Elder EJones: Thanksgiving Week--Crazy!

How are you? How has your week been? It's crazy that this is Thanksgiving week. I can remember last thanksgiving like it was yesterday. I was here in the mission!! But this week is gonna be super good. I'm super excited. Elder Mathias Held from The Seventy is coming to our mission and we are going to have a conference with him on Thanksgiving.

Things are back to normal here in Tarija. We can leave the normal hours so it has been really nice. But this week has been really long, I'm not gonna lie. My companion is really cool. Sometimes it's a little hard to understand him when he mixes Portuguese and Spanish. Ha.

Other then that it has been a good week. It has been hard to find out investigators this week, but we were able to find them near the end of the week, and they still have desires to keep learning and progressing.

I was able to read lots in 3 Nephi this week, and it is amazing. I love the connection that the Bible and the Book of Mormon have together. I have decided to compare the Lord's sermon in Matthew, and in the Book of Mormon. It has been super cool to see the similarities and differences. I challenge you to do the same. What I love is that when He was first on earth He had not yet completed with what the Lord had commanded Him. But after His resurrection and ascension, He had completed the will of the Father. And when He came to the Americas, He testified and completed with past promises He had made.

I like the comparison of these two verses that my companion and I shared in a lesson with some members.

Matthew 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

3 Nephi 12:48
Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

I love how the Lord always invites us to become more like him. It is found more than anything in His sermon in the Americas. And sometimes I think to myself, "Well, how can I be like Christ? He is perfect, and I am full of errors." But I realize that it's not really about being perfect, because He was the only [Perfect One]. But it's doing what He would do. Being strictly obediente. Keeping my covenants, and living worthy of the Holy Ghost!!

I love this gospel and the blessings we can receive to being members of the Church of Jesus CHrist of Latter Day Saints!!

Elder EJones: Capilla Abierta

This week we had the opportunity to do a Capilla Abierta, which is basically an open house for our Church building. Members and investigators are invited to come and to invite others to come and to learn more. We teach them basic principles and show them around the building. We introduce them to things like the Primary, Elders' Quorum, Relief Society and other things. It was really cool to be part of this experience. Member have an important role to help all to come unto Christ as well. We all can and should be missionaries.

This week my companion was sick so we didn't do a whole lot. But it gave me lots of time to study and to just learn more from the Book of Mormon and the words of the living prophets. As we strive to learn from the living prophets, we will see the hand and the power of the Lord in our lives. He loves us and is happy when we strive and make the best choices to follow him.

This week was good. We had district council on Thanksgiving so I was able to talk with other Americans and wish them a happy Thanksgiving. I made pancakes and eggs for our dinner to make it as American as I could haha. Things with the comp are really good. We are working together, laughing a lot more, and I'm beginning to enjoy my mission more and more.

The members are good. Our ward boundaries are cut in half. My companion and I have have half and the other missionaries have the other half. So there's some where I don't know if they even live in our boundaries, but it' good. We had 5 investigators this week in sacrament meeting. The weather is good and I just need to buy a rain jacket because "every time it rains it rains..." and haha yeah so my blow dryer died this week, so no more of that haha. And we have a member that does our laundry, but occasionally we do our own.

This week I learned more about my purpose on the earth and as a missionary. My purpose is to have joy, and I can only have joy through Jesus Christ and his gospel. ¿How am I treating my life like it is a blessing from God? The best thing I can do is share the joy. We learned about light the world for this year. And that's exactly how everyday as a missionary should be. Light this dark world with everlasting light. Who is Jesus Christ. He is the only way, the perfect example to me and all of us!!

With love,
Elder Jones

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

Elder HJones: Love the People

"The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired." - President Hinckley 

Thanksgiving was nothing here in Chile. Nobody even knew there was a holiday in the USA. But my Thanksgiving Day away from home was good. I did miss the big dinner with the family because here, people don't eat dinner. Most people just buy bread (sometimes with ham, cheese, or butter) and eat it with tea or something for dinner. So for my Thanksgiving dinner, I had mate and galletas! It wasn't turkey with mashed potatoes, but it was still good.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2017

 Here in Chile the church sometimes has open houses for capillas. It's really different, I didn't know what it was until we did it. Pretty much we set up different stations in the chapel. The missionaries go in the street and invite people to take a "tour" of the church, to learn more about who we are. It's kinda hard to get people to come though. Everyone says they are busy. That's the most common rejection answer..."No. No estoy occupado."

It's almost December but it feels like July. It doesn't even feel like Christmas is close. For Christmas here people have asados, or BBQs. Maybe you guys can put some snow in a box and send it to Chile for me. Ha!

The last couple weeks have been hard. Our investigators are having a difficult time progressing and keeping their commitments. Sometimes it is frustrating. But I have learned something very important. Sometimes, all I can do is love the people. When Christ was on the earth He lived His life through love. Everything He did was a way to show love for us and His Father. I can't force the people in Chile to listen to the gospel or come to church. I can't make them do anything, but I can love them. And even if they don't want to be a part of this wonderful church, I, at least, want them to feel the love that I have for them.

 Grateful that FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

 Love, Elder Jones