Hey there Mom,
So first things first. Thanks to you and the family for the package. I got it in Kyiv and it is incredible. The candy was a little too much...that is tons of sugar and I want to eat healthy. What are you trying to do, kill me?!?!? Just kidding, it is great so thanks again. Also, I will definitely make sure I send out some thank you letters as soon as I can. I don't know when because we are super busy this week. Which leads me to an update.
So this past week was absolutely crazy. On Monday, we had a day to relax with Elder Belashov and then on Tuesday we met with one of Vincent's friends, Derrick. Derrick is from Ghana and came to church and to the baptism last week and so we really wanted to meet with him and see what he thought. While there, I asked him what he wanted to get out of meetings with us and he said "well, I want to find out about the church, the Book of Mormon, and maybe become a member." We were blown away. To make things short, we invited him to be baptized on the 11th of December and he said he wants to. He is also going to start reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. What a miracle. God is literally pouring blessings out upon us and I am so happy right now. It is such a pleasure to be here and to meet such people with a desire to follow Christ.
Tuesday night is where it really started to get crazy. They had a transfer call to tell everyone who was getting transferred to pack and my name was one of them. So I started packing, said goodbye to the few people I could, and on Wednesday, we hopped on a train to Kyiv. Kyiv was really cool and it was a really special Thanksgiving. We had a transfer meeting, a big lunch, watched the special KSL program from the temple, and then heard a talk from the Temple President which was absolutely incredible. The entire day was cool and that night we hopped on a train to go to our areas. The transfer meeting was really cool. There were 8 new missionaries and a bunch of us oldies and we met to get our new assignment. I am now serving with Elder Valdivieso in Lviv in western Ukraine. It is a huge city and there are now 8 missionaries serving here. We are actually starting a new area which means that we are literally starting from almost nothing. We are starting a search for a new apartment today and are temporarily staying with other missionaries. It is going to be a crazy time, but a really cool one too I think. I am super excited. We have some cool members here to work with so it is going to be great here. On Saturday we had a thanksgiving activity with the branches here (there are two which are both about the same size as the one in Ivano) and I met lots of people which was good. It will be tough, but we have a wonderful area and Elder V already served two transfers here so it will be fun. I am kinda scared with the fact that we are starting with nothing, but we do have these members to work with, a great district of 6 Elders and 2 Sisters (1 Elder and 1 Sister are brand new too), and we are all super excited to get out and work. It is going to be an absolute blast here.
Well, I still don't know a lot about Elder Valdivieso, but he is from Southern California. He is starting his third transfer so he hasn't been out for too long, but he has been here in Lviv for all 3 months which is good. He has actually been sick too which is really tough, because we have had to take it slowly. I want to just get out there and do it, but I guess this is just an opportunity for me to learn some patience. The mission field is a great place to practice patience actually. Anyway, I don't know what else to say right now. We are super busy with trying to get settled and so my head is just spinning - it has been all week!
Well, I think I will finish up for the week by letting you know that all is well here. I have witnessed the hand of the Lord is so many ways since I have been out and I know that He is guiding us in this work. This is His work and I love it. It has been hard for me at times to just get out and try to talk to people I don't know, but the Lord continues to bless us with opportunities to just be ourselves and help others come unto Him. I have met so many wonderful people and I truly think I am happier than I ever have been. It is hard being away from home sometimes, but I know that we are all being blessed and that joy which we are promised is pouring out upon us even more and more than I could every have expected. Time is flying and we are all learning and growing and becoming what the Lord wants us to be. His work and His glory is for us to become like Him and return home. God created His plan for us and we can truly find happiness by following the example of His Son. Jesus Christ loves all of us and He is our Savior. Trust Him, Love Him, and Follow Him and we will all return to our God together. What a great blessing to have this in our lives. Thanks for always supporting and teaching me to do what is right. I love you so much Mom.
Elder Jones
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