Elder CJones: Love for a Common Interest

"Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved."
- Mattie Stepanek

I am back in Reynosa, with a companion from Honduras, Elder Bueso.

This week, we worked just a few days together for some crazy changes that have passed this week. This is the last week of the Mexico Reynosa Mission, after this week it will no longer exist.

We are working with some investigators: Yaime, Manuel, Caroline, Guillermo, Natali, and Humberto.

Yaime is a young women, she is really cool and loves to talk with us. She is having a lot of problems with the Word of Wisdom, she is more of a liberal thinker, and it is making it hard for her to progress. She wants to be baptized, pray that she will be able to stop drinking and that she can be baptized.

Manuel is a really cool old man that comes to church by himself every week, he comes to all the activites as well!! We will be finishing up with him to try and baptize him this week!

Caroline, Guillermo and Natali are siblings. They love us as missionaries and they enjoy coming to church. We are working with their mom, she is a member but doesn't really have a strong desire to be active, she doesn't understand much of the church, she was baptized long ago but became an inactive. Pray that she will have a change of heart and will help her kids!!

Humberto is a reference from Temple Square. He was in Utah and visited the temple. Pray that his progression will continue!!

God really does work is mysterious ways. This last week I was thinking about the blessings tha God has given us during this time. Right now, the thing that everyone talks about is the World Cup. Even the people that don't play futbol watch the World Cup. When we went to Pizza Hut to eat this week, it was on. When we walk past homes, it is on. When we are walking in the streets, we hear screaming from in the house from the people watching. As we have been working, I thought about a quote from a movie that I saw years ago

Brock Kelley: So you think that God does care about football?

Grant Taylor: I think He cares about your faith. He cares about where your heart is. And if you can live your faith out on the football field then yes, God cares about football because He cares about you. He sent His son Jesus to die for us so we could live for Him. That's why we're here. But see, it's not just on the football field; we've got to honor Him in our relationships, our respect for authority, in the classroom, and when you're at home alone surfing the internet. I want God to bless this team so much that people talk about what He did. But it means we got to give Him our best in every area. If we win, we praise Him. And if we lose, we praise Him.

Now that Mexico is winning in the World Cup, the people have invited us to food, to enjoy the games with them and we have had the chance to meet knew people to teach and have been able to find a common interest to break the ice when talking to people.

Since I was a little kid, I remember something that my parents told me. "The Lord created everything for His benefit, and Satan changes them for his benefit." Something along those lines. I feel that God is using this World Cup to help us find new people to teach and boosting our spirits with everyone that invites us to eat.

Love you all!!

Elder Corom Jones

Elder ZJones: How Great is Our Joy

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Great Week!

First off, the Lord blessed us so much this past week. In the beginning, we didn't think that we had anyone that could progress and be baptized. But my companion and I prayed a lot, we worked with those that had the desire to be baptized, and by the end of the week we baptized Nahuel. I am grateful for the Lord and His desire to have His children come unto Him. We are going to help his mother to have the same desire as well.

This past week I spoke in church. Our Bishop called us Saturday night and asked us to speak in Sacrament Meeting. In my talk I shared about the happiness that this gospel can bring when we follow the Lord and share it with others.

Alma 27:17-18
17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.
18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.
Ammon was searching for this happiness and was doing everything in his power to repent and share his testimony with others. He felt this joy with his friends, that they we teaching and baring testimony.

4 Nephi 1:15-16
15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16 ... and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

After Jesus Christ appeared and taught the Nephites, they followed the things that he taught, and because of this they lived in peace, and were happy. We can feel the same. We can receive a great happiness as we follow the counsel of our Prophet, are obedient, and share these things with others.

Love this gospel and it is such a blessing to see how it changes peoples lives!

Elder Jones

Elder HJonees: The Gospel is a Miracle

So on Saturday we baptized Max and Ignacio. Really a miracle how we found them.

Two to three weeks ago we contacted Max in the street. He was really receptive and he gave us his address to pass by another day. After we continued to pass by the address we couldn't find him. We called him and he never answered. But one day, after leaving the house without finding anyone, we called him. And a lady answered. We were walking on a long dirt road and in front of us walking towards us was a lady holding her baby. She too was talking on the phone. And on the phone Elder Matos asked, "Are you the lady holding the baby walking towards two missionaries?" And sure enough...it was her!! She was the mom of Max. And we learned that she is a member!! She gave us their real address...we were knocking a door like 2 houses away, and we past by another day. And they got baptized this past week!!

God has a plan for each one of us. He knows that this gospel is a wonderful blessing and He wants everyone to have it. And He puts people or things in our path so we can recieve it. This gospel is true. This gospel is a miracle.

Have a fantastic week!

Love, Elder Jones