Dear Family,
How`s everyone doing? How`s life way up yonder? All is well down here in tiny, little Uruguay . My new area is alright. My comp, Elder Longfellow, is an interesting fellow. He`s got quite the potty mouth. He`s got about six months left. He`s super trunky. He talks a lot about girls. I can tell it`s going to be an interesting change. He works though so that`s good.
Yesterday, we had a big regional conference. It was for all the stakes in Uruguay and Paraguay . Elder Costa of the Seventy, Sister Stevens from the Primary General Presidency, Elder Ballard, and President Packer spoke. They broadcasted it from the Conference Center . The translators had some crazy accents and it took a little bit for me to get used to their accent. It was good though.
It`s defenitely warming up down here. Luckily I`m in Montevideo so it`s not as hot. Last summer was terrible. I was in the hottest place in the country right in the middle of summer. That will probably happen again. I`ll get sent up north right in the middle of summer. Oh well.
To answer the question, I never got my memory card back. It`s gone. I don`t have the pictures from the first six months of my mission. Oh well. The memory card I have now is being stupid as well. I don`t know what`s up with all my camera stuff. I hope it stops being stupid. I might actually consider getting a new camera. I`m going to look around and see if there`s a cheap one. I`ll get back to you on that one.
The ward is changing. The Roberts were in the ward when I left. I never got to know them but I knew who they were. Last weekend sounded fun for some and busy for others. I have one question though. Who was your date Weston? Did she enjoy it? You`ve probably already been on more dates than me. My little brother is showing me up. Anyways who won the homecoming game? Who did Mesa play? Was it Westwood again? If it was we probably won. Are the Rangers and the Gianta the two teams in the World Series? I probably won`t see any of that down here. No one likes baseball because no one understands it. It`s fun trying to explain it because it goes right over their heads. Keep me up to date on that. I know you`ll do a good job at that Cameron.
I don`t know if Halloween is really big down here. There are stores that have Halloween decorations. I don`t know how big it will be. I don`t think we`re going to celebrate. I guess we can get some candy and celebrate by eating it. It`s probably more fun in the states. I`ll let you all know how it is. Thanksgiving, however, is this change. We are planning a big party for that. We just got our new ovens so we`re going to put them to use by cooking a turkey. Can you give me a good turkey recipe Mom? You`re an expert at that. Also can you send me a good apple pie recipe. You`re an expert at that too. We`re going all out for Thanksgiving. My last Thanksgiving I was in the MTC and it was lame. This one is going to be better. Also can you send me a good recipe for scones. We have a recipe but it`s not a good one. Scones are pretty popular down here so we eat them a lot and I want a good recipe. Gracias.
I`m glad tohear that the missionary work is going well. The work sounds great there. I wish it was the same here. Tell everyone to keep working hard. Everything willwork out in the end. If we`re trying our hardest, the Lord will lead us to those who are ready to accept the gospel. Pray for those opportunities and you will all receive them.
So you`re almost the council chairman Dad but without the headaches. I`m sure you love that Mom. Hey at least you`ll get to go to Lancaster County again and buy out all the Amish stores. That`s fun. I would love to go back to the Jamboree some day.
I also need some more insoles. I don`t have the information but I`ll get send the information next week.
Thanks for everything. I love you all. Have a good week and until next time...
Con amor,
Elder Jones
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
It`s Finally Pday...and changes as well
Dear Family and anyone who reads my emails,
It`s finally Pday. Our Pday was moved back to today because changes are today. Our last Pday was last Monday so it`s been ten days now. I was so ready for Pday. Today was fun. We went to the temple this morning as a zone. That was fun. I always enjoy going there. It`s also fun to see how much more I understand every time. The endowment is doen in vosotros. (Ask the spanish speakers if any of you don`t know what that means). Anyways sometimes during the endowment, I don`t understand everything right away because I`m not used to hearing people speak in vosotros. No one speaks that here. I`m pretty sure that Spain is the only spanish-speaking country where the people speak in vosotros. Maybe you spanish speakers can sympathize with me, except for Emilie. Haha. Another interesting thing in the temple. A little after the session started, the example couple(not sure whatto call that couple) was at the altar. Alll of the sudden, the wife fainted or something. Her husband caught her and helped her stand up. She looked super pale. Maybe she got sick or something. I don`t know. She and her husband left. That was an interesting experience. It reminded me of Dad`s similar experience. After that, we went to the Distribution Center . I got some new white pants. My other ones were bothering me. I`m not a big fan of CTR Clothing. They were about nine dollars I think. They are a lot better. I also got a couple other things. I put on my debit card. Just so you all know.
Changes are today. They normally wouldn`t be until this coming Tuesday, however, Presidente Heaton has a mission president conference next week in Buenos Aires . So changes are today instead of next week. I`m getting moved again. I`m moving about fifteen minutes away. The area is called Sayago. My new comp is Elder Longfellow. He`s from Utah. He`s a cool kid so I think it should be a fun change. I was surprised. I was expecting to stay. It was fun with Elder Arnett. We were starting to see a little success in our area. I`ll go where I`m called to go.
Stroy time. A couple of days ago an old man stopped us and started talking to us about the U.S. He was asking us about Ronald Reagan. I don`t think he was all there in the head. He was medio loco. He was talking about all sorts of stuff. Then he asked where we were from. Elder Arnett quickly said that he was from Canada . Then he looked and asked the same thing. I also said that I was from Canada . I think that saved us from having to talk more about the U.S. However, later that day we ran into him again and he pretty much begged us to go to his house to his pictures of the U.S. That was the nastiest, grossest house I`ve ever been in. It was terrible. There was dog poop on the ground. There were mosquitos everywhere. I don`t know how he lives in those conditions. He had a bunch of newspaper clippings about the Kennedys and Obama and all sorts of things. We left as quick as we could. Good times in Uruguay .
Moving on. The youth conference sounded fun. That sounded like a cool Book of Mormon activity. I`m working on strengthening my testimony of the Book of Mormon so I testify more powerfully about it. I hope all the youth learned a lot. Was there a big showing form our ward? I`m glad the Eagle Project went well. Time to write it up. Pretty sure it took me a year to write it up. Oh how I remember the nagging. Haha. Get that done quickly Weston.
I got two newsletters last week and was looking through the ward roster. There are a lot of names on there that I don`t recognize. Either I didn`t notice those names before or a lot of people are moving in. I`ve been thinking about writing a little something that can get put in the newsletter. I`m going to try and do that when I have time.
There is a nice razor here for 90 bucks. That sounds expensive to me, but I don`t know how cheap I can go before they start getting crappy. I don`t know how to tell if a razor is good or not. Grandma and Grandpa can send me however much they want. I`ll find something and make it work. My camera will work fine. The problem is it just goes through batteries really fast, but that`s not a big deal. Don`t worry about that. I was thinking about getting a new watch though. The one I have works, but there`s one problem. It has a fabric band and it`s starting to smell. Now that it`s starting to warm up, it`s going to start smelling. I want to find a good inexpensive one with a rubber strap. If you could put some money i my account for that, it would be good. I can find one for twenty dollars. That`s it for that.
Now about my new nephew. I guessed a girl because there have been a lot of girls already. I figured Jenny would add to that number. That`s great that it`s a boy. He`s gonig to have lots of uncles to corrupt him and teach the Jones ways. Awesome. Congratulations Jenny and PJ.
That`s it for this week. Next week will be normal again so I`ll write on Monday. I hope everyone has a good week. I love you all.
Elder Ethan Jones
Dear Family and anyone who reads my emails,
It`s finally Pday. Our Pday was moved back to today because changes are today. Our last Pday was last Monday so it`s been ten days now. I was so ready for Pday. Today was fun. We went to the temple this morning as a zone. That was fun. I always enjoy going there. It`s also fun to see how much more I understand every time. The endowment is doen in vosotros. (Ask the spanish speakers if any of you don`t know what that means). Anyways sometimes during the endowment, I don`t understand everything right away because I`m not used to hearing people speak in vosotros. No one speaks that here. I`m pretty sure that Spain is the only spanish-speaking country where the people speak in vosotros. Maybe you spanish speakers can sympathize with me, except for Emilie. Haha. Another interesting thing in the temple. A little after the session started, the example couple(not sure whatto call that couple) was at the altar. Alll of the sudden, the wife fainted or something. Her husband caught her and helped her stand up. She looked super pale. Maybe she got sick or something. I don`t know. She and her husband left. That was an interesting experience. It reminded me of Dad`s similar experience. After that, we went to the Distribution Center . I got some new white pants. My other ones were bothering me. I`m not a big fan of CTR Clothing. They were about nine dollars I think. They are a lot better. I also got a couple other things. I put on my debit card. Just so you all know.
Changes are today. They normally wouldn`t be until this coming Tuesday, however, Presidente Heaton has a mission president conference next week in Buenos Aires . So changes are today instead of next week. I`m getting moved again. I`m moving about fifteen minutes away. The area is called Sayago. My new comp is Elder Longfellow. He`s from Utah. He`s a cool kid so I think it should be a fun change. I was surprised. I was expecting to stay. It was fun with Elder Arnett. We were starting to see a little success in our area. I`ll go where I`m called to go.
Stroy time. A couple of days ago an old man stopped us and started talking to us about the U.S. He was asking us about Ronald Reagan. I don`t think he was all there in the head. He was medio loco. He was talking about all sorts of stuff. Then he asked where we were from. Elder Arnett quickly said that he was from Canada . Then he looked and asked the same thing. I also said that I was from Canada . I think that saved us from having to talk more about the U.S. However, later that day we ran into him again and he pretty much begged us to go to his house to his pictures of the U.S. That was the nastiest, grossest house I`ve ever been in. It was terrible. There was dog poop on the ground. There were mosquitos everywhere. I don`t know how he lives in those conditions. He had a bunch of newspaper clippings about the Kennedys and Obama and all sorts of things. We left as quick as we could. Good times in Uruguay .
Moving on. The youth conference sounded fun. That sounded like a cool Book of Mormon activity. I`m working on strengthening my testimony of the Book of Mormon so I testify more powerfully about it. I hope all the youth learned a lot. Was there a big showing form our ward? I`m glad the Eagle Project went well. Time to write it up. Pretty sure it took me a year to write it up. Oh how I remember the nagging. Haha. Get that done quickly Weston.
I got two newsletters last week and was looking through the ward roster. There are a lot of names on there that I don`t recognize. Either I didn`t notice those names before or a lot of people are moving in. I`ve been thinking about writing a little something that can get put in the newsletter. I`m going to try and do that when I have time.
There is a nice razor here for 90 bucks. That sounds expensive to me, but I don`t know how cheap I can go before they start getting crappy. I don`t know how to tell if a razor is good or not. Grandma and Grandpa can send me however much they want. I`ll find something and make it work. My camera will work fine. The problem is it just goes through batteries really fast, but that`s not a big deal. Don`t worry about that. I was thinking about getting a new watch though. The one I have works, but there`s one problem. It has a fabric band and it`s starting to smell. Now that it`s starting to warm up, it`s going to start smelling. I want to find a good inexpensive one with a rubber strap. If you could put some money i my account for that, it would be good. I can find one for twenty dollars. That`s it for that.
Now about my new nephew. I guessed a girl because there have been a lot of girls already. I figured Jenny would add to that number. That`s great that it`s a boy. He`s gonig to have lots of uncles to corrupt him and teach the Jones ways. Awesome. Congratulations Jenny and PJ.
That`s it for this week. Next week will be normal again so I`ll write on Monday. I hope everyone has a good week. I love you all.
Elder Ethan Jones
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saludos
Querido Familia,
Saludos de Uruguay. How`s everyone? That thunder storm sounded awesome. Thunderstorms are the best. There have been a couple of big storms here, but nothing like that one. I assume the tree trimmer dudes were busy the next day as they usually are the day after a big storm. Anyways, what are the plans with the Eagle Project? What`s going to happen. Have you been saving a lot of money Weston? Mine was great because I didn`t have to pay for it. I hope that goes well. Is anything going to happen around the house this week? Are there any projects waiting to be done? How long will everyone be in Orlando ? Maybe thet`ll see Ryan or Branton. That would be cool.
Last week we had interviews. Presidente and Hermana Heaton have been visitng all the houses in the mission. Mopntevideo was the last to get their houses checked. All the houses in my zone got checked last Thursday. That was a long day. We were in the house until 6 PM. The zone leaders kept calling us and telling us different times so we had to stay in the house until they got there. Hermana Heaton gave us a big list of kitchen supplies to buy because every house in the mission is getting an oven by order of Elder Arnold. (Apparently he was appauled that we only had a little stove and a microwave to cook with. So he told the office elders to get us ovens.) Those are getting delivered this week. We all have a long list of things to cook.
Yesterday was a great day. We found a new investigator. His name is Sebastian. We were walking down the street and saw him sitting in front of his door. I think he was hoping that we would talk to him. The first thing he said was, "I speak English. I want to practice." Elder Arnett stood there while I talked a little bit about the Restoration. It was a little difficult. It was weird talking about those things in English. He was really open. He thought Elder Arnett couldn`t speak English because he wasn`t saying anything. We gave him a Restoration folleto to read. He gave us a book about his religion. He also tried to get me to drink mate. I told him that we`re not aloud to drink mate. He kept saying to me, "It`s not drugs." He eventually gave up. That was a miracle find. We fasted to find new investigators and we found him. It was really awesome.
I have a favor to ask. Whenever you send me another package(probably Christmas), can you send me an electric razor. Using a normal razor takes too much time in the morning. Or you can send me money and I`ll get one here. Maybe that`s smarter. It`s up to you guys. Also along with the temple picture can you send me a small map of the US . Some people like to see where Arizona is and all that good stuff. Gracias.
I don`t know what else to report on. We slept in this morning. Lasr week was long. I think the time change has something to do with it. Our bodies haven`t adjusted yet. We were dead so we decided to sleep in. It was great. So refreshing.
That`s it for now I guess. I hope you all have a great week. Until next time...
Con amor,
Elder Ethan Jones
Saludos de Uruguay. How`s everyone? That thunder storm sounded awesome. Thunderstorms are the best. There have been a couple of big storms here, but nothing like that one. I assume the tree trimmer dudes were busy the next day as they usually are the day after a big storm. Anyways, what are the plans with the Eagle Project? What`s going to happen. Have you been saving a lot of money Weston? Mine was great because I didn`t have to pay for it. I hope that goes well. Is anything going to happen around the house this week? Are there any projects waiting to be done? How long will everyone be in Orlando ? Maybe thet`ll see Ryan or Branton. That would be cool.
Last week we had interviews. Presidente and Hermana Heaton have been visitng all the houses in the mission. Mopntevideo was the last to get their houses checked. All the houses in my zone got checked last Thursday. That was a long day. We were in the house until 6 PM. The zone leaders kept calling us and telling us different times so we had to stay in the house until they got there. Hermana Heaton gave us a big list of kitchen supplies to buy because every house in the mission is getting an oven by order of Elder Arnold. (Apparently he was appauled that we only had a little stove and a microwave to cook with. So he told the office elders to get us ovens.) Those are getting delivered this week. We all have a long list of things to cook.
Yesterday was a great day. We found a new investigator. His name is Sebastian. We were walking down the street and saw him sitting in front of his door. I think he was hoping that we would talk to him. The first thing he said was, "I speak English. I want to practice." Elder Arnett stood there while I talked a little bit about the Restoration. It was a little difficult. It was weird talking about those things in English. He was really open. He thought Elder Arnett couldn`t speak English because he wasn`t saying anything. We gave him a Restoration folleto to read. He gave us a book about his religion. He also tried to get me to drink mate. I told him that we`re not aloud to drink mate. He kept saying to me, "It`s not drugs." He eventually gave up. That was a miracle find. We fasted to find new investigators and we found him. It was really awesome.
I have a favor to ask. Whenever you send me another package(probably Christmas), can you send me an electric razor. Using a normal razor takes too much time in the morning. Or you can send me money and I`ll get one here. Maybe that`s smarter. It`s up to you guys. Also along with the temple picture can you send me a small map of the US . Some people like to see where Arizona is and all that good stuff. Gracias.
I don`t know what else to report on. We slept in this morning. Lasr week was long. I think the time change has something to do with it. Our bodies haven`t adjusted yet. We were dead so we decided to sleep in. It was great. So refreshing.
That`s it for now I guess. I hope you all have a great week. Until next time...
Con amor,
Elder Ethan Jones
Monday, October 4, 2010
I love General Conference
Dear Family,
How`s going up there? All is well way down here. Conference was awesome to say the least. I learned something from every talk. I had a lot of questions answered. Now I have to put those things in practice. Do remember Elder Arnold? He spoke in the Sunday afternoon session. He`s the area president down here. When he visited our mission. his wife told us that story about that cow. I had forgotten about it until he told it again. What else? Five new temples. I bet Kyle was happy to heat that a temple is getting built in Connecticut . The Church is growing. Temples being built is a sign of that. I`m so excited to get the Liahona next month so I read all those talks again. I saw all the sessions. We watched the priesthood session Sunday morning. Here the priesthood session didn`t start until 9 o`clock because of the time difference. So the members recorded it for us and we watched it Sunday morning. I saw the first half of the first session in Spanish because the TV with the english version wasn`t set up. We had to wait for someone to show up with the keys to the electronics closet. I understood it though so it didn`t make a difference. All in all, it was a great General Conference.
That`s super sad about Brother Clifford. I know Calvin. He`s a great kid. He`s a strong kid and I know he can get through this, especially after hearing all those general conference talks about trusting in the Lord. I hope his family is fine. I`m sure they are because they know where Brother Clifford is.
Weston you`re finally doing your Eagle project. Rock on. What are you doing? To bad I won`t be there to help. Darn. I`m so sad. Haha. Get it done quick.
The water and gas lines are finally getting fixed. Wasn`t that supposed to happen a while ago? I`m glad I`m not there to deal with that mess.
How was the Birthday Bash? It was probably pretty lame since I wasn`there because everyone knows that I`m the life of the party. I`m sure it was still good though.Haha.
Any plans for October Break? It`s a week long now right? Is everyone going to work on the house? Is anything different at the house or does it still look the same?
How`s your job Mom? Where is this store at? Is it just you and Sister Norris?
The only thing I need is the picture of the Mesa temple. Just send it with Dad`s Jamboree letter. I just want a 5 by 7. One that I can keep in my scriptures to show to people. That`s it there.
That`s it for now. Thanks for everything you all do for me. I love you all. Until next week...
Èlder Ethan Jones
How`s going up there? All is well way down here. Conference was awesome to say the least. I learned something from every talk. I had a lot of questions answered. Now I have to put those things in practice. Do remember Elder Arnold? He spoke in the Sunday afternoon session. He`s the area president down here. When he visited our mission. his wife told us that story about that cow. I had forgotten about it until he told it again. What else? Five new temples. I bet Kyle was happy to heat that a temple is getting built in Connecticut . The Church is growing. Temples being built is a sign of that. I`m so excited to get the Liahona next month so I read all those talks again. I saw all the sessions. We watched the priesthood session Sunday morning. Here the priesthood session didn`t start until 9 o`clock because of the time difference. So the members recorded it for us and we watched it Sunday morning. I saw the first half of the first session in Spanish because the TV with the english version wasn`t set up. We had to wait for someone to show up with the keys to the electronics closet. I understood it though so it didn`t make a difference. All in all, it was a great General Conference.
That`s super sad about Brother Clifford. I know Calvin. He`s a great kid. He`s a strong kid and I know he can get through this, especially after hearing all those general conference talks about trusting in the Lord. I hope his family is fine. I`m sure they are because they know where Brother Clifford is.
Weston you`re finally doing your Eagle project. Rock on. What are you doing? To bad I won`t be there to help. Darn. I`m so sad. Haha. Get it done quick.
The water and gas lines are finally getting fixed. Wasn`t that supposed to happen a while ago? I`m glad I`m not there to deal with that mess.
How was the Birthday Bash? It was probably pretty lame since I wasn`there because everyone knows that I`m the life of the party. I`m sure it was still good though.Haha.
Any plans for October Break? It`s a week long now right? Is everyone going to work on the house? Is anything different at the house or does it still look the same?
How`s your job Mom? Where is this store at? Is it just you and Sister Norris?
The only thing I need is the picture of the Mesa temple. Just send it with Dad`s Jamboree letter. I just want a 5 by 7. One that I can keep in my scriptures to show to people. That`s it there.
That`s it for now. Thanks for everything you all do for me. I love you all. Until next week...
Èlder Ethan Jones
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