Hey there Mom,
So I am glad that you enjoyed the McDonald's picture. They do have them all over the world and it is probably the wealthiest company in the world just because of all the real estate that they own. Genius to keep your real estate business secret with the mask of 1 dollar burgers. Yummy! They have a couple in Lviv and many of them here in Kyiv and so it is a treat to go there every once and a while. Today we are going to TGIF's though which is a real treat. We decided that we have never been there and just want to go have a real burger once because it has been a while. By the way, the MSN account worked for Cailtin's email but the other one didn't. I think the problem is just in her hitting reply every time instead of starting a new letter, but it might be hotmail.
Yeah, the girls told me about their experience at Bear Lake, but it sounds like they are doing just fine. Caitlin was a little more dramatic about it, but they both sound that they are doing ok and that the staff is working together to get through it. There is a missionary here that had a real tough week and everything just seemed to go wrong for him, even though he is a wonderful missionary, and I thought about how sometimes the Lord just tries us, even when we are doing what is right. Keeping the eternal perspective really is an important trait or skill that we need to learn. I just love sections 121 to 123 of Doctrine and Covenants where we can learn so much from the Lord and from the example of Joseph Smith. Speaking of Doctrine and Covenants, I finished it yesterday which was pretty cool. Now the Old Testament is the only standard work that I still need to finish on my mission...that isn't going to happen though, but I am going to read it a little bit. I am trying to finish the Book of Mormon again before I go home which means I need to read about 7 pages a day to get there. That isn't too much, but I don't have a whole lot of study time so it will be a challenge. I just love the Scriptures though and I am happy that we have time to study them.
So I am glad that you had a fun week with Kathy and Dean and Josh. It is fun to see the family, isn't it. And 24 is a pretty good count. Not quite like Adam's family, but they are getting there, aren't they!?! Before they know it, that number will be a lot higher. Family history and all that stuff is really exciting, isn't it? I was thinking about the pedigree chart that I have and I know the story of most of the people on it, but not all of them. That is one thing that I will have to learn more about when I get home. The members here have really been focusing on family history and they have talks about it every week and it is just really cool to think about all that we are doing. There is a quote from President Kimball in Preach My Gospel that says something along the lines...never mind, I'll just look it up - It says "I hope to see us dissolve the artificial boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and genealogical work, because it is the same great redemptive work." Whether they are living or dead, we are still helping God bring to pass His great work and glory (Moses 1:39). Anyway, so that Spirit of Elijah has struck me a little recently as I have thought more about our family's history.
Sounds like the girls are having a pretty crazy time up there at camp. Does Chels just sit in the trading post from morning until evening? That is a pretty tough job. It is pretty important though to learn about our own personal limits and then plan to better manage our time. I am grateful for what I have learned on my mission about using time. Have fun yourselves with all of the shopping you have to do. I am sure that Dad will have a wonderful time!
Hmm, so member missionary work is a real battle here for us. We sat in on an hour and a half long ward council that was all about missionary work yesterday and they have lots of excuses. I don't blame them, because it is the same everywhere throughout the church, as far as I understand, but still, it is the duty of every member. The sad thing is that the ward here has somewhere around 66 or 70 percent less active members and no one even knew about it. As President Klebingat has been stressing, if they won't do their home teaching (and there is another quote about how home teaching is missionary work for members and missionary work is home teaching for non members - President Lee) and take care of the sheep that the Lord has already given them, then the Lord isn't going to send more sheep to be baptized here. Anyway, that is probably pretty mixed up, but the point is that the missionary work that the members really need to be doing more than anything else right now is in fact home teaching. I don't know what the percentages are in the Stake here, but I know that in the branches I have served in, the missionaries are the ones that do 99% of the missionary work which is not acceptable. But, we have some good goals and plans to help the members here and we are really going to see some success which is great. Our investigators have kind of lost interest for one reason or another and so we are still looking for the elect out there. The work is going well though and yesterday there were a lot of non members and less-active members at church which is great.
This work is true. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is leading us all in this great work to bring salvation to all of God's children. What a blessing to have the knowledge that we have that God lives and loves us and that through Jesus Christ, we can become perfect. I know that all of us are here to learn these things and prepare ourselves for something much greater! I love you mom. Thanks for all you do.
Love you,
Elder Jones
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