Trying to Love Again - Email April 15, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

   Hello from Yakima! How are you? I hope this finds all of you doing wonderful! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement in light of the hardest week of my mission so far. I thought leaving home was hard but if I had known how hard it would be to leave one area and go to another on a mission I might have opted out of this whole thing! Just kidding...but seriously. Leaving Kennewick was really really hard. I hadn't cried that much in a long time. Getting to serve with Hermana Pierce again has been a real tender mercy. Our teaching pool is pretty much non-existent so we have laughed a lot to keep from breaking down. Our trainee, Hermana McBride, knows Anders' family because his sister was her nanny. It's a small world after all! It's pretty incredible because her parents are both not active in church but she is here on a mission. I think this week has been a real reality check for her as for what missionary life is like. It is really interesting training with someone else. The other day at breakfast Hermana McBride said "Don't screw me up Moms." I laughed so hard I spit my cereal out.

   When I first got here to the mission field I was listening to a song by Jessie Clark Funk called "Again and Again." The words really helped me when I had no idea what I was doing as a missionary. A couple of days ago it came on again and it helped me again. It says:

 "Again and Again I ask myself why, I don't think that I have any tears left to cry. My soul is so tired, I'm longing for rest. I'm giving my all and I'm doing my best. It hurts to move on from the place I am in but you understand where I've been and you reassure me it's time to start over again."

  I feel like that is literally what I am doing...starting all over again. I feel kind of scared to love the people here like I loved the people in Kennewick. But I know that being scared to say goodbye is no reason not to love. I know that the people that I met there have changed my life for the better. I feel so blessed.

I love you all! Please continue to pray for me!

-Hermana Jones

These pictures are of all the people I left in Kennewick! Sorry I'm wearing the same outfit in all of them.

Email from Sister Anna Walser

Hi Paula,

We had the privilege to drive your daughter to Yakima for transfers and her new missionary(Hermana McBride)  to train.  She is with another Trainer missionary, Hermana Pierce she was with in the MTC.  We met both of them when they first came too.

I took their picture for them to send to their moms.  We are missing her already.  She made a lot of friends and left behind some "life long" acquaintances in the East Kennewick branch.  

Sister Jones' Spanish has blossomed and communicates very well.  She works hard and is busy all the time.  She is a great example to the young women in the branch and influenced them to greater goals of personal worthiness and modesty.  They love her and want to be a missionary like her.  

We wish her the best and know she will have a successful mission.

God bless you, your husband and your family.

Love, Elder and Sister Walser

Part of You Forever - April 8th

Dear Family and Friends,

     Well I've got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first? I'll go with the bad so we can end on a (really) good note. I'm being transferred. Bummer man...he delivers. I have loved serving in Kennewick so much that when President Greer told me at our baptism last week that I needed to prepare myself to be transferred I was kind of in denial and may or may not have made myself sick over it. Change has never been my strong suit. The good news I will be transferred to Yakima, Washington and will be serving with Hermana Pierce. She and I will be training a new missionary together! I never would've thought that we would have this opportunity but I am so excited! It should be good! A lot of tears have already been shed here (some due to the cruelest april fools joke ever played..I can't even tell you about it I feel so bad). Yesterday I think I made three different people cry..."What are we the Schmultz family, pull yourselves together?" I'm crying right there with them though. On Tuesday I ended up just sobbing in the shower. Sister Doman told us in the MTC to love like we have never loved before and I can honestly say that has happened for me. In short, I'm dreading tomorrow but am excited for Wednesday.

I heard a quote in the MTC by Elder Eyring that said: "We become a part of the place we serve and it becomes part of us forever." I know I will never ever forget the people here. They have changed my life. I have learned so much about how to give of oneself without hope of reward and about humility. I have learned that nothing is more beautiful than seeing the hope come back into someone's eyes. I have learned that the gospel can make bad men good and good men better. I have come to feel a small part of the love that Heavenly Father has for his children and am so thankful for that privilege. 
Last night the elder's recent convert that we have been teaching, Maria Zamora, told Sister Kidd and I: "You know how they say people can be sent somewhere just to help you? You two have been that for me." I think before my mission I thought that a mission was all about investigators and baptisms but I have come to find that it is so much more than that. It is members, families, investigators, companions, recent converts, less actives and last but not least mission presidents. Missions are about people and I think this mission has to have some of the best people in the world. 
Speaking of people...we had 5 investigators come to watch general conference. Cindy Flores and Jacqueline Zamora who are both on date came. They are progressing well and I am excited to see what happens with them in the future. Maria Sanchez, a lady that Hermana Alard and I met in grocery outlet months ago but who hasn't been able to come to church previously came and loved it. She plans to come to church next Sunday and should be on date soon. It's neat because we talked to her in the grocery store because she smiled at us as we walked in and that rarely happens. :) We later found out that she has had a lot of contact with the church, has toured the conference center and works for a member. She loves everything we teach and keeps all of her commitments. She's awesome. All of these women are mothers and I know the gospel could change their families forever. 
I loved conference but I think the biggest thing that I learned was not something that I watched but rather somethings that happened during conference. Maria Sanchez came to watch the first Saturday session. When she got there we took her to the relief society room where it was being shown in spanish. She was the only spanish speaker there. I felt terrible and realized I should've called someone ahead of time to come watch with her. I began to pray that Heavenly Father would send someone. During weekly planning the previous day I had been trying to think of a good fellowshipper for her and thought of Hermana Antonia Sanchez. Sister Sanchez is an incredible member of the church. Ironically they have the same last name. When I prayed that Heavenly Father would send someone I specifically thought of Sister Sanchez and lo and behold twenty minutes into the meeting she showed up. I have a testimony that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. 
Maria Zamora, the elder's recent convert, came to all four sessions of conference and took incredible notes. We had encouraged her to write questions prior to conference in order to receive personal revelation. In the first session she turns to me and says "No way! He just answered my question." Her question, "How do I know when the Lord has accepted my repentance?" I know that Heavenly Father answers our questions and that the talk about how Heavenly Father wants to forgive was an answer for a 16 year old girl who is doing everything she can to be better. 

   I read a quote by President Monson this week that I loved. It says, "Each of us can be true for just one day and then one more and then one more after that- until we've lived a lifetime guided by the spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deads and righteousness." That is what I am trying to do...live life one day at a time, being true every day. I love this work! I love you all! Thanks for all your love and support! 

Sincerely,

Hermana Jones

P.S. Mama I am loving the clothes you sent as evidenced by the pictures. #bestmissionarymomever

Burying Their Swords - E-mail April 1

Dear Family, 

  How are you? This week has been amazing and I am so grateful for the things that I have experienced. Kristy was baptized on Saturday and it was beautiful. She is amazing. I hope you get to meet her someday. Me and Hermana Kidd sang "I know that my Redeemer Lives." It was a cool arrangement. And the words meant more than ever before! 

   We had a really good Easter. I honestly can't think of any better way to spend Easter than to be a missionary and to see people come unto Christ. Lupe hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at her house Saturday morning and invited a lot of women in the branch who probably wouldn't have the opportunity to go to a nice easter egg hunt otherwise and the woman went all out. It was epic. Cindy and Jacqueline both came and LOVED it. 

We have started doing new member lessons with Maria Zamora, Jacqueline's daughter. She is a young woman that Elder Hundley and Elder Davis baptized back in January. She has changed so much since I got here but Hermana Kidd and I recently started teaching her because her mom asked if we could teach her to talk about some things she might not be comfortable talking with the elders about (modesty for example). We started meeting with her and in our second lesson we decided to talk about For The Strength of Youth. We talked about agency, dating and dress and appearance. She told us her whole conversion story and then next thing we knew she took out a piercing she had above her lip that the elders have tried and tried to get her to take out. She then flushed it down the toilet. It wasn't anything we did but the time was right. It was so cool because I kept thinking that this was her "burying her sword" and following the prophet. We also were able to get her to come to the General Young Women's meeting which was incredible. She said afterward that she just felt so happy the whole time. Sister Dalton quoted President Hinckley in the meeting who said "When you save a girl, you save generations." I know that is so true and I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with this incredible young woman.

   Speaking of the General Young Women's meetings...that was one of the coolest meetings I have ever been too. Maybe it was just because I feel a bit spiritually starved going to church in spanish every Sunday but I loved that meeting so much. I am so excited for general conference! I love you all! Sorry this is short! 

-Hermana Jones

Picture #1- We went on a hike this morning with the Mercados, Gutierrez and Vasquez. It was a blast! Beautiful day! 

Picture #2, #3 and #4- Kristy's baptism!

"No Thought For the Morrow" - March 18th email

Dear Family,

   How are you? I hope this note finds you all healthy and happy! Things are going well here. You remember how our family has a knack for getting sick on holidays? Well turns out the luck continues. You see this past Friday was Sisters Training (a training they do for just the sisters in the mission twice a year so it's kind of like Christmas) and we were supposed to sing at it. It was also Lupe's birthday and we were going to make her dinner to thank her for all she has done for us. Well the night before my companion got sick and was throwing up all night. We thought it was food poisoning until I got up the next morning and almost passed out when I got to the bathroom. We got Priesthood blessings and made it to part of the sisters training (we were only 2 and a half hours late) but it was funny to me considering our previous history.

   The good news is that I got to see Hermana Pierce for the first time since I got here and it was pretty much the best thing ever! We walked in just as our mission president's wife was telling all the sisters that we were coming but not to hug us and all the sisters turned around and were like "Awww." I was like Hold your applause please...you're far too kind. Hahaha. Jk. But Hermana Pierce turns around and just starts crying. I had forgotten how much I love that kid. She is so great.

    We have been doing a little activity with families in our branch in preparation for easter. We do a little easter egg hunt with different things to symbolize different parts of Christ's last week in each egg with a scripture to go along with each thing. The families have really enjoyed it I think and it has made me think a lot more about the real meaning of Easter. Did you know that the reason we have Easter Eggs is because they represent Christ breaking the bands of death? I had no idea...mind blown. We have been challenging the families to think of something they can give to Christ this easter. One idea someone had was to pick something we want to be better at and work on that thing. I have thought a lot about that. In our zone meeting this week someone made reference to the doctrine of today which is the idea that we will do things today rather than putting them off for later. Earlier that day I had read in 3 Nephi 13:34 where it says "Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." I realized that I have a tendency not to live for today and that is my goal this easter. That is the gift that I want to give the Savior...to appreciate every day that I have been given. The days are flying by here. I cannot believe I am already over 5 months into my mission.

    We are teaching so many wonderful people here in our area. Please pray for them. The Castillos came to church again yesterday. I was so happy to see them there and they looked so happy to be there. They are such good people. They now have the picture I gave them of us in front of the temple on their coffee table with a dooly under it.  I have seen firsthand how Satan works on those who are trying to do what is right. The amazing thing is that he often uses good things to keep them from doing the essential things. I think that is something else Christ was trying to say in 3 Nephi...if we will but put our trust in Heavenly Father today...he will take care of everything in the future. I know that is true. I know this gospel is the way to true happiness. I know that people are put in our lives for a reason. I'm so grateful for that.

I love you all!

-Hermana Jones

 

Picture #1- Us with Lupe and her kids and her sister Maria and his kids. These are my people! :)

Picture #2- Kennewick is a melting pot. The other day we taught this awesome family from Afrika and fell in love with them instantly. They don't speak spanish so we had to pass them. Haha.

Picture #3- My district out to lunch.

 

Each Life that Touches Ours for Good - February 11 Email

Dear Family,

   I hope that you have had a good week. I was so sorry to hear about Nannie Lou's passing. She was such a sweetheart. I read a quote this week that I though might help Mama in the wake of her passing. Elder Lance B. Wickman said, "Grief is the natural by-product of love. One cannot selflessly love another person and not grieve at his suffering or eventual death. The only way to avoid the grief would be to not experience the love; and it is love that gives life its richness and meaning." I thought that quote was so beautiful and can apply to so many situations in life. I think that is why my first couple weeks here were so tough because everything I loved was so far away. Hermana Pierce was the closest thing I loved and even she was 3 hours across the mission but the good news is that it doesn't take long to come to love people no matter where you are. I have found that there are so many lives that touch ours for good. I have fallen in love with the people here. They are so good to us and try so hard to serve us. I am grateful for the opportunity to love even when that love sometimes brings grief. I know that Nannie Lou is grateful for the love that ya'll showed her. She is in a better place. If she doesn't make it to the Celestial Kingdom, I don't have a shot! :)

   This week we decided to try harder to talk to everyone. We had an appointment Thursday afternoon that we were really excited about but when we got there the man in the house said that we had the wrong house so we decided to try to find the right one. We ended up seeing an english speaking lady and talking to her. She was awesome and said she would love for elders to come share what we believe. We knew we were supposed to talk to her. Then we remembered that the guy we had the appointment with had relatives that lived in another apartment in the same complex. We went and knocked on that door to find out where he really lived. His sister-in-law who is from Columbia answered and said he was not home but immediately invited us in. No sooner had we said "We're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" did she say, "I would love to learn more." We started teaching her about the Book of Mormon and she said "I know about this book...it's like the Bible but clearer..the Bible can be confusing." We asked her if she had met with missionaries before and she told us that she had watched The Restoration. When we got home we realized she was taught two years ago. Her sister (the wife of the guy we had the appointment with) ended up coming in as we were about to leave and we made an appointment with her! It was so neat to see how everything happens for a reason!

    We had another experience with the same thing this week. We had an appointment that wasn't home and we debated over whether to go visit a guy that hadn't been home for his appointment the day before or to go eat lunch before Church on Sunday. We decided to go visit the guy and his wife immediately invited us in. They have three kids. She expressed to us that her goal in life is for her family to stay together. It was clear that they have had some struggles with their marriage (probably because they work completely different schedules) and rarely see each other but that they are both good people and want their marriage to work. We were able to share the family proclamation with them and it was such a neat experience to see the hope come in their eyes.
    I hope that you all have had a great week! Sorry this email is a little bit shorter than normal but I hope you are all healthy and happy. I love this gospel. I feel blessed to be a member of the only church on the earth today with the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the very same gospel that He established because he loved us so much...even when it was hard and lonely. I am grateful for the hope that gospel brings to people and for the principles and ordinances of the gospel through which families can be together forever and we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. I'm grateful that Joseph Smith had the faith to pray and ask which church was true and then the courage to restore the gospel to the earth...even when it was hard and lonely. Sometimes our lives are hard and lonely but because of the way those two men lived their lives we can overcome hard times and we can touch others lives for good. That is what I am trying to do here! Thank you for the way that each of you have touched my life. I cannot express how grateful I am and how blessed I feel to know and love you! Your love has given my life its richness and meaning. I miss you but am trying my best to make you proud of me and come home a better person.

    I love you!

-Hermana Jones

P.S. We have three solid women on date for baptism between now and March 9th. Please pray for them! They are incredible.

This picture is of me, Hermana Alard and our relief society president, Sister Mercado. She is amazing and we made a thank you candy gram for her this week because she does stuff for us all the time! Her little girl is Idaly is second only to Natalie in my favorite child category! Haha.

Vision to Become - February 4th email

Dear Family,

   I miss you!!! I hope you have had a great week! Things are going really well here! All four of the Valencia Boys were baptized on Saturday. For a second on Friday night it looked like it might not happen but it did and it was wonderful! They are such good boys and I am so excited to see the difference that the gospel can make in their lives. I sang "To Become Like Him" at the baptism and I really feel like they have the potential to become so amazing with the gospel.

   This week we had a really neat activity in our branch. In the MTC one day I was reading the section on working with members and wrote down some ideas that I had for possible activities to get members excited about missionary work. One thing I wrote down was a night where members could share their conversion story. I felt this could build unity within a branch and bring back their own memories of their conversion. When I got to the field this idea materialized and developed with the help of Sister Alard and finally happened on Thursday night. We were really pleased with the outcome. The theme ended up being "Out of Small and Simple Things, Great Things are Brought to Pass." We had several members share how small interactions led to their conversion to the gospel. Brother Cosme shared how a man at his work just casually mentioned the church one day during lunch and then Brother Cosme went and sought it out himself. Sister Magana talked about her neighbor when she was 11 taking an interest in her. She said "She taught me to cook, she taught me to play the piano and she taught me the most important thing I have ever known, the gospel of Jesus Christ." Karla Hernandez shared how she went to school in Idaho and how she always wondered what made a lot of the kids she knew different but none of them ever shared the message with her. She made the point that she knew she received the gospel when the time was right for her (her husband baptized her on his mission and is now our branch president) but that she wishes now she had had the gospel earlier and that someone had said something. But at the same time she said that she is grateful for their examples so that when the time was right she had a good impression of the church. She shared a quote by President Uchtdorf about how testimonies are for sharing.

    Then in the end we had a lady in our ward (who had recently shared experiences with us after a visit) share how she and her family have stepped out of their comfort zone to share the gospel in little ways. She specifically talked about how her little girls have set an example for her. One of them chose to take her Book of Mormon to show and tell. The other quickly made her own decision not to go to a birthday party because it was on Sunday before every asking her mom. They are 6 and 4. Throughout we showed different things from Mormon.org and at the end Sister Alard and I showed three of the new I Am A Mormon ads in spanish. The branch ate them up! The reaction we loved most was, "They were normal!" We wanted them to see that the gospel can become such a part of our lives that sharing it become easy because people see how we live and want to know more. We encouraged them to use Mormon.org to share the gospel with their friends. After the activity we were able to see our branch unified for the first time. They were all talking to each other and seemed really excited! It was really neat to see how something that I felt inspired about in the MTC actually happened and for the first time I felt like things that I have learned in school came in handy. Stuff from my PR classes was actually put into practice and translated okay into spanish. Haha!

    This week I was reading a talk from the April 2012 General Conference by Elder O. Vincent Haleck. His talk is centered around the scripture found in Proverbs 29:18 that says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." He says, "If we are to prosper rather than perish, we must gain a vision of ourselves as the Savior sees us." He goes on to talk about how the Savior saw more in the fisherman who would later become His apostles than they initially saw in themselves. It made me think a lot about the word, "Vision" and how it applies to missionary work. I realized that for me this mission applies to vision in two ways. First, it is a chance for me to gain a vision of my future (which heaven knows I need) but also it is an opportunity to have vision as a missionary. To see people as they can become with the gospel or even to see an activity as it can become. Elder Haleck later says "Brothers and Sisters, we are a people with a history of vision and the faith and courage to do. Look at where we have come and the blessings we have received! Believe that He can bless you with vision in your life and the courage to act." For me this time of my life is all about vision and I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn about seeing things as Heavenly Father sees them. Sometimes having this vision can hurt because you want so badly for others to be able to see that vision and to recognize their potential. It can hurt so bad that your heart aches watching it but occasionally you are able to see others catch that vision of what they can become and they work with everything that they have to reach toward it. That is what we are seeing with Jaqueline. She continues to amaze us each and every visit. She is amazing and full of surprises. She wants this gospel and all of its blessings and she will get it if she continues to act in faith. Vision has been the source of the greatest joy and the greatest sadness on my mission but it is so important.

    I hope that all of you are able to see how much potential you have. I think of all of you often and how incredibly blessed I am to be surrounded and supported by such amazing people. I love you all! Thank you so all you do for me and for your prayers.

 

Love,

Hermana Jones