July 30th, 2012

Another sweaty week has come and gone very quickly. It was 29 degrees inside when I got up at 5:30 this morning. Very warm. I was in Kiev for a leadership training meeting. That meant that I spent 9 hours on a train on Thursday and 12 on Saturday. Makes the time go pretty fast.

In addition to that I was on exchanges with another Elder this past week for another day. It makes things pretty crazy. It seems like we don't have time to get what we want/need done, but the work goes on. We have an investigator with a baptismal date for this Saturday named Vitaliy. He's from Moldova and is looking forward to this weekend. He feels that he needs the support and protection that the Lord and His Church provide. Miracles are happening in our mission and it's a privilege to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ change people's lives.

I truly feel it a privilege to be serving here at this time. We have such a great group of missionaries here and we are lead by a great, inspired mission president. I'm learning everyday.

I feel and appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

Love,

Elder Mahoney

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Sweaty Days in Odessa

I'm sweating in a smoke-smelling unmarked internet club in Odessa, Ukraine. I love my mission. I'm learning everyday and inching forward in personal progress.

It was 36 degrees on our thermometer today and we don't even have a fan in our apartment. I'm working on that, but for now I'm sweating all day and all night usually.

We have an investigator from Moldova named Vitaliy who will be baptized on August 4th. He was being taught before I got here, but there was a little break and we really just started teaching him again since I got here. He's 37 and he actually walked here from his home looking for a better life. I'll say he found it. The branch is starting to fellowship him a bit more and I can see him starting to open up and grow. I know that this will be the best thing that has happened to him in his life.

We have a pretty great branch here with an attendance of 80 or 90 a week. I'm still trying to meet all the members. It's hard to keep track of everybody especially with so many visitors each week since we're in the center of a tourist city. There are lots of tourists here and quite a few immigrants. We even taught a Chinese investigator yesterday. My companion Elder Schultz is a great missionary and we're learning together. Life is fun.

My testimony is truly strengthened each day. I'm slowly increasing in my understanding of the gospel. I love it. I know that this is Christ's one and only Church on the earth. I was called by God through a living prophet to serve a mission here in the Kiev Ukraine Mission. I feel it a privilege to be here right now.

Thanks for all the prayers and support,

Elder Mahoney

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July 16th, 2012

The past week has been a bit of a whirlwind. At the beginning of the week I was still in Chernigov packing and visiting some people for the last time in quite a while. We went down to Kiev on Wednesday night and checked my bags at the train station. On Thursday morning we met up with our new companions. I finished 3 good transfers with Elder Derrick Copling and started a new one with Elder Erich Schultz. That even we got on a night train down to Odessa. I'm serving in the center branch here. President says I'll finish here. It's a pretty neat city. I like that there are a lot of immigrants. I look forward to meeting some. I heard a couple Africans speaking French already, the other day. I think there's like 1.5 million people here. The city seems to be really spread out and it seems to take quite a while to get places on the bus. It is very hot these days, up over 30 degrees. We don't even have a fan in our apartment so I sweat basically all day and all night. It was 26 degrees when I won't up this morning and it's about the same when I go to sleep, hotter during the day. I'm working on changing the fan situation.

I'm serving in the biggest branch in the city. There's a district with several branches here. Our branch is in a super cool location just about 100 metres or so from the Opera House. There are lots of people around all the time. It was neat to go to church here on Sunday and meet a lot of new people. About 80 people come every week. I haven't been in a new area for 7 transfers, so now I'm trying to meet everybody and remember who they are. We already have a couple decent investigators and one baptismal date, so things are off to a decent start. I can feel that miracles are soon to come. There are 4 Elders in our branch and 2 more are in our missionary district from another branch. We have a Canadian, a Ukrainian, and a Bulgarian in our district along with 3 Americans. It's the most international district in the mission right now I think. Except one other that's tied with us. It's fun.

Time is going so fast. I love serving here. I'm constantly moving toward some goal. I'm trying to get some things don't before this is over. I feel it a privilege to be here. I know that this is Christ's Church and we are doing his work. God lives. He answers prayers.

Thanks for everything,

Elder Mahoney

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Transfers!

Wow, I thought that I would just finish my mission here in Chernigov, but I got a surprise. In a interview with president last week I found out I will move one last time. I'm going to be serving in the center branch in Odessa with Elder Schultz. I didn't really want to be transfered again, but when President told me I accepted it right away and now I'm actually pretty excited. I will have a Bulgaria and a Ukrainian in my district and all the district members are just awesome. 2 weeks ago they had 4 baptisms in my branch there and apparently 100 people came! They say it's the biggest branch in Odessa too. I can feel that it will be an awesome 2 transfers down there. We will see miracles.

This past week we used some of our p-day to go to Kiev early and visit a historic village called Piragova. I heard there were some actors that would be playing old instruments or making crafts or something. Unfortunately we didn't see any of that, but we did see a lot of old houses. There's a "modern village" with homes from the 60s and 70s. There is an exact replica of an average home from a village in each of the provinces of Ukraine. It was kinda funny because a lot of the houses look the same as they still do. A lot of the interiors were similar to places I have lived. Haha! Same pots and couches and stuff. I think some of the things might have been nicer that places I've lived. The old village was a bit cooler. There were homes from the 1700, 1800, and 1900s there, as well as churches and windmills. A lot of the houses had wheat roofs (or straw?). It was interesting to think that when people lived in a lot of those homes there wasn't much opportunity to travel anywhere. This part of the world was practically unknown to the people where I'm from and vice versa. Some of the home were built before the restoration of the gospel. It was interesting to imagine a little bit of what their lives were like back then. A lot of the interiors were very nice. Well kept. They'd even painted some things on the walls.

We had a great zone meeting in Kiev on Wednesday. We really have some great missionaries here. I felt the Spirit throughout. I'm happy to be here. I love this work. It goes one. =D

- Elder J. Mahoney

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Atheism

The fact that I'm writing this letter means that another week has flown by. It's pretty wild.

We've continued to meet with our atheist investigator whom I believe I mentioned a couple months ago. He's a great guy. He's smart and he knows history really well. We love him. We had a meeting with him yesterday and we continue to plead with him to pray. He said, "I can't pray. I'm an atheist." At the end, my companion was testifying and then the man said, "Maybe..." I joked, "Woah, can you say that? I thought you're an atheist." He then changed his mind and agreed that he can't. I asked him if being an atheist is an important part of who he is. He said yes. He said, "I was an atheist, I am an atheist, and I will be an atheist." I asked if he believed he could change. He said, "If I weren't an atheist, I would be nothing." It's interesting how much he has thought everything out and come to this conclusion without any openness to other possibilities. He's already read up to 4th Nephi in the Book of Mormon, which is the main reason we keep meeting with him. I think we'll keep meeting with him until he finished is at least. We testify again and again as representative of Jesus Christ that God lives and loves him. If he would just pray he could receive and answer and feel it too. I pray that he might feel God's love and be open to change. It'll be interesting to see how he accepts everything after this life.

I love the gospel and this Church. I love being a missionary. Thanks for all the prayers, love, and support.

Love,

Elder J. Mahoney 

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June 25th, 2012

I don't have all that much to say this week. It was bit of a less eventful week. Not so many of our meetings worked out and not as many people came to Church. We actually just had the 4 missionaries and the branch president in our Elders Quorum meeting. The work goes on though.

The highlight of the week was a woman named Elena who walked into Church after the meetings last Sunday. A member had invited her the previous Sunday, having seen her on the street. I talked to her for a few minutes before Branch Council and we set up a meeting. We had the meeting on Wednesday with that member helping us. It went very well. I felt like we taught by the Spirit, clearly and with power and authority. She said that she will read the Book of Mormon with her husband and that she thinks she'd like to be baptized. Unfortunately I haven't been able to talk to her since then, but she passed a hello through the member and let us know she wouldn't be able to make it to Church and that she had started reading. She fell and hurt her arm about a month ago and it's really been bothering her, so at the end we talked about blessings and faith and offered to give her a blessing. It was a pretty neat experience. She offered the closing prayer and we gave her a blessing right after the first lesson. I feel that there was faith present to heal. I look forward to finding out how she's doing. Sweet woman, about 57. She and her husband were lawyers.

The Church is true. I love the gospel. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He runs His Church and this is it.

Thanks for everything.

Love,

Elder J. Mahoney

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A God of Miracles

It's been a good week. I love serving here. I love the gospel.

We actually had 9 non-members at Sacrament Meeting yesterday. That might be the most I have ever seen in this branch or on my whole mission for that matter. I witness that God is a God of miracles. I see His hand in this work. As far as I know, at least 6 people have walked into our building this week. We've been teaching a man name Alexandr for a little over a week. He's a 57 year old artist. He used to study the Bible a lot and he painted inside different churches, but he never found one that truly lived a clean lifestyle and where they were really focused on continual progression and making the best out of this life now instead of waiting for something better after death. He kinda gave up and he said he hadn't read the Bible for about 3 years. We were walking through a park and he was sitting on a bench. As we were walking past on our way to a meeting he said, "You guys handing out Bibles?" I said, "No, but we read it and we also have another book." We were in a hurry, so we exchanged info and prayed with him. He has called us almost everyday since then and been to Church on both Sundays. When I first told him about Christ appearing on the American continent he said, "That's just logical! I always thought that he must have appeared to other peoples." I then quoted him John 10:16, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." and the Spirit witnessed to that truth. He's doing great and yesterday without being asked he said, "I would like to get baptized." Those are amazing words to hear because they carry so much meaning when a person truly understands them. As has been my experience before, I feel like I haven't done anything myself, though I have been present for every step of the process so far. I consider it a privilege to have met this man and teach him. He has been searching for truth and he accepts it when he hears it. He says that he feels comfortable at the Church. Miracles happen. People are search. I feel so blessed. The Lord is working through us.

I think I'll leave it at that for now. I love my mission.

- Elder Mahoney

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