Letter #5 (June 30, 2008)

Hello my beautiful family!!

Mandy-
Thanks for the email. I looked on your blog and almost started to cry as I watched the video of Cameron at his swim lessons. He looks so big and grown up. He is SO cute!! I really miss my little nephews and niece!!! Well I miss you all, but they change so much more!! I hope that I answered all of your questions in my big email. if not let me know and I will next week!! I love you and I thank you for the prayers for Andrea. She needs to get baptized so that she can truly feel the cleansing power of Jesus Christ and companionship of the Holy Ghost. I have never wanted someone to have this Gospel so bad. It hurts my heart to think that she might not get baptized. Continue to pray Mand!! She needs a miracle, but I know it is possible!!

Teri-
YEAH!! WASHINGTON!! How are you doing in the greatest state ever?? How fun for you and I heard that David came and surprized you?? That is so great!! Ok...so I met Elder Thompson. I talked to him about what his mom said...so hopefully he will add more detail to his emails. He seemed pretty cool. About Kassel...I will never be able to go their because there are no sisters their. We only have like 15 sisters and they are only in the biggest cities and they haven´t had sisters their for...well I accually don´t know if they ever have. If they open it to sisters then I would have a chance, but otherswise no!!
Thanks for the blog...it is wonderful!! I would love to look at your blog to if you want to put pics/videos on there that you want me to see!! Thanks would be fun!! Thanks for the support Teri. I love you and I hope your last week at home is wonderful!!

Vicki-
Thanks for the dearelder...I got it from my mission president at Zone conference, but I don´t know when it was written!! You are such an inspiration for me. I love the stories you relate from your mission and the spiritual thoughts as well!! Thanks for everything!!

I love you all and thank you for all you do!!
Love sister Jones

And the rest...

Well this week was so great!! I love being a missionary. It is really the hardest thing I could ever do...I knew it would be hard, but I didn´t know how hard until I got out here and found out for myself!! I have really been struggling for the last couple weeks, but I finally feel like I´m slowly moving forward instead of backwards!!

Last Monday for P-day we had a District picnic in one of the many parks in Bielefeld. We had a lot of fun...cartwheel contests, races, and summersalts make up a great pday. We then had a meeting with a contact that we met on the street. When we first walked in she told us that she was Catholic and that she is staying Catholic, but we ended up staying and talking to her for 45minutes. She had a lot of questions, but sister Welch did good in answering them, I just tried to bear my testimony when I could. It´s so great to see how much the Book of Mormon was really written for our day. The woman´s name is Rosa and she practicly quoted the BofM without even knowing. She started talking about how she already has a Bible, and she doesn´t need another Bible. It was really funny in my head, but also really sad. So we committed her to pray about it and we are going to go back and see her...she wouldn´t set up an appointment with us, but she did say we could come back!!

We had Zone Conference this week in Dortmund...my first one. It was SO great. The Spirit was so strong and I got to renew my desire to follow the rules more fully and to talk to everyone. My district sang a musical number and they talked me into doing a solo as one of the verses. I have really missed singing, so I loved it. We also did a Tausch (exchange) with the Dortmund Sisters. Sister Welch and Sister Cha went back to Bielefeld and I stayed with Sister Denton in Dortmund. It was so fun. We got along great because we are a lot a like. We have very similar backgrounds and out looks on life. I love how she talked to everyone. Male, female, old, young...EVERYONE!! My comp sometimes doesn´t talk to people because they are too old or a male. It is her choice, but everyone is a child of God and should get a chance to hear the Gospel, even if they won´t accept it...that is not for us to decide. I´m not perfect, but I learned a lot from the Tausch and I hope to be a better missionary because of it. I was with her for about 24hrs and then we switched back. It was really good and it helped me to love my comp more. Sister Denton and I would be perfect together, but I have to learn to get along with other people, not learn to get along with people like me!! That would be pointless. I know that one of my greatest trials that I am going to face on my mission will be companions. It will be good for me, but I know it will be hard!!

So, we travel a lot on the buses and Bahns, but we also have bikes. My comp has been on a bike for almost a year, so she is super fast. This one day we were trying to catch the train and so we were riding really fast and I swear I was going to die!! It was so hard, but kind of fun!! I like bikes because then I don´t feel as lazy just sitting on a bus or Bahn all day. Oh random thought. We saw this guy on the Bahn the other day and I swear it was Christian Bale. I just stared at him and couldn´t find a difference in their features. If we weren´t in Germany I would have gone and asked him...they were seriously identical...especially in the eyes. It was weird.

So I had some cool experiences with the gift of tongues this week!! On the Tausch I could understand the people better. Then in an appoint. with my comp on Sat. I was telling the Joseph Smith story and words were just coming out of my mouth. The Spirit was so strong. I looked her right in her eyes and I KNEW that she could feel what I was feeling. She wants a few weeks to read through the BofM a bit, but it was just cool. I can´t even remember what I said, but I know that the words weren´t mine!! I really hope she doesn´t forget that feeling.

Then on Sunday this JAE (YSA) came up and was talking to me about Waterskiing and then I asked her to come to a teaching appointment with us this tuesday. I did it all by myself and she understood me and we even set up a place to meet so we could go to the house together. I was so excited. I´m not perfect that´s for sure and I can´t understand much, but I´m trying!!

Andrea is doing well. We are still trying to work out her work situation so she can come to church. We committed her to pray about Joseph Smith, but when we visited her on Sunday she still hadn´t prayed about him yet. So we recommitted her. She is so wonderful and needs this Gospel so bad...more then she realizes. She has come so far. She gave up drugs, smoking, coffee, and tee when she wasn´t even meeting with the missionaries because she just didn´t feel it was right. Who does that?? Hardly anyone...the Lord has prepared her. Now she just needs to come to church so she can get baptized!!

Well I think that is all!! I hope that my next week is even better. I´m striving to look for the possitive and concentrate on that and that is really helping me!!

Love,
Sister Jones