Jones, Talmage T

Buenas tardes! Cómo están haciendo con sus metas para el Año Nuevo? Espero que sus repuestas son "Superbien!" Enero es casi terminado ya! No puedo creerlo. Anyways, I hope you all understood that Spanish or put it into Google Translate. Speaking a second language is one of my favorite parts of being a missionary right now. We had 3 members feed us this week, and one of them was in a Salvadoran restaurant! The food is always incredible. These are great opportunities because we get to talk to our members individually and get to know them better.  Saturday was a tougher day because two important lessons got canceled. They were gonna be our Portuguese friends and the new Honduran ones. We communicated with them and are securing lessons with them this Saturday. Please pray that they will make time for the Lord and hear our happy message. Life's abrupt changes are real, so I was initially sad yet understanding. Things don't always go exactly according to plan, but that'...

Hola todo! Como estan?  Well, it was a week! We had zone conference with our mission president and numerous other missionaries. It's so cool to learn what's going on in other parts of Washington in terms of missionary work.  I got a very short haircut last Monday, so the photos will show Elder Jones with a near buzz or beanie. It has been cold on my head, but at least it's easy to maintain. The weather has been interesting for us. On different days, there has been thick fog, light hail, rain, and clouds. I honestly like the surprises that Renton is giving us. As for our friends, they are doing well! The Portuguese ones, Luis and Elvana, are super friendly and seem to have an interest in our teaching. Unfortunately, there has been a bit of a language barrier here and there as we teach, so we are making decisions on whether to hand them to our Portuguese speaking elders or not. It's hard to let go of people you find for the first time and help progress! There was a solid ...

I have to say it--Elder Miller and I eat some great foods! We made some wings one night, and they were tasty. Elder Miller knows his stuff in terms of spices, cooking, and secret ingredients. It's one of his biggest strengths!  Anyway, this week was a great one. There were some slower days, but at least we met several new friends! We met a young couple as they were walking into their apartment, and when we asked if we could help them or even talk about what we do, they were open to it! We had a lesson with them and found out they speak Spanish AND Portuguese! They are originally from the Amazon, so it's pretty cool! As we spoke with them, they said a few Portuguese words here and there and almost threw me off. However, I appreciated how nice they were to us. We gave them a Spanish copy of the Book of Mormon, and we'll be giving them a Portuguese one as well in the next week or so. So excited to talk with them again here soon! On Saturday morning, I did some tracting with El...

Hello all!     This week's email won't be long, sorry.     This weekend was special because Juan Pablo got baptized!! I had the privilege of baptizing him, and there was such a tender spirit in Juan. Holy cow! He said he felt "never better". We are so happy for him and are now preparing him for the temple.     We experienced a few miracles too! We haven't had students at our English classes lately--until Wednesday!! This was a miracle day. Six new men came, and they want to come back and continue learning it now that they live in the US. I love teaching English, and it's a great finding opportunity as we introduce the gospel to them.     Israel is a friend who comes to church here and there when he's not traveling for work. We had our first lesson with him yesterday and taught why going to church is so important. He asked when our next lesson would be, and we were happy to tell him we'd meet again this week! He has been taught a lot, and he has th...