July 12, 2010

Hey Mom,

So, those pictures of all the kids surprised me.  (I sent pictures of some of my nephews and nieces kids.)  It is so crazy to see how fast they are all growing up.  When I get back I won't even recognize them, and they definitely won't remember me.  It is so incredible to see kids grow up and before we know it, it will be them serving on the missions.  You got to see all of their parents, your nieces and nephews, when they were that age, and now look at where they are at, crazy!

Good luck this week with work and with your lesson plan.  Family history is so important, because without it, we can't bring our families together.  Elder Nelson's talk this past conference about family history was so full of information, it was really cool.  That could be a good place to start planning if you have thought of that already.

You asked about p-days so I guess I will let you know what our p-day schedule is like.  We wake up at 6:30, get ready, eat breakfast, study and then get out at 11:00 to do internet.  After that, we go shopping and get home usually around 2:30ish.  Then we clean the apartment a little, make lunch, and have a couple of hours to relax, or bake something, or study more.  There isn't a lot to see or do here and it has rained a lot on p-days, so we usually don't do much.  At 6:00 we are back to work, trying to find people and teaching lessons.  Not to special of a day, just some chores and a little bit of relaxation...but not much.

Anyway, so this week was a pretty good one here.  It was tough again and the work was slow at times, but we have found some new families to teach which is absolutely awesome.  I am so excited to be able to start teaching them, especially with the temple coming up.  One of them, Serhiy and Natasha with their 12-year old daughter Yana and their 10-year son Sasha, are really cool.  They are very religious and Natasha especially had a lot of questions, and hopefully they will recognize the importance of the gospel.  They, like a lot of people here, never got married, but have because of their kids, they are unofficially/officially married.  Natasha was saying that they don't truly love each other and we have been trying to help them understand that through faith, and by living the gospel, they can build a strong and happy marriage and household.  It is going to be way tough, but I know that as they read the Book of Mormon and strive to follow Christ, the Atonement can help change their hearts.  The other family we found, Oleksey and Tatyana are really cool and Tatyana said she was reading the Book of Mormon.  We are planning to meet with them tomorrow and hopefully we will find out a little more about them.  Other than that, we don't have a lot of work to do right now, but I know that if we work hard and faithfully, then the Lord is going to guide us to his elect children.  I hope that we can find some more people this week and help them prepare for baptism.  Without it, they can never truly be happy and that is why we are here, to have joy. 

Well, I probably need to go, but I want you to know that I know this Church is true.  I am here right now, in Ukraine, because I have found that out and I want to share it with others.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way that we can return to live with God, with our families, forever.  That is why we are here, to prepare to return to live with God, and I know that only through the Gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ is this possible.  I know that Christ is our Savior and that He loves us.  He knows us and knows how to help each and everyone of us.  As we rely on him and do our best to follow His example, we are preparing to live with Him again.  I know that Temples are truly the House of the Lord.  The Spirit of God is stronger in the Temple, than on any other place in the world and as we go there often, we can feel His guidance and the Love of God.  Go to the Temple, because that is our duty.  The covenants we make there are so sacred and we must always learn more of them and the Temple is where we do that.  I love you all very much and that I why I am here, because I want others to feel the same way I do.

Love,

Elder Jones