Derek Gets Transferred

Dear family and friends,

life is just wonderful. i got transferred to xtz, which is pronounced 'huh tuh zuh', which stands for xharkov tractor factory. i finally made it to kharkov! it is so wonderful. the air doesn't smell like coal, the buildings aren't all domes. there are people on the streets! the weather has been perfect, not too hot, not too cold, just like goldilocks. my area is known throughout the mission as the ghetto, but honestly it isn't bad. we have a couple of beautiful parks, lots of trees, i really love the area. my companion is older than me. he is an awesome kid, we have a lot in common. my third companion from texas! the apartment is also known as one of the worst in the mission, but i really like it. it has a lot of character, and all the basics are fine.

kharkov, man that’s hard to type in english, is such a great place. there is this pastry shop everywhere, called kalininchy, it is like starbucks in america. only in kharkov, and so tasty. it is just a great atmosphere, much more pleasant. my district is legit, i have zone leaders and another couple of missionaries. we are having a good time, today we are going to the zoo! i feel like a 6 year old, but it should be a good time.

the branch is... interesting. my branch recently combined with another, so two pretty weak branches became one fairly strong branch, which is a good change. my area has lots of less actives, and crazy members, and then one really legit family i met with my first day here. they are so cool.

anyways, the week: i don't think i mentioned last monday we did shishkabobs with the bontsovs to celebrate victory day. it was a good ol time. they make some dang delicious shishkabobs here. the next few days we did goodbye lessons with most of the members, an met with our investigators, but nothing too different. it was a good week. obviously, transfer day was the highlight. like i said, transferred to kharkov with elder haizen. its like a five hour bus ride, which was a blast, we had several legit guys, it was a party.

then we get to kharkov and taxi it to xtz, which is kind of the very edge of kharkov. by then it was like almost 9, so we just got to know each other, i got settled. the next day we had a full day of contacting, with a lesson with this funny old man who does what he calls 'pop art', which is just cutting a bunch of pieces of material into shapes, and arranging it in patterns. it is good he has a hobby, he is like 70 years old.

that night we met with the koolievs, which is that legit family. we gave the dad a blessing, he was feeling sick. we had a bunch of pancakes, a quick lesson, then went home. they are a way strong family. its good to see that here.

church was pretty uneventful. it is a good branch, it has lots of problems, but it is good. after we met with a 12 year old recent convert black kid named ali. he is a great kid. then we took the sacrament to this lady, like 92 years old, i don't' know how she is still alive, honestly. she is going sometime soon. but she really appreciates us coming by. then another lesson with a crazy lady who... is too emotional for her age. she is like 50 probably, and she told us she will come back to church when she 'figures some stuff out'.

so that was the week, i'm very excited about this transfer, it should be a party, and we will get some good work done. kharkov is so great. thanks for your prayers to send me up here guys! now lets just pray i stay here for a while.

thanks for all the letters! love you all!

love, derek