September 26, 2011

Hi Mom,

So as far as the Sister is concerned, what is her name.  (Someone going to his mission that leaves in November.)  I am sure I have already seen her name on our sheets.  Anyway, she definitely needs winter clothes and boots that are comfy.  Other than that, I don't really know.  Have her go to the missionary service page on lds.org and look at the clothing guidelines.  They have awesome in-depth stuff there for sisters.  It is definitely colder here though so tell her to be ready for the winter if she will be getting here in March or February.

 

So Dad told me that he wore dress clothes everyday almost and liked it.  You definitely get used to them when you wear them everyday.  He is growing up which is crazy, but cool ;)  I hope that he really is taking all he can out of the experience.  

Have a lot of fun in California and tell grandma and grandpa that I love them a lot.  Time is certainly going fast.  Can you believe that your dad is that old!  Cool.

I hope that you are super pumped and ready for General Conference.  It is going to be incredible and I am so happy that it is already here.  I may not read/see it in English til I am home, but it will be great either way.  I am glad to hear that all is well and that the talks were wonderful.  I will definitely read them when I get them.  Those are certainly great things to remember.  I really liked the points about sacrifice and the gospel.  Those are really important as they are parts of the covenants that we made in the temple.  I have thought and learned a lot about those covenants.

The less actives are continuing to do great here.  It is very important to just show them that we love them and help them to realize that they are a part of a bigger family.  It is certainly hard, but if we just pray, apply our faith and give them a chance, we are putting the burden of proof into their hands...or the ball into their court (that one makes more sense to me ;P).  Just continue to be friendly and try to invite them to dinner group, activities and church.  And yes, Sister Tatyana is super excited that Alexander is getting baptized.  That is just two weeks away now!

We will be listening to conference in two weeks which will be awesome.  They will be awesome sessions for sure.  We are just trying to work hard and be prepared for it.  We are applying our faith in ways that I didn't know how to before and the Lord is leading us to those that are ready.  Anyway, I am sorry, but I think I am almost out of time.  Life is great, the mission is going forward and the Lord's work is moving on.  We are going to have a miracle filled week!

I love you.  Have fun in California.

Elder Jones

 

September 19, 2011

Hey there Mom,

So I am glad to hear that Elder Sudbury wrote.  He is incredible and I am glad to hear that he is doing well.  I really hope to hear from him soon (I think I wrote that letter to him two months ago).  Anyway, he is marvelous and I am super happy that he is doing well and taking part in the Lord's work as well.  He is going to be a wonderful church leader someday...

I think that is funny that Dad just goes in casual clothes.  (He asked me what he wore to bishopric meetings during the week.)  I guess that there isn't anything wrong with that at all, but I just remember before all the bishopric would always wear more formal things for work and so they always had a suit jacket.  I am glad that he is really enjoying the work and that he is growing/feeling more comfortable.  I think he really understands how important it is to do the Lord's work and to follow the Spirit which is awesome.  He is going to do great with those men.  I think that is awesome that the ward is growing too.  Maybe they will be splitting it again in the near future and then Dad can be bishop ;)  Haha I am sure he would love that.

The choir is a lot of fun and for the part where I was singing the melody, I definitely was in my falsetto for some of it.  Luckily yesterday I got to sing the bass part for Praise to the Lord, The Almighty (or whatever that hymn is called in English [Славен Господь in Ukrainian]).  I was the only bass so it was exciting.  We have a professional singer in our ward too - a recent convert, who is amazing.

Hey mom...don't worry about whatever I said to Chelsea.  (I was referring to his comment in last week's letter where he said they would lounge around and talk about their crazy parents. :P)  I am sure that it can be tough to be a single child and that is basically what she is so I am glad that I will be able to save her from that.  Plus we will be able to practice soccer and we will see how much better she is than I am.  Chels and I will go out and find the neighborhood soccer kids and play with them.  Maybe that will work out.  Caitlin definitely is most social and she is continuing to be incredibly social down at school.  Good for her.  She said she has a new calling which will probably get her involved with lots of people and which scares me because she will probably meet more boys.  Ugh mom, she is growing up ;P

That is cool to hear about the family.  It is weird how fast it is growing and scary that you will be grandparents soon too ;)  (He's kidding folks.)  That picture of Doug and Karen's family was awesome and I am glad to see that they are happy.  Was that in front of their new house?    And that is cool that Chad and Rachel won't be too far.  Crazy!

Anyway, so I am sad that the Liahona is different from the Ensign.  I loved the September Liahona, but it had nothing from Elder Ballard.  So I just checked on LDS.org and of course, that talk you mentioned is only in the Ensign.  Anyway, so you will have to save a copy of it for me.  Sounds great.  President Klebingat has definitely gotten us to see the bigger picture and his vision of this mission is incredible.  The principles that he is teaching us will definitely help us with our futures which is exciting.  And while we are here, they are preparing us to perform miracles in this work.  Haha, and I like that you say we must stay in touch.  You would like that part most ;)  That is great council though and I am glad that we are so blessed to have Prophets who teach us the things necessary to be prepared for what is ahead.  We are truly so blessed and the Lord is doing all He can to make our path easier.

So Elder Hubbell is a great companion.  He is from Redlands, CA and has been out for four months or so.  He served in Chernivtsi before this so I didn't know him, but we are doing great and having fun.  He has a great desire and he is very smart so we are going to do some good work.  Answer, there are 6 missionaries - 3 companionships - in this ward which is the most for any ward in the mission.  Only Elder Hadley is Russian, but it really fluctuates a lot.  And no, we don't really live near each other, but we are all in the same area obviously.  Investigators are doing alright and we are trying to just find more right now.  We are talking to tons of people which is so much fun and just trying to share with them the truths that we know will change their lives.  Many of them aren't ready, but we have found lots of people who seem interested and lots of other people who are very nice.  It is so wonderful to walk down the street to a lesson and be able to smile and talk to others and invite them to come unto Christ.  There is one baptism scheduled here for the 8th of October too.  He is the husband of a member and he has been investigating for a while, but especially in the last month he has really started to progress a lot and he will be a great addition to the ward.  So the work is going on.  Plus there have been a couple less actives who have started coming to church and they are going to the temple now.  The atonement of Jesus Christ really can affect anyone who is just willing.  Another great blessing that we often talk about, but don't utilize as fully as we could.  And please feel free to give me more questions.  Look at how long this paragraph turned out.

Thank you so much for your wonderful example mom.  I love you very much and I am so grateful for all you do for me.  I know that this Church is true.  God lives and is our Heavenly Father.  We are his Spirit Children and all a special part of a great big family.

Love,

Elder Jones

September 12, 2011

Hi Mom,

 

So does dad usually wear a suit to his meetings?  I am sure that he is doing well and will be able to adjust fine.  Grandpa Chidister told me that you do need lots of sleep though, especially as you get older, so hopefully Dad can stay up with his sleep.  I am sure that he is growing and he absolutely loves working with Bishop Galli and Brother Emery so he will be just fine.  I think that is great that you got to go to a concert too on Friday.  Those are fun and it is important to be able to spend time with each other outside of the home.  Steven Nelson is incredible too - I completely agree.  I have listened to some of his music and some other music that he has had a part in and it is just beautiful.  Musical talent is certainly something I wish I had more of.   Speaking of music, our ward started a mens choir and yesterday we went to the practice.  There were only 9 of us total, four of who were missionaries (and one of the missionaries has to accompany us so we are half of the singing power).  It was awesome though and it will be beautiful.  I was singing tenor a little which was silly, but we had too many basses so I sang melody/tenor.  Whew!  I have got to love the experience ;)  I am glad to hear that all is well and that you are all happy back there. That is really what is most important - to be happy and share that love and happiness with others.  Good job on getting out and talking to lots of new people.  That is something I will have to do when I get home too.  Elder Nelson once said (and this is something that I really want to work on) that we need to strive everyday to expand our circle of friends.  That will give us more support and help us to do the Lord's work as we meet more and more people who are not of our faith.  What a blessing to be able to meet lots of new people!  That is one thing that I have loved about being on a mission.  By the way, is the ward growing at all, because it sounds to me like there are lots of new people.  If so, that will be cool.  At the same time, I don't know how long I will be going there anyway as I will probably want to head to a singles ward as soon as I get home.  I will have to talk to Bishop Galli about that and figure out what I need to do.

 

Ha, so I am sure that Caitlin will be just fine.  With all the companions I have had, each has had his strengths and weaknesses which I have had to deal with, and they have had to deal with me too so it is ok.  I am sure that she isn't the perfect roommate either, but she says they are having a great time together and I am sure they are all wonderful.  She has a lot of fun hanging out and so I hope she is actually getting her homework done ;P

 

Chelsea is certainly a champ and I am excited to be able to lounge around with her and talk about our crazy parents together.  She will probably be so busy that I will rarely see her anyway.  I am sure she will be fine though.  Hopefully all works out with swim and she gets to meet lots of new people, develop some talents and still get all of her work done.

 

Good luck with the transition to winter.  Summer is pretty much over here and the temperatures have been quite mild.  Long sleeve shirts everyday until today this past week.  I am having to get used to all the sweaters, hats and whatnot too with all the people we see ;)

 

I am glad that you had a good lesson in Relief Society.  Those are great lessons and it was cool that the members here remembered it and talked about it later.  We went to a member's house for lunch and their parents aren't members so we talked with them about the spirit world - cool stuff.  It is great to actually have a discussion too as a teacher instead of getting left hanging.

 

Ok, so about your questions...I think I am a little tired and so I won't be able to type anymore.  Sorry ;P

 

Just kidding, so the mission is not going to have office Elders anymore.  The Assistants will be doing a little more, the office couple will do more and the missionaries themselves will have to just be smart and get more things done on their own.  Honestly Elder Kashiwagi and I were just too efficient and we really didn't have a lot of work so the position isn't super necessary.  There will be some things that we will stop doing and other things will be figured out with time, but we for the most part are ready to go forward.  We are the first mission in this part of the world to not have office Elders and it was pretty revolutionary on President's end, but I think that the whole world will be moving to this sooner than they may realize.  We are officially done in the office, but we are here today to help out a little because one week wasn't enough transition time.  We also found out transfer information officially on Saturday.  Elder Kashiwagi will leave on Thursday and I will get my new companion, Elder Hubbell.  We will still be in this ward which is great and we will just work as full time Elders.  It will be awesome and I am very excited.  The work is really going to go forward.  We had one investigator at church yesterday who is doing well and a lot of non-members showed up so we were quite busy.  Then we did choir practice. Plus we had a PEC type meeting before church and Ward council afterward and we had a big part on both of those so we are quite exhausted.  Plus on Saturday, there was a baptism here.  The Sister's investigator Alexandra was baptized and it was great.  The work is just moving forward and it is awesome!

 

Thanks for all that you do mom.  I love you so much.  I know that this church is true and that God is our Heavenly Father.  Jesus Christ is our Savior.  I know that the Book of Mormon is God's word.  Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's prophet today and he leads this church by revelation. 

 

Love,

 

Elder Jones

September 4, 2011

Hi mom!

So Chelsea said that pretty much every week now you have a new family member coming in and that is why she doesn't always write me.  I think you need to tell the family that you don't want to see them anymore ;P  Ok, just kidding, I guess it is ok to have a good time with the family that you don't get to see as often.  That is a lot of fun and really that is what is most important for us here.

Dad mentioned that he was super nervous, but I am sure that he will do just fine with time.  (Rob conducted in Sacrament Meeting yesterday, their first week as a new bishopric.)  That is certainly a great experience for him and he really is going to learn so much.  He has already grown so much and I know that he will continue to grow.  I hope that his body gets used to staying up a little later too.  He is getting old so his body doesn't need as much sleep ;)  And he also mentioned grandpa's decision to be baptized.  I am so excited for him and I already told dad that he needs to make sure grandpa gets his temple recommend as soon as possible so we can do baptisms when I get home in the temple.  That will be an incredible experience.  I am just so happy that he has overcome those last barriers and is willing to prove to the Lord that he wants to follow Him.  That is going to be a special experience for him and I hope that you can be a part of it too, even if you don't go out to West Virginia.

I probably am just forgetting what the house looks like.  I could barely see the cabinets anyway, but still, they just seemed different.  Ha, and about the camera, I will have a legitimate excuse - college digital photography class that I am going to take my first semester home.  I wish I could take a picture of my camera and send it home - let's just say that I hope it makes it another 6 months.  I don't know what has happened because I certainly haven't treated it poorly.  It just took a beating with me carrying it in my bag I guess, even though it has a case.  It is getting the job done though and that is what is most important.  Hopefully next week I will send lots of new pictures with members and missionaries for you to see.  Good times!!

Caitlin sounds like she is doing great and she is really enjoying her roommates which is wonderful.  She is back into the groove of school, work and play and that is what she is happy with.  I am sure that she is growing up a little too which is kinda scary.  Who knows what my sisters are going to be doing when I get home...weird.  They are awesome though and I think that they are both going to be a little more mature than I remember them.  That is really scary to think about.  And I am sure that she doesn't need to worry too much about the whole seeing me when I get home.  She'll be fine if she waits one more day.  Oh and I will leave Kyiv on the 14th and get home on the 14th too...gotta love the time difference ;)  I don't know yet, but as soon as Sister Park gets the travel itinerary, she will send it to you so you can start planning.

That is funny that Chelsea failed her test.  (Chelsea didn't pass the driving test with her teacher because he said she needs to learn to stop at yellow lights when there is time.  He said she just needs to practice with us and we can call him when we think she is ready.)  I am sure she will be fine, but maybe you should get one of those drivers ed cars so you can stop for her at red lights.  That is certainly not the best habit to have - running yellow lights.  Especially here in Ukraine, there would be accidents because the other cars start on yellow lights.

That is so cool that Bryson is fourteen now.  He is such a good kid and I am super happy for him.  That is one of my favorite families in our ward.  It sounds like Scott is doing well too which is awesome.

Our church meeting was probably not as spiritual, but it was still good.  Enough said...we can read Talmadge next year together because I need to read Jesus the Christ too. 

Well, on our side we continue to see some miracles.  We had a great young man come to church yesterday and I feel like he is really progressing.  He wants to change his life and really does have incredible potential which is great.  He also wasn't planning on being here, but changed his plans so he could.  Miracle!  We have played ticket to ride the last two p-day (including today) which is fun.  I love spending time with the other missionaries here.  Oh and the biggest news of all...Elder Kashiwagi and I are officially the last office Elders in the history of the Ukraine Kyiv Mission.  We are finishing our work next week and then we are going to be changed to full time proselyting missionaries again.  Woohoo!!  We aren't going to be replaced and so I am really excited to see what will happen.  Things are really changing in this mission and I am very excited to see everything go forward. 

I love you Mom!  This work is true.  I know that Jesus Christ lives, loves us and has given us all that we need to return to our Heavenly Father.  All we need to do is humble ourselves, be patient, and faithfully do what He has asked of us.  The gospel is just so simple!

Love,

Elder Jones