Week 27 from Jordan

Hey everyone!

 

Sorry it's a bit later than usual, but we just got back from Costco. I figure that's a worthwhile use of P-Day. We have a fair bit of food and will actually eat a bit healthier than usual, it seems! I still haven't gotten an umbrella, but I am occasionally using the extras that have sprung up around the house. I didn't think we had any, but they have just started appearing... The district will make do :)

 

My new companion, Elder Redd, is from Utah originally, but moved to Seattle at the end of his Sophomore year so he says he's from Seattle. He went to a semester of BYU and is thinking of studying engineering. He is the first missionary in 이문 in a while who has been here for over a year. Because he has been in country for so long, he is able to understand basically everything anyone says to him (with the exception of an old man who spoke at 200mph late one night. We were both lost on that one). He's a fun guy who loves to make American food. He has been serving in the countryside for 7 1/2 months so he's still going through a bit of shock at the number of people in Seoul, but he's adapting well. In a lot of ways he's just like Alex, so that's fun!

 

It sounds like everyone is doing well back home. I hope girl's camp goes well and that everyone gets to have a fun time! Sorry to hear about the wisdom teeth, but it seems Sarah is recovering well. I'm glad the missionaries got to help. It is a little funny that dad will be the only one at family home evening this week, but I suppose that is the best time to have family home evening with the ward. Did any of the missionaries in the stake change, or are they both the same still? I know sometimes it is good for new faces in areas. Of course, that's coming from the missionary that will spend a quarter of his mission in the smallest area of his mission. That's funny :)

 

I'm so glad everyone gets to do so much good (Jason getting his endowment and going out to the field soon, Brian getting to the MTC)! If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd love to email them a couple times while they're out, so I'd be really grateful if you could pass along their emails. :) Wish Hannah good luck on her driving test! Has she been learning on the stickshift? Keep up on the chores. It is worth it. Tell the girls that they should just do a really deep clean of the entire house over a couple days then just do maintainence every couple days. It's much easier, and they can have fun with it.

 

It's always great to hear about how all of you are doing, and I hope you keep having a great time! The summer is the perfect time to do what you really want to do. I think doing a deep clean of the house could fall under that category ;) Thank you for everything you do and for what you have taught me. Also, tell Sam I believed him, I just didn't think I'd be using Chinese this much ;) Love all of you and I look forward to hearing from you next week!

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 27 - Doctrine and Covenants 38:27 - Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.

Dear Jordan,

    Hope you are well. How is your new companion? What can you tell us about him? Have you purchased an umbrella yet to keep out of the sun? Is it still hot and humid?
    We have had 80 degree weather with a couple of days of clouds and sprinkles. It has been pretty hot. We implemented a chore system so that the chores can get done during the summer and the girls will be able to enjoy the computer/movies. It started out well but fizzled a little at the end of this week. Sarah went to Special Needs Girls Camp on Monday and Tuesday. She enjoyed it and returned home safely. On Wednesday she had her wisdom teeth taken out. She had all four taken out but they were finished in under an hour. They had to break one of her teeth but the others came out without problems. She has almost recovered. Hannah will be taking the driver's test within the next couple of weeks. She has already started studying the manual. She still doesn't want to drive but she is getting prepared.
    Brian Carlson entered the MTC this week. I forwarded the email from Lori stating that Jason will go through the temple this next week. The missionaries stopped by this week to check up on everything. They helped give Sarah a blessing after her extraction. On Monday I will have the ward Family Home Evening but none of the family will be there except me. Mom will be in Minnesota and all of the girls will be at Girls Camp.
    We hope to have a baptism soon in the ward. Chris has been attending with his wife and they have even been attending the Gospel Principles class. We hope to receive approval soon for his baptism. There hasn't been very much teaching in our ward, except for Chris. The missionaries have been a little busy with the rest of the stake but they still aren't near capacity yet.
    I renewed my temple recommend on Wednesday so I had several people ask how you are doing. This morning Sam asked about you and I told him you had a new companion and also the story of the umbrellas. He told me that he told you that you would be using Chinese on your mission but that you dismissed it as a joke. He said that he has an uncle that served there and some of the Korean characters are from the Chinese language.
    For Family Home Evening, we negotiated how many chores for the different tasks. I then taught Bekah about how to use a pocketknife. I told her about the blood circle and to always wait for the Thank You before letting go. She is very excited about going to camp. Saturday we will finish buying the things they need, including their Secret Sisters.

    Mom says that Ann Wen works at the Smiths Pharmacy and says Hi. Mom and Hannah are sorting through the kids books to see which ones to keep. She is doing it because the suitcase is the only one that is left but it was full of books.

    We look forward to your next email. We love you. We pray for you. You are wonderful and are doing an amazing job.

Love,

Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Bekah, dad

To mom

So, slight update on pictures. There are some in the mail to you as I type. Actual pictures. I am going to try some vlog things to fill the cards a bit faster, then send that.

 

Much Love!

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 26 from Jordan

Sounds like quite the party back home! Congrats everyone on finishing another year of school; don't forget what you learned! The summer is a great time to study what you actually want to study and to actually do something with it in all the free time you have!

 

I am still working on the language. I have a long way to go. I was just at the post office a few minutes ago working on sending you a letter and some pictures... and nearly ended up spending $20 to get it there. I should probably study any of the words used in a post office before the next time I send a letter... Apparently it takes 2 Koreans (one a missionary) and a post office employee to get a 외국인 to be able to send a letter the right way.

 

Transfers are this week, and ELDER SOUTH IS LEAVING! He's been in the same area for 5 transfers and is now getting shipped out to the suburbs of Seoul to train the only Elder in the new batch of missionaries. He's a little apprehensive :) I'll be companions with someone one transfer older than him in the same area for my fourth transfer. Elder Osbourne, after this transfer, will have been here for five months as well. It seems like everyone who comes here stays for quite a while. It's a good area, so it's alright :)

 

Finals are this week, so the whole town is stressed. We'll probably be doing a lot of finding this week because all our investigators are good students who want to study. It'll be good... and hot. The weather is getting so hot out here that parasols are sprouting more than the trees. It is a little goofy to see a sea of thin umbrellas on a bright, clear day, but I am the one walking around sweating buckets, so I leave it up to you to decide who is the weirder one here.

 

It's still weird to think that I'm a quarter of the way done with my mission. It doesn't seem like that long. I'm considering trying to extend so that I have less time between getting home and going to school if I go anywhere besides BYU. Thoughts? Still not sure what university to attend, but that is another year and a half off. Of course, that's what I said midway through Junior year... It'll be interesting when I get back.

 

Anyway, thank you, all of you, for what you are doing. Your prayers are felt and your support is obvious. I am so grateful for everything you have done, are doing, and will do. Every little thing makes a difference. Also, since it's summer, something easy to do for service is baptisms for the dead. I'd recommend doing that as much as possible. There is nothing quite like temple work. :) Sorry about the lack of interesting stories this week, but transfers sort of threw things off, and tests are putting us in a position to have good experiences this week. One interesting thing that did happen, though, was the baptism of a 92 year-old. That was a bit nerve-wracking. She made it, so it's all good. The branch was happy to see a Korean baptized again :)

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 26 - Bump Day (6 Months into your Mission) - Psalms 73:26 - My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever

Dear Jordan,

 

    We hope that you are doing well. Wow. Already 6 months or 25% into your mission. We hope that your are understanding the languages. We have had clear skies with highs during the day in the 80s and lows at night around 40 or 50. Hopefully we will receive some rain soon.

 

The girls are finished with school this year. Grades were pretty good for all of them. Hannah did a 4.0 again. Sarah received some awards for the work she did with the hospital and fund raisers. Rachel had a party at a friend's house after school yesterday. Bekah woke up early this morning and did a great job with scripture reading. Sarah applied for and had an interview for Burger King. Unfortunately she didn't get the job.

We implemented a new program at home. Each person has to do at least one chore without being asked. If you want to watch shows, use the computer, or go someplace you have to do additional chores. We want to maintain it for the summer and hopefully beyond.

 

Mom will be flying to MN to help Bonni. Rachel will fly to Denver when Bonni returns home. Sarah will mow grandma's lawn while Rachel is in Denver. It will be a crazy summer. In July the Galena scouts will go camping in the Uintahs. The girls will go to Moab for Girls Camp during the week that mom will be in MN. That is also the week for the ward Family Home Evening. I will have to carry on alone. I am on Frontrunner and watching all of the cars at a standstill on the freeway. Uta may be a hassle at times but I sure don't miss the traffic.

 

Jordan River Temple does a Korean session each month. I bet Provo does as well. Our ward is tracking the number of temple ordinances the we perform. For May we did 188. We will see for June. I will need to renew my recommend this month so I will get it done this next week.

 

We love you Jordan. We appreciate the hard work you are doing. We know that you have been and will continue to receive blessings for all that you do.

 

We know that Heavenly Father and Jesus live and love us. The gospel is true. The Book of Mormon and the scriptures are the words of God. We pray for you.

 

Love,

dad, Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Bekah

Week 25 from Jordan

From: Jordan Stamps Jones <jsjones@myldsmail.net>
Date: June 1, 2014 at 9:51:50 PM MDT
To: Steven Jones <sajmba2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Week 25 - Mormon 9:25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.

It sounds like everyone is doing really well this week, though the end of school seems to be taking its toll. I hope everyone enjoys their summer! What holiday was it? We never know what holiday it is until some member tells us and wonders why we aren't celebrating.

How was "Muppets Most Wanted"? I heard it was supposed to be even better than the first one. Who did they get to guest star in it? What were people's favorite lines? Also, has anyone been able to see Captain America or Son of God? Those movies have a lot of advertising over here. I'd love to know what all the fuss is about.

Things have been good out here, but finals are coming up soon, so people are less and less available for meeting, but we're making the most of it. I remember when I first got here we had about 16 progressing investigators. Then I helped the area revamp their definition of "progressing investigator" to give us a better idea of who was getting closer to baptism and we ended up with about 7. Then there were a lot of tests and people going back to their home countries and we hovered around 5 for a while. At last, though, we are back up to 8 and it looks like we will be here to stay. Tests seem to help people recognize their priorities more. Metaphorical and literal tests alike.

I printed out some pictures to send home to all of you and I will probably include them in my birthday letter to mom in the coming week(s). I will keep them in order to make sure you can see the progression of things. Mostly my weight loss. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Does mom want anything for her birthday? There's some cheap stuff here that I think she might like. I apologize to everyone whose birthdays I've forgotten. I have everyone's birthdays on my calendar now, so I will remember them next year...

The most exciting thing this week was probably our trip to the national museum. It has artifacts from prehistory all the way to now. We were a little rushed and only got to do one half of the first of three floors, but it has great exhibits on ancient, ancient people. It was great to see how people survived on this peninsula without any conveniences. We did get to stop by a calligraphy exhibit before we completely ran out of time. There were examples of seemingly every type of calligraphy. Many of the explanation plaques were devoted to the relative difficulty of reading each style. It's good to know it's not just me that thinks it's a bit difficult.

Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts. It is incredible to be out here. There are so many people who are being blessed by the gospel! ... despite my teaching ;) I pray for all of you and I hope you are all having a great time.

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

(From Dad) Week 25 - Mormon 9:25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.

Dear Jordan,

    Sorry I am getting this to you later than normal.  You still won't read it until your P-day but I wasn't able to write on Wednesday. The girls are down to their last week of school and are getting excited about it. Sarah applied and had an interview with Burger King. We will hear on Monday if she will be offered the job. Mom will be flying to Denver to then help Bonni and her family fly to Minnesota for a week. Then Rachel will fly to MN and mom and Rachel will help Bonni fly back to Denver and then mom will fly home. Nothing has been finalized yet but that was the last we heard. Mom finished teaching her classes this week. Sarah will have special needs youth conference the Monday after school get out. School finishes on Thursday and Sarah may have her wisdom teeth taken out on Friday.

    Steven and his family drove from Denver on Sunday and visited with us before church. After church Rachel went down to Spanish Fork and slept overnight. On Monday Hannah and Bekah helped me put up the flags. We then went to Robert's house for lunch and we barbequed hotdogs. We then watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Bekah then helped me take down the flags. The whole Young Men's program is supposed to benefit this year but only a couple of scouts helped. John Hanni wasn't there because his grandfather died (President Hanni's father) and he was probably in Idaho at the funeral. John Hanni finally finished his Eagle. Since we only had the grey car it was a little different. I kept thinking of all of the help you provided in the past with the flags. Thank you.

    Mom is at a birthday party with Sarah in Farmington--at trampoline park. We just got back from watching "Muppets Most Wanted." Hannah is playing songs on your iPad. Rachel was playing earlier. Bekah is at a friend's house. She had a sleepover and we probably won't see her all day.

    Rachel says "Uhhhhh. Hi." Hannah just sits there and laughs. I asked them if they wanted to say anything to you. Rachel finally said, "I want a bow and arrow." We went to Scheels and walked around today.

    The missionaries have been teaching a few people in our ward. They may have a baptism in June. They asked if there were any young men in the ward to go teaching with them. I referred them to Brother Kenekt.

    Keep up the great work. We received your letter in the green envelope. Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. I hope that we aren't taking too much time out of the things you need to do on P-days. We pray for your safety and success. We love you.

Love,

Bekah, dad, Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel