a real long coal train

fam bamily. so much to say. so little to say. the usual. we have a new mission president! i hear they're wonderful, though i haven't met them yet. we have a zone conference on saturday, so i'll keep you posted. it's sad to say farewell to the camperos, though, of course. they did so much for this place. this mission. there's a bright future ahead. sidenote, naomi is the cutest little ball of joy on the planet. i loved the photo of her and grandma b! also, can i request someone mailing the picture from father's day with all of you in it? i decided i want to be able to show off when people are looking at pictures. people here love pictures. love them. last monday we went to an fhe with a member that we've rescheduled with a thousand times. turns out it was with her, her mother (a darling blind babushka), and four other relief society women. they're darling. it's fine, relief society is the same around the world. the darling chatter. fussing over the table. then pictures in delight. there's a special place in heaven for these women. regardless of any weakness they may have, in my eyes they're saints. the beautiful sisters. and i like to think that's the way God looks at all of us - not the harsh perception we create sometimes in judging ourselves. mostly just an adoring Father, i'd care to bet. there's that man named viktor that we tracted into. i know someone was probably wondering what happened. either way, he's being passed to the elders. please and thank you. made their week. free progressing investigator? okay. normal. this was one of those weeks when our meager pool of people found all fell off the planet. but it's fine, we had a lot of adventures instead. our favorite one? once upon a time. we went to get on a bus we get on frequently. both of us checked multiple times the number as we got on. it was a busier time of day, and when it is they have a bigger longer bus that they'll use in addition to the smaller ones. so it was the bigger one, and we both checked. well, then the bus pulled out of the station and turned to the left instead of to the right, as usual. so we thought maybe it was just taking a different route since it's a bigger bus. well, a real pretty ride through the middle of nowhere, ukraine, past a few villages, and waiting a real long time for a long coal train to pass by, past some sunflower fields later, the last stop was reached, and as we got out, we looked and a small paper, only on the front, showed a different number route. awkward. and since the whole ride was through the middle of nowhere (we live at the edge of the city), there was nothing to be done but ride it out because even if we had gotten off upon realizing the mistake, there was no way back home. so we rode it out. it's fine, we laughed quite hard. and on the bright side, it was beautiful and there are some awfully nice old grandmothers and grandfathers that live in that place, in case you were wondering. cool. halfway to russia? normal. there's this taxi driver we had this past week. (not that we take taxis often. but this past week we had a couple.) he was kind of seemingly punkish at first. i was skeptical, but cordial and we had a chat. so i talked to him about his family. asked him what brought him joy. and then, this thirty-something man, got a look of delight in his eye and said a word i didn't recognize that i finally realized mean cartoons or old animations. "you know, like tom and jerry? the old soviet ones? those were real. the ones today just aren't the same. but the old soviet cartoons? i just really like those." and with a boyish delight, this big tough guy melted into thinking of a simple thing that brought him joy. what would you say? what brings you joy? before answering, he turned the question on me - a question i've asked frequently, but hardly anyone has ever asked me in return. caught me off-guard. the greatest joys are the little things. the moments. most of all, people. love. guess who gets to be the babysitter companionship for sister armknecht for a few hours today before we drop her off at the mission home? this girl. i'm excited. i get to see her one more time before she flies home TOMORROW! to begin the most beautiful life. can't wait. it was flamingly sweaty, hot, and humid this past week, but we also had a few summer storms. the other day, it poured in the morning, we dripped sweat through the day, then it poured again in the evening. with thunder and lighting. all of which ended with the sky clearing to millions of stars, everything cooling off, and seeing a patch of clouds and lightning illuminating the sky from a distance. beautiful. some things no camera could ever capture. what is it about the stars that makes them so enchanting? after planning, sister hassard and i just stared out the window at them. yesterday we stopped by a whole bunch of less actives with a girl in the branch who is 17 and planning on serving a mission when she turns 19 in a year and a half. most weren't home, but it was a delight to have her with us. and one woman agreed to let us come by later in the week. after that, nastya (the branch member) had to go home, but we decided to stop by to one more woman. she opened the door to her apartment and her dog ran out. she kind of just looked at us, and then seemed kind of annoyed and now worrying about coming out to get her dog. we stood awkwardly trying to get the dog to not run all the way down the stairs, and then talked to her right there on the landing of the stairs between the third and fourth floor. she was baptized twenty years ago and was lead to the church by her daughter who is a member with three children in another branch in donetsk. she's been longtime inactive, though. but she reads the book of mormon. she knows it's all true. she so strongly believes in all of it. but she doesn't come. when i asked her, she said she just felt like crying whenever she was there. so lonely. so she didn't come. she compared herself to oliver cowdery. she said, 'knows it's true, but then becomes a businessman.' she politely declined anything we offered to do to help her, and then we walked away feeling broken hearted for her. so now i'm determined that somehow, someway, this woman will go to the temple someday. galina. bless her. anyway. a million things to say. a million things i can't remember. time is flying. i can't believe it's july already. happy fourth of july on thursday! i love the fourth of july. we watched the broadcast with the branch yesterday. today the district president's wife called and invited us to fhe tonight with them and a woman they invited. bless them. we're ecstatic. welp. much love to one and all! try not to melt. :) much love, sista em.