I'm off to another country??

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This week has been another exciting one! We found out transfers and I am headed to MOLDOVA. If you weren't aware, our mission absorbed some other missions this last summer and so now the whole country of Moldova is part of our mission. So I am headed there to whitewash with a new missionary! So whitewash training in a new country will be an adventure for sure. It will be different than here in Kiev because instead of the people speaking Russian and Ukrainian, people will be speaking Russian and Romanian (which are not similar at all) so this will definitely be fun! Wish me luck! 

This week we had a funny experience at a food court in the mall. The guy in front of us in line was struggling to order his food because he was speaking in English so I asked him where he is from. He is from Canada and when I told him I'm from Utah he said "No way, I'm a Mormon too! (even though we don't use that word anymore). He invited us to sit with him and his Ukrainian Olympic athlete wife. Turns out he is a very successful restaurant and hotel designer and is opening up offices in Kiev. He has traveled and lived all over the world but hasn't been active in the Church for a long time. He shared a very funny story from when he was living in Hong Kong years ago. He walked into the J.W. Marriott and saw a bunch of old men wearing LDS missionary tags. He goes up to one of them and says, "Are you serving a mission here? I am a member of this church too!" President Gordon B. Hinckley smiles back and says "Not a very good one then." President Hinckley then made them take a picture together and personally sent it to this man's father who was serving as a stake president at the time saying he needs to get his son back on the right path. Haha! We just died at this story. We definitely meet some interesting people on the mission!

Another classic mission story happened this week when we visited an older couple in our ward. They are the funniest couple and always have us laughing and involved in deep doctrine conversations. They made us lunch which was a bummer because we already ate. They made us Kasha which is some sort of grain thing that takes on many forms. This time it was basically straight mush with dried apricots on it. About three bites in we were stuffed and couldn't eat another bite. They left us alone to eat which was a chudo (miracle). There was an empty page protector sitting right by me so I put it in my backpack and started spooning the kasha into it. My companions dumped their kasha on my plate too so we tied the page protector with a hair elastic and brought it to the elders for our district council treat! We are the best sisters ever!!!

This week I have been studying about the scattering and gathering of Israel. I am reading the Book of Mormon and marking all of the references to the atonement and the scattering and gathering of Israel. It is so interesting to see how closely related they are. There are references to the scattering and gathering in almost every chapter of the Book of Mormon. The purpose behind the scattering is to allow everyone to partake of the blessings as promised in the Abrahamic covenant. And through the scattering, we are all part of the house of Israel. The gathering has two phases. Phase 1 is the spiritual gathering, what we are doing right now. Phase 2 is the physical gathering. The spiritual gathering is happening on both sides of the veil and it is all about missionary work! We are bringing people to the knowledge of our Savior and inviting them to use His Atonement and make sacred covenants with him. That is why conversion isn't complete without the temple! Our ultimate goal is to make covenants and perform ordinances in the temple to receive the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, and then to help others make those covenants too. For everyone at home, we need you! Members everywhere are the lifeblood of this gathering because you can gather your ancestors on the other side of the veil as well as strengthen new converts so that they will be able to partake of the blessings of the temple. I love this work here in Ukraine (and now Moldova!) and I am so grateful to be able to be a missionary at this time! 

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, 
Cectpa Daines

Pictures: 
1. Bye Ukraine, you will be missed. 
2. Our yummy Kasha!
3. Homemade American cookies from Sister Kumferman that she had the elders deliver to us because Sister Maisey gave her brown sugar and chocolate chips that her mom sent. I love her!
4. My fav sistahs at zone conf! 





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