Week of Miracles

Familia, friends, hello from chilly Greenwood! This week has been a week of miracles although I don't have much time but I'll try to tell you about all of them.
A pretty huge miracle happened this week. Sister Billock loves knocking, which is pretty much my least favorite thing to do...so I'm learning to like it, because we've done a lot this week. Sister Billock felt prompted to go to a certain apartment complex not on our schedule and to knock there. We had knocked all of them accept for one. A man opened the door without a shirt (everyone does that here! I don't understand. Put on a shirt hairy men!) and he was very nice. We started talking to him about the Book of Mormon and how it provides guidance to our lives. We gave it to him and we heard a voice from inside say "Can I get one of those?" A young woman, probably about 23 came to the door. I reached into my bag to grab one and what? there were none to be found! I always carry one with me so I'm confused. We say that we can get one from the car and she walks with us. She talks about baptism right off the bat and said that she would like to be baptized and I'm just like....what?! Are we being filmed right now?! Is this some kind of joke? We didn't invite her right then to be baptized but we did acknowledge it's importance. We talked to her more and I read her the promise in the front of the Book of Mormon. She started crying...no sobbing is more like it. She said that she's just been searching for answers and she felt like we were an answer to her prayer. I started rubbing her back and she falls into my arms and hugs me tight. We sat that way for a while, hugging and her just shaking as she cried. I testified to her that Heavenly Father loves her and that we were there as an answer to her prayer. She pulled away after a few more minutes, apologizing for her tears, but happy, oh so happy! I invited her to be baptized and before I was even done she was shaking her head yes. I know that that was a miracle, and I know that Sister Billock and I were meant to find her. Sister Billock through her love of knocking and me because I know how to be compassionate. If my anxiety and depression have taught me anything it's how to "mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort." Sister Billock can't handle tears and doesn't know how to deal with them, but I do, and I know that I was able to be a comfort to her at that time. We haven't been able to get in contact with Shardell since, but I know that something great will come from this.

We met a very interesting man named Alvin this week. The experience might have been so interesting because I'm pretty sure that he was drunk through out this entire encounter. He's an older gentleman, and he started talking about the bible and how it is the word of God..the only word from God. We testified of the Book of Mormon and of its truthfulness. We tried to offer him a copy but he said that he couldn't read...but I was like...how do you read the Bible then? I didn't say that out loud, but I think he was confused because he was just a tad bit tipsy. He invited us in for some walnuts, because apparently he had walnuts to spare. He got them from a bucket outside of his house (because there is no way I was going inside of his house) and started filling up a bag. He started talking about his life and how at one point he was almost a famous country singer. I was just like...oh really...huh, sure. I thought it was just him being funny...and old...and drunk, but he was serious! He pulled out an old boom box and put in a CD, and sure enough, it was him singing an old country tune. I told him that I loved country music, and in his excitement, he gave Sister Billock and I a CD of him and his band singing. So even though I can't listen to it, I got a CD from Alvin, the Walnut giving, almost famous, drunk country singer. Does anyone know how to crack walnuts? To crack the pecans we've got we usually just throw them on the floor.

Ooh! Then there was the miracle of the iHop. Sister Billock likes to eat out...a lot which is seriously draining my bank account (and she doesn't share food...something about a bad experience with a past companion, which is why my bank account is so low right now mom, that and I bought two cute adorable shirts at Belk because I am shrinking and my clothes are not and I had nothing Christmasy for the ward christmas party). So we were going to iHop instead of packing a lunch which makes zero sense to me but whatever, and we ran into this lady walking out of iHop. She said that the line was much too long to stay and that she'd be going somewhere else. I asked her where, and we started talking. She saw our name tags, and she exclaimed loudly in excitement "Y'all are mormons!" She said that she loves mormons and that she has a really good friend who's mormon. Her name is Linda by the way, and she's an older lady, probably in her 60's. We kept talking and long story short we ended up in Waffle House, eating lunch with a Holiness and teaching her about what we believe. She said that she's not interested, but we got her information and she lives in our area! We're going to keep nourishing that seed and hopefully bring her to baptism. The whole experience was just sureal. Oh...Greenwood...they are so backwards. They have smoking in their restaurants. Smoking!!! I mean...what century are we living in! Everyone knows that Tobacco and nicotine are bad for ya...so why is it in the restaurant where the tired mormon girls are trying to eat and unload?! Ugh the people are weird here, they don't believe in sidewalks or streetlights either. It's a miracle we haven't hit something at night because it is pitch black at about 9. But that was a pretty cool miracle huh?

The Christmas Devotional was beautiful! I don't know if you got to see it but it almost made me cry. I was just like...that's my home. That's where I used to sit and that's where I used to walk by. That's my temple. I don't know guys, the holidays are weird, and it's hard feeling like I'm alone here because Sister Billock isn't really compassionate...at all. I'm not saying I cry all the time, but when I try to confide in her about how I'm feeling she just kind of brushes it off and basically says to deal with it. Don't get me wrong, she's amazing and a great missionary, I just feel alone a lot of the time. But I am never alone. I am a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and as such I am entitled to having the Comforter, the Holy Ghost with me always. I can call down angels to bear me up. But most importantly I can talk to Heavenly Father, and with him on my side I am never alone. I know that the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate our Savior and Redeemers birth. I know that because of Him, we are never truly alone and because of him we can return to live in our permanent home, our Heavenly Home, where we can live without sadness or grief or separation from our families ever again. I am so grateful for my Savior, and I am excited for this opportunity to celebrate his birth in the mission field.

TLLY and in case you forgot I do to!

Love, Sister Jones

Greenwood, Oh Greenwood

Hola familia and friends!

So, the big news, the moment you've all been waiting for. I am in Greenwood, Greenville. If you look in my call packet, you'll see that Greenwood is also in the North-Western part of the state. This area was actually part of my old Zone, the Greenville Zone, until they split it a transfer ago. I was in the Greenville North Zone and now I'm in the Greenville South. I don't know if that helps you with the closeness of my areas. I wonder if I'll just inch my way across the state until I finally get to Charleston...which is my dream location!!! I don't know if it'll happen, but if I could just put that in the suggestions box in heaven, I'd do it for sure. It's about an hour south of Clemson but very very different. It is a more Urban area so there are actually clothing stores. I saw an Old Navy the other day and I nearly wept for joy. :) No luck with a whole lot of clothing stores in Clemson. OH, and they have a mall here! I never thought I would say this but I am so happy that I can go shopping! I guess that it just takes the lack thereof to really miss something, and I missed clothes! Greenwood used to be a milling town, and when the economic crisis hit, this part of the country was hit the hardest. The people are very humble and in very poor conditions. Lots of trailer parks and lots of small houses. But I'm getting used to it and I 've already met some pretty incredible people. Our apartment is really nice. We have a washer and dryer (thank goodness) and separate bathrooms. I also have a walk in closet which is something that I've never had before! I kind of just felt like living there, pulling in a pillow and reveling in my walk in closet.

Thanksgiving was spent at the Lichfield household. The Lichfields are incredibly wealthy...and I'm not exaggerating at all. We drove up to a gate, then put in the code to get through the gate, then spent another couple of minutes driving up a very long road to get to the house. And then, the awesome happened...horses!!! They are ranchers and have 30+ horses, and for some reason they loved our car. They swarmed us, and I was a little fearful, but incredibly stoked all at the same time! I cautiously got out of the car and made a new best friend. I don't know what her name was, but she was very attached. She would follow me around and nuzzle me and try to eat my bag at times (it is bright yellow, it looks yummy). Just another day in the life of a Disney Princess. :) We had a pretty good Thanksgiving dinner although I miss Western stuffing. They call it dressing here and they always put corn in it...not my favorite but the pie and the drinks were excellent so it was a pretty successful Thanksgiving. I didn't eat as much as I normally would, my stomach still hasn't quite adjusted to eating solids after my fight with that evil flu minion, but we still had a good time. OH! And they had cats, lots of 'em. One of them crawled on my lap, and just melted my heart. She stayed on my lap pretty much the whole time while we gave a lesson to Yakira. Yakira is wonderful. She is one of those incredible people that I've met so far. She is the Lichfield's niece, and her mom died when she was little, and through a series of events that I don't quite understand, she ended up here in South Carolina. She speaks very little English, so we had Maria, her cousin, translate for us. It was a very powerful lesson. Sister Billock (I'll tell you more about her later) and Sister Burbank taught her the first lesson and we started teaching her about the Plan of Salvation. I love teaching people about the Plan and I love teaching people about the Spirit World! I just love the spirit world! It truly proves to me that Heavenly Father is a merciful God and wants all of his children to return to him. I told her the story about how I've felt Bradon Jones very close to me at certain times during my life, and how I know that he is my guardian angel. I recounted one time when I felt very close to him and we both started crying. She came over and gave me a hug when I was finished. She is so sweet and kind and has such a sincere desire to know! When we were about to leave she told me, in broken English "You are a very good person and a good friend, thank you." Then gave me another hug. That was an incredible lesson and an incredible day.

Met a girl named Holly Jones the other day. We knocked into her. Guess what she's studying...nursing! I just wanted to shake her and be like,

"If you have a boyfriend, and his name isn't Doug, end it now!"

It was weird. We are going to be teaching her on Wednesday I believe. I'm pretty excited for that. :)

Um...what is this I hear about my Luna being dead? I'm gone for 3 months and my car decides to die? She misses me! Is she dead? I got a letter from grandma and there was something about my car being dead. I'm a tad bit concerned.

So, Sister Billock...is awesome! She is very different from me, which I think is good, because then the whole world would just explode with drama and british accents. My first couple days of the transfer were pretty hard, and she wasn't really helpful...like at all. She's not really sentimental and doesn't really know how to react to tears. I'm pretty sure I scared her. :) But, if I learned anything from this past week, it's that Heavenly Father will be with us through afflictions, and the best way to feel better is to serve. Don't worry, the medication is kicking in and I am starting to feel more at home here. Sister Billock is awesome though, I don't want you to get the wrong idea about her. She is tall 5'10! She is also 29. She knew that she wanted to go on a mission when she was 21, but Heavenly Father told her that it wasn't time yet. So she waited, and prepared, and she wasn't called to go on a mission until she was 28! She is truly a wonderful example of submitting to the will of God unfailingly, and having faith that everything will turn out ok. She is also a very hard worker. She knows that she is here to work, so that's what we do. She is from Arizona and loves guns...something very new to me. She also loves John Deere and animals (we have that in common). She coughs when she eats green apple flavored stuff and loves the shows Parks and Recreation and Friends. We'll get along just fine. :) She comes from a family of 2 and she has an older Sister. Parents and still in Arizona and are still happily married. I'll send you pictures as soon as I buy batteries for my life sucking camera. I've been through 8 batteries on that thing!

Thank you grandma for my letter! Iwas very much appreciated. I will make sure to get Sister Seaman's letter to her as well at the Christmas Zone Conference. We are combining for zones so I'll see her on the 17th of December.

Some exciting news, I was able to find a scale and...drumroll please...I've lost 30 lbs! Ah!!! I haven't weighed this little in a long time. :) I'm very excited about this. It just goes to show that if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish great things. I still want to lose about another 40, but don't worry, I'm staying healthy and I'm going to space out my weight loss. I hope that I can skype you mom and dad so that you can see my new improved self!

Well, I think that's everything. I love you all and am so grateful to have you in my life. I am doing much better, and I know that I can have great happiness on my mission, as I serve the lord and his children selflessly, because I love them. I say that every morning for standing quotes, and I know it to be true. Hope to hear from you soon!

TLLY, and in case you forgot I do to. :)

The healing Sister Jones

Transferred!

Hola familia and friendsia!

That's about the extent of my Spanish. Hey guess what? I'm alive! Sorry if the lack of email this last week scared ya. I've been sick this whole week. Flu. Ah that darn flu. But hey, if nothing else, my skirts are a whole lot looser because I haven't been able to eat very much these past two weeks. Silver lining indeed. :)

So lots has happened and I have less than a little time to tell you, so words may be misspelled and grammar may just have to go out the window, but it'll be fun. :)

Elder Bednar came to our mission! We had a mission conference not this last Saturday but the Saturday before that and he spoke to us for 3 hours...which was incredible. He talked with us, not to us. He told us that that is how the Savior taught, one by one. He related the Saviors teachings to how he let people feel the prints in his hands and feet and the wound in his side one by one, and that is how he taught. Yes, he taught masses of people, but the spirit testified to each of those people one by one. This is how we should teach as missionaries. Asking lots of inspired questions and really trying to get out of the way of the spirit. The spirit is the true teacher, and we need to get out of the way sometimes so he can do his job. :) He also talked about how we need to jump out of the boat. He said that sometimes in missionary work, or just life in general, we get scared and are afraid to leave certain comforts behind in order to follow a certain principle or the spirit. Elder Bednar said that we need to jump out of the boat just as Peter did. If we keep our eye on the Savior we will never fail. We may sink a little and choke down some water, but he will never let us drown. I just loved the way that he said that and how I can apply it in my missionary work. Sometimes, we do have our boats. We have our set lessons and our set questions that we are going to ask, but that's the boat! If we truly want to become great missionaries, we need to leave that comfort behind, rely on the spirit, and move towards the savior. I don't know if that makes a whole lot of sense, but it was a great night.

Got to go to the temple!!! President Holm said that everyone in the mission needed to go to the temple in the month of November. Many missionaries, Sister Seaman included, haven't been able to go in a year or so. Crazy! I missed the temple like crazy just being absent from it for 3 months, I can't imagine a year. Yes, that's right, my companion is old and has been out nearly a year. That boggles my mind and hers. I can't really imagine ever being at that point, but then again, the mission is nothing like I expected it would be, it's better.

Brother Reed is progressing...kind of. We had a lesson with him this past week with the Mastellars. We always have dinner beforehand and I've got to say, if you add enough brown sugar to pretty much anything...it tastes pretty amazing. We had a Thanksgiving dinner with corn pudding...you heard me right...corn pudding. I'd never heard of such a thing. It's pretty much just mushed up corn with flour, cinnamon and brown sugar. So good though! These Southerners know how to do it. Just put sugar in everything. :) Anyways, we sat down with him and he told us flat out that he hadn't been reading. This is the 2nd week in a row that he hasn't read...bollucks!, and we were going to drop him. He hadn't been keeping any of his commitments or coming to church. We figured that his desire was around 0 to keep taking the lessons and that if he hadn't read, we would drop him. It's very sad to drop someone, but if they aren't progressing and aren't interested, you've just got to tighten your pony tail and do it. But, Heavenly Father wasn't done with Brother Reed. We were planning on talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but somehow we got on the subject of temples. Sister and Brother Mastellar are family history workers and have done lots and lots of work for their ancestors. Sister Mastellar shared a particularly touching story about how she had done the work for one of her ancestors with no name, who had been buried in an unmarked grave, and left off of most records. She told about the joy that she felt from her and that little girl, finally being recognized and having the work done for her. She said that everyone in the temple room was crying as they felt the love and the joy that her ancestor had as she was recognized on earth and ready to move on in the kingdom of Heaven. She was crying, Brother Reed was crying, I felt like crying but I wasn't going to fake it. It was just a wonderful lesson and the spirit was so present and strong. We got a very strong commitment from Brother Reed that he would read his BofM everyday and that he would come to church. Hopefully he follows through, because he really is such a wonderful man and he deserves to be sealed to his family.

Jackie is on date! I found Jackie in our post office. I felt prompted to give her a card with the BofM on it, and we started a conversation. She gave me her number and said that we could set up an appointment. The funny thing is, we'd met Jackie before. She lives in our apartment complex and we'd knocked on her door one night. She'd turned us away. But she was more ready that second time, and long story short, she's been to church two Sundays in a row and is on date for baptism on the 14th of December! Miracles really do happen all around us and the hand of Heavenly Father is always acting around us even when we can't see it.

So...I'm being transferred. Don't know where, don't know who my new companion is going to be, don't know if I'll be speaking a different language! Just kidding, I do, everyone in the south speaks red neck. I'm becoming quite fluent in it. You'd be so proud, y'all is commonly used in my vocabulary and I think a southern accent is starting to creep in. Apparently I still sound like a yankee though some of the time, or just a westerner. I'm working on it though! The lord's work will go forth! We got the transfer call on Saturday as we were driving back from the temple and when I heard my name, I was surprisingly calm. I know that I am going where Heavenly Father needs me to. Yes, I've loved this ward and these people and I'm going to miss Sister Seaman like crazy! I'm sad that I don't get to spend the holidays with her, but I know that my new companion is going to love me, whether she likes it or not. ;) We drive down to Irmo tomorrow to figure out who our new companions are going to be and I get to pack up tonight and figure out how I'm going to fit my life into three suitcases again. Should be fairly easy, except I'm me and I'm going to want to go through everything and remember the memories...so I'm looking at a 4-5 hour window here. Wish me luck!

Oh man, I had one of the coolest experiences yesterday. There is this little girl in our ward, Mae Stark. She is eight and just pretty much the most adorable thing I've ever seen. We have been emailing at the library to save on miles and we ran into Sister Stark and her children there. We went to go say hi and I ended up talking to Mae for a little bit. She is just precious and their family is just wonderful. Anyways, yesterday Sister Stark comes up to me and she said that Mae has been talking about us non-stop! She said that on the car ride home Mae said, "ya know, those Sister Missionaries are wonderful. They are so beautiful." Sister Stark, intrigued said, "What do you think makes them beautiful?" Mae thought about it for a second, and said, "It's really cool. They don't have big princess dresses on or anything. They just have a light that shines through their faces. They are just so beautiful and amazing." Sister Stark, amazed at the language of her eight year old daughter said, "What do you think that light is?" Mae thought about it, "The Spirit. Mom, I want to be like them when I grow up. I want to be a missionary." .....WHAT!!?!?! How amazingly awesome is that!!!! Not only are we princesses, but this little girl wants to go on a mission now! Ah man, it's experiences like that that just make your heart all warm and fuzzy like a peach left out in the sun.

Well, thank you so much for your prayers this week. Things are definitely getting better, and hey...I've made it three months! Woohoo! I've made it through some tough things and I can make it through even more. Everything is possible with our Heavenly Father. Rely on him, for he will never let us fall. He will let us struggle, but he will never let us fall. I love you all so much and will talk to you in my new area! Wish me luck, and pray for me!

TLLY, and in case you forgot, I do to. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving! Be grateful this week for there is so much to be grateful for! In your letters to me this week, I would like for you to write down 30 things that you're grateful for. I know I know, I'm giving you homework, but it'll be awesome I promise. :)

Sister Jones

Liberty Jail Period

As you could maybe tell by my subject line, this was not a good week. When I first got here, I remember I was having a hard day, and Sister Seaman said that the first three months of your mission are referred to as the liberty jail period. It is during this period that...well...things are very trying. The advesary is trying his very hardest to get you to go home, to give up, to get sent home even, and I've definitely felt his influence this past week. Don't you worry. I'm not coming home. In fact, I think I'll just stay here in South Carolina. You cool with that mom? :) Nah, I just mean I will not leave my mission. I will see it through to the end, and that is the lesson that I believe Heavenly Father is trying to teach me this week, to endure to the end.

 

Tina is no longer an investigator and we basically have no idea where she is. You know how I told you last week that Tina has been harrassed by her ex-fiance? Well things escalated on Saturday. She rescheduled our lesson because she forgot that she had to take her kids to a birthday party. Her boyfriend followed her there and things got really awful quite quickly. So, she texted us the next day, Sunday. She said that she couldn't come to church, and that she couldn't even text us or call us, because she is going to be living in a Domestic Violence Center until the cops catch that evil evil man. Her number will be disconnected. When I read that text, my heart broke. That sounds really dramatic but that's the only way that I can think to describe it. I love her and her children SOOOOOOOOO much. Sister Seaman and I joked...well not really...we really wanted to call President, and ask him for permission for a service project (we have to do that for all planned service projects). We would say that we would require a can of hornet spray, a baseball bat, and permission to stay out past curfew...well really all night. We wanted to stake out Tina's house, to catch the evil man who's stalking her. Sister Seaman would go low, knock out his knees, and I'd go high. With the power of God on our side, would he really have a chance? I think not. :) Sounds like a good idea, no? I can see you shaking your head no...I guess it's for the best that we didn't actually do it. I wanted to see them come into the church, to find happiness and peace, and just get to spend time with her and her family, because those times have been the happiest of my entire mission. But, the advesary is ever so present, and now Tina is out of our lives. This was the trend this week. We would contact an investigator, make progress, and then BOOM! A big old brick house would fall on top of that family just like the wicked witch in wizard of oz and we never hear from them again. I was talking to Sister Seaman, and she said that she's never experienced anything like this in her mission...I guess that as a duo, we just carry so much light and goodness with us, that the advesary is trying to stop us at every turn. I know that sounds cocky, but I can't think of any other reason  why this would be happening. I'm not going to lie, it's hard. I love Tina so much, and I look forward to the day when I get to see her and her children in the Celestial Kingdom, because I know that somehow, somewhere, she will be brought to the gospel, and I will embrace her, and talk for a long long while. I'm waiting for the blessings that come from obedience, and the miracles and investigators that we'll see from our hard, and unyielding efforts.

We were talking to Elder Cook yesterday, he's our District Leader, and we were giving him our key indicators for the week. We told him about what happened to Tina, and he told us how their day had been hard as well. He told us that we have been doing an amazing job in Clemson, and that we are the only missionaries in the entire mission that could endure the challenges and hardships that this area gives us. Heavenly Father knew that, and he trusts us enough to endure and to make the best out of it. I have faith in that. I have hope for the future, and I know that Heavenly Father loves me without any reservations. I see it in the tender mercies of my companion, my hot shower, a scripture, or a skirt from a member at church (it's super cute! Black, pencil, with buttons all down the front). I am learning to endure. I'm learning to trust in the Lord's timing. All is well.

 

But, do not fear family!!! Good did happen this week as well! Brother Tracy came to church!!! He is this hilarious older man who has not come to church in ten years. He likes to talk...a lot. We went to his house with Sis. Sanderson so that we could get into his house, and he spent 2 1/2 hours showing us pictures and talking about his very confusing family tree. The first time he went he talked about his knees, and how they got burnt, because he's the only old man in the neighborhood and he's got to expose something! I laughed so hard. He loves us, and that's why he came yesterday. He looked very snappy in a suit jacket from probably the 70's. Slowly, but surely, I think he'll come back. We've just got to be persistent with the old guy. :)

 

Sister Seaman and I had dinner at a less actives house last night, the Marshalls. The Marshalls are very...backwoods in a way. We walked in, and they had a new cage set up in their house. I though it held a lizard...nope! A baby squirrel had been found on their property where they're building a barn. Yep, that's real. There are still barn-raisings in this modern day and age, and they are building a barn. So, they took the squirrel home, and the mom has basically been a mom to it. She took it out and it was so cute!!! And, being the Disney Princess that I am, I held it. That's right!!! I held a baby squirrel. I was kind of afraid that it would pee on me...but I had a Tide stick to go, and how often do you really get to hold a baby squirrel without getting rabies or attacked by the momma squirrel. It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. We had a really fun dinner with them, in which we talked about books, and weird dialects. Southern people really shouldn't speak spanish. I wish I could call you or spell it out phonetically how it sounded, but it was so funny! We then had a really great lesson with them, in which Brother Marshall basically asked us to help him come back to church. He said that he's had a pattern of activity and inactivity in the church his whole life. He knows that the church is true, but he also doesn't like the people of the chruch. God works through imperfect people, and often times people get very offended. He asked us to keep coming, and we were like 'Yes Sir!' I really love their family. :) We talked about books forever! Way longer than we should have but it was a great destressor and we had a great time.

 

Sister Chapman came to church! She's a less active of 20 years and we'e been teaching her for about a month now. I sat down next to her before Gospel Principles (which we got assigned to teach, out of the blue, and hour before, on chastity no less...) and she said that she was so grateful for me and Sister Seaman. With tears in her eyes she thanked me for the light and the hope that I've brought into her life again. She said that it's so great to have someone to cry with. Her husband James just died in August, and she is working towards getting a temple recommend to get his work done. How cool is that!!!

 

Yes mom, Sister Seaman got her letter, thank you very much! No package yet...our mail has been very slow lately. Usually it takes 4-5 days to get to us but lately it's been taking 1-2 weeks. So I'll let you know when she gets her package and I get my package. Yeah so excited!!! :)

 

I've done two trainings in DDM and ZTM, both of which went awesomely and I had a pretty fun time doing them. I think that I just like getting up in front of people. Whether it's singing or speaking, I just think it's fun, and I'm definitely learning how to do it more effectively.

 

Next transfers are November 26th two days before Thanksgiving. By then my training will be over, so all bets are off as to whether Sister Seaman and I will still be together. I hope that we will...but I'll go wherever the Lord needs me.

 

I'm going to be a little selfish this week and ask for your prayers. Pray that Sister Seaman and I can find success for our efforts, and bring these precious souls unto Christ. We know that through God all things are possible, and we will keep pushing on because we have unyielding faith in that. I pray for you everyday and I'm glad to hear of your successes and I am so glad that you are staying strong and moving closer to God every day. I love you all so much. I love my mission, and I'm so grateful to be here. Hear from you soon!

TLLY, and in case you forgot I do to. :)

Sister Jones

Musical Me

This week has been muy bueno in many ways. Sister Seaman and I got a call from Sister Ross, the choir director in our ward, and she said that a last minutes musical number had fallen through, and that she heard that we were some talented gals. We have sung in relief society before, so I guess that the news is circulating that there are some seriously skilled savvy sisters (say that five times fast ;)) in their midst. Haha just kidding, but she asked us to think about songs with prayer. We decided on Did you Think to Pray, which I was a little hesitant on, because it is just so repetitive. There isn't a whole lot to the melody and I just didn't like it very much...but I humbled myself and said that I would go with whatever she wanted us to do. We headed over to her house Friday night and as it would turn out, she had an amazingly cool arrangement of Did you think to Pray! I sang alto (weird for me, I'm usually the loud high one :) ) and Sister Seaman and I clicked really well together. We sing a lot together. As part of our companion study in the morning we'll sing a hymn together. I'm really grateful that I have such a great companion, and that we are so alike in many ways. It was a beautiful number, and at the end of the practice, I felt a little unsure about this one weird harmony. I expressed my wish that we had a piano that was closer to us, or one of those roll up electric keyboards that you can take with you practically anywhere, and Sister Ross was like, "OH, I have a keyboard. Do you want it?" I just kind of sat there stunned for a moment, I couldn't believe that she was actually offering me a keyboard. I turned to Sister Seaman and said in a hushed tone "Is this allowed?" Sister Seaman responded in a hushed voice as well. "I think so...Elder Lavulo has an ukelele.". Sister Ross laughed at our little exchange and had me reach up high in the garage (Superpower-- height) to grab it. She said that I could keep/borrow it...not quite sure when the return date is on that baby, but we went home with a keyboard!!!! I was so excited!!!!!!! I practice on it everyday, just hymns or that arrangement of I know that my Redeemer lives, but it is so wonderful. It's very therapeutic, and I hate to admit it, but I definitely missed practicing the piano.

Sister Seaman and I performed on Monday, and there was an issue of height. If I held the music where I could see it fine, it would cover Sister Seaman's face. So, we decided that she would stand on one of those stools that the kiddles stand on when they bear their testimonies. We got a BIG laugh from the congregation. The musical number was great. I never feel the spirit more than when I am performing. It's like it says in my patriarchal blessing. I will experience the most joy when I am serving others and witnessing the joy that my talents bring to others. And the musical number was good for missionary work too! After the sacrament, we had like, 5 people come up and say that they would like for us to teach some of their friends/relatives. This was truly a wonderful blessing from Heavenly Father.

We had Sister's Conference this week! It was really wonderful. President and Sister Holm talked about our worth as women and how the work really can't move forward without us. I got to see Sister Patterson again and the rest of my district! Sister Seaman got to see her past companions and it was wonderful. There was so much love in that room it was palpable. And the food they fed us wasn't half bad either. :)

Brother Reed is doing really well. He has come to church for a month now and came to the Fall Festival this last Saturday! He is really getting involved in the ward. Now, if we could just get him to stay the full three hours it would be bueno. We're assigning Brother Mastellar to fellowship him...and basically not let him skip out on Sunday school and priesthood. He can kidnap him if need be and coerce him, but hopefully there is never a point where there is duck tape and the trunk of a car involved.:) We'll be inviting him to be baptised again this Friday so we'll let you know how that goes. Pray that he'll say yes!!! Tina is in a really sticky situation right now. She's being stalked by her ex-husband/boyfriend. I'm not exactly sure on the logistics, but she's not allowed to leave her home and she has disconnected her phone. We know that she has a testimony of what were telling her, and I love her and her children and niece SSSSOOOOOOO much. Satan is just pulling all of the strings around her and she is very confused and scared. Please pray for Tina. We haven't heard from Rachel, Lisa, or Brenda at all this week. They skipped out on their appointments.The adversary is working incredibly hard on these incredible women. Please pray for all of them.

 

Well I love all of you and I am so grateful for your letters and the prayers that I receive. I was talking to Sister Titus after Sister's Conference. We carpooled with them, and I asked her why she came on a mission. What she said surprised me. She asked "Why I came on a mission or why I stayed on a mission?" I said both. She said that she came because she knew that it was something that she'd always strived for, and she said that she stayed because of her family. I'm paraphrasing greatly but she said something along those lines. I came on a mission because I knew that it was what God wanted me to do. I'm still here because of all of you. Don't get me wrong, there are many wonderful happy times that fill the mission, and I love at least 1 thing about everyday, but anyone who's been knows of the hardships and adversity. I am here because you inspire me to do better and you fill me with your love and you buoy me up when things are hard. So for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'll talk to you soon! There is still many a miracle to happen today, and I'm going to go find them.

TLLY, and in case you forgot, I do to.

XoxxOOxOX

The very grateful Sister Jones

Hit All the Notes

What is up mom and dad?!

Sorry, I have to act very mature most of the time...so you get to see the part of me that reverts back to a teenage...boy I suppose. Ya! :) This week has been a "hit all the notes!" week. Let me explain. Whenever Sister Seaman and I are back in our apartment for lunch or dinner, we always listen to my AWESOME shuffle and speaker. Thank you very much Colton, I truly don't know what I would do without music in the apartment, you are very much so, my favorite cousin. But shhhh!!! Don't tell the others! :) Our mission is pretty strict on music, so I have to skip through the Christian rock, but there is still a really great selection in there. Well, I was making dinner (orange chicken, yum :) ) and I turned on the music. Alex Boye ( I think that's how you spell his name) came on and was singing a rendition of "Be Still my Soul". And sorry, not to offend anyone who likes Alex Boye, but that song was just ridiculous. It reminded me of when pop stars sing the national anthem, and they just have to do all of those slides and trills...just hit the note! is what I'm thinking. I look up from the chicken when he starts doing his thing, gettingi into the groove, and I look at Sister Seaman. She has this look of disbelief on her face...and maybe a little bit of disgust as well. :) I burst out laughing and yell "Hit all the notes!" She busts up laughing too and whenever that song plays, we smile and make sure that he's not just hitting the one note, but all of the notes. Ah the little things we do to entertain ourselves.

So this week has been a "hit all the notes!" week. We hit some very very low notes...and some very good ones as well. One of those lower notes, you know the kind  that only the very large and dignified men can hit, those good old basses, was that on Tuesday we tracted...all day. We literally had nothing else that we could be doing, and that is terrible! We have been trying very hard to work with the ward but so far there has been limited success. We are hoping to get the members more active, but this week, it wasn't so. So for 6 hours, we tracted, and all of the cliche things happened. There was many a door slammed. Many a curt and rude no, and there were many a fake telephone calls to close the door. It was hard...and Sister Seaman and I were like Bon Jovi, livin' on a prayer. We had to have faith that someone...ANYONE would be interested in our message. If nothing else, we had to have faith that future missionaries would come and harvest those seeds that we planted. And man oh man did we plant seeds! The harvest will be bountiful in the future, it just wasn't that day.

But...duh duh du duuuu! The next day was fantastic!!! Heavenly Father was truly blessing us for our diligence and our afflictions because we found 3 amazing investigators and all of them are going to be on date this next week! (We just didn't have calendars for them but they said they'd be baptized. They have to have a calendar in hand to count as "on date") So please pray for Lisa, Brenda, and Rachel. They are all so amazing and deserve the happiness that this gospel brings.

I'm finding, that the people in the South, are in a word, crazy. Crazy, but I love 'em!!! We went to an investigators house for a follow up appointment, and she got to talking about her son who still lives in the house. How he wanted to be independent and make his own choices...but he still wanted her to make him a banana sandwich, or a baloney and egg sandwich. And in my mind I was just like what to the huh?! Baloney and egg? Banana sandwich? Oh, oh! And a banana sandwich isn't just banana...it's banana and MAYO. I've shockingly come to the knowledge, that if you've got two slices of bread, you can put anything in the middle and it's a sandwich. Ah! I miss the normalcy of Utah sometimes, but then again, I never had this much fun in Utah either. Much to many "normal" people in Utah. :) But then again, to these people, I'm the weirdo. I eat fry sauce with my fries, and have a western accent. Go figure! I've been living with an accent my whole life and never knew it!

We had stake conference this weekend and it was amazing! Two members of the 70 came and spoke to us. Elder Parker and Elder Cordbridge. They talked a lot about missionary work and Elder Parker at one point asked all of us full-time missionaries to stand up. It as amazing to look around and see so many of us. An Army of Helaman indeed. I really am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary. I feel like I have grown so much and have had my testimony strengthened so much about the truthfulness of this gospel. I'm also learning that there is much that I don't know...but that's the exciting part isn't it, discovering the new and interesting everyday of our lives.  

I am grateful for this week, I truly am. This week reminds me of a song, any song really, and how the song doesn't reach its full potential for beauty or depth without, you guessed it, all the notes. The sweet wouldn't sound so peaceful, and so kind, if those bass notes didn't have their chance to mess around for a bit. My life as a missionary is like that song, sometimes sharp and disonnent, sometimes flat and sad, but all together, it makes a beautiful melody, and that's what my life is, beautiful. I am so grateful for all of you and how you've been part of my melody and brought so much sweet into my song.

Thank you for your prayers and I am so proud of all of you!!! Keep up the great missionary work

TLLY, and in case you forgot, I do too.

Love, Sister Jones

I'm a Disney Princess!

I am I am! I'm a Disney Princess! Mom, do we have some kind of hidden royal bloodline that we don't know about. Guess I'll have to get on that family history when I get home, because this week I swear I'm a Disney princess. There have been a variety of encounters with lizards, skunks, rabbits, dogs, groundhogs, and cats, (none of which ended badly, didn't actually get to pet the skunk even though I was very tempted...but we don't have the funds for a Sister Jones tomato juice bath, so we stayed away). My favorite encounter, was when I got to hold a bird! We came out of our sanctuary from dinner, heading off to appointments and doing the work, ya know, just being righteous and the like, and there was this little finch, I'd like to say, just chillin' in front of our car. I walked closer and expected it to move, but it stood it's ground. It was the funniest game of chicken I've ever played. I'd walk one more step, and it'd kind of eye me, and I swear it was daring me to walk closer. I took another and another until I crouched down next to the bird, and still, it stayed. Sister Seaman told me to touch it, and being the obedient trainee that I am, I did. I was afraid of being bitten, but this bird was as cool as a cucumber, totally unphased by this giant person (by human standards too) touching it. The next step, naturally, to hold the bird. I placed my hand in front of it, and swooped my hand under it, and the bird walked onto my hand!!! I picked it up and sang it a lullaby, just kidding, I was in too much awe to do much else than stare and replay what Belle did next in Beauty and the Beast. It flew away...into a car. Yah, we're pretty sure that that bird was sick...but I washed my hands afterwards and was careful not to touch my face beforehand! Don't worry mum and dad I'm remembering what you taught me. So cool though! I know that we are all princes and princesses in a way because God, the ruler of the universe is our Father, but maybe I've just been able to send out that monarchy vibe to the creatures because they've been everywhere this week. :) Another cat followed us to our apartment, the word must've been spread around that I offer "treaters!" to any cat willing to come to our front door. Heavenly Father is looking out for me. He knows that I love animals, and that leaving my pets behind was one of the harder things I had to do before I left. He knows that having these encounters strengthens me, and as silly as it sounds, I'm glad that this week I was able to be a Disney princess.

 

This week was hard. I'm not going to lie to y'all, because that would be a sin and I'm trying to live what I teach. :) Nobody was home this week! What with the Clemson game (the streets shut down when there is a Clemson game and nobody opens their doors) and, I don't know, some desire for everyone to leave town not very many people were home. Tina, unfortunately, is no longer our investigator. We stopped by her house one night, trying to see if she was ok and she wouldn't answer the door. We could hear her inside and we even called her...but no answer. We've dropped her for a couple of weeks. Hopefully we can go back in 2 or 3 weeks, and she will recognize that things are much harder when we aren't around and present in her life. Let me rephrase that, when the spirit isn't present in her life. Because that's all that we really are as missionaries, the mouthpiece of the Spirit, or at least that is what I am striving to be. But, at the same time, Sister Seaman and I worked really hard and we contacted a lot of people, and at the end of the week we were able to see the fruits of our labors and meet some wonderful people.

 

If you would, pray for Edward Reed. He is our top investigator at this point. We've have 3 lessons with him, and his family is very supportive. His wife and grandkids have all been baptized and are always present when we teach him. This last week, I invited him to be baptized. He didn't say yes, but he also didn't say no. He just wants to make really sure that he feels secure in this church before making a big decision like that which is common in a lot of investigators. His granddaughter Gracie chimed in and said that she really wanted him to be baptized. If that won't do it I don't know what will! The Spirit was really strong in that room and the love was palpable. I felt like I could cut it in the air and serve it to people on plates. No baptism date for him this week, but he came to church and is keeping commitments! We hope to put him on date when we see him again this Friday.

 

Grandma is 70! My goodness Happy Birthday!!! You certainly don't look 70, maybe I got the good anti-aging gene as well. :) That is so great that Great Grandma is home, that gal is a fighter and I know that she can overcome this trial with grace and pizazz.

 

Sister Seaman and I taught Gospel Principles yesterday and we taught a lesson on developing our talents. I think that the lesson went pretty well. I'm learning more and more that we are supposed to teach people, not lessons, and that even when they don't follow the script ( they kept jumping way ahead in the lesson) that you can still have the spirit there and learn something new. I don't know if you've ever read the talk "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox but it is an amazing talk! When I went on exchanges Sister Williams ( one of the Sister Training leaders) had an audio recording of it. I've never heard grace explained so well and never really had it register so deeply. Christ paid for all of us to return to Heaven, no matter what we do in life. There is no meeting him half-way or a certain number of points that we have to accumulate to get to Heaven. We will all get there. That is Grace. The point of this life is to learn Heaven. To learn how to be comfortable in the presence of our Heavenly parents and Jesus Christ. Our purpose is to grow in this life, and as Brad Wilcox put it, to practice, practice, practice. I highly recommend looking that up, it is very inspiring and I learned a lot from it. Have y'all been reading anything good? How's the missionary work going back home?

Well, I'm going to sign off. 1 transfer down, I can't even believe it! And one planner down for that manner. The fellow missionaries will get that one. I've learned so much and I know that there is so much more to learn. I love you all so much and pray for you daily.

TLLY, and in case you forgot I do to.

Exodus 14:14

"The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

Love, Sister Jones

I'm Tall This Week

So...I've always been tall, you all know this. I just was kind of born and then I shot up about two weeks later. Well...it might've not have been quite like that but you get the gist. But I swear, it's like this week, everyone is taking notice of it. We went to visit this less active family which actually turned out to be active and then a part member family...basically we just had no idea who they were and we started learning all kinds of stuff about them. The Granddad, or as they call him papa is not a member of the church and he said that he'd be interested in learning more. We set up a return appointment with the Reed family and we stood up to leave. I swear it was like I'd just put on a fireworks show with a mariachi band and a t-shirt cannon because they were just in awe of how tall I was. The little girl, Gracie, pretty much called me a monster and then took off to find a measuring tape to find out how much of a monster I was. I tried to explain that a lot of people in my family are tall...just not the girls...and she wasn't having it. And it was a trend all week. We'd go eat dinner with a member and I'd walk in and it was like I was surrounded by glowing light and they were just enthralled by me. I'm trying to have fun with it though, because then there is the inevitable question of "how tall are you'? I've said "What? I'm tall?! I never knew!" and "5'14", only a few people have caught onto that last one, and then politely nod and pretend like that little girl doesn't think I'm a monster after all...there's a purpose for my height, and perhaps it's to help little shorty Sister Seaman reach her cereal. :)

 

This week we had LTM which is a two day conference in Irmo. President Holm spoke to us, Sister Holm spoke to us, and then we had trainings by pre-selected missionaries as well as the APs. It was really amazing. I got to work the Lexington area with Sister Lewis and we knocked on this potentials door and he comes out a minute later with balloon making stuff. He said "prepare to be amazed" and he asked what my favorite princess was, then he made me a balloon Belle! It was sooo cool. His friend James came out with him and we tried to give him a missionary discussion. It was hard with the balloon construction happening what with all of the screeching and twisting that comes with balloon making. It's amazing though how much you can get through and how open and prepared some people are for the gospel. James said that he was interested and that he wanted us to come back!!! Ah very cool!!! And when it was all said and done, I got to take home a balloon Belle, and Sister Lewis got to take home a balloon Rapunzel. Very fun door. :)

Then,oh oh the fun doesn't end there, we got to sleep over at the Lexington Sister's apartment. Unlike Sister Seaman and myself, there are two companionships in that apartment, and one of those companionships is a triple. And in that triple was Sister Patterson!!!!! It was so great to see my MTC companion and she is LOOOVING the work. It was so wonderful to get to reconnect with her and talk about some of the stresses of our daily routines. I talked about how I was followed home by a drunk man, and she talked about how she was proposed to by a less active they were teaching. Ah the adventures of missionary work. :)

I learned a lot at LTM. I learned lots of things that I can improve on and I learned, that above all, a leader is someone who follows through. Someone who learns how to improve, and then puts that plan in action. This is something that I've really struggled with through out...well...my life so it was good to hear about how I can improve.

 

I loved General Conference!!! Everything was so inspired and I'm really hoping that all of the talks about missionary work get our ward pumped about helping the work along. They aren't...bad ward members...but they also aren't excited about missionary work and about helping us. Sister Seaman and I have tried to have meetings with the Bishop and the Relief Society president on several occasions but we haven't heard back! We are frustrated because the work goes so much better when the members are involved, and no one knows the members better than the auxiliary leaders. We are striving this week to gain their trust and get the work moving along.

 

Please pray for Tina. She is a woman that we put on date two weeks ago and she is so elect and so incredibly wonderful. Satan is working very hard on her though and is making it incredibly difficult to meet with her. Her Uncle is in the hospital and we haven't had contact with her for about a week. So scary when a week ago she was texting us pretty much everyday. Please pray for her and her family in this dark time that they will feel comfort, and that they will be able to meet with us and have us bring the spirit into their home.

 

I love you all so much and miss you every day. Mom, I would love to get my cousins emails over email if you would. That way I can print them all off in the same place and they aren't scattered all over my apartment (which is very clean by the way! I make my bed and clean off my floor everyday. Bout time huh mom and dad. ;) ). Oh, by the way, I'm a cat whisperer. They follow me around everywhere. There is this cat named Sarj in the neighborhood, and he's a big ball of fluff and awesome. I pet him once and now, I can call him from all over the apartment complex and he'll pretty much show up everytime. Oh...and he ran into our apartment. I promise I did not let him in!!! He came to our door and I was petting him (outside) and then he proceeded to run inside. I quickly showed him the door, but I can now no longer say that a male type thing has not been in our apartment. Gah I guess I'm just one of those disobedient missionaries. :) Guess I'll have to confess to President Holm.

 

I love you all very much and can feel your prayers. Follow the counsel of the prophet and of his apostles that we just heard, they know the way. I'll talk to y'all next week and let you know about the many miracles that I see everyday.

 

TLLY, and incase you forgot, I love you too. :)

Sister Jones :)

 

 

Baptized!!!

Duh duh duh da!!! Ladies and gentleman, Mary has been baptized!! Woohooo! Cue the kazoos and the trumpets. One more wonderful amazing soul has found the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Ah seriously guys I'm so happy. :) It was incredibly stressful getting the baptism planned and getting down there (we have a limited number of miles and it would've taken about 300 to get to Columbia and back) but it was all worth it in the end. I'd like to echo what Sister Prawitt said about her investigator Curious (or is it Curios), Mary must be super important to the work of the kingdom because there were hurdles everywhere on that battle field...and snakes, the big ones, and spiders, and pointy flaming sticks, but we came through!

Sister Seaman and I got a member ride luckily and when we got to the church we went to fill up the font. Man those things take forever! I remember checking it about every 10 minutes and I honestly think that it was a miracle that that thing filled up at all! Sister Seaman and I sang a song, "If you could hie to Kolob" and because of some technical issues (Satan once again) we ended up doing it a capella. It was a different song for a baptism, but I was showing Mary some of my favorite hymns and she said that that one spoke to her. It was actually very beautiful and sweet without any piano and I feel like we did Mary proud. :) Mary's entire family came! They aren't members and it was wonderful to see them there and it meant a lot to Mary.

 

Baxter rolled over! That is so wonderful! But why is he being such a little punk? I'm glad that he's going to "dog therapy". I want for him to be there when I get home, well not all of him will be there as of Tuesday. Poor guy, but we don't want little punks running around now do we? Well...sounds like the cats are doing what they do best, you did warn Grandma, and those cats are persistent little buggers. I didn't get the picture of Amanda at homecoming. If you could send some I would appreciate it. :)

 

Well despite the baptism this week has been pretty trying. Sister Seaman felt sick, then I felt sick, and then people were just flat out rude to us all week. There was this one woman, who threatened to chase us down the street with a knife because she hates Mitt Romney that much. Sister Seaman kept her cool, and tried to tell her that he's not our leader and we don't follow him, but this lady was so stubborn and so tied up inside that the Spirit couldn't dwell with her. Very rude, told us to leave and that we were ignorant and shouldn't be missionaries. That was hard, and it didn't get better. I really just had to turn to Heavenly Father in prayer and ask him for help, because I couldn't do it alone that day, and I'm finding that I can't do it on my own any day. We all need that help that only our loving and eager Heavenly Father can give us, we just need to be humble enough to ask for his help. I had to be humble as well when I asked for a priesthood blessing this week. Don't worry, I'm fine. Missionary work is just overwhelming at times and I'm worried about all of you. I got the blessing at DDM (District Development Meeting). We take the bus down to Anderson every week and meet up with the rest of our district. We discuss investigators and train each other. I had asked Elder Cook for a blessing the night before, but I felt like I should wait until the District meeting to have it done. It was wonderful. All of the Elder's in my district (all 4 of them, they're so awesome!) laid their hands on my head and Elder Cook gave such a powerful and comforting message. I felt so taken care of and so loved. I haven't felt that much warmth in a long time. I forget sometimes how powerful the spirit is, and it was great to be able to have that blessing. It was also great because two members were there. We're not allowed to be in church buildings by ourselves with the Elders (for obvious reasons) and they were there to chaperone us I guess. After the blessing one of the sisters was crying. She said that she didn't realize how hard missionary work was and how much of a toll it takes on us. She said that I was a special spirit and that we would all do great things. I think that I was prompted to have my blessing the next day because all of the Elder's needed to feel that priesthood power, and because those Sister's needed to see how much we need their help. Help the missionaries! Don't just feed them, help them! You know better than us who is ready to hear the gospel, just point the way. That was another great experience from this week and I'm so grateful for my district.

 

This week I've been studying a lot about Jesus Christ and his life. I'm trying to answer a question that a contact had. Do we worship Jesus Christ. To some extent we do, but aren't we taught that we should worship God the Father, because the glory is his? I'm trying to find scriptural evidence. I've been studying the preexistence a lot as well and it amazes me the events that happened there! It's just so interesting to me that there was this great battle, and we don't remember any of it. I also never really knew that there were those who fought with Satan, there were those who fought with Michael, and there were those who didn't really fight at all. Those children received bodies as well though. I was just pondering how our actions in the preexistence affected the life that was laid out for us. I don't know if I fought for Christ's plan, but I'd like to think that I did. I'd like to think that I was valiant and brave, and if not, I'm fighting now for the kingdom of God on earth.

 

Go Nathan!!! Go Amanda!!! It sounds like busy weeks for them. :) I hope that Amanda had fun at homecoming (safe, BoM distance fun) :) and that Nathan will pray constantly for help with his new calling. I've learned while I've been here that we can try to do our callings without God, but things go so much smoother and we grow so much more when we turn to him.

 

Write Sister Seaman! She has been so wonderful to me and she hasn't heard from her family very much. I can tell that it makes her sad when I get to hear from you wonderful people and she gets nada. She loves pineapples, Doctor Who, and pretty much all candy. I would really appreciate it. :)

 

Well, I'm off to do the work. Thank you so much for your prayers and for your sweet spirits. I know that the Kingdom of God would not be nearly as great without your efforts and your love. Good luck Great grandma! I know you can do it!

 

TLLY, and I do too in case you forgot. :)

Sister Jones

Week 4

Hey family! How y'all doing? I'm practicing my Southern twang, and I think that it's coming along quite nicely. This week has been really good for the most part. Stressful, but good. But as one of the mission videos says, if you're not experiencing some amount of stress, you're dead. So I've definitely been alive this week. :)

Mary, one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet, is getting baptized this week on Saturday the 28th! Sister Seaman and I are so excited and so are a lot of other people. Unfortunately, this makes things a little complex. Everyone wants to help and everyone keeps planning things for the baptism...then Sister Seaman and I have to go back through and un-plan them. Mary wants to be baptized in Columbia, because that is where her family is and that is where her boyfriend's family is. Her boyfriend, Brandon, and his family are very very supportive of her getting baptized, and Brandon will actually be performing the baptism! It was just really complex trying to plan the baptism in Columbia, when President and Bishop both counseled us that we should try to have it here where her ward family will be. But, everything ended up just fine, after a couple of calls to President and Mary and several very stress inducing conversations, the baptism will be in Columbia! Sister Seaman and I are just trying to figure out a ride now...how to get there and how to get back...everything will work out in the end. I just need to have faith in that.

It would appear that I am just destined to always live next to graveyards. I lived near one in Utah, I lived right across the street from one in Logan, and here I am surrounded by them! I didn't know that one place could have so many graveyards! Don't get me wrong, they're not creepy. They are very well maintained and a very respected place, but they are pretty much on every corner! Sister Seaman said that they are always behind churches, and boy are there A LOT of churches here. In the missionary handbook, it says that we should avoid proselyting next to places of worship...well if we followed that rule then we couldn't proselyte anywhere, because there are a ridiculous number of churches here. It's a good thing as well though. Pretty much everyone here believes in Jesus Christ, we just have to fill in the rest of the Doctrine and we could baptize the entire city! Unfortunately Southern people are stubborn, and don't like change, but Sister Seaman and I are working very hard to change that in our area. :)

It rained on Saturday. It rained and rained and rained. Sister Seaman and I were soaked from head to toe by the time we finally caved and bought umbrellas. It was very refreshing though and it made the loud bugs stay in their little caves, so it was all good and very fun. :)

I've heard some very interesting names while I've been here. None that I've ever heard before, but maybe some of y'all have heard them before:

• Tywanda
• Sheraina
• Izona
• Anolee
• Kippany
• and my personal favorite "Imaginatiramea"

That last one is like saying "imagination" and then ramea. It means "one filled with light and imagination". Very beautiful name, I'd just never heard of it before, and it seemed to fit the little girl we met, so good on her!

 

I pet a raccoon! Don't worry mom, I didn't just go out on the street and pet a random raccoon. This lady in our ward found the little guy on the side of the highway one night, abandoned, and she took him home and raised him. He was really tame and so CUTE! I kind of want a pet raccoon now...but I don't think it'd be quite the same result if I just went out on the highway and picked up a stray raccoon. Maybe I'm just not thinking southern enough yet. :) Oh, and I stole a fig off of a former's tree. To be completely honest...it was Sister Seaman's fault. She started it and I just followed as the loyal trainee and took one as well. :) I don't really like them...but hey, I'm experiencing new things everyday!

 

My companion is a racist. But not really! Let me explain. We went on campus on day to go to institute. We always go if we have an investigator there and plus it's nice to have someone else teach us and help us find insights. We were trying to park, and the parking spaces all had different colored lines. Blue meant student, pink meant employee. So we were circling around forever trying to find "white" parking which is free parking. Finally out of frustration Sister Seaman yelled "these spaces are all colored!" She didn't realize how bad it sounded, until I burst out laughing and told her I didn't know she felt that way, and that it must be hard to be in the south then. Her face turned white, and she started laughing to. We might have to call president, but I think we're just going to see if her behavior improves first. :)

 

I think that we should be allowed to listen to Journey on our missions! The lyrics are totally related to the gospel! "Wooaoh, living on a prayer!" We are all supposed to live on prayers and have prayers in our hearts! "Take my hand, we'll make it I swear." Heavenly Father's hand in always outstretched and he is always willing to help us! I made this point to Sister Seaman, but she say's it's a no go. Maybe one day, but for now I'll be content with the Tabernacle choir. :)

 

As of Saturday, I've been out a month. It's been the longest month of my life and also the shortest. I love it here, and I also struggle here. But that is what makes it so great. I'm trying to continually improve myself and I can see Heavenly Father's hand constantly in my life. I've felt the spirit everyday, and I'm striving to have him with me at all times, and in all things, and in all places. I love you all and thank you so much for your prayers and your letters. They really buoy me up and help me to do hard things. This week will be a great one!

I love you so so much! Remember TLLY.

Sister Jones

 

Many Miracles

Hi Mom!

I hope that everything is going well. It sounded like to me that you have had your hands full with wormy pears but that you’re keeping yourself busy. I'm glad! I don't want you to miss me...too much. ;) That dinner party sounds crazy fun! I'm so proud of Katie! She is such a hard worker and just keeps going and going. It's crazy how much energy that cooky kid has. I'm so happy for Uncle Paul and Aunt Kerri!!! It kills me that I wasn't able to go but they look so happy in the pictures you sent me and they deserve it so much. Not that I'm an expert on marriage...because ya know...haven't been married...but I've been wondering a lot about marriage lately and how some people can stay together for their whole lives and some don't even make it a month. I think that the key thing is charity, Christ like love for one another. Attraction is good and compatibility is very important but lots of people have those things. And then once they start arguing they don't know how to fix it and they have nothing to fall back on. Christ loved everyone and he loved perfectly. He served the people who wanted to kill him. He served the people who did kill him. If we can have that kind of love one to another, and be selfless, than I think we should be fine. But like I said, I've never been married, so I could just be a loon in June.

I haven't gotten the package yet. I'm not quite sure why we have to send everything through the mission home. Probably so that they don't have to forward mail to all kinds of crazy places when we aren't able to keep you updated on our addresses. Well now you know my address for the entire mission so we should be good from now on. I was talking to Sister Seaman and she said that in not sending it directly to us, it takes about an additional day to two days depending on where you are in the mission. Because I'm on the outskirts, I think that it takes two days. But if you think about it, it doesn't really matter anyway, because I'm only allowed to write on P-day so I can't write you back throughout the week anyway.

Mint leaves are pretty much all over the yard but there are lots by the cucumber plant and I'm pretty sure there is a stem or two by the lavender plant. Don't be sad mom. :(  I'll be home before you know it. I've almost been out a week already!

That was very nice of President Brinkerhoff. I bet people in the stake were kind of at a loss as to who I was though...but that was still very kind of him. It is so true that the members need to be involved in missionary work!!! Feeding us is wonderful but helping us teach and find people is spectacular! It is very hard to find people on our own. It helps to have that insiders view of what's going on in the area and who needs help next.

I'm glad that Great Grandma is still chugging along. I truly do love her and she has been an amazing example in my life.

Living conditions:

Wonderful. One bedroom apartment with a washer/dryer. Just Sister Seaman as my roommate. There actually aren't very many cockroaches in our apartment. We try to keep the place really clean and so far none that we can see. We are assaulted by mosquitos constantly though and my legs have never been so itchy. Sister Seaman tells me that they'll die off soon though when it gets cold.

Dominique:

We're not sure about him right now. We know that he felt the spirit and he committed to be baptized...although we're not so sure now that he is fully committed to do so. He gave us a fake phone number but we're stopping by to check up on him.

Marquis:

Is actually not in my area. We found him while I was training at the Mission home for two days and the missionaries in Columbia/Irmo are going to take care of him now. I'm pretty sure that he'll be baptized though. There was just such an amazing light in his eyes as we taught him!

Happy:

Yes. Of course the days are hard, but I honestly just need to learn to be patient in my afflictions. I've been praying very hard for patience and I just need to have faith that even though people may reject us now, we are going to teach them in the afterlife. That's how I stay positive. Plus we sing a lot and the members have been wonderful in keeping us positive.

Physically:

Tired. It is hard to get up in the morning because it takes me so long to fall asleep! My mind just takes a while to shut down. I think that I might just need to go to bed earlier around 10 so I can have some wind down time.

What do I need:

Well I need for y'all to be happy for one! I would actually love it if you could send me my ski coat. Sister Seaman says that the one I have now won't do much, because it just gets really wet in the winter. I would love two blankets and a pillow case. We're supposed to put together an emergency kit and I need a blanket for that. Just one of those blankets in the closet. Like the polka dot fleece one would be good. We would also love the movie 17 miracles! We can watch it on our little DVD player that they give us for training videos but no one sells it here! It's not exactly a Mormon friendly environment like Salt Lake.

This week has been wonderful. One of our investigators Mary Smith is getting baptized on September 28th! We just have one more lesson to teach her and then she has her interview on Monday. We're so excited! She was so prepared by the Lord it's ridiculous. We basically didn't have to teach her anything. She knows everything anyway. :) Sister Seaman says that that is how it is with a lot of converts. You basically just show up, invite the Spirit and he does the rest. :)

South Carolina is beautiful. Oh! I forgot to tell you this last week! Fireflies!!! They are beautiful! I'm told that they are the best in June because that's there mating season but they are just so cool! They are like little beacons of warmth in the darkness. I think Sister Seaman thinks I'm strange because I pretty much act like a child whenever I am around them, but they are just so amazing!

Uncle Stan was right about the dialect. We talked to this one woman Rosa this week, and I could barely understand a word that child said. Luckily Sister Seaman speaks...um...Carolinian shall we say and was able to tell me what happened after we were done talking to her.

Housing is weird. No one here uses there front door, and hence there are no pathways to the front doors. It's just...weird.

One miracle this week was Marti. He lives in our apartment complex down the road. Sister Seaman was having a really hard day so we decided to stop tracting in the area and head home and tract there, just to see if we had any more luck. We stopped at home to get some pass-a-long cards and to take out the trash. We walked down the street to the dumpster and saw this man sitting on his porch. He was really friendly and we thought he was drunk for a second, but we looped back around after disposing of the garbage and said hello anyways. (It's ridiculous how many times we are hit on by drunk men, sober men, and way too old men! But the Elders get similar treatment from the women...so I guess that we just flirt to convert. ;) ) He was going through a really rough time (divorce and on his own) and he was just kind of ready to give up. He said that he thought we were angels sent to guide him and that he had encountered Sister Missionaries before, but that he hadn't been open to their message then. He needed us to come at that time, and he needed it to be us. He was really wonderful. :)

Well, I'm out of time. I love you all and feel free to edit this letter before showing it to people. It is pretty long.

Love you! And remember that repentance isn't a bad thing, it is just us turning our hearts to heaven.

TLLY

Sister Jones