Christmas Time is Here

Well y'all. It's the Christmas season. But it doesn't feel like it at all. It's weird. Like we don't have a Christmas tree or any decorations at our apartment. We only see them everywhere. There's no snow here either. It gets cold in the morning then after it's like 60 so it doesn't feel anything like Christmas. But the only thing that makes it feel like Christmas is Light the World. It's been way cool doing it as a missionary. Focusing on the people we are teaching when doing the light the world activities has just been awesome. 

Not too much has happened since Wednesday. Besides the thing that this week has gone by really slow. There's a new guy that's getting trained in our district and so it's nice not being the brand new greenie anymore. But I'm still a greenie. 

We met with this guy that I found on Facebook. This guy is literally the greatest, his name is Kendal. He started reading the Bible last year and he is just so cool. He has so many questions and we are able to answer a lot of them which is so awesome. So it's a blessing that we get to teach him, can't wait to see how much he progresses. 

On Friday we had a ward Christmas party. And the elders were asked to be a part of the carolers. And we were absolutely terrible. We are all tone deaf and don't know how to sing at all and so we brought the whole choir down haha. But it was still fun singing Christmas tunes. We also got to meet Santa which was a bonus cause I've never seen him before in real life so that got me really excited. Turns out he has a southern accent. But he's still jolly and fat like I imagined. Santa is a cool guy. 

Here's a spiritual thought for this week: 

John 14:18  "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you"

Jesus Christ will never leave us comfortless. He has overcome the world so that we don't have to. Jesus Christ is always there! Especially in hard times and times that don't seem promising at all, Jesus Christ knows EXACTLY what you're going through and so He won't leave you comfortless. He is ALWAYS there!!

Love y'all! Remember to keep Christ in Christmas!!

ELDER JONES

Elder EJones: I Love to See the Templo

We had cambios this week and I'm here again in Santa Cruz, in the center of the city, an area called Pirai. I'm excited to be here, it's good to be back in Santa Cruz. I am with Elder Canseco, he is from California. I said bye to my comp Elder Tebbs, and Elder Thurt who I trained this week...it's been so fun to be with them. And also Elder Dawson left last week to go home because he is still sick.

This week we talked to a guy who is the husband of an investigator that we have. She really wants to learn more, but he . . . not so much. He asked how is it that Jesus was a prophet, and I shared with Him this scripture that I read last week...

Matthew 21:10-11
And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

It made me think as I read it to him. Jesus was and is a prophet. He is THE prophet. Imagine living in His time and teaching and testifying of the Living Prophet, the Son of God. And in the same sense we have the opportunity to testify of a living prophet who testifies of Christ. I am so grateful that I was born in a time when the world wasn't in apostasy, when we have the direction of living prophets and apostles.

Well the title of my email today is I love to see the temple. That's because we flew today to Cochabamba and then to Santa Cruz, and the whole time we were looking for the temple...and we found it. The first time I've seen a temple in the last year and a half, it was the best!!!

Elder EJones: Almost Christmas

 

It's beginning to look a lot . . .

 

. . . like Christmas!!

It's almost Christmas.

It feels more like Christmas than last year because it has been colder, and it's raining. This week we were able to make Christmas packages to give to people in our area so that they can feel the joy of Christmas.

Elder Van-Pelting

Well, my new companion is really good. We've been able to work a lot together this week and have been able to see lots of success. He likes to work and we are getting along really well. This week we've been able to talk lots about Christmas and the Savior and help people to understand the importance of always remembering the Lord, not only during Christmas. 

Well here is the kinda crazy, not so much news. I think I'm gonna get another mini-missionary for the next cambio. One of the assistants called me and told me that they were doing cambios and asked if my comp could stay with me for another 3 weeks but he leaves for his mission in 3 weeks. So he told me to look for another mini missionary or be in a trio. I will not be in a trio haha. So I guess we'll see how it goes, I'll know more for next week.

This week I was able to read in Ether 12. And I love how it is very similar to Hebrews 11, they both talk about faith in Jesus Christ. I like that all the miracles that have ever been done by the apostles and prophets is because of their faith in Jesus Christ. And as we have faith in Him, He will become our anchor and foundation so that we can be secure where we are. And we still live by faith. For our faith we too can do and see things, and come to know the mysteries of God. It marvels me to think of how much faith Joseph Smith had if he was able to see God the Father and Jesus Christ. It made me think of the scripture Matthew 17:20

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

I can't imagine His faith. But we too can develop firm faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and loves us. I know that as we learn to trust in Him, He will lead, guide and even walk beside us!!

Elder EJones: These Things I Know

Hello!!

This week we were able to help lots of people to come to church, and to be able to participate. Being able to go to church is an amazing blessing that we have. To be able to partake of the sacrament every week is a need for all of us. And we all need to be able to invite all to come unto Christ, and to come to church so that they can fell of the joy of the Gospel too.

We were able to help Aaron to be baptized and confirmed. I know that the Lord works miracles is our lives and answers our prayers!!

I read this from a talk given by Elder Boyd K. Packer,

I know what He felt in Gethsemane

Is too much to comprehend.

I know He did it all for us;

We have no greater Friend.

I know that He will come anew

With power and in glory.

I know I will see Him once again

At the end of my life’s story.

I’ll kneel before His wounded feet;

I’ll feel His Spirit glow.

My whispering, quivering voice will say,

“My Lord, my God, I know.”

I know that the Lord has perfect love for us, and has a perfect individual plan of salvation for all of us. He loves us and knows our needs!!

Elder EJones: He Lives

This week wasn't that different from last week. We started the new cambio so we are working towards our new goals. Sometimes, I feel like they're hard to reach, but I know it all depends on our faith in the Lord and our personal worthiness and diligence. We are agents unto ourselves and the Lord is relying on us as missionaries, but as all of us as members of His Church, to help others to see how important the gospel is and to live and show it.

The Lord literally gave everything He possibly could to atone for us and we must be willing to sacrifice to allow others to feel and share that love.

This week I marveled at how much most of the world looks at the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Lots focus mostly and only on the death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. But as we remember and know, the Atonement of Jesus Christ started with His suffering in the garden of Gethsemane, then his physical death on the cross, and ended with his resurrection.

I love the scripture found in Matthew 28:6-7

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

Christ lives. Yes, He died, but He did live again. He not only lived again, but He lives again. He lives so that we too can live again. He lives to love, to guide, to comfort, to console, to succor. I know that He is the only person who can understand us completely. I am grateful for His sacrifice, His willingness to submit to the will of the Father. His love for His Father in Heaven, and for us.

May we remember him not only for Easter and for Christmas. But...as we remember to but the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the center of our lives everyday. Always being willing to take his holy name upon us.

Love you all,
Elder Jones

Elder ZJones: Look Unto Me in Every Thought-Doubt Not, Fear Not

It was a good week.

We helped Brian and Sol to be baptized. It was a huge blessing for us and awesome to see the change in their lives. Brian is 18 and we contacted him a while ago in the park. He was lost and talked to us a lot about the devil. We helped him to grow his faith and now he had a lot of friends at church and his mom is preparing to be baptized.

Sol is 9. We found her brother in the street. She was excited all week and her family is coming to church. We are going to help them that they can continue to go. We don't just baptize, but we help them to continue to grow, to become converted.

We are preparing this week to baptize the Vegapuente Family. They came to church and love it! They are feeling the Spirit and know that these things are true. They asked about the responsibilities that they will have after baptism. We talked to them about the commandments and taking Christ's name upon themselves. We are excited for them. We have a lot of futures, or people that still need some progression, but we know this week will be great.

Cambios this week .... Elder Burk will be leaving. He will be going to Junin. It's the farthest area in our mission. He has been assigned as a traveling AP. He will be in charge of the campo. Presidente wants to make the campo area a stake before the October General Conference. So he put a lot more missionaries there so that they can reactivate and teach people who can have the priesthood in there home. I will be staying here in Rodriguez and will be receiving Elder Rivera as my new companion. He is from Mexico. This is his last transfer in the mission. He is really mellow and works hard, so I'm excited. Please pray that we will work well together and that we can have an awesome transfer where the Lord can use us!

What else happened?

Well, we did service for the Guzman Family right after the baptism, and Brian came to help us! We moved dirt into a home they are building to level out the ground. They are excited to go to the temple and get sealed in a year. On Sunday, Santos received the Aaronic Priesthood. I really want to come back when they are sealed in the temple! We will see!

It was a good week. Sad to see Elder Burk leaving but I know that he will do some big things where he is going!

We are preparing a family to be baptized this week, The Vegapuente Family. There are four in the family, Enrique, Jessica, Naomi, and Philipe.

I read this scripture block this morning: Doctrine And Covenants 6:36-37

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

I know that it is through Christ that we will have hope. He will guide and give us the light that we need. Look to Him in everything and follow His counsels.

Thanks for everything!

Elder EJones: Cambios y Fe

Yes, I had cambios!

I'm in a new area with a new companion. My area is Los Olivos en La Colorada and our area takes in a lot more of the city. My new companion is Elder Torres from Peru. So this is my third companion in the mission, and my third companion from a Latin American country. In reality, I'm super glad that I'm getting companions from here because its helping me to learn Spanish a whole lot faster.

Well, I finally got to feel what everyone says about the mission: That it's much harder to leave the people here than it is to leave your home. I had to leave Quior 2 yesterday, and it was kinda rough. All the investigators that we had and all the converts---so hard to leave when you build bonds with them and then have to say goodbye. But it's all good. I'm doing super well I'm and super excited to be here in Los Olivos. And our house is an apartment on the 8th floor so the view is the best thing.

So this week I read a little talk in the January Liahona and I found a quote that I loved. It was from a story of a man called to be the stake president and he didn't think or feel that he was qualified for his calling. He said, "I don't think I can do this. I'm not in their league." Area authority's response: "Well, I suppose you're right. You can't do it, but the Lord can. He has the power to do His work, and if you will be worthy and work hard, He will do it. You will see!"  AND HE DID!!

Remember that! No matter how much we feel like we can't do something, trust in the Lord, and He will guide us to do all things!!

* * *
There seem to be two distinct levels of faith.

The first level is the faith to try, the faith to thrust in our sickles. The second level is the faith to do. It is more than the faith to thrust in our sickles—it is the faith to reap.

That subtle distinction between the faith to thrust in our sickles and the faith to reap will make all the difference in our lives. To live again with our Heavenly Father and to live productive and joyful lives on earth, we need to develop the faith to reap.

First, unlike the faith to thrust in our sickles, the faith to reap is not faith in ourselves. It is not the same as self-confidence or positive mental attitude. It is not even faith in our families or friends—all of which are good. The faith to reap is faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. It is faith in His power, not ours.

Faith in Jesus Christ is the first step that we take to be able to enjoy all the blessings that our Heavenly Father has for us. He wants us to be able to access his power in our lives though faith in him. Faith is a word of action. I've learned as a missionary we can't do anything without faith--and our faith must be in Jesus Christ and His Atonement!! He live!! We grow our faith by acting on our faith!!

Love you lots,
Elder Jones

Elder ZJones: Be Ye Therefore Perfect

One of the great teachings of the Man of Galilee, the Lord Jesus Christ, was that you and I carry within us immense possibilities. In urging us to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect, Jesus was not taunting us or teasing us. He was telling us a powerful truth about our possibilities and about our potential. It is a truth almost too stunning to contemplate. Jesus, who could not lie, sought to beckon us to move further along the pathway to perfection.

We are not yet perfect as Jesus was, but unless those about us can see us striving and improving, they will not be able to look to us for example, and they will see us as less than fully serious about the things to be done.

Each of us has more opportunities to do good and to be good than we ever use. These opportunities lie all around us. Whatever the size of our present circle of effective influence, if we were to improve our performance even a little bit, that circle would be enlarged. There are many individuals waiting to be touched and loved if we care enough to improve in our performance.  -Pres. Kimball

I know that it is through living the example of Jesus Christ that we can become more and more like Him. We have to do our part to work hard and learn of the ways that He served, worked, and taught! I know that it will bring happiness and joy.

This week we are teaching Jeramias and Ada. They have a lot of faith. In my mission experience, I haven't had a lot of people we are teaching read the Book of Mormon when we have invited them to do so because they really havenlt wanted to read it for themselves. But Jeramias and Ada are reading everything we assign them and they understand what they are reading! They came to church this Sunday with us and they have been to church a lot before. We will pray to know if we should baptize them this weekend or the next. We want to help their mom to understand the truth s of the gospel, but she doesn't want to stop smoking. Pray for her. Her name is Annabella.

And Javier and Rocio, the couple we have been working with for a while now, they will be getting married on the 21st!! But Javier has a problem with the Word of Wisdom. Please Pray for him that he will have the desire to stop smoking and drinking so that he can be baptized.

And pray for Kayra that we can help her and her family. Pray that she can be baptized and receive

the Holy Ghost as a constant Guide!

Love you all!

Elder Jones

Bolivian Food

Elder ZJones: Alma 37

Sending off Elder Yepez

This week has been good. My companion and I are working hard in our area. This companionship has helped me with my Spanish because I have had to be proactive in speaking the language. During lessons I find that I am doing more of the talking, which is really helping my Spanish. During the week, we have many contacts who tell me that they don't understand a word of what I was saying. Sometimes it can be annoying but I have learned just to laugh it off. It is mostly my accent, because apparently it is very yankee.

This week we are planning to help Ana and Kayra to be baptized, but they work very weird hours, so it has been difficult to find time to teach them. Ana is the mom of two of the kids that were baptized a couple weeks ago. Kayra is 11 and loves going to church. They love learning about the gospel. Pray that we can find them during the week and that we can teach them!

The sisters in our district, Hermana Herbon and Hermana Hosman, baptized this weekend, which was awesome!! They are good missionaries who work very hard. I find that as their district leader I am just here to animarles and to help them along.

Me and Elder Rivera

Alma 37:33-35
33 Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.
35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

I have thought a lot this week about Jesus Christ, especially when He was on earth teaching the gospel. I love reading the scriptures and understanding the way He taught. He shared with the people to be humble and trust God in all things. He taught the people to serve others and to have faith in Him. As we become more like Jesus in teaching, in deed, and in our works, we will feel the spirit more. We will have His trust and His help in all things.

Pray for those we are teaching and those we yet need to find!!

Love you all! Have a great Week!
Elder Jones

Elder EJones: Week Second in the MTC

Hola Everyone!

This week has been crazy. It was super fast!! We've learned so much in the language and in the gospel and it has helped me to grow a lot. We learned about keeping things simple while teaching and making it so that others can feel the Spirit. It's not about what we say to those were teaching, but how they feel the spirit while we teach them. Because we aren't the teachers. The Spirit is and are only acting as the mouthpiece for the Lord.

We were able to watch a devotional from Elder Bednar from a couple years ago where he taught about the Character of Christ. Throughout His whole ministry Christ didn't look inward at all. Even after he had fasted for forty days, after He went through the atonement, after He suffered for our sins, and after He died for us, He was always looking to comfort others and make sure others were okay. We can't always do it the way He did because we aren't perfect like He is, but as we strive to be more like Christ, we should strive to love like Christ would--to love our enemies and to focus on the needs of others rather than our needs.

As we learn to help others, we learn to help ourselves, and while we may be struggling in our own lives, as we look outward to others, we will find joy and through Christ we can lift our own spirits.

I know the Lord will bless us only when we are doing all we can to hearken to His counsel; and when we put in all our work and effort, first. I've been able to feel His love for me this week and I know He wants the best from us --- it's our choice if we want to accept His blessings by living worthy.

Love you all,
Elder Jones

Merry Christmas 2017

It was a sweet and full Christmas day of eagerly awaiting the calls of our three boys . . . and none of them called at the same time.

Each of them looked so good and so happy! They shared some of their highlights and expressed the deep love they have of being full time missionaries in the service of the Lord. They love teaching the restored gospel and they shared their profound gratitude for the Savior's atoning power.

Merry Christmas 2017!

Elder Hyrum Jones from Arica, Chile

Elder Zeram Jones from Marcos Paz, Argentina

Elder Corom Jones from Rio Bravo, Mexico

Elder HJones: Who is Jesus Christ to You?

Funny story: I was on intercambios with the district leader (he goes home in a month!) We were walking to a house to give a bautismal interview. And all of the sudden I felt something wet fall from the sky and hit my head. And I knew exactly what had happened. A pigeon was on the telephone wires and decided to make me his target. So we had to go back to our pension because I had poop in my hair, on my tie, and on my white shirt! Ha ha.

The other day we were visiting with a family of members. At the end they asked me to say the prayer in English. I am so used to praying in Spanish, so it sounded very weird. I felt like I was going to say something wrong. 

Still not sure about Christmas traditions in Chile. But I do miss the snow! It is HOT here, definitely doesn't feel like the Christmas season.

So it was elections in Chile yesterday, so it was kinda crazy. Church started 30 minutes earlier because of it and when the meeting started literally nobody was there. People in Chile are always late to everything anyway, so nothing ever starts on time. So church starting 30 min. early didn't help at all. But in priesthood class yesterday I learned some very important things. The question was asked, "Quien es Jesucristo a usted", or "Who is Jesus Christ to you?"

To me, Jesus Christ is my best friend. He is the only way I can return to my Father in Heaven with my family. He suffered for MY sins in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was whipped, beaten, spit upon, mocked, and nailed to a cross for ME.

I love the scripture in Mosiah 14:5 it says, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

I love my Savior Jesus Christ. Through Him I can do all things.

Love ya'll, Elder Jones