Warmth!---
Week 79- 77 weeks in Phoenix, 29 weeks in Glendale
Dear friends and family,
Yet another week has gone by on my mission. I have been in Arizona for
18 months now, and it is getting hot again for the third time on my
mission. This week was pretty normal, we contacted quite a few people,
people are progressing, and some are being dropped. Everyone always
thinks that all missionaries see is miracles. Part of that is true—we
do see miracles—but there are also hard times. The miracles and good
times outweigh them most of the time, though. Here are some of the
highlights of my week. Enjoy!
Marriage:
Rusty and Liz, our two most progressing investigators, are getting
married! When we first taught the Law of Chastity to them, they were
very firm in the fact that they don't need to be married. After we
talked with them more about it and explained the reasonings behind it,
they warmed up to the idea. After the lesson with them two weeks ago,
Rusty texted us and said, "I asked her—she said yes!" He then texted
us, "However, our wedding will not be the royal wedding she deserves."
We told them that the temple marriage that will come will be that
Royal wedding. They are actually excited about it now, which is really
cool to see. They have been coming to church every week and have
enjoyed meeting the members of the ward. Witnessing true conversion is
always a great sight.
Gospel principles:
Javier, the gospel principles teacher, was sick so we taught the class
on Sunday. Our ward is full of different personalities, so many
different personalities attend Sunday school. Most of the class is
made up of converts, so it's really cool to see their new spiritual
minds work. I'm grateful that the mission has taught me to be able to
teach with clarity the principles of the gospel. A lot of people say
that if you can't teach the gospel to a child, then you don't know the
gospel well enough.
Special Dinner:
This week we had dinner with two returning members, the Dazley's. They
hadn't been to church in a while and have been coming back. Brother
Dazley is working to advance in the priesthood. They're both making a
lot of progress! They feed us dinner every month, and we ate with them
this week. They invited their neighbor, Louise, to eat with us. They
made some super good tacos and afterward we taught about the
Restoration to Louise and bore testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book
of Mormon. Turns out she has dementia, which I realized right off the
bat when she told us the same story twice within 2 minutes. It
reminded me of the old times when my grandparents lived with us! The
Dazley's brought their friend to church this Sunday, too!!
Temple:
I'm sure you've all heard me talk about one of the recent converts in
our ward, Christine. She has terminal cancer and was baptized 10
months ago. The doctors were predicting she would pass away last
September, so she has long outlived their expectations. She got some
good news this week! The First Presidency approved her to go to the
temple two months early to receive her endowment. So she will be going
to the temple next Tuesday, Feb 23rd! And she invited us to come too
and we got permission to go! I am so excited for her. I believe she
has held on this long for the opportunity to go to the temple in this
life. She is one of the most faithful people I have ever met! Pray for
her this week!!
Valentine's Day:
Well, for Valentine's Day I wore a pink tie. That's about the extent
of my celebration. :)
Weather:
The title of my email sums up the weather for this week. Mid 80's. No
sweaters needed. Next week it will hit 90°F. The heat is back! Woohoo!
Transfers next week:
I should be safe from transfers next week as Elder Young still has
another transfer of training. Our next pday will be Tuesday, but I
won't have a lot of time to email as we are going to the temple with
Christine around 2pm-ish.
That was the extent of my week! I hope all of you haven't forgotten
about me! I'll be home before you know it. Goodbye from Sunny Arizona!
Much love,
Elder Jones
Black Canyon Ward
Arizona Phoenix Mission
Yet another week has gone by on my mission. I have been in Arizona for
18 months now, and it is getting hot again for the third time on my
mission. This week was pretty normal, we contacted quite a few people,
people are progressing, and some are being dropped. Everyone always
thinks that all missionaries see is miracles. Part of that is true—we
do see miracles—but there are also hard times. The miracles and good
times outweigh them most of the time, though. Here are some of the
highlights of my week. Enjoy!
Marriage:
Rusty and Liz, our two most progressing investigators, are getting
married! When we first taught the Law of Chastity to them, they were
very firm in the fact that they don't need to be married. After we
talked with them more about it and explained the reasonings behind it,
they warmed up to the idea. After the lesson with them two weeks ago,
Rusty texted us and said, "I asked her—she said yes!" He then texted
us, "However, our wedding will not be the royal wedding she deserves."
We told them that the temple marriage that will come will be that
Royal wedding. They are actually excited about it now, which is really
cool to see. They have been coming to church every week and have
enjoyed meeting the members of the ward. Witnessing true conversion is
always a great sight.
Gospel principles:
Javier, the gospel principles teacher, was sick so we taught the class
on Sunday. Our ward is full of different personalities, so many
different personalities attend Sunday school. Most of the class is
made up of converts, so it's really cool to see their new spiritual
minds work. I'm grateful that the mission has taught me to be able to
teach with clarity the principles of the gospel. A lot of people say
that if you can't teach the gospel to a child, then you don't know the
gospel well enough.
Special Dinner:
This week we had dinner with two returning members, the Dazley's. They
hadn't been to church in a while and have been coming back. Brother
Dazley is working to advance in the priesthood. They're both making a
lot of progress! They feed us dinner every month, and we ate with them
this week. They invited their neighbor, Louise, to eat with us. They
made some super good tacos and afterward we taught about the
Restoration to Louise and bore testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book
of Mormon. Turns out she has dementia, which I realized right off the
bat when she told us the same story twice within 2 minutes. It
reminded me of the old times when my grandparents lived with us! The
Dazley's brought their friend to church this Sunday, too!!
Temple:
I'm sure you've all heard me talk about one of the recent converts in
our ward, Christine. She has terminal cancer and was baptized 10
months ago. The doctors were predicting she would pass away last
September, so she has long outlived their expectations. She got some
good news this week! The First Presidency approved her to go to the
temple two months early to receive her endowment. So she will be going
to the temple next Tuesday, Feb 23rd! And she invited us to come too
and we got permission to go! I am so excited for her. I believe she
has held on this long for the opportunity to go to the temple in this
life. She is one of the most faithful people I have ever met! Pray for
her this week!!
Valentine's Day:
Well, for Valentine's Day I wore a pink tie. That's about the extent
of my celebration. :)
Weather:
The title of my email sums up the weather for this week. Mid 80's. No
sweaters needed. Next week it will hit 90°F. The heat is back! Woohoo!
Transfers next week:
I should be safe from transfers next week as Elder Young still has
another transfer of training. Our next pday will be Tuesday, but I
won't have a lot of time to email as we are going to the temple with
Christine around 2pm-ish.
That was the extent of my week! I hope all of you haven't forgotten
about me! I'll be home before you know it. Goodbye from Sunny Arizona!
Much love,
Elder Jones
Black Canyon Ward
Arizona Phoenix Mission
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