Hello,

On Wednesday I was in L'viv to pick my new companion. He has two transfers left on his mission before he goes home.  Now in L'viv the missionaries are not allowed to preach, wear name tags, or carry books. Something with the government a little upset about the creation of a new mission there. So it has been pretty hard for the missionaries there to do much other than meet with members and teach English. Anyway, while I was there I got to eat at McDonalds for breakfast. It was ok, a little expensive.

I have a little miracle to share with you. So, the other night we were at the train station to pick up the three sisters coming into Chernivtsi at about eleven at night. We were asked by our district leader to go and help them with their bags so they would not have to lift them all by themselves. We went and helped them, got in a taxi and took them to their apartment. We then paid the taxi driver, and unloaded the bags from the back of the truck. Then the taxi drove away. We had forgot to ask him to wait so that he could take us from the sisters apartment back to our apartment. at this point it was about midnight and it was pitch black. We called a different taxi company to come and get us, but we were told they did not have any free taxis. 

So I turned to my companion and he asked "are we running?" I told him yes. We then proceeded to sprint for 25 minutes until we reached our apartment. It was not until the next day however, that we realized how blessed we actually were. The next day we walked back down the same path that we had ran the night before. However, in the light of day we were able to see how bad the road really was. There were so many holes, big rocks, uneven steps, drop offs, and debris that we should have tripped, fallen, gotten hurt, or even noticed the rough ground as we ran. As we talked about it, we both felt like the run had been very smooth, and it was hard for us to believe that the same road we were looking at was the one we had ran the night before. We both felt like we were blessed and that God had been watching out for us.

On Saturday was Ukraine's independence day. So to celebrate we had to be at home by six. So me and my companion just turned on church DVD's and worked out a lot. If you are wondering, that is what the benching pictures are from. My companion has some weights, so its super good since he lets me use them.

On Sunday I was able to give our recent convert the gift of the Holy Ghost. I was a little nervous, had trouble pronouncing his full name, and I may or may not have repeated myself a few times, but over all it was a very uplifting experience.

What else to say? That's about all from my end.

I love you all so much!

Until next week, Love,

Elder Hadfield