Last week in Kiev Mission

This week is the last week being in the Kiev, Ukraine mission. I want to spend some time writing my final letter to President, because I won't get to have contact with him again until I end my mission. I hope you understand! I love you all and will update with many pictures, details, and stories for next week! :) Thanks for all the emails. Congrats to Lacey on her baby, and congrats to Carlie and Aaron on getting hitched! :)
I miss you all and love you lots,
Sister Webber

Father's day, and other spravi

This week was great. My companionship and I got called as Sister Training Leader missionaries, and we got to participate in a skype call with President & his wife, the assistants, and the Zone Leaders (The zone leaders called and said, "Welcome to the Brotherhood). It was so awesome. At one point President said, "Sister Webber, I wanted to share your email from last week, is that okay? I copied it into my journal with your picture." He went on to say that if anyone took my email the wrong way, then no one would ever baptize anyone again in the mission.....

Good disclaimer, right? That's Sister Webber for you. 

He shared the story about bench-sitting from last week (from my previous email), and people got a good laugh out of it. Especially knowing my companion, since she's 100% focused, and hard-working all the time. But President said that this was a good example of what we should be doing--following the Spirit. Not mindlessly robotically talking to every person who walks by. But ministering to the one. If I've learned anything from my mission, it's simply that.

So the Elders this week were struggling with two of their investigators, who have been meeting with missionaries since just after I got here. I know them really well, and the Elders have changed 3 times since they started meeting. I decided to talk to them after English class on Tuesday and see where they were, since they weren't responding very well to the current companionship. I basically just gave them a throw-down saying, "You need to meet with the Elders. Enough of this mozying around. You know how important it is, and you need to get with it." I think that kind of shook them up, because the elders were able to set up an appointment with them. One of the joys of being in an area forever is that I know just about everyone, and know them really, really well. For instance, one of my former investigators from February walked in the church the other day looking for the sisters, and the Elders happened to be there. It's just nice to be able to easily reconnect with people without them having to start completely over with new missionaries. 

Yesterday I was asked to give a talk on Sister Dalton's incredible conference talk. I talked about how it was Father's day in America, and really missed my dad. I was grateful to have the opportunity to talk about my earthly father and my Heavenly Father yesterday, even though Ukrainians didn't even know it was Father's day for me. I sure love you dad. :) 

Well, my language abilities are improving. I'm getting more confident with things, and we're seeing a lot of miracles. Which, by the way, we had a woman yesterday that we've been teaching for a few months say that she wants to get baptized. And ASAP. So I'll keep you posted on that one. :) She's an angel. I'm so happy for her. 

Thanks for all the emails from everyone. I love letters, but emails from friends and family are JUST as wonderful. I'm glad they changed that rule. I don't know if anyone can realize how much of a support it is while on a mission, unless you've served one. 

You're in my thoughts and prayers always, 

Sister Kate Webber

Stop and smell the roses...or bench sit

Hello family!

We spent this week tracking down former investigators, and it made for pretty long afternoons. We've been working really hard, and doing as much as possible to find those who will be ready to accept the gospel and have a desire to repent and be baptized. 

Yesterday we had a particularly interesting day when we found ourselves with 4 hours of open space, which we weren't planning on. Instead of going home to make another "former" list, we both felt impressed to go "bench-sitting" (Basically just means we go and sit on benches and people watch, and we've actually had INCREDIBLE experiences with the elect simply walking up to us, taking a copy of the Book of Mormon, and heading on their way.) We were sitting there for over half an hour and nothing seemed to happen, so we started walking down a street I've never gone down before, and as we were coming up on a bus stop, we ran into one of the Elders' former investigators whom I know fairly well. He had been out of town for a majority of the last four months, and he was so excited and happy to see us. We had a wonderful conversation, and he told us how he wanted to meet with the missionaries again. It was definitely not an accident. 

We continued walking/contacting for a while, and then came upon a park with hundreds of people. We again felt impressed to bench-sit. So we sat, and sat. And after a little bit, Sister Dunford said, "Just so you know, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think we should be doing this." I assured her I felt the same, and so we sat some more. Then this woman, her mother, and two young girls came and sat by us and we jumped into a normal, natural conversation. After getting to know these women and the girls, we were able to talk about the church a little bit, as well as our English practice. She then said, "God sent you to me. I don't believe this was an accident. We were supposed to meet." Her countenance radiated, and she seemed to have a solid, no-nonsense type of spirit. I felt like she was one of the mighty and great ones. I don't know how to describe it. When she left, we both felt like that was the reason we were sitting there, so we got up and went on our way.

We've been really doing our best to let the Spirit guide, and not just wander around aimlessly. We always have our purpose in mind, and try to seek out those opportunities that will lead us to those who are open to the gospel. We've had many little miracles like this happen so far in our 1-week-long companionship, and I can already tell that we're going to continue having awesome experiences like this. One of the days while we were walking, I found myself saying, "I just love being a missionary." It's been a great experience, and I'm so happy to be able to give everything over to the Lord and submit my will 100%. It's absolutely incredible. I know missionary work has been the focus of everyone's efforts over the last 8 months, but it really is a privilege and an honor to be a missionary. I love it. 

Thanks for all the love and support. Keep the emails coming! It really brightens up my week. 

All my love and prayers, 

Sister Webber

BEST week ever

Wednesday night at 10:30 pm we boarded an all-night train and set sail to Kiev! I was stoked, and didn't think I would be able to sleep....but since I'm a missionary and am absolutely exhausted most of the time, I slept like a baby on the bumpiest ride in the world. It even took my companion 30 minutes to wake me up. Poor thing thought I was dead. We arrived at 6 am the next morning. It was a great day in the mission office as we greeted a MASSIVE amount of sisters and a few elders. I got to meet all of them before they were allowed to see their trainers, and apparently I was a local celeb. They had formed a Facebook group and found each other, and my blog was the only one they were able to find. So they all knew everything about my mission so far. It was a  bit of a tender mercy from the Lord, that even though I wasn't going to train any of these sisters, that I was able to have a small amount of influence on them before they came on their missions. Our Sisters Conference started at 6pm with a 3 course dinner at the nicest hotel in Ukraine, and we had a wonderful Q&A with President, his wife, and the Patriarch for Eastern Europe. It was an incredible experience, to say the least. 

That night all the sisters gathered in a hotel room and all the sisters told their "mission stories" It was such a testimony builder to me to listen to these girls talk about how they decided to go on missions. It was interesting to see how the Lord prepared these girls while they were 19 to serve missions. One said, "Three days before General Conference I got my answer that I was supposed to go on a mission. My roommate thought I was crazy since I had JUST turned 19, but I knew without fail that I needed to go on a mission." So impressive. 

The next day we spent with President and had an incredible day together. I was soaking it all in, and was so happy to be there. My companion, Sister Dunford and I got to go through the Temple for a session, and Sister Olds and her trainee, Sister Kelley came with us. I listened to a lot of it in English, but I kept switching back to Ukrainian (The sessions are in Russian). That was the first time I realized how far I was in regards to language. It was a beautiful tender mercy to be in the House of the Lord in Ukraine. I can't describe the incredible sacred experience I had there, but I was overwhelmed at the power of the great Plan that Heavenly Father has for each of us. 

Sister Dunford is such an incredible missionary. She's from Texas, and has a texas attitude for sure. We're not messing around in this companionship. She's made a huge impression on me already. I'm so excited for the next two transfers I get to have with her. It's crazy how much I've been able to do the last few days, and how much my speaking abilities are coming out of the woodwork. It feels like an equal companionship, and I'm so grateful for it. I feel so blessed to be able to feel influential. 

This church is true. I'm so happy to be in the Kiev Ukraine mission. Even though this is my last month before the split, I am overwhelmed at the blessing it's been to be apart of the BEST mission on Earth. I honestly believe that. I love my mission. I love my mission President and his family. It's been an incredible journey so far. 

I LOVE UKRAINE! 

Love sister webber

Sister Webber at the Kiev Temple

Sisters conference in Kiev Ukraine

Transfers, and Ukrainian Duets

First of all, I want to tell Lacey that I love her, and I'm so grateful for the letter I got from her this week. I cried like a baby. You're the best! And I miss you lots! Good luck with all the exciting changes coming up. Lots of love.

We got transfer calls on Saturday, and my companion is going to L'viv with her trainee, and I'll be getting Sister Van Stokkom's MTC companion, Sister Dunford. I'm so excited! She came and stayed with us in Lutsk last month and I got to know her a little bit, and I'm really happy that we'll get to serve together before she leaves the mission. As a result, I finally get to go to Kiev on Wednesday. We get to have a special "sister's training meeting" which lasts 2 days, and even though I'm not training....I'm invited. And get to go to the Temple. I could NOT be more excited. I'm bursting inside.

I got a call last week from an elder in my district that the Branch President asked him to sing a duet for the Mother's Day activity, and that I was asked to sing with him. I was a little shocked, since I can't sing, but I said I would do my best. I practiced the song in Ukrainian, and I was not good....to put it simply. I prayed that the branch would somehow hear the voice of an angel instead of mine, and decided to put my best foot forward and do my very best. The duet went alright, and I was a little nervous, but I was mostly just happy to have it done. 

Yesterday at church, a woman who comes to church each week (not a member), came up to me and raved about the duet. I pointed at the Elder, because it was really ALL him. He has such an incredible voice, and she said, "I'm talking about you. I want you to sing it again! I was so sad that it was that short. I wanted you to keep singing. It was beautiful." She kept going on an on, and I was so grateful that someone thought it sounded good. 

So dad told me this week that a few family members have all been going to church, and they are taking lessons from the sisters! If only I could express the feelings in my heart when I think about that. I am beyond grateful, and I know that this gospel is truly the only way to pure happiness. This week I had a few very personal moments when conversing in prayer with my Father in Heaven, and I had an, "Oh God, where art thou?" moment. There have been a few times in my life where I have been forced to my knees, and have felt something similar to what I felt this week. I'm not able to describe the amount of love that I felt enveloping me as this question entered my mind. I can testify, without a doubt in my heart, that we have a Father in Heaven. That He loves us. That He cares deeply and eternally for each one of us.

"The Lord can motivate and direct the length and breadth of His kingdom, and yet have time to provide inspiration concerning one individual. The fact that He can, that He does, is a testimony to me." -Thomas S. Monson.

I have met a few people who seem to be elect beyond reason. When we share the Book of Mormon with them, and the message of the Restoration, a question that has often come up is, "Why haven't I heard about this before?" I can never seem to come up with a good answer, and even have wondered about that myself. This is the ONE true church of God, and He wants everyone to know about it, so why isn't it a bigger deal? Why did Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ put it on the shoulders of a 14 year old boy to bring this message to the world? And continues to put 18 and 19 year old kids as messengers? "If he is the Son of God, the Promised Messiah, why isn't there more fanfare? Why is this such a low-key thing? Why are there only a few people in his church?"

The answer is simple.

But I'm not going to share it. It took me a great deal of pondering, praying, and studying to come up with an answer that personally helped me. The answer is available to anyone who truly wants to know. 

This church is true. 

Sister Webber