miracles on miracles on miracles

Christmas miracles are real people, because we are living them up here in Sauces this week.

I hope that this email finds you all sound and well, and I hope you all enjoy this list of Christmas miracles:

1 - We had a baptism. We've been teaching a part member family for a while now and the dad is taking forever to get baptized (we're making sure he's nice and ready but he's got lots of doubts) His daughter has also not been baptized yet! Well she has now, but this past week the Hermana got in touch with us and wanted her daughter to get baptized before they went out of town for Christmas! So we ran around to ´put everything together and Romina got baptized on Saturday!

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2 - I have learned around 4 more or less complicated songs on the piano this week, and have played for about 1000 people in total. That's quite a miracle that it didn't sound terrible. If you guys remember the event I mentioned a few weeks ago that we did for light the world...we did two more on an even bigger scale on Saturday and Sunday! I played several pieces between the two days. There are no videos from the event of me playing (that I have), but I'll be making one public that I have on google drive of a duet that Elder Jacobsen and I played during the event, we will also be playing in a talent show on Friday. (WARNING ITS A VERY ROUGH DRAFT, IT DOESN'T SOUND GREAT) but I hope you all like it. Here's some fotos of my compa and I and Elder Jacobsen at the event on Sunday.

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3 - I haven't died yet. I've been quite sick since Monday (hence the sweater, jacket, and scarf in those pictuires) and then being outside in the cold all Saturday and Sunday night didn't help the most. I've been taking very yucky medicine and doing all kinds of Mexican home remedies to try and stay alive, and I'm still sick, but I'm also still alive. Pray for me people.

4 - This is probably the biggest miracle: we went to the movie theater today to go and watch Coco. The area president sent a letter to all the missionaries this past week telling them that the missionaries need to go and watch Coco. So they gave us permission to go to the movie theater and watch it . So that is exactly what we did today:

​I can now say that Coco is my favorite movie of all time, and I promise you all that the movie is way better in Spanish with all the expressions and stuff, and it's even better when you've actually lived most of what's seen in the movie haha. I thought it was really interesting watching the movie how much it has to do with family history. The movie is based in the catholic religion with the ofrendas and stuff, but I think it's really interesting how much importance the movie puts into remembering our ancestors (it took me a while to remember that word) and never forgetting them. In the movie, when the people in the world of the dead are forgotten, they disappear forever, and it's kinda the same in real life. When we forget our ancestors, they disappear, because if we don't remember our family, people who aren't our family are definitely not going to remember our family. So I think that would be the odd invitation for this week leading up to Christmas. to first off, watch Coco if you haven't seen it because it's the best movie ever, and also, remember our families more, so that they don't get forgotten forever and "disappear." 

Those are some miracles I've seen this week! Last invitation would be to think about the Christmas miracles you guys have seen! Because they're always there, we just have to search for them. Also go watch this video: because its cool:

https://drive.google.com/a/myldsmail.net/file/d/17gYEtI1TQYju48amvGvO5d-IePWr8QMs/view?usp=sharing 

If it doesn't work just tell my mom to share it on facebook haha

Love you guys! Have a great week and a Merrry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Jones

life is good

life is good everyone. i sent a short video for you all to hear my beautiful voice. but thats all ive got this week! 

​enjoy this pictures until my mom uploads the other video to facebook or the blog or somewhere. love you guys!!!

Every Christmas I think about that live nativity in Prosper, I'm pretty excited to be able to go again when I get back. It's crazy that this is my last Christmas here in the mission! Then just 8 short months and we'll be driving home from the airport. i hope you guys know that I'm gonna fight to be the one to drive the pilot home. If you still have the pilot and not some porsche by then. haha But one of the members in our area that were really good friends with who I'll probs stay in contact with for the rest of my life might by get infiniti soon, so that's cool. I've been making meat a lot with the rub haha it's always super delicious. My companion is also in love with it. But things are good!! Life is fun. Time's flying by. Love you mom! Have a good week!

lightthelmundo

That's the inciative of the church combined in English and Spanish if you were wondering. This past week has been DOPE. Lets start with last Friday or maybe it was Saturday. Anway. we had this HUGE event in a park for iluminaelmundo. There was a big tent with tables on the inside for self reliance, the Book of Mormon, the family and family history, and we had a stand for the iniciative itself, which we got assigned to cover. There were missionaries in the street that would contact and bring people to us, we'd explain them the inciative, and then a Bishop would take them right in to the other tables. It was super awesome. There was also a choir that we all sang in, and a huge inflatable dome with videos of the life of Christ on the inside. At the end we had a bunch of white balloons that we were released.  They gave me this huge bunch to let go, we counted down , and I was filming, I let them all go, and..uh...they may or may not have...

​gotten stuck in a power line... but oh well that's the story of my life. It was still fun. 

I got to make two more Texas creations this past week, which were pork loin with our famous rub and sweet potato pie. It was DELICIOUS. Some members let us use their kitchen and I  went to work. And then we took out the grill and again went to work, enjoy the picture of these beautiful creations.

​and I did it with a coal grill, not a gas grill.

​Now to start with this week, I got a new companion. His name is Elder Bowles. and as of right now he has about 2 and a half days in the mission field, which means I GET TO TRAIN!!! I've been wanting to train almost my whole mission now and finally President gave me the opportunity. His Spanish is okay, but this kid has brought some miracles. On Monday night we went out to work and we passed by this lady and I recognized her as an old investigator. We stopped teaching here because she always stood us up. So we started talking. Just earlier in the day I saw the other missionaries that had taught before. She said to me, "I actually just asked God that I would see you guys again" and so now we have an appt with her at 4 this afternoon. Pray for her, her name is Araceli. Also we found Nancy yesterday, she just let us right in her house and listened to us and said she liked the message a lot. I taught the whole time bc my compa didn't really know too well what was happening. But at the end he said "I know my Spanish isn't very good, but I want to testify of what my companion just said." He went on to give one of the best testimonies I've ever heard, and I felt the spirit so strongly. I love the new missionaries and the power they bring. Pray for her too, we meet with her tomorrow at 12. Those are small things that really just blow ones mind, and it's great to have those experiences early on in your mission.

​Me and Elder Bowles

Finally to end, I'd like to tell you all something I learned this past change. This past change I would honestly say that I changed me life. Up to that point I had a while of just working around, kinda halfing it, trying to do good but letting the natural man win a lot. But last change I really tried to just change, in the sense of humbling myself, learning to love, and serving others wholeheartedly and with everything I have. I try to spend as little on myself as I can so that I can bring my district small breakfasts, or treats, or things like that...so that they feel loved. I feel like my time to train came at a perfect moment, bc maybe I wouldn't have had the patience before last change. After 15 months, I really feel like I'm learning well how to represent the Lord. It's something beautiful to learn...how to live the law of consecration. Consecrate everything you have to the Lord....and to others. That means time, talents, possessions, and everything in between. I really do love the Lord. It's hard to express that love sometimes, but when we can learn how to show Him that we love Him, he blesses us, and we're just so much happier. I know that loving the Lord means that we're going to do something abut it. They can be small things, but we have to do them. The inciative this Christmas helps us to do just that, and be more like Christ.

I love you guys a lot!! Have a great Christmas, go do service just like Christ did! Have a great week

Elder Jones

hello

hey mom and dad ill be here on Wednesday with lots of exciting news so stay tuned love you guys talk to you soon