Mariah, week 47, Poltova

When your hair is longer than your shorts -- you have a problem.

It suddenly got hot here in Poltava during the past week. Well, maybe not as hot as it is in Laredo, Texas right now (I'm guessing that it's starting to brim the 100 F mark everyday now?) But it's been 30-ish Celsius almost everyday for the past week... and it's not a dry heat like it is in Texas. It's this foreign nasty humid heat that I totally forgot about and am not used to at all. #help All I know is that I'm in dire need of some summer-approved skirts and shirts because the clothes I will probably die/melt with the clothes that I have right now.

In other news: the internet cafe that I'm in right now smells like Trix cereal! Oh how I miss those rainbow fruit cocktail-ey tasting cereal balls... I've been getting some blasts from my American past this past week. There are so many perks of being a companion of Sister Patterson! Her family sent her peanut butter in the mail a few transfers ago and I've totally been indulging and taking advantage of the peanut butter that is in the cupboard. Her family also sent her a box of Mexican food and we've been slowly working our way through the box's contents. A few weeks ago, we made salsa!!! WHICH WAS SO GOOD AND HEAVENLY! And this week, after I made some homemade tortillas -- we made chicken fajita tacos... and I seriously don't even know how I'm alive right now. I thought I died and went back to Texmexican heaven...

But enough of that. This week was really fun and eventful. (I'm actually trying to keep track of all the adventures we get ourselves into so I have something to account for at the end of the week heheh.) Our week was filled with crazy heat, crazy football/soccer fans, crazy amazing people who we met off the street and even a crazy random almost-hurricane rain storm (not joking). BUT TODAY IS SISTER PATTERSON'S AND MINE (MY/I's) 11-MONTH MARK ON OUR MISSION! We're going to be celebrating the day by going to McDonalds and baking a cake (from a boxed cake mix) with our favorite member. :3

HOORAY FOR TEMPLE TRIPS! This week was the Dnepropetrovsk Mission's turn to go to the Kiev Temple! So all/most of the Poltava branch, as well as church members in other cities in the mission, were gone for the week for a spiritual vacation! It was kind of sad for us missionaries (because the members who were most likely to help us out on lessons were gone for the week) BUT it was so cool that they got to go and make the trip up to Kiev!! It's so admirable that most of the people here don't have a chance to go to a temple very often because it's so far away. They take time out away from work and school to be able to go to the temple for a week and do special sacred saving ordinances for their ancestors. The more time that I spend here in Ukraine, the more heroes I have. The members of Церковь Иисуса Христа Святых Последих Дней (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in Ukraine really do have a strong, special testimony that is one of a kind than anywhere else in the world. I've heard so many different amazing conversion stories and heard so many rock-solid testimonies that I won't dare question them.

So once upon a time there were two big rival football teams. These two teams were from Kiev and Kharvov and because all the political nonsense that's going on they decided to come play in the little town of Poltava. 

SNAP I ONLY HAVE LESS THAN 2 MINUTES LEFT!!!!!!! jarekljerjklwjrkwejrwkl I can't finish my e-mail. But to close -- I love my mission and my time here is so precious. But my message is so worth it and I can't wait to share it with all of Poltava!

xoxo Sister McCrea