April 26, 2010 - photos

Here are a few of the pictures Ryan sent this week.

A picture from Nastia's baptism. He wrote about that in his email last week. Elder Monson baptized Nastia.

This is Ryan looking over the city of Rivne.

Here is a statue of "some legend warrior dude about to finish off a three-headed dragon - totally awesome." His words.

Ryan on top of a World War II tank.

A castle in Lutsk that Ryan visited a couple of weeks ago on his p-day.

World War II monument that says "Glory to the Heroes."

Ryan standing next to the monument to give you an idea of the immense size of the monument.

Looks like he is having fun seeing the sights on his p-days! :)

April 26, 2010

Hey Mom,

So 9:05 PM (our time) will work out just fine. That will give us as much time as you want to talk, seeing as you will be paying for it ;) I will send you an email next week with our companionship's cell number. And btw, if you use a calling card, the prices will probably be a little higher than advertised because you will be calling a cell phone...just so you know. Also, transfers are this week, but we found out on Saturday (the Zone Leaders get a fax and then call everyone) that Elder Monson and I are staying together in Rivne for another transfer.

So, this past week was absolutely crazy. On Monday, I had my interview with President Steinagel which was cool. Then afterward, Elder Clemmens and Hofeling (who are serving in Lutsk) and I went around town and checked out some statues. I will send some pictures home. This week, we also set two new baptismal dates which is very rare. One of them was a total miracle; here's the story. On Thursday we met with an active member, and had a quick lesson on the importance of testimony and then challenged him to write his testimony in a new Book of Mormon and pray about someone to give it to. That night he gave it away and the next morning at 7am, he called and told us he found a new investigator and asked if we wanted to come and meet him. We met with him that day, a 15 year old kid named Zhenya, and then he ended up staying at the branch for 4 hours and he sat through institute. Then on Saturday, he came to the branch building 3 hours before a 20th anniversary of the Church in Ukraine activity which the branch held. Then yesterday, he sat through all three hours of church before meeting with us after. After a 20 minute lesson, we asked him to set a goal to be baptized and he said "Why not do it right now?" It was absolutely incredible and now on the 8th of May, Zhenya is getting baptized. Those are the types of miracles that we see everyday here in Rivne. It is truly the only way the work can progress so quickly because of all that we cannot do here. But, as we do our very best and trust in the Lord, and pray for miracle after miracle, the Lord's hand is literally evident in all that we do. It is absolutely incredible what is going on here.

Well, you heard about the Temple dedication date. We were so excited to hear about it. President Steinagel sent a text out to everyone. He is pushing us so hard to do our very best to prepare the people for the temple, whether it is the members or those we meet. It is truly such a miracle and a blessing for the people in this part of the world. I am so excited to help out and there is a rumor floating around that all the missionaries will be pulled into Kyiv to help with the open house and dedication. Also, There are going to be many General Authorities coming in and out of Ukraine for the next few months before the dedication. The temple is just one more miracle that the Lord has granted to all of us here in the Eastern part of the World.

So I am glad to hear that the family is all doing so well. It is good that everyone has been so busy, but you also have to be safe in the process ;) I know your ankle will heal soon enough.
Oh, I have a request for some items. First, have you heard anything about my ring? Whenever you get that and you are ready to send a package, could you also send me my Columbia Jacket. I don't really have any mid-weight jacket and even though I may not get it until it is too warm, it would be nice for the fall. The other option is that I spend $50 to buy one here. Also, the socks we got were pretty poor quality and many of them are suddenly getting holey. I think I will just buy some more here, but I just want you to know that I will be spending a little money sometime within the next month or so. Also, with the package, some peanut butter would be appreciated ;P And I don't know if I told you this, but from what everyone has said, a USPS flat rate box is the safest and easiest way to get a package here.

Well, I don't have time, but thanks for your support and love and for your testimony. I love you all and am grateful for your examples. Keep close to each other, follow the prophets, read your scriptures and pray often and all will be just fine.

Love, Elder Jones

April 19, 2010

Mom,

So thanks for the update from Elder Sudbury. I am glad to hear that all is going well for him. If you get the chance to write him, let him know that I would like his email and that all is well with me.

So things here in Rivne are still very busy. We are working hard with only two and the results are paying off. We had a baptism this week! Nastia, a 14 year old girl who has waited for six years to get permission, was baptized on Saturday. She is absolutely incredible and it is truly fun to work with her and to be strengthened by her example and testimony. She has come to church for six years, since she was 8, but wasn't allowed to be baptized until now. She had an especially hard week with family who has been telling her that she is doing the wrong thing. Her testimony in Christ is solid though and even with an inactive member grandmother who is now проти(against), she finally had the opportunity to be baptized. It was such a spiritual experience and I am so grateful to have been a part of it. Yesterday I stood in the circle as we gave her the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It is truly incredible.

We have another investigator, David, who is 17 years old and has some really big exams coming up (remind you of anyone at home?). He was at the baptism and I really hope that he continues to work towards being baptized himself. His sister Sveta, is a member and she has been great at trying to help and support him and I feel that he is progressing well.

We have a young family that we are teaching too - Nina and Alexey. They are recently married and they are so solid. They come to English class, but we have been teaching them for about a month and I feel that they may be baptized soon too.

There are others that we are working with too and each one is different. Some of them know a whole lot and are just afraid to act, while others are young and haven't lived very spiritual lives but they are looking for peace and knowledge. They are all progressing differently, but it is truly a miracle to see each and every one of them grow. Even with my limited knowledge of the language, they are all so patient and willing to help and I do my best each and every time we meet them, to help them come just a little closer unto Christ. This work is truly the Lord's work and His hand is in everything. We see miracles everyday as people find us, or as an investigator realizes something, or even just in conversation with the members. The Lord is in control of everything and as we put our faith in Him and do our very best to be diligent and obedient, he is so willing to bless us. I have a strong testimony that our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ love us so very strongly and all they ask is that we do our best. As we do so, they send blessings of peace and comfort, or knowledge, or love, and we feel Their love in our lives even more. I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. He lives and he leads this church through a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and through living apostles. This gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is the true word of God and He has given it to us so that we can bring those blessings into our lives. Jesus Christ is the Savior and the Redeemer of us all. He suffered in Gethsemane and He died on the cross at Golgotha so that we can be free from sin and He is Resurrected so that we can live with Him again. I know that I don't deserve the things that He has given me, but Christ's love is perfect and each and every day I feel it. I am trying so hard to become just a little more like Jesus and as I do my best, He helps me to do things that I could only imagine.

I love you very much and I am very thankful for your love and support. I know that you are sacrificing a lot so that I can be out here and I am truly grateful for that. Stay strong in the faith and I know that these next two years will be one of the greatest blessings of your life, as well as mine. The Lord is always ready to support you and as you remember that and ask for His help, it will come.

Love
Elder Ryan Jones

April 12, 2010

Hey Mom,

So everything is going well for me. We are hanging out in Lutsk today which is about an hour west of Rivne. We came to spend the day with the Elders here and I saw some of them from Lviv too. We have been crazy busy, but this conference weekend was kinda slow because of all the time conference took. We watched it all in Ukrainian which was incredibly tough. My brain was fried by the end and I still don't understand a whole lot, but I got the basic overview of all of them. There were some really good ones. Family and the temple were stressed a lot too. I really liked Elder Hales' talk about family. That is a really good one to go back and to study and I know if you do what he said, and what Elder Ballard said in his about Young Women and Mothers, that everything at home will be fine. One thing I was thinking of that we didn't do very regularly at home was FHE. I know it would definitely strengthen the family if you just set apart ten minutes to do a quick spiritual thought on Monday after dinner but before the girls go out and play, that things would be just that much smoother. It is a commandment from the Lord and I know that it would bring so many more blessings upon our home. You and Dad should definitely talk about that.

So, I am glad that my pictures came through just fine. Just so you know, on that one picture Святиня для Господа means "Holiness for the Lord" and Дім Господа means "House of the Lord." Those were just a few pictures of the beautiful temple. They are almost done, probably within three months. I have heard the inside is almost done and the grounds are the biggest work ahead of them. The dedication still hasn't been announced, but President Monson alluded to it as one of the temples being dedicated this fall. I have heard late August our early September a lot. Hopefully it is then. I also heard that all the missionaries were being pulled in to help with the open house for three weeks and then after the dedication we would all head back out. Just a rumor though. Btw, it takes eight and a half hours to get to Kyiv from Rivne so we take a nightish train and get in the early morning.

Caitlin told me a little about all that is going on with her. She is stressed out with all the changes coming, but I think she will be fine. Just tell her to relax and have fun. 'If you aren't having fun, you aren't doing it right." - Elder Monson

So, I haven't heard from Curtis. How long is he going to be in Ogden, do you know? I am sure he is doing great out there. Hopefully he gets his visa soon.

Well, I don't have time because we are in a hurry, but tell everyone that I love them. Tell Dad that I will write him next week because I don't have time. Also, please feel free to send pictures if you have anything new. It would be nice to get updates every once and a while about home. Anyway, remember that I love you very much. Also, remember what President Monson said in his closing speech. You get the Ensign so always remember to go back and to study the words of the prophets. They are very important and they are very true. Remember that the Lord loves you, that Christ is our Savior and that I am out doing His work. Don't worry about me, because the Lord is always watching over me. Remember to do the things that the Prophets said and I know that you too will be blessed. I love you very much.

Love,

Elder Ryan Jones

April 5, 2010 - Pictures!

Hey Mom,

So I have a couple of pictures that I am gonna try to send home. A couple of my companions, of the zoo in Rivne (we went last p-day) and the temple in Kyiv which is absolutely beautiful. Enjoy!

Love Elder Jones

So on the right is Ryan's companion, Elder Monson, at the zoo.

Here is Elder Tkachenko who is heading to Utah to the MTC tomorrow. Looks like he's having some fun with the pelicans, better watch out!

Ryan at the zoo. Looking pretty good, don't you think?

The temple in Kyiv, still under construction.

A close up.

Elder Tkachenko, Elder Monson and Elder Jones in front of the temple.

The tri-panionship - Ryan, Elder Tkachenko, Elder Monson.

April 5, 2010

Hey Mom,

So I am in київ(Kyiv) today because we are dropping off Elder Tkachenko. He is heading to Utah tomorrow and it will just be Elder Monson and I for the next month before transfers when apparently more may come into Rivne. We are hanging out at the Ward building/Mission office which is right next door to the temple. It is really cool to be able to see the Temple (which, apart from all the construction equipment and dirt, is nearly done) and to know that in a couple of months, the Ukrainians will be able to take part in the blessings of the temple.

So to answer your questions, in order, all the keyboards are in English and they have Russian type on the corresponding key, so each key has two letters. It is way to hot for me to be wearing the long underwear, especially when we are in the branch building or peoples homes teaching lessons, but I am sure they will work great. In the MTC, they did have little books like that called TALL which is a computer program created by the MTC that helps missionaries learn language. And they had one in Ukrainian in the MTC. The weather here is starting to warm up quickly and the greens are starting to poke out. It is going to be so beautiful in a few weeks. We did not get to see conference this weekend, but the Church distributes DVDs to all of the branches so we will see the translated version next week and it will be just like a conference. Then we get an English Liahona next month too. We do teach LARCs (Less-active/Recent convert) each week and we are trying to work to keep some people strong. For the most part, those that we are teaching are doing really well. Finally, we live on Soborna across the street from the statue of Mary, the queen who founded the town or something like that. One thing that is totally awesome about Ukraine is the statues which they put up without regrets. They are fun.

Well, this past week, all of my pictures got erased somehow. I must have accidentally pressed a button when I was going through all of the settings. Luckily, I did not have a lot, just some from Kyiv, so I will try to be more diligent in taking pictures and then hopefully next week I will send home some pictures. Also, I will probably send some DVDs home of all my pictures once the memory cards get a little more full.

Also, this past week, we continued to be incredibly busy in Rivne and as a result, we saw a couple of miracles. First off, to give some background: because of what some missionaries did a while back, Americans were only allowed back in for the first time on Christmas and Elder Monson and Hamilton were those missionaries. At the time, there were no real investigators or much that was new in the area book, but because of their diligent work, and then the work of Elder Monson, Tkachenko, and Rhodes (who I replaced as he went home) the city got prepared. Finally, these past couple of weeks, we have been working really hard and this past week we got two more baptismal dates in the city. Rivne hasn't had a baptism for over a year, but we have one in two Saturdays and then hopefully there will be a couple more coming up afterward. We still have tons of work to do, but somehow, without the ability to tract or contact on the streets or teach women at all, we have become one of the most productive and busy cities in the mission. Hopefully as we continue to do our best, the Lord will continue to bless us and we will stay on the right track.

Well, Mom, that is all I have time for this week, but I want to let you know that I love you and that I know this is the Lord's work. Everyday I see the miracles that he brings forth and I know that it is because this Gospel is true. This is the restored gospel of Chirst. We sat in on a mini-zone conference today for the Kyiv-West zone and the Assistants to the President had us do a little activity where we thought about the truths and ordinances that we know through the Restoration. I know that it is all true and I am grateful to take that truth to others. Tell the rest of the family that I love them too. Happy Easter and tomorrow, happy 180th anniversary of the organization of the Church. Today is a pretty special day in between those two. Anyway, I love you and I will write again next week.

Love,

Elder Ryan Jones