jakemcgrathmission: Merry Christmas, Part II (Week двадцять)

Hey ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, how was your week? My week was great and as you can tell by the title of my email, it was Christmas part two here in L'viv. Some Ukrainians use the Julian calendar, (I think) so that is why they celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January. So, Merry Christmas! Also, it's pretty different going from zero Christmases in Saudi to two in Ukraine, but hey, I'm not complaining. Let's get started on the week, this was a pretty interesting one. First of all, on Friday, it was transfer calls, and I received my first call! I'm getting a new comp, but staying in L'viv for another transfer. My new comp is named Elder Hill and he's been on his mission as long as my current comp, Elder Baxter, has been out. He's a really nice person and I'm excited to get to know him over the next few weeks that I get to serve with him. Anyway, another different thing that happened this week was that the Ternopil Elders moved to L'viv. Right now, the Ternopil area is a little bit different as we haven't gotten permission to preach there, so we just teach English. They used to live in Kmelnitski and take a train three times a week to Ternopil, but they stopped renting one of the apartments there, so they actually moved in with the AP's and they just go to Ternopil from here. It's pretty crazy now, we have ten people in our district, which is basically a third of our mission. Plus, one of the Ternopil elders is Elder Swasey, one of my good old MTC comps, always good to see him.

Anyhow, one big thing we did this week as a district was go to center and have another big activity. Since Christmas is on the 7th of January, we decided to take advantage of the situation and have another big activity about Light the World and what the true meaning of Christmas is. This activity, like the first one, was SUPER successful. There weren't as many people in center this time, but there were enough. Since there were ten of us at the activity, we were able to talk to more people and we actually ended up getting more numbers than last time. Such a good activity and night, one of the best experiences yet on my mission. One thing that I've learned from both of these big activity's in center is that if we do our part and work diligently to put in our part of the experience, the Lord will do his part. He has prepared people for us to share the gospel with, and I know that that night, we found some of those people that were ready to hear the gospel and learn more about our beliefs. Really just a wonderful experience, and I'm so grateful for all that God did to help us make this one of the best activities this mission has seen!!

Well, other than that, the week was great. On Friday, we went on splits with the Ternopil elders because we had a couple of lessons planned. Elder Swasey and I were actually together and we taught a great lesson about enduring to the end and the importance of Church. Also, it was Elder Baxter's birthday this week so we went out celebrate and eat at this amazing restaurant that was a little bit expensive but also very worth it! Most of our investigators are doing pretty good. One of my favorite investigators, who has a real big desire to follow Christ, is actually on a school break and will be back real soon, can't wait to continue to meet with him and talk more about the greatest message that anyone can hear. I really am enjoying my time here in L'viv and I know that my testimony has grown so much. I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity and I encourage all of you to think about a mission. The mission life is the best life! Anyway, have a great week and thanks for everything!

Старійшина McGrath

Alma 26: 36-37 Read and ponder those verses. They are quite amazing and our Heavenly Father is the very best. Let us all put our trust in him and we will reap the benefits!