From Grandpa Stamps

Keep up the good work. Glad to hear you are reading in Korean, learn to use Korean examples in your teaching. Glad to see the Chinese is useful.

Learn to know the names of those local spots.
We are all saddened by the accident.
Keep up the good work.
Grandpa Stamps

Week 19 (from Jordan)

To: Steven Jones <sajmba2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Week 19 - Close Encounters of the Missionary Kind

Thank you for the email! I did hear about the accident from a less-active member a few days ago. We ended up cancelling a branch party because of it. That was a bit of a bummer, but it seems like people are handling it well. There are fewer and fewer people looking dejected in the streets.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed Easter! We actually didn't know it was yesterday until some kids from another church came and gave us eggs... That was a little embarrassing... Other than some extra activity around churches and people carrying boiled eggs, there isn't really anything different about this week. The weather is getting pretty warm now, though. That makes is a little difficult to proselyte outside for a long time, but we're going to get white shirts today, so it'll work out.

 

It sounds like everyone will be doing/has done a lot of fun stuff! How did the BYU fair go? How was Comic Con? It's good to hear Bekah doesn't have scoliosis! Did you end up doing anything on Saturday? How did the eggs turn out this year? We didn't do anything special for Easter largely because of the ferry accident, but we did have the best Sunday ever despite that. We were out cleaning in front of the church (as usual for Sunday) and a family walks up to us and asks if this is "the church." Naturally we said, "yes" and asked where they were from. It turns out they are a member family on vacation from Hong Kong. It worked out extra well because we had Zack, our investigator from Taiwan, coming to church and they hit it off immediately. For the first hour of church we watched "The Testaments" in Chinese. The only dry eyes in the room were the eyes of some missionaries. It was great. Then, by the end of church, the dad of the family had recommitted Zack to baptism next week (he was already excited) and explained baptisms for the dead and some temple work. It was fantastic!

 

It sounds like the ward mission is going really well! I hope things keep going so well! I am also glad to hear that ward FHE is still going! We had that when I arrived, but we haven't had it since because no one has time for it. In a branch of 30 people, that doesn't take much... I really hope you get to keep doing that and that investigators get to make it. Sorry to hear about your walking, but at least it's good for you! I can testify of that! It is also exciting to hear mom doing more classes. I'm sure she's having a blast. It's probably also a bit stressful, but I'm sure she's doing great things :)

 

Still no word on Mother's Day; we're working on finding that out. The holiday still hasn't been mentioned in the weekly email...I don't have any questions as of yet, but I will think and get back to you on that.

 

We were teaching between 9 and 16 people, but now it is midterms/finals, so no one can meet. We're going to be trying for street lessons on college campuses between classes...

 

I don't have a favorite lesson, but the easiest is the first because of all the extra practice.

 

The only approach that has really had any success is: saying hello, being personable, bringing up the gospel or the fact we're missionaries naturally(!), share a principle, and invite them to learn more. Most people don't make it past the third step, but not everyone wants to talk in the first place either.

 

Zack: next week. Found the end of last transfer. Been reading the BoM every day since he got it 3 weeks ago (in Alma 20s!). He's really prepared to say the least.

 

There was the church historian a few weeks ago, but we were late and so sat in the back so we couldn't really hear anything... There is a mission tour this week by the area authority, though.

 

I think 비빔밥 remains my favorite so far. I'm reading in Korean, but we don't have much time for either... I have started reading PMG in Korean, though.

 

We haven't done much sightseeing, but we have gone to 동대문 and the palace at the center of Seoul. I forgot the name...

 

All the members are great, but the ward mission leader is especially hard working.

 

I hope that answers your questions. I thank you for your email and look forward to hearing from you again. Hopefully by then I will have information on Mother's Day...

 

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

 

Best wishes,
Elder Jones

Week 19 (To Jordan): Close Encounters of the Missionary Kind

Dear Jordan,

 

Heard about the ferry accident today in South Korea. You might not even have heard about it. Hopefully there will be more survivors.

 

To answer your question, McCoy will be quarterback at BYU in a year or two.

Your last email sounded very animated/excited. Other than losing weight, we hope that you are doing well. We are doing okay. The girls are enjoying their week off. They have had a couple of sleep overs, they have slept in, and have been putting off their homework. Rachel goes to BYU tomorrow morning for the Chinese language fair. Hannah and Rachel will go with Ben to Comic Con on Friday. Robert wants to get together on Saturday. Sunday is Easter. Are there many or any celebrations of Easter in South Korea? Down in Ecuador, they had different activities for the different days including putting the ash on the forehead on Ash Wednesday. On Friday they would actually have volunteers be crucified but they wouldn't be killed. They would go through all of the different steps that are recorded in the Bible. I never saw the actual activity but it was always in the newspaper. Interestingly, there weren't any additional activities on Sunday except to attend mass. One of the two or three times that active religious people would attend (Easter, Christmas, and weddings/funerals/etc) in the other churches.

 

Tonight I will be going with the missionaries to teach the Dravid's family. They are the ones living on Sego Lily at the curve of the street. They are still teaching Kelton Neeley but they are on vacation for a week. They will start teaching a 9 year old in the house next to Pete's by Sego Lily. We will have the ward Family Home Evening on Monday and Sister Urton wants to present the lesson. I will get to buy ice cream and treats this weekend. Woo hoo.

 

Bonni still wants one of the girls to go to Denver this summer to help with her family. We will see if it will be Rachel or Hannah. Bonni still doesn't know when Chris will be returning from Afghanistan. I forwarded the email from Dallin. It was interesting to see how his current mission is different than Brazil.

 

Mom is teaching 4 classes in the evening so I get to ride the train to TRAX to a bus and then walk about a mile to get home on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Bekah finished her swimming class and according to the doctor, she does not have scoliosis (curved spine) 척추 측만증 (cheogchu cheugmanjeung). How close is the translation? or should I try 脊柱側彎 (Jǐzhù cè wān)?

Any word about Mother's Day yet?

 

Do you have a list of questions that you want to send us so that we will be prepared?

 

How may people are you teaching?

What is your favorite lesson?

Which approach has worked best for you to meet people?

Are there any investigators that are getting close to baptism?

Have you had any visiting General Authorities yet?

Have you had a favorite Korean meal?

Are you reading the Book of Mormon in Korean and Chinese out loud?

Have you done any sightseeing on your P-day? If so, where did you go and what did you do?

Do you have some favorite members in your area? Please tell us about them.

I did a Google search (you can stop giggling now) on your mission president. Unfortunately, there wasn't much out there. He will be your president until June of 2015 and then you will have a new president. Does he give you any counsel?

Fun things from the internet for your mission:

LOCAL LINGO

당근이지 [ dang-geun-i-ji ]- literally: It is carrot. Locally: You bet/Absolutely

거기 물 좋다. [ geo-gi-mul-jo-ta ] literally: Pure water. Locally: That place rocks! (maybe when talking about church??)

썰렁하군. [ sseol-leong-ha-gun ] Literally: It’s cold/empty. Locally: That’s a lame joke.

부카니스탄. [ bu-ka-nis-tan ] Slang term for referring to North Korea.

안녕하세요? Ahnyoung-ha-seyo, “Are you at peace?” (Greetings, Good morning, good day, hello)
반갑습니다. Pan-gap-sum-nida. “Nice to meet you.”
수고하세요. Soogo-ha-seyo, “Go work hard.” (Appropriate parting phrase)
좋은 하루 되세요. Cho-un haru dwa-seyo, “Have a good day.”
감사합니다. Kam-sa-ham-nida. “Thank you.”
예수 그리스도 후기 성도 교회. Ye-su Ku-ri-su-do Hoo-gi Sungdo Kyo-hway, “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”
선교사. Sun-kyo-sa. “Missionary”
한국. Hangook “Korea”
대한민국. Dae-han-min-gook “The Great United Beautiful Country” (Full name of Korea)
화이팅! Hwa-ee-ting! “Fighting!” (Go team! Huzzah! Yay!)

We love you and continue to pray for you. You are great!

 

Love,

Bekah, dad, Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel

Week 18 (response to dad)

Hey everyone!

 

It seems like everyone is doing really well back home! I hope things continue to go well, and I look forward to hearing about the fun and growth you are experiencing! I am so excited to hear about Reilly and Brian's calls and I know they will be incredible! Any idea what position McCoy will be playing at BYU? Apparently my trainer's trainer is there as a... full back I think.... tell Sarah to have fun at Prom and mom to take pictures ;)

 

I am happy to hear that everyone enjoyed conference! I have been able to see all of the sessions, but one was in Chinese, so I didn't get very much from that one... I was busy contacting potential investigators... It was wierd only having an hour between each of the sessions instead of two, but I think it made things connect together just a bit better. The session I missed was the Sunday morning session which is always a really good one, so I look forward to watching that when we have time (probably over a few meals).

 

It seems like you and mom had a great time down in St. George! What was the conference on? It seems like you had the best time at the temple unsuprisingly :) It is always good to spend time at the temple. It is so incredible that there are so many so close to home. I can only imagine the struggle some people have gone through to get to the temple. It is staggering.

 

Say "hello" to Sarah for me and to everyone else! I look forward to hearing about how Comic-con is this year. I don't know if there is anything big happening... I am a little out of the loop (which is fine). I hope they have a great time there!

 

Yes, most of the missionaries in our mission now have been out for less than a year. Those who have been out for more than that are in leadership positions and so are a little more difficult to contact than those in the district, but I am still working on finding that information for you.

 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We pray for you and hope that everything continues to go well. I am always so happy to hear about how everyone is doing and I can't wait to (at least) hear your voices next month!

 

Keep praying, Keep reading your scriptures. Keep doing what you know is right. Work hard in doing what's right because I am convinced that God helps you in an exponential relationship with how much work you put in. Much love.

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 18 - The missionary age of innocence

Dear Jordan,

Mom and I just drove back from St George today so the email may be a little incoherent. I sent you a quick email about Reilly Stamps' call to Chile (yes, in South America). Brian Carlson received his call to Texas. Dillon Hill will be returning from Texas in May before heading to BYU to play football. Katherine Johnson is engaged to be married in June. Sarah turns 17 on Friday the 11th. She will be going to Junior prom on a
date.

We were able to watch General Conference over the weekend. Mom says that they have already posted the Korean version on the web. It was very enjoyable and there were many topics. Hannah actually watch the Priesthood session with me at home. I then went on a split with the missionaries. On Sunday we went to Robert's house. Robert did the lunch and I did the dinner. Robert did bbq pork and Robert rolls. We were pretty full after lunch so we didn't eat as much for dinner. I made the burritos with the green sauce. We had a lot of leftovers. Ben had his hands full.

Monday morning we got the girls to school and then we drove to St George. I was helping present at a conference. Grandma helped drive/pick up the girls from Monday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon. Mom and I enjoyed the trip. We did a little sight seeing and did a session in the St George temple. I also did another session and got to see the newest temple movie. I didn't like it as much as the older, new version because the acting was distracting. In the session with mom, we were chosen as the witness couple.
Sarah says "Hi!" I tried to get her to say more but I guess she is too tired. Ben is planning on taking Hannah and maybe Rachel to Comicon this next week.

We hope that you are doing well. Thank you on the updates on your languages. I think it is a great blessing for you to have the opportunity to learn two languages on your mission. How are you doing with the cultural differences? Did the majority of the current missionaries arrive during the summer and that is why they are so new and inexperienced for Mother's Day?

Please continue to study and pray. We know that you are working hard. Please work smart as well. Let the Spirit guide you as you make decisions but always be out and about so that people can be put in your path. They won't come knocking at your door very often.

We love you very much. We appreciate your emails and letters. The letter arrived in about 10 days. Mom sent you a letter in the mail on Monday so you should see it within two weeks.

Keep up the great work. We continually pray for you.

Love,
Rachel, Bekah, dad, Mom, Sarah, and Hannah

Week 17 reply to Dad

From: Jordan Stamps Jones <jsjones@myldsmail.net>
Date: April 6, 2014 at 8:58:34 PM MDT
To: "Sajmba2002@yahoo.com" <sajmba2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Week 17 - "You are 17 going on 18..." From Korea's Alive With The Sound Of Teaching

Hey everyone!

I'm glad everyone made it back from driving safely! I am also glad the van is still holding up! How much longer do you think it will go? I keep seeing exact replicas over here and it just reminds me of the old van; we have seen a number of vehicles stop working in the middle of the road ;)

I really am happy to hear that everyone is doing so well and I hope you continue doing well! I am so happy that missionary work in the ward is still going strong. I know dad knows, but I can attest to the fact that members are a vital part of the work. Nothing can replace a friend in the ward and a non-missionary face at lessons. It is difficult, but any help you can give is always a giant help.

I hadn't heard about any North Korean stuff. There was really nothing out of the ordinary at all. It is incredible how little Koreans care about the whole situation.  I can ask some other missionaries farther north about it at conference, but the fact that no one has said anything reminds me that it really isn't very serious most of the time. I just hope it stays that way!

We still don't know about Mother's Day arrangements. I think I will need to ask at the mission conference later this month, but I'm sure it will be explained in a mission email before then.

It is still a bit tough to switch between languages, but it will turn out alright. The practice from translating during lessons has been quite helpful! I think that will stay the same for a while. They are definitely different languages, but I am starting to learn some Chinese words via translation because a lot of the religious words in Chinese are only a little different in Korean. I am able to pick out a lot more in lessons than on the street, but it is still fun. I really do hope I get better quickly, though. It is a little awkward for an elder and a sister to teach while their companions just sit back and listen.

I am hoping to send you some pictures soon, but I am still looking for a good way to send them. I apologize for not sending a letter last week, but I will send one this week, so it should get there before May... Hopefully...

Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts. You are such a help :) I look forward to talking to everyone in May; hopefully we will see each other's faces, too!

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 17 - "You are 17 going on 18..." From Korea's Alive With The Sound Of Teaching

Dear Jordan,

I just got home from teaching Hannah and Rachel how to drive. We are all alive and breathing a little easier. Both did very well. The van's battery had run down so that we needed to have a jump. Fortunately Jerone Richards was driving by and helped. Since I needed the car to run for a while I asked Hannah and Rachel if they wanted to go driving. Both said yes. Both may have their licenses by the time you come home.

Mom is teaching her classes again and it looks like it will be both Wednesday and Thursday. Bekah is taking swimming lessons on Tuesday/Thursday so we will have to figure something out on how to get mom to her classes and Bekah to hers.

Sarah has the week off from school due to spring break. The other girls will have spring break in two weeks. Next Monday through Wednesday mom and I will be at a conference in St. George. Grandma said she will drive the girls to and from school.

We had snow on the ground on Sunday and have been receiving rain and snow during the week. Fortunately it hasn't stayed on the ground and there is snow in the mountains.

From the news we keep hearing about North Korea firing into South Korea's space but no casualties. There was a town that was evacuated for a while. We hope that you are safe. We also hope that the people will use these situations to turn to the Lord.

The missionaries are still teaching Kelton in our ward. He is nine and his mom is a member. We have been trying to get them to attend our ward so that he can be baptized. They were supposed to come on Sunday but it fell through. We we have to wait until after General Conference. I thought it was interesting that you will have to wait for the Korean translation of Conference before you can hear it.

Any word on Mother's Day yet or do we need to wait for you to have another zone conference to talk with someone who would know? We will come up with a list of questions from the family so you won't have to repeat too many times.

Your last email sounded so positive and upbeat. It was wonderful! We are so glad that you are able to use your Chinese and Korean. Do you sometimes mix them up or because they are so different you really can't? When I started speaking Spanish with the Galena Branch, it was like grinding gears to get my mind back into the Spanish mode. It is much easier now. I noticed that you have started having some spelling errors but I bet it is due to having to type so fast.

I got to look at your picture in the stake office on Tuesday. We still don't have your picture up in our ward yet. That is probably good because it would remind us more of how we miss you.

Please keep up the great work you are doing. It is true. We love you. Your Heavenly Father loves you. Jesus loves you. Even when the work is hard and the day is long, please remember that those who are for you outnumber those against you.

We pray for you and your success in doing the will of the Lord. We care about you and look forward to seeing you again soon. You have completed 4 months already. The time is going by quickly.

We love you. Big hugs to you.

Hannah, Rachel, Bekah, dad, Mom, Sarah