Krystina's mission blog.

If you would like to follow my mission updates, my sister will be posting on my blog: Click below!

Syster Randall's blog

SEVASTOPOL!

Elder Parkinson is being transfered to the coveted area! Sevastopol!

"so president called today and he told me that I am going to be transfered. im going to sevastopol! the city i said i wanted to serve in before my mission ended haha. its going to be sooooo awesome and im super pumped! my new companion is a native so he knows russian perfectly and he knows english pretty good i think ha. there are only 2 natives in the mission and i get one of them haha im going to get so good at russian i hope ha. soooo awesome. i cant wait to see sevastopol. i leave tuesday night on a train at 9 pm. and go to sevastopol. i will travel with 2 other missionaries. should be great. sevastopol is already super warm and green ha and right on the black sea. so pumped!!!"

I am so happy for Kyler! ha he is such a rockstar missionary. He is working so hard and i know he we be soo blessed for it! Can't wait to see what Sevastopol has to offer him! 

a cute story: 

"so in ukraine they have mens day and womens day and they are huge holidays. it was womens day recently and everyone had flowers for the ladies. flowers everywhere ha. we went and bought some flowers for our neighbor. we're going to get her to go to church haha. she took us into her house and was giving us a tour ha and we said oh wow very pretty ha. she then took the flowers and kissed elder cooper on the cheeck 3 times and then i was like oh great, im next ha. she grabbed me and gave me 3 juicy, old, slobbery, gummy kisses haha. shes probably like 60 something years old. she loved the flowers though and it made us feel good ha. pretty funny experience. we rubbed our cheecks in the elevator and were laughing super hard haha. it was great."

haha what a cute lady! I love Preach My Gospel missionaries who are bringing people to the Gospel simply by being Christ-like and having sincere love for the people! 

Ps I  leaves in 9 days. what?! crazy. Julie will be taking over the blog soon so everyone can keep checking!

Miracles

"There are miracles happening right and left and its amazing."

I will paraphrase one miracle that kyler wrote about:
They have been doing a lot of street contacting lately, they talk to every single person they can. While contacting they met a man who had a personal matter he was concerned about so they prayed right there on the street with him. The next day his prayer was answer and he received what he needed in his life. 
--I teared up a little when I read this. So awesome. 

Elder Parkinson has been a little sick. But he says he is better.

He has written a lot about over coming fear. One of his favorite quotes has always been "Don't let fear control you, let it fuel you."  Kyler has honestly taken that and ran with it.He has said time and time again that if you are staying in your comfort zone you aren't growing. And he truly pushes himself everyday. He has stepped way out of his comfort zone with so many things on his mission because he knows it is important "This is eternal salvation were talking about!"

Fear is a tricky thing. But Fear can't exist if we don't let it. So face your fears now. Don't wait. Or you will never grow. The hardest trials bring the brightest blessings. And you never know what you can do until you give 100%. 

 On splits he went to the country for the first time.

 This was by someone's doorbell, or warning sign, kinda like "beware killer dog" ha

"When on the pursuit for happiness, don't forget to stop and BE happy."

Transfer #3

Kyler just had his third transfer! Crazy! His companion Elder Mckinney finished his mission and returned home. Ky was so lucky to have him. His new companion is Elder Cooper! Who is friends with his cousin Alexis! pretty cool! Their mission president has made a new schedule so that they can be more efficient. They are working soooo hard! They pack meals on the go so they can get as much work done in the day as possible. They take shorter showers hahaha (which is serious commitment if you know Kyler!) They are there to serve and they are working dang hard. On Sunday Kyler had a crazy flu. He threw up every 20 minutes. He even got up to go because they had to meet with the AP and he threw up on the street. He said he was reallllly sick. and kyler doesn't get sick very often! He is up and running again though:) 

35 days till I Leave!!! I am so ready to go! 

Elder Cooper

 They helped a woman deliver all these books. He said they walked forever to get there but it was way awesome and she was so nice. I guess she talked their ears off. They loved her:)

There are dogs every where! 

5 months

5 months down... Pretty crazy to think about. But time is slowing with the anticipation for my mission, not hearing from ky for a while, and my best girlfriend leaving on her mission. School, work and mission prep keeps me so busy, but time is just movin slow. But I am still happy and just trying to focus on me and my mission.  :) HAPPY FIVE MONTHS

I had candles 1-9 except 5! haha so sad. had to resort to 4+1

Adventures

Well it has been a while! Kyler is doing great. He loves it more and more every time we hear from him. There have been trials to overcome but he always keeps his perspective. I love hearing how close he is getting to the people and the relationships he is making. He is creating some real friends and loves them all. He loves their lifestyle because they are really fun and like to party :) ha but he is bringing them happiness that they can't find anywhere else. I am so proud of him and Miss him a ton!. It is so hard not sharing everything going on in our lives in the moment but we definitely need to have these two years to ourselves! Can't wait to share our memories when we return!

 Entertainment provided by Mom. aka Julie. They launched the parachute guys from their balcony

 Elder Mckinney's Ukrainian clothes. (He returns home February 6! I can't believe we can say that one of Kyler's companions is home from his mission)

 Happy New Year fire works! They had to stay inside for 2 days! Because The Ukrainians love to party so it can get a little crazy.

 Ward Party!

 These people are huge BYU fans so Julie and Mike sent them some hats:) haha

 Isn't she just soooo cute!

 I sent him one of Oakley's feathers that fell out :) haha

Sweet Tunnel with awesome street art

 AMERICAN PEANUT BUTTER! yaay ha

Mckell and I had a fun day together and at the end we took a picture with our favorite missionary:) I sure love ya Elder Parkinson. :)

Christmas in Ukraine!

Kyler is having a blast. He has such fun stories. For example, They had a snowball fight with some high school students haha. They got a new Branch Presidency and he really likes them. I'm just glad he loves it there.
"This week was sooooooo awesome. so much fun. i am loving my mission sooo much haha. so fun. i never want to leave."...That pretty much sums it up right there. :)

 Penguin pjs his companion had him wear on Christmas morning.

 Christmas as a Missionary

 Heart shaped cereal.

Even though we dont get to be together for christmas I tried to make up for it ;)