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