З Новим Роком! -- (Happy New Year!)

Hello, what is up all Thank you for still reading these. I don't even know how many I have written, but it's a lot haha. We had a really good week! The new year was really fun. People go really hard in Ukraine. For some reason the New Year is a really big deal out here. Maybe it's a big thing in the United States too, I just never really went hard on New Year's when I was at home. But when I say it's a big thing here, I mean it's like a BIG thing. People have been launching fireworks for weeks know. The whole celebration begins with 1st Christmas on the 25th, then it culminates on the 31st/1st, and then there is second Christmas on the 7th. So that will be fun. A lot of people haven't really been super keen to meet with us at this time, but it's all good because it has given us a ton of time to find people. I really like finding. It's super fun to talk to all sorts of people and get to know them and build meaningful relationships with random strangers. That's one of my favorite parts of my mission so far. Also, we have begun waking up at 5:45 a couple of days each week in order to play basketball. It has been super fun. We go play at the church with our mission president's sons, and then our mission president comes and picks us up at 7:00 AM to drop us off back home. It kind of feels like he's my dad driving me back from the gym or something haha. Our friends have been doing super well! Tetiana asked us about a baptismal date and what that would entail, and we are working with her to pick a day. We will be reconvening later this week in order to talk to her about it. We are also meeting with a lot of new friends, which has been super cool! Hopefully I will have more to update you on next week after second Christmas has passed, but for now, this is all. Know that I love you so much! I've been thinking a lot about my motives this last week. I listened to a BYU Devotional called "What if Love Was the Motive?", and it really got me thinking. I want to be more like Jesus Christ, and do so, I want to act more out of love. I want my motive to be love, especially in missionary work. Love is the root of the entire gospel of Jesus Christ. All this exists only because God loves us. That is the reason for this life on Earth. That is why Jesus came to the Earth. That is why Jesus was ressurected. It's why we have the Bible and the Book of Mormon. It's how Christ got me out here on a mission. Think about that this coming year. What if you motive was love? How would that improve you life, your relationships, you goals, your activity in the church? If love is our motive for every action, then that would mean that we have become like Christ. Jesus Christ is who he is because He loves perfectly. I'm definitely a far way off, but it's a goal goal to shoot for. With His help I will get there. You will too, because He loves you personally. I love you! I hope you have an amazing week! Don't forget about second Christmas! For some reason we skip it in the United States. Probably because none of us are part of the Ukrainian Pravoclavna Church, but it's all good. Just pencil it in to your calendars and we will make it a thing. - Старійшина Хорслі

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