Dance of the Snowflakes

On stage, there is often simulated snow that often falls or is thrown by the dancers. Once on the stage it is to be avoided at all costs, since it is usually slippery!

Hi everyone. Best way to describe this week would be indoor snow. This is a fun story. We had fire ants in the apartment. Yeah, fire ants. As in red and painful. So after several days and bites, we went to the store to get fire ant poison. It was a white powder in a big canister. Very toxic, and kills every pest that comes in contact with it, including cockroaches and spiders. I love this baby. But it is also toxic to humans.
So for two days we avoided the poison snowfall in the apartment. Well, it was just in one room. But it was white, and everywhere. We had so much FUN vacuuming it up this morning...haha NOT. But it's done, and so far there are no fire ants in the apartment. We have no idea how they got there in the first place.

Apart from the craziness of the ants, this week has been full of miracles. This includes things from our investigator calling us, to S applying prayer in her life and beginning to see a difference. There also have been tons of referrals and lessons. It's so cool. My district set a bunch of goals during district meeting on Tuesday, and we found out last night that we either met or surpassed every goal we had set. It was so cool to hear! Missionary work is so powerful.

I've been learning a lot about the atonement this past week. President Ashton had us all come to the mission office on Wednesday to give the new missionaries and the their trainers some extra training, and we spent almost three hours on the atonement. One of the biggest things I loved learning is in Proverbs 28:13. I'll let you all look it up on your own, but it basically says that the atonement is no good unless we actually step up and repent. We have to change, and strive to change, otherwise the mercy of the atonement cannot have claim upon us and we will be subjected to the justice of the plan. 

So, as always, I'll tell about two or three investigators to pray for, if you would.

So, F is still our only person with a baptismal date. We still haven't had a real lesson with him though. It's bad.... Pray that he'll meet with us and be able to keep his date. He has to come to church this Sunday or he can't be baptized on schedule.

S is awesome. She is the cousin of some ward members and was willing to listen to our message. Like I said above, she's tried prayer and seen a difference. She's had a really hard life. But she talks notes on all the pamphlets we give her and seems really interested in learning. 

R is blind, but that just makes him more awesome. He came to church on Sunday, and was the only one who came. We're going to teach him on Wednesday and extend a baptism date. Pray he accepts. 

Being a missionary is such a great experience. I am growing so much in every way. Excluding height. But Elder Nielsen (our housing coordinator) has promised to get me a stool, so I'll be in good shape. But seriously, I love it. Anyone who wants to be part of missionary work can. Just call your local missionaries and ask how you can help. They will appreciate your support. Anything from food to going teaching with them is awesome :)

Assemble

The assemble is a classic ballet move in which the dancer's feet or legs are brought together in the air, and then lands on both feet. Sis. Jones' 13 days in the MTC might be compared to this movement, as she was up in the air in an unfamiliar place, then as she grew emotionally and spiritually, she landed comfortably on both feet!

(She did not write specific blog entries for me to post here, so I will write a summary from her letters and emails during her stay in the MTC.)
July 2nd, first day in the Missionary Training Center: "Since you dropped me off here, my life has been crazy. Like, so wild. I can't even begin to describe everything that I have experienced today. My host gave me a bit of a tour while I got my nametags. A bright orange sticker (newbie dot) was put on our nametags, and if we looked lost at all, someone was ready to help."
"I am in a tripanionship, we all get along really well. It is a comfortable environment for the three of us. We taught our first night here. We were in groups of about 40 and we watched teaching scenarios of missionaries and an investigator. Then the missionaries left and we took over. That was hard: A)Most of us had no idea what we were doing, B)The group was too big, C)Most went WAY too deep into doctrine. If the investigators were real, we would have scared them away."
"The 4th of July was so much fun. We really got to change our schedules. Most of the day was pretty normal, but in the evening we had a special devotional and then watched 17 Miracles. The movie ended just in time time for the Stadium of Fire fireworks show to start. (they watched from the MTC parking lot.) We each got a Magnum bar and stayed up late to watch the fireworks. It was a great experience."
"I am to the point now where I am comfortable. I am learning so much that it is like trying to drink from a firehose, but I'm managing. This is going to be an incredible experience. I know the Lord will bless us for all we have sacrificed."
(Several days later) "The days are getting crazier and crazier as they add more to our schedules. We can teach up to four times a day. We have two teachers who role-play investigators from their missions, and almost every night we have zone teaching. I am to the point now where I am comfortable. I am learning so much that it is like trying to drink from a firehose, but I'm managing. This is going to be an incredible experience. I know the Lord will bless us for all we have sacrificed."
July 10th..."I am in the middle of in-field orientation. They are teaching us to plan and set goals and find people. It is for 8 hours and I've learned so much already. I'm very excited to go to the mission field next week. I have learned to bear my testimony all the time, even to people I might meet on the bus. Nothing invites the Spirit better than a simple testimony from the heart. I have learned so much here, from doing laundry, teaching lessons, listening to the guidance of the Spirit, to getting along with others. My experience here is one of struggle and effort, but joy and laughter, too. This is truly the Lord's work and he supports all involved. If we rely on Him, we can never falter. I never stand alone when I stand with God.


Petit Allegro

Petit Allegro is a ballet term describing fast turns and small, lively jumps which mirrors Sis. Jones' first few days in the mission field!


July 16th: "So here I am in Texas. It is HUMID! It is like a wall of water every time I walk outside. We went to the mission home yesterday and did interviews, testimony mtg and dinner. Then we spent the night with members. We have been in three meetings today and we had two yesterday. It has rained a ton already. Sister Thompson said that it has only been drizzling. I guess I haven't seen a true rainstorm yet. So, I dive in headfirst. There are several teaching appointments tonight and an entire area to get to know. A mission is definitely where I am supposed to be.





July 21st: So I logged on today and had 7 emails to read. Crazy!! I love it :)

Lets start with Tuesday and I'll go quickly through each day. So the flight was Tuesday. I saw miracles from day one. Usually my ears are really bad when changing elevations. They stuff up and hurt for days. That didn't happen at all. I felt them pop as altitude and pressure changed, but they never once hurt. The tender mercies of the Lord. I had a great time with the rest of my travel group though. There were 15 of us flying out from Utah together and we met the rest of the group at the Houston Airport. The Ashtons were there, along with the AP's, Elder Nielson (Housing coordinator) and their two year old Westley. Oh, and food. That was there too and made us happy. Westley stole one of my Luchables though. We did OYM (Open Your Mouth) for the first time that day. I enjoyed it, but it was kinda scary.

Wednesday was Transfer meeting. I tried a Kolatche. Google those. They're good. So my trainer is Sister Thompson. She is amazing. Like seriously amazing. It's weird being away from the rest of the MTC missionaries, but it's good too.

So I'm in Rosenburg now. That's like 20 minutes away from the mission office. It is a mix of literally everything. City and country, rich and poor. I love it. There is just so much going on. I'm not even going to go day by day. I've been meeting all the members and investigators and less actives. I've been seeing so many miracles. One of the biggest miracles is that the members love to feed us. There is only one day in the next two weeks where we're not being fed by the members. It's awesome. 

So I have five main investigators/less actives right now who could use prayers. F is awesome, he has a baptiimal date. But he's battling cancer and has a hard time keeping his appointments. He's quitting coffee right now. L&N are a mom and daugher. N is 10. We just taught them about the BoM. L is less active, he's 17 and in a foster home. He has a hard time coming to church. The D family is having word of wisdom problems. But they are trying to hard to quit. And N is 9. His mom in inactive, but he wants to get baptized. We haven't gotten to see him in a while.

I love being a missionary. I'm learning so much and I'm changing a ton. The Lord is starting to make me into the woman I'm supposed to be. I'm clay in his hands, and he's going to make an amazing sculpture. Or who knows. Maybe I'm just a really useful pot. But whatever the Lord wants, that's what I'll be.