Mariah, week 61, Zaporozhye

my new companion is Sister Blake. she's from a small town in Utah and she has 7 brothers. she's the only girl.

we're so cool :3
LOVE YOUUUUU

Mariah, Week 59, Poltava

#that moment when your mission president knows that your mom keeps a blog for your missionary adventures  

                                                                                                                                                  Jul 14                                                                                                                                                                           

Well. Today is the start of week five of my eighth transfer. To be honest -- that's dis-gusting! WHERE HAS ALL THE TIME GONE?!! I've literally only got three more transfers left. And okay, nope. Nope. Totally not going to be talking about that anymore. Topic change.

So, my week. Thanks to Elder Fuller's inspired direction as our district leader, we've been doing a lot of member work during the last few weeks. Something finally clicked in his/our brains after reading Chapter 9 in Preach My Gospel, that maybe, just maybe -- working with the members a little more than we had been doing in the past is the key to being able to strengthen our relationship with members and building up their trust in us (keyword: trust!), help teach members how to do missionary work, and to be able to have members entrust us with their precious friends and family members who are open to hearing our message! That's our end goal. We're two weeks into this goal, and so far... no immediate fruits of our labor yet. We actually hit a wall. But something that Elder Fuller shared with us yesterday in a quick, impromptu district meeting, hit me. He shared a verse in Jacob.

And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day. -- Jacob 1:19

As a missionary, there is a responsibility that comes with wearing a black name tag with Christ's name on it 24/7 for 18 to 24 months. I have this quote written in my Preach My Gospel -- "With great power comes great responsibility." (quoted from Peter Parker's uncle. And if you don't know who Peter Parker is... Google it.) Every person that we walk by on the street, be it if we talk to them or not, or every investigator that we have. As a representative of the Lord in Poltava, Ukraine, I have a sacred duty to teach the people of Poltava the word of God. I took up the responsibility to answer for the sins of the people here, and help them correct the traditions of their fathers. The Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Church is so strongly deeply rooted in the people and culture here. As the Lord's missionaries in Ukraine, we're having to push and fight against hundreds of -- if not thousands -- of year old traditions and rituals. Satan is real, and his power is real. He's has done a wicked job at twisting sweet, simple doctrine of the Lord's gospel and using it to lead away innocent people from the truth.

But I have a testimony that this is the Lord's only and true church. Through a modern-day prophet, He has restored all of the truths and principles that we need to have in this later day to live and be able to return to live with Heavenly Father in heaven. And I know that the Book of Mormon is evidence of this restoration.

The book is blue and the church is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sister McCrea

Mariah, week 52, Poltava

Hedgehogs, adventures to the сило, and 101 investigators.


Hello world. I'm not dead! Promise! Oh man, this past week has been crazy. It's felt like I've been on two totally different sides of my physical and emotion spectrum as a missionary. Oh, the life of a missionary. Как жизин у меня есть. (What a life I have.)

So pretty much a bajillion and five things happened to Sister Patterson and I this week. Which in a quick summary, included eating fancy at a fancy~ish restaurant, petting a wild hedgehog that a drunk man caught in a park (apparently hedgehogs are native to Ukraine?). I FINALLY learned how to read Ukrainian (there are a few letters that sound different in Ukrainian compared to Russian). Zone Conference happened last Monday, hence why our P-day was on last Saturday... which, to be honest, kind of threw off the rhythm of our week... but Zone Conference was good. It had a really big focus on contacting and finding families... which is my mission's new focus. We don't go out to contact anymore. We go out to teach street lessons and find families to meet with. So far this focus has treated our area very well because we've found five new ladies to teach this week... Granted, we haven't been able to meet their families yet -- but only time will tell!!

Um what else... On Friday, Sister Patterson and I spent the early afternoon in the сило (you say it like Cee Lo Green -- except without the Green) which means "village"... and boy are there ever villages in Ukraine. Villages are where almost everyone and their dog goes out to during the weekend to take care of their доча -- their country house -- where they grow all kinds of vegetables and fruits and just to be frank, being out on the village is like living out on the farm. It's too cool out there. N'waay so we went to one of the villages outside of Poltava to visit the branch president and his wife. I think it's pretty safe to say that they were one of the first members of the church here in Poltava. They became members 15+ years ago. Сестра H. is the branch's historian and has the whole history of the Poltava branch -- every single baptism, almost every single anything that has happened in Poltava, she has pictures of it. It was so cool to flip through the three thick binders of the history of the church in Poltava. They were such good hosts. They fed us feast of samples of delicious Ukrainian food... and afterwards, Сестра H. took us around their farm and gave us all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables! 

Fresh carrots and onions! Score!

Seriously though!! Fresh fruit and vegetables is something that I'm seriously going to miss about Ukraine. At this time of the year in June, there are people lining the sidewalks selling their goods -- fresh cherries, berries, onions, dill weed, cucumbers, and x-number of other kinds of veggies and stuff. And it's dirt-cheap compared to how much someone would pay for fresh produce back home. Fresh strawberries grown without pesticides for 14 грн (about $1.25) for a kilo? Deal!

Sorry, America -- but Ukraine wins this one.

And I dunno what else that Ukraine has brought to Sister Patterson and I this week. Plenty of things, I'm sure... but my time's almost up. So... testimony time! I know my Savior lives and I feel His love for me everyday. Everyday that I'm here in Ukraine, I'm slowly starting to come to recognize how this is His work -- not my work. I am just an instrument in His hands. And the church is true and the book that I am here to give a chance for everyone here in Poltava to read is awesome. If you don't have a copy of the Book of Mormon... let me know and I will do what I can to make sure that you have your own copy and you can read and know for yourself what I'm talking about.

And that is all. TTFN

xoxo

Sister McCrea

Mariah, week 48, Poltava

I have 101 stories to tell this week and only 30 minutes to tell them.

Okay so ready... GO!

Monday, after internet and shopping for food necessities, Sister Patterson and I met with our favorite member of the Poltava branch and ate at McDonalds! (Yes -- they have McDonalds in Ukraine.) It was my... 3rd time? maybe? eating at a Ukrainian-ized Micky-D's. Just so you know, it's waaaay different than a McDonald's in America. Everything is Ukrainian-ized English -- which means that everything on the menu is spelt in Ukrainian, but if you sound it out, you say something that sounds close to "chicken nuggets" or "McShake". It's sooo funny! I didn't get a burger... but I just couldn't leave without having a good, classic American chocolate shake and fries. 

Fun fact: Ukrainians don't like sweet and salty things together. The member who went with us to McDonalds made a face as Sister Patterson and I were both enjoying dipping fries into our shakes and eating them. We actually got her to try it herself, but she wasn't a fan. Oh well... she'll be converted someday!

This week was also a legendary moment in the history of the Dnepropetrovsk Ukraine mission. For the first time ever, President van Bruggen and Sister van Bruggen (my mission president and his wife) hosted the first ever Sister Missionary Conference! It was so fun to meet all the sister missionaries again, sisters that I hadn't seen for a while (LIKE SISTER SUMMERS WHO WAS IN THE MTC WITH ME AND I HADN'T SEEN FOR PRETTY MUCH OUR ENTIRE MISSION!) and new sisters who I hadn't gotten a chance to meet yet. 

The meeting though was so good! It was a solid 6+ hours of spiritual learning conversation with President and Sister van Bruggen, Elder Lichtenburg and Elder Krook (the APs) and all 19 sister missionaries of the mission. 

-- Sister Patterson, Sister Summers, Sister Meyers, me, Sister Garff -- we were all in the MTC together! -- and Sister Merishinchenko (who just wanted to be in the picture with us haha)

And that's pretty much all the time I have for this week. Just know that this next week is going to be crazy because Sister Patterson is off in Estonia on her visa renewal trip... which means that I'm with a different sister -- Sister Frank. And since her companion, Sister Esplin, is also off on her visa trip, we're going to be taking care of both of our areas -- which just so happen to be 4 or so hours apart from one another. Yup, so half of our week will be spent in Dneper Left Bank and the other half will be in lovely Poltava. So stay tuned for the adventures that will happen to us this next week!

And okay I literally have <2 minutes left. So enjoy this verse that I liked this week from Alma 5:7.

Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an ever lasting destruction did await them.

BYE EVERYONE!
xoxoSister McCrea

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

Mariah, week 46, Poltava

#exchanges

Greetings from a shady internet cafe! :D I am currently sitting on a chair which seat isn't connected/bolted to the chair legs and typing on a keyboard with keys that stick, doesn't work well and feels... really gross and nasty feeling. :|

I don't even know. All I know is that I'm def gonna be in dire need of some hand-sanz after this. And after my mission, I don't think I'll ever step foot in a gaming internet cafe again! :) I probably won't make it out of here today without contracting some kind of contagious airborne viral disease or something. #ukraine4thewin

Anyway! All is well in Poltava, Ukraine. Hopefully the weather is done being weird and bi-polar. There has been days where it's raining and cold (like in the 10's Celsius) and then the next day is fully of sunshine and wonderful 20-degree (I think that's like 70-ish degrees in Fahrenheit?) weather. 

But lol like I'm really going to be talking about the weather this week. THIS WEEK WAS... GREAT. Kinda. Sister Patterson and I have been hitting the streets hard everyday this week, on the search for new investigators. And thanks to Sister Petersen (our lovely Sister Training Leader) who came to visit us from Kremenchuk this week, we were able to pass out seventeen Books of Mormon to seventeen lovely people. Which, if my memory serves me correctly, is a record for me in a week. But enough of my bragging.

This week... or yesterday, I was able to talk with my mummy and daddy! On Skype! (Thank you technology!) Which was -- if I can be honest -- the weirdest thing ever. Forget the fact that that will be the last time that I'll actually be able to talk with them before I'll be back home come Christmas. (I haven't got my 6-month call, so I'm not 100% completely sure yet.) Anyway, it was so weird. But I didn't cry. #phew  And Sister Patterson and I had a chocolate pancake feast with some peanut butter (SHOUT-OUT THANK YOU TO SISTER PATTERSON'S FAMILY!!!) which was a good way to top off the day.

So this week's picture is of the Ukrainian version of the classic American campfire dessert -- the S'more. How do you make this said Ukrainian Смьор? Easy. 

1. Find yourself some delicious Dominic chocolate-backed cookies and marshmallows (only found at your local neighborhood АТБ).
2. Light the fire. Or if you're in Ukraine, light your stove.
3. Pull out a fork and stick one of those lovely marshmallows on that said end of the fork.
4. Roast that baby to your liking and heart's content, and be sure to have a Dominic cookie at the ready.
5. Once your marsh is nice and toasty, slap it on the chocolate side of the Dominic and ENJOY!

                                 

This week's spiritual thought is from Alma 5: 26-27

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? 

Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?"

So what do these verses mean in the mind of Sister McCrea? Well, first, these verses are going out to all those people who are already members of the church. When Alma's asking "can you feel so now?" he's basically asking, "Do you still have strong testimony? Can you remember why you know the church is true?" Then he goes on to saying, "have you been taking advantage of the Atonement of Christ? Have you been repenting and trying to strengthen your faith?"

And that's what I want to challenge everyone who reads this message to do. Where does your testimony stand? Where is your faith? 

I know that the message that I share with people here in Poltava is true. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't. And I type these things in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN!

xoxo 

Sister McCrea

Mariah, week 45, Poltava

We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father

I read this General Conference talk during personal study a few months ago and this topic -- of remembering that I'm a daughter of God -- has been on my mind a lot lately. And even though this talk is directed towards young women, I felt inspired to share it with you all. xoxo

We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father

BY ELAINE S. DALTON

Recently Released Young Women General President

---

As daughters of God we are each unique and different in our circumstances and experiences. And yet our part matters—because we matter.

  

Every week young women all over the world repeat the Young Women theme. No matter the language, each time I hear these words, “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him,”¹ the Spirit affirms to my soul that they are true. It is not only an affirmation of our identity—who we are—but also an acknowledgment of whose we are. We are daughters of an exalted being!

In every country and on every continent, I have met confident, articulate young women, filled with light, refined by hard work and trial, possessing pure and simple faith. They are virtuous. They are covenant keepers who “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.”² They know who they are and that they have a significant role to play in building the kingdom of God.

When I was in college, I was a member of the BYU International Folk Dancers. One summer our group had the unique privilege to tour the missions in Europe. It was a difficult summer for me because a few months earlier my father had unexpectedly passed away. While we were in Scotland, I felt especially alone and became discouraged. We danced at a chapel that night, and then after our performance we went next door to the mission home. As I proceeded up the walk, I saw a stone placed in a well-kept garden by the gate. On it I read the words, “What-e’er thou art, act well thy part.” At that moment those words went deeply into my heart, and I felt the powers of heaven reach out and give me a message. I knew I was known by a loving Heavenly Father. I felt I was not alone. I stood in that garden with tears in my eyes. “What-e’er thou art, act well thy part.” That simple statement renewed my vision that Heavenly Father knew me and had a plan for my life, and the spirit I felt helped me understand that my part mattered.

Later I learned that this saying had once motivated the prophet David O. McKay while he was serving as a young missionary in Scotland. He had seen it on a stone on a building at a discouraging time in his life and on his mission, and the words lifted him. Years later as the building was being torn down, he made arrangements to obtain the stone and had it placed in the garden at the mission home.³

As daughters of God we are each unique and different in our circumstances and experiences. And yet our part matters—because we matter. Our daily contributions of nurturing, teaching, and caring for others may seem mundane, diminished, difficult, and demeaning at times, and yet as we remember that first line in the Young Women theme—“We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us”—it will make all the difference in our relationships and our responses.

Recently my magnificent 92-year-old mother passed away. She left this mortal existence as she had lived—quietly. Her life was not what she had planned. Her husband, my father, passed away when he was 45, leaving her with three children—me and my two brothers. She lived 47 years as a widow. She supported our family by teaching school during the day and teaching piano lessons at night. She cared for her aging father, my grandfather, who lived next door. She made sure that each of us received a college education. In fact, she insisted on it so that we could be “contributors.” And she never complained. She kept her covenants, and because she did, she called down the powers of heaven to bless our home and to send miracles. She relied on the power of prayer, priesthood, and and his divine role will be reflected and perhaps amplified in your daughter’s attitudes and behavior.

What is that part we must all “act well”? The family proclamation is clear:

“By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. …

“We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”⁶

In the decadent society of Mormon’s time, he lamented that the women were robbed of that which was most dear and precious above all—their virtue and chastity.⁷

Again I renew the call for a return to virtue. Virtue is the strength and power of daughters of God. What would the world be like if virtue—a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards, including chastity⁸—were reinstated in our society as a most highly prized value? If immorality, pornography, and abuse decreased, would there be fewer broken marriages, broken lives, and broken hearts? Would media ennoble and enable rather than objectify and degrade God’s precious daughters? If all humanity really understood the importance of the statement “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father,” how would women be regarded and treated?

Several years ago, as this Conference Center was being built and nearing completion, I entered this sacred building on the balcony level in a hard hat and safety glasses, ready to vacuum the carpet that my husband was helping to install. Where the rostrum now stands was a front-end loader moving dirt, and the dust in this building was thick. When it settled, it did so on the new carpet. My part was to vacuum. And so I vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed. After three days my little vacuum burned up!

The afternoon before the first general conference in this beautiful building, my husband called me. He was about to install the last piece of carpet—under this historic pulpit.

He asked, “What scripture should I write on the back of this carpet?”

And I said, “Mosiah 18:9: ‘Stand as [a witness] of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.’”

In an extremely challenging world, that is what I see young women and women of this Church doing. They are an influence for good. They are virtuous and exemplary, intelligent and industrious. They are making a difference because they are different. They are acting well their part.

Years ago when I was vacuuming this carpet—trying to act well my small part—I didn’t realize that I would one day stand with my feet on the carpet under this pulpit.

Today as a daughter of God, I stand as a witness that He lives. Jesus is the Christ. He is our Redeemer. It is through His infinite atoning sacrifice that I will one day return to live with Him—proven, pure, and sealed in an eternal family. I shall ever praise Him for the privilege of being a woman, a wife, and a mother. I testify that we are led by a prophet of God, President Thomas S. Monson, and I am grateful for righteous men, whose and I am grateful for righteous men, whose priesthood power blesses my life. And I shall ever be grateful for the strength I receive through the enabling power of the Savior’s infinite Atonement as I continue to strive to “act well [my] part.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mariah, week 43, Zaporozhye

CHRIST HAS RISEN! A week late! Yay!

Whoops so I was totally supposed to send this e-mail last Monday but I didn't get to finish it but... so here I am sending it a week late. Whoo-ho!

So. "Христос воскрес!" That's basically what Ukrainians say instead of "Happy Easter". So when people yell "ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕС!" to you on the street, they're yelling "CHRIST HAS RISEN!" at you, which you can just reply with a "ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕС!" right back.

Fun culture fact about Ukraine: The Ukrainian Easter holiday is called "Pasca". Instead of Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny, Ukrainians eat "pascas", which are like tall, sweet bread cakes with sprinkles on top. The Pasca holiday is usually spent with family and lots and lots of food.

-- Delicious right? Pffh yeah it totally is (It's super good with tea!)

Hey world! So another fun fact! I'm not in Zaporozhye anymore! Haha...  yeah! I'm in Poltava. I got transferred... today actually. President van Bruggen told me that I was getting transferred Saturday evening, and told me that I needed to be in Dnepropetrovsk by Sunday evening, and then Monday morning, I'd be taken up to the great ol' little town of Poltava. With my new companion... Sister Patterson! :D Who, believe it or not, was one of my MTC companions. Yeah, so I was totally companions with Sister Meyers, who I was in the MTC with. And now I'm with my MTC companion. All these MTC memories have just been coming back to me. Talk about a BLAST FROM THE PAST!

Anyway, so Poltava's apparently a quaint little town, two hours north of Dnepropetrovsk. (Feel free to look up and see where Poltava is at on Google Maps or something haha.) But yeah, I've only been here two hours and it seems like a cool city. It's just been a lot to take in, all so quickly. I just can't wait to sleep for an hour or two after we go shopping after Internet. So much has happened during the past few weeks... it just feels like a whirlwind and I don't even know where to start.

Whoops. Just got the 5 minute warning... so I guess that I don't have much time to try and search for a scripture. So I'll just end with a simple testimony. I know that this church is true. I love that I have the opportunity to have my testimony of the church grow every time I talk and share my testimony with someone on the street. I'm glad that I have the chance to give Book of Mormons out like candy to the Ukrainian people... AND THAT'S IT FOLKS. WRITE ME AND I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER. 

xoxo

Sister McCrea

Mariah, week 41, Zaporozhye

Hello world.

 Because I basically have less than 10 minutes left, this week's letter will be short.

During the last few days, I've been taking to liking a new scripture theme for myself for this transfer. It's from D&C 64, verse 33: "be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

Out of the small efforts that I make everyday -- to try and talk to everyone that I see on the streets, to talk the people who I sit next to on marshootki, to visit and strengthen the less-actives in our area -- out of remembering to do the little things, starts a great foundation. As a missionary, I have had a bad habit of just going from day-to-day, trying to do my hardest, but I just haven't felt satisfied at the end of the day. Just incredibly exhausted. And sometimes I forget to do the little things. But after I found this scripture during personal study on Friday, I am doing all that I can to ingrain this scripture into my daily missionary work. Not just so I can look back on my mission and feel satisfied with my work. I'm also starting to realize that all that I do as a missionary, it will relate to real life when I get home and I don't have to wear a missionary tag 24/7. I need not to be weary in my well-doing, because I am laying the foundation for my life. The skills that I'm developing now as a missionary will help me in the future. And because I will not be weary in my work -- the Lord will bless me and my efforts. "I, the Lord, am abound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." I have faith. And more importantly, I have the faith to be able to act on this small amount of faith that I think I have.

And that's the moral of Sister McCrea's story of missionary service this week.

In other news, the weather is really bi-polar in Ukraine. I'm talking about one day it's near freezing and within a few days, it's warm and sunny out. Like today. :) Today is beeee-U-tee-ful!

And to close... with a classic missionary testimony. I know that the message that I am sharing with people here in Zaporozhye Ukraine is true. If it wasn't -- I wouldn't be here. I haven't had a chance to watch General Conference yet, but I know that the Lord is leading His work on the earth today through His prophet, Thomas S. Monson and his apostles. I know that the short, but sweet, 18 months that I am able to spend here in Ukraine, spreading the good news is the closest that I will ever get to knowing what it's like to be an apostle. And I can't believe that my time is already halfway over. I don't ever want to leave! But I am grateful that I am able to consecrate my time and efforts to the Lord. This is all for Him and the salvation of my heavenly brothers and sisters. 

Love you all!

xoxo 

Sister McCrea

Mariah, week 40, Zaporozhye

Hello all :)

Yesterday was a great Sabbath for me too. Over the last couple weeks, I've been working harder on trying to pay more attention to the sacrament and what it means every week and stuff. And this last Sunday was the first time where I actually felt like I renewed my baptismal covenants. But alas, I haven't watched the Women's conference yet... I don't think I'll have time to watch it in English, so I'll just have to wait for the Ensign GC edition come out in a few months to be able to read them. 

I had a good birthday. I didn't really tell anyone until the day off -- well, I told Sister Meyers the night before. But she did a good job of telling everyone that it was my birthday the next day. The elders in my district even went and bought me a cake and sung "Happy Birthday" in Russian to me. It was grrrreat :3 

But as for all the political hooflah that's going on in Ukraine... I have no idea. We're not kept very informed on what's going on. The only news we hear are from members in the branch and the people we talk to on the streets. But yes, don't worry. I'm sure that all the members and missionaries are safe. President van Bruggen has had us start to keep a week's worth of food storage in our apartments in case we have to stay in for a while or something. And they're having members start to keep a 3-month's worth. Nothing big. Just usual things that LDS members should be doing anyway to stay prepared. 

BUT YAY! Reading by chapters or pages -- do whatever you need to do. I want to be able to finish reading the Book of Mormon one more time before I go home too. I started reading it again at the first of March and right now I'm in 2nd Nephi 10? I think? I'm not sure. SCRIPTURE POWER! :D

And thank you for your testimony. and I'm glad that you support me. I'm not sure what I'd do if you didn't... 

Love youu :)

Mariah, week 39, Zaporozhye

Hello world!

This last week (on the 19th of March to be exact), I hit my 9-month mark on my mission. Which means that as of now, my mission is more than half-way over. I've been on my mission for more time than I have left -- if that makes sense. Which I'm not quite sure how to feel about that.

But alas... Today also just so happens to be the first day of a new transfer! My sixth transfer! Start of a new transfer means the start of a mew missionary planner! Whoo-ho! And the official start of the reign of Sister Meyers and Sister McCrea over the Zaporozhye Right Bank area. All hail.

I love the start of a new transfer. To me, they are like the start of a new season. Which is kind of a coincidence because Spring just so happens to be right around the corner. I am totally loving this warmer weather.

AND OH MAN. Not any time left. I just wanted to end with a scripture that I read this morning during personal study:

Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.

Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.

-- 1 Nephi 22:11-12

The Lord is making His gospel known to everyone on the earth. There are over 80,000 missionaries all over the world doing His work and spreading the good news. We as missionaries are helping bring these people "out of darkness" so that "they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer". I'm so glad that I get to spend this time, this short, precious 18-months serving my Lord, Savior and Redeemer. I know that and my testimony of this grows everyday. Missionary work is hard, but it's worth it.

xoxo

Cectpa Makpeй

Mariah, week 38, Zaporozhye

Snow in March?

 What even?? Just when I thought that the weather in south Texas was weird, just wait until you experience the weather in Ukraine. One day it's nice and warm, the sun is out and it feels like you don't even need a jacket; and the next... it's cold, gloomy and below freezing. Ukraine y u so dum?

Anyway. This week has been a roller coaster. Tuesday, I said a bye to Sister Nielsen. Naturally, it was a sad parting. But all is well. We're going to hang out for a month and watch all the movies together when I come home.

[Sister Gottscheck (who went home with Sister Nielsen), Sister Meyers, Sister Nielsen, and I.]

My new companion is... Sister Meyers! Who was actually in the MTC with me! She's such a cool kid, and I'm so glad that I get to spend the next six weeks with someone that I already (somewhat) know... Although, in all honestly, Sister Meyers is not the Sister Meyers that I knew in the MTC. She has grown spiritually so much, and I feel so lucky to be with someone who has such a strong testimony of the message that we are trying to share with everyone in Zaporozhye, Ukraine.

Sister Meyers is helping me re-look at the way we try and find investigators. Through our efforts, we've actually found a family this week, who turned into three new investigators. The mom is really nervous and anxious about all that is happening in Ukraine right now. I was so glad though, that the Holy Ghost was working through me and I was able to tell her about the story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty. I know that The Book of Mormon is true and it can totally apply to any everyday thing that happens. Ahh! And I'm running short on time. 

To end, please enjoy this picture of me and a cat!
 And what the inside of a (nearly empty) tramvie in Ukraine looks like!

xoxo
Сестра Макрей

Mariah, week 37, Zaporozhye

Happy Woman's Day!

To all the women, young women, girls everywhere: "с праздником!" This last Saturday (March 8th) was Woman's Day in Ukraine! (Which is sort of like Mother's Day in the United States.) 

People selling flowers, balloons and ribbons lined the sidewalks; people were carefully walking everywhere with flowers clutched their hand. The weather is starting to feel nice, and if I remember right, the sun was out. It was a wonderful day. The brothers/men from the Zaporozhye Branch had a little party planned for all the sisters/women. Brother Yuri, who is quite the little poet, even wrote a special poem for the occasion! President Valenten ("Willy Wonka") brought out chocolate bars and handed them out to all of the sisters who were in attendance. And afterwards, there was торт (cake) and чай (tea), which were both delicious. 

All throughout the day though, people wished Sister Nielsen and I "с праздником!" and poured all these blessings of health, happiness and love over us. Even little boys wished us a happy holiday, which most of the time was SO CUTE! One little boy even perfectly rolled his "r's". It's so crazy to think that four year old children have a larger Russian vocabulary than me. 

Anyway. In other news... MY COMPANION SISTER NIELSEN IS GOING HOME THIS WEEK!!! :'''| sad face

Because of the crazy political hoo-ha that's going on in Ukraine at the moment, six native-Ukrainian missionaries who are serving missions in Russia, are being transported to our mission. Which means, to make room for these missionaries, six missionaries who were supposed to be leaving in the next two transfers, are going home early. And Sister Nielsen, who only had one transfer left, just so happened to fall into that category. It's sad to have to see her off and leave one transfer early. And in such short notice. But it's been an eye opener. 

This week just so happened to be my in-country 6-month mark. I've been in Ukraine for six months, and I have no idea how that even happened. People say that once you've been in-country for six months, you finally start to have a grasp on the language. After six months, you actually start to understand what people are saying. I have no idea if I can say that I have a grasp on the language and I understand what people are saying when they are talking to me. When I first got into country, it felt like everyone was speaking Japanese... but now, I can proudly say that I translated (from Russian to English) for someone, and I'm honestly actually starting to feel comfortable here. 

I can speak Russian. I can do this.

But back to what I was saying before. The time I have to spend on a mission is so short and precious. I only have eighteen months to serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind and strength. After a zone conference that happened this week, I have a new motto for my missionary work. "Become the lioness." I've always considered a lion to be my patronus, my spirit animal. It wasn't until something that one of the APs (assistant to the president of the mission) said during one of the practices that really got my brain thinking. As missionaries, we need to stalk our prey. (Prey as in, the people we contact.) We don't have a lot of time in the day to just talk with everyone that we see on the street. As missionaries, we need to be guided by the Spirit to who to talk to. The Lord knows who is ready and who still needs some preparation. And we need to be in tap with the Spirit to know where to go and who to talk to. 

And that's all folks. My internet time has run short. And to close, I just want to leave you all with an awesome quote from the Great and Wonderful Sister Nielsen.

"And the brother of Jared was like, 'move mountain!' and it moved. And I was like, 'whoa!'"

Thank you all for your support. PRAY FOR MY INVESTIGATORS!

-- Sister McCrea

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Mariah, week 36, Zaporozhye

BUT THE LORD'S MISSIONARY WORK CONTINUES ON!

First off, I'd just like to give a big, ole huge 'THANK YOU' shout out to everyone who has said that I'm in their prayers and whatnot. It means a lot.

But please, don't bother worrying about me! Everything is fine in my part of Ukraine. I mean, we may have had to stay inside all day on Friday. And the missionaries that are in those problem areas in the Crimea, which is the southern part of my mission, were moved to northern areas of the mission, like Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye. (One of the missionary elders that was transferred here to Zaporozhye was even in my MTC district! Elder Hepworth! :D He's such a cool kid.) But all is good in the hood. The church leaders are doing their best to keep in the loop as to what's happening and what not, and are making sure that they keep us all safe and that the Lord's work still continues. If anything, all that's been happening here has given me a stronger more solid testimony of the hastening of the Lord's work. It's happening before my eyes. A few years ago, I don't remember member missionary work being such a huge deal like it is now. My mission president has made it known that the time that we spend on our mission isn't a time to be a tourist or to waste time doing non-missionary things. There isn't anything, be it weather or political problems, that will keep us inside, unable to do missionary work. All of our time and effort, be it 18 months or two years (for elders), is to be devoted to spreading the good word. I love being here and the time that I get to be a missionary. My time to be able to wear a black nametag with Christ's name on it is so small... 18 months?! It's already been 7 months. My cousin who is also serving a mission has already hit her half-way mark! CRAZY! fjkajjerw I don't want to go hoommee!!!!!

In other news: 

• Like I said, the missionary work in Ukraine continues. And the weather is improving. It snowed last Monday. But today, I don't even know why I'm wearing a hat and scarf.
• I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the first time, cover-to-cover, on Thursday. I started in July or so... and I made a pact with myself this last week to finish by the end of February. And I did.
• I've been reading Jesus the Christ on and off since I was in the MTC. I'm on chapter 13 or 14 now and it's just awesome. Awesome.
• Sister Nielsen is starting to blossom into a good little cook. She's been blessed all of her mission to have companions that can cook, including me. But she made a brownie cake last week, which was really good. We ended up giving half of it to our neighbors because we're trying to get to know them.

I hope that this e-mail message calms and reassures all those who are feeling uneasy about all that is happening in Ukraine and my and the other missionary's here safety. To quote the lyrics of a great pioneer hymn, Come, Come Ye Saints: "All is well, all is well." 

Thank you all, and please keep praying for my investigators and the work that is progressing here. 

Пока!

Sister McCrea