Jones, Talmage T

Not sure how many of you know how thrilled I am to be serving in this area called Enumclaw, but now you do! It's a small town, and I am soaking up each day. Old trucks and a nice view of Mount Rainier are so amazing to me. I got to explore more this week when I went on "exchanges" (24 hours with another missionary). I went to Buckley on Wednesday, and then Orting on Friday. I loved these areas too! Our branch is so close-knit! It makes a difference for us as missionaries. I'm glad we've gotten to know leaders in our branch so that they know we care. We had an activity in our church parking lot involving food and water activities, including stuff with water balloons. It was a great opportunity to see members and nonmembers. We are finally getting to teach some people, which is exciting. These people are named Alex and Miriam. The trickiest part is always working around busy work schedules. We are praying that these people will make time for God by ultimately meetin...

I love Enumclaw! It is so amazing. There are so many old trucks and farms, and I'm getting used to it. I love the slowed pace of life; Bellevue was a bigger city-feel for sure. Independence Day was spectacular! We attended a program with some educated speakers that spoke about the privilege of being American. A few investigators came, and they enjoyed it! One guy who attended this event had a tractor that pulled a massive U.S. flag! We obviously got photos in front of it. I wore red, white, and blue for the occasion, of course. I am sure grateful for those who make extreme sacrifices to grant me such amazing freedoms. I have to do my part as an American citizen too, which I'm happy to do! We had a zone conference with lots of learning and talking with numerous other missionaries! I always love these conferences. We're getting to know the members and investigators here in Enumclaw pretty well, but it's taking some time. The members are doing a terrific job assisting in o...

It has been my dream to serve in Enumclaw. I knew that it would be highly unlikely to serve there, since there have been Spanish Hermanas there for over a year. As it would turn out, Elder Brown and I are there now! We left Bellevue where three Spanish Hermanas took over. Here in "the Claw" (nickname for Enumclaw), there are two Hermanas and us serving in the Spanish branch called Mt. Peak. I am so thrilled to be serving out here! Bellevue is an upbeat and big city, but Enumclaw is a small town with old trucks, cows, and farms! I really love it so far. I am pretty sad that I left Bellevue. It took a lot of work to get things going when I was there, but I grew so much and it was worth it. Now it's thriving, and I hope the new Hermanas do a good job with it. I formed close relationships in the gospel with many people there, and I'm looking forward to having another great experience here in the Claw. On another note, I received some not-so-fun news recently. I went to ur...