A Spiritually-Loaded Third-To-Last-Week

This was a packed week. I had my final zone conference on Thursday. While at that meeting, I bore my testimony in front of 100 or so missionaries. I testified of the Holy Ghost, Atonement, and reality of Jesus Christ's life in the Book of Mormon. I was as sincere as I could be, and I cried as I shared my words. The Spirit was powerful as I realized that I've given my all, and it has been worth it. Christ is worth it! On the bright side, I still have a week and a half left to serve these Spanish speakers in Bothell.


Right after sharing my testimony, I signed a plastic model of the Space Needle (you can see a photo of it in this week's photo album). It's a tradition that my mission president has had for each missionary that departs. I signed "E. Jones 22-24". I am humbled that I have been able to serve for almost twenty-three months. I still have a little left, so that's good!


Saturday was incredible. It was one of the highlights of my mission! A General Authority Seventy of the church named Elder Ojediran visited our mission!! What a privilege. Most of the missionaries, including me, got to attend this meeting and hear some inspired counsel from him! It moved us so much! He had so much rigor for things like the booklet Preach My Gospel. Afterwards, we attended the temple with two of our recent converts!!! I had been looking forward to this for a while. We went with Victor and Fernando. It was their first time going, and they got to do baptisms and confirmations for the dead! I forget that there's a ton going on when it's your first time and you can get confused. When I baptized Victor for a name, I had to do five attempts. He is a big guy! Elder Bloomfield got in the font with me and helped me push him under for the other four remaining names. What a memorable experience! Elder Bloomfield and Elder Thompson did the same thing for Fernando since he's big too. These two members did a great job and told us they enjoyed it! Directly after, we attended the sealing of our wonderful members Diana and Andres Orozco!! It was beautiful! The Spirit warmed us all as the words of the ordinance were spoken. Diana cried as she walked in and saw us and other members there to support her on her big day. What's crazy is that she is thirty-eight weeks pregnant. She got sealed to her husband just before she's expected to have her baby!


Sunday was also spectacular. Happy Cinco de Mayo! We experienced a 3-in-1 miracle: ELI, GRIS, AND IRVIN CAME TO CHURCH!!! I was so thrilled by this. They talked to our bishop, and THEY MADE THE DECISION THAT ELI SHOULD BE BAPTIZED NEXT SUNDAY, MAY 12TH!!! We are so excited for Eli and his family! I'm so humbled that I get to be a part of this as I finish my mission soon. The third part of this miracle made my day; Eli's father, IRVIN, TOLD ME HE'S GETTING WORK OFF SUNDAYS SO THAT HE AND HIS FAMILY CAN MAKE IT TO BOTH HOURS OF CHURCH!!!! I rejoiced inside like a ten-year-old boy getting the Lego Death Star for Christmas. The only thing is that it was a lot more joy than that. Profound joy.


Jonatan and Karla came to church! They are progressing a lot! We went to our members' home to have a lesson with these two friends. The members who participated were the mother, father, and daughter. We talked about faith and repentance in depth. We felt that they understood well! The mother, Hermana Murillo, sits and talks with them at church. She helps them feel so welcome! We are grateful for her support. We plan to invite Jonatan and Karla to baptism in our next lesson or so.


I am truly blessed to have witnessed and been a part of so many miracles.


La obediencia a los leyes del Señor siempre vale la pena. Les prometo. Hay consecuencias para nuestras acciones.


I love to wear my tag. Truly. I'll end with that.


Elder Jones



















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