Week 93, 91 weeks in Phoenix Mission, 6 weeks in Buckeye area

Dear friends and family,

It's transfer week and I don't have a companion! Well, I kind of do.  I'm staying with 

Elder Weston right now as his temporary companion because Elder Sumsion, my 

companion, went home today and Elder Weston's companion was made the new 

 assistant to the president. So Elder Weston and I are kicking it at his place. I'd 

love to email y'all! Our week was full of....stuff. Here goes!


Temple Trip Bust
Elder Sumsion and I had planned to go to the Phoenix temple last
Tuesday morning because it was his last week and he had never attended the Phoenix

 temple. We were super psyched to go together with Brother Marr, an older guy from

 our ward. We drive an hour in the morning traffic to get to the temple and there's a 

sign on the door that says, "Temple closed for maintenance." Sooooo we didn't get 

to go. But we drove through Verrado, a really high class community, and took some 

cool pictures on a hill. So that was fun.....haha

Companionless
Elder Sumsion went home today so I've been hanging out with Elder Weston. He's a 

 fun guy! It brings back good times from when he was in my district in Peoria a long 

time ago. We receive our companions tomorrow. Can't wait to find out who he will be!

Driving a lot
Elder Sumsion had his exit interview up at the mission office in
Peoria so we got to drive all the way up there on Saturday. Yep,
that's right! I drove in the city traffic during rush hour. Didn't
even die.

Investigators
This week was stake conference and Stephanie came to church! She really enjoyed it

 and is looking forward to coming to a real church service. As a missionary stake

 conference really throws a wrench in your plans. Stephanie finally got to come to 

church and see what it's like—and there were 6 times as many people there because

 it was conference! Oh well—the message is (usually) always the same. Thank goodness 

no one got up and preached deep doctrine. DON'T DO THAT, PEOPLE! Anyway, we 

got to have lunch and a lesson with Stephanie this week with a member. She really likes 

the members of the church! Her one big hang up is tithing, but she'll be able to get over 

that soon.  She understands the principle and sees its importance, but she can't see how

 it will be possible for her to pay it. Faith has never been a part of her life, so having 

to exercise that much faith right at the start kind of scares her. Like I said, though, 

she'll get it. She is exercising her faith by following the other commandments first. 

Building blocks, I guess!

I Mean Something.
There was a very tender moment for Elder Sumsion and me this week. We have been working with am older lady named Ruth since I got here 6 weeks ago. Over those 6 weeks she has opened up quite a bit. We would go in and teach her, she would feel the Spirit, but she never really grasped it. We came to the conclusion that we need to serve her more! So we helped with her weeds, yard sale, and we mowed her yard. We would serve her every week in addition to teaching her. We went by to visit her before Elder Sumsion left and she cried. (Side note—I hate seeing old people cry. It's probably the worst thing ever!!) She told us we have been better to her than her own kids. She told us how much
we mean to her. Man, right there, I feel like I saw her how God sees her. That lady has gone through so much and has kept her faith centered on God.

Weather
It's been pretty nice recently! Upper 80's, lower 90's...we even got
some rain one day! (Of course, the day we did yard work for Ruth!)

Photo shoot
On Sunday night we went over to Gilbert's house, a recent convert. His wife is a member returning to activity. They are great to us. Gilbert takes pictures professionally, and since Elder Sumsion was getting transferred he offered to give us a little photo shoot. It was super fun! Hopefully I'll get the pictures from him soon. Some were serious, but most were just us messing around.


Well, that's about all that happened this week. I am excited to find
out who my new companion will be!! I hope you all have a great week.
Email me!


Much love,


Elder Jones
Buckeye 1st & Sundance Wards
Arizona Phoenix Mission

 

Here is an update from Elder Jones

 

Good afternoon! I received my new companion today and he's pretty cool! His name is Elder Thames (pronounced Tim's) and he's from Tucson, AZ. He is doing a 12-week trial mission and is super excited to serve. He's brand new! Doesn't even have a name tag yet! They're working on that one. :) It looks like he has a great work ethic. I'm excited to work with him! I'll attach a picture. Lots of changes happened down here in Buckeye. I'll give more updates on Monday. Have a great week!