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

August 29, 2011 - Photos

Here are some silly photos that we took and I figured you would like them because I am in them.

August 29, 2011

Hi Mom,

So Dad told me that all went well and that it was a really spiritual meeting which is cool.  (Rob was just called as the first counselor in the new ward bishopric.)  He also said he was stuck at the ward for a while which is good.  He better get used to that.  By the way, is he going to be doing finances every week?  His experience with it will help I guess.  I remember that Elder Belashov did that every week in Ivano so I always sat around for 30 minutes and got to talk to other people which was good, or do study.  I wish I had that kind of time to do study here because we get less than half of the time that I had there to study.  That is one of the challenges of being in the office.  I am glad that you got to spend that time with the family though, even though Dad was probably only there for half of it.

Your camera sounds incredible.  I have used an older version of that model and it is an awesome camera.  I can't wait to get home and "borrow" it for my weekend getaways or for class or whatever excuse I can come up with.  Happy birthday/Christmas/anniversary/whatever else!  Dad never did talk to me about it, but I am certainly fine with it.

So Caitlin told me a little about her week and she sounds like she is doing well, even with all the reading.  She said her brain hurts, but I am sure that she is doing ok.  I think it is silly that her boss doesn't let them do homework, and I think it is sillier that his name is Rob.  There is something about that name and job that just sounds familiar.  She told me a little about her roommate, but I told her she needs to tell me everything so we will see. They are getting along which is really good and I am happy that she is happy.  She had mentioned something about a study abroad and that would be a great experience for her.  Through BYU I believe, there is a program for young people to come here to Ukraine and teach English and I think that would also be a great experience for her.  There are certainly plenty of lower income students here and the girls that I have met that do it all seem to enjoy it.  Plus there is an international ward that they love and the temple not to far.  I honestly don't know how it works, but I believe that they are from BYU.  Anyway, I am sure that she will be able to figure it out.  Is she still working on generals or is she starting to work towards her major now?

Chelsea didn't write this week, but it sounds like all is going well.  It is good that she is just staying busy and I hope that she is having fun with sports and whatnot.  That is good that she decided to go to practice and everything too.  I think swim team would be good, but I am sure that would be tough for her too.  She would really need to commit to the practices and whatnot, and she certainly is starting late, but that would be cool for her.  I can't believe that she is already in her sophomore year.  I guess she really is growing up.

So yes, the philharmonia was fun and it was cool to be able to spend time with the district here. I love our missionaries and it is great to spend time with them when possible.  The district here is wonderful and full of so many great members which is great.  I love being able to support them, learn from them, and see their joy in the work.  This work is really the most fulfilling work that exists, because it is God's work.  Awesome how that works...

Thanks for the verse by the way; that is a great verse and I love it very much.  (Alma 37:35-37) Alma's counsel to his sons is incredible and there is so much for us to learn from it.  The power of prayer truly is immeasurable and when we remember to work always in the Lord's way, then all will be fine.  Also, what he says in verse 35 is so important.  I recently thought about the prophets and general authorities and all those men that just have a spiritual presence about them.  That spiritual stature is built by years of obedience to the Lord and the promptings of the Spirit.  They learned in their youth to keep the commandments and that has changed their life forever.  That is why we are so blessed to have awesome parents that taught us God's laws from childhood. 

The work is going well and we found a couple of new people to teach this week.  We still have more potential which is awesome.  The key is just to constantly find and to move quickly and when people really don't want to change, we just move on.  When we do that, the Lord will give us more people to work with.  The members are great too and we are still working with them as well.  We just need to keep improving and I am sure that the Lord will bless us.  This is His work and when we follow the Spirit to do as the Lord guides, then that is when we will have the most success and the most joy in this work.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  He is the way, the only way, and true joy comes when we do as He did and follow His commandments.  I know that He loves us more than we can imagine and that is why he did all that He did for us

I love you,

Elder Jones

p.s.  Oh my goodness, I forgot that Luke is already leaving.  Give him a call and tell him a good luck and tell him to be obedient from me :)  I will write him when I get home I guess. 

August 22, 2011 - Photos

1.  The Philharmonia building thingy in Center Kyiv.

2.  Our awesome 2 dollar seats

3.  Some members from Lviv that were in Kyiv

4.  The Bishop and Elder Kashiwagi.  We helped the bishop again and then next pictures will show the work we did over a couple of weeks and the view from his house.

 

August 22, 2011

Hey there mom,

So I will try to respond to what you say and see if I figured out all that was going on, and then I will write about my week.

First off, what camera?  I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.  I think someone forgot to tell me something....that seems to be happening a lot these days - that is just one of the curses of being many a thousand miles away.  I am very confused because your birthday is still two months away, so I can't really figure out what gift you are receiving....hmm.  Well, let me know, because I am confused.  What kind is it?  You are right that we will be stealing it, because I think I will be taking a photography class at the U too because I don't want to take any other types of fine arts classes.  I do like photography a lot.  Fun fun...

It sounds like Chels had a pretty fun week, even if she isn't getting as much playing time as she may want.  Hopefully she understands that if she doesn't make it to practices, then the coach can't be expected to let her play a lot.  I bet there are a lot of good players there too.  I bet she was kinda stressed with all that she had to do this week, but her letter was good and she sounds happy.  She didn't mention her games though, like I figured she wouldn't, but that is ok.  I am glad that they won.   Anyway, I hope school works out well for her and she isn't too stressed.

Caitlin sounds way excited for school, her old friends, and her new job too.  I bet that she will have a lot of fun down there and hopefully she didn't forget too many things when she went down.  She said that she still hasn't really gotten to know her roommate which is funny, but I gave her homework to talk to her roommate and then to tell me all about her ;P  So you better follow up on that because I can't follow up until next week.  I think that she will have a great semester down there and have a lot of fun which is great.  She is growing up which is so weird to me.  I guess I will have to grow up too when I get back.  She still doesn't tell me much about what she wants to do in life - like for example, she mentioned some study abroad thing and says she would love to help people, but is she actually planning to do that?  Anyway, I hope that all goes well and that her new computer doesn't give her any problems.

I am glad to hear that you and Dad had a fun ride home and got to spend some time together.  Now that there are less kids in the house, you and him can go on more dates and spend more time together - that is good.  I will try not to take up too much of your time together when I get home ;L  Dad told me about the new calling too which is really exciting.  I bet he would have been pretty nervous, but that is cool that it is all working out and he is excited.  Look at how the week after we talk about his beard, he gets a phone call from the stake presidency.  I think it is a sign from Heavenly Father that it is going to have to go sometime!  Bishop Close is great, but I am excited for the new bishopric as well.  I think that it will be a great learning experience for the family and that Dad will grow a lot from it.  Hopefully he will be able to go a little longer without lunch.  I have gotten used to that on my mission and yesterday for example, we didn't eat until five.  He may have those types of days every once and a while haha.  I am really excited for him.

I am glad that you get/got to see your brother again.  Did they bring the kids back to the Y or something?  That is a lot of fun for them and I hope that you all had a good time together.

So that does seem like a pretty busy week for you.  We had a really crazy one too.  The beginning of the week we had a lot of things fall through, but we worked hard and were very busy.  On Thursday we took part of our P-day and as a district went to listen to a philharmonic symphony thingy which was awesome.  It was a lot of fun to be with the district and the music was incredible.  It was all Russian composers too so it was their own music.  Fun stuff.  Well, so like I said, we worked hard, but things were just falling through.  On Thursday, we had a leadership meeting with all the district leaders and zone leaders and there I received a lot of thoughts/revelation that helped me to focus even more on what we can do.  Even though everything we planned seemed to be changing, the Lord was blessing us with so many little miracles.  On Wednesday, as we were out in one of the villages, our lesson came late, but that gave us an hour to go around and we found an awesome woman who wants to meet sometime this week.  We gave her a Book of Mormon and she is so excited.  Then on Thursday, as we were at the symphony, we met an awesome Chinese man named Fei and got his number.  On Friday, we were planning on inviting a member to introduce the Sister missionaries to a girl that lives with her.  We planned a spiritual thought and then we were going to invite her to act, but when we got there, the girl was already sitting there, waiting to listen to us.  The member invited her to come in without us even having to ask.  That was such a miracle for us.  We got Lena's number and gave it to the Sisters and I think she really does have potential!   The miracles just kept coming as we kept working hard and by the end of the week, we had gotten so much done, even though we were super busy all week with office stuff.  It was truly incredible.  The Lord is leading us to people that are ready, members are excited and are inviting people to meet with us and others are just showing up and want to learn more.  It is awesome and this week is going to be a great one for us.  It is so incredible that the Lord is continually blessing us and it really is a testimony to us that the work is going forward.  As Alma taught his son Helaman, by small and simple means, the Lord bring about the salvation of many souls (Alma 37:6-7).  I know that this is the Lord's true church. I know that Jesus Christ is our Head and he is leading this work today.  The Gift of the Holy Ghost is real and He does guide us daily and we seek inspiration and listen for His promptings.  The Lord's work is moving forward and He is truly working through all of us to bring about His great work and glory.  I know that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and that Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today.  God lives and His plan is real.  I know that He loves all of His children and that is why I am here.  I want to share that love with others and help them to receive all the blessings that the Father has to offer.

Love,

Elder Jones

August 15, 2011

Hi Mom,

So I can't believe that the summer is already over.  The girls are going back to school and the temperatures are still dropping for some reason...at least for us.  Yesterday was a hot one, but right now it is overcast and only 68 degrees.  Nothing like last August in Rivne.  That is cool that you were able to go up to Bear Lake and have a good time there and then make some yummy jam.  I do hope you save a little for me :)  I can't believe that you let Chelsea do that much driving and especially if it was the first time in the van.  (She drove the 50 miles around Bear Lake and then all the way home.)  You must be a lot less scared than when I was learning, because you definitely would not let me do that.  I am glad that you got to do a little more family history work too.  That is pretty exciting and it is always so interesting to learn more about your ancestors.  People here think it is incredible that I have some of the pioneer heritage in my blood and it certainly is a blessing to know that our ancestors did sacrifice so much for us.  We need to do our part to not give up, but to give all that we have ourselves to the Lord's work.  We even make that promise in the temple.  Anyway, on the other end of the spectrum, we have a different kind of pioneer with Dad, and I love sharing his conversion story too.  The members love it, and in turn, I love to hear what sacrifices they have made to become members too.

I hope that the girls can get all they need done and be ready to go back to school.  That is so crazy to think about how fast the summer went and that they will be back in the school routine in no time.  I hope that they have fun and don't take too long to transition back.  Let me know how Chelsea's soccer goes too, because she probably won't tell me.  We will see.

I love the Gallis and I am sure they gave wonderful talks.  There truly are so many different ways to serve and the Lord will find a way for it to happen.  I know that one of my life goals is to serve a full time mission with my wife some day.  It would be incredible to return to Ukraine or Russia if possible.  Tell dad that he is going to have to make the sacrifice some day.  (He's talking about Rob having to be clean shaven if we serve a mission.)  Heavenly Father will probably just make it happen by calling him to the bishopric or stake presidency or high council or something.  Honestly, I think he will just have to shave it sometime and then once he gets used to that, he will be just fine with it.  The problem is that he hasn't been clean shaven for 20ish years ;P

This last week was dubbed our snorkel week, the week that we are able to come up and get some air, but there ended up being a ton of crazy stuff and it was just as exhausting as the week before.  We had some missionaries go to Bulgaria, another missionary come into the mission, and I had a huge project that I had to get finished.  Plus we went out and did service and spent time working with the members and all sorts of other things and come Sunday night, I was just dead.  This week is going to be just as exhausting, but really that is ok, because that is what the Lord asks.  We are supposed to serve with all of our might, mind, heart, and strength, so being exhausted is just fine for me.  Plus I am getting the best sleep of my mission so it is totally worthwhile.  The ward council is still working really hard with us on bringing back the less actives and we are continuing to have success.  Yesterday a little girl was baptized in the ward and it was a way neat and spiritual experience for her and her mom.  The work is definitely going forward and the Lord is blessing everyone that is getting involved in it.  As we all show our faith and live worthy of the blessings that are available, the Lord is opening up the windows of heaven and letting a little more light shine down on the missionaries and members here.  We love the ward here so much and it is such a pleasure and privilege to work along side them and help them bring their lost brothers and sisters back.  We are blessed to have a large ward and a lot of great missionaries in it too.  It certainly makes the work a lot of fun to have so many people to work with.

I know that this is the Lord's work, and that all of us must make certain sacrifices in order to do all we can in this work.  God is our loving Heavenly Father, and He has sent each of us here for a specific purpose; so that we can receive a body, learn to become like Him, and dedicate ourselves to helping others to receive eternal life as well.  Jesus Christ is our Savior and has made it possible for all of us to return to live with our Heavenly Father.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is the way and as we follow his example, we are promised eternal life, along with those that we love.

Love,

Elder Jones

p.s. Wow! The family keeps growing....how's Caitlin doing on helping you become a grandmother?  What are her thoughts towards marriage and whatnot?  I am pretty sure that I will beat her to it...anyway, that is not important yet ;)

Some bragging on Ryan

Brother Jones,

Because the email was sent to all the parents, I could not tell you how much we enjoy your son.  He is cheerful, diligent, quick to serve, quick to accomplish a task, spiritually perceptive, and just a great Elder.  He has not only helped me understand Microsoft and Outlook much better, he often helps me with added insights to the Gospel.  We also worked with him in Ivano-Frankivsk, my husband and I having the assignment to visit that Branch monthly.  Thank you for raising such a fine young man and for sharing him with this Mission.

Have a great day,

Sister Park