Chernigov, Ukraine - Home, Sweet Home

This is it! My first preparation day in Ukraine. I arrived just afternoon in Kiev on Wednesday, November 24th, 2010. We went and road the metro and contacted some people. I was somewhat surprised. I didn't think it would be as easy to talk to people, but it was great. I felt calm and peaceful. I talked to a few people on my first day. I placed a Book of Mormon too. I felt so much love for the Ukrainian people and I can already feel that I'm going to miss this country when I go home.

We did some training and paperwork, then went to the mission home and had a delicious dinner that Sister Steinagel cooked. I flew in with 8 other Ukrainian speaking missionaries, by the way. We had some free time where we did some singing and playing around w/ the piano while president did some interviews. All of us slept at President Steinagel's house the first night. In the morning after a breakfast and some study we went over to the chapel by the temple where the whole mission was. Usually all the missionaries only gather about twice a year. This time was for Thanksgiving. There were about 110 missionaries there including senior couples. First thing was transfer meeting where we found out who our trainers would be and what city we'll be in!

My trainer's name is Elder Calahan Larson. He's originally from Florida, but lived about 8 years in Utah. He's been a great companion so far. We have some sweet conversations. We have had a lot of different life experiences, but we also have a lot in common. He's our district leader right now. He's been in Ukraine for over a year now. We are getting right to work. My first city is called Chernigov. It's the city the furthest north in our mission and the closest you can get to Chernoble (about 100 km). There are about 400,000 people from what I've heard. It's a nice spot. It's been cool to go around and start to get to know the area. The members here are great! We have about 20 people in sacrament meeting every week. The Branch President Solomain is 25 and has a beautiful little daughter. He's from Russia and served his mission here then returned. We are teaching a family with 6 children right now. The parents have already been to church with 2 of the children. Their names are Anatoliy and Elena. Please pray for them. He's a taxi driver, I haven't met the rest of the family yet. He's really cool though.

I'm getting better at approaching people. I contacted a university professor yesterday and we got his business card. We hope to meet with him tonight.

I don't have anymore time to write right now, but I'm loving it here and I'm excited to see what the days ahead have in store. I'll try to write more next week.

Oh yeah, I am not able to email friends in this mission, sorry to anybody i told i could. Letters it will be.

Love,
Elder Mahoney

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Arrival

I have a few minutes just to say that I've safely arrived in Kiev, Ukraine! My flights all went well and I had a great conversation with a Danish man on my flight to Frankfurt. We talked about a lot of great Gospel topics. He was very open and willing to learn. Today we rode on the metro and contacted some people. I placed a Book of Mormon in Russian. I am so blessed with the opportunity to be here. I feel completely peaceful and I am surprised that I feel completely calm, even when I was talking to strangers. Today I had several moments where I had an overwhelming feeling of love for the Ukrainian people. I can't describe it. I told one of the assistants to the president about it and he said, "Oh yeah, there's something special about them. I don't know what it is, but there's something different." I am so happy to be here and excited to meet my trainer tomorrow. My Mission President and his wife, Pres. Lane Steinagle and Sis. Jennifer Steinagle, are great! We had a nice dinner Sister Steinagle cooked us this evening. I saw the Kiev temple today too. It's amazing. I feel a special excitement about the work here. Praise the Lord.

 

From Ukraine with love,

Elder Mahoney

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Flight Plans and the 4th in a Row

It's pretty hard to believe that we had our 4th Apostle in a row here at the Provo MTC last Tuesday! Elder David A. Bednar spoke to us. He is such a powerful teacher. He speaks with such clarity and wisdom. He taught us a framework for learning the Gospel. He taught that doctrine will always answer the "why?" questions, principles will answer the "what?" questions, and applications will answer the "how?" questions. He taught us that we need to understand and help others to learn the principles behind the applications and the doctrine behind the principles. I'm so grateful to be hear and to have the opportunity to have experiences like that. He said that he was sitting in our seats, I think it was, 39 years ago. He said it's hard for him to believe he's on the other side of the equation now. It just made me stop and ponder what he might have been thinking when he was in my seat, did he have any idea of what awaited him in life? I'm excited to be alive in these days and look forward to what tommorow has in store.

We received our flight plans last Thursday. I'm flying from Salt Lake to Chicago to Frankfurt to Kiev. I leave at 8:10 AM on November 23rd and arrive at 1:10 PM on November 24th. As far as I know everything is good with our visas, but we don't have our passports back yet.

 

I have really enjoyed my stay here at the MTC. I have met so many great people and I'm surround by many more great people I haven't had the chance to meet. I often get the chance to speak all the languages I know and I pick up bits of other ones here and there. I've learned some German, Ukrainian, Mongolian and some more Mandarin since I've been here. Yesterday I was downstairs on the international floor in my classroom building and I said hello in 5 languages in about 40 seconds. It's so great to meet the saints from all over the world. We even have a couple sisters from Pakistan now, one from Marshall Islands, one from Vanuatu, all over. This is a marvelous work and a wonder.

 

I can't believe I forgot to mention. Last Friday I was able to go to Temple Square in Salt Lake w/ the other international missionaries. It is so nice to visit there. We did a session in the Salt Lake Temple. It's amazing to imagine all the people who have stepped foot in there. The majority of General Authorities in this dispensation have been there. I don't have much time left, but I'm so full of gratitude and love. Thanks to everybody for the influence you have on me. Thank you for your prayers. This will be my last email from the MTC. Talk to you soon from Ukraine.

 

Love,

Elder Mahoney

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This is a Special Time

So, it's even still hard to believe for me, but for the 3rd week in a row we had an Apostle come speak to us. Last Tuesday Elder M. Russell Ballard was here. He gave a great talk about how we need to become master communicators. It is such a special privilege to hear from an Apostle of the Lord. They bear such powerful testimony. He talked about some missionary work he was doing just earlier that day in a 30 minute meeting with a CEO of a very large company. He commited the man to read Our Search For Happiness and gave him a Book of Mormon. He told him to come back when he has 4 hours and bring his wife and he'd answer all his questions. The man said he looks forward to it. I know from a good source that Elder Bednar is definitely scheduled to speak here in November. I hope it is before I leave.

 

Fun fact: one of my teachers is Sister Chenina. You can see a video of her testimony on YouTube if you search "Russian Mormon Missionary."

 

Things are just rolling along here. Time is flying as usually. I think I have like 14 days left now and I'll be in Ukraine. It's pretty exciting stuff. We started speaking 100% Russian yesterday, so almost everything is Russian now. I have mixed feelings about it from an academic foreign language acquistion standpoint, but it's happening and I'll be gone before I know it. I'm going to start packing a little bit today so I can decide what I want to leave here.

 

On Sunday night, Sister Sherri Dew spoke to us. It was a fine talk but it was 85% the exact same as when I heard her speak in Toronto in August.

 

I don't even know what else to say right now really. I just found out that last month Angola and Burundi were dedicated for the preaching of the Gospel. That is so exciting to me. This is an amazing work. I really liked a quote I heard yesterday. A substitute teacher said, "First see God's hand, then be God's hand." First we need to see the hand of the Lord in our lives and what it means, then we can become tools in his hands.

 

I love being a missionary and have the chance to share this message with the Ukrainian people.

 

Thanks to everybody for all the support,

Elder Jonathan Mahoney

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Two Apostles in a Row

Okay, I have about 8 minutes to write this email. The time flies here! What happened this week? Well, last Tuesday Elder Richard G. Scott came and spoke to us! Wow, it was amazing. He basically gave us a proclamation to the world on personal revelation. We got a handout afterward. It is like everything that he has learned in his life about prayer on a double-sided piece of paper. It's definitely something I'll hold close to me for the rest of my life. We are some uplifted and inspired here. At the end he said, "I'm going to say this not as Elder Scott, but as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. If there is nothing else you remember from this, remember that I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know this because I know Him." It was so powerful. What an honor it is to learn at the feet of Apostles of the Lord.

 

The week flew by as they all do. The crazy thing is, it is said, that the time spent in the MTC is the longest part of your mission. The rest is going to be gone in the blink of an eye. I'm determined to work as hard as I can everyday and really make the best out of it. I want to have no regrets. I heard an awesome analogy on Sunday. Imagine you had unlimited gold coins to give out to people. Would you keep them to yourself? Would you look at some people and think "oh, they probably wouldn't like gold?" Do you think when you offered it to them they would turn it down? Would that stop you from offering it? They would probably want to know why you're giving it to them and probably wouldn't believe it to be real at first. We would ask them to take it and have it tested because we know it really is. Having the knowledge of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is like that. We need to share. Time is up. I love you all. I know that Christ lives. Thanks for your support.

 

Let your light shine,

Elder Jonathan D.C. Mahoney

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