Thursday, November 5, 2015

Bonjour!

Well life in Ulraine is changing! The weather is getting colder, the leaves are turning yellow and red, and I'm even understanding a little more Russian!

Hmm.. Whats happened since I emailed last.. I had the opportunity to try both liver and pig fat. Which yes, as you may guess, is as disgusting as it sounds. 

I also have a new companion! She is from Bellarus so Im super excited to be serving with her! 

I've learned so much in the short time I've been here. I've learned that when we open ourselves up, when we share our stories and get to know other people, we can see how much they need our help. Sometimes that help requires just a simple telephone call to say hello, or sometimes it requires a service project. The more people I meet, and truly get acquainted with, the more I realize the importance of our relationships. Its so interesing to think that everyone you walk past on the street has their own story. Its so easy to forget that when we get so consumed in our own lives. We forget to appreciate the simple beauty of lfe. 

SO -- I challenge you to make a better effort to reach out to someone you aren't very familiar with, make someone smile! :) Because we are all God's children, and no matter what we've done in life, we all deserve to be loved. 

I love you all, thank you so much for all your love and support! 

xoxo

-- 
Cectpa Morris

Ukraine-Dnepropetrovsk Mission



A little update from Ukraine!

A little update from little Ukraine! 

Life is good, the people are great.  

A "funny" for this week: Since being on my mission, I've realized how "patience" isn’t one of my strongest qualities.  I decided to pray for the ability to have my patience grow and to be able to be a more calm, less frustrated person.  The next morning, I walk into the bathroom to find a beautiful cockroach on the floor.  Wasn't exactly what I had in mind about "patience"... but what can you do. 

Another funny: So every week we have a "sports night" with the youth in our branch.  We play soccer, basketball, volleyball, Ping-Pong, whatever people want to play that day. This week' s activity happened to be Ultimate Frisbee.  While in the middle of the game, my companion decided to take a moment and show how much she loves me by launching the Frisbee, from a distance of five feet, at my forehead.  I had a cute goose egg to show off for a couple days after. 

I'm learning to love the endless amount of irony my life has -- it definitely keeps it interesting!

Something very impactful I learned this week is related to something an apostle said, "God cannot teach someone with an inquiring mind." 

Because we all have been given agency, the choice to choose good and evil, God will never make us choose the right.  He WILL however, ALWAYS show us the right way, the right choice if we are sincerely seeking the answer. 

Again and again, I have been asked, "How do you REALLY know this is true?"  I know this gospel is true because I have not only felt the Holy Ghost answer my prayers, but I've committed to live the gospel standards.  As I have committed to live the gospel standards, I've seen my life completely transform.  I am so grateful that all of us equally have this opportunity.

Thank you for all your love and support!

xoxo

--
Cectpa Morris

Ukraine-Dnepropetrovsk Mission

Hello!

Sorry, I haven’t emailed in a while.  Emailing time just goes by SO quick!

Anyways, a little update from Ukraine:

This week we had a really fun activity with the youth of our branch.  We went on a little hike to an area by the river and just played tons of different games.  The youth here are simply AMAZING.  Most of them are the only active members of the church in their families, but their testimonies of the gospel are just beautiful. 

I also took a little tumble down a few stairs this week. ha ha (Gotta love Ukraine's dark, uneven stairwells).  I also happened to be holding a loaf of bread we made for the members we were visiting.  LUCKILY, the bread survived and I was able to recover my graceful self right before she opened the door.

Spiritual Thought:

I read a talk this week that talked about how the US Army has a saying "Be All You Can Be." It talked about how we as humans, have no capacity of what we can become-- but God does. God knows everything about us, things we don't even know about us. That is why He asks us to "Come unto Him." He WANTS to bless us, make us happy, and help us develop into all we can be.
It reminds me of the quote "The only time you find yourself is when you lose yourself." Don't be afraid to give everything over to the Lord, trust Him!

I love you all, thank you so much for you support!

xoxo

--
Cectpa Morris

Ukraine-Dnepropetrovsk Mission



Tuesday, September 1, 2015

I'm Alive!!!

Hello!

This week has been a little long and a little rough!  We have spent a lot of time contacting ( talking to people on the street all day about the gospel ).  Did I mention I can't speak Russian..?  But I was able to meet one girl who spoke English and we got her number and she seemed really excited!!  It was such a blessing. 

As many of you knew before, I'm not a cook.  At all.  So you should all be very proud that I cooked chicken and potatoes this week and did not get food poisoning.  What can I say; I'm a changed woman.  Although, Yogurtland might have some competition because the ice cream here is pretty delicious!

Today I was studying Agency.  If you take a moment to reflect on your life, it’s amazing to see the blessings we all have.  God created us, and then He gave us scriptures, prophets, the gospel, all of the commandments so that we can know exactly how to return to Him.  Then He STILL lets us choose whether we will follow Him or not.  I've learned no one can or will make you have a relationship with God.  This is something you have to work on and develop yourself and it takes a lot of work.  But it brings more blessings and happiness than anything else ever could.

I love you all!

--
Cectpa Morris

Ukraine-Dnepropetrovsk Mission

Sunday, August 23, 2015

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . .

Life in Ukraine this week:

I've learned quite a few things!

First: Watch out where you walk.  I have this terrible tendency to walk under the edge of the roofs of buildings. Bad idea . . . because there is this mysterious liquid that drips down onto my head probably nine times a day.  It’s great.

Second: McDonald's in Ukraine is like eating at Ruth's Chris.

Three: The elevators here are the legit definition of the Tower of Terror

Everyday is an adventure in Ukraine, I just love it!  I am so grateful to be a missionary.

I got to go to my first baptism this week.  It was so amazing!  For some reason I didn't think that the actual baptism would be in Russian.  It was amazing to hear the words being said in Russian.  We are so blessed to have a God who is delivering His gospel to every single nation, in every single language.  It’s so rewarding and powerful to be a part of.

Thank you for all your love and support!

xoxo
--
Cectpa Morris

Ukraine-Dnepropetrovsk Mission

Ukraine

Well I officially made it to Ukraine!

To make moving to a foreign country, with foreign language more fun, I decided to get pneumonia the day before I left.  So it’s been pretty fun walking around in 90-degree weather with pneumonia!  I guess its all part of the experience! 

Ukraine is crazy!  We ride everywhere on these little buses.  The drivers are absolutely insane!  My second day here, a woman approached me and asked if I was an American missionary.  She then asked if I was a polygamist.  This all happened while I stood there smiling because I had no idea what she was saying.  Thankfully, my companion then informed her that I was in fact not a polygamist.  As you can tell, my Russian is far, FAR from fluent.  But I know that through time I'll get there!  Then, I'll be able to tell other people myself that I am not a polygamist.  Can't wait.

I had a really spiritual experience my first day.  We went to teach a less active member.  Again, I couldn't really understand anything.  From what I could understand, the woman was having a rough time with faith.  I had a feeling to show her the scripture, Ether 12:6.  Then I told myself to shut up because I did not want to say something and have it be totally awkward because it wasn't about anything they were talking about at the moment.  But.. I just went for it.  As the woman read the verse out loud, she sort of chuckled because the verse was so applicable to herself. 


That experience made me realize how hard it is to follow the Spirit sometimes.  Sometimes we are prompted to do things that are totally outside of our comfort zone and it seems terrifying.  And sometimes we follow that prompting and even though it was so scary, nothing even came from it.  But I know every time we act upon promptings of the Spirit, it shows the Lord that he can trust us and it makes Him so proud of us. 

The people of Ukraine are AMAZING!  The people of our Branch are all so loving and welcoming, even despite the fact that I'm an American!  These people have had such hard lives, and yet, still choose to be happy.  I love how this gospel brings hope to those who have none.  This is the true gospel of happiness.

I apologize that there aren't any pictures!  I couldn't get the computer to work, but I’ll bring a different cord next week.

I love you all, thank you so much for you love and support.

--
Cectpa Morris

Ukraine-Dnepropetrovsk Mission