Dear Family,
First off about the suit. What happened is my pants faded and no longer match the coat. I guess I washed them too many times. One pair looks alright still so I`m going to get that pair dry cleaned to see how it looks after. I think it`ll be fine for now. If I feel that I need a new suit, there is one I can buy for 90 bucks. It`s a good suit too. I`ll let you know after I get my pants dry cleaned.
Now about the calling. I`ll be calling about 6:30 Uruguay time. I think it`s a four hour difference. You might want to check that. If that doesn`t work, I`ll figure something out. I want to make sure that this call is less than an hour. Maybe I can talk on speaker phone or something like that. We`ll figure that all out next week. As always though, I`ll call to give you the number and then you`ll call me back.
Do any of you know if Water Mart got the letter and picture I sent? I sent them almost two months ago. Can someone make sure because if they didn`t make it, I`m going to send another one.
The work is well here in Barrio Obelisco. Our investigator Brisa got baptized last night. I`m sending a picture so you can see. It was a really good service. There were a lot of members to support her. She asked me to baptize her. The water was pretty cold. When Brisa stepped in, she had a look of shock. I think the Spirit made up for it though. Her family is on the way to becoming an eternal family. Her parents are both members but inactive. I didn`t see it, but Elder Barton told me her dad was crying during most of the service. It was great. I don`t think I can say that enough. The other two Elders in this ward had a baptism on Friday so this ward is doing pretty well right now. To make it better, we found a really good investigator last week. Her name is Juliana. The lsson with her was great. When we were explaing the challenge of the BOM, she had some good questions. Every question was answered by telling her to do one of the three steps of the invitation. We have a follow up visit with her tomorrow and my comp and I are really looking forward to it. Other than her we`re struggling to find investigators right now. Luckily, all of the missionaries in my zone will be working in our area for a few hours tomorrow so that should really help.
Easter here was alright. Last week was one big holiday. Surprisingly it wasn`t as bad as thought it would be. We had a pretty good lunch yesterday. We had an endless supply of milanesas and rice. We had cake and pudding for dessert. I was quite content. Your Easter sounded good. No Jello eggs but that`s alright. Next year.
I think that`s it for now. I hope you all have a good week. Talk to you all next week.
Love,
Elder Jones
Saturday, April 30, 2011
To Everyone
Dear Everyone,
How`s everyone doing? Are the taxes all done yet? Are you exausted yet dad? Probably. I`m exausted, and I`m going to be exausted until I finish the mission, but that`s the name of the game. The Easter Pageant is this week. Next year I can see it again. I`ll see it at least twice next year: once in English and once in Spanish. Are you a pageant warrior again Nathan? Maybe I`ll do that next year. The Easter Pageant is something I really do miss. I always get the chills at the end. What a great way to remember the Savior. I think that, after serving the Lord for two years, it will mean a lot more to me. The Easter season means a lot more to me now as well.
Speaking of Easter, I do have something I want you say in your lesson. Read 2 Nephi 2: 6-8 and then tell the young women that we really do have a big responsibility. Everyone in the world needs to know what we know; salvation only comes through Christ. This time of the year is a great time to remember our Savior and Redeemer. One of the best ways to thank Him and honor Him is share this message of gladness with everyone. Read D&C 24:12 as well. It will help them get over the fear of sharing the gospel. That`s all.
Jason and Matt are about ready to go. What were their talks about? Who spoke with them? I need to write Jason a letter. I`ll most likely see Matt here so he doesn`t need a letter. Tell Jason felicitaciones and to work hard. The mission goes by too quick to not work hard. I`ll tell Matt that when he gets here.
We had ward conference yesterday and it was great. Presidente Tambucho dropped major cane. It was great. This ward needed it. In the combined relief society/ priesthood meeting he talked about why we don`t have a bishop. He straight-up asked the members if they were praying and fasting for a new bishop. About five people raised their hands. Presidente Tambucho told them to keep praying and fasting. He also told them to pay their tithing. I think it was a big eye-opener for the members. Hopefully they`ll start doing those things. For now we`ll get along without a bishop.
This week we should be having the baptism of Brisa. She`s really excited. We met with her last night and had a good lesson. The lesson, however, wasn`t really aimed at her. It was aimed more at her aunt. We talked about prayer which something that everyone needs to hear. Her aunt says she doesn`t believe in God because He didn`t answer her prayer. She prayed that he would heal her grandma, but He didn`t and she died. I had no idea what to say so I just started talking about what I knew. We read Mosiah 4:9-10 together. We told her that God knows everything. He needed her grandma for some reason. We told her that maybe we were the answer to that prayer. We showed to teach her the Plan of Salvation and to tell her that she would see her grandma again. We told her that it`s her choice to believe and that if she does she will find comfort. We gave her a Book of Mormon at the end. She didn`t commit to read it but she did keep it. One day, the seed we planted will sprout and she will have the desire to be taught more. It was a really cool experience. We all felt the Spirit. I think the girl even felt it but wont admit it. It`s experiences like that make the mission worth it.
Before I forget, tell the Smiths that I`ll be praying for them. If any of you see Joylin, say thanks to her for her example. She is a great example of patience and love to me.
That`s it for this week. I hope you all have a good week. This week will be slow for us because of Easter. It`s the Holy Week here and it`s very popular. I`ll let you all know how it goes. Until next week...
Love,
Elder Jones
How`s everyone doing? Are the taxes all done yet? Are you exausted yet dad? Probably. I`m exausted, and I`m going to be exausted until I finish the mission, but that`s the name of the game. The Easter Pageant is this week. Next year I can see it again. I`ll see it at least twice next year: once in English and once in Spanish. Are you a pageant warrior again Nathan? Maybe I`ll do that next year. The Easter Pageant is something I really do miss. I always get the chills at the end. What a great way to remember the Savior. I think that, after serving the Lord for two years, it will mean a lot more to me. The Easter season means a lot more to me now as well.
Speaking of Easter, I do have something I want you say in your lesson. Read 2 Nephi 2: 6-8 and then tell the young women that we really do have a big responsibility. Everyone in the world needs to know what we know; salvation only comes through Christ. This time of the year is a great time to remember our Savior and Redeemer. One of the best ways to thank Him and honor Him is share this message of gladness with everyone. Read D&C 24:12 as well. It will help them get over the fear of sharing the gospel. That`s all.
Jason and Matt are about ready to go. What were their talks about? Who spoke with them? I need to write Jason a letter. I`ll most likely see Matt here so he doesn`t need a letter. Tell Jason felicitaciones and to work hard. The mission goes by too quick to not work hard. I`ll tell Matt that when he gets here.
We had ward conference yesterday and it was great. Presidente Tambucho dropped major cane. It was great. This ward needed it. In the combined relief society/ priesthood meeting he talked about why we don`t have a bishop. He straight-up asked the members if they were praying and fasting for a new bishop. About five people raised their hands. Presidente Tambucho told them to keep praying and fasting. He also told them to pay their tithing. I think it was a big eye-opener for the members. Hopefully they`ll start doing those things. For now we`ll get along without a bishop.
This week we should be having the baptism of Brisa. She`s really excited. We met with her last night and had a good lesson. The lesson, however, wasn`t really aimed at her. It was aimed more at her aunt. We talked about prayer which something that everyone needs to hear. Her aunt says she doesn`t believe in God because He didn`t answer her prayer. She prayed that he would heal her grandma, but He didn`t and she died. I had no idea what to say so I just started talking about what I knew. We read Mosiah 4:9-10 together. We told her that God knows everything. He needed her grandma for some reason. We told her that maybe we were the answer to that prayer. We showed to teach her the Plan of Salvation and to tell her that she would see her grandma again. We told her that it`s her choice to believe and that if she does she will find comfort. We gave her a Book of Mormon at the end. She didn`t commit to read it but she did keep it. One day, the seed we planted will sprout and she will have the desire to be taught more. It was a really cool experience. We all felt the Spirit. I think the girl even felt it but wont admit it. It`s experiences like that make the mission worth it.
Before I forget, tell the Smiths that I`ll be praying for them. If any of you see Joylin, say thanks to her for her example. She is a great example of patience and love to me.
That`s it for this week. I hope you all have a good week. This week will be slow for us because of Easter. It`s the Holy Week here and it`s very popular. I`ll let you all know how it goes. Until next week...
Love,
Elder Jones
New Change
Dear Family,
Today are changes. I`m staying here in Salto. My new comp is Elder Barton. I have no idea who he is. He`s relatively new in the mission. I`m senior comp. The mantle of the senior companion has fallen on me. It will be fun. The big group is now here. They got here this morning. They`re going to meet their trainers tomorrow. As far as I know President found a place for all of them. We were going to get more missionaries here in Salto, but now we`re not. That`s the update there.
Our investigators are doing well. Brisa is getting baptized next week. I think this is really helping her mom, grandma, and aunt to get reactivated. Her mom is already telling her that she needs to start getting ready for he rmission. Her decision to get baptized has ha a big impact on her family. That makes me happy. The gospel is changing them. We have a few other investigators who have committed to be baptized. We just have to get them to church now. We found one man yesterday named Aldo. He lives pretty far away. It`s a good half hour walk to his house from our house. It was worth it though. He accepted to be baptized on May 6th. The Lord is helping us. There are people in this area who are ready. I always pray that we can find them and we are. It`s great being part of the Lord`s work.
We have ward conference this Sunday. We`re all hoping that we get a bishop. This ward has been bishopless for over a year now. I`m not sure what the stake president is doing but I hope he calls one because we need one. The missionary work in this ward could be a lot better if we had one. Right now the counselors and the high councilman assigned to our ward are in charge. The bottom line is that we need one bad.
To answer your question mom, yes there are sisters in this mission. There are about twenty. There are four here in Salto. They`re pretty cool but Elders, of course, are better. That goes without saying. Haha.
Mother`s Day is this change which means you all get to hear my wonderful voice. What an honor for you all. I`m not sure yet how it will work but next week I`ll give you some information about it. Mother`s Day is May 8th right?
I do have a little problem with my suit. My coat doesn`t match my pants. I`m going to dry clean them and see if that helps. If not I may get a new one. There is one here for 90 bucks. I also might have you send me a new pair of pants. I`ll let you know how that turns out.
That`s it for now. Sorry it`s a short, boring letter, but at least you know what`s going on down here. Everyone have a good week. Enjoy school, the last week of tax season and all that good stuff.
Love,
Elder Jones
Today are changes. I`m staying here in Salto. My new comp is Elder Barton. I have no idea who he is. He`s relatively new in the mission. I`m senior comp. The mantle of the senior companion has fallen on me. It will be fun. The big group is now here. They got here this morning. They`re going to meet their trainers tomorrow. As far as I know President found a place for all of them. We were going to get more missionaries here in Salto, but now we`re not. That`s the update there.
Our investigators are doing well. Brisa is getting baptized next week. I think this is really helping her mom, grandma, and aunt to get reactivated. Her mom is already telling her that she needs to start getting ready for he rmission. Her decision to get baptized has ha a big impact on her family. That makes me happy. The gospel is changing them. We have a few other investigators who have committed to be baptized. We just have to get them to church now. We found one man yesterday named Aldo. He lives pretty far away. It`s a good half hour walk to his house from our house. It was worth it though. He accepted to be baptized on May 6th. The Lord is helping us. There are people in this area who are ready. I always pray that we can find them and we are. It`s great being part of the Lord`s work.
We have ward conference this Sunday. We`re all hoping that we get a bishop. This ward has been bishopless for over a year now. I`m not sure what the stake president is doing but I hope he calls one because we need one. The missionary work in this ward could be a lot better if we had one. Right now the counselors and the high councilman assigned to our ward are in charge. The bottom line is that we need one bad.
To answer your question mom, yes there are sisters in this mission. There are about twenty. There are four here in Salto. They`re pretty cool but Elders, of course, are better. That goes without saying. Haha.
Mother`s Day is this change which means you all get to hear my wonderful voice. What an honor for you all. I`m not sure yet how it will work but next week I`ll give you some information about it. Mother`s Day is May 8th right?
I do have a little problem with my suit. My coat doesn`t match my pants. I`m going to dry clean them and see if that helps. If not I may get a new one. There is one here for 90 bucks. I also might have you send me a new pair of pants. I`ll let you know how that turns out.
That`s it for now. Sorry it`s a short, boring letter, but at least you know what`s going on down here. Everyone have a good week. Enjoy school, the last week of tax season and all that good stuff.
Love,
Elder Jones
ME ENCANTA LA CONFERENCIA GENERAL
Dear Family,
Before I forget to answer your mom, as I usually do, Matt Garner is not in the big group that`s coming. The big group will get here next Tuesday. Since Matt Garner is reporting to the MTC in May, he won`t get to Uruguay unitl July. Now you know. By the way, I have a funny story about that has to do with the big group coming. As you all know, last Friday was April Fool`s Day. To celebrate, our zone leader pulled a pretty good prank on my comp. He called the two other missionaries in my house and I pretending to be Presidente Heaton. He told the three of us that we were all going to train. Elder Siegel, my comp, was so mad. He didn`t say anything, but you could see it on his face. He went to bed right after that. Later that night, he got up to read his patriarchal blessing. Elder Watson was up and decided to tell him that it was a joke because apparently it really affected him. I think you could say that we got him good.
So moving on. How about General Conference? Good everything as usual. Uruguay was represented well by Elder Gonzàlez. He`ll be the next apostle. Conference here gets watched in the stake centers. Of course we go there too. The cool thing is that we Americans have our own room to watch conference in English. We watched the Priesthood session last night because it didn`t start until 9 Saturday night due to the time change. It was recorded for us so we could watch it. It was in Spanish but that`s alright. By the way, I don`t know if any of you knew this but Elder Scott records his own talk in Spanish. I listened to part of it because I had never listened to it before. He speaks really well. Thought you might want to know. I`m really excited to get the Liahona now. I can`t wait to read those talks again. One other question. Are we related to Elder Pratt because he`s related to the Whettens? Just curious.
This is the last week of the change. My eleventh change is gone. Wow! I`m pretty excited to see what happens next change. President has a lot of changes to make. I`m really interested to see what he does.
Last Monday night I dedicated a house for the first time. That was a cool experience. The owners of the house are named Juana and Julio. They were a referral from an older couple in the ward. We visited them last Monday night for the first time and we found out really quick that Juana had some issues. Up until last Monday, she saw spirits in her house. Julio, her husband doesn`t see them. She describes them as realy ugly old people. How interesting! Some lady cursed her house three years ago and she`s been living with this problem ever since. Up until last Monday, she couldn`t sleep at all because these spirtis were always bugging her. We believed her because of the way she said it. I had no idea what to do. Luckily Elder Siegel listened to the Spirit and decided to dedicate the house. Juana and Julio asked me to do it. I`m not going to lie, I was a little nervous because I had no idea what to say. I just started praying and said what came into my mind. I asked Heavenly Father that He take ways the Spirits. At the end of the prayer Juana was quite cheerful. We could see hopw in her eyes. Elder Siegel told her that if she doesn`t think about the spirits, they wouldn`t come back. We went back again last Wednesday to see how she was. She was great. She was happy and cheerful. She told us that she was sleeping at night and that no spirits were coming in. She said that she saw a few outside that tried to get in, but as soon as they got to the gate, they turned and ran away. She and Julio both accepted to be baptized on April 29th. That was a testimony builder for me. The priesthood is defenitely real. We can use it to help anyone`s life. That was, by far, one of the coolest experiences I`ve had on the mission.
Felicitaciones Cameron. You did great. I bet it was way cool to be in the state geography bee. What an accomplishment. Give yourself a big pat on the back. By the way home, did you find parking? I`m guessing you did because you didn`t say that you didn`t. Lucky you.
I guess that`s good enough for this. Tune in next week. I hope you all have a good week. Until next week...
Love,
Elder Jones
Before I forget to answer your mom, as I usually do, Matt Garner is not in the big group that`s coming. The big group will get here next Tuesday. Since Matt Garner is reporting to the MTC in May, he won`t get to Uruguay unitl July. Now you know. By the way, I have a funny story about that has to do with the big group coming. As you all know, last Friday was April Fool`s Day. To celebrate, our zone leader pulled a pretty good prank on my comp. He called the two other missionaries in my house and I pretending to be Presidente Heaton. He told the three of us that we were all going to train. Elder Siegel, my comp, was so mad. He didn`t say anything, but you could see it on his face. He went to bed right after that. Later that night, he got up to read his patriarchal blessing. Elder Watson was up and decided to tell him that it was a joke because apparently it really affected him. I think you could say that we got him good.
So moving on. How about General Conference? Good everything as usual. Uruguay was represented well by Elder Gonzàlez. He`ll be the next apostle. Conference here gets watched in the stake centers. Of course we go there too. The cool thing is that we Americans have our own room to watch conference in English. We watched the Priesthood session last night because it didn`t start until 9 Saturday night due to the time change. It was recorded for us so we could watch it. It was in Spanish but that`s alright. By the way, I don`t know if any of you knew this but Elder Scott records his own talk in Spanish. I listened to part of it because I had never listened to it before. He speaks really well. Thought you might want to know. I`m really excited to get the Liahona now. I can`t wait to read those talks again. One other question. Are we related to Elder Pratt because he`s related to the Whettens? Just curious.
This is the last week of the change. My eleventh change is gone. Wow! I`m pretty excited to see what happens next change. President has a lot of changes to make. I`m really interested to see what he does.
Last Monday night I dedicated a house for the first time. That was a cool experience. The owners of the house are named Juana and Julio. They were a referral from an older couple in the ward. We visited them last Monday night for the first time and we found out really quick that Juana had some issues. Up until last Monday, she saw spirits in her house. Julio, her husband doesn`t see them. She describes them as realy ugly old people. How interesting! Some lady cursed her house three years ago and she`s been living with this problem ever since. Up until last Monday, she couldn`t sleep at all because these spirtis were always bugging her. We believed her because of the way she said it. I had no idea what to do. Luckily Elder Siegel listened to the Spirit and decided to dedicate the house. Juana and Julio asked me to do it. I`m not going to lie, I was a little nervous because I had no idea what to say. I just started praying and said what came into my mind. I asked Heavenly Father that He take ways the Spirits. At the end of the prayer Juana was quite cheerful. We could see hopw in her eyes. Elder Siegel told her that if she doesn`t think about the spirits, they wouldn`t come back. We went back again last Wednesday to see how she was. She was great. She was happy and cheerful. She told us that she was sleeping at night and that no spirits were coming in. She said that she saw a few outside that tried to get in, but as soon as they got to the gate, they turned and ran away. She and Julio both accepted to be baptized on April 29th. That was a testimony builder for me. The priesthood is defenitely real. We can use it to help anyone`s life. That was, by far, one of the coolest experiences I`ve had on the mission.
Felicitaciones Cameron. You did great. I bet it was way cool to be in the state geography bee. What an accomplishment. Give yourself a big pat on the back. By the way home, did you find parking? I`m guessing you did because you didn`t say that you didn`t. Lucky you.
I guess that`s good enough for this. Tune in next week. I hope you all have a good week. Until next week...
Love,
Elder Jones
Gavin is here. Yay!
Dear Family,
Well Jenny you had a fun weekend. I`m glad I didn`t have to go through that. It looks like it was worth it though. Gavin is a cutie and you look exausted. Get some rest. Thanks for the pictures. If he was born at 9:30 yesterday that means that I was at lunch enjoying some baked chicken. It was quite tasty by the way. Congratulations Jenny and Paul. Have fun.
I got the package last week. Gracias. That key chain is way cool. A lot of the missionaries in my zone were pretty impressed. I guess that was the key chain that customs took from me last year. Those naughty people. Oh well. Now I have it and that`s all that matters. The oil vial is a lot better that my old one. I used for the first time two days later to help bless a member that was having surgery the next day. The Red Vines were gone really quick. They were quite delicious. I like the calendar. It looks great. Now I can finally know the date. Haha. My card is activated. The lady that helped me had to ask me some identity questions because I didn`t know my account number. Ut all worked out though. I`m good to go now.
What`s new here? We found out last week that Salt Lake made a tiny, little mess up. Actually it`s a big one. In nine weeks, about 30 missionaries will be going home. Of course to make up for it, a lot of missionaries were called here. The only problem is that they get here in three weeks instead of nine. Salt Lake got the dates mixed up and sent them a change early. Presidente Heaton now has to figure out where to put them all. All of the houses are already full as well as the areas. He has no idea what to do. He even called Salt Lake to ask if they could stay in hotels until they found houses for them. Salt Lake said no. Now he`s trying to see if we can make some six elder houses. I think he`s thinking about putting anothre companionship in my house. They`re are four of us already and that is too many. If that happens, the ward we share will now be split into three areas and they`ll be really small. I`m really interested to see what Presidente Heaton does.
Presidente and Hermana Heaton are really cracking down on obedience. Last week at interviews, Hermana Heaton told us all what kind of music we`re aloud to listen to and stuff like that. I`m cool with it. It needs to happen. Unfortunately, the missionary I live with don`t seem to care too much. The music in our house isn`t terrible, but it`s probably not appropiate for missonaries. I hope that next change, I`ll live with some missionaries that want to be more obedient. It`s a lot easier to be obedient when everyone else in your apartment wants to as well.
I got my shoe fixed last week. I picked it up today. It looks a lot better now. The good part was that it was cheap. It was four bucks. I want to make my shoes last. I do not want to buy new ones because that`s just a waste of money. They should last seven more months.
I met a little boy last week with my name. It`s spelled different but sounds the same. That`s the first time that`s happened. Thought you might like to know.
So April is practically here. ¡WOW! Where is the year going. School will be out soon. Any plans yet for the summer? While you are all dying from heat, I`ll be trying to stay warm. I actually had to pull out my sleeping bag a few days ago because the nights are getting pretty chilly. I probably won`t be putting it away for the next few months. How`s the weather there? Is it warming up yet or is it still pretty nice? At least it`s not humid there. I don`t like humidity.
I`m writing a little note to Matt Garner so can you forward it to him mom? I have to tell him about some things to bring.
There`s nothing more to report. The mission continues. I love it here. Thanks for the scripture dad. That`s a good one. I`m always trying to be more obedient and serve with more dedication. Thanks for the prayers and support. Have a great week everyone.
Well Jenny you had a fun weekend. I`m glad I didn`t have to go through that. It looks like it was worth it though. Gavin is a cutie and you look exausted. Get some rest. Thanks for the pictures. If he was born at 9:30 yesterday that means that I was at lunch enjoying some baked chicken. It was quite tasty by the way. Congratulations Jenny and Paul. Have fun.
I got the package last week. Gracias. That key chain is way cool. A lot of the missionaries in my zone were pretty impressed. I guess that was the key chain that customs took from me last year. Those naughty people. Oh well. Now I have it and that`s all that matters. The oil vial is a lot better that my old one. I used for the first time two days later to help bless a member that was having surgery the next day. The Red Vines were gone really quick. They were quite delicious. I like the calendar. It looks great. Now I can finally know the date. Haha. My card is activated. The lady that helped me had to ask me some identity questions because I didn`t know my account number. Ut all worked out though. I`m good to go now.
What`s new here? We found out last week that Salt Lake made a tiny, little mess up. Actually it`s a big one. In nine weeks, about 30 missionaries will be going home. Of course to make up for it, a lot of missionaries were called here. The only problem is that they get here in three weeks instead of nine. Salt Lake got the dates mixed up and sent them a change early. Presidente Heaton now has to figure out where to put them all. All of the houses are already full as well as the areas. He has no idea what to do. He even called Salt Lake to ask if they could stay in hotels until they found houses for them. Salt Lake said no. Now he`s trying to see if we can make some six elder houses. I think he`s thinking about putting anothre companionship in my house. They`re are four of us already and that is too many. If that happens, the ward we share will now be split into three areas and they`ll be really small. I`m really interested to see what Presidente Heaton does.
Presidente and Hermana Heaton are really cracking down on obedience. Last week at interviews, Hermana Heaton told us all what kind of music we`re aloud to listen to and stuff like that. I`m cool with it. It needs to happen. Unfortunately, the missionary I live with don`t seem to care too much. The music in our house isn`t terrible, but it`s probably not appropiate for missonaries. I hope that next change, I`ll live with some missionaries that want to be more obedient. It`s a lot easier to be obedient when everyone else in your apartment wants to as well.
I got my shoe fixed last week. I picked it up today. It looks a lot better now. The good part was that it was cheap. It was four bucks. I want to make my shoes last. I do not want to buy new ones because that`s just a waste of money. They should last seven more months.
I met a little boy last week with my name. It`s spelled different but sounds the same. That`s the first time that`s happened. Thought you might like to know.
So April is practically here. ¡WOW! Where is the year going. School will be out soon. Any plans yet for the summer? While you are all dying from heat, I`ll be trying to stay warm. I actually had to pull out my sleeping bag a few days ago because the nights are getting pretty chilly. I probably won`t be putting it away for the next few months. How`s the weather there? Is it warming up yet or is it still pretty nice? At least it`s not humid there. I don`t like humidity.
I`m writing a little note to Matt Garner so can you forward it to him mom? I have to tell him about some things to bring.
There`s nothing more to report. The mission continues. I love it here. Thanks for the scripture dad. That`s a good one. I`m always trying to be more obedient and serve with more dedication. Thanks for the prayers and support. Have a great week everyone.
Dear Family,
Well first off I want to tell you all about a pretty neat experience I had. I always carry a copy of the Book of Mormon with me and a few pamphlets. I started doing that after my change with Elder Price. He always did that and I realized that I need to do that. Most missionaries don`t do that. Some of the missionaries actually think I`m kind of weird for doing it. Last week I saw the reason for it. We had a sports night at the church and afterwards we had to go to the store. I didn`t carry my proselyting bag with me because it was almost time to be home, but I did have the Book of Mormon. At the checkout, my comp started talking with the cashier. It turns out that my comp and his former comp had given her a pamphlet a while ago. Anyways something happened to it and she needed another one. We ended up giving her that pamphlet as well as the Book of Mormon. It was a really neat experience. It taught me that I need to always be prepared because I never know when the Lord is going ot put someone in my path. That was the cool story of the week. Oh and by the way, we started teaching a little girl last week who wants to get baptized. Her name is Brisa. I told her and her family that my niece has the same name and they were pretty surprised. Apparently Brisa isn`t a very common name in the states. Who knew? That`s the second Brisa I`ve met on my mission. We also found a new investigator namer Irma. What a small world. Everyone has the same name as the Tryons.
Yesterday I gave another talk. That makes seven for me since I started. Before the mission, I always got nervous about giving talks, but now it`s no biggy. Before I always had a hard time trying to take up all the time. Now I have to cut some stuff out. Hmmm. Whatever! So my talk was about missionary work as always. I decided to address the topic of being an example of the believers. I told everyone that being an example is one of the best ways to share the gospel. People will see the difference the gospel makes in our lives and they will ask questions. I used Elder Nelson´s talk from last October`s conference. I gave almost the exact same talk in my last ward, but I thought this ward could benefit from it too. The funny thing about giving a talk was that I`m the newest missionary in this ward. The other three hav all been here for at least three months and none of them have given talks yet. It`s alright though because I enjoy giving talks.
Today I`m going to see if I can have someone sew my shoe. It`s got a pretty nice rip in it, but I don`t want to get rid of it though because the sole is still good. I hope they can get fixed because I want my two pairs to last me until the end. I don`t want to buy new ones.
I haven`t received the package yet. I imagine I`ll get it tomorrow at district meeting. We get our mail once a week at district meeting. Thanks for sending it. What else? Were the cinnamon rolls delicious? Sorry that`s a stupid question; of course they were. Now you don`t have to do that for another year mom. Lucky you.
What did you eat for the dinner with Elder Rasband and Elder Gibson? Where is President Speakman`s daughter serving. I know she was getting ready to leave when I left.
This week should be the big week. Maybe Gavin is already born. Hope fully he gets here soon because I need to see some pictures of him. Why don`t you stop meesing around Jenny and get it over with. Just kidding. I guess he`ll come when he wants to come.
This is for Cameron. You didn`t know what the Death Star was? Where did you grow up? That`s common knowledge or at leats I thought it was. At least you know what it is now. Do you who Yoda is? I hope so. If not, you have some things to learn. Apart from that, congrats on making it to the state geography bee. I think you`ll make it to the finals and the last question will be about Uruguay. Luckily you just did a report on it so you`ll know the answer. I hope you do well.
Alright that`s it for now. I`m just about out of time. I still have to write to president. Ya`ll have a good week.
Love,
Elder Jones
Well first off I want to tell you all about a pretty neat experience I had. I always carry a copy of the Book of Mormon with me and a few pamphlets. I started doing that after my change with Elder Price. He always did that and I realized that I need to do that. Most missionaries don`t do that. Some of the missionaries actually think I`m kind of weird for doing it. Last week I saw the reason for it. We had a sports night at the church and afterwards we had to go to the store. I didn`t carry my proselyting bag with me because it was almost time to be home, but I did have the Book of Mormon. At the checkout, my comp started talking with the cashier. It turns out that my comp and his former comp had given her a pamphlet a while ago. Anyways something happened to it and she needed another one. We ended up giving her that pamphlet as well as the Book of Mormon. It was a really neat experience. It taught me that I need to always be prepared because I never know when the Lord is going ot put someone in my path. That was the cool story of the week. Oh and by the way, we started teaching a little girl last week who wants to get baptized. Her name is Brisa. I told her and her family that my niece has the same name and they were pretty surprised. Apparently Brisa isn`t a very common name in the states. Who knew? That`s the second Brisa I`ve met on my mission. We also found a new investigator namer Irma. What a small world. Everyone has the same name as the Tryons.
Yesterday I gave another talk. That makes seven for me since I started. Before the mission, I always got nervous about giving talks, but now it`s no biggy. Before I always had a hard time trying to take up all the time. Now I have to cut some stuff out. Hmmm. Whatever! So my talk was about missionary work as always. I decided to address the topic of being an example of the believers. I told everyone that being an example is one of the best ways to share the gospel. People will see the difference the gospel makes in our lives and they will ask questions. I used Elder Nelson´s talk from last October`s conference. I gave almost the exact same talk in my last ward, but I thought this ward could benefit from it too. The funny thing about giving a talk was that I`m the newest missionary in this ward. The other three hav all been here for at least three months and none of them have given talks yet. It`s alright though because I enjoy giving talks.
Today I`m going to see if I can have someone sew my shoe. It`s got a pretty nice rip in it, but I don`t want to get rid of it though because the sole is still good. I hope they can get fixed because I want my two pairs to last me until the end. I don`t want to buy new ones.
I haven`t received the package yet. I imagine I`ll get it tomorrow at district meeting. We get our mail once a week at district meeting. Thanks for sending it. What else? Were the cinnamon rolls delicious? Sorry that`s a stupid question; of course they were. Now you don`t have to do that for another year mom. Lucky you.
What did you eat for the dinner with Elder Rasband and Elder Gibson? Where is President Speakman`s daughter serving. I know she was getting ready to leave when I left.
This week should be the big week. Maybe Gavin is already born. Hope fully he gets here soon because I need to see some pictures of him. Why don`t you stop meesing around Jenny and get it over with. Just kidding. I guess he`ll come when he wants to come.
This is for Cameron. You didn`t know what the Death Star was? Where did you grow up? That`s common knowledge or at leats I thought it was. At least you know what it is now. Do you who Yoda is? I hope so. If not, you have some things to learn. Apart from that, congrats on making it to the state geography bee. I think you`ll make it to the finals and the last question will be about Uruguay. Luckily you just did a report on it so you`ll know the answer. I hope you do well.
Alright that`s it for now. I`m just about out of time. I still have to write to president. Ya`ll have a good week.
Love,
Elder Jones
To Everyone
Dear Everyone,
Wuz up? Everything is going well here in Salto. We had a baptism this past Saturday. Her name is Marìa Noel. Unfortunately for her and us, the baptismal service wasn`t that great. There were twelve of us in attendance; six of those people were missionaries. All but one of the members who were assigned to help didn`t show up. I was upset because it kind of shows that no one cares about Marìa Noel. Some people did have good reasons not to go; sick, working, stuff like that. Others just didn`t come. It went well other than that. She got baptized which is the important thing. I just hope she feels comfortable in our ward. As far as I can tell she does. There are a lot of good people in this ward so it shouldn`t be a problem.
We`ve been finding a lot of investigators lately, but the problem is that we can hardly ever find them again after the first lesson. I think that`s a problem for a lot of missionaries. I feel that I try hard to apply our message to their lives, but sometimes I feel like I`m not doing it well enough because we can never find them again. Maybe it`s me or maybe they`re just not ready. I`ll just keep doing what I`m doing. It would help though if my comp and I would practice more during comp study. The only problem is we don`t have very effective comp studies. That`s one thing I don`t like about living in a four elder apartment. It`s easy to get distracted. Elder Siegel and I had a good talk about it. It hasn`t seemed to work yet, but we`ll keep at it. I think part of it is my fault because I don`t do as much as I could to get comp study going. So hopefully we can that worked out.
I know a lot of you know the Flakes. They live in Show Low now. Anyways, Jared Flake, who graduated with me, just got to the mission. What a small world. I wonder if he still remembers me because I haven`t seen him for a few years. I`ve been thinking about calling him up just to see if he does. I`m not sure if any of you really care about that, but I just thought it was cool.That makes three Jackrabbits in the mission now. We`re catching up to all those Toros.
So it`s Spring Break. It sounds like cinnamon rolls are about the only thing that is going to get done. How fun. Are all the young women coming over again? Good thing I`m not there otherwise I`d get suckered in to helping too. Whew dodged that bullet. Next year I won`t though. Lucky you, Mom. Everyone enjoy a cinnamon roll for me.
Well I guess I might be an uncle again this week. Just make sure he knows who Uncle Ethan is. I don`t want him freaking out when I hold for the first time. Annie better know who Uncle Ethan is as well. Emilie and Jenny, you two better be on top of that.
Well I`m out of things to say so I`m just going to end right now. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Elder Jones
Wuz up? Everything is going well here in Salto. We had a baptism this past Saturday. Her name is Marìa Noel. Unfortunately for her and us, the baptismal service wasn`t that great. There were twelve of us in attendance; six of those people were missionaries. All but one of the members who were assigned to help didn`t show up. I was upset because it kind of shows that no one cares about Marìa Noel. Some people did have good reasons not to go; sick, working, stuff like that. Others just didn`t come. It went well other than that. She got baptized which is the important thing. I just hope she feels comfortable in our ward. As far as I can tell she does. There are a lot of good people in this ward so it shouldn`t be a problem.
We`ve been finding a lot of investigators lately, but the problem is that we can hardly ever find them again after the first lesson. I think that`s a problem for a lot of missionaries. I feel that I try hard to apply our message to their lives, but sometimes I feel like I`m not doing it well enough because we can never find them again. Maybe it`s me or maybe they`re just not ready. I`ll just keep doing what I`m doing. It would help though if my comp and I would practice more during comp study. The only problem is we don`t have very effective comp studies. That`s one thing I don`t like about living in a four elder apartment. It`s easy to get distracted. Elder Siegel and I had a good talk about it. It hasn`t seemed to work yet, but we`ll keep at it. I think part of it is my fault because I don`t do as much as I could to get comp study going. So hopefully we can that worked out.
I know a lot of you know the Flakes. They live in Show Low now. Anyways, Jared Flake, who graduated with me, just got to the mission. What a small world. I wonder if he still remembers me because I haven`t seen him for a few years. I`ve been thinking about calling him up just to see if he does. I`m not sure if any of you really care about that, but I just thought it was cool.That makes three Jackrabbits in the mission now. We`re catching up to all those Toros.
So it`s Spring Break. It sounds like cinnamon rolls are about the only thing that is going to get done. How fun. Are all the young women coming over again? Good thing I`m not there otherwise I`d get suckered in to helping too. Whew dodged that bullet. Next year I won`t though. Lucky you, Mom. Everyone enjoy a cinnamon roll for me.
Well I guess I might be an uncle again this week. Just make sure he knows who Uncle Ethan is. I don`t want him freaking out when I hold for the first time. Annie better know who Uncle Ethan is as well. Emilie and Jenny, you two better be on top of that.
Well I`m out of things to say so I`m just going to end right now. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Elder Jones
Salto es buenìsimo
Dear Everyone
Salto is great. I do miss Montevideo though. After being there for over nine months, I got attached to it, but Salto is good though. It`s cool being back. It`s better this time because I can speak spanish. My comp is pretty cool. His name is Elder Siegel. We`re in the same group. Everyone else in our group has gone up. We`re the only two that haven`t. It`s weird that we haven`t because elders a lot younger than us in the mission have already gone up. President Heaton knows what he`s doing though. I`ll just let him do his thing. Salto is nice and hot. I just "love" it. It reminds of being in Bella Uniòn last summer. It`s supposed to be cooling off pretty soon though so I hope that`s true. We have another baptism this Saturday. Her name is Marìa Noel. Elder Siegel and his other comp had already been teaching her so in my book she is there baptism. She`s really cool though. She`s already talking about going on a mission. That`s pretty neat. Our house is disgusting. It`s infested with cockroaches. We kill quite a few every day. It`s pretty gross, but hey it makes memories, right? That`s the report from Salto. Oh ya the name of my ward is Obelisco. I don`t think I mentioned that.
Happy Birthday to Dad on Sunday and Weston next Monday. I wanted to say it now just so I don`t forget. That`s pretty cool that you get to eat lunch with the general authorities. Who`s making the food? Where are you eating at? Enjoy it.
When did Robert go to Idaho? I never heard about that. Has he been there for a while? Tell him to stop hurting himself. He hurts himself too much. That bites that he has two broken wrists. I`ll be praying for him though.
Well I`m pretty sure I had more to write but I can`t remember any of it. I`ll remember right after I log off. That`s usually what happens. Have a great week everyone.
Con amor,
Elder Jones
Address:
Misiòn Uruguay Montevideo Oeste
1167 Enrique Martìnez
Montevideo, Uruguay
C.P. 11.800
Salto is great. I do miss Montevideo though. After being there for over nine months, I got attached to it, but Salto is good though. It`s cool being back. It`s better this time because I can speak spanish. My comp is pretty cool. His name is Elder Siegel. We`re in the same group. Everyone else in our group has gone up. We`re the only two that haven`t. It`s weird that we haven`t because elders a lot younger than us in the mission have already gone up. President Heaton knows what he`s doing though. I`ll just let him do his thing. Salto is nice and hot. I just "love" it. It reminds of being in Bella Uniòn last summer. It`s supposed to be cooling off pretty soon though so I hope that`s true. We have another baptism this Saturday. Her name is Marìa Noel. Elder Siegel and his other comp had already been teaching her so in my book she is there baptism. She`s really cool though. She`s already talking about going on a mission. That`s pretty neat. Our house is disgusting. It`s infested with cockroaches. We kill quite a few every day. It`s pretty gross, but hey it makes memories, right? That`s the report from Salto. Oh ya the name of my ward is Obelisco. I don`t think I mentioned that.
Happy Birthday to Dad on Sunday and Weston next Monday. I wanted to say it now just so I don`t forget. That`s pretty cool that you get to eat lunch with the general authorities. Who`s making the food? Where are you eating at? Enjoy it.
When did Robert go to Idaho? I never heard about that. Has he been there for a while? Tell him to stop hurting himself. He hurts himself too much. That bites that he has two broken wrists. I`ll be praying for him though.
Well I`m pretty sure I had more to write but I can`t remember any of it. I`ll remember right after I log off. That`s usually what happens. Have a great week everyone.
Con amor,
Elder Jones
Address:
Misiòn Uruguay Montevideo Oeste
1167 Enrique Martìnez
Montevideo, Uruguay
C.P. 11.800
It Happened
Dear Family,
Well it finally happened. I`m leaving Montevideo. I`ve been here since May. I really enjoyed it though. I`ve seen a lot of miracles here. I`ve learned a lot of new things that will help me for the rest of my mission. Now it`s time to say bye to Montevideo. I`m heading to Salto. It`s a city on the western border; right next to the river. It`s about a six hour bus ride from here. I actually started my mission in that zone. It`ll be cool to go back. My comp is Elder Seigal. We`re in the same group. We`ll be proselyting companions. I`m looking forward to it. Go ahead and update the chart. March 1st. My last change was October 28th. I don`t remember if I ever told you that date. If not, now you know.
We had two baptisms last Saturday. I sent a picture so you can all see. I baptized the man standing next to me. His name is Jorge Abrèo. Elder Price batized the other man. His name is Jacinto Rivera. At the end of the baptismal service. they both gave really powerful testimonies. I love hearing Jacinto`s testimonies because he always says, "Sè que èsta es la iglesia legìtima de Jesucristo"("I know that this is the legitimate church of Jesus Christ"). I smile every time he says it. Elder Price and his new companion will be having a few baptisms in the next few weeks. This area is doing really well. I`m kind of sad to leave, but I know my new area will be good.
I totally traded ties with a Jehovah`s Witness on Friday. We were on our way to the church for our investigators` baptismal interviews when two of them stopped to give us some magazines from their church. The first thing I noticed was his tie. It was a pretty legit tie so I devised a plan in my head to get it. My plan was to tell him that I liked it and see what would happen. It worked because as soon as I told him I liked it, he asked if I wanted to trade. I did trade; probably one of the best trades of my life. Now I can officially say that I traded ties with a Jehovah`s Witness. Not every missionary can say that. You can all see it when I get home.
I hope my letter to Cameron arrived on time. If not, he can blame the Uruguay postal service.
Did you talk with the Ashby`s about me? Did they tell you about my area? I want to talk with them after the mission and just talk about Uruguay.
Tell Jason felicitaciones for me. Better yet I`ll send him a letter and tell him myself. Besides I need his mission address so I can write to him when he leaves. Who keeps you updated about Elliot? If there`s a way, can you send me his address. I haven`t talked to him for a while. Plus missionaries always like to receive letters.
Have fun with grandparent duty this weekend. What`s going to happen with church and everything? Is Brisa old enough to go to nurserey? If not, it`s going to be a fun Sunday. Disfrùtenlo.
That`s it for now. Next week I`ll be writing from Salto. My bus leaves at 12:30 tonight. That means I should be getting there around seven. Anyways I hope everyone has a good week. Peace out until next week.
Con muuuuuuuuuucho amor,
Elder Jones
Well it finally happened. I`m leaving Montevideo. I`ve been here since May. I really enjoyed it though. I`ve seen a lot of miracles here. I`ve learned a lot of new things that will help me for the rest of my mission. Now it`s time to say bye to Montevideo. I`m heading to Salto. It`s a city on the western border; right next to the river. It`s about a six hour bus ride from here. I actually started my mission in that zone. It`ll be cool to go back. My comp is Elder Seigal. We`re in the same group. We`ll be proselyting companions. I`m looking forward to it. Go ahead and update the chart. March 1st. My last change was October 28th. I don`t remember if I ever told you that date. If not, now you know.
We had two baptisms last Saturday. I sent a picture so you can all see. I baptized the man standing next to me. His name is Jorge Abrèo. Elder Price batized the other man. His name is Jacinto Rivera. At the end of the baptismal service. they both gave really powerful testimonies. I love hearing Jacinto`s testimonies because he always says, "Sè que èsta es la iglesia legìtima de Jesucristo"("I know that this is the legitimate church of Jesus Christ"). I smile every time he says it. Elder Price and his new companion will be having a few baptisms in the next few weeks. This area is doing really well. I`m kind of sad to leave, but I know my new area will be good.
I totally traded ties with a Jehovah`s Witness on Friday. We were on our way to the church for our investigators` baptismal interviews when two of them stopped to give us some magazines from their church. The first thing I noticed was his tie. It was a pretty legit tie so I devised a plan in my head to get it. My plan was to tell him that I liked it and see what would happen. It worked because as soon as I told him I liked it, he asked if I wanted to trade. I did trade; probably one of the best trades of my life. Now I can officially say that I traded ties with a Jehovah`s Witness. Not every missionary can say that. You can all see it when I get home.
I hope my letter to Cameron arrived on time. If not, he can blame the Uruguay postal service.
Did you talk with the Ashby`s about me? Did they tell you about my area? I want to talk with them after the mission and just talk about Uruguay.
Tell Jason felicitaciones for me. Better yet I`ll send him a letter and tell him myself. Besides I need his mission address so I can write to him when he leaves. Who keeps you updated about Elliot? If there`s a way, can you send me his address. I haven`t talked to him for a while. Plus missionaries always like to receive letters.
Have fun with grandparent duty this weekend. What`s going to happen with church and everything? Is Brisa old enough to go to nurserey? If not, it`s going to be a fun Sunday. Disfrùtenlo.
That`s it for now. Next week I`ll be writing from Salto. My bus leaves at 12:30 tonight. That means I should be getting there around seven. Anyways I hope everyone has a good week. Peace out until next week.
Con muuuuuuuuuucho amor,
Elder Jones
SALUDOS
Dear Family,
I met German. He`s really cool. He found my stuff in the street at one in the morning. He found my driver`s license, my temple recommend, my debit card, and some other stuff. Everything was gone. I`m glad I found those things though. They were the important. German was great. He`s about 20. I`m glad he was honest. The Lord answered my prayer. I remember specifically asking that an honest person would find them. I also asked that whoever found them would be lead into the truth. That prayer was answered. German was honest and he accepted to listen to the missionaries. The Lord was watching out for me. I`ll give Chase a call this week and order a new Debit Card. The financers told Salt Lake that I need a new mission credit card, so I should get that in a couple of weeks. Good experiences.
Two of our investigators will be getting baptized this Saturday. Their names are Jacinto Rivera and Jorge Abrèu. They`re excited. Elizabeth Ramos will be getting baptized March 12. The Lord is really blessing us right now. He`s preparing his children and we`re finding them. It`s great.
Last week was so humid. It was terrible. I came home every night feeling sticky and nasty. It looks like this week will be the same. Bring it on.
Tell Jason felicitaciones. That`s awesome. Now there will be three missionaries in the ward. Side note: I`m sure you all know who the Flakes are. I was in the mission offices last week and saw that Jared Flake is coming here. He`s in the MTC right now. I hope I see him and Matt.
Everyone sounds well. Between orchestra, babies, church callings, and who knows what else, it sounds fun.
We have changes next week. The changes just seem to disappear.
We had a really great zone conference last week. Presidente and Hermana Heaton are great. They`re really fun to be around. I`ve learned a lot from them.
I love you all and I`ll talk to you next week.
Os amo,
Elder Jones
I met German. He`s really cool. He found my stuff in the street at one in the morning. He found my driver`s license, my temple recommend, my debit card, and some other stuff. Everything was gone. I`m glad I found those things though. They were the important. German was great. He`s about 20. I`m glad he was honest. The Lord answered my prayer. I remember specifically asking that an honest person would find them. I also asked that whoever found them would be lead into the truth. That prayer was answered. German was honest and he accepted to listen to the missionaries. The Lord was watching out for me. I`ll give Chase a call this week and order a new Debit Card. The financers told Salt Lake that I need a new mission credit card, so I should get that in a couple of weeks. Good experiences.
Two of our investigators will be getting baptized this Saturday. Their names are Jacinto Rivera and Jorge Abrèu. They`re excited. Elizabeth Ramos will be getting baptized March 12. The Lord is really blessing us right now. He`s preparing his children and we`re finding them. It`s great.
Last week was so humid. It was terrible. I came home every night feeling sticky and nasty. It looks like this week will be the same. Bring it on.
Tell Jason felicitaciones. That`s awesome. Now there will be three missionaries in the ward. Side note: I`m sure you all know who the Flakes are. I was in the mission offices last week and saw that Jared Flake is coming here. He`s in the MTC right now. I hope I see him and Matt.
Everyone sounds well. Between orchestra, babies, church callings, and who knows what else, it sounds fun.
We have changes next week. The changes just seem to disappear.
We had a really great zone conference last week. Presidente and Hermana Heaton are great. They`re really fun to be around. I`ve learned a lot from them.
I love you all and I`ll talk to you next week.
Os amo,
Elder Jones
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