We're ALWAYS laughing and having the best time, while getting it DONE on the streets and meeting with people.

First things first, Uzhgorod is the prettiest city that I think I've ever seen in my life. Each time I go to a new city, for some reason it's my new favorite. It's super different from Chernivtsi, but I almost like it better. Chernivtsi was really old and the architecture was super dope, but Uzhgorod is a way smaller city that seems more 21st century. The grocery store here makes me feel like I'm in America. It's called DASTOR. It really is da store. We spent way too much money when we went there. Our apartment is super super nice, especially because there used to be 4 elders in this city and now there's only us 3. So we have all of the things from 2 apartments in our own. There's tons of room and it's probably my favorite apartment I've been in. The closet space is a little crazy with all 3 of us, but it's for sure manageable.

"I Love Uzhgorod"

Killer sunset against a castle

The first day here, we were getting Elder Mangum's luggage that he had shipped through Nova Poshta, and when we took the taxi to get there, we got there, and still had 45 minutes to wait for it to open. We asked the driver if they would be willing to stay and wait, and we paid a little extra and all sat there in the car, waiting. As missionaries, you know we had to get to work!! We had time on our hands where someone couldn't really say no to talking to us!! We ended up having a 30 minute gospel conversation about the Restoration. After that, Nova Poshta opened, so we went and got Elder Mangum's stuff. We drove back to the apartment, and the driver waited for us to go and get a copy of the Book of Mormon for them. That was our first new investigator in our new city!! Her name is Vira, which means faith. She had a super strong desire to find the truth in her life, and we're hoping to meet with her later this  coming week.

Church was super interesting. It was the smallest congregation I've ever been in. It's too small to be considered a Branch so far, but we have what they call a "group". There were 15 people, and they are all awesome. We had 2 investigators at church and a new reactivation of a less active member who has recently started coming back to church regularly. I gave a 30 minute talk in Sacrament meeting. I really enjoy our group so far. Our goal in our companionship is to build this Group into a Branch by the end of this transfer or the next. We know with a surety that we can do it if we keep working our absolute hardest.

My personal studies this week have been absolutely amazing. I'm focusing on trying to read and study just as much as I ponder and record impressions and inspirations in my study journal. I'm almost done with Luke. There are a ton of verses and chapters that have hit me pretty hard on a spiritual level. Through reading the scriptures, and especially through reading the 4 Gospels in the New Testament, finding out more about the way the Savior lived, and the fact that He was able to overcome and accomplish all of the things that He did, has truly given me a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him as my personal Savior. My favorite verses from this week are from Luke 6. After He had called His apostles, He was performing miracles in the multitudes around Him. Verse 19 points out that "the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all". The fact that multitudes of people were surrounding Him constantly, and that He performed miracles of healing one after another, people began to desire to simply TOUCH Him, because this virtue naturally went out of Him. They knew that through being able to just touch Him was enough for their diseases and afflictions to be taken away.

Christ gives us the perfect example of the kind of person we should strive to be. He lived the only perfect life that this world has ever seen. If we apply this verse to our own lives: What interaction do people want with me? What radiates from us as individuals? What effect do we have on the people that surround us? Jesus Christ was such a man that the way He lived and obeyed His Father's will literally changed the lives of those who surrounded Him. His sacrifice on our behalf is such a miracle that we can feel this change in our own lives time and time again. Every single thing about who He is and what He did changes the lives of not only those who lived in His mortal life, but for every single person who has ever lived, and who has yet to live, in the entire universe. I know that it is because of Him that we are able to find peace in such difficult and tough times. 

It's kinda weird being in a district where your companionship is the only missionaries responsible for preaching the Gospel in a whole entire city. But it adds this sense of urgency and responsibility onto our shoulders that is a little bit different than what I have felt beforehand. There aren't any more "areas" in a city where your companionship is assigned to. You truly have the WHOLE city to watch over, take care of, and get to work in.

Honestly I think right now is the happiest that I've been on my mission. I'm SO excited for this transfer, because our trio is SO awesome, and there is just so much potential here in this little city. There are a ton of tough things about this city, especially the fact that we are in walking distance from multiple borders, which means a TON of languages here. Not a lot of people speak pure Ukrainian. There is a lot of Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Polish, and even Carpathian language, which is basically just super old Ukrainian that people in the mountains still speak. It's really fun to be hearing all these different languages, but it's reallyyyy  tough to understand some people. I'm gonna start to study more and more Russian as my Ukrainian gets better and better.

I've been out for 9 months this week and I can honestly say that time is CRUISING. I never expected time to be going this fast on my mission, or even fast in general. Especially after my super long and super tough adjustment to a new lifestyle, language, and country, I finally have found that balance of stress that keeps you busy and inclined, but that isn't overbearing.

We have SO much work to do here in Uzhgorod, and i know that the Lord has BIG things in store for the work in this part of Ukraine.

This coming week is my dad's birthday!! Shoutout to you pops for being the best role model a son could ask for. I'm so thankful for my dad and an opportunity to be able to better understand our Heavenly Father's love and relationship that he has with us through the awesome relationship that I have with my own dad. 

Hope everyone has a solid week!

Godspeed,

Elder Stottchik

My new favorite tie

On the train again