Elder ZJones: Transfers

Esequiel's Baptism

Family in the Ward

P-day

This past week we have received transfers. I will be leaving my area after being here for six  months. I will be heading to an area called Trujui. My companion will be Elder Yepez. He is from Peru. He was my companion before, when I was in Lujan. I am excited to be with him again and know that we will work well together. Please pray for us in our new area that we will be able to find the right people to teach. i know that through prayer, the Lord will help us receive whatever we need!

I thought a lot this week about testimony. A testimony is the thing that drives us to act. When we have a testimony of The Gospel of Jesus Christ, our desire to to follow Him grows and we begin to convert ourselves to His teaching. Everyday, look for the opportunity to share you testimony, you will be blessed!!!!

Family in the Ward

Working on building a house

The coolest thing that I have learned this week is when I was studying in Alma 34. Verse 8 says:

And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

I was thinking about Amulek's testimony and how it is different from mine! He had a testimony that Christ SHALL come and that  HE SHALL ATONE for our sins. He had a testimony of things that hadn't happened yet! Many of the things that are gathered in our testimonies are things that have happened, like Christ has come, He has died for us, He has been resurrected from the dead and, He lives! No matter what time we are in, we have evidence in the scriptures, THE LORD GOD HATH SPOKEN IT. The Lord will let us know what will happen so that we can have a testimony of those things! It is only through Him that we can have a testimony!

The foundation of the house
we are helping to build

Elder EJones: Compleanos

Hello from Bolivia!

President Russell M. Nelson: "You are never too young to learn, never too old to change. "

I love how short, yet how powerful these words are. We are never too young to learn something. To apply the doctrine of Jesus Christ into our lives and to allow it to change us. Our church was restored through a prophet who saw Jesus Christ and God the Father at 14 years old. And we have to ability to choose for ourselves at 8 years old. And even Zacharias in the New Testament was humbled by the Lord to know that he would have a son, who would prepare the way for Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is a gospel of change. We have to be willing to change, to learn more to be able to receive more influence of the Spirit in our lives.

This week was my birthday!! Well, literally in Spanish, it means complete a year, so this week I completed a year. We were busy this week looking for new people to teach. We found lots, and I've learned that we never who know is prepared to receive the gospel, but we have to be willing to talk with everyone. Family, friends, neighbors, everyone!!

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Ahh, I miss the temple a WHOLE lot. I can't wait to go back. Just having my recommend with me makes me want to go, but that'll just make it worth the wait when I get to go back in two years.

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This week was good. It happened fast, but it was good. We had intercambios with the ZLs and those were good. I learned about the importance of helping others to know the importance of baptism so that they can receive and enjoy those blessings in their lives, too. Right now we are working with a joven, Jose Angel, who is progressing well. We are helping him gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon because without it, he really can't know that the things that we are teaching him are true. We are working with a Venezuelan family who is progressing to be baptized. Pray for them that they can continue to learn and grow, and that they can be more united. Also, that they can resolve the problems that they have to know that the Church is true, even though we are definitely imperfect. (Like Elder Uchtdorf said in the last last conference).

We run in the mornings and it's good for exercise and really, that's all there is to do.

I loved this quote that I read from President Nelson:

Recently I heard a chorus of children sing the beloved song “I Am a Child of God.” I wondered, “Why haven’t I heard that song rendered more often by singing mothers or faithful fathers?” Are we not all children of God? In truth, not one of us can ever stop being a child of God! As children of God, we should love Him with all our heart and soul, even more than we love our earthly parents. We should love our neighbors as brothers and sisters. No other commandments are greater than these.

We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. I've been trying to focus a lot my mission on how I can develop a better relationship with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And I've learned that its through diligent prayer and to feast on his word. To live as Christ lived.

I know that we can one day become like Him!!

Love you tons. Have a great week!
Elder Jones

(yes i bought a uke for cheap and my comp a guitar, and birthday with cake and the other with pizza)