¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! As you can probably tell, it is Wednesday. Tomorrow is my usual p-day but since its christmas, they are letting us do everything today! So i figured out when i get to call you guys... i will be calling at 3:15pm and i get to talk for 30 minutes!!!!!! I was totally expecting like 10 minutes but 30 MINUTES!!! yay! Thank you for all the packages! I am truly blessed with everything that you have sent me! So funny story... the chocolate granola you sent me? ya we love it here! The elders in my district thought it looked like dirt so everyone calls it dirt!! It is so funny:) I think Taylor will enjoy this, the elders in my district are obsessed with some batman videos that were on youtube so they talk in a batman voice all the time! It reminds me of taylor and Jon all the time:) 

Here at the MTC, they really concentrate on the Christmas season. I love it! Sometimes its weird because i'm not use to it. BUT it is amazing every minute of every day. We get 1 1/2 days off of class and it is truly a good gift. Its a nice break to be with my district during the holiday season. We get a surprise apostle tomorrow for our devotional! No one has any idea! They keep secrets good here! Tonight they are giving us some free time and my district and I are going to read the birth of Jesucristo in spanish! I can't wait! Everything is so much prettier in spanish! I want to speak it fluently so bad!! Our teacher, Hermano Magallanes, says "Espanol es el idioma celestial!" He is completely right!! Everything that is expressed is all with love and more meaning. I will admit it is very hard because we just learned perfect tense and it makes no sense. Everything has a connotation. Its ridiculous! I have been blessed with the best teachers on the planet! The Lord really knows what i needed. They are just the best:) 

This week has gone by really fast!!! Hermana Webb and I have 3 progressing investigators. It can get stressful sometimes! We have Alberto, Amelia and Rosie. Rosie is a TRC investigator. Its actually real people, not our teachers. It is harder because they are just themselves and some are not members. But yesterday we taught her about faith. As we have been learning more, me and Hermana Webb have been realizing that the plan of salvation is el evangelio de Jesucristo! and there are five steps to the gospel. 1. faith in Jesucristo and his atonement 2. repentance 3. bautismo 4. receive the gift of the holy ghost 5. endure to the end. SO we decided to start teaching Rosie those 5 steps. We invited her to be baptized but she was a little hesitant. But yesterday, she really opened up and she wanted to have more faith in Him and she said what she felt was weird. She liked it but it was weird! I have always wanted to experience that with someone!!! It was CRAZY!!!! There are some days where i would just rather hang around and not do anything but then i think that that is just dumb. 

Another good experience this week. Sundays here are amazing! The spirit is so strong here! We were in sacrament and Brother Durphy (in the branch presidency) he was talking about christmas and he started talking about if there was one person in the whole world he could talk to it would be his dad because he had passed away. At that moment, Grandma Jones popped into my head. If there was one person that had passed away and i could talk to, it would be Grandma Jones. I don't know why but I feel like she would just know what to say to me. All i could do was cry. That was the first time where i knew that she was sitting next to me in that meeting. She was there cheering me on.

I am reading the Book of Mormon again! I am in 2 Nephi! I love reading it now for some reason! I have so many markings in it already and they are just covered in sticky notes. It makes the reading more fun!! I look forward to gym time every day because i am at the top in 4 square. I kid you not, it is so serious around here. I would say that i am one of the top girls who play;) It is crazy. the elders say i do a certain move and they named it the "J-Swing" ya its pretty cool! I am a pro! I am also realizing that i'm gaining weight... it is hard because we sit all day and then go eat. i could probably stay away from the desserts. So i am doing better:) 

Another funny story! So Elder Russell, Elder Bramell and Elder Lyman were teaching an investigator from Argentina. His accent was ridiculous! We couldn't understand him at all! So i guess he said he didn't have a job and he had a drug problem. but they couldn't understand what he was saying so they all just said ¡Qué Bendicíon! Oh man it was so funny! We still laugh about it to this day! 

I am loving Hermana Webb even more everyday. I can sometimes notice when we bug each other but we still love eachother. Her crazy side is coming out and I love it!! We tell eachother everyday how grateful to have each other and we are just awesome together. She truly has a love for this gospel and i want to be more like her. I could go to her about anything:):) 

If you haven't already, there is the video on lds.org. it's called "He's the Gift" it is so amazing!!! here's the link: http://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=HPFR112814529 

Today in class, we watched it and Hermano Magallanes asked if we could watch it again and we all said YES!!! Invito a usted para mirar "Él es el don". It is awesome! I am learning things everyday! I love getting letters from everyone!!! I am working on those thank you notes. don't worry, its in my mind. I have no time here for myself. But i guess that is good! I love my district so much. It is going to be hard when i wont be with them in 3 weeks. Each day we are together i am just so grateful that we are together. I know we were placed here together for a reason! I thank my heavenly father for them every night!  YES I LEAVE TO ARGENTINA IN 3 WEEKS! Today is the halfway mark! I guess the FBI clearance hasn't come through so we have to go next week to get our fingerprints again! They are going to send them a faster way i guess. Its so lame. I loved my birthday present from Maris and Linds! The converse are awesome! I'm actually wearing them right now!!! The fancy rice treats! Linds you know me too well:) I will try and send pictures but as usual, i am terrible and having my camera with me all the time. 

I have been trying to give a challenge every week. Is anyone even doing them? NO? well whoever does, im happy! This week i challenge everyone to think of something you can give Christ. Heavenly Father gave us a wonderful gift, a Savior for the world and more importantly, for YOU! Think of something in your life that you want to be better at and have that be your gift. Mine is to study more in the scriptures and gain a better relationship with my Heavenly Father. 

Im going to be honest, this is so hard but also, i am just happy to be here. There are so many things that i am grateful for. Sometimes i catch myself thinking of all of the stuff i need to work on or what am i doing wrong. I just need to be happy and try to be more like Jesus. I love speaking in spanish well at least i try to speak in spanish! i am just really nervous to go to Argentina. 

I hope everyone is doing well back at home. I hope you are still making a fort tonight. If not, that is just sad. Me and Hermana Webb plan on making one tonight. I hope everyone just stops to think about Christmas and what it really is. There would be no Christmas without Christ. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! HAVE A GOOD WEEK! Talk to you tomorrow!!!! 

Con Amor, 

Hermana Jones 

Hello wonderful family and friends!!!!!! I have officially finished my second week here at the mtc and I am loving it!! Thank you for all the kind letters! I love getting the letters during the week! PLEASE send more! I could always use more love.

This week has been crazy! Remember when I told you about Carlos our investigator? Ya so on friday he told us thank you for teaching him and he wasn't interested anymore! I was so sad because we were so close to inviting him to be baptized... I wanted to cry because carlos was such a sweet person and we were getting really close! BUT we came in the next day and CARLOS IS OUR TEACHER! oh my gosh! it was so weird to have him as our teacher!!!!! His name is Hermano Magallanes but no one remembers how to say his name so we just call him Hermano Carlos. He is the best teacher and our district has two of the best teachers! Hermana Webb and I teach someone almost every day. Its really cool and i don't get a nervous as i was. 

I do have one more surprise! So we were at the devotional on sunday and they told us that we can call home on Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The time i am able to call is Thursday from 3:15 to 5:15pm. So please don't miss that call cause i would really like to talk you guys! Um ill try and to get more than one number but i think ill only have 15 minutes tops! so I will try moms phone! DONT FORGET!!!  if you need to get a hold of me about christmas just dear elder me cause i get them everyday. 

I am more and more in love with my companion and my district! We have all gotten so close and we aren't sick of each other yet! Yesterday we had to teach an investigator. It was Hermana Turley acting as an investigator. Her name is Amelia and she is 16. Me and Hermana Webb really prepared for this lesson. we went into a separate room and we were able to concentrate really well. So we met Amelia and we could both feel the spirit so strong!! We didn't have any problems with the spanish! Like i said, Amelia is 16 and she doesn't have a relationship with God. So we taught her the importance of prayer. We kind of did a " Who, How, What When, Where and Why" approach and we had a scripture for each one.It worked so well because she had a problem going to sleep because she felt like satan was with her and she was so scared. So we taught her how to pray and randomly right in the middle of Hermana Webb talking, a scripture came to my mind and it was D&C 10:5. it talks about to pray always and the Lord will watch and protect you while you sleep and fight off satan. I literally almost started crying because i knew that that was the spirit who put that scripture into my mind, not me. We are still teaching her but yesterday was the first time where i knew that it had gotten a little easier because we prepared and prayed to have the spirit to be with us. 

Mom, thanks for the 12 days of Christmas box! It is awesome! Hermana Webb and I look forward to it every day!!!! Dad, thank you so so so much for the wonderful letter. It has really helped me be better this week. Megan, Ryan, everyone, thank you so much for the letters! I love hearing about things that happen at home. I am so sorry to hear about Bill. I had no idea that he was so sick!!! I hope Linda is doing ok?! Tell her i love her and that she will be with him again. How is the gym going?! Any more weight gone? Any more muscles gained??? TELL ME!!! Ryan told me how crazy it was to go to the gym with everyone! I love it so much! I get gym time here everyday and i look forward to it! I love it! We mostly do 4 square ( Its like the olympics around here) and basketball! If you could tell marissa hi for me cause she wrote me once and i wrote her a huge letter and she won't write back! Tell her not to forget me:( 

So actually another surprise on my part, the building that i'm living in is being closed off because of construction. So all the sisters in that building, (4 floors) we have to move in to another building and be in a 4 person bedroom with 6 people. Its crazy. That is mostly what i've been doing today is moving. HEY so hermana webb LOVES LOVES goldfish so if you feel so inclined, want to send goldfish. If not its fine. Just a thought. Yesterday we got 10 new elders! There are so many! But we have all been so excited because there have only been 7 of us. We had the opportunity to take them on a tour and they think we are all crazy. When you are together with your district for 14 hours a day you tend to get a little crazy. But Que Bendición!!! 

I am trying my hardest to be the best missionary. I am so scared to go to Argentina! one of our teachers went there and he talked like they do there and i could not understand him... AT ALL!!! I am in trouble. I am learning something new everyday. We have had the opportunity to invite people to be baptized and all those fears and all of those doubts go out the window because it makes me so happy that someone wants to get baptized!!!! It is so crazy!!! 

Yo se que la iglesia de Jesucristo is muy verdadero!!! El poder de la oración is muy importante! Last week i challenged everyone to get a spiritual journal? Did anyone do it?? Well this week i challenge everyone to pick a scripture and memorize it! so whenever you are feeling weird or sad or whatever think of that scripture. I have had the opportunity to memorize the first vision and our purpose! it is amazing when you know it from heart!!! If by chance, could you give me grandpas email address or send this to him and also send me his address so i can write him??? That would be awesome! Sorry for the long letter!! LOVE YOU! don't forget about Thursday and keep your phone not on silent!!!!!

Con Amor,

Hermana Jones  

Mi Propósito es invitar a las personas a venir a Cristo al ayudarlas a que reciben el evangelio restaurado mediante la fe en Jesucristo y su expiación, el arrepentimiento, el bautismo, la recepción del don del Espíritu Santo y el perseverar hasta el fin.  

Hello family!! It has officially been one week for me here at the MTC! It is so crazy here! The spirit is always here and Heavenly Father is blessing every missionary here! The days are pretty packed! Going to bed at 10:30 (which used to be impossible) is so easy because we wake up at 6:30 and we work all day! Today, I finally get to take a nap!! I am learning spanish all day long! This is what a normal schedule is:

 6:30- wake up

7:15- breakfast

7:45-11:35- classroom 

11:35- lunch

12:20- 3:20- classroom

3:20-4:20- gym time

4:50- dinner 

5:35- 9:00- classroom

9-9:30- planning

9:30-10:30-get ready for bed

Every day is jam packed!!! I get so tired but I just keep pushing! The first day i got there we started learning spanish! The THIRD day, we had to teach an investigator in spanish! Our investigator is named Carlos! He is so nice and he helps me and my companion with our spanish! He is from Venezuela and he is just the best! Up until today, we have taught him 5 lessons! Today we are going to invite him to get baptized!! It is so scary!

 

So i said i was in a trio but my companion finally came!!! Her name is Hermana Webb. She is from California! She is so sweet! She reminds me of Mari so much! She makes some of the same face expressions and it just makes me smile! She has so much energy and so much love for this gospel! We get along great!!! Its really nice, when we are teaching, I can understand carlos and she can't, but she knows how to think faster on her feet with the spanish! so we are a great team! oh and of course, the holy ghost is with us too! The food is terrible here. Luckily they have an awesome salad bar and a wrap bar! But i have it so much, i get really sick of them. So im doing my best! 

Thank you for all of the birthday cards and gifts and all the letters from the ward service project! I loved all of the letters from the ward service project!!! I was really surprised to get letters from some people! I didn't do much on my birthday! My companion decorated my bed with balloons and sticky notes!!! My district sang Happy Birthday in espanol! It was funny!

 

My district is AWESOME! There are seven of us and we are the only district in our zone right now. The other district in our zone left on tuesday for the mission field! So we are magically suppose to know everything now for the new missionaries to come!!! Estabien:) There is a trio of elders( Elder Lyman, Elder Bramell, and Elder Russell), Hermana Marvian and Hermana Woolf, then me and hermana webb. Its a good group. The elders are still cute and 18, so sometimes they get really distracted but we all get along really well! Elder Lyman (an elder in my district) went to herriman high school and he said he knew brother Thompson!! Shout out to Brady!!!!! I know that we were all sent here to be together for a reason!!! Our Branch president is President Doman! He is so amazing!!! He literally looks like Jeffery R. Holland! He always knows what to say. My favorite thing that he says is "we don't have meetings... we have revelatory experiences!" I LOVE IT! I don't remember if i told you but Hermana Webb and I have been asked to be Sister training leaders!!! Its so exciting!!! We don't get to train anyone until next week but im still exited! Sadly we are the only group of sisters in our zone. The other district in our zone left this week! They were from all over and most of them were going to Nicaragua! The sisters were like my best friends! They were so sweet and we got along with them a ton! I am glad they are doing well though! 

The MTC is going great. We talk in spanish all day. The teachers are amazing! They talk in spanish... NEVER in english! well there are exceptions. My main teacher is Hermana Turley! She is so cute and she went to guatemala on her mission! We are learning at the speed of light and now me and hermana webb have two investigators that we are teaching now. First, there is Carlos and then we are meeting with Maria. She is SO SO quiet. she talks really fast and i dont know what she is saying half the time. She just needs some friends i think. We do it through the TRC. 40% of the investigators are REALLY investigators! It is really scary! So its sort of real! We have to teach Carlos today and Maria tomorrow! Wish us luck!!

How is everyone doing?! Maris, the family, Lindsi, etc: I  don't have everyone's emails with me right now so could you just forward it on to everyone? I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! The rumor is around here is that Elder Holland is coming for christmas!!!! AH! We have devotionals every sunday and tuesday. We are in the MTC choir! We haven't been able to go yet though..

 

I challenge everyone back at home to keep a spiritual journal. FOR EVERYTHING! anything you do can invite the spirit in. The spirit is 100% in charge!!! I have loved having a journal for the devotionals and just my study in the classroom. That is my challenge this week. 

Yo se que Jesucristo es el Salvador y el Redentor. Yo se que Jóse Smith fue un profeta. El Libro de Mormón is verdadero. Yo se que el Evangelio de Jesucristo is verdadero. Las palabras de El Libro de Mormón son verdadero. Yo se que las familias son eterna. 

Te amo mi familia!!!!! Be safe!!!! please pray for me and hermana Webb! Please write me!

 

Hermana Jones

December 5, 2014

It is day 3 of the mission here at the MTC! Bear with me while I write some in Español because it is on my mind. I miss all of you so much!

I got my very own companion yesterday! Her flight was delayed because of the weather. Her nombre es Hermana Webb! She is muy bonita! The way she talks and does facial expressions reminds me a lot of Mari. Her smile is so uplifting! She has the spirit with her all the time! She really reminds me of Paige Cavaness. Does that make sense?

Today we taught our 1st investigator in SPANISH! It was so crazy! I'm learning Spanish at the speed of light! All the teachers do is speak Spanish. Today was the most exhausting day. My brain es going to explode! We had 3 separate classroom times and they were each about 3-4 hours---half of it is in Español. 

Everything is going good. Satan is doing his thing, as usual. Yo se que Jesucristo es el Salvador. Yo se que las familias son eterna! I love you all so much! Please write me! OH! My P-day is Thursdays and don't forget---Mi cumpleaños es lunes!

I love you! Send me cool stuff!

I Made It!!

Dec 3, 2014,

I made it!! Holy Cow! I don't even know were to start. First off, I love you guys so much! I don't know what I would have done without you. When you dropped me off, I wasn't sad and my host was really nice! Dad, she was going to Finland! So it was a sign, that you were there with me in espiritu! Ha! That's Spirit in Spanish! :)

Then I got the official name tag! It looks awesome! I love wearing it. Then we went straight to Spanish class. Wow. All they speak is Spanish. It's confusing but I got most of it. Then me and my 2 companions (Ya, I'm in a trio for now!!) went to orientation. The president is way nice! That started at 4:00 and I could tell it was my nap time cause I was drifting! Ha!

But then we made it to dinner. It was KFC! Ew! But I was starving! Oh, I saw the Kimballs! It was so cool to see them! It was nice to see a fresh face. It felt like home. There are so many people here....it's crazy! I just want to watch and stare.

Then we got to unpack a little....then off to People and Purpose. We went through 4 mock investigators and it was good. It really scares me! Then we took a tour with the zone leaders and sister training leaders. Way nice people!! They all leave next week so I will have to start training people!! I don't think I'm ready for that! All I know in Spanish is ¡Hola!

Well, I hope you two are okay. Don't ever cry when you think of me, only smile. I'm doing the right thing and I will get the hang of it here. Tell everyone I say hello and that I love them

I love you as much as Marcus Lemonis loves his money. :)

With love,

Hermana Jones