Sister Merrill's Mission Blog: Moldova or Genovia?

February 24, 2020

Hello friends and family!

Question of the day: Which is a real country.... Moldova or Genovia?

A Bit of Center Kiev

The correct answer is Moldova! Genovia is where the popular film, "The Princess Diaries" is set. Unfortunately, it is not a real place.

But... Moldova is! And Moldova will be my home for the next couple months!! It is a small country on the border of Ukraine. I will be serving with Sister Jones and we will be two of the four sisters serving in Moldova. I will fly to the city, Chisinau, on Wednesday:-)

Although I am excited, and ready for this new adventure, I will miss serving the people here in Borsch. I have adored the past four months serving in this area. There is nothing like having the temple, senior couples, and the biggest ward in Ukraine in your area!

I have compiled a list of things that I will miss while I am in Moldova...

- The senior couples. They really are just the absolute best. I am so grateful for them and their constant love and support.

- Hotel Borshagovski. That is what we call our apartment because we have sisters from all over the mission stay with us all the time! I have loved getting to know the sisters and learning from them.

- Our English Class. For some reason, the English class here in Borsch is obsessed with my past lama, Carl. One day I told a story about him and I became the "Lama Girl". They are so hilarious and always ask to hear stories about him. Thanks Carl!

- Ipidrom. This is a place that we like to contact because there are a lot of people and.... a lot of horses:)))))

- Center Kiev. We usually spend our P day's in center because there is so much to do there. It is so beautiful and we always find ourselves running into other missionaries there. Fun times!

- My comp, Sister Olson! We have had some of the greatest adventures together and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve with her these past two transfers.

- Ukrainian. Well.... Russian and Ukrainian are actually very different languages. Ukrainian is more melodic and for me, it is really hard to understand people when they speak Ukrainian. In Moldova, they only speak Romainian and Russian. It will be interesting being in a place without Ukrainian being the predominant language.

- The people. I have made some lifelong friends here in Kiev. I am leaving a piece of my heart here! They are the most loyal, determined and faithful people.

*The Bulatnik family. This is the family that we have been teaching for the past little bit. I am so grateful for their examples and am impressed by their desire to become closer to Jesus Christ. I am sad that I will not be able to attend their baptism, but am SO happy that they have made the decision to follow Christ's example. I LOVE THEM!

The Bulatnik family! I love them! Igor and Darina are so excited to be missionaries.

*Ann. Ann is one of our investigators who we just adore! She loves the Book of Mormon and always does the kindest things for us. On Saturday, she took us to the "Sala Festival". Sala is a popular traditional Ukrainian dish. It is basically just animal fat... Yum! Anyways, it was super fun! There was also a dog competition going on so we saw some awesome dogs.

* The old man who writes poems about Jesus Christ and gives them to us at church. He only speaks in Ukrainian to us so we cannot understand everything that he says, but we feel his love for the gospel!

* Tatiana and her husband, Sasha. They are an older couple who love to have us over for dinner. Tatiana makes the BEST food and Sasha loves to wear his "Make America Great Again" shirt and tell us all about how incredible Donald Trump is. They are so kind to us and their testimonies are so strong.

This week I hit my halfway mark! 9 months?! Как!? My heart is so full of love for this country, the people, and the gospel. I am grateful for this opportunity I have to spread the gospel to the people of Moldova. I lOvE being a missionary!

The church is true! Read the Book of Mormon! Say your Prayers!

Write me!;)