Disappointment Central -Week 90-
88 Weeks in Phoenix mission- 3 weeks in Buckeye
Dear friends and family,
Well this week was a huge disappointment. All is well, it just seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong! We had a couple good lessons which made this week alright. We also did some service for a couple people.
Elder Holland and Elder Robbins.....yeah about that.....
Thursday was the long awaited day that I would finally meet an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ! While on my mission I have been able to meet various Seventies, Area Seventies, and other Church leaders. But Thursday the anticipation was thick because of the special guests—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy. We arrived early to the Glendale North stake center and began to place ourselves for the picture when the Brethren would arrive. In walked Elder Robbins and President Griffin. They said Elder Holland's plane had a minor delay, and that he would be here shortly. We took the picture and filed into the chapel after meeting and shaking hands with Elder Robbins. I took my seat next to Elder Bryan—whom I miss dearly—and began preparing for the meeting. President Griffin got up to the pulpit to start the meeting and said, "Elders and Sisters, I have some disappointing news...Elder Holland's plane is still delayed. He won't be able to make it in time for our meeting." We were all devastated. Elder Robbins told us that when Elder Holland heard that he wouldn't be able to make it to speak to us, he was devastated too. The meeting went on and Elder Robbins taught very powerfully about agency and responsibility being linked together. The two doctrines cannot be separated. We have the agency to choose what we do, but we
don't have the agency to choose whether or not we are responsible. It was a GREAT discussion and it was well needed throughout the mission. We could tell that Elder Robbins was trying to stall the meeting in hopes that Elder Holland would arrive in time to meet us. At about 4:45, Elder Robbins received an email that Elder Holland had landed in Phoenix and was 45 minutes away. We all got SO excited. Elder Robbins said that he had to close the meeting. We were all devastated again. Twice in one day! He was coming to speak to the single adults in the area and wanted to speak to the missionaries before then. Just saying....we would have had plenty of time. But it wasn't my call! So we all went back to our areas, and a member of the Twelve Apostles arrived 10 minutes after we left. Talk about a heartbreak... Thank goodness Elder Robbins's message was on point.
Investigators
Our investigators are doing well. Stephanie is still keeping all of
her commitments which is so cool! She was wondering how she would recognize the Spirit when she prays about the Book of Mormon. We explained to her how the Spirit feels. I felt impressed to tell her that if she feels good when we come by, that's the Spirit speaking to her. Her eyes got big and she said, "I was just thinking about how I have been feeling since you guys started coming over....I feel so much better! I really want this to be true!" The Lord is showing Himself in her life which is so cool to watch. Our other investigators are doing well, but not much to mention.
Service
We did lots of yard work this week. One was with a less active family. He was really grateful and actually came to church yesterday! He's trying to get his life together and it seems like he's going to the right place to help. His son, Dalton, is 18 and also looking to do better. He is going to come with us to a few lessons this week which will be so fun! He's a nice guy!!
That's about all that happened. Have a great week!
Much love,
Elder Jones
Buckeye 1st & Sundance Wards
Arizona Phoenix Mission
Well this week was a huge disappointment. All is well, it just seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong! We had a couple good lessons which made this week alright. We also did some service for a couple people.
Elder Holland and Elder Robbins.....yeah about that.....
Thursday was the long awaited day that I would finally meet an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ! While on my mission I have been able to meet various Seventies, Area Seventies, and other Church leaders. But Thursday the anticipation was thick because of the special guests—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy. We arrived early to the Glendale North stake center and began to place ourselves for the picture when the Brethren would arrive. In walked Elder Robbins and President Griffin. They said Elder Holland's plane had a minor delay, and that he would be here shortly. We took the picture and filed into the chapel after meeting and shaking hands with Elder Robbins. I took my seat next to Elder Bryan—whom I miss dearly—and began preparing for the meeting. President Griffin got up to the pulpit to start the meeting and said, "Elders and Sisters, I have some disappointing news...Elder Holland's plane is still delayed. He won't be able to make it in time for our meeting." We were all devastated. Elder Robbins told us that when Elder Holland heard that he wouldn't be able to make it to speak to us, he was devastated too. The meeting went on and Elder Robbins taught very powerfully about agency and responsibility being linked together. The two doctrines cannot be separated. We have the agency to choose what we do, but we
don't have the agency to choose whether or not we are responsible. It was a GREAT discussion and it was well needed throughout the mission. We could tell that Elder Robbins was trying to stall the meeting in hopes that Elder Holland would arrive in time to meet us. At about 4:45, Elder Robbins received an email that Elder Holland had landed in Phoenix and was 45 minutes away. We all got SO excited. Elder Robbins said that he had to close the meeting. We were all devastated again. Twice in one day! He was coming to speak to the single adults in the area and wanted to speak to the missionaries before then. Just saying....we would have had plenty of time. But it wasn't my call! So we all went back to our areas, and a member of the Twelve Apostles arrived 10 minutes after we left. Talk about a heartbreak... Thank goodness Elder Robbins's message was on point.
Investigators
Our investigators are doing well. Stephanie is still keeping all of
her commitments which is so cool! She was wondering how she would recognize the Spirit when she prays about the Book of Mormon. We explained to her how the Spirit feels. I felt impressed to tell her that if she feels good when we come by, that's the Spirit speaking to her. Her eyes got big and she said, "I was just thinking about how I have been feeling since you guys started coming over....I feel so much better! I really want this to be true!" The Lord is showing Himself in her life which is so cool to watch. Our other investigators are doing well, but not much to mention.
Service
We did lots of yard work this week. One was with a less active family. He was really grateful and actually came to church yesterday! He's trying to get his life together and it seems like he's going to the right place to help. His son, Dalton, is 18 and also looking to do better. He is going to come with us to a few lessons this week which will be so fun! He's a nice guy!!
That's about all that happened. Have a great week!
Much love,
Elder Jones
Buckeye 1st & Sundance Wards
Arizona Phoenix Mission
 |
| Elder Jones and Elder Sumsion |
 |
| storm is coming! Looks like MO! |
 |
| The best apartmentship reunited at the mission conference with (not)Elder Holland! Elder Clough, Thaut, me, and Rodriguez! |
 |
| weekly selfie |
 |
| Whole mission waiting for Elder Holland |
 |
| Official Mission Picture |