Sister Allison Jones week 10

皆さんこんにちは！

    It's been another great week! We're now in a little town called Wamego and it's super cute! The whole town is Wizard of Oz themed and they have a big Wizard of Oz museum. At first it was just a joke, but now I'm really wishing I'd watched the movie more recently so I could better appreciate the culture of the Kansas people ;)

     My new companion is Sister Ganschow! She's super sweet and she's been in Wamego for almost her whole mission so she knows the members really well! It's been really exciting to get to know some of the people in our area this week, they are all really interesting! Our bishop is a chicken nutritionist! One of our interested friends is a grain science professor at K State and she had lots of advise for how Sister Ganschow and I could make our sourdough bread rise better.

     We've been working this week with a recent convert in our ward named Katie to help her get her temple reccomend. It has been such a great reminder of our Heavenly Father's mercy and His desire for all of His children to come unto Him. Katie has had a lot of really hard experiences in her life but it was so powerful to be able to remind her that we are always worthy enough to keep trying and that there is a place in this church for all of God's children. I love Elder Uchtdorf's remarks from general conference, "There is no threshold of perfection you must attain in order to qualify for God’s grace."

     President Ernst challenged us to make our apartments like temples so the whole mission has been throwing away some of the strange heirlooms that seem to accumulate in missionary apartments. It was a good reminder that only the home can compare to the temple in holiness and I have seen a difference in the Spirit present in our apartment as we have tried to be more mindful. We have also been encouraged to spend as much time outside of our apartment as possible so we do our studies on the lawn outside of our building. There is a shadow that runs down the center of the lawn and Sister Ganschow sits on one side and I sit on the other. We were pretty proud, Sister Ganschow is getting a nice tan and I... haven't burned yet! 

  Sister Ganschow and I decided to charity together as a companionship this transfer and a quote that we loved from Thomas S. Monson was:

 “Let us ask ourselves the questions: ‘Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?’ [Hymns, no. 223]. What a formula for happiness! What a prescription for contentment, for inner peace—to have inspired gratitude in another human being.Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved”

I hope everyone has a great week and make sure to look for ways to gladden some hearts!!

愛しています！

ジョーンズ姉妹

And for the sake of something more Kansas-y:

"Ad astra per aspera!"- Kansas flag :)

Sister Alllison Jones week 9

皆さんこんにちは！

    I hope everyone has had a great week! Congrats to Tyler and Jeanie!! Also congrats to Courtney and Josh with twin baby Cannons!! It's exciting to see the family keeps getting bigger:) 

It was a great last week in McPherson. Sister Powell definitely knows how to sprint to the end. It seems that all of the friends and members that we've been trying to contact decided that now was the right time to come out of hiding. We have been sharing 2 Nephi 31:20-21 and the promises in Moroni 10:3-5 with some of the members this week and it's been such a blessing to hear their testimonies of the Book of Mormon and to see their desire to press forward. 

Yesterday one of the member families threw a surprise (socially distanced) farewell for Sister Powell in their front yard. The families that we've been teaching all came and brought signs. Two of the young women played God be With You Till We Meet Again on the cello and violin. It was such a tender mercy to see the love and support of the ward. 

Sister Powell left for the airport this morning and I've been staying with a few other sisters whose companions were sent home early in Wichita until transfers tomorrow. We're all looking forward to see what comes next! 

Our district studied the talk "Meek and Lowly of Heart" by Elder Bednar and it's really awesome so everyone should give it a read!

愛しています

ジョーンズ姉妹

Last McPherson sunset!

Sister Allison Jones week 8

皆さんこんにちは！

Two months in and every week is still exciting!

We got some sad news on Wednesday night that Sister Powell is being sent home this week-8 months early-because of the new health precautions for Coronavirus. I'm really grateful for the example she has set, this week especially. We are trying to cherish every moment of being missionaries, regardless of the circumstances. President Erst reminded all of the missionaries yesterday that none of us need to wonder why we are where we are because we agreed to the work before we came to this Earth. Nothing surprises the Lord. 

The day before we had 3 week follow up training with our mission president's wife. She talked a lot about using our gift of time and that this is an amazing opportunity for all of us to take the time to refine ourselves and renew our relationship with the Savior. She reminded us to anchor ourselves upon His rock. One thing about Luke 6:48 that Sister Ernst pointed out that I hadn't realized before is that the man "digged deep" to lay his foundation on a rock. "..the Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it."

We got to do mission prep with some of the young women in our ward over video call. It was amazing to be reminded of the reasons we serve and to see their excitement for the work. 

We have seen miracles! We were so excited to get a call from the Peña family this week because we haven't been able to get a hold of them since McPherson went under stay at home order. It turns out the dad was trying to call one of his daughters but he accidentally called us instead. He agreed to meet with us again! The Lord works in mysterious ways. 

A helpful verse this week was Mark 5:36, so everybody should give it a read and take time to see the miracles this week!

愛しています！

ジョーンズ姉妹

Also! Buffalo! Very Kansas like.

Easter treats

Sister Allison Jones week 7

皆さんこんにちは、

I hope everyone had an awesome Easter! 

It's been a great week! We've had a lot of fun getting to know the members in our area, especially our ward missionary Brother Olsen. He's really fired up about missionary work and we've been teaching him how to use his Facebook this week. He was so excited when he figured out how to make a group chat with his family and friends so he could share an Easter message with his grandkids. 

 We were able to have a lesson over the phone with an inactive sister in our ward and it was so exciting to hear her recall the times she's felt the Savior's love when she needed His help. 

We've seen how much Heavenly Father loves His children in McPherson by how many times we've had to write and rewrite the messages we share with people. It's so exciting to see the way that we can see the Lord's direction as we look for ways to serve His children, even if that direction doesn't come all at once or in the way we expected. 

Sister Powell is a really good cook and we've had fun experimenting with new foods this week during our meal times. I think I've learned a lot about planning and preparation as Sister Powell has gently steered me away from making what she likes to call "goulash" which is made by mixing whatever I can find together in a pan and adding sriracha..and cumin (courtesy of Tyler :)

Along with learning about meal preparation, I've been reminded of the importance of daily spiritual preparation. I love the example Moroni sets in Alma 50 where he continues to fortify the Nephite cities and to increase his armies daily, even in times of peace. I love President Nelson's guidance, "As we seek to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our efforts to hear Him need to be ever more intentional. It takes conscious and consistent effort to fill our daily lives with His words, His teachings, His truths."

Have a great week!

愛しています！

ジョーンズ姉妹

Extra thanks to Grandma Linda for the tasty Easter goodies!!

Dinner and Kansas Clue

Sis Allison Jones week 6

皆さんこんにちは！

I hope everyone enjoyed conference and had an awesome week!

It's been a week of a lot of firsts! We had our first restoration lesson this week with a friend named Kendra! She was cleaning her bathroom when we called. I can't say I imagined the first time I'd teach the restoration would be over facetime with someone cleaning a toilet but it was still a really cool experience! And she dropped everything once we started sharing the first vision! She's the best and we were really excited that she was able to watch conference yesterday!

I appreciated Elder Uchtdorf's reminder that we are not subject to "heavenly micromanagement". As Sister Powell and I have been looking for ways to reach out to the friends in our area, along with many prayers, we've definitely had to follow the invitation to develop some backbone and move forward. We've had some difficulty because most of the people living in McPherson are elderly and aren't comfortable using video call, the internet connection and phone signal are also pretty questionable. Sister Powell decided we should try decorating doors with quotes from the prophets and scripture references for all the people we've had trouble connecting with since we can't meet in person. I love the trust our Heavenly Father has in us and the way He allows us to learn for ourselves through our mistakes if we are willing to act. 

We've also learned from our experience that the best way to get signal to call our friends in the area book is by standing on a chair in the middle of the living room. We're still working on how to get them to not hang up once we tell them who we are though...;) 

We are so glad to have Elder Holland's encouragement that we can and should continue to hope. I love the beautiful truths that were focused on during this General Conference. It was amazing to see the center on the Savior and the temple. It was also an awesome reminder of the blessings of the restoration. In keeping with the Spirit of Elijah and the promises from the prophet, everybody should use their free time to do a little family history this week! Sister Powell and I are going to try some indexing!

Also that's crazy about the Dubai and Shanghai temple announcements; the Lord is hastening His work!

Hope everyone has an awesome Easter week!

愛しています！

ジョーンズ姉妹

First member meal!...delivered through the hole in our screen door!

First Book of Mormons placed on our referral's doorstep!...and the beginnings of the Kansas Wichita Mission Clue boardgame during mandatory fun time!

Sis Powell

Sister Allison Jones week 5

  I'd say this week has been the most exciting week so far! The first lesson I learned this week is that our Heavenly Father is perfect in every way, including His sense of humor. I can remember distinctly teasing Tyler that he would get his mission call to Kansas... but I guess this is how it goes. The Kansas Wichita Mission is the place to be!!!

    On Sunday we found out that all the missionaries in the MTC would be leaving by the end of the week. And so, on Thursday morning we left for the airport to start our journey in the mission field five weeks ahead of schedule! 

It was strange to see the airports so empty. I got to travel with an awesome Japanese missionary from my zone named Sister Walker and four other missionaries from the Baltic States Mission. There were only 14 people on the flight to Wichita and six of us were missionaries so that was pretty exciting. We also flew over a lightning storm and went through some of the craziest turbulence I've ever experienced. But we eventually made it safe and sound to Kansas at around 11:40pm. We met President and Sister Ernst and they are two of the sweetest people I've ever met! 

    On the car ride to the mission home President told us that the people here are very religious and they love the Bible... I think Sister Walker and I both realized this is going to be a very different teaching experience from what we prepared for in the MTC. Welcome to the Heartland of America! 

    I met my Trainer Sister Powell and she's so sweet! Our area is McPherson, Kansas and it's really small and cute. It's a little strange because it kinda feels like I'm just back in Southern Indiana except it's extra flat and very windy. The fields are so green and there's winter wheat all over the place. The people here are so friendly! It's so cool to be a missionary because every day since I've been here I've been able to feel a little more of Heavenly Father's love for the people in Kansas. President Ernst encouraged all of the reassigned missionaries to "dig our roots deep in Kansas soil". I think having that perspective, and not seeing this as a temporary situation but seeing Wichita, Kansas as my mission and seeing the McPherson people as my people has already helped me feel a lot of joy. I've been reminded that the quote by Elder Wirthlin isn't "come what may and get over it", it's "come what may, and love it." I love Kansas, I love my Savior, and I love the opportunity to prepare to serve in Japan too.

    During our first companion study Sister Powell decided we should read Alma 26 together. It was a really good reminder that God is aware of all of His people, no matter where they are, and that there is so much joy in serving them. So, to everyone that's been reassigned, you should give it a read!...I still wish people could read my nametag though...

    We've been working on calling as many people as we can from the area book and sometimes people pick up! We are excited to keep teaching the Peña family over video call this week! We are also looking forward to learning to make pasta sauce over video call and Book of Mormon read with our neighbor Ethan. It seems like lots of people have more free time at home so we're trying to take advantage of that. Sister Powell has also been a big help as I practice teaching in English and Japanese, I'm so grateful for my patient companion! 

    Also! Make sure to get excited for conference this week and keep studying the restoration!!

愛しています！

ジョーンズ姉妹

MTC group pic

Sister Allison Jones week 4

皆さんこんにちは！
I hope everyone has had an awesome week!
One of the suggestions I got this week was to use part of my language study time each day to read from the Book of Mormon in Japanese. I don't think I've ever had to consentrate so hard on the literal meaning of stories in the Book of Mormon before, especially when every word is a combination of symbols. But as I've been slowly reading through 1 Nephi  there have been so many things that have stuck out to me that I don't know if I would have noticed otherwise. It's also helped me develop a greater love for the Japanese language as I've learned the literal meaning of words like 天使(tenshi), which means the "use of Heaven" or angels. We've taught a few lessons on the Book of Mormon this week and it's amazing to see the spirit and power it brings.
Our district got some difficult news yesterday when we found out that the two sisters from Australia and New Zealand will be sent home on Monday for two weeks of self-isolation and then will be temporarily reassigned to their home countries. The French districts in our zone have also received their temporary reassignments. If you see a Sister Taylor in Indiana make sure to say hi!
We had a couple really powerful devotionals this week. On Tuesday we heard from Elder Soares who talked about the power of virtue. We also heard from the Hongkong Mission President and his wife who shared about how we can have the faith to lose ourselves and and the diligence to be changed through the Savior's Atonement. The MTC president had some helpful insight too:
"No affliction, no conviction"- President Lesuer
And it's true because it rhymes. But also, because I've been able to see in my life, now and before the mission, that the times that have been the hardest have also been the times of the greatest growth.
A helpful scripture this week that everyone should read is Alma 13:22-31. In Japanese the gospel doesn't just mean good news; it's the sound of blessing. I hope everyone can find ways to rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus Christ this week. Take care and have a great week!
愛しています！
ジョーンズ姉妹

Attachments area

Temple pic

Sister Allison Jones week 3

皆さんこんにちは！
It sounds like everyone has had a pretty exciting week so far! All is well in the MTC! Or at least we're all healthy and safe as far as we can tell.(gotta be careful of the teachings in 2 Nephi 28:21)  It's an unusual time to not be able to watch the news but I hope everyone is doing well with all the shutdowns! I'll make sure to keep the kids from Mom's school in my prayers!
We had a devotional on Tusday by Neil L. Anderson on Tuesday! He reminded us that the more we recognize the Lord's hand in our lives, the more we learn to love Him. Fletcher姉妹  and I have been working on gratitude this week and we've been keeping track of some of the tender mercies we've noticed. Fletcher姉妹 loves Dr.Pepper but we haven't been able to find it anywhere in the MTC, but this Tuesday we found one can of DP on the shared table outside our room. It was a reminder that Heavenly Father cares about the little things, even our soda preferences, and recognizing the daily mercies in our lives has really helped. We're also really grateful that all of the native Japanese missionaries are feeling better and will be able to go to their assigned missions in Japan on Monday. A great talk Fletcher姉妹 found is "Grateful in Any Circumstances" by Elder Uchtdorf, April 2014.
Our district hosted the last group of missionaries coming into the MTC on Wednesday which was a lot of fun. I got to help a sister from the Philippines named Hernandez姉妹. It was really refreshing to be around Hernandez姉妹 because she was so excited to be in the MTC and she's really excited to serve in Sapporo, Japan. We got to leave the MTC for the last time to go to the Student Health Center because all incoming international missionaries were tested for coronavirus.
It's been a blessing to see our Zone grow closer together this week. I'm grateful for the experiences Fletcher姉妹 and I have had over the last couple weeks because it's definitely helped us to know what to say to the French sisters as they deal with the uncertainty surrounding their assignments. It's amazing to see the way that challenges can bring people together and create opportunities to extend service and love.
Our district was preparing to sing "Peace in Christ" in Japanese in sacrament meeting this week. Although we won't be able to share it with our branch, I think it was really fitting that that was the song that was chosen considering what's happened recently. I'm so grateful to have a modern prophet and it's been amazing to see the way that President Nelson's guidance has helped prepare the saints around the world. Everyone should read D&C 121:33 and "Where Can I Turn for Peace" by Paul V. Johnson April 2013 while you're enjoying the time off!
Fletcher姉妹 and the other missionaries in our district are picking up on the language really quickly and it's been amazing to see their growth as we've practiced teaching in Japanese.
Also, 日本語 of the week! For those that asked, the brother of Jared is translated as ヤレドの兄弟(Yaredo no kyoudai) so it doesn't tell us if he was older or younger but we talked with a member who worked on the translation of the Book of Mormon into Thai yesterday and he said that they run into the same problem of only having the word for older or younger brother so it would be interesting to see what they did with that.
I hope everyone has an awesome week and stays healthy and safe!
愛しています！
ジョーンズ姉妹
Our last MTC temple trip!

Attachments area

MTC with Sis Fletcher

Sister Allison Jones week2

皆さんこんにちは！

It's been an exciting week so far! My companion was super excited when we found out the devotional on Sunday was from the BYU basketball coach, Coach Pope and that some of the members of the team would speak as well. I kinda wished I'd followed BYU sports a little better but Fletcher姉妹 loved it and I'm glad she got to get a picture with him. It was really nice though to be taught by a professional coach about the gospel, I feel like we all came out feeling very motivated. I really liked that he talked about dropping our nets like the apostle Paul and following the Savior "all in". He also mentioned how serving the Lord without hesitation can help us overcome the difficulties and uncertainty ahead, he mentioned the missionaries assigned to Japan specifically which was really nice, a lot of the missionaries in our zone felt like this devotional was written just for us. 

There's been a lot of excitement over the coronavirus for all of the missionaries going to Asia. Our district has gotten really close with a district of native Japanese missionaries that are in the classroom next to ours that got here last Wednesday. We have similar schedules and usually eat together. This Tuesday at a workshop though, one of the elders came up to Fletcher姉妹 and I and asked if we would pray for his companion who was feeling really sick. Later that day while we were teaching practice lessons with our teacher some MTC employees came and taped off the Japanese district's classroom as well as the classroom we'd been using for our practice lessons. The entire Japanese district was put in quarantine for a few days and the devotional was canceled. Luckily none of them had symptoms except the one elder still being held in quarantine. It's been such a blessing and answer to our prayers as both of our districts have been able to continue our preparations to serve. We've definetly been able to feel the Lord's hand of protection. A scripture that's helped me a lot this week is John 16:33. 

We had some excitement late Monday night when the sisters from one of the French districts knocked on our door because they'd all been locked out of their room. When we asked what happened they told us that they woke up to the sound of one of the toilets flushing continuously and they all left the room to try to fix it. Luckily Fletcher姉妹 and I were able to get them back into their room but the toilet continued to flush and fill constantly for the rest of the night until maintenance could come to fix it in the morning. Thus the legend of the residence hall ghost was born. 

At choir we learned the story behind the hymn Nearer My God to Thee and Jacob's experience seeing Heavenly Father in Genesis 28:11-20. It was super cool and D&C 88:63 is a good one too! 

Also! Fun Japanese of the week! The Japanese word for the sabbath (安息日) could be translated literally as peaceful breath day and it has the same character for safety( 安全)! So I hope everybody finds safety and peaceful breath this week! 

Make sure to tell Courtney thanks for the package! Definitely a highlight of the week! Feels good to have a coat again and the pockey  was awesome!  

愛しています！ 

ジョーンズ姉妹

MTC photos

Sister Allison Jones week 1

 Minnasan konnichiwa!

       It's been a humbling experience at the MTC so far this week. I was a little disappointed when I realized no one else in my district has studied Japanese before and that I'll be here for the full 9 weeks but I'm really grateful for my leaders here in the MTC. I'm especially grateful for my companion Fletcher-shimai, she's so sweet and it's been such a blessing so far to learn with her. She has red hair too and her Dad served in Kobe! I was reading in 2 Nephi for Come Follow Me and it was a good reminder to beware of pride. That's helped me a lot so far as I remember my calling as a representative of Jesus Christ, with my district, zone and in the classroom. I feel like I've learned a lot so far in the MTC and the days have been packed. We are starting Speak Your Language today so I'm only supposed to talk to Fletcher-shimai in Japanese from now on, hope that goes well

My MTC teachers have been a big help so far and Brother Sizilio was baptized in Nagoya! I love the sisters in my district and we have sisters from Australia and New Zealand as well! I'm the only one going to Nagoya, the rest of my district is going to Tokyo North, Fukuoka and Kobe. Our zone is made up of only brand new missionaries so on our second night in the MTC the branch had to be reorganized. Fetcher-shimai and I were called as Sister Training leaders, so we've been trusting in the Lord a lot these past few days as we try to support the shiami-tachi in our zone even though we have no experience. The MTC has been having some difficulty with technology lately so emails have been a little messed up, Fletcher-shimai got an email from the MTC president congratulating her on her call as Sister Training Leader, but mine was a little surprising. I guess the MTC thinks I'm an elder because the MTC president just congratulated me on becoming a District Leader. We also get to teach the relief society lesson tomorrow on Christ-like attributes! 

Hope you guys have a great week! 

P.s I forgot my coat in courtney's car and my p-day is Saturday so calling anytime before 12:30 my time is great, probably Skype is best or Google hangouts 

Aishitemasu!

Jones-shimai