Elder CJones: Elder Indiana Jones

"I think it’s time to ask yourself; what do you believe in?"
-Indiana Jones

Well, I bought a hat this week to protect my face a little more from the sun and I became Elder Indiana Jones!

Not much has been really going on in my life or the life of my companion. We have been working hard to find people that really want to change and better their lives. A couple days ago, we talked with our neighbors, Cynthia and Anahi. They are young women that are really cool and are interested in the church. They listened to our lesson about Joseph Smith and later that night came to our activity to watch a movie about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the Gospel. The next day they came to church with us and they are willing to keep listening and are wanting to come to church again!

We decided to have a mission activity every week so that we can verify better the desire of our investigators. We had 3 show up this week, even without the help of the members who all went to the temple. This next week we are hoping to find more people and to get more help from the members as well.

Well, this email is a little short this week. I just want all of you to know that even though all this is hard, it's so worth it in the end! I know this Gospel is true and I am a witness of miracles here in Mexico and I know that Lord can work miracles as we listen for the Spirit and follow His promptings always!

--
Love you all!!
Elder Corom Jones

"Men have come to speak of the revelation as somewhat long ago given and done, as if God were dead... It is the office of a true teacher to show us that God is, not was; that He speaketh, not spake."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (July 15, 1838)

Elder CJones: Valle Hermoso and a Miracle

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
-Alma 26:27

I came to this city of "Valle Hermoso" on Tuesday and I am really enjoying the area and the people! My new companion is from Veracruz. He is a really hard worker and we got a lot done this week. In this area we ride bikes because we are able to get a lot more done through the day. My legs are getting stronger due biking and I am getting healthier. Ha ha.

We have found a handful of families that want to be taught.

Francisco and Dulce are a young couple that don't have a lot. They have a desire to go to church and to learn. Years ago, missionaries talked with them so they have a Book of Mormon but have yet to read it. They are married. They are just working on their desire and they can be baptized in a couple weeks.

Milser and Rosendo are a really young couple--Rosendo is 20 and Milser is 15. They are not married bu we are working with them to gather the money and get them married. They have a ton of desire to change and come to church. They have come to Church once, but they work a lot because they are preparing to have a baby. They need prayers to find and save the money to come to church.

Victor and his family have a small desire to come to church and can feel the power of the Spirit when we teach them. They need to save money to get married, as well.

Adriana is a wonderful lady. Two of her sons are members of the Church and she knows that it is the right path but she is a little fearful of commitments and going to church. She feels a lot of pressure but wants to change. She loves the Book of Mormon and reads it all the time. Pray for her and her family that they will help her be a convert to the church.

Those are the people and families we are teaching right now. Our goal in our area for the month of June is 15 baptisms. Please pray that the people will accept our message and that they will want to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This week I learned something really really powerful about how the Lord is watching over each one of us and that we need to constantly listen for the Spirit so that we can be His hands. One of the elders with me here in Valle Hermoso was one of the elders that lived with me in Bugambilias in Februrary and March. On Friday, he asked me if I ever heard the whole story of one of my converts, I hadn't and he told me the story. I will use both sides of the story to tell what happened. My side is the normal font and the different font type is that of our investigator.

I started serving in Bugambilias, an area of Reynosa, on January 2. This particular day my companion and I contacted an apparently "golden family". We worked with this family for a month and this slowly progressed to one night when we had a FHE planned for them. It was a cold rainy night, January 27th, they decided that since the weather was cold they wanted to stay at home. Sadly we headed in the direction of our home to warm up and discuss our plans for the next day. As we passed a small neighborhood we had a strong feeling to contact one more house. We entered the neighborhood, walking down the streets we felt that a certain house needed our message. After the initial knock we were greeted by a man, short and full of energy, Nacho. He invited us in and as we got to know him we learned that he had been baptized 17 years before, but after moving and not finding the church, he became inactive.

Elderes, I would like to share with you the experience I had with Elder Jones and Elder Carrizales when they first came to my house. They visited me on January 27th at night, well that morning I had a dream, a dream that I was walking in a area very dark and in the distence I could see a light, a pillar of light, I began to walk toward the pillar and I felt a hand on my shoulder, an angel stood next to me and said, "Irving, your family has a lot of problems right now, do you want to save this relationship? Does it mean enough to you?" "Yes, I want to keep my two kids and fix the problems I have in my relationship." I continued to walk closer to the light and as I proceeded closer I was stopped again by the angel, "Irving, your family has a lot of problems right now, do you want to save this relationship? Does it mean enough to you?" "Yes"I repeated. As I arrived at the light, I saw there was a hole in teh ground, again I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Irving, your family has a lot of problems right now, do you want to save this relationship? Does it mean enough to you?" "Yes, I really do" I jumped into the light and a strong hand caught me before I fell, "Irving, do you really want to save it?" "Yes, I really do!" As the angel let me go I woke up on the floor next to my bed. 

I began to pack my clothes, I was going to leave my family after I finished work that night, I was going to leave if nothing happened. And as the day came to a close Elder Carrizales and Elder Jones knocked on my door, I had a bad attitude about this, I just wanted them to share their message and leave. 

Walking into the house, we started to get to know the family and how they were doing. They seeme happy. The husband was talking a lot and the wife was standing silent in the corner of the room. As we prepared to pray with the family, we had an impression to ask the wife if she had any questions. She asked, "Do you know how to fix a relationship?"As she asked this, both of them started to crazy and ask for help, they really wanted to better their relationship and their family but were having a lot of problems.

We worked with them for almost three months. After those three months the Spirit was able to abide in their home. They are active in the Church and Irving was able to baptize the wife after they were married. They have a goal next to travel to Tampico next April, where Nacho is from, to be sealed for time and all eternity.

I testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and as we truly turn our lives to the Savior that we can have a changed life, we can feel of His love for each one of us. Through this experience, I know that Heavenly Father knows each one of us and that He cares and wants the best for us all. I know this work is real and I testify of the reality of Christ love for each one of us. I testify of His Gospel and the reality of His Infinite Matchless Love.

--
Elder Corom Jones

PS - Oh there was a tornado here this week haha!


“There is no greater work than that of missionary work. There is nothing so wonderful—nothing—as tasting the joy and success of missionary labors."
-LeGrand Richards

Elder CJones: Family is of God

"Pray as though everything depended on God.
Work as though everything depended on you."

-Saint Augustine

Well to start it all off, I got to Video Call my family this week!! It was great to talk with them and see them all--LIVE--face to face. I know that families are of God and I am so grateful for my family!

Today has been crazy! Along with the Mother's Day present, we also received transfers this week! I am one who is getting transferred again. I will be headed to another city called Valle Hermoso. Valle Hermoso is a small city a few hours from Rio Bravo and Reynosa. It's more to the south.

Image Source: http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Valle-Hermoso

I will be leaving some really great people and investigators here in Rio Bravo. Recently, we were teaching a man named Adrian. He has been having some doubts about the Church and he has a lot of questions, but he has a desire to read the Book of Mormon and find the truth. He works a lot and doesn't have a lot of time to go to church. He is a really cool guy and I am praying that he will progress and one day be baptized.

We recently met another family, the Morelos family. They have been searching for the truth for a very long time. They are hoping that through the Book of Mormon and our discussions they can find the truth and find out which church is the true church of Jesus Christ. They are praying to find the answer as they read and study, their names are Sergio and Ana.

Our last investigator from the Mexican state of Campeche. Her name is Ezperanza. She is here helping her daughter take care of her baby. We passed her house one day and knocked on the door. She answered and we talked about her life down where she is from. She has come to church once and plans to read the Book of Mormon we gave to her. She has really strong faith and feels the the Gospel and the message that we bring is right. I pray that she will follow her desires and the promptings of the Spirit.

I know this work is true. I know that even when things go wrong (and they always will). May we be willing to rise up and never stay down when we will find times that are truly tough. Sometimes, it will be hard to follow up on something when it never seems to be going our way. Sometimes, we feel let down and sometimes we feel alone. At times, we my feel that we are the only ones suffering through the pain and disappointment. But there is Someone out there who wants to help us. His name is Jesus Christ and He knows all of our pains and afflictions. He is our greatest Friend and Helper and when we feel that we don't deserve anything good, He knows the best. He will always help.

One of my favorite movie series of all time is that of the Batman Trilogy by Christopher Nolan. I have learned some great lessons from those movies. One of the examples is in the first movie "Batman Begins.' After he is trained and is given an option to destroy his city, he makes up his mind to help the city and he would help them as long as they let him. Batman's trainer becomes angry because Batman will not destroy the city. In the past, I have thought about this and the importance of how this can apply to the Gospel. Those bad murderers in the movie are like Satan, he knows that we are imperfect and wants to destroy us, our Savior is like Batman. (Yes and I am really comparing this). Our Savior wants to help us but only as long as we let Him. Though Jesus Christ anything is possible. Yes, it's hard. Yes, we will suffer, and yes, it will hurt.  But just like Batman is said, "The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming."

I testify of the grace and mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ and the power that comes through his Atoning sacrifice. When we turn to the Lord, our hearts will change and we will become like Him.

Love you all,
Elder Corom Jones

"Your compassion is a weakness your enemies will not share. That's why it's so important. It separates us from them." -Dialogue from Batman Begins

Elder CJones: Mother's Day 2017

We had a wonderful visit today with Elder Jones.
He is happy. He is tan. He is loving his mission even though the people in Rio Bravo are not as receptive to the gospel message as he would like. His Spanish is coming along very well. With the heat and the humidity, he drinks about a gallon of water a day! He is grateful to be a full-time missionary. We love you Elder Corom Jones!

Elder CJones: Messages From Home and Other Blessings

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful [lives] require a high degree of [toleration]."
-President Gordon B Hinckley quoting Jenkins Lloyd Jones

Some weeks are hard and others aren't.

Some days get hard and others are days when people want to listen.

The mission is most definitely the hardest thing I have ever done. It's not easy but it's do-able and worth it.

These past weeks have been the difficult type--not easy with my companion, with the people, and with the branch that I'm serving in. The mission is difficult. But, this week I, for sure, got a testimony of families.

Our goal in the mission is to teach about families. Families are so critically important because they are so important to God. We haven't found a lot of families to teach. But, I know one of the reasons why we have families-- that that's so we can support one another.

Since the beginning of the mission, I have not failed to get a letter from my brother Zeram, as well as both of my parents. I've noticed that my family is the one, constant support for me. My family is so important to me and I have gained a stronger love for my family as I have been out here.

Through the hard times family members can support one another. Last week, I got a letter from Zeram, and as usual, his letter was filled with something powerful. He wrote: "Can't wait to hear from you!! I know you are doing amazing things!! You are setting an example to everyone. A lot of people ask how you are doing and look up to you. Love you and wish you a great and spiritual week ahead!!"

From a General Conference Talk, President Gordon B. Hinckley said,

We see some around us who are indifferent concerning the future of this work, who are apathetic, who speak of limitations, who express fears, who spend their time digging out and writing about what they regard to be weaknesses which really are of no consequence. With doubt concerning its past, they have no vision concerning its future.

Well was it said of old, 'Where there is no vision, the people perish' (Prov. 29:18). There is no place in this work for those who believe only in the gospel of doom and gloom. The gospel is good news. It is a message of triumph. It is a cause to be embraced with enthusiasm.

The Lord never said that there would not be troubles. Our people have known afflictions of every sort as those who have opposed this work have come upon them. But faith has shown through all their sorrows. This work has consistently moved forward and has never taken a backward step since its inception. I think of the boy Joseph persecuted and ridiculed by those his senior. But the pain of the wounds of that persecution was tempered by the declaration of Moroni, who told him that God had a work for him to do; and that his name “should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people” (JS—H 1:33).

I know that we were sent in our families for a reason. One of those reasons is that a family is just a simple support system! I love my family and hope that we all can grow a love for our families!!

--
Love you all!
Elder Corom Jones

"Life is like an old-time rail Journey --delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." -Gordon B Hinckley quoting Jenkins Lloyd Jones

Elder CJones: Agency and Action

"Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen... yourself, right now, right down here on Earth." -Bradley Whitford

This week was a lot better than the last because it was full of action and less reaction. I am not perfect and I did react a lot. But I was a lot better this week. One thing I have been learning out here is that I am not even close to being humble. The Lord is constantly humbling me to be a better person.

Last week, I shared a little bit about action and that we need to act in place of reaction. This week, I studied that subject a little more and I have been trying to apply more to my life. I am studying the subject a lot more and I would like to share my testimony about agency.

Adversity seems to be a bad thing. Adversity is a trial or hardship that we encounter during our lives. In the truth, adversity is a blessing. "Opposition will not be allowed to overcome us." The Lord gives us trials to see how we will act and if we will be humble enough to learn from our problems and circumstances. “It is not on the pinnacle of success and ease where men and women grow most. It is often down in the valley of heartache and disappointment and reverses where men and women grow into strong characters.”

The mission brings a lot of trials. It's the hardest thing I have ever done. 24 hours a day we work to bring and find people that want to have these grand blessings. Sometimes I question why I decided to do this, I could be back home: driving (I miss that a lot), shopping, chilling, watching basketball, with family, hiking, there are countless things. But I know this mission was my choice and I am glad I made it. This is my choice and no one else's. Through the trials I have had here, I know I have grown. I know I have progressed in these past 195 days. My testimony has been strengthened through the trials and hard times. I am excited to see what life has it store for me.

"An old cowboy said he had learned life’s most important lessons from Hereford cows. All his life he had worked cattle ranches where winter storms took a heavy toll among the herds. Freezing rains whipped across the prairies. Howling, bitter winds piled snow into enormous drifts. Temperatures might drop quickly to below zero degrees. Flying ice cut into the flesh. In this maelstrom of nature’s violence most cattle would turn their backs to the ice blasts and slowly drift downwind, mile upon mile. Finally, intercepted by a boundary fence, they would pile up against the barrier and die by the scores.

“But the Herefords acted differently. Cattle of this breed would instinctively head into the windward end of the range. There they would stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing the storm’s blast, heads down against its onslaught.

“‘You always found the Herefords alive and well,’ said the cowboy. ‘I guess it’s the greatest lesson I ever learned on the prairies—just face life’s storms’”

For the moment, we may have a difficult situation like the winter blizzards, but we have two choices at that point: to act like the Herefords, or be acted upon like the other cattle. We can choose to tough it out and show God that we can do it as well, learn something about ourselves along the way. Or, we can turn away and let somebody or something else decide how we will act and follow the fiery darts of the adversary. “When we are pushed, stung, defeated, embarrassed, hurt, rejected, tormented, forgotten—when we are in agony of spirit crying out ‘why me?’ we are in a position to learn something”

--
Elder Corom Jones

(See "Adversity" speech from Dallin H. Oaks for these quoted references)

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." -2 Corinthians 12:10