I Learned The Origin Of The Kirkland Signature Brand!

Happy days happen here in the Bothell area!

Nothing too crazy happened this week.

It took me until last Monday to learn that the Kirkland Signature brand comes from Kirkland, Washington. I currently live in Kirkland, so it's kind of crazy to me. For years, I thought maybe this brand had to do with a place called Kirkland, but I was too afraid to ask anyone and sound stupid. It's okay to laugh at this if you want.

As a zone (all missionaries in the Bothell area), we chose to set a goal of inviting 130 people to church. We surpassed 130 on Saturday, and we got another 6 on Sunday!! Elder Thompson and I invited so many people, and it was a great experience. What's interesting is that 0 friends came on Sunday. I initially became very saddened, but I realized how much of a role agency plays in God's plan. People can choose to come closer to God at church or miss out on this "spiritual refuel," so to speak. I am not a successful missionary based on how many people get baptized, come to church, or have lessons with us. I am successful according to my commitment to follow Jesus Christ, be converted, and help others come unto the Savior. I am learning that more than ever.

Elder Thompson and I gave talks in sacrament meeting! He spoke on how our members can support missionary work, and I spoke about how God helps us to progress. It went well! I felt like I did a pretty good job with my Spanish. I knew I communicated what I know to be true, regarding the Lord's hand in our life progression. I focused on Jesus Christ's teachings and the words of our prophet President Nelson. I felt great about my testimony that I shared. Our members are so kind, and several of them complimented us afterwards.

I had an exchange with our zone leaders, who are other young missionary leaders like me. Elder Thompson went to Canyon Creek, and I led out Lake Washington (this is the name of our Spanish ward by the way). Elder Merrill got to join me for the day, and we did so much! We visited a less-active member named Victor, as well as his son Xavi. Xavi is ten years old and hasn't been baptized. He speaks English, so Elder Merrill was able to talk to him. We conversed about how being obedient to God brings us happiness. Xavi agreed! We also told him about the Book of Mormon, and he said he has a children's copy of it! He seemed happy about what we were teaching, so we had his dad share his testimony of being in the church. We invited Xavi to read his children's copy, and he said he will! We are excited to return on February 23rd.

We also had a lesson with our friend Onias. He is cool! We are teaching him thanks to some English elders who found and talked to him. These elders gave us his information, and now we're talking about the Book of Mormon with him! Onias had asked how he could get a copy of the book for himself, and we gladly gave him one with our number! We brought one of our really good members named Francisco Morales, and he shared his testimony of the Book of Mormon. It was fantastic! I testified of the truths of the book and that sincerely reading it would bring Onias joy. He told us he'd read, so we look forward to meeting again this Friday.

Elder Merrill is such a great missionary. He and I served together back in Bellevue, but I didn't know him nearly as well. This time, I learned a lot from him. He said he looks up to me, which is so kind! He serves each companionship, and it's thoughtful. We got along the whole day, and I'm grateful that he's obedient and able to lead our zone so effectively.

Our friends Alejandro and Eduardo are great! We had a member-present lesson with them, and together, we read Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:3-5. We taught them how to pray so that they can pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. They said they'd do it, and we await their response! Also, our member Hermano Rodríguez did a great job testifying.

Elder Thompson and I are working hard here in Bothell! We get to cover Woodinville, Redmond, Bothell, Kenmore, and more. Our efforts are paying off slowly but surely. We are seeking those who are willing to have conversion in their lives; we want to invite others to baptism. Although we didn't have recent converts or friends at church, we made a lot of new friends and had several member-present lessons! Our goal was six member-present lessons and six new friends. We ended up getting 6/6 and 6/6! We reached these two goals! We felt proud of ourselves.

Hard work pays off. That's a theme from this past week.

Trabajo duro vale la pena. Este es una tema de la semana pasada.

Remember to give it your all--whatever you do! The Lord loves effort.

Happy early Valentine's Day!!

Elder Jones