There were quite a few kids missing at school, so we were able to combine the three classes into two. This made it so one teacher had a break each rotation, it was a nice little birthday present. After school we waited much longer than usual for Tanya. When she finally arrived, she explained the traffic was terrible because all the metro stations had been closed. This was when we first learned of the issues that had begun. What normally takes us about 30 min. to get home increased to about an hour. Cars were packed on the streets and many people were walking along the side of the street. When we finally got home, we ate a delicious dinner and cake. Thanks to Kristina, my host family, other teachers, and the students I had a wonderful birthday!
This has been one eventful week! There have been so many unexpected things happening and I definitely have a lot to share. Monday was a normal day at school, and Tuesday was a wonderful day celebrating my birthday. Little did I know that Tuesday night there would be a significant increase in the violence between protesters and police. The metro station was closed in order to prevent people from travelling to the main square, and several people were killed that night. Due to lack of transportation and safety concerns, we were told to remain at home with our host families the rest of the night, and that we would not be teaching the next day. The metro continued to stay closed Wednesday and that night we received a call from our head teacher informing us that we would not be going to school Thursday either. Luckily the metro re-opened Thursday afternoon, however the clashes continued. Up to 70 people had been killed and many more were injured. It was terrible staying inside wishing I could do something, but I knew that there was nothing I could do even if I wanted to; being at home was the safest place for me. We were informed Thursday night to also stay home from school on Friday. Unlike many of the other teachers, I have a roommate and a family that speaks English. Kristina and I were able to entertain each other; we kept ourselves busy and enjoyed the relaxation time. We were informed on Saturday that all teachers must also stay home from church on Sunday. I was disappointed, especially because Kristina and I live so close the church building and it would have been nice to dress up and get out for awhile, but I understand that our safety is first. Saturday night we also discovered that the President of Ukraine has stepped down and new elections will be held in May. We are still waiting to hear if we will be teaching this coming week, but hopefully now that things have died down we will be able to get back to our regular routine. I would like to remind everyone that I am far from the center of Kiev and very safe. I'm fortunate to have a wonderful host family, coordinators, ILP directors, and church leaders all watching over me. Thank you all for your love and concern! There are a lot of pictures from this week so I hope you enjoy. I can hardly believe i'm 19 years old! Who would have thought this is where I would be in my life? It's amazing looking back at the past year and seeing everything that has happened. So much has changed; I have grown in ways I could have never imagined. On Tuesday February 18th, we woke up at 6:15. As we rolled out of bed Kristina mumbled "Happy Birthday Kate". I had nearly forgotten, and had also forgotten what had urged us to wake up so early. Since setting our goal to exercise every day, we have had the ambition to keep the consecutive streak going. Mostly because if we reach 20 days in a row we are rewarding ourselves by going to the spa in Hungary, but also to prevent ourselves from getting too fat while we are here. Lucky for me my birthday landed on a Tuesday which happens to be the day neither Kristina or I have to teach Pre-K. Because we didn't have to be to the school until 1:00, we made plans. What do two girls do with a free morning off? Shopping of course! After Tanya dropped us off at the metro station, we headed to our favorite shopping center, Ocean Plaza. It was the perfect temperature and the sun was shining. I learned to NEVER wear rain boots if you plan on walking a lot, they start to rub on your feet and get very warm. There were quite a few kids missing at school, so we were able to combine the three classes into two. This made it so one teacher had a break each rotation, it was a nice little birthday present. After school we waited much longer than usual for Tanya. When she finally arrived, she explained the traffic was terrible because all the metro stations had been closed. This was when we first learned of the issues that had begun. What normally takes us about 30 min. to get home increased to about an hour. Cars were packed on the streets and many people were walking along the side of the street. When we finally got home, we ate a delicious dinner and cake. Thanks to Kristina, my host family, other teachers, and the students I had a wonderful birthday! Wednesday and Thursday equaled a lot of relaxation and time on our own. We didn't mind having an unexpected break. It was nice to take it slow and get caught up on things. Friday and Saturday were very similar to the two previous days. Just a lot of sitting around and relaxation time. Obviously this week has been very unexpected and since Wednesday has seemed like the never-ending weekend. It's unfortunate having to remain inside, but like I said hopefully things will transition back into regular routine soon. I forgot to mention that I received some pretty exciting news on Friday. I asked my dad if he had heard anything on the status of my mission call. After talking to my bishop he said that my assignment has been made! My call should be in the mail this coming week! I can hardly wait to see where the Lord will send me; the anxiety is about to drive me crazy. I will keep everyone updated. Thank you again for love, support, and prayers. Have a wonderful week!
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I apologize for posting this a week late. It has been frustrating trying to get pictures uploaded with the slow internet connection, but I figured it's better late than never! Last week was a great teaching and a lot of fun getting ready for Valentine's Day! The weather is much warmer and the rain has begun. Some may say it has seemed gloomy, but I think it's been refreshing to smell and feel rain; rain has always been my favorite kind of weather. I've continued to stay busy and have been enjoying my time here. There are so many things I learn each day! Underneath I've written more details and posted a lot of pictures so I hope you enjoy! This week at school was wonderful! For the past three weeks I have been teaching Arts and Crafts and Gym, but for the next couple of weeks will switch to games rather than gym. It was nice to have a change and learn how to teach another subject. I've really enjoyed teaching this week especially with the excitement of Valentine's Day! I chose to make every craft and game relate in some way by using a lot of hearts and the colors pink, red, purple, and white. By the time Friday came, the kids were very excited. On Valentine's Day, our craft was to make a Valentine card. I asked each student who they would give their card to. Many responded their mothers, some said a sibling; it was darling to see the excitement in their eyes as they thought of who they could surprise with the card. At the end of class we passed out small bags with Valentine's prizes, and the kids in my class couldn't have been happier. As I get to know the kids better each day, I love being around them more and more. It's fun to see them progress and knowing the hard work and time you put into teaching is hopefully paying off. On Thursday I told Tanya I would help her decorate Valentine's cupcakes for Sofia's class. She has been really interested in baking and says she wants me to teach her so she can start her own business! I'm glad I brought them my cupcake book because her and Nikita have really enjoyed looking through it and we've had fun trying new recipes. Tanya baked 48 cupcakes on her own during the day and we made the filling and frosting together once I got home from school. I taught her how to do two different kinds of flowers and we all decorated them with sprinkles. Later that night when the family had gone to sleep, Kristina and I sneakily tip-toed upstairs and sprinkled hearts in front of Sofia and Nikita's door, then scattered them all the way down the stairs. I even placed two paper hearts on the chinchilla cage. Valentines Day was a lot of fun! We got up early to make heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes for our host family. I set and decorated the table while Kristina cooked. I scattered more hearts all over the table and placed small notes we had written by each person's plate. It was fun hearing the kids wake up and their reaction to the hearts everywhere. They all loved the pancakes and enjoyed the surprises. At the end of school, we passed out small bags of Valentine's prizes; all of the kids were excited to open their pack of treasures! After Tanya drove us home, we went to place our backpacks in our room and found a small container of heart chocolates on out beds. When we went into the kitchen to eat, our host dad, Alex, handed us both some flowers he had gotten us. My dad always sends me flowers on Valentine's Day so I imagined they were from him. It makes me happy to have such a kind family to take care of us, they are always trying to do things with us and make our time here more comfortable and enjoyable. It was a wonderful day! Saturday was one of the most amazing days since I have been here! I want to share my journal entry from that day: Toady was beautiful, productive, and overall amazing! We were able to sleep in until 10:30 which felt really nice, then after eating breakfast we began organizing the clothes in our drawers which turned into organizing our whole room. It wasn't really messy before just a little cluttered, but now it looks amazing! I love when things are clean. We then got dressed to go running and this time took a different route around the small lake in our village. The temperature was great! It was about 36 degrees and the skies were overcast. We ran over a small bridge and through trees which led us to a path that went all the way around the lake. I can’t believe there are still ice fisherman out there because the lake looks like it’s melting which doesn't seem safe. We ran three times around which we think was about three miles. It felt nice to get out and run. We have consecutively worked out for 10 days now! After running, eating lunch, and showering, we got ready to go to the temple. Today was our branch temple day so we met at three. The baptistery was gorgeous! I love visiting new temples and I’m so grateful that we live near-by the one here. It was such a spiritual experience and I felt so wonderful knowing that I had taken the time to do someone’s work that has probably been waiting for a very long time to have it done. I sometimes wonder what it will be like to meet people in Heaven that you did work for on Earth. I’m sure they rejoice when it is finally their turn. After getting dressed we waited outside the baptistery and near the main door for the Branch President’s wife to finish her session. This gave me an opportunity to read my scriptures for a long time. This is one of my favorite things to do when visiting the temple. I find the spirit to be so strong while I'm there, and I it's easier to focus without "outside" distractions. I am working on finishing the second half of the Book of Mormon, and want to also begin studying Preach my Gospel. Once everyone was ready we crammed into the Branch President’s car to go eat. We ate at some Ukrainian place that was kind of like cafeteria style. They had all kinds of food where you picked what you wanted then paid for that. I got Kyiv chicken (breaded chicken) with mashed potatoes, a breadstick, dumplings, salad, and a filled croissant. It was all so delicious! I feel like today was very productive and spiritually uplifting. I am excited to go to church tomorrow and feel that again. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not be rejuvenated every single week. I would like to share another journal entry from Sunday as well. It's easier then trying to remember and retype things.
Today was a wonderful Sabbath as always. A missionary serving in our branch named Elder Boise? Spoke. He is from Australia and gave a wonderful talk! He talked about being faithful through trials and afflictions and trust in in God’s will. He said, “if we will put the Lord first before our own desires, we will receive blessings for what we need.” This is similar to what one lady said a few weeks ago. When you question something ask yourself is this my desire or God’s desire. Elder Boise played a lot of Rugby and talked about how he refused to play on Sunday even though it was hard not making the team because of it. Later he was blessed and the coaches called him to say he had made the team without trying out. His family moved to New Zealand so he and his brother could play rugby without having to worry about it being on Sunday. (maybe Sam, Elder Vasquez, has met his family!) Instead of nursery, we were asked to fill in for some missing primary teachers. We taught the “sunbeams” but it was really a 4 year old and 6 year old boy. Since I teach 3-6 year olds every day, it wasn’t anything I’m not used to. It was such a great experience teaching in the primary. I was amazed at some of the children’s responses. They all have such strong and pure testimonies! Although I love going to Sunday school and Relief Society, I am grateful for the chance to serve in the nursery and primary. I think the experience will help prepare me for future callings, and also to learn things from these children. They are so “in tune” with the spirit. I can't believe week three is over! Things are going well here in Ukraine. I've been busy planning lessons and teaching my kiddos. Each day seems to get easier as I become more familiar with the teaching methods and get to know the kids better. All of the teachers work very hard, and I am often exhausted by the end of the day, but I'm enjoying myself and learning so much. Lately Kristina and I have been doing very well at keeping up with our goal to work out every day! Because Saturday's weather was way up in the "30's", we decided to go for a relaxing and refreshing run around the village, or that is what we hoped it would be at least. After a short three minutes of running an unexpected problem arose, we were approaching a small "pack" of dogs. We had hoped that we could continue running without being noticed by the dogs, but of course they began barking and chased after us. We nervously stopped running and instead walked at a normal pace while avoiding any eye contact. We were just hoping and praying they wouldn't eat us! We finally got far enough ahead, but just as we started running again saw more dogs! It seems that the biggest of our problems should have been us getting lost, or realizing how out of shape we were not getting chased by dogs. I don't think I've ever been so terrified in all of my life! Once we passed the “packs” we continued running and hit the main road of the village. The dog issue was solved but it was a little awkward wearing the two most brightly colored jackets and running past people as they stared us down. At this point Kristina had already splashed in two mud puddles one car had honked at us and another dog jumped up onto the fence and nearly gave us a heart attack, and we were suffocating from all the pollution! When we finally made it back to our house we lay on our beds and began recovering from our traumatic experience. So much for our "relaxing and refreshing" run. On Wednesday my coordinator handed me a paper that said there was a package waiting for me at the post office. She explained where to go and that the walk was only about 10 minutes away. Lately I've been having major peanut butter withdrawals and have been telling every person who wants my address to send me peanut butter! One of my friends said he was sending me some so I was expecting it to be that, but I was wrong! It was actually a package from one of my missionary friends! On the box was written "Do not open until February 18th!"; it was a birthday present! I think I understand why missionaries love receiving letters and packages so much; it feels like Christmas! It was wonderful to know someone was thinking of me and took the time to make an attempt at sending me something that wasn't even guaranteed to reach me. I am blessed with such great friends and family! Another thing I have been craving is cake in a mug! As most of you know I love cake and frosting, but my favorite thing to do is put cake batter in a mug and heat it in the microwave for about a minute. This cooks the cake so it's just barely gooey in the middle and perfectly warm. When you put the frosting on top it melts into the cake and it tastes amazing! Anyway, I really wanted some, so Wednesday at school we brought one of Kristina's cake mixes and supplies to make them. That night I told my host family I was making dessert. I mixed up my family's delicious chocolate cake batter and we used the extra to make these adorable little heart cupcakes. What a yummy treat! One night this week, I tasted pomelo. It is apparently similar to a grapefruit, but not quite as sour. Tanya peeled on for Kristina and I and we couldn't believe how huge it was! The piece I am holding is only one segment; it's like a giant slice of an orange! We woke up one day and our host dad announced that there was a new chinchilla! Apparently the girl chinchilla has been pregnant this whole time and no one knew. So we now have three chinchillas. Little baby chinchilla is so tin On Sunday night, I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed when Kristina knocked on the door. She whispered, “Kate one of the chinchillas is out! I didn't do it!” I quickly came out and sure enough one chinchilla was sitting outside the cage. We tried to grab it, but it hopped down and began jumping up the stairs. We followed it and were trying to be quiet but it continued to jump up each stair until finally Tanya came out and helped us corner it. Kristina grabbed it by the tail and we secured in the cage. What an adventure! Sunday was wonderful once again! I had a phone call check up interview with President Dalton and my papers were submitted on Monday the 10th! I'm excited to hear where I will serve and will keep everyone updated! Kristina and I have been asked if we will help out in the nursery at least one hour each Sunday so we get to watch the two most adorable little boys Evan and Neil. Both of their dads work at the US Embassy which is why their families live in Ukraine and attend the international branch. After church I wanted to walk around the temple for awhile, how couldn't you when it's so gorgeous and right next to your church building? It is such a beautiful and peaceful place. We will hopefully be able to do re baptisms this weekend during our branch temple day. I suppose I will finish on a spiritual note. I love the quote, “it doesn't matter where you live, but how you live”. This quote can be applicable to all of us. As long as we are living in way that our lives are centered on Christ, we can be living anywhere in the world. Our eternal goal is to return back home to our Heavenly Father and savior Jesus Christ, and to live with our families forever in the Celestial Kingdom.
Knowing that is my divine goal gives me such direction in my life. The way is simple but narrow. We must remain on that path and continue forward with faith in Jesus Christ. On Sunday some couple missionaries serving in our branch spoke during sacrament meeting. One spoke of choosing the good, better, and best things to be doing in our lives. The spirit reminded me that ultimately our goal is to strive to become like our Savior. One question we can ask ourselves when we are struggling with any decision or situation is, am I being a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God? As we truthfully and honestly answer this question, we will understand what it takes to remain on the path that will take us back to our Heavenly Father. I hope you all know how much I love and appreciate your support. I miss everyone so much, but I am grateful for every opportunity I have had so far while being away. This experience is helping to shape me into a better person. Please keep in touch and have a wonderful week! Another week down! The more regular our routine becomes, the faster time see to go by. Towards the last few days of school, several students were absent because they had the flu. We usually have three classes and rotate them through six times, but because of the shortage in numbers were able to combine into two classes. That was nice because each teacher was able to have two breaks. This week has gone by rather quickly. There have been several times when I thought I wouldn't be able to handle the school's buckwheat and pork one more day, but it has since gotten better. I have also realized that I should be more appreciative of the food I have been given. The ladies who cook lunch for us are extremely sweet and though they can't speak English, take very good care of us. On Friday temperatures were so cold that "regular school" was cancelled and only English classes were in session. Because of this, the school was almost completely empty. When we went down to the cafeteria for lunch the cooks gave us blank looks and just shrugged their shoulders. We all stood their awkwardly for a few seconds wondering if we would get lunch that day then just went back upstairs. Alina, one of our coordinators went to talk to the lunch ladies then told us to go back down because they were finding something for us to eat. We figured it would be some dill soup and bread, but were pleasantly surprised! I was shocked to see a plate of "white" bread with butter and cheese, dumplings, soup, and the regular wheat bread. It was the most delicious lunch ever! What a pleasant surprise from the cooks! Anyway, this week has been great so here are some pictures and more details. Enjoy! I had another wonderful Sunday. All of my group was invited to go to one of the branch presidency member's house for lunch after church, so after an hour and a half of riding on three different kinds of transportation, we finally found their house. The building they live in looks like an apartment building, but when we went inside it felt like a beautiful home. His wife prepared American food! We were all excited when we smelt the wonderful aromas, and could hardly wait to eat. Because he works at the US Embassy, they have access to many American foods such as Ranch Dressing that other people normally wouldn't have access to. I wish I could get some peanut butter from them. They lived in Russia before moving to Ukraine and have four small children; they are all adorable! It was wonderful to be somewhere with people who shared our culture, religion, and food. We spent the evening just talking to them and each other and didn't leave until about 6:30 pm. I was very grateful to spend my Sunday in a home that was filled with the spirit; it made me miss my house and all of the people in Panguitch. Luckily the church is everywhere and I am able to feel at home with other members. Today I am grateful for families, and the knowledge that we can be together forever. Without understanding this eternal truth I'm not sure how I would have the strength to continue through this life. What a wonderful blessing and promise to look forward to. After returning home from our bishopric member's home, Nikita reminded me that I promised to make cupcakes with him. I brought a book full of many different kinds of cupcakes and he has been searching through it ever sense to find what one he would like to make. He tells me that one day he dreams of being an amazing cook and owning several cafes and restaurants; he loves to cook! Apparently he had been asking all day long when we were going to get home. He had all of the ingredients set out and ready to go when I got home. Tonight we made vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting and M&M's on top, and also Chocolate M&M cupcakes with purple vanilla frosting (I brought it with me from the US because I love frosting and it is Nikita's favorite thing! He is always asking me to get out the "purple frosting"). I guess the cupcakes turned out okay because when I asked Nikita how they tasted he said "Heavenly". Personally, I have eaten too many sweets today and don't think I EVER want to eat another cupcake in my life. However, considering that cake, cupcakes, and frosting are my passion I'm sure I'll be fine in the morning. Also, we didn't exactly have a cupcake tin so our cupcakes weren't the perfect shape, but they still tasted delicious. (See mom! I told you it was a good idea to bring frosting with me!) Our host dad asked Kristina and I if we had any special musical talents. I told him we both play the piano and like to sing. He got excited and said, "maybe we could buy you a piano!". I thought that was a little extreme, but sure enough here it is! They found a used, old piano and brought it to their house. It was all black at first, but Tanya (my host mom) has been decorating it. She sanded it down to make it look vintage, then spray painted parts a cream color. She is now using a beautiful stencil to spray paint gold borders, and also bought many napkins that she modge podges on. It is going to be gorgeous once she is finished! When I get a piano I want to do this to it. It was very considerate of our host family to get a piano for us to practice on. Unfortunately I only brought one piece of sheet music with me because I wasn't sure what kind of access I would have to a piano. Luckily it's one of my favorites and reminds me of my dad! I was also able to bring home one of the English Hymn books from church so I can also play from that. Music is very important part of life and brings such a special spirit into the home. Monday was the start of another week! Here I am with these two adorable kiddos. I am so fortunate to teach them. Here are some pictures from teaching throughout the week. On Saturday we explored some of the city. I have been craving pizza all week! So we went to Dominio's. I was definitely a very happy girl when we were finished! This last Sunday was our host dad's birthday. There was a lot of food (meat) and many friends and family who came over to celebrate. One lady spoke very good English and loved talking to Kristina and I. She said she speaks English at work, but hardly ever has the chance to speak to "Natives". It was strange to be referred as "Native speakers", but I was happy that we could practice with her. I tried rabbit and lamb for the first time! Rabbit is pretty good, but Nikita got mad at me for saying that I like to hold rabbits and eat rabbits. Speaking of rabbits, Pixi let me hold her for the first time! I think she was scared out of her mind, but hey I was happy. It has been a great week and I'm sure there are many adventures yet to come! |
Author“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Archives
December 2015
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