Jones, Talmage T

I am sad to say that I left Auburn. After almost six months of serving there, I learned so much and grew in all sorts of ways. I am now in Bothell! My new companion is Elder Thompson, and we love this area! We are both new here, so we're figuring things out. We are in the areas of Kirkland, Redmond, Kenmore, and Bothell. There are lots of people who speak Portuguese and Spanish up here! In my mission, there used to be seven Spanish units, but now there are six since two of them combined into one in Federal Way. Now that I am in Bothell, I can say that I've served in all the Spanish units!!! Kent, Federal Way, Renton, Bellevue, Enumclaw, Auburn, and Bothell!! I love it. There isn't a ton to update about, but I am excited about my new area. My new companion is also wonderful; he always has an insane amount of energy! He's optimistic and hardworking. Here in Bothell, we have a friend who got baptized last week. His name is Josue. He is a solid new member; he wants to go to...

I wish I could record every valuable experience in my journal. I realized recently how I need to journal each night—not just a few times a week. It makes quite a difference! I like to write about things in which the Holy Ghost influences me and three things that I'm grateful for. My mission is so valuable to me, so it's almost an obligation for me. Today was an amazing week! We had many lessons with a member participating, people at church, and new friends made! There is no substitute for working hard as a missionary. For our friends Audry, Hordania, Laura Torres, Luis, and Vanessa, we had members participating in lessons with them! Members are critical as they share testimony and give support in our ward. Laura is doing pretty well. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying lately! We plan to invite her to church. Luis is COMMITTED to God! He gives credit to Him in everything, and he believes what we teach. What's cool is that we saw on Facebook that he gave his ...

Happy Monday. I think missionaries are the only people in the world who thoroughly enjoy Mondays; it's their only rest day. The rest of the world goes back to school and work once the weekend is over, and I feel like there's this overall feeling of dreading Mondays. However, missionaries like me LOVE Mondays because I get to shop and call my family. Anyways, we had a good week. I still enjoy serving in Auburn, just so you know. I haven't gotten sick of it. It has been really cold though! The forecast had said that the temperature would drop a lot, and it sure did! For most of the week, it was in the 20s range (degrees Fahrenheit). It got down to 15, which is bitter cold for this Arizona chicken right here. It started snowing for the first time Thursday night! Not a ton though. We were in Auburn, Burien, Federal Way, and Bellevue this week, and it was cold in each area. Seeing the white patches while at the temple was neat! My temple trip was a special one. I LOVE keeping co...