Well....ok....we don't
have a ton of time because might have written President a LONG letter and then
wrote a friend here in Costa Rica...Dayanna from Paraiso. She wrote me a super
cute and sweet letter. She said thank you and that Paraiso is different now that
I'm not there. That was definitely one of my favorite areas to work in with and great
comps. It was super fun there. Actually, I have loved and have learned from all my areas and all my great companions. Very blessed. Yes ups and downs - but very blessed.
Me and Hna. Cartagena!!!!!
Divisions with HNA. CARTAGENA - very first companion! : )!
Twinner shirts that I made for us.
Divisions with Hna. Hamblin...petting a cow. Super freaked out
Finally let the cow come closer....without screaming. Our investigators were laughing.
Me with Hna. Hamblin. She’s from Delta, Utah.
Divisions with Hna. Sorenson from California in Ezcazu.
Our zone at church on Sunday for a conference.
Me with Hna. NOJ! We saw each other in San Jose today....freaked out. Ha-ha she's doing well and is super cute. She said thank you for your letter, mom. She thinks you guys are way too nice. She told me to tell you guys hi.
I did read
the letters from last week. Thank you guys so much for sending your love and
support. I hope you guys enjoy my letters and pictures that I send each week.
Don't worry about an EPI
pen. I couldn't find another one but I talked with the nurse here. She said
they don't sell EPI pens here....they buy the medicine and use a needle to put
it into the EPI pen. So it's a little hard. but I talked with her about Price
Smart and our idea...she said to look into it for sure because that would help
the mission out so much if they have some. I'll go and ask. I am doing great
health wise with peanuts and all. I'm back to normal and being a lot more
cautious. Basically I'm just not going to eat or drink anything for the next 6
months that I'm not familiar with. I think I'll be fine without an EPI pen for
the rest of my mission. It's only 6 months left.
Ok...missionary work. We
have a baptism this weekend on Sunday. It's a teenager named Josue which is
Joshua in English. He's 15 and we had been teaching his step dad for a couple
months. He just moved here with his mom from Nicaragua and wants to get
baptized! He's awesome and accepts EVERYTHING we teach him. No joke....such a
blessing here in Belen. The other sisters have a couple baptisms next week too
so this area and ward is on fire. The ward is big....119 people came last Sunday.
For here, that's quite a bit. The ward has a relief society president and all
of the above. We do receive references from members and investigators. We
surprisingly receive quite a bit. Belen is super city....bigger than Paraiso. We
work in a poorer area below the temple. It's sacred ground though. Um...we are
doing tons of activities with the ward. We had a conference yesterday in the
stake center with some ward members and all the leaders. The zone leaders
talked about the importance of working together. The stake president showed the
new plan for the area and working with missionaries. It's awesome!!!! We have
some great goals for this month. Their goal is that in 5 years, we split the
stake in two again! We are starting a fire in Costa Rica. It's crazy and I love
it. Sometimes, I get super stressed about it but it's a great vision. We are
doing divisions every Friday with adults and every Saturday with teenagers to
help motivate them to serve missions. It's so cool. We missionaries sang a few
songs and the spirit of missionary work was so strong. I started to cry because
it felt like angels were behind us bearing us up. I love this work. I cry over
every soul lost or every person who rejects but then cry because someone
accepts and is baptized. Every Sunday, I'm looking at the back door waiting for
people to walk in. I wonder if that's how Heavenly Father feels....looking for
who is going to enter into His Kingdom...crying tears of joy for those who
accept and enter and tears for those who reject. Just know that just like
parents with wayward troubled children – loving when they come home and sad
when they continue to miss out on blessings – Heavenly Father feels that way
with us. We sang, “I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go”, “Called To Serve” and
another one...can't remember. The conference was so good!
We are teaching a few
other people but the main thing from last week was the divisions. We did three
divisions. Our first one was with Hna. Cartagena and her comp. Her comp is from
Brigham City and is AWESOME! She’s new. But I got to work with Hna. Cartagena
again! That was so much fun. She's hilarious. It was more like a party to work
with her. She was a little nervous at first teaching with me but then we got
into a groove and all was well. She's doing great and goes home in September.
This was my last time working with her as a missionary. But we are definitely
staying friends after the mission! She's nervous to go home but excited at the
same time. She's doing well for the most part. We talked and shared pictures
and stories of all that has happened. It was fun to reminisce. We talked about
our converts. I guess Evelyn wrote her and said that she's not going to church
anymore but that she won't let what we did go to waste. She’s choosing to
continue forward. Keep her in your prayers. I'm going to write her. Yeudi and Pricilla?
I think they are ok but I'll keep you updated. Her area is GORGEOUS! We will
drive up there in San Carlos (northern Costa Rica). It’s super pretty and
green.
My other divisions were
with Hna. Hamblin and Hna. Sorenson. Hna. Hamblin struggles with her Spanish. She’s
super concerned about it that it's affecting her teaching. She's more focused
on that than the investigators. We talked about trusting in Heavenly Father and
letting everything else go. I talked with her about various examples of faith
and miracles. I told her to quit thinking about it during the day and just open
your mouth and talk. It was really cool. She's a sweetheart. Just needs to get
some confidence in herself. The comp of Hna. Cartagena wanted to go home
because this is just hard. I talked with her and that at the beginning I felt
that way. I told her that I am so grateful that I didn't...that I stuck with it
and pushed forward. I told her that Satan wants us to go home but there are
people here that need us specifically so to stick with it. Who cares what other
people think, Just focus on loving the people and loving Heavenly Father. Then
other divisions with Hna. Sorenson in Ezcazu. I love Ezcazu! It’s nearby. We
taught a few interesting lessons. There was a less active woman who told us her
son passed away 13 years ago and it's why she stopped going to church. I
said.... of course in a loving and
caring way - where is your son now. She said...with Heavenly Father. I
said...how will you get to be with your son. She said....by keeping
commandments and doing what God wants. I said....so you need to be going to
church – so you can do those things that will prepare for you to return back to
Heavenly Father and to see your son again. I know that may sound firm – but sometimes
the people just take things a little too lightly. She knew that we loved her
and were sent to remind her of the blessings that she was missing. I can just
picture her reuniting with her son some day – so awesome. The Gospel is worth
it!
But, anyway. We have to
head out. I hope you guys have a good week. Have some fun. Know that I love
you! All is well here. I'm doing fine.
Not being a complainer.
:) Just moving forward and trusting in Heavenly Father. Love you guys so much.
Just know that when it comes to picking sides, I'm on the Lord's side and not
moving. Ha-ha. Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Hna. Jones
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