February 14, 2011

Hey Mom,

So the internet server has just been weird lately.  It did it to Caitlin last week too so she didn't hear from me.  Anyway, I will try to send it to the other if it doesn't work in the future.  So I do have tons of pictures from Bulgaria and I will try to send them whenever I get a chance....like in a year maybe.  We'll see what happens.  So I am feeling healthier too which is good.  Thanks for asking.  And as for seeing my old district, that was honestly the best part of the trip to Bulgaria.  And Happy Valentine's Day to you.

So things here in Lviv are going along.  Elder Valdivieso and I ended up dropping pretty much all of our investigators which was tough, but when they won't act, we have to move on and so we did.  We are still teaching a man named Yuri and he finally is starting to progress a little and this week will be the test for him.  I am excited though to see what happens.  If he comes to church this week, I honestly feel like he will be baptized so that is the key now.  Anyway, as you said, by just serving people, we really develop that love for them.  As we follow the example of Christ, He blesses us with His Spirit and gives us what we need to go forward and perform His will.  And when that work is centered around others, then He helps us to develop love and charity towards those people.  What a blessing that we have all the scriptures and modern day prophets to help remind us to center our lives on Christ.

Oh, and by the way, Elder Valdivieso is getting transfered.  I will be with Elder Shurtleff until Thursday and on Thursday I will figure out who my new companion is.  I am certainly excited to see who I will be with and what the Lord wants us to do going forward.  And to answer your question about piano, I do play the piano every once and a while, but I don't play in Church.  I want to learn how to play the piano and the guitar when I get back home.  I wish I had stuck with piano, but for whatever reason I didn't.  Anyway...

Have fun with the holiday weekend and with the family.  Tell everyone hi from me.  Oh and tell Caitlin that I saw a ski resort in the middle of Kyiv the other day.  It was just a big hill in the middle of the city, but it looked cool.  We aren't allowed to go as missionaries, but you can tell her that we will go later in life.  I actually really want to go skiing once in the Carpathians here.  That isn't important now though.

Well, thanks Mom for all you do for me.  You are and great example and I am so glad to always here that you are so happy and enjoying life right now.  I know that this is what I need to be doing right now and I am just so happy that you are supporting me and sacrificing so much so that I can be here.  This church is true.  I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is our Savior.  He loves us and have shown us the path.  He wants to take away our pains and sins and I know that He will if we just listen to Him and follow His gospel.  Without Christ, I wouldn't be here.  I love Him so much and I am so thankful to a loving Heavenly Father who has made all this possible.  

I love you,

Elder Jones

February 7, 2011

Mom,

So Bulgaria was really cool and fun, but super cold and it got me sick.  The combo of American fast food and lack of sleep, along with the freezing temps finally caught up to me.  It was still fun to see the sites and buy some little slipper like things.  We basically just hung out, 8 of us missionaries, and ate American food that doesn't exist in Ukraine (KFC, Dunkin' Donuts, Lots of Subway...).  It was cool and interesting to meet new people and speak english to them.  A lot of them actually speak english really well.  We stayed in an apartment that the mission has for visa missionaries.

So I am back in Lviv now and all is well.  I finally pulled out the thermals because I wanted to stay warmer and get healthy.  Now I am just sweating though.  The weather here is really spring-like right now, so all is well.  Also, a member who returned from his mission like two years ago and then moved to Russia left his jacket and his mom gave it to me. It is a little warmer (a little short on the sleeves, but ok) and I am going to try it out.  The other one has worked really well too, so I don't really know what I will do.  Lviv has been fun and I am super happy to be back.  Now we just have to get to working hard, because we had to drop some investigators who weren't progressing.  We still are working with Irina who is really cool though and we are meeting tonight for FHE.

So it is cool to hear that you had a fun week with all you did.  Good job going out and serving; service just brings so much joy.  I love being able to do whatever we can to help others.  I am glad that Chels is doing well.  She is going to be all grown up when I get home...crazy!  I am so happy that she is working hard to follow the prophets.  Hey and keep working hard with genealogy.  I think that is so cool that you are having fun and finding so much and then even greater blessings will come as we get that work done.  So cool!

Well Mom, I love you very much.  Thanks for continuing to write and support me, even if your email was on the fritz and didn't accept my letters.  (He couldn't send his email to me last week because it kept bouncing back so I got two this week.)  I hope that all is well and that you continue to find joy in doing the work of the Lord, in whatever way you are getting it done.  Thanks for the Spiritual support too.  I love hearing these thoughts that you have and about the lessons that you have at home.  Church is just so great because there we get the opportunity to listen to others and to help one another's testimonies grow.  We are there to help one another return to Christ and the sacrament is the key part of that, because only through that ordinance can we fully apply the Atonement in our lives.  I love this church so much.  I know, without any doubts, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.  It is the Kingdom of God on the Earth.  Jesus Christ himself leads this church and He gives us all we need to find happiness and peace and prepare to return to Him.  He does it all for us.  He is the way and the only name whereby we can be saved.  I love Him so much.

Love,

Elder Jones

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

January 24, 2011

Hey Mom,

So thanks for the info.  It is that time for me to go to Bulgaria...kinda scary.  The time just flies and I remember that those people who went to Bulgaria when I first got here, are already home.  Before we know it, my time will be up too.  Crazy.  So I am taking a train into Kyiv and then we take a small jet plane into Bulgaria. It is like a three hour flight or something like that.  I will look out for Elder Kariya, but I don't know how many missionaries I will see.

I am glad to hear that everything went so well yesterday at the baptism.  It is cool to hear that your cousin has these great plans to get back and make these covenants with the Lord.  And it is kinda a small world I guess.  It is interesting that so many people are serving in this part of the world.  

So things here in Lviv are going alright.  It was a slow week, but we got a little closer with the members which is awesome.  There are so many incredible members here and they are all great examples to me.  They go forward and serve the Lord, regardless of the tough circumstances they have with work, family, and friends.  We have been finding some new investigators, but they haven't progressed yet.  We are trying though and we will see what happens as we keep going.  Elder V and I are actually getting along well, better than we used to which is good.  And I am healthy and eating.  I think I just lost a little weight from all the walking we do.  And as far as skipping meals, we usually only get two a day anyway so I am already used to that.  That is how it has been my whole mission.  And you want to know what we do.  We talk to people on the street.  We stop-by old investigators and members.  We teach lessons to anyone who wants to listen - members, investigators, potentials.  We study and eat lunch.  That is about it.  The test is to balance finding new people and teaching and right now, both are slow which is why the work is a little slower.

 

So you mentioned the journal.  I write in it everyday which is good, but I want to write more about the spiritual things than I do right now, so hopefully I will start doing that.  Don't worry though, I am keeping track of my experiences.  I am so thankful for the Lord that I have this opportunity to serve Him and to get to know such great people all around me.  I am also thankful for an incredible family that is so supportive.  Thanks Mom for all you do.  You are such a great example of love and service and you have helped me even more than I can possibly imagine.  I love you so much.  I know this Church is the Church of Jesus Christ.  He lives and loves us all.  I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation and the work that all of us are involved in.  We are all here to work out our own salvation and to fulfill the mission that the Lord has called us to and by doing this, we help Him in bringing to pass his work and glory.  God truly is our Father and He gave His Son so that we can return to Him.  What a great knowledge we have! 

All my Love,

Elder Jones

January 18, 2011 - To Dad

Hey Dad,

So first off, thanks for getting in touch with Daniel.  Elder Woodbury will be way happy to hear that you talked with him.  I saw him yesterday at our conference and so I told him that I would call him today to let him know what's up with Daniel.  I think it would be way cool if we could convince him to transfer schools, even though he is almost done because he graduated when he was 17.

Good luck with all of your busyness these next couple of weeks.  I hope all goes well.  Also, have fun with the weight lifting class and keep it up and then when I get home, we will definitely work out together.  I need to get back into shape, not that I really am too out of shape.  I have actually lost more weight which is kinda crazy.  Anyway, lifting will get some of that back.

Oh an have fun with your day off...which I guess is already kinda over.  Haha good ole' time zones.  Speaking of time zones, I get to go to Bulgaria in two weeks for my visa renewal so I will be vacationing there for two days.

So Lviv is going well.  We are really starting to bond with the members which is so great.  Also, we had a zone meeting yesterday and so I am really excited now to just go forward and work hard.  We have some huge goals and I know we are going to reach them.

Hmm, so the blessings of service.  So I know that for me, some of the blessings I have received are first a greater faith in Christ and a love for Him.  By keeping his commandments, we only become closer to Him and service is one of those commandments.  Also, I truly have come to love the people here in Ukraine.  Even though they aren't perfect, the members here are my favorite people in the whole world and I feel joy every time I am able to help them.  I have truly seen miracles as the people around me grow and I grow with them.  I have received tons of other blessings, such as strength to keep going when it is hard and greater faith in the power of the Atonement.  One of the greatest though is just happiness.  I am always happiest when I am out working and serving the Lord.  King Benjamin hits it perfect in Mosiah 2:41 -  And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.  I have seen temporal blessings to both me and those I love, but even more so, I have received countless spiritual blessings: knowledge, power, love, charity, faith and so on.  All of this is because we have sacrificed to serve the Lord.

I hope that helps you a little.  I can't really explain all of the blessings I have received, because they are so great and some of them I haven't really noticed.  The Lord truly is blessing me greatly and I am so thankful for that.  I love the Book of Mormon.  I love Jesus Christ.  He has set the path and only through him can we truly be happy.  And by following Him, he helps us to be happy, just as He has done for me while I have served.

I love you Dad,

Elder Jones

January 18, 2011

Hey Mom,

So I don't know who Elder Belyeu is. He must be serving in Eastern Ukraine, because he is not in this mission. Also, thanks for the money update. I spent quite a bit for Christmas so I wanted to know. And the timing is perfect because I am going to Bulgaria for my visa trip in two weeks and I will need a little money if I want to get anything. It will basically be a two day vacation because we can't proselyte. It will be cool to see some of my MTC district too. And I got Elder Sudbury's letter.

So tell your cousin congratulations. That will be such a great step in her life and I am glad to hear that she has the desire to follow Christ. I bet her faith has grown a lot in these recent years and months especially.

I hope that you had a good lesson on fasting. That is one thing that I have certainly learned a lot more about on my mission. It is such a great way for us to receive blessings and revelation, by making a little sacrifice. It is only difficult when we make it difficult too. I like those 5 principles of fasting (from the April 2009 Ensign article "Fasting With Power") and I will pay more attention to those now as I go forward.

Everything is going so well right now in Lviv. Yesterday, we had a zone meeting and talked a lot about teaching with power. President Steinagel has a book about his mission which I just found out about yesterday. It looked pretty official so if you want to look up a book by Lane Steinagel, go for it. I think it was called Kia Toa and then something else. He shared some of his stories from that which was really cool. The branch here is great too. We are really starting to bond with them and I love them so much. Yuri is incredible and he, along with his sister and two other youth here were all called as ward missionaries on Sunday. That is so great for them. The branch is really excited to go forward right now and I think that by working with them, we can really turn things around here.

I am glad you enjoyed the pictures. The soviet one was a soviet picture. They don't smile here for pictures. I will try to send more when I can. The one of Christmas lunch was at the Sister's apartment. It is way nicer than ours. Santa was just one of the members from a branch party.

So good luck with the Book of Mormon reading. I will do my best to read everyday as well. I have truly come to love the Book of Mormon. It is so great and reading it is so necessary for our happiness. I love that by reading it, we can never fall, because we are building our foundation on Christ through obedience to His commandments. I am so grateful to our Loving Heavenly Father who has given us all of this.

I love you Mom. Thanks for all you do.

Love,

Elder Jones

p.s. How is Hal Sharp. I heard that he is having some problems. Let them know that I am thinking and praying for them. He and Elaine are awesome.

Another pic

This is a picture that was taken by the Shipps (their son Matt went to school with Caitlin and Ryan).  They went over to Ukraine for the dedication of the Kyiv temple.  Their older son served a mission in Ukraine and opened some of the areas there.  Their youngest daughter (shown in costume) was adopted from Ukraine.