I love those videos. Beautiful.
Another week in Khmelnitskiy. What to write... We actually stayed in the city for a whole week. It was kinda weird. That won't happen again for the rest of the transfer. Well actually the Zone Leaders did goto Kiev on Saturday so we weren't really all here all week. It was pretty nice to have the whole week to work together with my new companion, Elder Davis. It really has me kinda on my own because I have to make all the calls, do all the contacting and basically teach all the lessons except when members help. It's a powerful opportunity for growth. I feel very under qualified. I feel like I know very little. I try to treasure up the word each day, but I know that I still fall very short. I know that the Holy Ghost can make up the difference. I pray for greater faith in that and help in this work. I want to be a useful servant and tool in the hands of the Lord. I just heard a testimony by Elder Scott. He said "You've been called by the Lord. He'll sustain you." I pray I can always remember that too.
We've continued to work with Inna and she is a very great person going through some hard times. She's always willing and wanting to help people and she is constantly thinking about how she can help lead her son through his teenage years to avoid all the evils surrounding him. I love them and I pray for them. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what will make the most difference in their lives. I feels very good to help people and to form these relationships that will carry on after the mission and after death.
One interesting experience was a referral we received this week. We went and visited this man in his studio. His name is Vitaliy Vasilivich. He does classes that are like a mixture of ballroom dancing, breathing exercises and yoga. He's 65 and works all the time for donations only and doesn't take vacations. He sleeps 4 hours a day and keeps very busy. He draws and has written thousands of poems, a couple thousand essays, and keeps a journal. He plays a little bit with some instruments too and has a garden. He talks a lot about energies and the science of energy. I found it very interesting, though there were many words I didn't understand I got the gist of it. Other missionaries had visited him before but just though he was crazy. I don't subscribe to everything he believes, but I'm inspired by the way he works. He reminds me of a modern day DaVinci. On Saturday night Elder Davis and I went and participated in one of the classes. It was not easy to follow, but it was neat. Basically he and his assistant take turns leading the group and everybody on their own just tries to follow. We were with the parents group. He works with all ages. Interesting stuff anyway. He made me want to work on my strength and flexibility more and learn about everything I want to learn about in my life. I also want to learn more about gardening. He talked about the energy that comes from it. Cool stuff.
Everybody should also watch these testimonies too. I don't think I've every seen anything like it: http://lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/missionary-work-is-founded-on-the-doctrine-of-christ/testimonies-video?lang=eng
I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that I was called to serve here in Ukraine by a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I love this work and it's a privilege to share this message with others as official representatives of Christ and His Christ and ministers of the Restored Gospel.
We have our new mission president Klebingat. On Wednesday we'll be in Lviv to meet him. I'm really excited for that. I know they are going to be very great leaders here. I can feel it already. Thanks everybody for the support. I love you.
Enjoy to the end,
Elder Jonathan D.C. Mahoney
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