Family,
Well, the cold is finally subsiding. That is a very good thing. It's staying consistently at right around 0 degrees Celsius, and it probably won't get much colder the rest of the season. We survived! I feel like a war veteran talking about it. It wasn't that bad. But it was pretty dang cold.
Along with the change in weather has come a flooding of Ukraine. With water, in case you didn't catch. With all of that snow built up, and the drainage systems in the city aren't that great, all the roads are pretty swamped right now. Oh, Ukraine. You can't make up your mind, can you?
Besides all of that, not a whole lot has happened this week. For most of it my companion was sick. So while he was sleeping I would set up lessons or read or watch church movies. None of those are terribly exciting, but I kept from being bored. We did manage one great lesson with L, though. I don't remember if I told you about him. He's a Nigerian, here for electrical engineering education. Up to now he hasn't been all that serious about all this, kind of beating around the bush. But this last Wednesday we went over there and he had completely changed. He was more at peace with himself and the world, and he had been reading from the Book of Mormon. And he had questions about his reading! He asked about spiritual gifts and how he can receive them. The discussion drifted from that to the power of the Priesthood to the baptismal commitment. He said he had to think about it, but then went on to share his convictions of how what we tell him is true and how great the message makes him feel. Great guy. And a musician too! We talk a lot about that.
On the complete other side, we had one investigator straight up tell us this week that his life goal was to earn a million dollars then commit suicide and leave the money to his family. That lesson did not go how we planned. Luckily, with a Ukrainian paycheck, he's not likely to earn a million dollars any time soon.
I had a surreal missionary moment today. I found out that the leadership in Lugansk (my last area) was changed yesterday, and I called up the senior couple over there and discussed the changes and how certain people and their needs will be accounted for and how each person will fulfill their callings. Then I realized- I'm not even assigned to Lugansk anymore. I never really thought that I would care that much about an area that I'm not even serving in. I guess it surprises me how much I actually care. Interesting.
Really not a whole lot has happened besides that. I'm still in Ukraine. Surprise! Well, I think that'll be about good for this week. Not much to add.
I love you all! Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Brandon Porter
One more thought from one of the letters addressed to family members:
I'm glad you appreciated my thoughts on the Armenia trip. It was a great experience. I thought it was great how effective and useful I was actually able to be. A lot of times out here in Ukraine, we all feel like we're spinning our wheels, digging a hole with a spoon, or choose your favorite metaphor for feeling useless and repetitive. I've had a lot of talks with Elder Smith about that recently actually. Being here, we have to be ready to do great things, and at the same time be ready to have absolutely no results. It's interesting. I love my mission, but I won't lie, it is pretty difficult.
Well, the cold is finally subsiding. That is a very good thing. It's staying consistently at right around 0 degrees Celsius, and it probably won't get much colder the rest of the season. We survived! I feel like a war veteran talking about it. It wasn't that bad. But it was pretty dang cold.
Along with the change in weather has come a flooding of Ukraine. With water, in case you didn't catch. With all of that snow built up, and the drainage systems in the city aren't that great, all the roads are pretty swamped right now. Oh, Ukraine. You can't make up your mind, can you?
Besides all of that, not a whole lot has happened this week. For most of it my companion was sick. So while he was sleeping I would set up lessons or read or watch church movies. None of those are terribly exciting, but I kept from being bored. We did manage one great lesson with L, though. I don't remember if I told you about him. He's a Nigerian, here for electrical engineering education. Up to now he hasn't been all that serious about all this, kind of beating around the bush. But this last Wednesday we went over there and he had completely changed. He was more at peace with himself and the world, and he had been reading from the Book of Mormon. And he had questions about his reading! He asked about spiritual gifts and how he can receive them. The discussion drifted from that to the power of the Priesthood to the baptismal commitment. He said he had to think about it, but then went on to share his convictions of how what we tell him is true and how great the message makes him feel. Great guy. And a musician too! We talk a lot about that.
On the complete other side, we had one investigator straight up tell us this week that his life goal was to earn a million dollars then commit suicide and leave the money to his family. That lesson did not go how we planned. Luckily, with a Ukrainian paycheck, he's not likely to earn a million dollars any time soon.
I had a surreal missionary moment today. I found out that the leadership in Lugansk (my last area) was changed yesterday, and I called up the senior couple over there and discussed the changes and how certain people and their needs will be accounted for and how each person will fulfill their callings. Then I realized- I'm not even assigned to Lugansk anymore. I never really thought that I would care that much about an area that I'm not even serving in. I guess it surprises me how much I actually care. Interesting.
Really not a whole lot has happened besides that. I'm still in Ukraine. Surprise! Well, I think that'll be about good for this week. Not much to add.
I love you all! Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Brandon Porter
One more thought from one of the letters addressed to family members:
I'm glad you appreciated my thoughts on the Armenia trip. It was a great experience. I thought it was great how effective and useful I was actually able to be. A lot of times out here in Ukraine, we all feel like we're spinning our wheels, digging a hole with a spoon, or choose your favorite metaphor for feeling useless and repetitive. I've had a lot of talks with Elder Smith about that recently actually. Being here, we have to be ready to do great things, and at the same time be ready to have absolutely no results. It's interesting. I love my mission, but I won't lie, it is pretty difficult.
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