From/to mom

From Mom: Thinking of you!  "I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most - to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person." Audrey Hepburn, 1929-1993, Actress and Humanitarian

July 13, 2014

Thanks for the email! It's a good one :) I hope you're doing well. It seems like it. I'm glad you got over your sickness. If it comes back, I can say that spicy and/or (but preferably and) hot foods help with basically any ill. ;)

Thank you for everything you do. You are doing great things even though it can seem like digging ditches sometimes. Alma 48 ;)

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

New Pictures!

To Hannah

Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2014 13:57:51 +0900

Subject: Re: "And I say hello..."
From: jsjones@myldsmail.net
To: hannahjones1998@msn.com

Sounds like you're having a great summer! Keep up the good work!

 

Sorry about the fireworks being too loud, but if it's any consolation, we didn't have any!

 

I hope you enjoyed FantasyCon even though you seem to have missed a lot of it. That seems like a great job for you. I hope you can make that work!

 

Keep enjoying your summer, and I would recommend keeping a journal of what you're doing. It is much easier than trying to remember everything. ;)

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

From Hannah

From: hannahjones1998@msn.com

To: jsjones@myldsmail.net
Subject: "And I say hello..."
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2014 15:33:44 +0000

Hello!

Michaela is visiting for quite a while this time. She's on online school, so she can stay longer. She's only just taller than Bekah....

Elder Redd, do you say his name like the color red, or is there a special way to say it...?

Last Monday, I walked up to the library, and the missionaries were there writing emails. I waved, and Alpin waved back.

The fireworks are very big (seriously huge), and very loud this year... It's a little hard to sleep.

On the third (Utah), Mom and I went Downtown to see MoTab, and Mom's buddies (talked about \/). Before we heard them, Dad, Sarah, Bekah, Mom and I went to Crown Burger for dinner. Sarah's still coughing a lot. After that, Dad stopped the car near the Blue Iguana place, by Capitol Theatre, and told us that FantasyCon was free (it wasn't [$20/person]), so Mom and I walked over to the building. We walked in through an open door.... and all that we did there was take pictures, and eat a small Dippin' Dots. It was near the end of the day, so all the guests were gone (Sylvester McCoy, several of the dwarves from the Hobbit, Sam and Pippin from the LotR, Mark Sheppard, John Rhys-Davies [from Indiana Jones], and many others I didn't know). There were a lot of elves, characters from LotR/Hobbit and Harry Potter, and some from Doctor Who. They had a guillotine and a pair of stocks too.... I saw a friend from school, Sharon. She was one of the staff, and she can get me tickets, and "rope me into being staff." (Which I want to do.) I also met two of her brothers. A boy from school, I never really learned his name, saw me, and I said hello. Mom took lots of pictures, I took as many as I could with my phone, and they're on Facebook. Mom and I rode FrontRunner home, it was my first time, and we went all the way up to the third level.

Yesterday (Saturday [Utah]), Robert, Ben, Bekah, Dad, and I went on two hikes, one at Snowbird, the other down/up the road. It was 78 degrees, or thereabouts. It was very hot for the second because first, it was lower in elevation, and second, there were very few trees... I still enjoyed them.

So you know how Mom missed her flight? Well the hotel shuttle driver who drove her to the hotel came to Utah (with his wife) on their way to Las Vegas. He and his wife aren't LDS, and Mom showed them around Downtown SLC and other places in Utah. I think it was on the 4th-5th... They also came around our house, and I was able to meet them.

That's it so far... Hopefully I'll remember to write you next week.

Hannah Jones

Week 30 - Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Dear Jordan,

    Hope you are doing well. Is it still hot and humid or do you get some relief from the heat occasionally? I have told a couple of people about your comment about the umbrellas/parasols that you see them all over due to people trying to get out of the direct sunlight. We had a bit of relief with some cooler temperatures and some rain but this week it is back to the 80s/90s.

    Last Wednesday evening Mom and I went shopping for dishwashers for her birthday present. On Thursday evening I attended the Galena Branch's Court Of Honor. They did a pretty good job. On Friday Hannah and I bought the dishwasher for Mom and then went to Alpine to mow the lawn. On Saturday (Mom's birthday) I went to the temple and then dropped Mom off at physical therapy and I went grocery shopping. I then took Mom to lunch at the Outback. She had her favorite and it was cooked just right for her. She then took a nap and I prepared taco salads for dinner for the missionaries. We ate at the Urton's house and we had a great time. After dinner the missionaries shared a thought from the scriptures. On Sunday Mom rested all day due to another ear/throat infection. Sarah also was diagnosed with pneumonia. Both are having good and bad days. On Monday we had Family Home Evening and then did Facetime with Rachel. She looked well and was interacting with Bonni's children quite a bit. I then went with the missionaries to teach a lesson on baptism. It was with a 9 year old girl in the Edgemont ward who has been attending church and hopes that her dad will be able to baptize her. He is meeting with his bishop to be ready. On Tuesday it was a joint activity for YM/YW and we went swimming at the White City pool. The boys tried to put Pete into the pool but they were unsuccessful. Chad and Kyle were able to push him in. He then acted like one of the YM and had a great time. On Tuesday we also had the dishwasher delivered and installed. Yea!

    Bonni has asked us to send an email or letter to Chris for his birthday. He is turning 40 so she wants at least 40 letters or emails sent to him. If you want to do a quick email, we will forward it to Bonni for you, if you don't have her email address.

    Brian Carlson sent his first email from his mission and he didn't provide much information on what is going on or what he is doing. His mom was a little frustrated. I want to thank you for how much you have improved in providing more information. We know that we won't understand everything you do or are experiencing. We do want to try. Please continue to send us your experiences, thoughts, feelings, etc that you want to share. We hope that you are documenting your experiences in your journal. When people ask, we say that you are doing well. You seem upbeat in your emails. You are in the same location outside of downtown Seoul in an area that has three universities. Because there are many students, they are your main contacts. Since several are from China, you get the opportunity to use both Korean and Chinese. You are serving in a branch and are with your second companion in Korea. You have had great companions and are enjoying your mission. Is there anything else that you would like added? Is there anything that you want changed in what we say?

    Your photos were great. Mom really enjoyed your letter to her and the photos. This Friday is the 4th of July (Independence day for those outside the country). We will set up and take down the flags and have lunch at Robert's house. I don't know about fireworks yet.

    We love you Jordan. I continue to have people tell me what a great person you are. I agree with them. Keep up the hard work and enjoy the experiences. Heavenly Father loves you and he is preparing the people you will teach. Please keep following the Spirit and you will be led to those who are ready. Be aware of what is happening around you and you will see the hand of God in all of the little things. Onward and upward.

Love,

Rachel (in Denver), Bekah, dad, Mom, Sarah, Hannah

Week 29 from Jordan

Hey eveyone! Sounds like things are going well!

 

First off, thank you for the story [from Sister Urton] in the other email. That's a great couple of stories, and I'm going to remember those for a while! It's really true that there are times we don't recognize what we have. I hope those stories are shared more, and I hope that everyone is able to share the blessings they have with more people. There is absolutely no drawback to sharing the gospel. Forcing the gospel down someone's throat: yes. Sharing: no. It's especially easy in America. Take advantage of that. It is Korean culture to not refer someone to the missionaries even if the person wants to be referred unless there is a strong relationship with the missionaries. Not necessarily a bad thing, but a tidbit of Korean culture. It's an emotional people over here.

 

This past week we had a combined zone conference out of the blue with someone named PJ Rogers. I had never heard of him, but apparently he teaches at BYU-H. He speaks fluent Korean and got a Ph.D. from one of the most prestigious universities in Korea. You can Google him for more information. He did a 2.5 hour training on Korean culture, language learning, and missionary work in Korea. It was one of the best meetings we've had yet.

 

This week has been a good one with Elder Redd meeting a couple investigators he hadn't met yet. People are slowly finishing school and/or graduate school tests, so appoinments are becoming easier to make. We are hoping for another Chinese baptism this next week (though since he is really good at English and near fluent at Korean, I don't think it's quite the same). A few of our foreign investigators have gone back home, and I'm not entirely sure what the procedure is to refer people to Kentucky or Africa... There is, however, a summer semester here, and it looks like there will be even more foreigners than usual. We are stocking up on all the Book of Mormon languages we can.

 

Quick sidenote. We saw the most uneventful crash of all time yesterday. A delivery bike was speeding down the back alley we were walking down (delivery bikes follow absolutely no traffic laws, of course... no one really does) and was about to cross an intersection, when a family walked across the street. The bike stopped about 2 feet away from them, looked shocked for a second, then was hit in the back tire by a student from the other intersection who had been riding a bike without looking. They looked at each other, looked at the family, the delivery man said the family's kid was cute, the bikers asked each other if they were okay, and then went back to business as usual. We can learn something from that.

 

Thank you for everything you are doing. That you for the email and the news. Thank you for working hard back home and being such good people. Love you all. Always remember what you have as members of this church, and never be ashamed. There is no shame in being right.

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 29 - 1 Corinthians 15:29 - Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? (만 일 죽 은 자 들 이 도 무 지 다 시 살 지 못 하 면 죽 은 자 들 을 위 하 여 세 례 받 는 자 들 이 무 엇 을 하 겠 느 냐 어 찌 하 여 저 희 를 위 하 여 세 례 를 받 느 뇨)

Dear Jordan,

    

    We hope that you are doing well. We received your packet with the photos and mom's birthday letter. Thank you. Do you have the photos as digital as well for uploading or should we scan them and upload to your blog? Please let us know which you prefer.

    The girls came back from Girls Camp on Friday and they all enjoyed it except for the mosquitos. Mom was supposed to fly back on Saturday night from Minnesota. She and Bonni flew to Denver but then Bonni's ride didn't show. Lisa helped Bonni until her ride came but by then she had missed her flight to SLC. She stayed overnight at a hotel and then went to the airport. Rachel flew to Denver Sunday afternoon so mom was able to spend some time with her before Rachel went to Bonni's house and mom flew to SLC. A special "THANK YOU!" to Steve and his family for helping Lisa and Rachel at the airport. Saturday was a pretty long day for me. Ben, Rachel, and I went to Alpine. Rachel mowed the lawn (last time until August) while Ben and I finished taking out the rest of the cabinets from grandma's kitchen. She still needs to get a plumber and electrician to make the changes she needs done. Ben and I will then be able to put in her floor and then she can have her kitchen put in. I then helped the Young Men do the shopping for the camp at Bear Lake this week. It took several hours. I then did our food shopping.

    Sunday was fun. I went to Ward Council in the morning (last one for a while). We then went to the Urton's to be home taught. We then went to church and I was released as the ward mission leader. After sacrament meeting, I drove Rachel to the airport and I went through security with her. I stayed with her until she boarded the plane. She didn't seem too homesick. I then drove home and we went to Robert's house for dinner as usual.

    Family Home Evening was different on Monday. It was Mom, Hannah, and me. Sarah still refuses to attend unless we have something she wants. Bekah was asleep for most of it. So it was our small group. I guess Mom and I are preparing to be empty nesters within 10 years. After FHE we did Facetime with Rachel. She was tired from all that she had been doing at Bonni's.

    Big news. Hannah took the driver's test yesterday and pasted so she now has a learner's permit. Mom and I now get to teach her how to drive a stick shift. She is growing up quickly now. I was sitting next to her during sacrament meeting and she was singing out loud so that I could hear her and she had a young woman's voice. It was a little unsettling for your "old man". I almost did this scripture in the Subject (Proverbs 20:29 - The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head).

    In your photos you looked very happy. Did you write down the names of the people in the photos? Rachel made a remark about your bright yellow tie. We are thrilled that you are doing well with your companion. We hope that you will continue working hard especially when school is back in session. Hopefully you won't be transferred before then. However, if you are transferred, I am sure you will enjoy the people just as much but with different challenges.

    Thank you for keeping us informed on how you are doing. Hannah shared her email from you during FHE. We love you. We miss you, especially at Robert's for dinner with your interactions with Ben. Since it was just Robert, grandma, Ben, me, Hannah, and Bekah dinner was fairly quiet. Keep working hard and don't be afraid to talk with the people. You are a great son and a wonderful child of our Heavenly Father. You will continue to be blessed.

Love,

Hannah, Rachel, Bekah, dad, Mom, Sarah