My Joy Is Full!

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's member records, which is unfortunate. Once we do, we can set a baptismal date for Eli. Please pray that we can retrieve these records.

We met with Yormi once again! It had been a while. He's doing alright. He gave Elder Thompson a haircut, so that was nice! His sister-in-law had questions about us "Mormonas," and we were happy to answer them!

We had zone conference on Thursday!! It is always a spectacular meeting. I learned to use our records app, Area Book (now called Preach My Gospel), in new ways! Additionally, I internalized the value of Facebook. I only have one more zone conference!! Things are getting sad.

I had an exchange with an elder named Elder Holt. He's fun. He and his area are struggling right now, so I did my best to uplift and serve him. We did a "Free Book of Mormon" board for a bit, which I had never done before! We met some really nice people over by the University of Washington--Bothell! This inspired Elder Holt to return to this spot, and now he's planning to go back this week!

One of the people we met was strongly Christian. She was so grateful and humbled that we knocked on her door and talked about Easter coming up! I love moments like this.

Our amazing friend Fernando is the best. He is still set for baptism on March 31st! He still reads the Book of Mormon and believes it's true! We met at the Redmond library for our lesson, and it went well! We taught the whole Plan of Salvation. Fernando had solid questions and comments throughout, and we were able to strengthen his faith and understanding. We invited him to pray to know that the church is God's kingdom upon the Earth. I feel that he'll do it! He is getting interviewed for baptism this Friday by the one and only Elder Luke Miller!

Fernando had been looking for a job for a while, but he didn't complain. He was only asking us where he could find one. I was set on helping him find some work. Thanks to our amazing members, we found an opportunity for him! He was grateful. I love Fernando and his willingness to follow the Savior!! He came to church for the fourth time in a row yesterday. He's still hyped about his baptism, too!

I have been doing quite a bit more finding on Facebook lately. Our mission is pushing Facebook more and more since we know it truly helps us find people to teach--in Washington AND across the world!! On Thursday, I got a response from somebody, saying that they were wanting to learn more. I had sent her our introduction video about the church. I replied and asked if we could have a video call with her, and she agreed. Her name is Paola Bermeo. She lives in Burien, Washington. We called her on Saturday, and our lesson commenced! We got to know her quite a bit. She comes from North Carolina, and apparently she used to attend church out there! Also, she knew a little bit about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon! Elder Thompson asked her if she was a member, but she told us no! This meant that she was pretty golden for teaching! We explained the church and went on to teach her the second half of the Restoration. She understood and was seeking more!! She wanted to know where she could go to church! I sent her the church details for the Rainier Vista ward. I love that ward to this day! We set another video call lesson for Friday, and we're looking forward to it! Once we teach her again, we're going to send her record and Facebook profile to the missionaries up there in Burien; they are going to receive an awesome seeker of truth! It is hard for missionaries in our mission to find a new person to teach on Facebook, but I was able to do so!! I am grateful to Heavenly Father for helping us to find Paola.

Quite possibly the highlight of the week was going to Kent. Why did I go to Kent? EDELMIRA AND JOEL BRISEÑO GOT BAPTIZED!!! Elder Thompson and I taught the two of them a while ago when we were in Kent (at different times). Eleven other Spanish elders were there for the ordinance!! It was such a special day. I got to lead the music during the program! After the baptism, I got to catch up with primarily two elders: Elder Townsend and Elder Maycock.

Elder Townsend sure is thriving in Kent while training a missionary! He was humble about his accomplishment to help Edelmira and Joel get to this point. He and I recalled some memories together in Auburn! I loved sharing joy with him. We want to do our temple trip together soon since we don't know if we'll see each other again as elders.

Elder Maycock is one of the best missionaries I've EVER known. He has truly given his all to the Lord during these twenty-two months he's served. When I talked with him, he had the Holy Ghost with him and it was obvious. As he shared with me how his departing testimony (testimony given in front of missionaries four weeks before going home) and final interview with President Henderson went, he was contrite yet a little sad. I got chills and tears as he explained how sad he is to leave. He is extraordinary! He also complimented me and said I am the most holy elder he knows!! I was beyond humbled by this comment. I wanted to hug him tight for a straight minute. I love this elder; we worked hard together when we served in Auburn for six weeks. I'm so proud of him. Elder Maycock has taught me so much about valuing my calling as a full-time representative of Jesus Christ.

He's also hilarious, so it was fun to recall some jokes with him.

Driving forty-five minutes back to Kirkland had me exhausted. My joy was truly full as I interacted with all these amazing elders at the baptism!! I couldn't stop thinking about the joy that comes from real, selfless service to the Lord.

On Sunday, we taught a friend named Samer. Into the lesson, his wife and mother-in-law walked in and joined! Elder Thompson and I have never met anyone with so many questions and interest in our message! We taught the Restoration, and they are anxious to meet with us again! They gladly accepted copies of the Book of Mormon. The Spirit was powerful as Elder Thompson recited the First Vision with these three wonderful friends. We look forward to answering more of their questions at our next visit!

Church was spectacular! WE HAD TWELVE FRIENDS AT CHURCH!!!!! This is a new record for me! Seven of the friends were in the Aguilar family, and the others were Fernando, Luis Miguel, Maria, Jorge, and Carlos. I felt so warm inside as I saw them enter the chapel and sit to experience sacrament meeting. We also had 5 less-active people come to church. Also, we had a new high of 103 people in sacrament meeting!! This is a lot for us! It was definitely the most amount of people at church since I got to Kirkland. We introduced Fernando to everyone in the second hour, and our members were willing to support him! It was great.

What a killer week I had. My joy was full from so many different things! The greatest event of all time--Easter (the Atonement of Jesus Christ)--approaches, so that's exciting. The weekend after that is General Conference, so I am thrilled about everything that's going on. It's hard to contain my joy. I don't want my missionary service to end.

Anyways, that's it for now.

Elder Thompson is still a fantastic companion.

Me encanta la obra misional. El gozo real viene de Jesucristo--siempre. ¡Que bendecidos somos que podremos celebrar Pascua este domingo!

Love you all!

Elder Jones