Pictures from Poltava

Priviet!

I'm still doing great and please keep praying that we can find those who are looking for the truth.

Sorry but I don't have time to write a weekly letter this week but here some pics from last week:

Love you!

So we have been asked to make this blog private so if you would like to have access to view the blog please send my dad your email and he can add you to the authorized readers.  Please send your request to john.horne@shaw.ca.  Being on the list will probably make it so you can see the pictures as well in the future.

Saw Elder Gersimov who just got home and is from Kharkov! He was my past DL in Dnepr and then he later was Face Timing Elder Miller who was also my past DL.

We matched for zone conference:)

Made sushi for the first time!

Had vegemite!

Ahhh (resend)

Hey so craziness! cause of trying to fill out university application and whatever so sorry about this blog post being so short ! but this week was great! loving Poltava. We actually got to go to Kharkov this week for zone conference which was awesome and made me just want to go out and make the world a better place but here's an awesome story for ya:

Miracle happened yesterday!! So we had just got on the bus and Sister Woolley sat down across from this nice looking older couple and said hello as she sat down, I paid and then did the same thing. I felt like I should talk to them. I complimented their matching Russian hats and asked where they got them. Then later I still really felt like I should keep talking to them so I asked about directions, and explained that we were new here. He then asked why we were here, I told him we were missionaries. He asked more about us and we had a good conversation. Sister Woolley and I both felt so good about them the whole time and didn't have any fear. I wasn't even scared when I got the prompting that I should just ask them if they were interested in hearing a special message of Jesus Christ (preface I usually would be and I don't even ask that cause it's normally not effective but..), so that's what I did! And then he said yes! I feel like I almost knew he would, even though that has never happened to me before. We got his number before we had to get off and he said we could meet up some time!

Love y'all!!

Had some really good Korean food yesterday from a friend of the elders ; Yum!

Sister Horne

LOVA POLTAVA ..lol

Hello! 

Here we are!! ( David Cook reference anyone ?;) )

SO.... I got my greenie this week! I'm so blessed to have Sister Woolley as my new comp, she's awesome! We're having fun, and she has a sweet Australian accent:) 

I have noticed that I have been blessed with more confidence and less fear when it comes to talking to people or calling people for example. I have also seen blessings of the gift of tongues more abundantly too, which is awesome. Yesterday I ended up having to translate for President and Sister Sullivan in church for the first time! Once in Sunday school and also in relief society and then even at the end of relief society when Sister Sullivan said a little something to them (it is harder from English to Russian let me tell you ) 

I am loving Poltava already! The branch is so great! They haven't had sisters here since last may! So they are all super happy we're here , and are friendly and welcoming. There are a few really cool youth here so it's nice cause even on our  second day we already have friends! Especially a girl named Ira who Sister Condie (MTC comp ) actually taught and baptized when she was here exactly a year ago! And she's working on filling her papers to go on a mission :) super exciting. There's also a super cute girl named Daya who is 15 and wants to be baptized but her parents won't let her but she still is basically an awesome member to us and helps out all the time.

One small (but pretty big in my eyes aha ) miracle was that on Saturday I felt like we needed to deep clean our apartment, cause the first few days here we needed to do lots of settling, no one had lived in the apartment for awhile and the elders cleaned it before we came but... it still needed some work. So we worked hard and then it was so funny cause right as we finished, sat down and were about to study, Sister Sullivan called asking if she could come over now to inspect the cleanliness of our apartment! phew! The Lord can help with EVERY aspect of our lives folks! Just listen to the still small voice:)

I didn't get to see it but I know that the funeral of Pres. Thomas S. Monson was this last weekend. I just want to say how much I loved him, he seriously was such an amazing example to us all of true Christ-like love and charity. He was always "on the Lord's errand" following the promptings of the Spirit to bless the lives of others and lead and guides Christ's church. When he spoke I could feel his love and I could feel through the spirit that he truly was a Prophet of God. It's sad that he won't be with us but I'm happy that he gets to be with his wife again, who you could tell, he loved a lot.

Meeting my new companion, Sis Woolley from Australia

TRANSFERS!! crazy big news coming at you..

Well hello!

Alright, so not too much time today cause it's transfer week .. but first I'll just give a quick summary of the highlights of this week. Mainly it was an awesome weekend! Saturday we got transfer calls from president in the morning..  I started packing then, had a couple of really good meetings, one with a babushka member and one with the mom of a recent convert who has been looking into the church, a meeting with our branch president and then a fun game night. unfortunately forgot to take pics all day:/

Sunday was great. We had  fast and testimony meeting. I bore my testimony, and said goodbye. I really have come to love this branch and the members here, they're really great. After church we went to an older lady's home in Aleksevko who is confined to her house and not all there but she is the cutest thing and LOVES to sing and so sang Ukrainian folk songs to us. Then we went and caroled to a family close by and talked with them. Then an awesome member family invited us over for (Ukrainian ) Christmas dinner, with the elders. It was so great. Delicious food, including "kootya" which they traditionally only eat at Christmas. 

Okaaaayy I'll tell you the big news now!! hahah sorry for keeping you waiting! (I guess unless you just skipped down here first aha) Sooo you know I'm leaving but I bet you didn't guess I'm going to  ...  POLTAVA!! and.. I will be TRAINING!!  yup. Isn't this some craziness? Oh ya and get this, her name is Sister Wooley and she's from Australia! Cool eh? Sorry some mission talk again: I'm white-washing and having an australian baby! ahah. So "Karoachay" ( in short ) I'm super excited! I've been wanting to train but I actually wasn't expecting this turn events, Prseident knows how to surprise aha. But even though it seems a little scary and daunting, I'm looking forward to this new adventure. And I believe everything will work out because -I can do all things through Chirst, who strengthens me - :)

Btw Poltava is a smaller city and I've heard it's super beautiful. I've also heard they speak a lot of Ukranian there, or Sergic (which is like half and half between russian and ukrainian ) so like President sullivan joked to me in my call, I'm going to need to brush up on my australian and sergic ahah 

Anyway I'll let you know how it all goes next week when I'll be with my trainee:)

Cectpa Horne

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hey! Happy New Year!!! 

It was a good week. Went by really fast. I finished the Book of Mormon today! It was amazing like always but I definitely got a different perspective doing it in this time frame and it was a huge blessing to have this challenge, for me to focus more on the Book of Mormon and have it be one of the Christmas gifts I gave the Savior. It was really cool to read it faster and see more of the big picture and what I noticed was how much God truly LOVES his children. And he will endlessly try to bring them back to him but will always let us choose for ourselves. Also he always keeps His promises. I got another witness that the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God written for us, today and it is another witness that Christ is the Savior of the world, that with the Bible's testimony and that of the Book of Mormon together, there is no denying. The Book of Mormon has the fullness of His gospel and I personally have come closer to Christ as I have read it every day. Seriously.. sometimes I hate that I can't put it into better words to actually describe it but I really LOVE the Book of Mormon. Read it y'all. It'll change your life!! :D

I had a great exchange with Sister Savran on Friday which was super fun. We did a "behind the walls" Pilates class and the instructor was super nice and was interested in English. 

Our district did a group activity where we sang carols on the street! It was fun, people didn't really stop but I think they felt the Christmas spirit;) I definitely lost my voice after though aha.

What the? It's 2018?? Super weird and crazy. We had to be home early last night and tonight cause New Years is a huge thing here and also alcohol is a thing... but we had our own sparkling apple juice and saw a couple of fireworks so it was fun. I hope you all had fun! It's been an awesome year! I'm so happy to have spent it as a missionary:)))))

See you next week!

Sister Horne out