Elder CJones: Christmas 2k16

There are many things that happen when you are out on the mission. This week I had the wonderful opportunity to video call my family! It was really cool to have the opportunity to see them again and to talk with each of them personally and share my testimony of the things I learned.

This week was full of fun with the mission to celebrate Christmas. On Tuesday, the day after P-Day, we had a Mission Dinner, we had a huge gift exchange and a great program that the mission president put on, with skits from all the different zones. One of the missionaries that was in the MTC with me, Elder Hargis, got a huge sobrero and a sweet poncho for his gift!! During the party I got a picture of me and the other missionaries from my district in the MTC. We all grew really close those weeks we were in the MTC, November 28th, the day I left the MTC, was another October 18th. It was really hard to leave those guys that I got really close.

Wednesday was our outing. This year the mission president decided to take us on an outing for Christmas, we when to the Reynosa Zoo and had a really really amazing time feeding and touching the animals and spending time as an entire mission. I was able to pet a raccoon and that was one thing that hurt, when it grabs your hand. The zoo is directly across the Rio Grande from the United States, so in this picture, I am standing and way behind me and behind the huts, is the United States. I was that close to home!;) Oh and Border Patrol are pretty cool to see, you don't see them very often in your life.

That night I got packages from my parents and grandparents. Every year my grandparents buy us a pair of pajamas, so without fail I received pajamas and a huge box of goodies from the grandparents! Some of the things that were in the box were things that I really needed, so it was a true blessing to have that package arrived from them that day, it was a packed box! My parents sent an awesome stocking, one for me and one for my companion, we both really really loved the things that came in
our packages!!

Christmas is such a great time to share the Gospel because the Spirit that we feel at Christmas is the Spirit in the everyday life of a missionary. It's such a blessing to be sharing the Gospel, and there
are times when it can be really really hard. This week, I had an opportunity that I will probably only have once in my entire life. Last Sunday, December 18th, the bishop of our ward asked me to speak
in church and give my thoughts about Christmas, in Spanish!! It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do and I got a lot of help from another missionary in my house. I studied a lot to think
about what I wanted to share with our ward, and I would like to share with your what I shared with my ward.

Feliz Navidad!
Yo pensé por mucho tiempo y pongo mucho trabajo duro para escribir un mensaje para ustedes hoy. Es difícil para mí hablar el idioma, pero yo recibí ayuda.

Hoy es Navidad, es un día para

felicidad y tiempo con nuestras familias. Navidad es un día cuando sentimos gozo y feliz, in día cuando recojamos. Por 3 años, yo aprendí mucho sobre la real sentimiento y significado de Navidad, y en una manera es el mejor para mí aprender, mediante la música. Entonces quiero compartir con ustedes mis pensamientos y que me di cuenta cuando yo estudiaba.

Durante tiempo, los humanos han aprendido que hay muchas cosas que tienen repetición. Hay ciclos en muchos lugares. En el Libro de Mormón hay un ciclo que leemos muchas veces, el ciclo de orgullo. Podemos aprender durante estos ciclos, cada año es un ciclo y la Navidad es un
día cada año. ¿pero nosotros aprendemos más cada año la importancia de la Navidad? Yo diseñaba un ciclo, una manera para nosotros aprender más a la Navidad y por nosotros crecer, cada año. ¿Cual es la razón para celebrar Navidad? Nosotros necesitamos entender que Cristo es central de la Navidad. En Ingles, la palabra para Navidad es Christmas, el nombre de Cristo está en la palabra, y lo es una manera que podemos recordar por qué celebramos Navidad. Muchas artistas por música no entienden que Cristo es central a la estación, pero hay unas. Estas artistas comparten mensajes como esta,

Los pastores están siendo dirigidos por una estrella en el cielo
En las afueras del pueblo, un nuevo bebé llora
No espacio a la posada, no cuna estar encontró
Pero darse cuenta de Él ahora
Él es la razón por la estación
Él es la luz que alumbra en todas nuestras vidas
El bebé Jesús, nacido mediante la gracia de Dios
Por nos regocijamos en esta día.

Entonces, nosotros necesitamos recordar que Jesucristo es la razón por la estación. Uno de las cosas que yo recordaba siempre a Jesucristo es el servicio. Jesucristo es nuestro ejemplo y nosotros queremos ser como Él, Jesucristo mostraba amor a todas las personas mediante servicio. Rey
Benjamín habló sobre servicio en el capitulo 2 del Libro de Mosíah, el dijo:

Y he aquí, os digo estas cosas para que aprendáis sabiduría; para que sepáis que cuando os halláis al servicio de vuestros semejantes, solo estáis al servicio de vuestro Dios.

Mediante servicio nosotros podemos servir Dios, y servimos para que aumentimos nuestra caridad.
Conozco una artista que usa tu talentos compartir el Evangelio de Jesucristo y el es un ejemplo de un discípulo de Él. Su nombre es Jamesthemormon. Cada año, a este tiemplo de Navidad, el comparte
mensajes sobre el verdadero significante de la Navidad. El usa el Espíritu para expresar sus sentimientos. El servió una misión, entonces el conoce la manera enseñar mediante el Espíritu. Para
Navidad, el año pasado, el compartió una mensaje de servicio, como Rey Benjamín, el cantaba,

Yo sé tu estás pensando sobre un lista de deseos
Muérdago con tu chicka y unos besos
Tú calentando con una tazón de chocolate
Pero, ¿que es el verdadero significado de la Navidad?
Un poco oro y un buscapersonas
Que hace un bebé sobre un pesebre
Bebé si te sientes que apenas tienes le que necesitas, no prestes atención a tu alrededor, y pasa un tiempo con tú Salvador
Y lo es por el tiempo de la estación, nunca olvides los razones, tu puedes hacer el dinero suficiente
Pero ellos llegando y nosotros trabajaremos juntos, para siempre
Puedes juzgar y tal vez insultar pero hay espacio en la posada
Tu nunca tenías no dinero y puedes sentir el pesar puedes pensar a tu Hermano en los pañales
El hizo el mundo y viento, entonces nosotros celebramos cundo es el día de Su nacimiento
Y tal vez entonces bebé, nosotros podemos cuidar de nuestras parientes, porque
cuando nosotros servimos a ellos, estaremos sirviendo Él.

"Cuando nosotros servimos a otras personas, nosotros aumentamos el amor por todos los Hijos de Dios. Jesucristo es un ejemplo de amor puro, caridad. Caridad es el amor puro de Cristo, El profeta, Moroni, escribió una sección en El Libro de Mormón de la importancia de amor puro por todas personas. Quiero leer una parte, pero yo cambiaré la palabra caridad con Cristo,

"Porque si no, su fe y su esperanza son vanas, porque nadie es aceptable a Dios sino los mansos y humildes de corazón; y si un hombre es manso y humilde de corazón, y confiesa por el poder del Espíritu Santo que Jesús es el Cristo, es menester que tenga [Cristo]; porque si no tiene [Cristo], no es nada; por tanto, es necesario que tenga [Cristo]. Y [Cristo] es sufrida y es benigna, y no tiene envidia, ni se envanece, no busca lo suyo, no se irrita fácilmente, no piensa el mal, no se regocija en la iniquidad, sino se regocija en la verdad; todo lo sufre, todo lo cree, todo lo espera, todo lo soporta. Por tanto, amados hermanos míos, si no tenéis [Cristo], no sois nada, porque [Cristo] nunca deja de ser. Allegaos, pues, a la [Cristo], que es mayor que todo, porque todas las cosas han de perecer;"  El consejo final es el versículo 47."pero la caridad es el amor puro de Cristo, y permanece para siempre; y a quien la posea en el postrer día, le irá bien."

Cristo es central a todos. Mediante Jesucristo podemos traer gozo en nuestras vidas y gozo a todas personas. Por esta Navidad, Jamesthemormon escribió una canción sobra nuestra misión en la iglesia
y por los misioneros en el mundo, el compartió en la canción,

Vivimos en un tiempo en el mundo, cuando cuidamos más a nuestras teléfonos que a nuestras familias
Como el por qué estamos peleando sobre que creer, cuando hay personas y ellos están sol
Buscamos atención en todos los lugares a nuestro alrededor que están incorrectos
Como por qué estamos preocupados sobre todas estas cosas, cuando nuestros hijos están
escabulliendos
Estamos trabajando como burros por algo, un viaje occure, unidos en familia, somos leales y firmes
Estamos aquí iguales, en un nacimiento, precioso
Estamos sólomente tratando de traer un poco más de gozo al mundo.

I know that as we share this message to the people around the world and to our friends, we will be blessed and we can truely fill the world with joy, because that's all we are doing is bringing a little
more joy to the world.
--
Elder Corom Jones

Elder CJones: We just Tryna Bring . . . A Little More Joy to the World

Hard work pays off as we work hard and are obedient. That's one lesson I learned this week as I applied it more to my life.

 This week started out a little rough but got a lot better as we worked hard and tried our very best to teach the Gospel to these great people out here. Last week, our numbers weren't very high. We didn't have many lessons and needed higher numbers. The Zone Leaders came and visited with us at the beginning of the week and tried to understand why? Why were our numbers low? There were a lot of reasons and we figured out what was going on and we were sent to work, and that's when the blessings started to flow.

Within 2 hours that morning we had confirmed appointments to return to 5 homes. We worked hard that day and tried our best to gain momentum as the day went on. We kept working hard and got a few more appointments for the week!! There are so many blessings that come from being obedient and working hard!! That night, my companion and I headed home after a long day. We must have walked 15-20 miles and were so hungry, so cold, and so tired.

As we walked home, we passed a hamburger cart and my companion stopped and asked how much a meal was, she answered $50. He told her that we would return the next day and buy a meal on our way home from our work and we walked away. As we walked, about a block after we left the cart, we heard someone shouting, we turned around the there was a man running towards us. We stopped and turned around and as he approached us, he asked us to return to the cart. We had no idea what was going on. We obeyed and returned to the hamburger cart. The woman at the cart asked us if we would like to share a hamburger, on the house. We were so shocked and surprised, we accepted the offer and sat down and began to talk with her. She prepared us a mean burger, complete with avocado, pineapple, and all the works. And that's all that we were expecting, and then came the sodas, and the fries, and the chili pepper, and then she asked us if we wanted another burger. She filled us up that night and I know that it was from the obedience to our leaders that we were blessed with the food.

That night, the lady's son came and sat with us at the cart, her son is 7 and is learning English in school. He has homework every night in English and he turned to me and asked me to help him with his math and social studies, it was really hard but we were able to finish his homework and we made some new friends that day.

As I have looked back at what happened, I have studied the importance of obedience in the scriptures. During my first 3 weeks that I was in the MTC, I read the Book of Mormon, the entire thing in 3 weeks and it was one of the most amazing experience I have ever had to be able to read it again and I learned a lot this time I went through. One of the stories that is always shared in the scriptures in that of the stripling warriors, they were a really really strong force to the Nephites as they fought for their country. But the only reason they are put, by Mormon, into the book is because of their success. If they wouldn't have been successful, they would have never been effective. The really cool part, the core of their success is shared with us in one verse.

"Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them."

The home is the best place to learn obedience, I wasn't always the best at that but now I know the importance of obedience in everything.

Nephi was one of the prophets in the Book of Mormon that everyone reveres. He was a hard worker and wrote a lot about guidance for our day. He could have said a lot for his last words, but here is what he decided to say, "the Lord commanded me, and I must obey." Obedience is what the last thing Nephi says. It's his testimony of the greatness of obedience. I know that this work will bless all of us as we obey the commandments of the Lord and work hard to become more like Jesus Christ.

During this last week before Christmas, let us remember the true meaning and why we really celebrate Christmas, I have a badge that says I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and that I represent Him, but we all don't need that badge to be like Him. Remember that service is so crucial at this time in the year.

-- Elder Corom Jones

We live in a time of the world

where we care less bout family and more 'bout our phones

Why are we fighting

'bout what to believe in our people they out on their own

We seeking attention in all the wrong places

our whole life became a cliche

Why are worried bout all a dem tings

when our children are slippin away

When standing for something

the voyage occurs

United as family we loyal and firm

We all here as equals

we Royal at birth

We just tryna bring… a little more joy to the world

This goes out to my people

feel like they nothing they stuck and ready to die

I promise there's someone who always gon love you

your Father who up in the sky

The reason we here to love one another

so put it all out on the line

Not saying be perfect

or even be certain but baby it worth it to try.

When standing for something

the voyage occurs

United as family

we Loyal and firm

We out here as equals

we Royal at birth

We just tryna bring… a little more joy to the world"

-Jamesthemormon (Joy To The World)

Elder CJones: New Missionaries: November 28, 2016.

Elder CJones: Without Sacrifice, There is No Victory

What a week!!

It's been absolutely crazy, from the weather to the work, but it is all under the direction of the Lord.

I know that the Lord is with us through all our challenges and through all our victories. This week has been one of challenges and overcoming the "natural man". I have studied a lot about Gospel topics this week, a lot about the natural man and the power the Atonement has to change that aspect in our lives. As I have gone through the week, I have studied the Atonement and the power of testimony in the process of change in my life.

This week I started by thinking about change. Just that word means a lot, even more so in times in our world when people change for the worse, not the better. We need to change our lives for the better, and turn our hearts and lives over to the Lord so we can change, just like is taught in Alma 5.

How do we experience this change as we go through our lives? I took time this week to study about the moment in time when choice was everything, in the Garden of Gethsemane. The whole Plan of Salvation hung in the balance of the choice of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

To have this mighty change of heart, we need to look to the Lord and through the Lord, our weaknesses can become strengths, just like is taught in Ether 12. As we stay close to our Father and our Savior. Jesus Christ we will understand the importance of prayer and the communication we can have with our Father, the direct relation we can have with him. We begin to understand the power of prayer. We will understand that the companionship of the Holy Ghost is one of power and amazement, and we will begin to be so grateful, for that is the way that the Father speaks to us.

One thing that I found really amazing was this, we were all intelligences before we were Spirits. We all had the ability top become anything and we became Spirit sons and daughters of a Loving Heavenly Father. The only way for the Atonement to work is that the suffering that Christ went through would have to spiritually and emotionally touch every one of those intelligences, it was an infinite and universal Atonement, and the only reason He performed and went through the Atonement is so that we can have the opportunity at mercy and repent of our sins.

The Father and the Son love us so much that they sacrificed so much, more than we can comprehend so we can be together, in the Celestial Kingdom, forever with our families and loved ones.

I know the Atonement is real, it has the power to cleanse all from sins if we only submit to the will of the Father and use the Atonement, that gift that we have been given to change our hearts, and become like Him.

This week, I finished reading a book written by M. Russell Ballard, Our Search for Happiness. In this book, Elder Ballard shares his testimony of the reality of the Gospel and the power it has to change our lives and as we grow, continually, to understand more about the Gospel, the Savior, and the teachings of the prophets, we can truly come to know the reality of it all if we only pray with a real intent to know the truth it contains, God promises that he will respond.

One last thing that I thought was really cool this week, the power of prayer is real. The first thing that began this last dispensation was a short scripture in the New Testament, the book of James,

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;and it shall be given him."

That scripture is all about prayer and that power it has when you simply pray with faith. But the cool part is, at the end of the Book of Mormon, the last main principle is one of prayer, something that Joseph Smith did right at the beginning of his life as a prophet,

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

That is what we teach our investigators the first lesson, the power of prayer and the amazing chance we have to communicate with our Father in Heaven, directly with God Himself. I challenge everyone to talk with our Father in Heaven about everything that goes on in your life because I know he is interested in everything you are doing. Please pray to know of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to grow your testimony of this wonderful work.

I know this Gospel is true and I know it can change the lives of anyone who is willing to open their heart to hear directly from our Father in Heaven.

-- Until next week,
Elder Corom Jones

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." -John 8:32

Elder CJones: Converts Not Baptisms

Wow! What a week, it's been absolutely crazy and there is a lot that happened, but yet, I love it!!

I arrived in the field on Monday night, just in time to sleep, and the next day was my first day, going out and talking to all the people that I could, and with only MTC Spanish, it was a challenge, but I was able to get through the day and my Spanish has improved a lot in just a week. The city isn't dangerous, at least where I am. Most of the higher class mobs and people wanted by the law. respect us. They are actually really kind to us. Since I live on the most Southern side of the city, we don't meet many of them, but if I ever serve closer to the border, I will. the APs told us that they served up there and encountered many of them. They offered them all sorts of stuff, they offer missionaries coats and clothing that may help. Many of them even ask if we need money. I feel completely safe here, it's a really great experience!

Our mission president is a crazy guy!! He is about 5 foot 4 and just has a ton of energy, he is always pushing us to get more baptisms and do our best in our mission. His wife, she is the opposite, she is very quiet but very stern, she scares me TBH haha. I'm not sure how often we receive our packages from the president. We got ours when we arrived last week. I have 2 other elders with me in my zone that were with me in the MTC, I get to see them 1-2 times a week.

My companion's name is Elder Cornejo, he is from here in Mexico, which city I have no idea. He has been out on the mission for 15 months and is our district leader. He is a pretty chill guy, he isn't demanding, which at times, I wish he was. His parents are both converts, so he has grown up in the church. I live in a house with 3 missionaries: my companion, Elder Cornejo, and the other companionship: Elder Torres and Elder Javalois. It's a pretty cool place, we live on the bottom floor of a triplex, there are 2 bedrooms and the bathroom and kitchen are tiny!

I serve in a little area close to the airport in Reynosa, on the south-eastern side of the city. It's a middle-class area for someone here in Mexico. Most of the houses are made of cinderblock and if you are lucky, and have a little more money, you can have a house of concrete or stucco. The people here love us and they are so humble! A lot of the people know we are representatives of Christ and they respect us, which is really cool.

All the neighborhood roads are dirt, the highway and the main roads are paved, but are really poor quality. We walk everywhere, so the bottoms of my pants and my shoes are always covered in dirt and mud. The weather is really hot and humid, but there are also days that are crazy cold and it rains, walking through those days is not the funnest but we get done what we need to. Only the APs have cars in our mission, they drive around running errands for the president. The food here is amazing!! Tortillas come with every meal, most of the time it's soup or some kind of enchilada or something like that. Every P-day we go to the local store and buy our food for the week. Last week, I really didn't know what to buy and just bought a loaf of bread, PB&J, a couple tubs of the ramen cups and cereal, I got sick and tired of the quick food this week and decided to go a little better this week. I bought eggs, milk, bread, butter, cheese, and a couple other things, I will be making grilled cheese and tomato soup for some days and french toast others. Mainly we only have to feed ourselves in the morning and then after we get home at night.

Ok, my younger brother, Jacom, will love this part. James the Mormon is a huge thing down here to the missionaries, even more so with the Latinos. It's just something they listen to a lot. He wrote one song about Coca-Cola, which has true lyrics for everything we do out here. In Mexico, we aren't allowed to drink the water, well, we, as Americans, try to refrain because of the bacteria and other things that are in the water, so we try to stay around bottled drinks, bottled water is great and we can go to the little corner store and buy 5 gallon jugs of water! But really, "Coke rules everything around me", every store and everybody has Coca-Cola in their house, it's the biggest company out here, just like Apple is the biggest, most popular company in the United States.

Trash is all over the streets. you can't walk 5 feet without seeing trash somewhere, the garbage is picked up probably 2-3 times a month which is crazy, so there is just garbage, a mountain of gargabe in front of everyone's house.

CONVERTS NOT BAPTISMS

I have been thinking a lot this week about what our mission president wants us to do and it is a great thing, getting as many baptisms as we can, but as I further think about it, that's not what this work is about. He is telling us to use our first encounter as one to preach about faith and repentance and then ask for them to be baptized. After a training we had this week, I was looking at the what it was about, the only thing that the mission president emphasized was the importance of getting as many baptisms as possible so we can be the number one baptizing mission in Mexico. Afterward, his wife spoke about being a Preach My Gospel missionary and the importance of always following the guidelines in the missionary handbook. So that night, when I was doing some final studying, I looking through the chapters in Preach My Gospel,

"Baptizing and confirming the people you teach is central to your purpose. Baptism is for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost brings a host of blessings to those who live worthy of it. Through these ordinances people enter the gate and continue on the path to eternal life. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: “We do not preach and teach in order to ‘bring people into the Church’ or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives. … We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this.”

As I read through this I understood that as I go through and teach the people, I know that I want to teach so I can have converts on my mission, not baptisms. Baptisms is just a was of stating a statistic, but a convert is one who truly changes the nature of their heart, turns to the Lord, and develops a personal relationship with our Father in Heaven. That relationship can't be grown over the 5 minutes we preach to someone about faith and repentance, it comes through, time and constant work to be a better person, over weeks and months, not minutes, hours or days.

Ether 12:6, "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I know that Christ lives! I know He died for each one of us so we can change our lives and become the best we can be. I know that through faith and the constant want for change, we can become like Him. I testify that the Holy Ghost will testify to you of anything, that as you are worthy and pray with a sincere effort to learn that, guaranteed, God will answer through the Holy Ghost. I know that if we have a sincere desire to change and become better, we are on the path to become like Christ. I know that the scriptures will change your life as you read them and try your hardest and with the most desire to work towards an answer from God. I testify that this Gospel is true, and I know that it will change your life and there will be no greater joy than this in the Gospel. I know that people's lives will be changed as they work toward turning their lives to the Gospel. I love this Gospel and I am so glad I can serve the people here!

There is a man we are teaching, his name is Christian, I would ask you all to pray for him, we need him to increase his faith, will you please keep him in your prayers and thoughts? Thank You!

--
Elder Corom Jones


"No one likes to fail. And we particularly don’t like it when others—especially those we love—see us fail. We all want to be respected and esteemed. We want to be champions. But we mortals do not become champions without effort and discipline or without making mistakes.
[My friends], our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward."

-President Dieter F Uchtdorf

Elder CJones: First Week in Reynosa

Hello Everyone!!

 Today is my first day in the field and it is crazy!! Not much has happened, I'm just getting used to the area and the people. My companion speaks no English so that's really fun, this morning we went to the store and went shopping for our weekly groceries. The members feed us a lot so it's mainly just breakfast that we have to pay for and make ourselves.

My first area is here in Reynosa, on the South Eastern side of the city. It's different than what I thought, all the buildings are less than 3 stories and are all run down, well, at least on my side of the city. It's really really humid here, probably worse than San Diego, our apartment has a small AC in the main room that can only be turned on at night, it goes really really hot during the day. I wish I was back in Utah where it is snowing because I absolutely love the snow!!

I really like my new companion, and the guys in my house are the best, they help me a lot with my Spanish and they are asking me to help with their English.

We went to a member's house for lunch today and we were able to speak with them and learn a lot about the area that I am in and the people that live here. They went and got us fast food, so it wasn't too bad. We had fries and fried chicken.

So Monday morning we woke up really early, well, I guess you could say that we never went fully to sleep, we were packing and got a small amount of a snooze in before we had to meet up to go to the airport. The drive to the airport was a completely different experience, well because one, there was absolutely no traffic, which is a different experience in Mexico City because there is always traffic, we were in the airport for a while and that was really boring and we were all really tired.

The flight was a couple hours before landing in Reynosa. Our mission president met us at the airport with his wife and a couple of other missionaries. We then went out to eat at a breakfast buffet which was really an amazing place to eat. Afterward, we went to the mission home and got our picture taken and were able to call our parents from there. Our mission president then had us go to the AP's home and sleep for about 3 hours which was really needed. We returned to the mission office and got more to eat and then had meetings for 4 hours. Just about the rules and things that the mission president needed to tell us. We then received our companions and some of us left to our areas. I left last night to my area and stayed at our house last night, there are some great things that I'm learning here and I huge one is humility, I am not able to talk with the people like I want to and that is something I will be working on these next couple days.

I want to tell you how much love the Savior has for us as we devote our time to serving Him. I am so excited for these next 2 years and what I will be able to learn in another language and about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know he lives and that he is our Savior and Redeemer, I know that he is always there for us and when we work hard, we will be able to overcome anything that comes our way.

Keep the love and never stop,
Elder Corom Jones

My new P-day is on Monday

Elder CJones: Last P-Day in the MTC and Thanksgiving

It's finally here!

Monday morning at 2:30 am and we leave for our mission in Northern Mexico. It's crazy to think that I've been out here for 6 weeks, an entire transfer, there are a total of 16 transfers in the mission, including the one in the MTC. It's absolutely crazy to think that in one week, I will be out somewhere, walking the streets and trying to find people to teach to come to Christ. I know that this gospel is true and that if we all turn to Christ and be perfected in Him, we can do anything.

This last week, I have to say, has been one of the most spiritual uplifting weeks of my entire life. Testimony meetings with our district are crazy! There is so much emotion in the room, everyone is in tears, this has been the most spiritual experience of my life and I am so excited to go out to the field and teach this wonderful gospel to the people outside the enclosed compound we are in.

Some crazy miracle have happened this week, my testimony of faith, prayer, and fasting have grown exponentially this week. One of our guys had a really hard week, when he checked his e-mail last week he found out that his grandmother's liver failed and had a 10% chance of living, his mom was diagnosed with cancer, and he lost his soccer scholarship, all in one week. This week, most of the guys in our district fasted for his grandmother, we prayed and every prayer that was offered this week was for his grandmother. He was able to check his e-mail during the week to be updated. When the doctor's went in to do the surgery, she didn't need it, she was progressing on her own. It's such a blessing to see the miracles that are wrought through faith, prayers and fasting.

There have been so many things that have grown my testimony this week!! My district had the most amazing testimony meeting this last Sunday, emotions were crazy high and tears were shed. I love Jesus Christ, I know he is my Savior and Redeemer. I know he lives and that he loves us all.

Not much new goes on besides all that, after I get into the field, we will all have the most amazing experiences as we begin to teach real investigators about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings it brings. I know that as I invite the Spirit, that I will be blessed because I have already seen the blessings that come when I teach with other missionaries.

One really cool experience I've had this last little while, we get to teach other missionaries as they pretend to be investigators. I also have the opportunity to act as an investigator for another missionary as he practices teaching. We have to choose a role of someone we know of and use them as an example of our investigator. I chose the role of one of my ancestors that was converted to the church, Fred Kemmethmueller. It's been such an amazing experience because when I am being taught, I feel the power of the Spirit as I act like he would have and when I do, the Spirit testifies to me of the truthfulness of the Gospel and the power that comes when we truly convert our lives to Jesus Christ, as we have a true change of heart.

Speaking of changes of heart, this week I have been studying the topic of charity and how when we show charity, we experience a change of heart in ourselves and, in turn, we can change the hearts of others. I've studied how service changes our hearts to love the people, and when we love the people and the culture, we become true example and disciples of the Lord.

I've read Mosiah 2:9-19,21 and Alma 5, as I read Mosiah I changed all the words of service to love, and then when I read in Alma, I asked myself if I could feel that mighty change of heart.

My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.

I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man.

But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen by this people, and consecrated by my father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler and a king over this people; and have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to [love] you with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me.

I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in your [love], even up to this time, and have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you;

Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you—

And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might [love] you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.

Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might boast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you; but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this day.

Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your [love], I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the [love] of your fellow beings ye are only in the [love] of your God.

Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to [love] you, then ought not ye to labor to [love] one another?

And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your [love], and yet has been in the [love] of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

I say unto you that if ye should [love] him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should [love] him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

I know that as we all go out and love the people that we can have a mighty change in our hearts, like that of Alma the Younger, Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Himni, King Lamoni, and King Lamoni's Father. We can all have our hearts converted to the Gospel as we go and love other children of God.

I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

Can we feel that love in our hearts? Do we truly have a change of heart to become like Christ?? I love the Mexican people, they are truly children of God and God has called me to serve them. As many of them have the opportunity to work here in the MTC, we have the ability to talk with them and really get to know and love them as a people. I love my teachers. they are both from Mexico and they truly are teachers called of God and called to teach me so I can learn how to teach the people in my mission.

I love this opportunity to serve and I am so excited to finally get our there and share this Gospel to the people in Reynosa!

I love you all!! I pray for you all every night to constantly have the Spirit in your lives. Never be ashamed to preach the Gospel to people you come in contact with. This fire of the Gospel I will never let die. I love this Gospel with my entire soul and I hope you all will study, pray and exercise faith to do the same.

-- Elder Corom Jones

"Back home you turned to your family, friends and leaders for help. Now in the mission, when you need help, you bend your knees and plead with the Father." -Presidente Avila

Elder CJones: 11 Days to the Field!!

Hola!!

This week has just been a great week, as the weeks get farther into the MTC and as we are getting closer to joining our fellow missionaries in the field, we feel the comfort of God everyday as we work hard and study harder and love the hardest. The MTC experience is amazing, there is a strict schedule everyday but it's for the best, so you can work hard and become a better missionary.

Great things and not so great things happened this week, as I told you, on Friday we had to go to the Embassy to apply for our residencies, there were tons of people, and a couple of us tried to place some Books of Mormon to people walking around the building. The Mexican people are amazing!! They are such hard workers and they love the missionaries. The church hires people that live nearby to work inside the MTC, they do tons of yard work, they are chefs, they clean and they are so respectful of us as ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Friday, a good majority of the missionaries here were served chicken that had something wrong with it, a few guys, including me got sick from it, it's all good though, I know that the Lord is watching over all of us and I know that it is a blessing because that's what it will be like out in the field for the rest of my mission.

Out here in the MTC and I know it will happen in the field, Lucifer and his army is trying to make the missionaries feel that they aren't good enough, that they can't do the work of the Lord and it's hard for some missionaries here to see that. But as we have bi-weekly testimony meetings as a district and really get to know each other, I know that it is important to develop a good relationship with your companion as well as others in your district because they will help you through the hard times. The power of the priesthood is real and it works!! There is no shortage of it here in the MTC as we give blessings a lot to help other elders get through the hard times looming ahead.

I know that God loves us each individually and that he cares for each one of you. as we practice teaching and as we play the part of an investigator for other missionaries, we understand and feel the Spirit as it resonates in our lessons. The Lord really loves us and works hard to help us feel of that love. I know he loves each one of you and that he is willing to testify that to you is you work hard and never ever take the Gospel for granted.

As all of us got into week 3, which was 2 weeks ago, we are all just ready and prepared to go out and serve, they have really made it so we can learn the language here in the MTC and I know that it will be harder as I get out in the field and work, we all know how to speak the language in basic form now, we are all speaking it very well in our classes and in our lessons, I know that as we have all worked hard and studied that the Lord has blessed us with the Gift of Tongues.

More about the MTC! It's on a 30 acre property of land, it is beautiful!! It was once an old high school but they converted it years ago, it was more of a boarding school because of the houses on the property. One of our teachers went to high school here and told us more about it.

I really love everything that you learn here, and if you have a desire to go on a mission and bless the lives of so many other people, than I know it is the correct choice for you. I promise you that the Lord will bless you as you turn to Him and He will help you change the lives of so many people.

Don't EVER let the adversary get to you, he is deceiving and will do anything he can to destroy a person close to Him. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that if you read it with a real intent to learn and pray with faith that you will receive as well as pray with a sincere heart, you will receive an answer on the power of the Book and the truthfulness it contains.

Oh!! One of our teachers is really stressed with all the things going on in his life. his name is Nefi Alvarez, please keep him in your prayers, it was his birthday this week and we tried our best to make it a great day for him. As well, keep all the missionaries in my district in your prayers because we all need them: Elder Christian Pratt, Elder Tad Richardson, Elder Thomas Payne, Elder Eli Martineau, Elder Jacob Chidister, Elder Ethan Heiner, Elder Grae Hargis, Elder Jacobsen Cole, and Elder Drake Jennings.

--
Love you all,
Elder Corom Jones

Feliz Cumpleanos, Hermano Alvarez!

Elder Jennings and Elder Jones

Elder CJones: Queme Los Barcos!!

Hello Everyone!!

First of all I want to apologize for yesterday, this week our P-Day was moved to Friday. This morning we had to go down to a governmental building and get our fingerprints taken and sign a bunch of documents for residency here in the Mexico. So I am sending it all out today.

I have to say there has been a really big highlight of my week!! Last Friday, I began reading the Book of Mormon again, just to refresh myself of all the information and doctrine that is jam packed in it. I finished on Wednesday and I will tell you all that I know for a fact that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on the face of the earth and I know that you and anyone who reads it will become closer to God, our Father in Heaven as you work hard to understand His will for you!

I testify that the gift of tongues is real and that is really is a gift from the Spirit. I am still not fluent and need to learn a lot more vocabulary, but it's coming! I can form sentences in my head and say them pretty quickly out loud, I think in Spanish at times and sometimes I can't think of what the word is in English and I can in Spanish. I testify that the gift of tongues is there for those who really pursue the language and want to know it, even more so if you are a missionary.

Sundays are the greatest days here in the mission field, we have our meetings at 9 and then have the rest of the day for personal study and meetings. We have a devotional at 4 and then another one at 8, they are always so beautiful and the Spirit is tangible in the room, as well as our district testimony meeting afterwards.

We love to tell stories and hang out at night with all the guys in our house and district. A little bit more about my district. there are 10 Elders and no sisters. 9 of us are heading out to Reynosa on the 28th, the last is going to the Oregon Salem Mission on the 29th.

Elder Heiner, the one going to Oregon, is from Ogden, he reminds me of the twins, he like the trendy stuff and is great!! He is different than them tho, he really is an awesome guy, he loves breakfast food, watches, floral ties and glasses. Floral ties are kinda the thing down here.

Elder Chidister, the comp of Heiner, is a stud he is from Spanish Fork and loves to swim and sing. He is a great guy to get to know and he wears a robe around the house when we are all in our pajamas and relaxing! He is having a really rough time physically from being here, he has had a headache for over a week and is going to see the neurologist on Monday, pray for him!

Elder Pratt, he is from Gilbert, Arizona. He is the cousin of Scott Urry. Pratt is our district leader and such a great guy. He has some great stories from back home. He is a car guy, loves them to death and has driven sooo many really expensive cars and we love to talk about them together. He really knows how to lead our district, he is really smart and a real gentleman.

Elder Richardson is from Pleasant Grove. He plays soccer and is one great kid! He loves to talk about music and just loves talking to people about all the great things about the mission. He is a great example, he left the church a few years ago and was inactive for a while, but as he came back and decided to go in a mission, he knew that it would bless him and his family.

Elder Payne is from League City, Texas. He is really tall and probably one of the smartest kids I know. He loves to learn about really anything and is really spiritually in tuned. He knows a lot of Spanish and works really hard to learn more. He has some pretty cool stories about living in Texas. League city is about a 30 minute drive south of Houston.

Elder Martineau is from Snowflake, Arizona. He is one of 10 kids and is the oldest, just like me, his comp is Payne and they get along really well and work hard to teach. He is a great kid and I don't talk to him much.

Elder Hargis is from Safford, Arizona. He is a blonde/redhead, he is 6'6" and played basketball during high school. He is a really really hard worker and works probably the hardest to learn the language because it's difficult for him to speak it. His dad is a doctor at the local hospital and he has 4 siblings, the crazy part is this, his dad is a twin, his mom is a twin, he is a twin, and has two siblings that are twins. His parents both went to Ecuador on their missions and that's where they met. His twin sister is going to the Spain Malaga Mission, which includes the Canary Islands!

Elder Cole is from Riverton, he lives really close to us and he is an amazing story teller, his stories could be made into books and movies, him and Hargis probably have the best relationship out of all the companionships in the district. Elder Cole is the king of guy that you really want as a comp, he works really hard but also knows how to have fun!

Elder Jennings is my companion. He looks like Napoleon Dynamite without the big hair, he is a great kid and loves to talk. I've had to learn how to listen and just let him do his thing.

Our district is awesome, we love to sing, and with our bathrooms right next to each other with a thin wall in between, we can hear each other in the bathroom and Elder Richardson and I love to sing duets at night when we both shower. There are 5 rooms in each house and 4 missionaries per room, one of the guys, Elder Pannell, I went to school with! He is a great guy and loves to sing. He is going to the Merida Mexico mission.

Not much is happening down here because of Trump, we are all just glad that Hillary didn't win.

One of the coolest things down here is that people volunteer to come into the MTC and we get to teach them, solely in Spanish, it can get really nerve racking but it is way cool!!

We love to learn idioms in Spanish and in turn we talk to our teachers in Spanish about all the things we say in English and they laugh at what we say, I really love the teachers that we have.

Our district has a motto that we talk about. This last week, we started talking about the ancient people in the Americas and it got into how the Spaniards came and started taking over the land. Cortes was not a very good guy but he started conquering the land, but his men wanted to go back home and wouldn't give an 100% effort to the work, so Cortes, burned the boats and ships that they used to get to the Americas, so "Burn the Boats, we're all in" came to be, is a saying that reminds all of us that we need to keep moving forward and we can't turn back. But I mean, we can't just say it in English, so it is, "Queme los Barcos".

Mail takes about a month to get here to the MTC, if you want to send me a letter that I can read anytime during the week, there are a couple of websites that you can use to type it up and then they print it out here and give it to us.

I testify that as we work hard and endure to the end, that we can conquer any challenge ahead of us as we work hard and have faith. An important part of faith is work, and we need to be working in order for God to bless us.

--
Elder Corom Jones

"[I'm] out here grindin', [I] workin'"
-Jamesthemormon (Workin)

L to R: Elders Payne, Martineau, Richardson, Pratt, Heiner, and Chidester

Lto R: Elders Hargis and Cole

Elder CJones: Four Weeks to Reynosa

It's been crazy to be here and to feel the amazing Spirit that is around all of us here at the MTC. It's so crazy to work with such amazing missionaries and to learn the language with them and to experience the wonderful gift of tongues that will bless you as you work hard and the Spirit provides the rest. I know for a fact that the Lord blesses those who are called to serve His purpose.

It's gotten a lot easier since last week, the language is coming and it's getting easier and easier to teach and speak. There are times when we are in lessons and by the end I had no idea what I said but the Spirit is tangible almost constantly here.

This week was the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico, and they are really into it, it's the biggest holiday here, parties go on all night long for like 5 days in a row and there is loud music and a lot of fireworks. Halloween isn't much of a thing here.

Before my mission, I was not a morning person, but as I have adjusted to being in bed at 10:30 and being up at 6:30 isn't too hard, you just have to get used to the time. We work a lot out here, our mornings are packed with classes and our afternoons with language study and teaching. It's such a spiritual experience to see the growth everyone has made.

One of the best parts about being here, the Mexico City Temple is about an hour drive away, and about 2-3 times during our visit here at the MTC we get to go and do temple work. We don't get to choose when we go, we are just randomly assigned and we went today as well as last week. P-day here starts at about 7:45 and ends around 5, the temple trip takes out about a 6 hour block from that so we have to use time wisely on the days when we do go to the temple.

We practice teaching people everyday, solely in Spanish, along with that, we have scriptures to memorize, and just you really have to know how to connect with the investigators because it is crucial to have them trust you and they have to know you are a representative of Christ.

It's important that you always have the Spirit with you so He can inspire you and tell you exactly what to say. I have faith and know for a fact that Heavenly Father is there for all of us and is willing to help us if we just let him into our lives, because he will change us.

Soooo, the computers here at the MTC are really restrictive and I can't send very many pictures, 2-3 at most, so I will send the better ones now and when I get out in the field, I will add all of them to a folder and share all my pictures with you.

I am so grateful to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and that I have the opportunity to not worry about anything else but serving him for 2 years. Everyone please remember that you are a Child of God and that he loves you and he wants what's best for you because he knows you better than anyone else does, even yourself!! These past 2 days I have used my personal study to really dig into the Book of Mormon, I read from Mosiah 1 - Alma 20 and those few chapters give amazing accounts on what the Lord will do for you if you trust Him and let him work it out, the Nephites were prosperous when they worshiped God.

I challenge you to read Mosiah 27, and search in that chapter what the Lord did for Alma and think about how he can help you in your life overcome your biggest challenges.

Thanks for all the support and love!!

--
Elder Corom Jones

Elder Palma, my morning instuctor

Pray for Corom

Elder CJones: The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done!

This week has been absolutely crazy!! It has been a testimony builder and a great strength to me as I have worked hard on a lot of things. the flight was great, the airline gave us complimentary drink and snacks and it wasn't the worst experience of my life. Mexico City is crazy and the MTC is great!!
We got to the MTC around 5 on Tuesday, it's about an hour drive from the airport and the buses aren't as nice as the ones in the United States, and the roads are absolutely crazy! They are packed and people drive really really close to each other and it's stop and go, and people don't use blinkers and pedestrians cross the street where ever they want to. It's worse than California driving. But it was great and the dinner meals every Tuesday night is Costco pizza, and we had a devotional that night and Sister Oscarson was the guest speaker.

My district is amazing, there are 10 elders in my district, all but one going to Reynosa, the other is going to Salem, Oregon.

We are all getting so close to one another, 6 of us are from Utah, 3 from Arizona and 1 from Texas, we have grown so well together as a district and I could say that we are the best bonded in the MTC.
I will say, the MTC has been the hardest thing I have ever done. The first full day was the hardest day of my life, it was a very stressful day because mostly everyone that works here speaks Spanish and very little English. so you have to make so with what you got. But as the days go on, my homesickness fades as I keep myself busy, it's the times that we are relaxing in our room at night is when I get homesick the most. But it has been a great experience overall.

This week I have gained a testimony of the power of prayer, our teachers help us learn the language by solely speaking Spanish, and it was really hard to start, but as time went on for these past few weeks, I have been blessed to understand and ever communicate with my teacher as well as my practice investigators. 3 days in we were given an investigator to teach, and the investigator only knows Spanish so you have to prepare a lot for the lesson beforehand. The other elders in my district all have less Spanish knowledge than I do, and my comp has a really hard time speaking and understanding so much on the time I have to take the lead and teach most of the lesson. He is hard work and I know that I am supposed to help him, he loves to talk and sing and sometimes he gets a little annoying but I have been trying my best to just deal with it and help him with everything and our comp relationship has been getting better.

Every district has 2 teachers, one for the morning and one for the evening and they are great guys, Hermano Palma is our morning teacher, he is a stud and has an amazing spirit, he is funny and is really short. But they are really helping us prepare to teach in the field.

The food here is, well I don't know how to explain it, it doesn't stay warm for long so I/we are usually stuck with eating cold food and most of us are not used to it so we are constantly running to the bathroom every hour or so.

Sleep is good, we are in with lights out at 1030 and are up at 630, it's still hard to stay awake during the day but it's getting easier and easier to get up early. Study is good, we spend a lot of time memorizing scriptures and passages in Spanish to help us in the field. We study a ton of Spanish and have to memorize and understand between 30-50 words a day, we have computer time when we use a program to help us learn and teach.

Our schedules for the day are packed full and we don't have much time to ourselves, it's go go go but it's been helping us get better at the language and better prepared to work hard out in the field.
The MTC is surrounded by a high brick wall and barbed wire fencing, it's a really poor part of the city that was are in. The houses are really close together and they are made of concrete and painted a ton of different colors.

Today, for P-day, we were given the chance to go to the Mexico City temple and do an endowment session there, we get to go 3 times while we are in the MTC. It was an amazing experience to hear some of it in Spanish, I am grateful that I can go to the temple and have the peace that comes from such a great refuge.

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, he dedicated his life to making sure that all of us could have the gospel in our lives, we watch a church movie on Sunday night about Joseph Smith and had a district testimony meeting after the video and it was the greatest testimony meeting that I have ever been in, I know that he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, and I know that the happiness that the gospel brings me is something that I can't wait to share it with the people in Northern Mexico.

I'll tell you that support is what keeps me going, getting e-mails from people keeps me going and letters are even better, I can receive letters any day of the week and I can write them in my free time after class or in our house at night, and I CAN RECEIVE PACKAGES, they messed that up last week and I can receive packages. Anyway, I would love to hear from more of you.

Thank you for all the prayers and good wishes, there are times that it gets really hard and I need them. You're all the best, and I hope to hear from you all soon!!

The MTC mailing address is:

Elder Corom L Jones
Mexico Reynosa Mission
Mexico Missionary Training Center
Carretera Tenayuca-Chalmita #828
Gustavo A Madero
Colonia Zona Escolar
07230 Mexico City, Distrito Federal
Mexico

You are the greatest and remember that Heavenly Father loves you, I know that he loves you!!

I love you all and hope that life is progressing well!! I pray for you all every night!!

A Five Year Old Letter to Her Oldest Brother

This is what Elder Jones will read from his 5 year old sister when he reads his email today (exactly like she typed it):

Dear elder corom jones

I love you

When you are sad or not feeling good please pray

Love minna

Elder CJones: The First Email

"Everyone, I made it safely to the MTC in Mexico City. 

The flight was amazing and I really enjoyed it!"

Of all the things Elder Jones was worried about, it was traveling to the MTC. He had never been on a plane. (I know, that's what doesn't happens when you have lots of children!) I assured him it was just like riding a bus . . . in the air. Of course, I didn't mention turbulence or take-off. But it looks like he survived because in his words, "the flight was amazing."

He'll be busy until his first P-day . . . nine days from today.

The Avalanche Just Begun

Today he left.

The oldest Elder Jones.

The first of seven.

Off to Mexico to teach the word of God.

And behold, we saw and felt that it was good!