November 29, 2010

Hey there Mom,

So first things first.  Thanks to you and the family for the package.  I got it in Kyiv and it is incredible.  The candy was a little too much...that is tons of sugar and I want to eat healthy.  What are you trying to do, kill me?!?!?  Just kidding, it is great so thanks again.  Also, I will definitely make sure I send out some thank you letters as soon as I can.  I don't know when because we are super busy this week. Which leads me to an update.

So this past week was absolutely crazy.  On Monday, we had a day to relax with Elder Belashov and then on Tuesday we met with one of Vincent's friends, Derrick.  Derrick is from Ghana and came to church and to the baptism last week and so we really wanted to meet with him and see what he thought.  While there, I asked him what he wanted to get out of meetings with us and he said "well, I want to find out about the church, the Book of Mormon, and maybe become a member."  We were blown away. To make things short, we invited him to be baptized on the 11th of December and he said he wants to.  He is also going to start reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it.  What a miracle.  God is literally pouring blessings out upon us and I am so happy right now.  It is such a pleasure to be here and to meet such people with a desire to follow Christ.

Tuesday night is where it really started to get crazy.  They had a transfer call to tell everyone who was getting transferred to pack and my name was one of them.  So I started packing, said goodbye to the few people I could, and on Wednesday, we hopped on a train to Kyiv.  Kyiv was really cool and it was a really special Thanksgiving.  We had a transfer meeting, a big lunch, watched the special KSL program from the temple, and then heard a talk from the Temple President which was absolutely incredible.  The entire day was cool and that night we hopped on a train to go to our areas.  The transfer meeting was really cool.  There were 8 new missionaries and a bunch of us oldies and we met to get our new assignment.  I am now serving with Elder Valdivieso in Lviv in western Ukraine.  It is a huge city and there are now 8 missionaries serving here.  We are actually starting a new area which means that we are literally starting from almost nothing.  We are starting a search for a new apartment today and are temporarily staying with other missionaries.  It is going to be a crazy time, but a really cool one too I think.  I am super excited.  We have some cool members here to work with so it is going to be great here.  On Saturday we had a thanksgiving activity with the branches here (there are two which are both about the same size as the one in Ivano) and I met lots of people which was good.  It will be tough, but we have a wonderful area and Elder V already served two transfers here so it will be fun.  I am kinda scared with the fact that we are starting with nothing, but we do have these members to work with, a great district of 6 Elders and 2 Sisters (1 Elder and 1 Sister are brand new too), and we are all super excited to get out and work.  It is going to be an absolute blast here.

Well, I still don't know a lot about Elder Valdivieso, but he is from Southern California.  He is starting his third transfer so he hasn't been out for too long, but he has been here in Lviv for all 3 months which is good.  He has actually been sick too which is really tough, because we have had to take it slowly.  I want to just get out there and do it, but I guess this is just an opportunity for me to learn some patience.  The mission field is a great place to practice patience actually.  Anyway, I don't know what else to say right now.  We are super busy with trying to get settled and so my head is just spinning - it has been all week!

Well, I think I will finish up for the week by letting you know that all is well here.  I have witnessed the hand of the Lord is so many ways since I have been out and I know that He is guiding us in this work.  This is His work and I love it.  It has been hard for me at times to just get out and try to talk to people I don't know, but the Lord continues to bless us with opportunities to just be ourselves and help others come unto Him.  I have met so many wonderful people and I truly think I am happier than I ever have been.  It is hard being away from home sometimes, but I know that we are all being blessed and that joy which we are promised is pouring out upon us even more and more than I could every have expected.  Time is flying and we are all learning and growing and becoming what the Lord wants us to be.  His work and His glory is for us to become like Him and return home.  God created His plan for us and we can truly find happiness by following the example of His Son.  Jesus Christ loves all of us and He is our Savior.  Trust Him, Love Him, and Follow Him and we will all return to our God together.  What a great blessing to have this in our lives.  Thanks for always supporting and teaching me to do what is right.  I love you so much Mom.

Elder Jones

 

P.S. Didn't have time to make it to the temple, but we will go sometime next year.

November 22, 2010 - Dad

Dad,

Church here was awesome for us too.  I wrote in my journal about how much I love Sundays.  It is pretty cool that the Lord has given us a day like that to be able to worship him and to just be happy.  Yesterday I ended up being the final speaker here and I talked about "cleansing the inner vessel" based off of President Packer's talk from this past conference.  It was a pretty neat experience.

So the weather here just got cold this past weekend.  It has been in the 30's and 40's these past few days.  It is windy too, but dry too which is nice.  We had a really rainy day last week though.  I am thinking it will be staying cold from here on.

Thanks by the way for asking for money for Elder Belashov.  It isn't a huge deal, but he does need the help to be able to study there and so I figured you could ask.  Thanks.

This past week we talked about the temple with Isaac and I read some cool stuff about temples.  Isaac is going to go to the temple for  baptisms in two weeks which is cool.  I heard that if new converts get to the temple within two months to do work for their family, then the retention rate is 95%.  That is so cool.  Elder Park, the Branch President here, was with us and he had tons of insight too.  He is a former bishop and so he has some experience and it was cool to hear his input.  Also, on Saturday, Zhanna was baptized which was great.  She is so cool and is super happy now.  Even though she make have some struggles coming up, she has made the first steps necessary to eternal happiness.

Thanks as always for the sports updates.  And pass a hello to Dewey from me.  I am glad to hear that he is home and had a great time.  I am having a great time here myself and I am so happy.  Things are really going well and I have tons to be thankful for this holiday season.  Have a great Thanksgiving!

With Love,

Elder Jones

November 22, 2010

Mom,

Say hi back to a number of the ward members :) Also, say hi to Dewey from me, Dad said he is home.

So the weather here isn't snowy yet, but it got cold two days ago and probably won't warm up again. Last week was really nice though so I guess it is time to accept the cold.  Now I just need to find a jacket.  I want to wait until after transfers though so I don't have to carry it if I leave.  I will find out tomorrow whether or not I am staying in Ivano.

Thanks for helping Elder Belashov.  He said that the PEF doesn't exist here so he has to find the money on his own and there are not a lot of international student scholarships.  And you asked about talking with him.  (I asked what language Ryan and his companion use when conversing.)  First, I don't speak Russian at all so there is none of that.  He speaks Ukrainian most of the time but he also speaks English if I don't understand or if he wants to talk English.  He says that he thinks in Russian, but here in Ivano everyone speaks Ukrainian and so he does too.  I speak both English and Ukrainian with him.  Other missionaries say it is weird because we switch in and out of Ukrainian sometimes in conversations.

Wow, I just realized how long your letter was to me.  I just started responding and then decided to finish reading and it kept going and going.  Wow mom!  So I am excited for this week, even though there is a lot of unknown ahead.  I hope I am not being transferred yet because I feel like I am finally getting comfortable here, but we will see what happens.  I will be excited for whatever my next assignment is.

I will definitely listen to President Monson's talk this week.  I have a cd of it so I will listen while I make lunch one of these days.  It is a great talk and this year we have so much to be thankful for.  I keep realizing each and every day just how blessed I am and it is just incredible.  Keep me updated on what happens in WV, even though I am sure they would tell me too.

So this past week here was great.  On Saturday, Elder Belashov baptized Zhanna.  She is a great woman and is so happy, even though her family isn't super acceptive at the moment.  She knows that what she has found is worth everything and that is what matters.  I was able to confirm her yesterday and the sisters said she was super happy all day as she realized what she has received.  The talk yesterday went well too, after I worked on it a lot during the week.  Yesterday we went to Isaac too and he is preparing to go to the temple in two weeks which is so cool.  That is so important for him and he is really going to be blessed as he gets there.

I am glad to hear that you and dad are going to get to the temple too.  I think that your goal and dad's goal - the one's for after retirement are awesome by the way.  (I told him my goal is to visit all the temples after we retire and Rob's is to visit all the baseball parks, which we've said we'll combine.)  I am sure that it will be great to go to the Oakland temple for Christmas.  I hope I will get to go to the temple here too around that time.  I am really excited to get to the temple here and I know that as you and dad go, life will just become a little bit better and eternity will be a little more understood.

Well, I need to write to Grandma and Grandpa Chidester so I guess I will end by letting you know that I am so thankful for all you do.  I love you very much mom and I know you will have a great Thanksgiving this week.  Just don't miss me, because before you know it, I will be home and the blessings of me being a missionary will stop.  Anyway, I do love you.  Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Jones

November 15, 2010 - Photos

Have fun, these are from a village we went to and it is just a beautiful Ukrainian dusk.

And this is a beautiful Ukrainian dinner/lunch.  They are super hospitable, and this was for the Branch President, Elder Park and his wife, Sister Park.  Elder Belashov and I were just invited to help translate and because they love us too ;)

November 15, 2010

Mom,

So the weather here is still incredibly nice.  It is even hot today I think.  I was sweating on the bus where it was probably 80 plus degrees.  It has been really nice though, but I have heard that once the winter comes, it will be relentless.

By the way, piece of business here.  Elder Belashov is planning on studying at BYU after his mission but doesn't have enough money.  He needs to find a sponsor and they will help him to pay for the first year or two of school.  I guess he needs about 20,000 dollars and was wondering if there is anyone in the ward or neighborhood that you can think of that could help him out.  It is not a huge problem if you can't think of anyone, but just a question.

I have not received anything from Elder Sudbury in a long time.  I sent him a letter at least a month ago so I am sure he will respond to that, but I haven't heard from him.  As for Jacob, I send him letters snailom mailom (that's Ukrainianized English - just a joke) and he writes me back by email.  It is actually really funny.  He writes and I wait til Monday to get it, and I write him and he waits a month for it to get to America.

Speaking of America, I just sent a package there today.  It is for Christmas so let me know when it gets there - it will probably be a month or so.  I told Caitlin about Thanksgiving because sometimes I just think of things like that when I write her.  I also told her about some drunk guy experience I had in Kyiv 3 months ago and never told you (I don't know why I remembered that).  Sometimes it just happens. Sorry.

So I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am sure it will be way cool with some family members there.  Tell them hi for me.  And like President Monson taught, remember to be grateful.  Like for example, with the new computer that is so much faster than the old computer.  That is a little different from electricity versus lamps, but similar too, eh?  We all certainly have a lot to be thankful for which is great.

So that is strange that I helped give a talk in sacrament meeting.  (We had a missionary farewell Sunday and the youth speaker wasn't there so they read clips from Ryan's last 4 emails having to do with Isaac and his baptism as well as Elder Close's last letter.)  I will be giving one here this week too.  I am glad that people are able to hear about missionary experiences that we are having.  Hopefully it will help some of the young men prepare for their own opportunity, and some of the older people look for opportunities at home.  Like President Hinckley always said, every member is a missionary and all of us who take part in this work will be blessed, whether it is the full time missionaries or the busy members at home.

So as for an update here.  This past week we were in Lviv for a missionary meeting and it was cool to see some of the members from Rivne there who had a training.  It is neat to see that they are still doing wonderfully as they work hard and do their part.  Also this past week, we continued to work with Zhanna and with the African members here.  Zhanna is doing wonderfully.  She is Russian by the way, but has lived here for a very long time, in Ivano I mean.  She is still planning on being baptized this weekend which will be awesome.  She continues to understand everything so well and the only thing that is really standing in the way is her husband who doesn't seem to like us.  I think he will accept it though and hopefully with time, he will warm up too.  All is going well with her.  Isaac received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday which is cool as well and now he is able to pass the sacrament.  He is still doing awesome.

Well, that is all for this week that I can think of.  Thanks again for your letters.  I look so forward to them each week.  How has your reading been, or visiting the temple?  I hope you are doing all you can to get there.  I will finally be able to go to the temple for Thanksgiving and I am really excited for that opportunity.  It is so important to get there and to be able to help others to receive salvation, not to mention help ourselves receive salvation.  I know that the temple is a place that all of us need to strive to be worthy of.  If we are able to go to the temple often, then our lives will be just fine and the Lord will prepare fo us all that we need.  Set a goal for yourself to get there as often as possible.  I know that Heavenly Father wants us all to do that.

I love you mom,

Elder Jones

November 8, 2010

Hey Mom,

So Dad told me, twice, that the Giants won.  That is so cool and even though it is too bad I missed it, I told him that we will watch them do it again in two years.  That is super cool though.  He also told me about his hand and cold and everything, going into his AORE trip.  Silly papa, always getting himself sick for these types of things.  He will be fine though.

So the soccer banquet thing sounds like it was pretty fun - 3 hours is crazy though.  I would have died.  Our Halloween party was a much better use of three hours.  The spook alley, including the cow tongue, was all Elder Belashov's idea, and he did a great job as he led people through.  It was funny to listen to him explain what each little thing was.  The banana eating contest was Elder Kuczak's Canadian thing.  You have to open the banana peel and then eat the banana inside it, without using your hands.  It was funny and the woman who ended up doing it fastest of all became a new investigator this week too.  She is really cool.

So to answer your, well Carrie's question, yes, the MTC has sheets and you can switch them out weekly.  It is really cool to hear that Grayden is almost ready to go.  He is going to have a great time and be able to help tons of people I am sure.  Let me know how his farewell goes and send him my regards/luck/whatever.

So the Fast and Testimony meeting here is pretty much the same.  The same people get up and testify every week because if they don't, then we would just sit there.  There were only 27 people there yesterday which is 12 less than last week.  Between 25 and 35 is pretty normal here in Ivano.  It is really cool when the Africans get up and testify.  Yesterday, Anne, a member who just moved here to study from Nigeria, came for the first time and she testified.  She has been a member for a long time I guess, but didn't know the church was here until two months after she got here.  She is really cool and is the 5th African member in this branch now, crazy!

Oh, so I still haven't bought a coat yet.  We have had really warm weather here too for the past month.  My Marmot has kept me plenty warm for a while.  I am sure the cold will come eventually though.  By the way, I learned that phrase 'Indian's Summer' this past week.  I had just never heard it before.  But anyway, I found out that here, they called it 'Grandmother's Summer' which I thought was kind of funny.  Just a fun little fact.

Well, so as I mentioned, Zhanna, one of the woman who came to Isaac's baptism and the party, became a new investigator this week.  She is a friend of a member and we invited her to those activities and she came.  We gave her a Book of Mormon and she read it and she really loves how easy it is to understand, in comparison to the Bible.  Anyway, to make things shorter, after we invited her to be baptized, she said she wasn't sure.  So we challenged her to pray about it and ask God if it is right, and to read 3 Nephi 11 where Christ gives his doctrine.  So the next time, we came back and asked if she read and she said, yeah and it talked a lot about repentance and baptism.  Then we asked her if she prayed.  She said "yes."  We asked, "and did you get an answer.  What are your thoughts?"  Then Zhanna said, " I had only one thought, I need to get baptized."  It was incredible!  We ended up setting a date for the 20th of November, two weeks from this past Saturday.  The Book and Mormon and prayer have such an incredible power and it was so great to be able to witness that miracle.  I am so thankful to Heavenly Father that he really does answer prayers and that through the Book of Mormon, we can receive those answers.  That was a great experience to be a part of.

Well, that is about all for this week.  I need to write Caitlin still so I will go do that.  Thanks for all your letters and support.  I love you Mom.

All my Love,

Elder Jones

P.S. Yes I confirmed Isaac.  It was a privilege and I am glad that I am worthy to be able to help him receive such a great blessing and gift. 

November 1, 2010 - Photo Time

Photo Time

These first ones are from the Baptism.  Elder/President Park baptized Isaac.

Here is our Halloween Party

Elder Kuczak and Elder Schmutz setting up the fishing game

The pumpkin they asked me to carve - I had to do it really quickly before the party

One of the Fushtay children - Lyubomir

Ira, Elder Kuczak and Isaac

Ira and the Fushtays

Another Fushtay child - Clabik

Pumpkin carving race

More pumpkin carving

Jack-o-lanterns

Banana eating contest without hands

Banana race

Room of people at Halloween party

Vincent as a mummy

Isaac as a mummy

All of the mummies

Spook Alley

Elder Kuczak as a dead arm - and then he grabbed people's legs

Elder Kuczak waiting for his next victim

That's me - the wet sock - I was a cow's tongue and I licked people. EWW!

Elder Belashov leading people past the child's remains and human brain

Ira touching the human brain

Vincent going through

Clean up - What a night!