Dear Family,
First off, I have to catch up on the birthdays. Happy late Birthday to Kayli, James, and Valerie. I think that`s everyone.
The work is going well. We found a lot of new investigators last week. Unfortunately none of them came to church yesterday. They all promised they would. We`re going to visit them mthis week and find out what happened. We helped Elizabeth make wallets on Friday. We did it for about two hours and then had a short lesson with her. Elder Price reeeaaaaaly wanted to do service for her and that was the only thing she had for us to do. I don`t know if she was really anxious for us to do it, but she let us do it. Funny story: Yesterday we had a combined priesthood/relief society meeting. The bishop did the class. He talked about judging people. At the end he said, "As bishop, I am the only person in thus ward that can judge." He said it really boldly. A lot of members got offended. I imagine I`ll be hearing about that for a while. That`s the update from Uruguay.
I`m going to write Matt Garner a letter. I`ll send it through snail mail. If he asks about anything, just tell he`s getting a letter.
I hope I was remembered at the barbecue. If the Stouts are still in town, ask them if they know Elder Huston. He`s in my mission. He`s from Arkansas. I`m not sure which part though. I`m just curious.
Thanks for the pictures Charles. James doesn`t even look the same since I last saw him. It looks like his birthday was fun. I guess it was Valerie`s birthday party as well.
I got all my reimbursments so I no longer have money issues. Thanks for sending that money Mom.
I have no idea what else to write so I`m going to end right now. I hope you all have a good week. Que la fuerza os acompañe.
Les quiero,
Elder Jones
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Work is Great
Dear Family,
Bueno, first off, before I forget, I`ll answer Matt`s questions. He doesn`t need rainboots. I hardly ever use mine. I woruld take three regular pairs. I suggest they have a leather inside instead of fabric. For shirts I`d taken seven short- sleeve and 3 or 4 long-sleeve. I suggest the brand ENRO from Pomeroy`s. They`re really good. They should easily last two years as long as he takes care of them. Tell him to take a ski coat. DON`T buy the coat from Pomeroy`s. Luckily I brought my ski coat with me. I also wouldn`t buy CTR Clothing brand. I`ve had to fix a lot of my my pants and my suit. Tell him to go somewhere else. A mummy bag is nice to have in the winter. It gets pretty cold. Blankets didn`t do it for me. I ended up buying a mummy bag from another missionary. I also recommend buying white pants from the Distribution Center . They`re cheaper and a better quality. This last one is just a tip: if he brings a watch tell him to get one with a metal or plastic strap. Fabric straps soak up the sweat and then they don`t have a pleasant aroma. Send me his address so I can write him a longer letter. I`m sure I`ll remember other things later.
Everything is going well down here. Elder Price and I gave talks yesterday. It was about missionary work. I used Elder Nelson`s talk from last October`s conference. He talked about being an example of the believers. My focus was to try and help the members figure out that one of the best ways to share the gospel is to always be an example of the believers. I think it went well. Elder Longfellow is lucky he got transferred. He barely snuck out of that one.
Things are going great with Elder Price. This is his second change as senior companion. He trained ast change. We got to Uruguay together. We`re both in our tenth change. We`ve been comps for only five days and I`ve already learned so much from him. I can already see why President Heaton put us two together. President Heaton really does rely on the Lord when he does changes. I`m really looking forward to this change. Yesterday we gave a baptismal date to a fifteen year-oldboy named Andrès. His friend, Pablo, is a less-active member. Last week he asked Pablo if he could go to church so they went yesterday. We had a lesson with him yesterday afternoon and he committed to getting baptized. His mom is really happy that he wants to go to church. We`re talking with her tonight to ask for permission tobaptize him. If we can, we`re defenitely try and give her a baptismal date. His baptism is scheduled for February 19th. We had a great lesson with Elizabeth on Saturday night. We talked about testimony. We wanted to make sure she had a testimony or was at least praying to receive one. She was crying and telling us about the difference our message has been making in her life. She also had some doubts that we were able to reslove. Her biggest doubt was about why the men and women fo to separate classes during church. Elder Price explained it vert simply. He said that men and women have different duties. The men go to one class tolearn their duties and the women go to another to learn theirs. She was cool with that. She enjoyed church. Now we just have to make sure she keeps coming. That`s the update for now.
I have one request. I have twenty pesos(one dollar) right now. I was supposed to get reimbursements over a week ago, but they haven`t come yet. I don`t know what the problem is. So can you put some money in my account Mom. That would be great.
That`s it for this week. I hope you all have a good week. Be sure to share the gospel.
Les quiero,
Elder Jones
Bueno, first off, before I forget, I`ll answer Matt`s questions. He doesn`t need rainboots. I hardly ever use mine. I woruld take three regular pairs. I suggest they have a leather inside instead of fabric. For shirts I`d taken seven short- sleeve and 3 or 4 long-sleeve. I suggest the brand ENRO from Pomeroy`s. They`re really good. They should easily last two years as long as he takes care of them. Tell him to take a ski coat. DON`T buy the coat from Pomeroy`s. Luckily I brought my ski coat with me. I also wouldn`t buy CTR Clothing brand. I`ve had to fix a lot of my my pants and my suit. Tell him to go somewhere else. A mummy bag is nice to have in the winter. It gets pretty cold. Blankets didn`t do it for me. I ended up buying a mummy bag from another missionary. I also recommend buying white pants from the Distribution Center . They`re cheaper and a better quality. This last one is just a tip: if he brings a watch tell him to get one with a metal or plastic strap. Fabric straps soak up the sweat and then they don`t have a pleasant aroma. Send me his address so I can write him a longer letter. I`m sure I`ll remember other things later.
Everything is going well down here. Elder Price and I gave talks yesterday. It was about missionary work. I used Elder Nelson`s talk from last October`s conference. He talked about being an example of the believers. My focus was to try and help the members figure out that one of the best ways to share the gospel is to always be an example of the believers. I think it went well. Elder Longfellow is lucky he got transferred. He barely snuck out of that one.
Things are going great with Elder Price. This is his second change as senior companion. He trained ast change. We got to Uruguay together. We`re both in our tenth change. We`ve been comps for only five days and I`ve already learned so much from him. I can already see why President Heaton put us two together. President Heaton really does rely on the Lord when he does changes. I`m really looking forward to this change. Yesterday we gave a baptismal date to a fifteen year-oldboy named Andrès. His friend, Pablo, is a less-active member. Last week he asked Pablo if he could go to church so they went yesterday. We had a lesson with him yesterday afternoon and he committed to getting baptized. His mom is really happy that he wants to go to church. We`re talking with her tonight to ask for permission tobaptize him. If we can, we`re defenitely try and give her a baptismal date. His baptism is scheduled for February 19th. We had a great lesson with Elizabeth on Saturday night. We talked about testimony. We wanted to make sure she had a testimony or was at least praying to receive one. She was crying and telling us about the difference our message has been making in her life. She also had some doubts that we were able to reslove. Her biggest doubt was about why the men and women fo to separate classes during church. Elder Price explained it vert simply. He said that men and women have different duties. The men go to one class tolearn their duties and the women go to another to learn theirs. She was cool with that. She enjoyed church. Now we just have to make sure she keeps coming. That`s the update for now.
I have one request. I have twenty pesos(one dollar) right now. I was supposed to get reimbursements over a week ago, but they haven`t come yet. I don`t know what the problem is. So can you put some money in my account Mom. That would be great.
That`s it for this week. I hope you all have a good week. Be sure to share the gospel.
Les quiero,
Elder Jones
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Changes are here
Dear Family,
Changes are today. That`s why I didn`t write yesterday. I`m staying in my area. My new comp is Elder Price. We got to the mission together. He`s senior comp. I`m glad I`m getting a new comp. Elder Longfellow has some colorful language. It`ll be nice to not have to hear that all the time. It should be a good change.
Everyone sounds busy. How fun. I`m busy too so we`re all in the same boat. Good luck with all that work.
Irving has a new job? Where? When did that happen? How am I supposed to get cheap flights now? Hope the job goes well.
I`m glad Bro Harmon`s funeral went well. Is his family doing well? I hope so.
How`s school going for everyone? Anything new there? Weston you`re auditioning for some orchestra thing. Good luck with that.
I have no idea what to write. I hope this isn`t boring to read. If it is, I apologize. The further along I get the harder it is for me to know what to write about.
My ward should be having a baptism this change. Elisabet and Gabriel are progressing well. At our last lesson, Gabriel got teary. We read Alma 32 together. Verse 27 really touched him. It was really cool. Up until then, it seemed like he wasn`t really interested. It was mostly his wife, Elisabet. Once he read the Book of Mormon he changed. Preach My Gospel says that the Book of Mormon is key in our teaching. It has the power to convert people. I witnessed that first hand. Gabriel said he would go to church as well. He had never said that before. Unfortunately, they couldn`t go to church on Sunday. Some family or friends showed up. They called at 11 o`clock Saturday night. They`re sincere though. They really want to go. We just have to find a way to get them there. I know they`ll go though.
Two wards meet in our building. The missionaries in that ward and us planned a combined missionary activity for both wards. We planned it for this past Saturday. It was supposed to start at 7. The first and only person showed up at 7:30. She wasn`t even at church last Sunday to know about it. Someone told her. She left though. We left at 8. The members had a week to plan for it. I guess that wasn`t enough. We`re going to try it again in a few months.
I`m tying to send pictures, but this computer seems to be slow. I hope I can send a few at least.
I hope everyone has a good week. Talk to ya`ll next week.
Les quiero,
Elder Ethan Jones
Changes are today. That`s why I didn`t write yesterday. I`m staying in my area. My new comp is Elder Price. We got to the mission together. He`s senior comp. I`m glad I`m getting a new comp. Elder Longfellow has some colorful language. It`ll be nice to not have to hear that all the time. It should be a good change.
Everyone sounds busy. How fun. I`m busy too so we`re all in the same boat. Good luck with all that work.
Irving has a new job? Where? When did that happen? How am I supposed to get cheap flights now? Hope the job goes well.
I`m glad Bro Harmon`s funeral went well. Is his family doing well? I hope so.
How`s school going for everyone? Anything new there? Weston you`re auditioning for some orchestra thing. Good luck with that.
I have no idea what to write. I hope this isn`t boring to read. If it is, I apologize. The further along I get the harder it is for me to know what to write about.
My ward should be having a baptism this change. Elisabet and Gabriel are progressing well. At our last lesson, Gabriel got teary. We read Alma 32 together. Verse 27 really touched him. It was really cool. Up until then, it seemed like he wasn`t really interested. It was mostly his wife, Elisabet. Once he read the Book of Mormon he changed. Preach My Gospel says that the Book of Mormon is key in our teaching. It has the power to convert people. I witnessed that first hand. Gabriel said he would go to church as well. He had never said that before. Unfortunately, they couldn`t go to church on Sunday. Some family or friends showed up. They called at 11 o`clock Saturday night. They`re sincere though. They really want to go. We just have to find a way to get them there. I know they`ll go though.
Two wards meet in our building. The missionaries in that ward and us planned a combined missionary activity for both wards. We planned it for this past Saturday. It was supposed to start at 7. The first and only person showed up at 7:30. She wasn`t even at church last Sunday to know about it. Someone told her. She left though. We left at 8. The members had a week to plan for it. I guess that wasn`t enough. We`re going to try it again in a few months.
I`m tying to send pictures, but this computer seems to be slow. I hope I can send a few at least.
I hope everyone has a good week. Talk to ya`ll next week.
Les quiero,
Elder Ethan Jones
Monday, January 10, 2011
Saludos de Uruguay
Dear Family,
Wow, a lot happened back home. That is a huge shock about Bro. Harmon. He was a great man. I guess the Lord has other plans for him. I hope his family is doing well. It`s nice to know that death isn`t the end though. I`m sure it still hurts, but we know that we can live with our families forever. I`m sure that takes away part of the pain. I`ll be praying for them.
What else? Matt Garner is coming to my mission. Jenny are you sure it`s Montevideo West and not Montevideo? That would be awesome if I trained him. If any of you see Matt, tell him he`s coming to a great place.
Happy Birthday to Kayli. Six already. Yes mom, that does make me feel old. Oh well.
The mission is going well. Yesterday, we had a lady walk up to us asking for money. She was drunk. She said, "I`m 35. I drink, and I smoke. I have a problem." Yes you do," I thought. Then she asked us for money. She put her hand on my waist also. Then she asked us for our wallets. There was nothing she could have done though. She was wasted. Elder Longfellow shook her hand and then I did, but she didn`t let go of mine. She tried squeezing it. I thought, "Really? I guarentee that I can squeeze harder." It was weird. Anyways I pulled my hand away and we walked away. She left and continued asking people for money. Great experiences. Haha.
Yesterday was a difficult day. It was one of those days when we felt like we were walking around aimlessly. We ended up getting home a half hour early because Elder Longfellow`s feet hurt. That always one of the hardest things to do: keeping your day full. I hope this week is better.
Jenny don`t be mad at me. I tried sending pictures, but my computer is too slow. I promise to send some next week. Cross my heart and hope to die.
I hope you all have a good week.
Les quiero,
Elder Jones
Wow, a lot happened back home. That is a huge shock about Bro. Harmon. He was a great man. I guess the Lord has other plans for him. I hope his family is doing well. It`s nice to know that death isn`t the end though. I`m sure it still hurts, but we know that we can live with our families forever. I`m sure that takes away part of the pain. I`ll be praying for them.
What else? Matt Garner is coming to my mission. Jenny are you sure it`s Montevideo West and not Montevideo? That would be awesome if I trained him. If any of you see Matt, tell him he`s coming to a great place.
Happy Birthday to Kayli. Six already. Yes mom, that does make me feel old. Oh well.
The mission is going well. Yesterday, we had a lady walk up to us asking for money. She was drunk. She said, "I`m 35. I drink, and I smoke. I have a problem." Yes you do," I thought. Then she asked us for money. She put her hand on my waist also. Then she asked us for our wallets. There was nothing she could have done though. She was wasted. Elder Longfellow shook her hand and then I did, but she didn`t let go of mine. She tried squeezing it. I thought, "Really? I guarentee that I can squeeze harder." It was weird. Anyways I pulled my hand away and we walked away. She left and continued asking people for money. Great experiences. Haha.
Yesterday was a difficult day. It was one of those days when we felt like we were walking around aimlessly. We ended up getting home a half hour early because Elder Longfellow`s feet hurt. That always one of the hardest things to do: keeping your day full. I hope this week is better.
Jenny don`t be mad at me. I tried sending pictures, but my computer is too slow. I promise to send some next week. Cross my heart and hope to die.
I hope you all have a good week.
Les quiero,
Elder Jones
Monday, January 3, 2011
Just a Little Bit
Dear Everyone,
It`s Monday. Elder Longfellow is writing to his family today. He didn`t get any emails on Saturday so he wanted to write today. Since I always have to be with my comp I decided to write a little bit.
A lot is happening back in Mesa . If anyone sees Elliot, tell him congrats. Marilee is engaged. Rock on. I knew Jordan and Calvin got home. I can`t believe they`re already done. I remember when they left. Time flies. Brittney Turley got married as well. Bishop and Sister Turley might be empty-nesters pretty soon. And of course the Eagle. Congrats Weston. One left Mom. Almost there.
Yesterday was alright. Elizabeth didn`t go to church. We went to her house but no one answered. That always happens. We visited her last night though. She and her husband(I think they`re married) went out of town or something like that for New Year stuff. We had a good lesson.
That`s all though. Next week, everything will be back to normal. I`ll write next Monday. Have a good week everyone. "Que la fuerza les acompañe".
Les quiero,
Elder Ethan Jones
P.S. I almost forgot. Can you send me your snicker doodle recipe Mom? This is a matter of life or death. My comp and I are craving them. We have a perfectly good oven but nothing to bake. I would be very grateful if you did this. Gracias.
It`s Monday. Elder Longfellow is writing to his family today. He didn`t get any emails on Saturday so he wanted to write today. Since I always have to be with my comp I decided to write a little bit.
A lot is happening back in Mesa . If anyone sees Elliot, tell him congrats. Marilee is engaged. Rock on. I knew Jordan and Calvin got home. I can`t believe they`re already done. I remember when they left. Time flies. Brittney Turley got married as well. Bishop and Sister Turley might be empty-nesters pretty soon. And of course the Eagle. Congrats Weston. One left Mom. Almost there.
Yesterday was alright. Elizabeth didn`t go to church. We went to her house but no one answered. That always happens. We visited her last night though. She and her husband(I think they`re married) went out of town or something like that for New Year stuff. We had a good lesson.
That`s all though. Next week, everything will be back to normal. I`ll write next Monday. Have a good week everyone. "Que la fuerza les acompañe".
Les quiero,
Elder Ethan Jones
P.S. I almost forgot. Can you send me your snicker doodle recipe Mom? This is a matter of life or death. My comp and I are craving them. We have a perfectly good oven but nothing to bake. I would be very grateful if you did this. Gracias.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!
Dear Family,
So this is the first email of 2011. WOW! How was New Year`s Eve? Who
went to the annual party? Mine was good. We had permission to be out
until 10:30 last night. A family invited us over for dinner. The dad
is awesome. He speaks a little english so he loves talking with us.
Just before midnight, we got on our roof to watch fireworks. I had my
watch so I was able to do the countdown. I got it all on video. The
fireworks were great. It sounded like a battle; the same as Christmas
Eve. We ended up sleeping on the roof. It felt great outside. We put
our mattresses up there. It took a while for me to fall asleep because
people were still shooting off fireworks. I slept good though. I
actually had to use a blanket. We slept until about 9. Today is our
day to catch up on sleep. Our bishop invited us over for lunch. It was
fun to hang out with his family. They`re really cool. After that, we
took a nice, "little" walk. We didn`t want to stay in our house all
day today so we decided to go hang out with two other elders. We had
to walk a few miles to hang out with them. All the public
transportation is closed today, except for the taxis, but they`re too
expensive. It took us almost two hours to get there. The other elders
weren`t even there when we got there so we ended up walking through
old town. It was completely dead. We ran into a missionary from the
other mission who is going home. He`s touring with his parents for a
few days. They`re from Sterling, Canada. After that we ran into the
other two elders, and now I`m here writing to you all. I don`t know
what`s going to happen tonight. We have an all-day pday. We`ll see
what happens.
The work is good. Elizabeth is going to church tomorrow. She is
defenitely getting baptized. I`m really excited about that. We have
some other investigators still. We haven`t seen them for a while so
we`ll what happens with them. That`s the update.
I hope you all have a good year. Make it a good one. My next pday in
January 10th. After that, they`ll be back to normal. Until then...
Les quiero,
Elder Ethan Jones
So this is the first email of 2011. WOW! How was New Year`s Eve? Who
went to the annual party? Mine was good. We had permission to be out
until 10:30 last night. A family invited us over for dinner. The dad
is awesome. He speaks a little english so he loves talking with us.
Just before midnight, we got on our roof to watch fireworks. I had my
watch so I was able to do the countdown. I got it all on video. The
fireworks were great. It sounded like a battle; the same as Christmas
Eve. We ended up sleeping on the roof. It felt great outside. We put
our mattresses up there. It took a while for me to fall asleep because
people were still shooting off fireworks. I slept good though. I
actually had to use a blanket. We slept until about 9. Today is our
day to catch up on sleep. Our bishop invited us over for lunch. It was
fun to hang out with his family. They`re really cool. After that, we
took a nice, "little" walk. We didn`t want to stay in our house all
day today so we decided to go hang out with two other elders. We had
to walk a few miles to hang out with them. All the public
transportation is closed today, except for the taxis, but they`re too
expensive. It took us almost two hours to get there. The other elders
weren`t even there when we got there so we ended up walking through
old town. It was completely dead. We ran into a missionary from the
other mission who is going home. He`s touring with his parents for a
few days. They`re from Sterling, Canada. After that we ran into the
other two elders, and now I`m here writing to you all. I don`t know
what`s going to happen tonight. We have an all-day pday. We`ll see
what happens.
The work is good. Elizabeth is going to church tomorrow. She is
defenitely getting baptized. I`m really excited about that. We have
some other investigators still. We haven`t seen them for a while so
we`ll what happens with them. That`s the update.
I hope you all have a good year. Make it a good one. My next pday in
January 10th. After that, they`ll be back to normal. Until then...
Les quiero,
Elder Ethan Jones
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)