Week 13: My FIRST BAPTISM! 3.25 Miles

The rain has begun. That pretty much describes Ecuador for the week! The "first" rain came on Saturday night, and lemme tell ya, when it rains, it POURS. It's blisteringly hot out here, and as two guys walking around in white shirts, ties, and slacks, at first the rain came as a welcome surprise. But there's something they don't tell you about the rain. When the skies clear, the beating sun evaporates the water from the streets, cooking us in a thick layer of unimaginably hot, wet air. AHH. It definitely hurts!

Christmas was... interesting. First of all, here they don't really celebrate Christmas, but Christmas Eve is a BIG DEAL. People go absolutely crazy! Fireworks, fires, music, dancing... it's insane. What's better- we were locked in our house! I guess it can get pretty dangerous with all the "celebratory" behavior, especially combined with fireworks. Elder Avila and I stayed inside playing ping pong and bean-boozled! Not gonna lie, that was really fun!

Something really cool here is for New Year's, they have these paper statues that are super sick, and at midnight they light them on fire! They're called "año viejos," or "old year"s. Below is a picture with two small ones, but some are ENORMOUS! Like bigger than most buildings!

Saturday morning was my first Baptism! It was really amazing. Not to mention someone brought cake! But it was a really beautiful meeting, and I had the opportunity to baptize her.

I miss y'all! But don't worry, Elder Jones is thriving in Ecuador!

Love you all!

Elder Jones

Photos: Some of the Elders from my district, the baptism(!), Me with two little año viejos.

Week 12: HO HO HOw Is It Already Christmas? 3 MILES IN

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

How great is the Christmas season?? That is... when I can remember! The crazy heat is really messing with my sense of time... It feels like Summer all the time! I don't know Celsius, but people keep saying it's like 39 and 40 degrees.. All I know is that walking around in a shirt and tie all day in 39 Celsius is not very fun.

UPDATE: 39 Celsius is roughly 100 fahrenheit. UGH!

So this week was prettyyyy hard. Almost every person we had planned to visit either wasn't there, told us that they were busy, or straight up slammed the door in our face. Yeah. Not super encouraging. BUT! It's the work of the Lord! Despite the hardships and frustrations, me and My companion Élder Ávila are constantly joking, singing, and smiling.

Out here in the mission field, there is NEVER a dull moment.

Just the other day, we were standing in the church building, and my companion stood next to me talking to one person as I spoke with another. Then, a woman from the ward walked up to me with two full glasses of cola, which she threw into my hands. Seconds later, another woman with two heaping plates of cake carefully balanced them atop the cups of pop. AND THEN ANOTHER woman walked up with a bag of pork rinds and poured- LITERALLY POURED- a hefty pile atop the cake. BUT WAIT! There's more! Another woman walked up with a tray filled with this really good gingerbread-type candy, and opened my bag, and proceeded to fill it to the brim with the candy. Yeah. That was a lot of food for my companion and I, so you can probably imagine my surprise as I turned to see my companion WITH BOTH HIS HANDS FULL AS WELL. Guys, it will be a miracle if I make it to the next transfer on the same belt loop.

The heat is scorching. Sometimes I think I can see the water evaporate from my body, as I begin to shrivel up like a dry sponge. Usually, if I start to "see" that, it's a sign that I need more water. Yesterday, we had the brilliant idea to go through the entire day in our suits. "Today the weather isn't that bad," we said. Boy were we wrong. I was literally dripping by noon!

In general, I'm hecking loving every second of my time here. I love the opportunity I have every day to teach the gospel to people that I don't know, but love just the same. I am teaching this really cool older lady, I'll call her Maria. Maria is a really cool example to me because of her faith and willingness to live the commandments of God. Every time we teach her a commandment, we ask her if she will keep that commandment. Her response is always, "OF COURSE! It's a COMMANDMENT!"

Another man we are teaching is super super smart. And really cool! He's 20 years old, and you can tell he's a cool kid. But that doesn't stop him from wanting to learn the word of God! Every time we meet with him, he asks us to give him something long to read in the Book of Mormon, and we tell him he can read as much as he likes!!! What a guy!!!

As usual, I have THOUSANDS of stories from this week alone, but I can only tell so many here! So little time... what a shame. I miss you all so much! Every email I get from any one of you makes me smile.

Have an amazing week and a very Merry Christmas :)

Your favorite Elder in Ecuador,

Elder Jones

Photos: Caroling with the other Elderes, drinking juice

Week 11: More Like Weak 11... 2.75 Miles

¡Amigos mios!

All is well  in Ecuador! The language is coming in spurts... And I am definitely learning patience. The other day, I wanted to scream cause I could not for the LIFE of me figure out how to explain the most SIMPLE thing.... But on the flip side, there are days when I can explain things better in spanish than in english! How crazy.

Now time for a story! I have tons but I'm always too tired to remember any ... here's one!

My companion and I were walking down the street, and we heard a shout from across the road. We turned and saw one of the sisters in our ward waving her arms at us, and before we knew it, we were attacked. Mom!! don't freak out! I swear I'm ok. Actually, it was a dog. But it was ENORMOUS. I swear it was a bear. AND it had me by it's two front legs! it was the weirdest thing. I was shouting at it in multiple languages... To be honest I'm not sure if dogs speak English or Spanish... I even tried using what little Russian i know, but to no avail! My companion was taking swings at it with his 1930's umbrella, not to mention laughing like a maniac. Eventually, I ran. FAST. Like I'm pretty sure it was the fastest I'd ever run in my life. WELL, long story short: I'm ok! But I will never visit that house again...

I miss you all! I would love to hear from all of you :)

With love,

Elder Jones

Pictures: Me and my comp at a Christmas activity, TAG PICTURE!!!, and the view from my window

Week 10: I Just Want Some SLEEP 2.5 miles

My friends!

As always, it has been great to hear from you, keep the  emails coming! I will try to respond to them relatively quickly, but know that I love you all.

So this week has been LONG. And I mean LOOOONG. The past four days we've woken up before 6 AM! Yea, not fun. But, I am having fun! This week was the much anticipated Christmas activity. Now, here in Guayaquil, the rainy season starts around December and ends around April, but we haven't seen much rain yet ... Any rain yet! WELL- HADN'T seen any rain yet. That's right! The night of our OUTDOORS concert (with electronic keyboards, microphones and speakers) IT RAINED. So there we were, a bunch of us elders and ward members, standing in the soaking rain. Some teens playing soccer started laughing and yelling, "Haha! It's raining on the Mormon's party!" as they pointed at us. So, we gathered in a circle, and offered a prayer. What a sight! A bunch of rain-soaked Latter-Day Saints standing in a circle in the park in the middle of a rain storm!          

The laughing and shouting came to an abrupt halt as the clouds parted, and the sky cleared. We had the concert!! It was an absolute success, and I was having a blast behind my keyboards. Guys- the MINUTE we ended, the rain returned. 

Sometimes our Father in Heaven doesn't just answer prayers like that, but I am really glad He did then!

Have a great week my dear friends!

Elder Jones

Week 9: STORY TIME!!! 2.25 miles

HEYO!

Guys... I finally have a story. And pictures to go with it!!!

Soooo recently I have noticed a little (big) blister next to my toenail.. Not fun. So we were at this member's house, and she asked us if we had any problems with our feet, so I told her that I thought I had an ingrown toenail. She grabbed me by my arm and took me into this room with a long table and a bunch of drills, and she told me to lay down on the table. I did so, and she quickly took off my shoes and socks, and when I heard her small gasp, I knew I was in for it. She quickly got to work. Guys. That was one of the most painful experiences of my life. Literally, the Hermana was so surprised that I didn't cry, but I about did! Anyway, check out the pictures for what I DID do...

This week was fun! Not a ton happened... But I did have to come up with chords for like four songs on the spot... Yikes. I think that the people in the ward think I'm some sort of a prodigy. I'm not. But, every opportunity I get to play piano is amazing.

This week had a lot of ups and downs, but I experienced some really cool stuff. Three times this week, I was kind of struggling, and so I said a little prayer. The first time, we immediately saw a bunch of people from our ward who ran up to us and said hey and were really excited to see us. The second time, a local lady grabbed my shoulder and said, in english, "Happy Thanksgiving!" The third time, I bumped into this lady who spoke to me in perfect english. So basically, I can promise that Heavenly Father answers prayers!

Sorry this was so short... Again... But I love hearing from each of you!!!

Love you all!

Elder Jones

Week 8: *Internal Screaming* 2 MILES

My people!

Thanks for the emails and prayers this week! I really felt it! (The prayers, that is. I just now got to look at the emails:)) 

This week was something! I think I'm finally learning gosh dang español! Sometimes when I'm just sitting around and I hear people speaking and i ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND them, it feels like a superpower!!!

So, we are planning this activity where a bunch of people from the ward are going to prepare different Christmas songs, and we're going to have a talent show type thing. I'm pumped cause we're singing this one song called "Burrito Sabanero," and I think it's my new favorite song. Anyway, towards the end of rehearsal for this last night, some guy called me down to the piano and asked if I could play these two christmas hymns. I said sure, but that I'd have to learn them. Before I knew it, I was being asked by the Bishop to play piano for the hymns in sacrament meeting!! I don't play hymns that well, so wish me luck! I am actually really happy to do it though, no one in this ward can play piano, so each hymn sounds like a herd of cattle... Now with me playing piano it can at least sound like a herd of cattle walking over a piano... But I'm excited nonetheless!

Now for a little bit about Ecuador, I'm serving in a pretty poor part of Guayaquil, the big city here. The houses are basically made of cinderblocks and metal sheets, and are all smashed together. Being here is really humbling in a lot of ways. I realize how blessed I am to have the education I have, the family I have, the home I have, the knowledge of the gospel I have. But guys, the people here are so happy! It's really inspiring.

Anyways, I love and miss all of you! And I absolutely Love hearing from you. Keep 'em coming! I'll try to respond to you all, but I don't usually have much time.

Keep on keeping on!

Love,

Elder Jones

(sorry all my pictures are from the same like 10 minutes)

Week 7: Sin Palabras. 1.75 Miles In

Heyo!

Sooo this week was... something. Definitely the hardest yet. Also, I apologize that this is so short and without pictures, but I have no time!

I just wanted to share my little mantra that saved me this week. "siempre feliz cuando estamos sirviendo el Señor."

Guys, I´ve had a really hard week! I can´t understand anyone, my comp does not speak english, and I really miss each of you! But, if there is one thing that has kept me going, it is this. I am serving the Lord. I can trust in Him. Each of you can too!

I´m sorry I don´t really have time for a story or anything, but know this. I love you all. I pray for you! Keep it up and trust in the Lord.

I will if you will.

With love,

Elder Jones

Week 6: Visas Y Canciones.... 1.5 miles

Hola mis amigos!

This week FLEW by!

Story time!

So... As y'all know I've been quite nervous that I wouldn't get my visa in time. A bunch of missionaries called to Ecuador had received their visas this week, but nothing for me! To shorten the story, I got an email telling me that if I didn't get my visa by Friday night, I would have to wait 6 weeks to go to Ecuador. No thank you!!!! Naturally, the next few hours were hard. To say the least. I couldn't eat!!! You all know that if I couldn't eat, it must have been pretty bad. LITERALLY the LAST MINUTE (ok maybe it was like three hours before the deadline, whatever) I got my VISA!!!!! I'm headed to Ecuador on Monday!

As all great weeks start, on Sunday I went to choir with a bunch of people from my zone. So great! This week, we learned to sing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer." Those of you that know this song, know just how powerful it is. Let me tell ya, when sung with 300 missionaries, I literally have no words! The feeling in that room when we sung was incredible. To those of you that are unfamiliar with this song, it is the story of Joseph Smith seeing God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The first verse sets the scene in upstate New York one beautiful morning, where Joseph Smith went in to a grove of trees to pray about which church he should join. As he prayed, he saw "a pillar of light exactly over (his) head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon (him.)"  Once the light had rested upon him, he saw "two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description."  While praying in a grove of trees next to his house, a young farm boy named Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father spoke to Joseph pointing to his son, saying, "Joseph, this is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!" Guys, I know that this actually happened. If this didn't happen, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be dedicating two years of my life to serve the Lord! Friends, I know that the Savior restored his true church on the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that through the power of God, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. The power in singing this song came from hundreds of missionaries, whose main purpose is to share this message with others, singing about what we each know to be true. What a blessing!The best part of this was that Elder Uchtdorf came to talk to us on Tuesday! To sum up- we had a living apostle come to teach us! It was incredible.

Sorry for the short email this week, I still gotta make time to pack.. Bleh. Can't wait to hear from all of you!

Hasta la vista!

Elder Jones

Pictures: me and Brother Sowards (he's a teddy bear.) And the snowy MTC!

Week 5: ENOugh Is ENOugh... 1.25 miles

¡Ay caramba!

One thing I heard (a lot) at the beginning of my MTC experience is that "the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days." Honestly, the literal last thing I wanted to hear was that each day would last a week... for 700 more days. I hate to say it, but they were right! Each day lasts forever... but the weeks zoom by. Like how is it possible that I'm leaving in a week and a few days?!?! Crazyyy.

Now, not that the beds here are terrible, but on Tuesday I got fed up with not having any space for my stuff! So, I had a big brain moment. I yanked my mattress off my bed and threw it in a corner, and started digging through my suitcase. I think my roommates thought that I'd finally lost it! There I was, sitting on the floor in front of my mattress-less bed surrounded by assorted randomness from my bag. Eventually, I found it. My highly prized ENO camping hammock. I carefully set my new sleeping system up between opposite bed-frames, and cautiously tested it. I am proud to say that I have comfortably slept in my hammock for the past week. Honestly, it's kind of a spectacle. People come from all four floors of my residence hall to see my green and blue hammock hanging in place of any old mattress.

Just a quick spiritual thought for y'all: I've been reading this book called "Jesus the Christ," which basically teaches about the life of Christ. It's actually wayyy interesting! Anyway, one day I was reading, and I came across a part that I really liked. It talked about the miracle of Christ turning water into wine at Cana. Albeit being an incredible miracle, we often overlook the miracle of a grape plant growing in the first place! Before leaving on my mission, my amazing mother taught a "mission/life preparation class." One of her favorite things to talk about was flying pigs. Referencing her favorite talk, she'd say, "if one day, a pig sprouted wings and flew, we all would be speechless. What a miracle! But we often overlook: how amazing is it that a pig can walk, or even live in the first place."

Friends, miracles happen! But when you open your eyes, you'll start to see miracles all around you, some that you wouldn't normally think of as miracles! Right now, I'm waiting for my visa to come in. I'm hoping for a small miracle, as the odds are that it won't come in time! However, what an amazing miracle it is that I could even get the opportunity to serve the people in Ecuador!!!

I love you all so much! Keep on keeping on! I absolutely love to hear from you all. ¡Hasta pronto!

Elder Jones

Pictures: Me with some friends in my district, me and the boys in front of "the wall", me and my favorite member of the branch presidency

Week 4: I'm Now A Teacher... 1 MILE IN!

How's it going mis amigos?!

This week has been long... and short at the same time I guess.

Believe it or not, it was filled with-you guessed it!-class!!! (cue the applause.) But in all seriousness (or at least a little more seriousness), class this week was amazing. We learned a lot of small things in Spanish that really helped with my ability to actually speak the language! On top of that, I also had a few really amazing spiritual experiences, as well as some things that just helped me to keep on going. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention--- being in the MTC is HARD! Don't get me wrong, I love it here, the people are swell, the spirit is super strong, the food is... tolerable. But, I really miss a lot of the conveniences from back home, my parents, friends, and not having to be in class for like 10 hours everyday! Oh well... All is well!

Tuesday morning after class, we had a workshop about the importance of repentance and baptism. However, when we got there, the teacher wasn't there. We sat waiting for roughly half an hour, which was fine because I made friends with a few sisters sitting in the row behind us, and we were making jokes and talking about home. After a while, it became quite evident that the teacher was not going to show up. In natural Isaac- err, Elder Jones-fashion, I asked my new friends if I should go up and teach the lesson. They immediately assumed the task of convincing me to play teacher. After taking a few minutes to assess the risks, I decided to go for it. I crept out the back door, took off my tag and ID (so that they wouldn't be able to identify me as an Elder), and started to practice my best teacher voice. Something interesting about the MTC is that most of the teachers are just recently returned missionaries, so maybe two or three years older than me. Soooo, I walked quickly in to the front of the room, and, snatching the microphone, I apologized profusely for my tardy, and began teaching the lesson. Guys, I had no idea what the topic even was! There was a slideshow, so I tried to follow it, but I was flying by the seat of my pants! Anyway, eventually I couldn't contain my laughter, and, through chokes of laughter, I tearfully admitted that I wasn't the teacher. But, since the teacher still hadn't arrived, I just kept on teaching. Eventually, someone did show up, and picked up where I left off. Now, I'm known to roughly 80 Elders and Sisters as "Brother Jones," or "The teacher." (Peep the picture of me in the front of the room)

One night, we had a teaching appointment (in spanish) with a man named Albin... but he never showed up!!! So, on a whim, we ended up teaching a man named Octavio. He was awesome. That said, at the beginning of the lesson, we were struggling. I feel like I am pretty competent when it comes to holding a conversation in spanish, but I was really struggling to manage that, and helping my comp out, and also answering the questions that Octavio had. Almost overcome with that stress, I said a quick prayer in my head. Eventually, the feeling of the room started to shift. I didn't say something crazy, my comp didn't start speaking fluent spanish, we didn't hear concourses of angels singing from above, but we felt the spirit. I could tell that Octavio could feel it, too. Eventually, Octavio told us that he didn't know if he had faith, but that he had a desire to believe. Immediately, I knew to share Alma 32:27, which reads,"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than a desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." Basically, this verse explains that if we exercise faith and act on the desire to believe, more knowledge and faith can come. Octavio was obviously struck by this, and we had a really good experience. Guys, I think this verse applies to each of us! If we try to exercise even what faith we might have, whether that is by praying, going to church, or anything else!

I've got plenty more stories, so if you want to hear some more, just let me know!

I love you all! Keep being awesome!!!

Love,

Elder Jones

Pictures: Me and my two blues piano buds, me with the guys from district, me fake teaching the class, and me with my glove balloon!

Week 3: When Is Nap Time Again? 0.75 Miles In...

Hello my people,

I have been waiting all week to email! So much has happened!!!

Sooooo on tuesday we had a devotional with... wait for it... Elder Cook! He came and gave a really great talk, and brought some pages from the original manuscript of the translated Book of Mormon! The talk was super good, and I got to sing in the choir for it. To all my future missionaries: do the MTC choir! It has been hands down my favorite part of the MTC so far, and the director is wayyy funny. The other day, he summarized a part in the Lord of the Rings where an enormous Orc with a torch becomes the target of every opposing fighter. Brother Eggert (the choir director) related this orc to each of us, because if Satan can stop you or me from progressing, he also stops every single person we help to progress. It was kind of like a motivation (but no pressure) kind of thing. But it got me pumped!

In other news, my teacher brought popcorn to class for us yesterday! Now this may not seem like a big deal, but I promise it was. For some reason, I (and just about everyone else in my district) have been wanting popcorn for like weeks!

I am the spikeball king. Actually not, but I've been playing for about a week and a half, and I really love it! There isn't a lot of downtime in the MTC, so it is super nice to go play some games when we have time.

To all my Johnson/San Antonio friends: I met Elder Ostler!!! We played soccer together yesterday, and he kind of carried our team hahaha

It's been a great week and I'm excited to hear from you!

Much love,

Elder Jones

Pictures: Only two this week... sorry :/

1. A tag picture (your welcome, mom) 2. Me and Elder Rosvall... who is serving in Russia!!!

See ya fam:)

Week 2: They're Always Listening! 0.5 Miles In

Buenas!

It's been a short week! And a long week. A sort of long-short week combo.

Most of my days this week have consisted of breakfast, class, lunch, study time (and more importantly, spikeball), dinner, class, and sleep. Wellllll, maybe not RIGHT to sleep. My nights have been a lot like the one I described in the previous email, lots of fun, lots of excitement, and lots and lots and lots of talking. 

My favorite story from this week happened yesterday while I was practicing piano during my free time!

So I discovered that during free time, I could go into one of the many rooms with a piano and jam. out. Yesterday, I was practicing exceptionally loudly in an exceptionally un-soundproofed room. My line-up that day consisted of a few of my originals, a few cool pop songs, and a very long rendition of my favorite hymn, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." After launching into a dramatic key change (which may or may not have made my voice shoot up about an octave. For those of you that have experienced my piano and singing sessions, you know that I get wayyyy into it. And by that, I mean swaying, pounding the keys, and singing at the top of my lungs. After a dramatic and very loud verse five, I turned around to make sure that my companion was still there, and to my shock (and horror tbh) I saw two sister missionaries standing behind me, watching me play the piano and sing like no one's watching. To be fair, I thought that no one was watching. Anyway, the sisters started to compliment my music, and, completely caught off guard, I spent way longer than I care to admit just blushing and muttering like -well- like the fool I am! After talking for a few minutes, they told me that they were in the room next door listening!!! Ahhhh I was embarrassed hahaha. I thanked them for saying that, and after the left, the whole mood of my day was improved.

In short, if you feel like there is something you can say to brighten someone's day, say it! That experience made my week!

Alright, I need to finish washing my laundry, but enjoy these pictures! They include (in random order because I'm not tech-savvy enough for these MTC computers): A pic of me and my comp, me with my district, my mom's beloved tag pic in front of the temple, and me wearing Elder Baumann's glasses in the cafeteria.

I miss you all so much!

With love,

Elder Jones

p.s. keep the emails coming... they're my fav

Oh, and for those who want it, here's my MTC address! ;)

Elder Isaac Royal Jones

NOV11 ECU-GUAS

2005 N 900 E Unit 150

Provo UT 84602

Week 1: First Quarter Mile Of The Marathon

Buenas mis Amigos!!!

Today marks day four in the MTC! These past few days have been super long, super tiring, but super spiritual. We've had mostly orientations and classes, so I don't have many stories... yet!

That said, last night was kind of one for the books. Me and mi compañero, Elder Mower were the first to get back to our rooms, and we thought it would be funny to scare the Russian Elders, Elder Baumann (de Austria) and Elder Hawkes. I hid on the top bunk, and as soon as they opened the door, we jumped out. Elder Baumann (who is probably at least 6 foot 6) stumbled back and hit his head on the doorframe, and shouted something in German. Luckily, these elders have a great sense of humor, so we all had a great laugh.

 Soon, we heard Elder Petersen and Elder Messick arrive at our room. We quickly decided to hide in our closets. Now, these closets are scarcely larger than two moving boxes stacked on top of each other. After minutes of uncomfortable waiting, Elder Hawkes emerged from his closet screaming, "I WAS PRACTICING RUSSIAN!" A few minutes later, I opened my closet door. Unfortunately, my feet were still stuck in the back of the closet, so I fell to the floor.  Hard.

The next few minutes were kind of a blur, but I guess our door shot open at the speed of light, and a dozen Elders came rushing into our room screaming, "IT'S LOTION NIGHT, IT'S LOTION NIGHT!" 

I guess in the MTC there's a tradition of lotion night every Friday night? I don't even know. Anyway, that was confusing, but surprisingly fun hahaha!

I miss you all tons! I would love to hear from each of you!!

In the missionary training center, I can only email on Preparation-day, which for me is Saturdays. However, I can read emails whenever I get them!! Fam, bring it on!!!

Love y'all,

Elder Jones

Entering The MTC

Called To Serve

Dear Elder Jones:


You are herby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission.  It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.  You will enter the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, October 2, 2019.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.