Steve

We made the news on Thanksgiving

This week was pretty solid. A really good time. It was THANKSGIVING!! can't believe it's already been Thanksgiving cause yesterday felt like Halloween! But Thanksgiving was really solid. We went to our stake president's house and had dinner. We got banished to the little kids' table. I'm used to getting put on the little kids' table so I was fine with it haha. It was a good time, we played cover your assets and that was a really fun time. 

Bacon Doughnut. For reals!

We didn't have too much happening this week. I had exchanges this week since my comp is a zone leader. So I went on 2, they were both really fun. One of them was Thursday to Friday. This past week has been fun. We passed out service flyers twice. One of them we put in mailboxes and we didn't know that doing that was a federal offense. Yikes! So we got a call from USPS telling us we can't do that so ya it didn't turn out well. So we did some more and I think we have some pretty solid service opportunities. 

Well, y'all are wondering what the title of this email is all about. Well, Steve is a snake. We found him doing service on Tuesday. So we put him in a water bottle and later that day I scared some other elders with it and it was the funniest thing ever. I don't have a video but man it was hilarious. But Steve was my friend this week and we let him free and he's safe. So don't worry bout him haha. 

Spiritual Thought (kinda-ish):

We met with a recent convert this week, David. He had some questions and wanted to meet with us and so we talked. He told us he wanted to read from the Book of Mormon more. We told him that we study an hour a day and this is what he said in return. 

"If I can't read the Book of Mormon and the Bible for an hour a day that's a [dang] shame". I would put in the actual word he said but y'all know what I mean and it wouldn't be good for me to swear as a missionary. But ya that is just awesome cause he shows an example of the importance of reading the scriptures!

Anyways. Love y'all and happy (really late) Thanksgiving and Merry (really early) Christmas!

God's Plan

 

Well. Another week gone. 

Felt like I just wrote an email. But here we go again. 

This week has been full of good things. From Monday night to Tuesday night I had exchanges. I was companions with another greenie. Crazy how they put us both together for a day with only being in the field for like 3 weeks. It went well and we had a good time. And I finally got to drive which is so nice cause I haven't driven in months.

This week was just full of doing service and we had a couple awesome teaching appointments! Service is always a good time. We were able to hand out service flyers in a neighborhood and so I got a little bit of the tracting experience. It was a good time doing that. Yet we were in a little sketchy neighborhood but still, good times. 

We met with a less active member this week. He hasn't been to church in 25 years. He was so personable and just so easy to talk to. Well after 25 years of not coming back to church, he wants to come back. Like really wants to come back. So we just talked for like an hour and a half and it was just so cool. Idk how to describe it but man I just know I'm here in South Carolina to help him come back to church. It's all part of God's Plan! He even set his own expectations on when to come back! Can't wait to help him come back to church.

Well, President Nelson's message on Friday was just the best. It was awesome being able to hear from a prophet who gives us specific and direct revelation that God wants us to hear and do today! So cool being able to see him pray for us and just hear of his love. It was so awesome. So y'all can just watch it again cause it's amazing. 

Anyways, idk what else to say. Just a lot of working and serving and staring at a computer screen all day. But missionary work is awesome. 

Love y'all!! 

ELDER JONES

Third Week

This week has been pretty good! I did have a terrible migraine on Monday night after we played basketball and had dinner. After a lesson, we went home at 9 and I went to bed right after. I couldn't sleep so my comp gave me a blessing and it helped a TON! I was able to fall asleep and the next morning I didn't have a headache.

We did more service this week. More painting which was fun. Our friend, Patricia, has a ton of questions. So we were able to answer a ton of the Bible questions she has. I hope we can help her progress.

We have been able to teach a bit this week too. We taught a lady named Angela. She wants her cousin to learn about the gospel with her so we are gonna meet again next week its exciting. We also had a first lesson with a woman named Chasity. The question she has was how she knows which denomination is the right denomination and I was so pumped when she asked that! So we're hoping to teach her the restoration this next week, hopefully with her fiancee. I'm so excited!! A lot of teaching is over the phone and stuff which I'm not used to, but I hope that I will. 

This week I had interviews with my mission president, President Monson. He is nice and asked about Facebook finding and my Spanish and just getting used to the mission life. It was a good little convo. I then talked to Sister Monson and she's awesome. She just asked some get to know you questions and she's an awesome person. Needless to say, interviews went well. 

On Thursday we went and had dinner with Boesl family. They are such a cool family. Just their warmness and kindness made me feel at home. We had baked ziti and it was good stuff. We played basketball with their son on Monday. It was a good time. It's cool to be on the other side now as a missionary and see how awesome families are.

On Saturday we were at the church doing some Facebook finding and our bishop called. He wanted us to get to his house so we could have pancakes. So we got over there and had some good pancakes and then just talked with him. Bishop Edwards is like the coolest guy!! 

A couple days this week it POURED rain. I've never seen it rain for that long that hard. It was pretty awesome.

I love being a missionary. I love sharing the gospel with others and giving others the light they're lacking in their lives. I love sharing the love Jesus Christ has with others.  Even though it's not Panama it's awesome being here and having the experiences I'm having here. Cause I know the Lord needs me here for specific people! I love this gospel.

LOVE YOU TONS!! 

ELDER ABRAM JONES

Unforgettable

 

Well, it's been a good week. 

It started off a little rough. I was pretty homesick on Monday, just missing the fam and being at home. Yet I was able to call my family on Monday night and it helped a ton haha it was really good to see them. 

Honestly the days just mold into one another. We do so much and so it kinda just goes and goes. We do a lot of stuff on Facebook. A lot of adding people and it is hard. We try to find people and add them and then message them about the gospel yet people just leave me on read (I'm already used to that cause I would get left on read all the time at home 😂). But it's a lot and a lot of people just don't want to hear from missionaries haha. Some guys thought I was a guy from state farm I thought it was funny cause it happened with two guys in a row hahaha. 

We had a lot of meetings this week. We had a zone conference on Tuesday,  it was like 5 hours long on zoom but I'm used to that because of the MTC hahaha. It was really good though, I heard a lot of stuff that I needed to hear. 

We were able to do service this week for a lady named Patricia. She is awesome! We went last week to help with her yard and this week we painted a room in her house. Good thing I have some experience from work haha shoutout to elder Moore! Haha. It was sweet cause she started talking to us about the things about her church that she doesn't like. Like pastors getting paid. And not willing to help or serve. And not caring about her problems. And not having a personal relationship with God. My comp and I were able to give her a Book of Mormon and share our testimonies with her. It was such a cool experience! 

We had a baptism this week for a guy named David. My comp and I had 2 lessons with the guy. One over the phone and the other was going over the baptismal interview questions. He got baptized on Saturday and it was a cool experience. From the other missionaries, we heard that he had a problem with nicotine and tea but it was awesome to see him progress so much in a week and stop doing those things. It was so cool seeing him be baptized and see how excited he was. I was able to participate in the confirmation and that was so cool!!

This week has been really good! I really hope to find and teach more people this week and I know it'll happen!! I love being a missionary. It's the hardest thing I've done before. I can tell it's gonna be the hardest 2 years of my life. But it will be worth it. 

Jesus Christ has overcome all things and because He has, we can!! Jesus Christ is living! He is our Savior and He loves us!! 

Thanks for your prayers and support!! Have a good week y'all!!

Y'all Boys

 

Well well well - - -

It's my first week in South Carolina. First time being on a plane and it's the farthest I've been away from home. Well, I flew out Wednesday at 6 am, had a stop in Dallas then flew to South Carolina. I got here and just chilled in a stake center from like 2-7, it was kinda boring and I was not used to the humidity and so it was killer hot. We stayed in a hotel that night, I was in the same room as Elder Teller (an elder from my MTC district) so that was hype. 

On Thursday we got assigned our trainers. My trainer is Elder Weiss from Gilbert Arizona. He's a pretty cool guy, he's pretty chill and he and I got along pretty well. This week we were able to do some service, have dinner at a member's house, go to a wars Halloween party, and a couple other things.

We met with a member that is actually in a band. It's called the moth and the flame. So go check it out haha they came out with a song the other day so go listen to it haha. 

We were able to attend a baptism and it was such a cool experience. The guy that was being baptized had a stroke and so he was paralyzed on his left side. He was in a wheelchair and all and it was so cool to see how eager he was to be baptized. 

On Saturday we were invited to go play some golf with the elders' quorum presidency and at first, I was a little hesitant. We went and for the first bit, I was wondering why we were wasting our time golfing not on a p day. At about hole 3 or 4 I remembered a story that my MTC teacher Hermana Nelson shared with our class. She shared that on a normal day she and her companion went to a friend's house and spent 4 hours with them making food. She had the same feelings I did of not wanting to do it since it seemed like she was wasting her time. But for her, they ended up gaining so much of their trust they were able to create a connection that allowed this family to invite others into their home and share more about the gospel with them and their friends. I remembered this and then I was able to enjoy myself. I was then able to talk more openly and have a good time and create a bond with the members in the ward. It was a good time. 

Well, this week has been good, way different than what I thought it was gonna be like and something like I've never done before. And it's awesome but just a little bit stressful so I'm doing my best. 

But I did finish the Book of Mormon yesterday!! I finished it in 20 days and it was such an amazing experience! My testimony grew so much in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon! It is the best book!

Hope you all have a grand week!!

ELDER JONES

p.s. I was able to see elder Denning from high school on Saturday and it was hype (and yes I forgot a tie.. a rookie mistake).