Happy New Year!

On New Year's Eve, we went to the Center Sister's apartment to celebrate with all eight sisters in Kiev, and have a slumber party! We played Bonanza, watched "It's a wonderful live” again, and Sister Movchanyk made some super awesome pizza! Sveta stopped by and dropped off her guitar before she left for Germany- which Sister Morton was very excited about. Then we played Phase 10 'till midnight! The next morning we made pancakes for breakfast and watched Ben-Hur, then a BYU 1984 football game. Then we went home and Sister's Pack and Garff called and we talked to them, then I worked on a puzzle. We did some weekly planning then the day was over.

On Tuesday we had a Christmas party for our English group and we were running late to go set up for it. I had a backpack full of party supplies, my arms were carrying a large hot cookie sheet(in which the cookies were not even done all the way) snow had fallen into my boots and my feet were getting wet, and the trolley bus that we had been waiting for stopped very far away so that we had to cross a river full of ice and slush to get to it. I was not happy. I remember asking the trolley bus in a not so quiet voice why it had stopped so far away, and I also informed my companion that I was never making cookies again!
Then, out of the crowds of darkness, stood a man in a yellow coat who offered me his hand and lead me across the icy river and onto the already packed trolley bus, just barely finding enough room for himself before the doors shut. He spoke some kind words to me that I didn't quite understand, then he helped me off at the next stop- to get out of the way of all the people who needed to exit, then he helped me back on again. There were less people this time so that I was able to hold onto the railing to keep myself up, then I looked around and the man was gone.
Whether this man was an angel sent from God, or just an ordinary Ukrainian who took pity on an angry American girl- it's all the same to me. I felt God's love as I was left in awe at the kindness of a stranger. In the scriptures, the common message of angels is...fear not, God loves you. The message I received that night was...stress not, God loves you.

-Meagen
1-4-10