Week 19 Hermana Jones

So I just saw all of Hal's pictures from Peru and I am pretty amazed right now.  It looks so cool. You guys sound like you had a great week and tons of fun. Do you mind sending Dad's talk to me? I like reading talks haha. I also gave a talk this week and it was so funny afterwards because everyone came up afterwards and were like "oh Hermana Jones I remember when you got here to El Oro and I couldn't understand a word your were saying!" 

This week was super fun though and all I can say is I think it was the best week of my life. My companion is super, super funny and you are so right you love your Mexican companions so much but your American companions just become your best friends after one day. It was so funny this week because she got a box from home this week too and it was super, super heavy and when we looked inside it was a Tongan dress and 30 cans of corned beef hahahahahah! we were both laughing so hard I was nearly crying. Also I have a new Elder in my district who has been only one week in Mexico.  I did not remember how little Spanish you know when you start out in the mission, but it brought back all kinds of memories from my first area.  Anyway, I feel a need to help him all the time because I always remember Hal over there in Peru trying to learn Spanish, too.

This week was super good, but super hard at the same time. One day this week we were working in Tabaxco, and it was freezing rain and we were so wet and cold and I had so many blisters that my feet were covered in blood and then my feet hurt super bad so I was just walking in the freezing rain without shoes. None of our investigators were home even though we had appointments with them and then when pretty much nothing else could go wrong that's when we found a family who let us in. They are the best family ever, they have 4 kids and they are just super humble and I am so excited to teach them. It turns out that the reason my foot hurt so bad is because I have stress fractures in one of the bones of my feet from walking so much.  So we are going to Taluca today to got to the doctor... should be fun :)

Also this week was super hard because we were noticing all of a sudden people were super suspicious of us and wondering why we wanted to know their name and wouldn't let us in their houses. One of our investigators told us that there was a message that went out to all the phones not to let the missionaries into their houses. So that has been a little difficult this week and we have to try to gain the confidence of everyone, but where the work of the Lord is progressing there will always be opposition.

Anyway the picture I sent was iof our ward mission activity. We played Reinos de Gloria. There were 3 games and whatever team was first went to the celestial kingdom, whatever team was second was terrestrial, and last telestial. Telestial only got a tiny candy and then each team higher got a little more until the celetial kingdom got a giant prize. We talked about how the telestial kingdom was sad when they see the prize that they could have had and then we talked about how this life isnt a race the goal is for everyone to make it to the celestial kingdom so then they shared their prizes with everyone else. It was super funny because one of the games was you got 5 points for every referral card you fill out so at the end of the game we had 30 new referrals to contact :)

 This week was just great I really gained a testimony of faith without works is dead. Just in everything we do. If I have faith that we can have a baptism I am going to be doing everything I can to get one. I also feel super safe here because my companion is very tall and everyone thinks she is African, so no one messes with us hahaha!

I also had a spirtual experience in a taxi that involved faith without works. So we were in a taxi really late, well at 9, which seems really late, and the only taxi that passed by was filled with boys but taxis and buses stop at night and so we took it.  We doubted there would be another, but I started feeling really bad. Just a feeling I can't even explain. I started praying that Heavenly Father would protect us when a thought came to my head get out of the Taxi. I didnt want to do it because it was dark and if we got out we would probably have to walk the last 5 miles home in the dark and that seemed like a even worse idea. So I just kept praying Heavenly Father protect us. And I had the same thought come to my head get out of the Taxi. So eventually we got out and my companion was a little confused becasue it was super dark and there wasn't a way to get home when all of a sudden a bus came by that had left super late and picked us up. It was the biggest miracle I have ever experienced because there are no buses that pass after 8 at night. I learned a very important lesson... well two... first always follow the spirit and the other faith without works is dead. I had faith that Heavenly Father would protect us but faith wasn't enough he wasn't just going to put a wall between us and the other people.  His way to protect us was to tell us to get out of the taxi.  Sometimes we don't see what got plan is for us and all we can see is outside the taxi where it is dark and there doesn't seem to be anyway home but I know when we follow the promptings of the spirit and follow the plan that Heavenly Father has for us. Eventually there will be blessings that will come that we never even saw as an option for example the bus that came. I can't even explain the happiness and love I had for my Heavenly Father when I was standing in the dark in the middle of Mexico and then all of a sudden saw the lights of a bus coming for us.

 Anyway I hope you guys have a great week and that you continue to find ways to share the gospel in small and simple ways. Oh I forgot one more thing I read a really good talk by Elder Holland about why missionary work is so hard but I think it also applies to being a member of the church. He said many people ask why its so hard when we are doing what Heavenly Father wants. He wants people to be baptized! Holland says it is hard because the atonement was not a cheap experince. He said we are disciples of christ so we are going to end up walking a tiny bit of the path that he walked. He said that how can we ever bear a strong testimony of the atonement of Christ if we never experienced any of the pain that he felt. This talk just was the best talk I think I have read on my mission. Anyway I thought a lot about how the purpose of a missionary is not to baptize. It is to invite others to come unto Christ. The goal isn't baptism. It is eternal life. I know that this life isnt easy but there is a reason that we are here. 

There are people that we are supposed to help, I was reading in Jesus the Christ about how Jesus wasn't born knowing who he was supposed to be in this life. He learned through study and prayer and I thought a lot about my own life. I knew who I was suposed to be before I came to this Earth but I forgot. So the goal in this life is to learn what our purpose is here. What were we sent here to accomplish? Ok I am actually done now with all my thoughts. Hope you have a great week and have lots of fun. When does school start again?

Love,

Hermana Jones

p.s. - Hey Allie, I haven't gotten any letters but I sent you guys letters in the mail that I am not sure if you got. This week one of our investigators was looking at my family pictures and he says that he is going to marry you....he is only 5 though so I told him that I don't think its going to turn out that well :) Hope you have a great week and sounds like you are having fun!