Elder EJones: Learning

A Cadi in Bolivia!

What a week!!

We've finally been able to be back to normal, and getting our area back to where it should be. We have been working with lots of references recently, lots of part families, because they are the ones that are progressing. I have been able to learn a lot this week in my studies and as we leave to teach and serve the people.

Haha honestly it's been a good cambio of patience for me. Lots of waiting on my comp. He just takes a long time to do things. Like get ready in the morning, or talks for a while when we have places to go, or walks slow haha. But I'm learning to be more patient and to love him more. We get along well.

The week I learned lots. Since I've gotten the Conference Ensign a few weeks ago, I have done my best to read a talk a day in my personal study. I want to be able to better follow the counsel of the modern prophets and apostles of our day. This week I read the following by Elder Walter F. Gonzalez...

He talks about how his wife had a tumor and had to undergo surgery to be able to heal. She wrote the following in her journal about how she felt...

“On the surgeon’s table I bowed before Thee, and surrendering to Thy will, I fell asleep. I knew I could trust Thee, knowing that nothing bad can come from Thee.”

I love the way that she explains it.

First, we have to surrender all to the Lord and His will. Though we think we may be right, He ALWAYS knows better than us. He really does know our needs.

Second, we need to trust in the Lord. That doesn't mean that we will always be comfortable with what he asks us to do, and that may be the point. He asks us to do things we aren't comfortable, or familiar with. He asks us to push ourselves, and to trust that He will make us better.

Third, know that no bad thing can come from the Lord. He will only make us better versions of ourselves. He loves us enough to knock us down, so that we can get up stronger. He always knows the better way.

I know that the Lord loves us. I have been able to feel it more than ever here. We just have to give Him all, and trust in Him, and we will receive the knowledge of His perfect plan for us.

How did this get here??!

Elder ZJones: Patience and Humility

This week was awesome!!!!

We were able to help a lot of people come to church and to learn more about Christ! One was a family of 4! They are from Peru. We contacted the mom in her kiosko (a small store). Her daughters were playing outside and we started talking to them. When we talked about the Book of Mormon and Church they got excited! They came to church with us and they will come this Sunday, too! They were super excited and want to learn more!

This past month my testimony of patience and humility has been strengthened. In Preach My Gospel it says,

“Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.”
—PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON

I know this will bless in my the days and weeks and months and years to come!!!

I know that as we are steady, the Lord will bless us. He has helped my learn about patience and waiting until He is ready and not when I am ready! I know that He loves us and as we work with Him, He will bless us more than we can imagine!

Elder Jones

Elder ZJones: Yo Se Que Jesucristo Vive

What a week it has been! It has been a tough one! Like I told you, I studied Patience this week, and it hit me straight in the head!

Something that I have observed the past few weeks is that during the first part of the week, we have a lot of success finding people, teaching, and committing people to come to church. But when Friday and Saturday roll around, our friends cannot be found or they have other things to do. Abril, the girl that we had plans to baptize, left to visit family in another area. So we will be helping her so that she can get baptized this weekend. Her brother doesn't want to hear anything, now.

We tried to help the Saldaña family. They said all week that they were planning on going to Church, until Sunday rolled around and they didn't want to come. haha What are you going to do? So I had a lot of experience with exercising patience this week. I will be studying on how to be more humble and just listening and waiting for the Lord's help. That is one thing that I saw with Elder Burk. We never found anyone on Sundays because they were all in church. They were complete miracles from the Lord. My companion and I will be praying and looking for the miracles this week.

Studying patience, I read in Romans 5:2-5. I think. One part says, "Tribulation brings Patience, and patience experience." This week will help me grow. It will give me the chance to grow from the experiences and plan better for the weeks ahead.

This past week I was studying in the Bible about Jesus Christ and His last week on earth. I read about His example and what He did. I thought, If I had one week to live, what would I do with my time? I think all of us would talk about trips, vacations, doing crazy things, and spending time with family. In Jesus Christ's last week, He dedicated His time to serve His apostles, the poor, and His enemies. He went teaching tidings of great joy, preparing the way for His apostles.

As we dedicate our time and the time that we do have to serve the Lord and prepare with way for Him, we will be blessed and help others receive the joy that we have felt in out families.

Please pray for Abril, the Saldaña Family, and for the people here in Argentina! Have a great week!

Elder Jones

Elder ZJones: Christlike Attributes

It has started to get cold at night and in the morning, but during the day it is hot! It's the change from Fall to Winter.

We started working in an area where we never worked before and we found a family that I taught in Jardines! They are helping us teach their neighbors. Abril, one of their neighbors, will be getting baptized this weekend. We will be helping her other two siblings to get baptized next week!! Please pray for them that they will continue to have this desire and that all will go well. We worked hard and 6 people came to church with us this Sunday! We also found a family that wants to learn more. It is the Saldaña family. It is a single mom and she has a ton of kids. We talked with 5 of them and they all want to come to church! We will be helping them so that they can come with us this Sunday to church. Pray for us that we will be able to commit them well so that they will feel and know that they should go to church!!!

We had zone conference this past week.

One thing that I loved was when Presidente Resek explained why Christlike attributes are so important. He explained that it is how we receive exaltation. As we become more like Jesus Christ and learn to live as He did, we will receive exaltation and receive a place in God's Kingdom!! I know it is true. I will be studying better Christlike attributes. I will be sharing the things that I learn with you. This week I will be studying paciencia!!

Elder HJones: This Week in Paipote

So this week was good, full of new things to do.

It's different being a district leader. Before, I could just worry about my own sector and be good to go. But now I have responsibility for two other sectors and five other missionaries going through my my head and I think of things I can do to help them. Now I find myself thinking about the other sectors a lot and their investigators and how I can help them. But I am very new at it and sometimes I feel like I don't know what I am doing. But I know that God is helping me.

I was able to do some baptismal interviews as a district leader and that was really cool. I interviewed three individuals this past week. One interview was for a 16 year old boy and two interviews for 10 year old girls. The boy didn't go to church this past week, so he cannot get baptized this week. One of the girls will get baptized on Saturday and the other needs permission from her parents....and they want to wait a couple months. But I was way cool to do the interviews and I am planning on doing a couple more this week.

Yesterday kinda stunk. We didn't have anyone in the church. It was the first time in my whole mission when I didn't have someone come to church with us. But this week we are going to work really hard to get people to the church. We have some awesome people we are teaching, but they need to come. 

I have learned a lot this transfer about patience. I pray for strength and patience everyday. And I know that God his helping me.

Con Amor, Elder Jones

Elder HJones: Patience

This week, we were able to have a baptism for an 11 year old boy named Joaquin. It was a huge blessing to watch him get baptized. He was gonna be baptized two weeks ago, but I guess fear stopped him. But we continued to work with him and helped him feel comfortable. And this past week he felt ready.

I have learned the principle of patience on the mission a lot. That I need to be patient with myself, my companion, and investigators. I have learned that people progress differently. That sometimes its fast, but sometimes people need more time. But its always a blessings to watch people progress, whether fast or slow.

The assistants called us this week for transfers. And I was surprised to hear that I will be training! Another elder in our branch will be training as well. So we will have two brand. new. missionaries. in our rama. I am pretty excited. But, of course, I am a little nervous, too: leading almost everything in the sector, taking on more responsibility. But I know God will help me. I will be staying in Paipote, but will be training a brand new missionary! CRAZY TO KNOW THAT ZERAM AND I ARE BOTH TRAINING AT THE SAME TIME!

This church is true!

Elder Jones

P.S.
The gigante elder is Elder Atagi! He got transfered to Iquique today. His dad is from Samoa! So we are pretty much family with him! haha

Elder CJones: Paciencia con 16 Meses

"As the Lord is patient with us, let us be patient with those we serve. Understand that they, like us, are imperfect. They, like us, make mistakes." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I have been slacking in the mass e-mail that gets sent home every week, so I decided to start with writing it this week.

The mission is always a place to learn and to grow. For different situation there will always be an opportunity to get better. The mission is the greatest place to learn, no matter if you have 20 days or 20 months. I have been learning about patience, as well as many other attributes of Christ.

Ward Valentine Party

It is finally clicking that I am one of the older missionaries in the field. I have been able to understand that now that I have to be an example and be patient with the other missionaries. I know that the experiences and qualities that I learn and apply here will help me in the future. They will help me in my marriage, my family, my career, and my schooling.

The mission is an amazing thing. A mission is a place where, whomever serves, will learn so many qualities that are essential to a successful life in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to give some advice to those that are thinking about going on a mission and those that are barely starting for the mission.

1- Throw that ego out the window, on the mission you will truly learn the meaning of humility, you are nothing and God is everything, without Him, you are NOTHING. Learn it now or it will be harder when you get out in the field.

2- After that harsh point, the mission is the greatest thing you can do up to this point in your life.. It will help you grow into the person that God wants and needs you to be, not what you need or want to be.

I know the mission is a blessing, it will test if you are truly willing to follow the example of Jesus Christ

--
Elder Corom Jones

"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep." -John 21:17

At the U.S. Border at Matamoros