Elder CJones: Choir Practices and Investigators

"Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!" 

 -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Well, this week was full of a ton of different emotions. But, that's okay because the Lord is behind it all and His is the one in charge of this work. Once we become knowledgeable that we are nothing, than only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ can we possible to anything. Without the Atonement, we would be nothing.

This week was full of new contacts and new lessons. Tuesday we found nine (9) new investigators that want to change their lives and go to church. The Martinez Doran family, Jose and Paula, the Cardena family, the Maya family, and the Fonseca family. They are all our investigators that we are working with to get them baptized and working with them with the members help. Using the members is the best way to get the people to come to church and stay, because they have friends that are helping them.

We worked a lot this week to help and teach a lot of families. This week we headed down to Puerta Sur, it's an area that's really, really far south and it takes a long time to get there. This was the first time for us working in that area. Well, the first lady we encountered was completely drunk and wanted a Bible. She also attempted to remove my glasses from my face which was really, really weird. We gave her a pamphlet of the Word of Wisdom and just let her do her thing. That is when we met with Jose and Paula. They are investigating the church because their grandchildren, which where little kids, where killed and they needed some security and love in their lives. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and they are expected to be baptized on the 25th.

We met again with the Maya family. They are the ones that were having the marriage/family problems and we have been praying for them to fix the problems. As we have returned this week, we have been blessed as they have been keeping their commitments. They are really ready to be baptized and my prayer is that they do, so they can enter the temple in a year and be sealed together as a family. I pray for them constantly and I hope that everything will work out with them. The family is so important and they are the key reason for us to be here because after this life, there will be no callings, just those in the family.

I love this work and am really praying everyday that the youth in my ward back home and all my friends will seriously consider the importance of a mission. It WILL change your life. I promise you that you will never be the same ever again. You will be a changed person and you will be happier than you ever have been. I have seen missionaries from my group that have changed for the good. They have used the Atonement and it's cleansing power to change their lives and they are the happiest.

I know this Gospel can change lives. I have seen it. I have witnessed it. I have experienced it. I know that without this Gospel we are nothing. We have been given the opportunity to live here on the Earth only through Jesus Christ. We owe Him our lives. So, let's promise to lead our lives in a way that will emulate Him. Let's shine the Light of Christ in our everyday lives because the world and the adversary are trying to destroy us. It's little by little that he comes into our lives and destroys. We must constantly look to the Lord and use Him as the way to live a better life. I share my testimony of the power of the Atonement.

This week we have been practicing a song as a zone. On the 23rd of February we get a really, really cool opportunity to meet President Russell M. Nelson! He is coming to the mission to talk about the work and to give counsel to the members. We get to sing in Spanish and meet him. We are all really excited about that!!

Now to the fun stuff . . . Well, when we went on exchanges one day, one of the investigators in the other area brought out a marijuana leaf and we got to hold it and see it. That's something that will never happen in the United States. But I got that opportunity to do that here! Other than that, we like to throw empty beer bottles when we are walking in the middle of no where and we order pizza when we have exchanges. My companion, Elder Carrizales, loves to sing David Archuleta songs. Well, that's because he looks like him. We also share our greatest stories and he is a really, really good story teller. Other than that, the work is great, the work is is hard and fun at the same time and the mission it's always work and walking. We have fun sometimes, too. Like experiencing wacky stuff, like gun shots and ambulances. But I feel safe and protected 100% of the time.

Puro Animo!!

-- Elder Corom Jones


"In the Book of Mormon we learn of a people who had discovered the secret to happiness. For generations, 'there was no contention . . . And surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.' How did they do it? 'Because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.' 

"Whatever problems your family is facing, whatever you must do to solve them, the beginning and the end of the solution is charity, the pure love of Christ. Without this love, even seemingly perfect families struggle. With it, even families with great challenges succeed." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Elder CJones: Blessings and Challenges

Well, this week, the baptism fell through. That doesn't mean we are giving up. What it means is we didn't have a service this week.

This week started out great. We had a baptism scheduled and we started more to work with the members, having Family Home Evening at their homes so the members can invite their friends and we could all work together to make new investigators and have greater success in sharing the gospel to the people here. One of the greatest things we can do as missionaries is use the members to help us find people to teach. We worked hard this week to find people to invite to the Family Home Evenings we have every night and asked every time we ate at people's homes for people that they know that we can go teach.

Tuesday was another day of working and it seems like we are blessed everyday to receive blessings from people. On Tuesday nights, we pick up our clothes from the washers and there is a lady in the ward that helps us with the clothes. As we were walking home, there was a taxi that drove by and started to honk at us, which is normal here. But as we kept walking, he followed us. We then turned and talked to him and he offered us a free ride to our house. The people here are so humble and most of them will help anyone that is a representative of Jesus Christ. Another night, we went into the 7-Eleven--that is really close to our house--to buy a jug of water and a couple other things. As we went to the check stand, we put our items on the counter. Right as we were about to pay, a man just standing there asked if he could pay for our things. We accepted and then afterwards, we asked him why. He told us that he knew that we were representatives of Christ and that we paid for our own missions and he wanted to help a few servants of the Lord. As time went on, we had some amazing experiences that really touched our hearts.

One night, it was pouring rain and we were freezing cold. We were on our way home when we felt that we needed to stop by one more house. We walked into a random neighborhood and knocked on the first door that we felt impressed to knock on. Then, the blessings flowed. A man answered the door. He invited us in out of the rain and we began to talk to him about the church. He told us that he was a member and hadn't been to church in years. We talked to him more and he told us more about the missionaries when he was a boy and how he loves the church. We began to talk about the sacrament and the blessings that come when we go to church. We then turned to the wife. She was sitting there, in the corner, really quiet and we asked if she had anything to ask. She is Catholic. She asked if we were married. We told her that we were missionaries and we can get married after we return home. She then asked if we could fix a marriage and we got a little confused. Then, it got really emotional. They both have been having struggles in their marriage and wanted to fix what was there. We shared with them the Family Proclaimation to the World and said a prayer with them for their family. We ended that night, all in tears, as the power of the Spirit was almost tangible in the room.

Anyway, to say the least, the family that was going to be baptized this week, the family Jimenez Garcia, they bailed the day of. BAILED DAY OF!! Who does that?! We will be working with them more this week to try and build their faith a little more so they can be baptized. They have their agency to choose, we are just here to invite, not to force.

This week has had its ups and downs, but our Heavenly Father has watched over us. He knows all of us personally and He puts people in our paths to change our lives. I know that through prayer miracles are wrought. But it only comes when we are looking for the answer and personally intend to follow through on the answer that is given to us. I know this Gospel changes lives in a matter of one, 30 minute meeting. We saw it happen this week. Through prayer we can change the hearts and the lives of the people around us, and even in ourselves.

-- Elder Corom Jones

 "I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us - His imperfect children - and imperfect people make mistakes." -Dieter F Uchtdorf