who knew lenin was such an understanding man?

to all that read,

on the bus here i made a new friend named ileya. he kissed my hand and gave me marriage advice. he's probably a good 80 years old. a war veteran. his wife died long ago and his son lives far away. he was on the way to the market in donetsk from makeevka. off to market. he was kind. i love the grandpas of ukraine.

we live above a bakery. not where they sell the bread, just where they make it. it smells delightful. early morning or night or weekends when they're not baking? it doesn't smell delightful.

i don't let myself think about all the dirt and germs in everything everywhere. i'd have a nervous breakdown if i let myself. so i don't.

we had a lesson with the non-member husband of a member woman named vera this week. his name's valentin. he's 65 and has quite the beer belly and a cute little mustache. this week c.pharis, c.erekson, and i were talking about how you never think that those dramatizations of eastern european people or russians actually exist or that you'll actually see the cliche old babushkas on the street. nope, you do. everywhere. bless them. anyway. valentin is a delightful man. quiet, but listens. he smokes and drinks. his wife really wants to be sealed. he wants it too, but feels too long gone. they're cute. baby steps. i'm telling you. the dedushki. (grandpas.) i love them.

the seasons went from winter to summer. though maybe i guess you could say there were a couple weeks of spring in there. no matter what happens, there's sunshine outside. that makes everything better. i thank heavenly father for it every day. i think people think i'm weird to mention the sun in prayers. i do it anyway. never mind the fact that it means the sun comes out real early and sleeping all the way to 6:30 is impossible. sleep is a relative term in this country anyway. sleep? what is that?

little makeevka is a charming little place. we live near the lenin statue. the members here are wonderful. i love how much they love each other and love missionaries and missionary work. president's driver/secretary/something lives in our branch. his name is vladimir. last week we had a lesson planned that fell through, but he came contacting with us. because eight years ago missionaries first came up to him and his wife and son in the very park we were walking past. and so we did.

when people talk about the effect of spiritual things or the effect of church on themselves, they say it 'becomes easier on the soul.' i think that's so beautiful. a perfected form of becoming easier. do you feel your soul becoming easier?

this week i went outside with no coat or jacket of any kind. and today no sweater or even tights. and everything turned out just fine.

it looks even more like romania here. and smells like it too. like a mix between iasi and brasov.

c.bullichka said something i can't get out of my head this past week. she said, 'we're not earning heaven, we're learning heaven.' there's already a place for everyone. we're just learning how to be there, get there, and live it. keep it. to say guardian angels in russian, the word for guardian comes from the verb to keep, secure, or protect. a safe place. are you learning?

courtney clarkson, you asked about packages. they arrive. they're least likely to be opened if you wrap them like you're laminating them with tape. speaking of packages. if anyone sends one, can i make a request for cadbury eggs or double stuffed oreos? or both? and crunchy peanut butter is always loved. i forgot they existed until some random moment this week.

sorry this is so scattered. time just doesn't allow for anything different.

the sun is out. summer is here. yesterday i told the member i was sitting by on the bus to church that may is my favorite month. she said they love it too. there are lots of orthodox holidays in may. and victory day. never mind that that means drunk people. i do so love the month of may. what would it be like to live in a world that was always april through june? i love that quote that grandma has in the cottage in st.george. a world that's always june.
let the sun shine on. it's here.

much love,
cectpa em.