January 31, 2011

Hey Mom,

So I am leaving tomorrow. (He is flying to Sofia Bulgaria to renew his visa.)  They will have an apartment there that is just for the missionaries on Visa trips which will be nice. It is apparently a pretty fancy apartment. I am glad to hear that Grandpa is doing better too.

Good luck with your family history class. I have been helping Stas out a little with that and he is starting a class too, similar to the one you are teaching which will be cool. It really is cool how much you learn while doing the work and it brings joy because we are doing temple work, or preparing names for temple work. It is just cool how that all works out. It is really going to blossom here in Lviv I think because it is a center of the Ukrainian language and the archives for Ukrainian language are growing so quickly right now.

Hopefully Chels gets better and can get out of the house a little more so she isn't so bugged by her crazy parents ;) That is crazy that she is in Driver's ed. She probably drives way better than I do now because I haven't done it for over a year. That is kinda scary. What are you going to do when she starts driving? Even scarier thought. What are you going to do when the grandkids start running around. You are getting old! But don't worry, when I show my pictures, lots of people think you are my older sister, so you don't look that old :D

This past week was a great one and we found a cool new family to teach. I also went to Ivano for two days and got to see some of the members there who are so cool. It was awesome to be able to meet with Isaac and just talk with him. He is a great guy. I am so lucky to be here right now and to be able to get to know these awesome people here. I truly love the Ukrainian people - kinda crazy how that happens. When we serve others, our love for them can only grow. The members here are all so great and it is awesome to see their willingness to help us on lessons and with our investigators who come to church. I am just so happy to be here and to see the consistent miracles that the Lord is pouring out upon us and those around us. I just hope that these friendships will last as I continue to get to know and serve the members here. That is truly what brings the most happiness to us, when we forget ourselves and just serve. Such a simple concept that we often forget as we get wrapped up in the busyness of our daily lives. We are just so blessed to have the Book of Mormon, living prophets, and the organization of the church to constantly remind us and give us opportunities to do as the Lord asks. I love that God trusts us enough to send us here and give us these opportunities to learn and grow. I have a strong testimony of the plan of Salvation. Jesus Christ truly makes this all possible for us. He loves us so much and has given us the chance to become like Him. His Atonement makes the plan possible. As we study His life and teachings, we are constantly reminding ourselves of what we have been asked to do and our desire to serve Him grows. I love that He has given us all this chance and that we can return to Him again to praise Him eternally for what He does.

I love you Mom. Thanks for all you do for me.

Elder Jones