Jones, Talmage T

There have been a lot of changes with my situation lately. I was a district leader (which means I was in charge of overseeing ten missionaries' efforts and well-being) for almost six months. I got released from that position a few days ago, so I get to focus on just my own area as I finish my mission. I had my last "transfers" on Friday, but there is no change in my area or companionship! I am going to finish my mission in Bothell with Elder Bloomfield and Elder Thompson. It's pretty ideal. The reason for the title is that we serve and teach at 1000 miles per hour. We are all far along in Spanish, so we are able to find and teach with almost nothing holding us back. We are all obedient and motivated about doing missionary work, so it's wonderful. Fernando got confirmed a member of the church yesterday! It was great. He also got interviewed for the priesthood! He'll receive the priesthood next week, and then he'll be preparing for the temple. He is so excit...

Hi everyone. It's crazy to think that April is ending and May is approaching. Time flies! I had an amazing week once again. If you read the title, it's true--my companions and I invited close to 400 people to church this week. We talked to everyone we possibly could. What I mean by this is that we rolled down our windows at stoplights, slowed down in the road for people on the sidewalks, and talked with each person while walking in complexes. We went all out. We competed with two other missionaries on Saturday, and it was fun. We got 162 in a single day. Many people actually said they were open to church, so that was good news. We are eating with our members a lot more, which is good. This means we get to serve them and gain their trust even more. Our members are such a great support right now. We went to the temple for a sealing of Elder Thompson's friend. It was a beautiful experience. I got to see members from my past areas. Things are FANTASTIC with Fernando right now. ...

Wow. This week was loaded with some exciting things. We worked hard to get Fernando ready for baptism. He was able to call and meet in person almost every day! I had a great exchange with an elder named Elder Critchfield. He's goofy. I learned some good things from him. The first person we met at this trailer park was cool! He spoke mostly Spanish, but a little English too. He unloaded with questions as we taught him the Book of Mormon. We helped him understand a lot. It was neat that Elder Critchfield got to teach him too! We look forward to teaching him again! We had our lesson with our three Honduran friends, and it went super well. I was still with Elder Critchfield for this, so I taught by myself. However, I did ask him for some comments that I could then translate into Spanish. Fabiola, Jorge, and Maria had forgotten a lot about the Plan of Salvation, so I re-taught it to them. Heavenly Father sure helped me because my Spanish flowed really well and the Holy Ghost was there! ...

I hope you all had a wonderful General Conference. I sure did! I listened to two sessions in English and three in Spanish, so I definitely will need to re-watch several talks. I don't understand all the church vocabulary in my non-native language at that speed. However, I loved the theme of covenants and the temple! There is a serious need for us to always be bound for the temple or in it. I love this! I think we had an estimated ten or eleven friends that watched conference! Following the prophet always delivers us from evil; what a great truth. We are still praying for some things to happen in our area. We are finding job opportunities for Fernando, but they aren't compatible with his abilities. Also, we are waiting for Sunday so that we can find Irvin and Gris' records and move along with Eli and his baptismal plan. Eli has been reading in the Book of Mormon, and we even read together over the phone! We loved it! What's great is that Fernando is ready for his baptism...

Easter was extraordinary. It is by far my favorite holiday. It is the most significant event in human history. For the entire day, I thought about the Savior and His matchless gift of the Atonement. I loved sacrament meeting so much; I felt my Redeemer's love as I saw so many people attending church and remembering His infinite sacrifice with me. I have never felt more self-confident and close to Christ than this point in my life. Obedience and selfless service to others do this to me. Monday was fantastic! We had three different lessons with members present. Keep in mind that on Mondays, we only teach from 6-9pm, so this was a big deal for us! We have been having great lessons over video call lately! One was from Facebook, and another was for an English class. We pray that they will come closer to the Savior as they learn with us. We met with Claudio after not seeing him for over two weeks. It was great! We taught him the Plan of Salvation with the help of a member of our bishopri...