Week 28 from Jordan

It's good to hear that everyone is doing well! Keep up the good work! :) Have fun with the calling to Scoutmaster! I told you that would happen! ;)

 

Things have been pretty quiet this week. Finals are done for all but the post-grads, so people are a bit more free, but a lot of them are just heading to their hometowns, so we're doing a fair bit of refering...

 

I don't know if it is technically monsoon season right now, but yesterday as we were doing door approaches (the distric wants to find a family and feels that is the most effective means toward that end) a storm sprang up out of nowhere and the next thing I knew I couldn't hear Elder Redd unless he was speaking very loudly right next to my ear. It had been a dry day up to that point, but when I looked down at my pants, the leg facing the wind was completely black from the rain, and the other was as dry. When we got home for dinner, my leg dripped for about an hour. They've got really nice rain here! :)

 

We did get to attend a fireside with Elder Cook after a combined conference with Seoul South in the morning. It was the shortest mission conference most of the missionaries had ever been to. I think it was only 2 1/2- 3 hours long. He went through and shook every missionary's hand. That is what actually took the longest amount of time. We had a good time and got to take an investigator to the fireside he spoke at in the evening. I can now say that I have heard 5 talks from apostles on my mission. 2 from Elder Bednar in the MTC and Elder Cook once in the MTC and twice here. According to the mission president, though, that will be the only time we will see an apostle in Korea on our missions.

 

Looking at the pictures some of you have sent to me, I am reminded that the Korean people are really small around. In the 목욕탕 (a sort of bathhouse) we get to go to sometimes there is a BMI chart calibrated to Korean body types. According to that chart I have about another 20-30 pounds to lose to be a "healthy" weight. I have already lost nearly 40 pounds. Some things are very different here. Either way, I am getting healthier, and that is helping the work. :) The house has started doing P90X and another workout routine (Insanity) in the mornings. I think is working well for everyone. At least it has helped my cardio. I am keeping up with the elders who did cross-country and track in high school. :)

 

Whatever the case, things continue to go well here. I am always grateful to hear from you and hope that you continue to have a great summer! Thank you for all that you do!

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 28 - St Matthew 11: 28 - 30 - 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Dear Jordan,

    It has been a quiet but busy week all alone. Mom is in Minnesota. The girls are at Girls Camp. Mom flew out on Saturday but didn't arrive until early Sunday morning. She has been helping Bonni with her kids as they visit everyone in MN. Saturday was a busy day. In the morning (Flag Day) I helped set out the flags with Bekah's help. Robert and I drove to the cabin to help haul out the logs that were cut down a couple of weeks ago. Afterwards we stopped at Polar King and ate lunch. I then did the food shopping. Then I took mom to the airport. Then I drove to Alpine to fix one of grandma's sprinklers. Bekah and I then took down the flags. I then took the girls to get any remaining items for camp and then drove them and their gear to Luann's house. The girls left on Monday morning for Girls Camp. The are returning today so I expect some noise when I arrive home. They rafted the Green/Colorado River and they also sent a picture of themselves in from of Delicate Arch. I will ask questions when I get home to find out all that they did.

    On Sunday I was called as the scoutmaster. I am really looking forward to the calling. I am still the ward mission leader until they call a new one. Monday night we had the ward Family Home Evening at the Haueter's home. Only the Herbert-Voss family came. By the way, James did graduate and he is already up in Alaska. On Tuesday we made final plans for the food for the campout next week for Young Men's camp. On Wednesday, Mark Johnson and I did some home teaching and then I gathered some information so that I could fill out the tour permit for the campout. On Thursday night I helped with the Galena scouts for a bit and then went home and mowed the weeds. We got another warning about high weeds so I took care of it. Tonight is the only night that I don't have anything planned. Saturday morning I want to go to the temple, then Ben and Rachel and I will go down to Alpine so Rachel can mow the lawn and Ben and I can finish taking out the counters in grandma's kitchen. At 1 pm I will be meeting with the scouts to do the shopping for the camp for next week. I will still need to do our shopping but I will probably do it later in the evening. Mom flies in that night around 10:30 pm. Rachel flies to Denver on Sunday around 4 pm. It is a crazy eventful week. Next Saturday is mom's birthday in case you want to do anything special in the email this week.

    Hope you are doing well. Are you healthy? Strong? and the rest of the Scout Law? How is the work going? How is your new companion? In the Church News it talked about two of the apostles visiting Japan and Korea in May. Did you attend the conferences with the other missionaries?

    Can't wait to hear from you. We love you. We pray for you. You are in our thoughts constantly. Keep up the great work. Keep studying both languages and the gospel.    

Love,

Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Bekah, dad, Mom

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