Zone Conference, First baptism, and miracle refugees - Part 2

  Highlights from this week: 

We had district meeting on Tuesday.  While we were packing up to go (it’s an hour away) Dad said “Let's take the cake.”  The burnt one. I said it was too bad to take and he asked what I was going to do with it. I didn’t know. 🤷‍♀️ So I packed the ingredients to make chocolate frosting and we headed out. The Zone Leaders were visiting, so I did a pancake brunch after our meeting.  While I was cooking pancakes, Elder Q cut the cake and pretty soon it was gone. No frosting needed. Missionaries will eat anything…😅

At English class, I showed the pictures of y’all’s activities, for more vocabulary words, and the class loved it. Snow, slot canyons, and bungee jumping were new to them. We had a record number that night - 19!

The next day we went to visit our refugee family. Here’s a little about them…

A few weeks ago, the elders went to a store that they don’t usually go to, at a time that they don’t usually go out at. While they were there, a woman walked up and asked them - in English - if they were missionaries. They answered that they were, and then the mother, Nadiia, explained that they were members of the church and had arrived from the Ukraine about 3 months ago. They don’t speak Portuguese and didn’t know if there was a church in the town or not.  The elders got her contact information and gave her the address and time for church on Sunday.  The older daughter, Anastasia, is 14 and Maria, is 9.  

That Sunday, they came to church.  We were at the other branch, so we didn’t meet them. But we wanted to visit and see what they needed, so we set up a lunch date at their house. I told her that we’d bring lunch. I was trying to figure out something that would be comfort food for them. I decided on potato soup, even though it’s 100:degrees outside. We took soup, sliced oranges, and beet bread (I’d never heard of it either, but I thought they might like it cuz they eat borsch), and E. Williams made his famous cc cookies. Maria was at school, so we didn’t get to meet her.

Nadiia brought out a type of beet relish that you put on crackers. 

When we got there, the apartment building looked abandoned, except for two units next to each other. The town had fixed up and painted the two units for them and another family of refugees. They even furnished it with used furniture, including pictures on the walls. The government doesn't charge any rent and pays for all the utilities. Nadiia works at a factory and they pay the factory owner and then the owner pays her. The circled part is how the whole building looked, except for the two apartments.

Anastasia does the cooking, cleaning, and watches Maria while her mom’s at work. It's a lot for a 14 year old. We were so impressed with her. She’s mature and has a calmness beyond her years. Both girls took piano in the Ukraine and Anastasia would come home from  school, quickly eat something, and go back for 4 hours of piano/music lessons. Nadiia was proud to tell us that Anastasia had placed 3rd in a city piano competition. She really misses playing the piano. I can’t imagine having to just up and leave your life and everything behind. It’s so sad…

We had a good visit with them and as we were leaving, Nadiia said that she had to get something. She came back with a cute bag and explained that she had had a business in the Ukraine called Siili (pronounced “silly”, but it means hedgehog in Ukrainian). She made custom bags for sell. She had developed the perfect fabric for the screen-printing and had a textile  factory make it for her. That factory was bombed. So she said “This is rare. I only have 13 bags left and can never make more because the factory is gone. I want to give you one.”  It was such a kind gesture. Knowing how little they had, I felt bad accepting it and asked, “Are you sure?”  But she insisted - it was her way to thank us. The picture was done by an artist friend of hers who illustrates children’s books. It was very humbling and sobering. Mozambique made me truly appreciate clean water, electricity, and food. Meeting them made me appreciate stability and safety. “We are the lucky ones.” 😔

A PS to their story of miracles: The Ternova’s live in another town, 20 ministers away. So, I addition to it being unusual for the elders to be in that store, it was unusual for the Ternova’s to be in that store. And when they came to church on Sunday, the elders thought maybe there would be an English Book of Mormon for them in the branch’s little library. They checked and there was a Ukrainian Book of Mormon!  No one knows how it got there or how long it’s been there, but it was there for this refugee family that fled their country and didn’t have their scriptures.  It was such a clear reminder that Heavenly Father is aware of us and will make things happen, even down to the tiniest detail. 

On Thursday, we had our first Young Women activity. A new family just moved here from Brazil about 3 weeks ago and the wife is a go-getter! She makes friends with anybody and everybody. She, her husband, and two kids come to English class and she was saying “hi” and hugging everybody at the first class. Juliana - we love her! Anyways, she’s the new YW president,  for our class of two, and we just had our first activity. She wanted to get to know the girls.

I told her that I’d bring “pipoca” and teach the girls how to make sugared popcorn on the stove. I had tried it once at home and it turned out perfect. This time, not so much…..

 It totally burned and smoked up her kitchen. 🤦‍♀️  So I started over and just did salty popcorn. That turned out ok, but wasn’t what I was aiming for. 

On Saturday, we had our second Young Adult activity. They wanted to go back to the same place, so we had volleyball, lunch, and swimming. I made a crockpot full of rice and Delton said “I don’t know if they will eat all that.” One spoonful was left. If you cook it, they will come. Haha! 

Sunday, Juliana had to work. They don’t have their residency card yet, so she and her husband take turns working on a river boat that goes from our area to Spain, leaving Saturday and returning on Sunday. It’s the only work they can find right now. Watching these immigrants has given me a new appreciation for people that move to start over in other countries. It’s so hard for them to find work. Her husband has his degree in Logistics and had a good job in Brazil, now he works as a server on the tour boat. The first counselor has his degree and was a high school teacher in Brazil, and now he drives a truck and his wife works in a restaurant. Pres. Hugo drives a truck and his wife works in a factory. They want to move here to be somewhere safe, Brazil has gotten very dangerous. Anyway, she was working and asked me to teach the YW lesson on Sunday. So I prepared the lesson in English and Portuguese. It was about temples and I taught it in English and then translated for Sarah, the younger sister. I had two videos in Portuguese. After I showed them, Anastasia asked, “Do you have video that in Russian? I understand Russian.” I hurried and switched the language to Russian, but I wasn’t sure which video it was cuz the titles were in Russian. I opened one video, thinking that it was the right one. Instead, it was the video where Pres. Uchdorf tells the story of fleeing E. Germany with his mother and how they had to go through the woods, so the border police wouldn’t catch them. I told her what the video was about and asked her if she wanted to watch it. She hesitated and then said yes. After she watched it, she looked at me and said, “That was good.” It was the right one after all.

After church, we went home and had some lunch, and then headed to our other little group. After the meeting, one of the sisters, Amelia,  (of our total of 5) shyly  came up with a sack and handed it to me. I asked her what is was. The other sister, Emilia, who’s not shy at all, said “Open it, sister.”  Inside was a skirt. Emilia went on to tell me that she told Amelia (yeah it’s confusing) to give it to me because it didn’t fit her anymore and I would like it.  I told Amelia that I needed a picture with her and she said “No, no.” I told her, “Yes, for sure.” Then she started laughing and we took a picture. I’ve never seen her laugh. I mended and washed the skirt and I’ll be wearing it next time we go there.  :)

Ok, that’s it! Sorry it’s so long - I have so much to tell when I wait 2 weeks. But hopefully, I’ll get caught up soon and just sent a week’s  worth of pictures, instead of 2 weeks worth. 🙄

I sure love and miss you kids!! And our wee ones! A lot. 

💗 mom