Week 70 - My Trainee, Elder Howard

This week was SO GOOD!!!

Not a ton of time, so here are more highlights.

I got to go to Kyiv to pick up my new companion Elder Howard from West Bountiful, Utah! He's fresh out of highschool, having graduated in June of this year. Blows my mind that he was born in 2000. He goes 100% in all that he does here, and has so much potential. For the 2nd time on my mission, I'm the shorter companion, and I look like HIS trainee wherever we go. But I'm still trying to teach him everything that I know!!! I've already learned so much from him though.

Seeing the temple in Kyiv was amazing. When all the trainers from L'viv were on their way there near the mission office, the second I saw the temple from a ways away, I subconsciously started walking SUPER fast and almost jogging to get there as soon as I could. I had to keep stopping and wait up for the other missionaries to get there. The second I stepped on the grounds, I just was so filled with the Spirit and KNEW without a doubt that this temple was truly a house of the Lord. I just kinda stood there and "beheld" it and tried to soak it all in. It's been over a year since I've even SEEN a temple in person!! I can't wait to have the opportunity to go back and do a session or two at the end of this transfer for our follow-up training in Kyiv. Kyiv was awesome, too, of course.

I had a couple of interesting conversations with people in Kyiv the second we got to train station, including getting hit on by a middle aged woman on drugs who kept looking at and commenting on my butt. I was 10% flattered and 90% creeped out, but a funny experience none the less. Especially translating the whole conversation to Elder Howard, who had no clue what was going on.

We had to of course hit up the traditions with the trainee. He LOVES slamming, loved my Borscht (score!!) and EVERYTHING that we've tried so far. Except the classic Holodetz (meat jello).

What's not to like?

Elder Howard, ready to Slam It!

Made pancakes and homemade applesauce

We're SO BUSY and that's SO GOOD. I'll have a ton of stuff for next week's letter I think. We're gonna get grinding right off the bat!!!

We had 10 of 19 people at church that were non-members!!! SO MUCH potential. Elder Howard got here just in time to see all the miracles that are happening everywhere around us. We are already neck deep busy this week with meetings and service and finding activities and stuff like that, so it's gonna be a great week of learning for both of us, but especially for Elder Howard.

Also, I threw in the towel on trying to avoid studying Russian on my mission. I broke and started from the very beginning yesterday. It's only to understand people here better and speak a little bit for fun for all my friends and missionaries in Eastern Europe after the mission. We'll see if and where it goes. I can only understand the main sense in what people say, but I hope understanding them won't be such a barrier by the end of my mission.

Speaking of time on the mission, today is my 16 month mark!! 2/3 of my mission has absolutely FLOWN by. Gotta make the most out of what little time I have left. It blows my mind to sit back and think of the fact that all that I've done so far on my mission, I have HALF of that left to do on my mission and then I'm back in the states.... So scary.

I started a deep study of Jacob 5 this week, and it's going GREAT. There are things in every single verse that we can squeeze out if we just take the time and let the Spirit teach us things that we need to know and hear, and most importantly, REMEMBER!! That's why I try to write down almost just as much as I read. A lot of my study time is spent writing and thinking, almost just as much time as I spend reading and studying the actual scriptures. Reading it is half of the battle! The other half that is just as important is DOING something with it. I recommend truly starting and putting EFFORT into a study journal. That's where so much of the actual learning comes from.

Have a good week!! Love you all!

Elder Baxton's last shashlyk :(

A typical study session

1st American Pizza in 16 months....DOMINOS - pretty much the Celestial Kingdom

--

Elder Dillon Stott

Vul. Yabluneva 1

S. Sofiivska Borshahivka

Kyivska oblast 08131

Ukraine

Week 69 - Super Good. Super Busy.

September 17, 2018

Hey fam. This week was super good. Super busy and probably the fastest one on the mission. Until next week at least when I'll say that that one was the fastest. Just some highlights from this week in K-town:

We taught English at a boarding school that ended up being like 80% girls. They were kinda obsessed with us, but it led to our English Practice and Game Night being huge hits! And 3 of them came to church on Sunday!!!

We got super bashed by some random Evangelist dude that came up to us. He went on for 40 minutes straight about how we were idiots that believed in Joseph Smith the antichrist, and how there was a special place in hell reserved just for us! Basically that was just a rough moment that we ended up being able to laugh off. Some other unfortunate things happened right after that moment too, and we got hated on by a lot of people during our chalk drawing activity. Turned out being a super good day though!!

Transfers came and I found out that I'll be staying in K-town and getting another son!! I'll be training here one of 2 incoming missionaries! I will find out who it is after I go to Kyiv to pick him up and be there for the synthesis/orientation! I'm stoked to go to Kiev.

We had a dope miracle on Sunday where 50% of the people at sacrament meeting were nonmembers and investigators!! We have a new investigator that we met this week too, and they're the first family that I will have ever started to teach on my mission. It's going to be so awesome!

This week has just flown by, and it's gonna be super sad to see Elder Baxter go home. This has been one of the best transfers of my entire mission, and I've learned a ton from him. One of the best things about the mission is the people that you meet and serve and especially serve with. There are so many things that you learn and pick up from other people.

Have a good week!!

Cool barber shop

New haircut!

--

Elder Dillon Stott

Vul. Yabluneva 1

S. Sofiivska Borshahivka

Kyivska oblast 08131

Ukraine

Week 68 - Flying Mice and The Death Train

September 10, 2018

Hey fam.

This week was pretty normal, super busy.

We did exchanges in Rivne and for 3 hours we helped this Sister from Ghana shop for her mission! After 3 productive hours, we left the mall with a pair of jeans. I just hope this isn't a foreshadowing for my future.. We had to be there though because Elder Cook (who I was with) is in the Branch Presidency and they used the branch card, so we got dragged around a mall there in Rivne.

When we were gonna take showers in Rivne before we went home, there was a mouse in the tub. So we caught it but then ended up not knowing what to do other than throwing it out the 3rd story window of that apartment... I'm 65% sure that it landed in dirt and grass and flowers. But that also means that there's a 35% chance that the mouse sky-dived its way straight to the Spirit World. 

We spent some more time in Ternopil this week which was really good (except that always means riding the death train). Next Sunday we're doing a Ghanaian food night with the 3 members there, and we're super stoked.

At sports night, a lady made a special trip just to give us homemade honey, so we make a lot of super tasty tea these days.

The work here is going really well and we're constantly super busy with all kinds of things pertaining to missionary work.

Love you all!!!

When she thinks she can up-sell her noodles but you know Ukrainian better than she thinks you do

Elder Baxter's parents freeze-dried these sandwiches and sent them to us across the world

"Medicine Sausage"

Flower pics for our moms

A Thanksgiving celebration...go figure

My first (and last) experience with a Bible basher

KVAS - Not beer ;)

--

Elder Dillon Stott

Vul. Yabluneva 1

S. Sofiivska Borshahivka

Kyivska oblast 08131

Ukraine

Week 67 - What a Sick Week!

September 4, 2018

This week, Elder Baxter and I were sick. It started out as just him, then both of us, then just me. Not just sick, but destroyed sick. It spanned for about 5 days. Because of that, I have essentially nothing about this week. Tried to sleep it off, but sometimes I just couldn't because my body hurt too bad. But it's all good - I'm alive and well.

It was a good week nonetheless, and we were able to go to Ternopil on Sunday. Church was super great there and we had 2 investigators show up! It was a good place for them to be. The Spirit was really strong.

P-day got moved to today for us because of a day-long trip to a castle in Kamyanets-Podilsky. I took a bunch of pics. I've been there before - it's a lot better in the summer than winter, I think.

I actually, in a way, TRULY enjoy getting sick. I think I've been sick for maybe 5 days of the year so far, and that's a small price to pay to help me remember how much of a blessing having a physical body is. We all can always take for granted what it's like to be able to have moving and working limbs and to be able to enjoy so many aspects of this life simply because we received a body. It's one of the biggest gifts that our Heavenly Father has given to us!

Have a good week!

Some old and new friends from Chernivtsi

--

Elder Dillon Stott

Vul. Yabluneva 1

S. Sofiivska Borshahivka

Kyivska oblast 08131

Ukraine