Hermana Jones week 56

Wow, you've done a lot of work on the house.  I couldn't even recognize the house when I saw all the pictures.  I couldn't tell which one was Hal's room and which one was Tyler's.  Except for the bunkbeds gave it away. 

 I was thinking though that it would be really cool if you could invite the people from mom's side of the family to come to my coming home talk.  Also, I can't believe that Lauren Holbrook got back from her mission.  Crazy how fast time flies.  I got my official date of when I am coming home this week and it is Aug 19th.  

Also the guy who is going to Chicago took my box to give to you guys.  I gave him your number so he can call but just in case I will give you his number too.  Well I will give it to you next week because I don't have it with me now. I wasn't able to send all the stuff I wanted because he is going in airplane and I didn't want him to have to bring a ton of stuff but I hope you like when is in there.  Also for when we talk on mothers day can you send me what all my login information is for Skype because I think I lost it.  Also next week I will tell you what time we will be calling once we find a member's house we can go to.  We only have half an hour to talk this time but its not so bad because it wont be long until I see you guys again.  

Anyways I am loving it here in Lerma.  It is super great because the people are so nice and our ward is HUGE. Yea it is a little different here because there are minimum  missionaries in every ward but there are some areas in our zone that have  missionaries in their ward.  I can't even believe how the hermanas in the ward are able to feed all their missionaries.  This week was fun because I got to visit a lot of different areas.   My favorite is working with new missionaries because they are always so excited to work.  It makes me happy to see.  I hope that the rest of my time in the mission I will get companions that don't have a lot of time in the mission because it helps me stay excited to be in the mission. 

So funny story from this week....I don't know if I should tell it but I will.  So it is starting to get really hot here so we are drinking lots of water but the problem with a walking mission is when you have to go to the bathroom you can be in the middle of nowhere and not have a quick way to get to a bathroom.  The good thing is here in Mexico they are very open to strangers entering their house.  It's a  great contacting strategy.  Anyway, the problem was it was an outhouse type of thing and it was super tiny. I didn't realize that my backpack was open and my Book of Mormon fell in the toilet.....It was super bad and of course I had to get it out.....yea it was pretty bad.  I learned though that you can have really bad things happen but it can still be great.  That day was probably one of my most memorable and funniest days of the mission even though I fell and scraped my legs, got terribly sunburnt, had my Book of Mormon fall in the toilet and all our appointments fell through.  We were just having a great time all day. 

Also a good experience this week was when I went to another area to work the goal was to help  parents decide to get married so their family could be baptized because they have been living together for a long time but didn't want to get married.  I learned a lot from the lesson we had with them that we will always always know what to say when we listen to the Holy Ghost.  It was one of the happiest phone calls I have ever gotten when the hermanas from that area called me Sunday night to tell me that the family had been baptized that day.  I hope you guys have a great week.  Work hard, finish school off well, and share the gospel.

Love,

Hermana Jones

Elder Jones week 46

Hey Guys! So we had a great week!  The house looks amazing with all the updates and what you have done with it.

We had 3 baptisms this week and 2 reactivations! This computer doesn`t work very well so I`m going to have to send the pictures next week.  But the baptisms went really well!  I baptized Isabella and Gabriel and Elder Price baptized Leonardo.  Elder Price and I sang "When I am baptized" but in Spanish.  Isabella was really nervous and a little bit sad when she got there because her two less active cousins that she lives with had been trying to convince her not to get baptized and they didn`t come to her baptism because they were sleeping.  So she was sad about that.  But she said that when she got into the water she forgot about everything and remembered why she wanted to get baptized and when she came out of the water she was so happy.  She told us this week that she wants to serve a mission!!  Also we`re going to the temple in May and she`s preparing to be able to bring family names to the temple.  Leonardo and Gabriel had a great experience too.  They understand the gospel really well for their age.  Their dad wasn`t able to make it to their baptism or church yesterday, but their inactive brother Roger who is 18 came to both their baptism and confirmation yesterday.  He really enjoyed church yesterday because our ward is really good at going up and talking to new people, so he felt really welcomed.  We also had a really great lesson with them and another family in our ward yesterday about the Book of Mormon. They`re still preparing all their documents to be able to get married May 10th. 

Laura wasn`t able to get baptized on Saturday because there are some more problems going on with Miguel, but I`m confident that she`s going to be able to get baptized soon.  Her mom is now living with her, and she`s not a member, but she asked us to give her a health blessing this week.  We gave her one and she was healed the next morning.  That`s when she decided to receive the lessons with us.  We started teaching her this week, and we watched the video of John Tanner, and explained that right after his leg was healed by the priesthood he got baptized. And Laura`s mom, Amadea, wants to get baptized May 09th.

We`re finding a lot of really prepared people to teach and I attribute that to the amount of work we are doing with members. It really does make the difference. The members know a lot of prepared people.  Especially the reactivated members, because they`re more likely to have friends that aren`t members. 

I`m really happy.  We`re doing a lot of great work.  The young man in our ward that got his mission call to Japan left for the Provo MTC last night.  He and his family are some of the nicest people I`ve ever met. 

I hope you guys have a great week. Less than 2 weeks till Mothers Day! 

Elder Jones 

Elder Jones week 45

HEY guys! It makes me really happy to hear about how well your week went! Glad to hear that all of you are happy and safe. I honestly had one of the best weeks of my mission. 

Okay, so at the beginning of the week we weren`t feeling very sure if either of the 2 baptisms we had planned for this Saturday would get baptized.  Laura who isn`t married to the father of her children had made plans to get separated from him this week and get baptized, but things weren`t working out and it didn`t seem like she was going to be able to be baptized on Saturday. It wasn`t the ideal because we as missionaries don`t ever want to destroy families but but they have had a lot of problems and she has wanted to get baptized ever since she met the missionaries 4 years ago. So we had Laura and Miguel (who is her less active boyfriend) meet with the bishop this week to talk about their situation. And the bishop fixed everything! He had them talk about everything that frustrates them about the other and just talk about all their problems and now they have plans to get married! Laura is going to get baptized on Saturday and they are going to sleep in different houses for 2 weeks and get married on May 10th! Miguel is willing to stop drinking and come back to church and start being active again. So I`m really happy because that`s obviously better than a separated family. And they`re going to get married in the temple and sealed to their 3 small children in May 2016! 

Isabela also had plans to get baptized this week but she was having a lot of family problems again and also she didn`t feel like she could keep the law of chastity because we explained it incorrectly the first time, but now she understands really what it means and she`s willing to keep it. It`s a good learning experience for me, that I need to explain the commandments as clearly as possible. She had her interview yesterday and she`s all ready for her baptism on Saturday. She`s so excited. She was going to get baptized 4 years ago but she never showed up for her baptism. Hopefully that doesn`t happen again.

Finally we were able to have a lesson with the familia Rosales Flores that I was talking about last week that recently moved here from Habish 3 weeks ago. It was one of the best lessons I`ve ever had in my misison. They have 6 kids. Ages 17, 16, 11, 9, 2, and 1. Their boys that are 11 and 9 years old, Leonardo and Gabriel, aren`t baptized and neither is the father. The father has wanted to get baptized and get married to his wife for years but because of work he hasn`t been able to. But now he has a job that works less hours and doesn`t work on Sunday and he`s ready to get married. He came to the General Conference and church yesterday. We invited him and his wife to get baptized May 10th and they said yes! and we invited the husband, Richard, to get baptized May 10 and he said yes! and we invited Leonardo and Gabriel to get baptized on Saturday and they (and their parents) said yes! We invited the parents to get married in the temple in May 2016 and get sealed to their children and they said yes! They`re so excited and it`s amazing to me how much the Lord has prepared these people. 

Also good news about Eugenio and Doris, they have everything ready for Doris to get divorced to her ex-husband and get married to Eugenio May 10th! it`s going to be close but we`re going to hope that everything comes out well this week. They also have plans to get baptized that same day May 10th and after a year get sealed to Sofìa (who was baptized last month) and Carolina who`s 1. 

So to sum up this week, we committed 3 families to get sealed in the temple in May 2016, or in other words, when I have 23 months in the mission. I keep praying for all of them that everything works out and that they can fulfill their desires to follow Jesus Christ. 

We did a lot of work with less actives this week and we should have a few reactivated members by the end of the week.

There isn`t a greater joy than this. I hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Jones

Hermana Jones week 55

So this week I have been super tired but I really like it here in Lerma.  It is super pretty and there are lots of people really nice here.

This week we had a cool experience that we were contacting people in the street when a guy riding his bike yelled at us to go to his house because he wanted to hear our message.  We didn't know if we should, because the only directions he gave us was the next street at the blue house.  We went to the next street and there were at least 10 blue houses so we looked for one that had a bike. We finally found the house but he wasn't there.  It was super weird, so we left but a little later we felt like we should go back and we found him there and now he and his family are listening and want to go to church this week! Yay!

This next week I am going on exchanges the whole week to get to know some of the areas of the other hermans here and help them find new people to teach.  It is really tiring but also super fun to get to know lots of missionaries.

Oh, also there is a member of the church here who is going to live in Chicago for a few months with his family, so he asked me if there was anything that I wanted to send with him to Chicago.  I am sending a few things that i don't use here but don't really want to throw away.  I hope it is ok.  He can speak decent  English, I think, so you guys can communicate.  They were pretty excited that I was from Chicago.  It is super funny here because almost everyone here has family members who lives in Chicago and they always ask if I know them.  I feel like they don't realize how big Chicago is.

This week was also super fun because it was my first time taking a mototaxi!  They are like those things for little kids that attach to the back of the bike and the little kids sit in the little carriage.  They do that here but it is a lot bigger.  You can fit 4 people in it and the attach it to the back of a motorcycle.  It was super fun and we wondered why they don't do things like that in the United States but we decided there are more laws against stuff like that in the U.S.

Anyway, we are working super hard here, having lots of fun, talking to tons of people, and missionary work is progressing quickly.  We are working a lot with the members here and have a mission plan for every family.  They have goals of how many people a week they are going to talk to about the church, how many books of Mormon they are going to give away in the month, and how many convert baptisms they are going to have in the year.  It has been working really well and we have gotten lots of referrals from members.  Sometimes I am amazed at how fast the work is moving here in Mexico.  They are going to divide our ward in June.  Here on my mission I have seen a branch become a ward, and this will be the second ward that I have been in that will split.  Good times here in the mission!
Love,
Hermana Jones

Hahah the picture is of Jorge's baptism.  He has the Mexican smile, which means they are always happy and laughing and the second you take out a camera they stop smiling and make a serious face!

Elder Jones week 44

Hey guys!  Good to hear that everything is going well!  I had a great week.  A family moved into our ward a couple of weeks ago from Habish and the father and two of the sons, 12 and 10 years old, aren´t baptized.  But they all went to the General Conference last week and came to church yesterday, and we were going to have a lesson with them yesterday because it seems like they really want to get baptized, but there was a blackout in their neighborhood yesterday and they didn´t have any light.  So we´re going to come back today.  They´re really nice. 

We´ve been working a lot with Laura and Isabela this week, who are going to get baptized this month on the 25th. Isabela has been having some family problems that don´t allow her any time of the week to receive the lessons.  But she is really excited for her baptism and we had a really great lesson yesterday.  We read Mosiah 18 with her, and at the end she told us that there isn´t anything that impedes her from getting baptized on the 25th.  Laura is also getting ready for her baptism the 25th.  She did a fast this week with some of the other members her age from our ward, and she went to a baptism service this week.  She´s been to four baptismal services in the last couple of months and she is really determined to get baptized this 25th. 

We had a lesson with Eugenio, Doris, and Sofía on Saturday with the Peso family and they´re still trying to get everything ready for their wedding. They´ve already received all the lessons, so we reviewed the ten commandments and the word of wisdom with them, and we verified the commitment to keep the word of wisdom with Eugenio.  He said that since the first day he met with us he stopped drinking and that he has seen the difference in his home and his family.  Doris has seen the difference too.  I think one of the greatest testimony-builders that Doris has received is in the change that has happened in Eugenio.  He´s a different man.  So I keep praying for them that everything works out with their marriage. 

We had a lot of appointments planned this week with people that would have been new investigators, that seemed like they would progress but almost none of them were there when we came for the appointments, but we are finding a lot of people.  One of the things that has helped a lot is that Elder Price taught me what a ward directory was and also a ward action list.  And I don´t know why I haven´t been using it my entire mission.  There are so many inactive parents with unbaptized children.  I feel like we are going to have a lot of success with it, and also the ward leaders are helping us out a ton in identifying people that need our visits.  It´s a lot more effective way to work, especially since we´re both relatively new in Rimac and we don´t know all the members still. But yeah, I´m excited and I know that there are prepared people here in this sector. 

I hope you guys have a great week and I love you all! 
Elder Jones

Hermana Jones week 54

We had transfers this week, and I am with another American!  I thought I would never have an American companion in the mission but I have had a lot.  Her name is hermana Swan and she is super tall and from Utah.  I am in my new area now, which is in Lerma.  It is close to my area before, in Toluca, where I served for six months.  I am probably going to finish my mission here because I only have about four months left, but I am happy because I like this area a lot.  I am also happy because now I have another sister training leader working with me here, so it should be easier.  

This week was a lot of work because we had to prepare the house for the elders to live there. We went house hunting with the zone leaders Wednesday and Thursday but we couldn't find anything that would work.   So we ended up putting up a huge tarp to separate the elders' house from the other house because it is all women living on the downstairs floor.  So that was pretty entertaining.  

Oh, also I knew my companion before we became companions.  In the picture that I sent of all the leaders in the mission she is the blond one with long curly hair-- the first one sitting down on the left.  I am glad to hear you guys had a good week.  And hope you guys have lots of fun in school!

Love,
Hermana Jones

Hermana Jones week 53

I went to all the meetings for mission leaders today, which was fun.  We talked a lot about the "Because He Lives" video that came out.  We saw it in Spanish and it has over 12 million views, so I cant even imagine how many people have seen it in English!

This week was super amazing. I looooved conference -- ha ha ha, especially the talks that were in Spanish, so we didn't have to listen to the voice-overs.  One of my favorite talks was the Saturday morning session when they talked about how there is always a light, we just have to go out and look for it, and that light is our Savior Jesus Christ.  It was funny because you could feel the spirit a lot during that talk, and then in the middle of it, the person doing the voice-over started crying during the talk, so they had to switch who was doing the voice-over!

I think it was one of the best Easters ever.  We got to see conference, Jorge got baptized, and brought all of his family to see his baptism, and there is no better way to remember Christ than here on the mission.  

The last couple days have been good but I am a little sad.  They are shutting down our area and are removing the other hermanas in the zone and are going to put in elders and one of the areas they are not going to have hermanas or elders.  It is sad but on Monday there are exchanges, so it will be exciting to see where everyone goes because everyone will be going to different areas in the mission. I have really liked my area here, but it should be good to learn from another area.  I am excited to see where it will be because it will probably be the area that I will end my mission.

This week I got a letter from the lady that served in Dad's mission and I was super excited because they are some of my favorite letters I get, even though I have no idea who she even is.  It is funny that someone can have an influence for good in your life without ever meeting them, but her letters always are super good and always seem to come right when I need them but this one I especially liked so I felt like I should share some of it with you guys. she shared a talk by Michael Wilcox called the 4th watch.  She said in this scripture in Mark 6 the disciples leave and go to their ship and the savior goes to the mountain to pray. Then a terrible storm comes. The disciples don't know that the savior is watching them from the mountain, thye just knew they were exhausted and needed help. They rowed for thirty furlongs which is about the length of 70 football fields! and in the fourth watch (about 3 in the morning) they see Jesus come to them and he went into the ship and the wind ceased. Brother Wilcox pointed out that he was sure the disciples would have preferred that the savior came in the first watch about 8pm.  But we worship a fourth watch God who often allows us to toil in rowing against the wind.  When we get to the second watch and god hasn't answered our prayers ,we start to worry, and then when we get into the third watch and nothing has happened, we make dangerous assumptions: God is not listening to me, or God doesn't care, or I am not worthy.  When we feel desperate, when it seems as if our prayers are not answered and the wind is still blowing, we can take comfort in the knowledge that the savior is on the hillside watching, and when he is ready, he will come to us.  We just have to trust him and "be not afraid"
Hope you have a great week!

Love Hermana Jones

Oh, also my classes look like they will be good! I am glad I got into everything I wanted :)

Elder Jones Week 43

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great Easter and General Conference!  I learned a ton, and I really liked the talks.  Also, happy Mormon Christmas, since Jesus was actually born on April 6th.

So we had a great week!  I´m sending pictures right now of our Pday last week.  We ate guinea pig for the first time on my mission! It´s actually really tasty.  I thought it would be like the chicken here with a lot of fat, tendons and cartilage, but it´s basically all meat! Even the skin was really good and I usually can´t eat the skin on chicken.  The best part was probably the head. I ate the eyes and the brain and the ears and basically everything else.  I have a video of me eating the brain that I can´t send because it´s too big, but i´ll have to show you some day. Just so you guys know, Little Ging... tastes really good. 

So we had a lot of great spiritual experiences this week. On Monday we were walking in the street to an appointment and a woman stopped us in the street and told us that she wants us to visit her and her children.  She said that she had received the lessons from the missionaries years ago and her ex-husband is a member. So we came back another day to teach her and her children with Sister Tasaico, the Relief society president, and we had a really great lesson.  It turns out that her life events are almost identical to Sister Tasaico´s life events. The spirit was really strong in the lesson, and she came to the conference and she had a great experience.

So news with Eugenio and Doris, we have news about their marriage.  We found them a lawyer!  Someone from Elder Price´s old sector in Magdalena who is a lawyer offered to help them try to get married for free!  And that´s a big relief for me because I have no idea how to get people married in Perú and all I could do was talk with ward members, and they would all give me advice on what to do, but no one knew exactly what to do.  But now that that is getting taken care of I feel less of a weight on my shoulders, because honestly I´ve never met two people that want to get baptized as badly as Eugenio and Doris. They´re progressing so well.  The second counselor in the stake presidency lives in our ward and we had a family home evening with them and Eugenio, Doris, and Sofía this week. 

We´re preparing Isabela to get baptized soon. She had a goal to get baptized this Saturday the 11th but family problems arose this week which complicated things, but I´m certain that she can get baptized this Saturday. She is progressing so much and it´s obvious that a mighty change has been brought to pass in her life. That is one of my favorite parts of doing missionary work: seeing the change that one undergoes as they come closer to their Heavenly Father and make covenants with him, from the door to baptism.  It is a testimony that the feelings and changes that were brought to pass in my own personal conversion weren´t coincidences, but something real, something true for everyone. 

Also we actually met a British family this week.  They´re from London.  We were waiting for someone to open their door because we had an appointment with them, and across the the street on the 2nd story of the building we heard someone say in English, and in an English accent.  "Look daddy, white people".  We turned around and we saw two of the whitest kids I´ve ever seen and their parents were there.  We started having a conversation with the parents and they´re from London but the dad´s family is from Perú and they recently moved here to Perú to run a foster care.  We couldn´t come in because the mom was feeling "a bit ill" but we talked from the window.  The mom told us that we "look a bit smart today" and we had no idea what that meant but apparently it means that we were dressed in white shirts and ties.  We´re going to visit them this week. 

I really enjoyed conference.  I learned a lot. I need some time to reflect and apply what I learned.  I hope you guys have a great week! 

Elder Jones