Здравствуйте (Hello)
Hope everyone is doing jolly!! haha Probably the weirdest thing to say, but I was vibing it. Fun week here in Alekseevka!! It was transfers week and... I'm staying here for another transfer!! However, sadly Elder Molnar is leaving us 😭. We said our goodbyes today as we rode with him through the metro to the drop off point. He's a great missionary, off to continue to do great things. The area he is transferred to is also about a 20 hour journey, so pray for him 😂🙏. Aside from that, as I said, it's been a great week here!!
1. Found a rat going through the garbage, we decided to grab it and bring it home. Picture should be attached))))
2. Elder Hansen attempted to make root beer!! Elder Williams had left some root beer extract, so Elder Hansen attempted to make some root beer!! So we bought some carbonated water from the corner store and he tried it out. He poured in
the root beer extract and didn't think it was sweet enough so he grabbed some sugar and began to funnel it in. Have any of you seen the result of Coke and Mentos before? Because BOOM! The soda EXPLODED all over the table/kitchen haha. It was funny. Root beer
ended up losing all of its carbonation but hey, it was still pretty good!! Don't know if I wanna say it was worth the clean up though lol.
3. We had like six meals with members this week. Saved up fat on grocery money 😂.
4. Met the CUTEST bob on the street while on an exchange, so I HAD to get a picture with her. We were talking to her asking her what brings her happiness and she was like... "EVERYTHING!!" And I told her how much I love her happiness that
it's making me happy!! Then we gave her a Book of Mormon and she blew us a kiss lol. And then she did a little ballerina dip thingy lol. And then asked to hug us!! And then I got my picture with her 😂.
5. We had our cultural activity this week!! We went to this market, which is one of the largest markets in all of Europe!! We got there and It totally reminded me of the black market in China haha. There were even a lot of Chinese people
working there. They had Supreme, Louis Vuitton, vans (you could definitely tell that was fake because on the shoes it was literally spelled, 'Vens' lol). You can bargain for all the stuff there haha. I didn't buy anything this time, but I think we will go back
and get a thing or two haha.
6. Elder Molnar bought me an Englishman hat because he said I just "had to have it and he needed me to wear it home." #makingmems 😂😂❤.
7. Had interviews with President, and a Zone Zoom Conference!!
8. The rat was actually someone's pet lol gotchu!
9. Elder Hansen got stuck in the bathroom for almost two hours, and we had to call our Branch President to undue the doorknob so he could get out 😂.
SPIRITUAL THOUGHT
I had been reading In Alma 14 not too long ago, and this chapter stuck out to me so strongly. Alma and Amulek had been imprisoned for many days, being continually mocked and smitten by numerous judges, priests, etc. They starved them,
wouldn't give them water, and bound them in tight cords. They were told that if they had the power of God, why not just release themselves from bondage? Versus 24 to 26 reads as followed...
24 And the chief
judge stood before them, and smote them again, and said unto them: If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people according to your words.
25 And it came to pass that they all went
forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had spoken unto them the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet.
26 And Alma cried, saying: How long shall
we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction
had come upon them.
What really caught my attention in this were two things. 1. It wasn't until the very last person came and smote them, when they were released. 2. They were released and given strength ACCORDING TO
THEIR FAITH! Note this, they have been beaten for many days, held from drinking and eating, took their clothes so that they were naked, challenged by the people mentally, and not to mention they had just watched some of their people be killed terribly, and throughout all of this, by the
end, they were released by their faith in Christ! How much more room do we have to grow our faith, after seeing Alma and Amulek's faith after severe trials?
Take the example of Peter walking on water. A few steps in, he became frightened from the winds and
began to sink, calling out to Jesus to help. Jesus reached his hand out to him immediately and questioned him why he doubted. Peter literally walked on water, momentary, yet sank due to sudden fear. However, he walked didn't he?! If Jesus said unto him, shortly after such
a miracle, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Then again, how much more room do we have to grow our own faith!
On a side note, this story of Alma reminds me a ton of Louie Zamperini haha (from the movie "Unbroken." If you haven't seen it, go watch it). Reading this, I just remember the scene when he is on a raft in the middle of the ocean in
the midst of a storm and says... "(Lord) If you get me through this, I will seek you and serve you for the rest of my life." I am amazed at what he went through during the war, constantly being
beaten by the Japanese officer, whom they call "The Bird." I have no doubt his faith was one of the things that carried him through this time in his life. Post war times, faith is what healed him through more problems that followed, such as PTSD.
Brothers and Sisters, grow your faith, and according to your faith, miracles will follow.)))
Much Love,
старейшина Вайлд (Elder Wilde)
