Jones, Talmage T

This week was loaded. I don't even know where to start. I felt an overwhelming sense of joy this week! I sincerely valued the experiences I had during the past seven days. Eli is progressing so much! One of the best lessons of my entire mission happened with him and his parents on Tuesday. We taught the elements of the doctrine of Christ, and he understood them pretty well. We wrote them down for him so he wouldn't forget. We involved Eli's parents, Gris and Irvin, as we spoke, and we laughed so much together! We are all such good friends! Once they asked if we'll be here in the summer, I got sad. I had to tell them that I won't be here in June and beyond. However, I informed them that I'm definitely going to visit them when I do my mission tour. I love this family so much! They are the warmest family out there!! The Holy Spirit was there in that cute little trailer as we spoke of the Savior and His teachings. We haven't been able to find Gris' or Irvin...

Lake Washington is the name of the ward I'm serving in. It's an amazing one! I'm so grateful to be serving here right now. I had another extraordinary week! I ran out of time and cannot go into detail about my week, but I'll share my highlights. 9 friends came to church. This included 6 members of the Aguilar family: Carlos, Eli, and Fernando. We made 9 new friends. We had 5 lessons with a member participating, which was our goal: 5/5. We put Fernando on date for baptism. His date is March 31st. He loves the Book of Mormon and is reading a ton. We met a missionary who was serving in Panama. He and his Spanish are stellar. We had a crazy amazing lesson Sunday night, with a member and Onias. We jumped all over the Bible, and it was great. Onias said he'd read the Book of Mormon introduction that very night. Elder Thompson and I taught Sunday School, so that was fun. We helped our new member Victor change his flat tire. I love what I do. I get to serve as a missionary ...

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...

If I were to write each highlight and blessing of this week, this email would be a ten-paragraph essay. I typically go into detail, but I am going to summarize my week since SO many things happened. A theme I saw from this week is baptism. Read why: We put three people on date for baptism!!! Their plan is March 23rd. Fabiola, Maria, and Jorge are their names. They are Honduran siblings who are learning English with us. A friend I taught back in Kent in September 2022, named Edelmira, is getting baptized this Thursday!! I get to attend that! Elder Thompson and I attended three baptisms in Bellevue yesterday! They are friends that Elder Thompson taught. I don't know them since Elder Thompson served on the side of Bellevue where I wasn't. I loved seeing all of those members though! They remembered me and we had so much joy reuniting. The baptismal service was wonderful! Claudio came to church again! He is amazing! We are teaching a friend named Fernando, and he got a ride to churc...