"Audry Said She's Coming To Church, Elder Maycock!!!"

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 covenants with the Lord and strengthening them in His holy house.


I went on two exchanges! They were back-to-back, so it was a lot for me. In the first one, I went to my zone leaders' area. We visited some members and brought the Spirit into their homes as we taught! We also did a lot of service, including building a roof for a chicken coop and moving furniture into a U-Haul. I love doing service--especially because it's rare for Spanish areas. On my second exchange, I stayed in my area and served with an elder named Elder Kap. It was wonderful! We saw two miracles, so it was great. He is currently training a missionary, so I got to applaud and compliment him for what he's doing for his new missionary companion. I have trained three missionaries before, so I could relate a little! It was great getting to know him better.


We have been having some good lessons with members lately! Our progressing friends are Laura Torres, Ladislao Torres, Felix Limus, Valeria Limus, Audry, and Hordania. We almost had members at each of our lessons with them this week!! Elder Maycock and I are working hard to make in-person or video call presence a reality for our members that join us.


We have been getting some really good photos lately! We caught a pink sunset, frozen lake (which I stood on), and Mount Rainier! Check my weekly photos to see what I'm talking about.


Sunday was the greatest!! Our friends Hordania, Audry, and Brad came to church!!!! This was the first time in a while! I was extremely excited about this! Brad had to drive them since neither of the twins has a car. On the bright side, they found a place to live recently! After church, we waited for our bishop to be done with some interviews so that the three of them could talk to Bishop about getting help with their move. While we waited in the hall of the church building, we taught them!! We know that Audry is doing well since she has a baptismal date in February, but we wanted to also see where Hordania is at. Since our last lesson with Hordania, she didn't read in the Book of Mormon as we had invited her, sadly. However, Elder Maycock talked to Hordania one on one while I talked to Audry eight feet to the left of him! It was individualized teaching!! Brad stood next to Audry, his girlfriend, but didn't understand anything. He is American and only speaks English. Somehow he communicates with Audry, but I'm not sure how; Audry only knows a teeny bit of English from our English classes. Elder Maycock taught Hordania all of the Restoration, and she had all kinds of difficult questions for him. One of our members was there and shared his testimony with her briefly, so that was wonderful! Meanwhile, I taught Audry about Joseph Smith and how the church is restored on the Earth. I also taught her about President Nelson, the twelve apostles, missionary work, temples, members, member callings, and more. She asked me some good questions, which indicated her faith and real desire to learn! She would say things like "...once I'm baptized and know for sure that this is the right church...". This is a great thing to hear! We know for sure that Audry is progressing, but we're going to keep trying with Hordania. We originally wanted to invite her to baptism, but it didn't quite feel right. We hope to put her on date for the same day as Audry soon, which is February 24th. What amazing two lessons though!! They met with Bishop afterward, and Bishop said he'll be helping them with the details of their move and letting us know how and when we can help.


This is random, but our progressing friend Laura has two babies under three years old, and they are adorable. Elder Maycock and I got a photo with the younger one, and he is so cute! This baby is a great conversation topic with his mom, Laura.


I had a great week! I had some amazing studies in the scriptures, and it's been helping me with my teaching and my thoughts of the Savior. What a privilege it is to wear my tag every day. It's so valuable to me!


That's all for now.


¡Mantenga cálido durante este invierno! ¡Hace muy frio! Recuerden que ustedes tienen esperanza en Jesucristo. Siempre. Venga a la senda de convenios y sienta de felicidad profunda. Solamente hay bendiciones eternales que están prometidas.


¡Hasta luego!


Elder Jones























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bothell Stake Conference

Image
My highlight of the week was our Bothell Stake Conference! We had an amazing speaker named Elder Schmitt. I loved it! For our Sunday session, my companion and I translated into Spanish. It was hard but fun! This week was hard. We are doing a lot of finding, and we are hoping to find those who are ready to receive Jesus Christ and commit to Him. Please pray for Eli, Josue, Jorge, Maria, Fabiola, and Yormi. They have potential for coming to church and being open to baptism. That's about it for now. Adiós! Elder Jones
Read more

Enumclaw Is Way Too Cool!

Image
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...
Read more

We Work Hard Here In Bothell

Image
Wow. I feel a lot of gratitude. This week has also been spectacular! For each new area that I enter, I don't think I can love it as much as the previous one I served in. I am really enjoying Bothell! Auburn still has a special place in my heart--don't get me wrong. It isn't the place that makes me happy, however. It's the people I'm with and the work I put forth that magnify my testimony and appreciation of God. These marvelous experiences just happen to be in Bothell right now. The title is pretty self-explanatory. Elder Thompson and I work super hard each day, and it brings us happiness and unity. We love our friends and are doing everything we can to guide them to the Savior. I hope you all feel the magnitude of the incredible experiences I'm having as you read them below. Eli is so fun! He is eight years old. His parents are members, but he isn't yet. This family is so kind! When they asked what our favorite snacks were, Griselda, the mother, bought a bo...
Read more