HAVE SOME GOOD SHOES MADE!

...and buy some socks. There's plenty of $$$ in your account. I can't bear the thought of spending >$100 to ship you shoes when you can have them made there at a decent price. Don't forget: the shoes you wore out were $120 each. Go crazy. BUY WHAT YOU NEED!

At tithing settlement this year, it was truly humbling to see end-of-year statements for 3 of our siblings and both sets of Grandparents. You are being supported financially by your whole family. You are loved!

Oh, and Happy Christmas 12 days early. Find something special to help you remember this special Christmas in Korea. I got a $150 PPL commission check and put it in your account. Go spend it. :)

It's amazing to think that you'll be home in a year.

Do they celebrate Chinese New Year in Korea?

I love your gutz and think about you every single day. I still marvel at the fact that you were sent to Korea with Mandarin skills and that you were able to use them there. It's a serious reminder for me that The Lord has a bigger plan, and that there are no accidents. No Celestial mistakes.

Today is 12/13/14 and Grandpa Nance's birthday. I'm thinking he would have liked the silliness of my even noticing the numbers being in sequence. It's been wonderful thinking of him and replaying memories! It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since he "completed his work on the earth."

I'm all teary-eyed thinking of the two of you. He loved to get down on the floor and play and giggle with you. We were so blessed to have had your great-grandparents for as long as we did.

The Christmas tree hung all year; I guess as a reminder of you and your Christian service. It's now lit with MANY more lights than it was designed to hold. Sarah decided we needed more lights. It's spectacular. We don't need the overhead light in the front room! We have 5 nativity scenes on display. Rachel and Bekah decided to rearrange the furniture and put them all out for us to enjoy this Christmas.

God bless you, my favorite son.

Jordan response to another unrecorded Bekah email

Hello! Long time no see! What's up with that Bekah??? :) 

 

I'm sure you're busy with your thousands of friends and followers. I should be grateful to merit a moment of your time. ;)

 

I hope you're having fun in school! You have a break this weekend, but then it's right back. Take advantage of school. You won't have this kind of time where you get to study with friends for free... ever... You've got quite the blessing in front of you. ;) Enjoy it.

 

Thank you for the email. It's very nice. I had forgotten that picture. :) 

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

 

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Jordan response to unrecorded Bekah email

Well, congrats on getting an email address! What on earth is yandex?

 

I haven't been able to read a letter. It may have gone to the other Elder Jones, I suppose. I don't know....

 

We just got snow for the first time this morning! It has at last come, but it isn't sticking. It just lands and melts immediately. It's nice to see snow again, though. I hope you get to have some fun in the snow!

 

It's okay that you don't have Facebook or Twitter. There are better things to do. Read The Little Prince with mom! I've heard it's really good. 

 

Have fun!

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

 

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 52 response

Hello everyone! Welcome to December! I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of the holiday season. :)

This has been an especially cold week. I am using my furry pants and thermals, 3 pairs of socks, a scarf, a suit, and overcoat, and a hat to stay warm. It's still cold at times. :) But it's really fun! People are starting to have mercy on us because it's so cold. They are more likely to answer our greetings now. :) Things are going pretty well with the missionary work. It is entertaining to see the difference between Latin America missions and Korean missions from Jason's letter again. :) We are also pushed to use the "He is the Gift" video as well (I hope all of you have seen it!) but that is in addition to our 20 daily street contacts. I suppose the areas are in different stages of preparation. ;) 

Korean's going well. I get what people say unless they purposely use obscure vocabulary, and can say whatever I need. I guess I have been a missionary for a year! :) It isn't really any different being the senior companion. It is still a companionship, so there is always the balancing act between two people with different skill sets. I guess the only difference with my time with Elder Ahn is that this time I am the one that can talk too much and not the one that wants to say more. ;)

It's great to hear that you're doing fun things, though I hope the colds go away soon! Eat more vegetables! :) The snow has turned to ice that just lingers... It's a bit like a high altitude Minnesota here. According to what people tell me this is a weird winter because it is still nearly as humid as the summer whereas most winters lose humidity. That'll make for some interesting stories next Christmas. :) By the way, still no news on how we will be doing phone calls for Christmas. We'll probably just call Thursday night, your morning. I'll keep you posted as I get more information. :) 

Thanks for the scriptures. I really liked D+C 45:52 It's just a great reminder of the work we're all engaged in. We're all preparing for that day and to help others become prepared as well. It'll be a great day. :) I've been listening to a lot of Elder Maxwell talks lately, and he does a great job of making things real. SO does that scripture. We're not just spreading words that make people happy, we are preparing for the return of Christ and for our eventual day of judgment. It's intense, but so much more real than what people usually do from day to day. It is interesting that so many people nowadays retreat from the world into a virtual world. It's no wonder that they struggle to see the reality of the gospel. I'm glad that I get to help some people see the big picture just a bit more. :) 

Thank you for your email. It is always great to hear about things back in the promised land. ;) Keep up all the good work you're doing. 

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 52 - One year down, One to Go - Moses 6:52 And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you

Dear Jordan,

Wow! Has it been a year already? Can you believe it? Congratulations on your anniversary. We hope you feel like you are successful. You have been doing a great job and doing the things that you have been asked to do.

How is it to be the senior companion? Have you been able to buy the clothing you need? Are you enjoying the snow?

There were several good scriptures to use for the subject so I will include them at the end of this email.

On Monday we had Family Home Evening and Mom taught the lesson. Benn joined us and we had a good time. On Tuesday Benn flew back to North Carolina. The girls went with YM/YW to Temple Square to see the lights. I had a cold so I didn't go. On Wednesday I tried to get over the cold again. Also I helped with the Eagle Board of Review for Jacob Krieter. He passed and is our ward's newest Eagle. It seems that the colds last a lot longer. I basically have had a cold for about a month. Blech. 

On Thursday I helped Hannah will some of her Physics homework. On Friday I watched some tv. On Saturday the YM/YW cleaned the church. All of the (our) girls went and helped clean. I then worked out at 24 Hour. You still have your membership. Mom was able to put it on hold until you return. We then went to Jordan Commons. Summit Academy employees (Mom) had a Christmas party. We saw Penguins of Madagascar. We enjoyed it. I then took Hannah to the library and then we did the shopping. Mom and I then took a nap. 

At 6 pm the ward had our Christmas party. You should receive a card from the ward soon. They did a card for each of the missionaries and Elijah. On Sunday we went to church and then Robert's house. Mom will be singing with the ward choir after the Christmas devotional.

Kelli Christensen shared the letter that you sent to them. She said that as she read the letter she had tears of happiness. It was a wonderful letter and you have a great gift of writing about your feelings and testimony.

We love you. You are awesome. Keep working hard and doing all of those things you are supposed to do. We will keep praying for you. Please keep bearing your testimony.

Love,

Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Bekah, dad, Mom

 

Here are the scriptures:

JST, Luke 12:52 Blessed be that servant whom his Lord shall find, when he cometh, so doing.

Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:52 And he said unto the first: Go ye and labor in the field, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance.

Matthew 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Doctrine and Covenants 133:52 And now the year of my redeemed is come; and they shall mention the loving kindness of their Lord, and all that he has bestowed upon them according to his goodness, and according to his loving kindness, forever and ever.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;

Doctrine and Covenants 10:52 And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers will I bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people. Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up.

2 Nephi 9:52 Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.

Doctrine and Covenants 45:52 Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God.

Week 51 response

Well, transfers came and Elder Ahn got transferred to the mission office to help out since the mission finance missionaries go home in 12 days. There won't be a replacement until March... But at least we have a replacement! We weren't sure if we would get a new couple for a while. Gratefully there will be one. 

My new companion is Elder Bradshaw from San Diego. He's still a really young missionary and is going through the struggles of learning Korean, but he studied hard in the MTC, so we're starting off well. I would send you a picture of him, but we still don't have one, and it would be easier to say he looks exactly like a tall Chase Rowberry. The resemblance is striking. No known relationship. He's super great and wants to work hard, so we are working as hard as possible. 

The long awaited snow has finally arrived! It started this morning and hasn't stopped. The wind combining with the snow is making it a bit harder to talk to people, but we're trying. It is funny not being with a Korean companion because all the members say, "wow, I didn't know you could speak Korean! You're really good!" Elder Ahn was quite the conversationalist. ;)  We'll have a fun time working with members now that that the easy conversation is gone. There are now no Korean elders in the district, but there is an additional Korean Sister. There are 2 brand new missionaries in the district, and there were 4 new missionaries to the area in total. That's a third of the missionaries. The ward was a bit sad to see so many go. 

There haven't been too many things to write about this week. We finally got snow and the weather got much colder very quickly. We, in fact, had to go buy a new coat for Elder Bradshaw because his old one was too big. I think it may be interexting to you to know the decorations of the Internet cafe we are emailing in. It's name is OZ, but the pictures closest to me, in order, are of: Barbara Streisand, 1960s Batman and Robin, Donny and Marie, Judy Garland "Wizard of Oz," Marilyn Monroe, and Ben Hur. It's funny how often America comes up in conversation and decoration, and how often our church members are in the public eye. One American who lives in Korea now owns Subways here, one is an actor (Robert Halley), and the stake president's cousin invented the soap system in most public bathrooms here. Most people have heard of our church, it is just getting them to understand that we may struggle with. It's all good, though. We're just doing what we can. :)

I hope everyone is healthy despite the cold weather and that you all enjoy going back to school and work tomorrow! :D Love you all and I'm really grateful for the email.

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 51 - 2 Nephi 9:52 Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.

Dear Jordan,

Sorry, I couldn't find a scripture with "thanks" and "51" in it so I got as close as I could.

Hope you are doing well. We are back into the 50s with our temperature so we don't have any snow on the ground.

On Monday the girls went to Jordan High School and watched Les Mis. Mom went to a play with Holly. Will went to bed early. So it was just Sarah and me for Family Home Evening. Generally she doesn't enjoy FHE but she started out by wanting to do the calendar. We then talked about the 10 lepers with Jesus which lead into the lesson on gratitude. I think she enjoyed participating in the lesson. On Tuesday Sarah and I helped move a fridge at Joyce Lee's house. Her daughter moved out but left a fridge. Sarah and I then ran some errands and ate dinner at Burger King. 

On Wednesday I was supposed to introduce Jacob Kreiter to the Eagle board but he didn't show up. We will see what will happen. On Thursday it was Thanksgiving. In the morning I made stuffing and gravy. I also had corn and a roast. We went to Robert's house around noon and ate. We then watched some movies. On Friday I had the day off as well as the girls from school and Mom from work. I exercised and then Mom and I went to the temple and did some initiatories. It wasn't busy so we each did another 5 names. We then watched some movies. Rachel and Bekah had invited some people over on Saturday to do a Dr Who marathon so we spent the evening cleaning the front room. We also replaced our fridge with the one that Robert gave to us. On Saturday I helped Robert by being his chauffeur. He was having his new vehicle be serviced. I then exercised. Rachel's and Bekah's marathon then began when their friends arrived. I then did the shopping. 

Karen and Lance then drove Ben up from St. George on their way to Oregon. On Sunday we had tithing settlement and went to church and then to Robert's house. Will also flew home late Sunday night.

On Thanksgiving, Friday, and Saturday, the temperatures were in the 60s. I made sure that each member spent some time outside to enjoy it. It was the warmest I have ever experienced at Thanksgiving. I know they don't celebrate it in Korea but we hope you had a great week.

We love you Jordan. We appreciate your hard work and endurance. Hopefully you are feeling that your language skills are improving as well as your testimony growing on a daily basis. Whether you are on your mission or not, I believe that we have to be doing those things to increase our testimonies and love of others on a daily basis. There are a lot of people that think that you can just get by and that is enough. I don't know their situation but I know that I can't do that. If I do I feel that I am moving away from the Spirit. Your mission is almost half over and it is going by quickly. 

I am now 50 and I know that half of this life is probably over. I don't think that I will live to be 100, at least I won't if I don't lose some weight. Keep going strong and pressing forward. Heavenly Father will bless you for your efforts. Please keep on doing at least one more thing each day to help your companion or those to whom you are serving.

You are wonderful and we love you.

Love,

Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Bekah, dad