The Brazilian Adventure: Week 51 May 19 -- May 25

  My Dearest beloved Family and Friends:

So this week, we were going to talk to Elder Anderson of the quoram of the twelve Apostels. I was soooo excited. But then the day that we were going to go. There was a great big Strike! in São Paulo. And President Pinho told us that we had to be in our houses all day. And Elder Anderson couldn´t speak to us the next day. I was upset. But stuff happens. It was so boring, we just sat in the house all day. I watched the 17 miracles, wrote some letters, and just studied. Where we were at, we didn´t see anything  crazy that happened. But the night after the strike, I called our Zone Leaders so that I can acompany them for the day. So they live close to a huge bus and train station called Estação Grajau. They sounded like they were running on the phone and they told me "Elder Jones they lite 4 buses on fire at Estação Grajau." what!? São paulo is crazy! So we just stayed in the house all day the next day and then for the day after, we just went back to work and everything was back to normal. That has never happened before here on my mission. It was different. But maybe next time we can hear an apostel. 

So yesterday in church was the last sunday for a teenager in our ward named Fernando. It was sad to see him go, but we know that it is going to be so awesome for him. He has hleped out here so much. He goes out with us and the other missionaries in our ward every week. He has helped so much with our investigators and with the members. He was baptised about three years ago and has been strong and active ever since. He is going to be a powerful missionary. He has been going out with the missionaries for 3 years. He is going to rock it out. There is a Investigator in our ward named Erick. He is dating a teenage member named Karina. He has been going to church for 1 year and 4 months now. I have been talking to him every sunday. He hasn´t been baptised because he wants to get baptised for him and not for Karina. And so he has just been waiting. Fernando always joked with him telling him that he was going to baptised him after his mission or before, but that he was going to baptise him no matter what. After church Erick walked up to me and told me something like this. Elder Jones, you remember when we were talking about baptism and setting a date. I said yeah. And he said, I´m ready now and I want to be baptised this Tuesday. I was so happy! and then confused and asked why tuesday? He said that so Fernando can baptise him. Oh yeah we can. It was a miracle and it was so awesome. There was a lot of tears yesterday and it was a good sunday. 

I love you all so much and I hope that you are doing good. Keep smiling and keep jamming!

Be happy

The Elder Jones

The Brazilian Adventure: Week 49 May 5 -- May 11

  My Dearest beloved Family and Friends:

       What the junk! I´m 20 years old. man I´m old. Yesterday was an awesome birthday. In the morning I walked out of the bathroom after a shower to the missionaries in the house singing to me the birhtday song of Brazil with a little chocolate cake from the 1 real store with a big fat candle on it. It was great. And then I was blessed to be given the great opportunity to talk to my family. I first talked to my paps in Colorado with Teresa, Madeline, Kaleb, Ruby, Riley, Witney and the new member of the family Owen! and that was awesome. The family there seems to be doing awesome. Dad told me that he wrote me a letter and that it is coming in the mail, I guess you do see miracles everyday. I´m looking forward to that letter. And then I had the chance to talk to my mom in Mexico and my Uncle Noah´s house. I talked to Wendy and Ossie also. It was so great. Ossie is supper good at the arubics cube, he knows a few tricks there. And then Wendy told me all the 13 Articles of Faith, I couldn´t believe that she memorized them all. I don´t even know the first one. It was awesome. And my mom seemed like she was doing really good and seemed happy. It was great. I had a hard time talking in English a little, but it was great. The next night my mind was just blown . It is such a wierd expierience, but now it passed and it is time to refocus and start continuing to jam with my conversion. 

This week we had the great privilage to go on splits with 2 of the 6 assisstents of the president. I was with Elder Duncan. It was so awesome. He is such a great missionary. He is from Utah. He taught me so much. I´ve had a question for a long time on my mission and was in dought about sometheing that was actually giving me a hard time for a while, but then I was talking to him during the work and he told me that I was him 6 months ago. He had that same doubt and question. He then helped me understand and told me of some great advice that just helped me out on my mission and I think for my life. The Lord answered my prayers and put him in my path to help me out. He hleped me understand about the atonement a little more. The next morning the 2 assisstants gave us a mini training during personal studies. It was great. they talked to us how we can progress faster on our missions and about controling our thoughts in the work and also about giving it our all. Now we just need to aply those things. 

I hope you are all doing supper well. Keep doing good. I´m good and happy. 

Be happy.

The Elder Jones

The Brazilian Adventure: Week 48 April 28-- May 4

  My Dearest beloved Family and Friends:

"And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls." Alma 17:11 

I found this scripture the other day and loved it. It has helped me out a lot. This is what the Lord told the Alma and the sons of Mosh to do when they left everything and went out as missionaries in the lands of the Laminates. The Lord has also called us to go forth among the Laminates (Brazilians) and to establish his word (church) among them. This is what the Lord commanded us to do, but that didn´t mean that it would be easy. The Lord has told us to be patient in Long-suffering and afflictions because he knew that it wouldn´t be easy. People aren´t just going to be baptised and accept the restored gospel just like that. So the Lord commands us to be patient and to set good examples. So that is what we will do. We will wait for the Lords time and not our time for miracles to happen. And we will do my part, and then the Lord promises that he will make us an instrument in his hands unto the salvation of many souls. I believe in that promise. 
We are starting to do a lot of Family Home evenings with members. We have done a few and they were awesome and now all the members want to do some with us. We are starting to do about 3 a week and it is awesome because we can invite our investigators over and the members invite there friends over. They are a lot of fun and the snacks are great too.

I don´t understand it. I´m just so happy. It´s just strange. I´m here in a strange land, trying to learn a new language, I´m serving others 24 hours 7 days a week, I´m away from my family and friends, I get rejected and laughed at, I grow a love for some people that we teach and then later they reject us and it´s sad, putting aside my personal life like a job, girls, fun, music, movies, ecx.. and just a bunch of other tough things. But I´m just so happy. I don´t understand it. But it is so awesome. I can´t explain it. There is such a great joy in sacrifice and service. I don´t know why, but there is. I love this mission, I love this spirit and feeling, I love His church and His Gospel, I love His son and His atoning sacrifice, and I love being a missionary in his church. 

I hope you all are doing great and are being the person that the Lord wants you to be. I´m doing great. It is going to be great talking to my family this coming week on my birhtday!

Be Happy 

The Elder Jones