Hey everybody! :)
I´m a little bit low on time so, please excuse the shorter email today! This week has been super good, we´ve taken a different route with our investigators this week and are excited about how they are going to be able to progress! This week we had been praying hard that Gonzalo or Lenn could accept the invitation to be baptized and take the necessary steps to follow Christ more in their lives. In the end they didn´t feel good enough prepared. I had been fasting for them, that we would be able to understand their needs and to be able to do things how the Lord wanted. Obviously we would love the sweet experience of a baptism, but it is better when they have felt the change in their hearts!! :) We had a great lesson with Gonzalo Friday night! We brought a member that we really felt would be a good support for Gonzalo. The lesson left perfectly! We felt the spirit as we testified of the things that Christ wants us to do- it was a powerful feeling! But we felt a great peace as this member was able to tell his conversion story and then to invite Gonzalo to begin to see these things that we teach him as SMALL steps to experience greater faith and security in his life. I was grateful that what we wanted wasn´t what felt right. The spirit worked in a special way that night,testifying of what was true, but giving us peace for what was right. Isn´t the Lord so tender in teaching us what He wants done?! I was very grateful for His better understanding. Lenn was also the same, we decided to take our teaching and share it in a way that is more directed at the person that we are with, not something we prepare. We want more than anything that these young men APPLY the simple principles in their lives. This is true conversion! :) I feel great in how we are learning to teach, I feel us more focused on who we are with! I am trying harder in each lesson to be more concentrated in the feelings that I receive to teach me what I should say or how I should respond. On several occasions this week I´ve been greatly blessed to stop and understand what is being said and then to speak! Many times it is easy for us when we know the answer to a question of concern to spit out the answer as fast as possible- I have found out that it is a much better experience to wait and listen to everything! We´ve also been working with a lady named Gloria (I think I might have already mentioned her), anyway this week we had a couple fantastic experiences with her! This week she received from a member a video about José Smith and with that she was able to feel the true power of our message! For a few days we had been trying to explain the need of a restoration to her, each time it made more sense, but the movie was the key to helping her FEEL that what we had been teaching had a lot of reason! We are thankful for involved members! Also, she and a couple of her kids were able to go to church, by themselves!! We had offered to go and pick her up but as we turned to corner we looked down the street and she was already halfway to the church! Hmm that was good :) She was bien recibida en la capilla y la disfrutó un montón!
Well there is a little bit for the week! Sorry it was shorter this week! Next week I´ll get on top of things for some pictures and a longer letter! I love you all, thanks for your love! It keeps me going in the moments of trial. I hope that we never forget that God is our Father, He loves us and what He does, He does for a reason. I know that it is a good thing to be humble when we are faced with hardships in our life. "yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him."
23 Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved.
24 And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for agrace, according to their works.
All my love!
Elder Jolley
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Hello dear family!!
Finally!! Ha we´ve been coming from a long day of traveling and a lot of just businessy type work. Elder Mines had to do some paper work for his visa so that meant us leaving for The Capital at 7 o´clock this morning! :) I´m pretty tired... haha, but so glad to be able to hear from you guys and talk to ya´ll! It was a great time in the Capital and some crazy city sites that I´ve never seen before, Highland Utah and a Nations Capital are a little bit different! I was all eyes for the first little bit as we tried to find our way to the building that we needed to get to! Por suerte we were able to get everything done without any problems and with spare time to find a Burrito restaurant! :) First type of "Mexican" food that I´ve had in a year! So delicious! In the photos I sent we also were able to meet up with several other missionaries that were doing the same thing at the "Buenos Aires Monument." Shoot.. I can´t remember what it´s called but it was a sweet... pilar!
Well for the week! :) First off another big Happy Mother's Day yesterday!... I tried getting on skype, but unfortunately you weren´t on to chat! That was a let-down. Haha just kiddin! Would have been great to have 3 calls in the year! We passed the day really good and got a little bit wet, but in all we were happy to get out and talk with the people and wish all the mothers we could find a great day! As far as the work goes we still are a little bit... slow. Today I loved reading in Mosiah (4 hours in the train turns out to be a great blessing!) and being taught about the afflictions of several groups of people. We have felt a little bit like them in the past couple weeks- "captive" if you will, where we are at and not being able to find a lot of progress as a whole. It has been a "trial to try (our) faith and patience," I hold onto my knowledge that God is our Heavenly Father and never leaves us abandoned in our way! I have grown to trust more in Him and strive to be more submissive to HIS WILL over mine! Every experience has an Eternal Significance! :) I have been so so grateful for small and simple blessings that I have seen in our day to day work. I loved what you said mom, that we sometimes need to build piece by piece and watch the picture grow in that way! Sometimes it seems in our lives that we close our eyes in our daily progression of becoming more like our Savior and then expect that when we open them that the picture will be complete! We have been able to have some incredible experiences with Gonzalo this week! He´s a stud!! We´ve been trying to listen to him and understand how he is doing rather than go at our speed! At the beginning of the week we had a very powerful lesson with the spirit about fasting! We taught that it is a powerful way for us to come to understand what it is that Heavenly Father wants us to do in our lives. For Gonzalo I believe that it was what he needed to hear to help him come to see how he could come closer to the Lord. We fasted and it was super great! :) But we found out that he hadn´t felt anything.. huh? That isn´t what we were expecting! Ha but in the end the blessings are ALWAYS there. I believe that the Lord was able to soften his heart just a little bit more in order to help him see how important it is that we make those decisions in our life to follow the Savior! :) They were some of the most powerful lessons that I´ve been blessed to have. The spirit, if we are prepared, can really guide each and every one of us to know how to help those around us come closer to Christ. Gonzalo is a gran amigo and has been a huge example for me in reminding me of the things that we can and should do to come unto Christ!
I don´t want you guys to think that I´m sad or negative right now about our situation. It is something I´ve never been through before, but each of us have that blessing in our life! I love how Elder Holland put it, "we cannot expect to come to true discipleship without walking through our own little part of the Garden of Gethsemane." All of life's trials are so that we can come to know the "True and Living God!" :) What a blessing! I think each of us have a special need to seek and know the Will of our Father in Heaven more in our lives, it is the most important thing that we can do in order to continue forward in our progression!
Well we gotta run! We are a little behind and we gotta get to a cita! Favorite scripture for the day: Mosiah 24:12-16
12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.
Jesus Christ is at the head of His work and does guide each of us, personally, as we dedicate ourselves to greater trust, patience, and fervent prayer! This week will be a great week! :)
I love ya guys! :)
Elder Jolley
Finally!! Ha we´ve been coming from a long day of traveling and a lot of just businessy type work. Elder Mines had to do some paper work for his visa so that meant us leaving for The Capital at 7 o´clock this morning! :) I´m pretty tired... haha, but so glad to be able to hear from you guys and talk to ya´ll! It was a great time in the Capital and some crazy city sites that I´ve never seen before, Highland Utah and a Nations Capital are a little bit different! I was all eyes for the first little bit as we tried to find our way to the building that we needed to get to! Por suerte we were able to get everything done without any problems and with spare time to find a Burrito restaurant! :) First type of "Mexican" food that I´ve had in a year! So delicious! In the photos I sent we also were able to meet up with several other missionaries that were doing the same thing at the "Buenos Aires Monument." Shoot.. I can´t remember what it´s called but it was a sweet... pilar!
Elder Jolley with some of the other missionaries at the Capital
I don´t want you guys to think that I´m sad or negative right now about our situation. It is something I´ve never been through before, but each of us have that blessing in our life! I love how Elder Holland put it, "we cannot expect to come to true discipleship without walking through our own little part of the Garden of Gethsemane." All of life's trials are so that we can come to know the "True and Living God!" :) What a blessing! I think each of us have a special need to seek and know the Will of our Father in Heaven more in our lives, it is the most important thing that we can do in order to continue forward in our progression!
Well we gotta run! We are a little behind and we gotta get to a cita! Favorite scripture for the day: Mosiah 24:12-16
12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.
Jesus Christ is at the head of His work and does guide each of us, personally, as we dedicate ourselves to greater trust, patience, and fervent prayer! This week will be a great week! :)
I love ya guys! :)
Elder Jolley
Elder Jolley and Elder Mines
Monday, October 15, 2012
Family Reunion!!!!
Wow! haha thank you so much for the great pictures! I got a good kick out of each one and a great laugh from the minions! :) It´s crazy how much everyone has grown! I didn´t recognize little Cooper, took me a couple minutes to figure out who he was! Glad to hear that you guys are all so good and that you had a good time!
Another week and A YEAR! It´s a weird feeling but it has given me great time to look back and see how far I´ve been blessed to come! The Lord truly is so merciful in all of His work and truly has our progression as a priority! This week we´ve been keeping super positive! The ups and downs come a little bit in the area, but we know that we can give more! :) We were able to find earlier in the week a couple of families that we had great experiences with and truly felt the spirit guiding our lessons. With a lady named Adriana we invited her to be baptized and she accepted! It was a special lesson to be able to understand how the Gospel truly can relate to each situation. She had told us that everything was fine for her and that all she asked for is that things would stay the same. She believes in Christ and at one point in her life attended a church, because of things in la vida she had aparted from the church. We explained to her how by maintaining a faith in Christ we have the promise that through the ups and downs we can have a steady hope! She loved what we had to say and ya we left with a smile on our faces and a cita the next day!... Next Day: Adriana no se encuentra mas! Ahorra she doesn´t answer her door. Hmm? Ha I know that this Gospel is true and pray that we´ll be able to find people in Villa Elvira that have to hear our message!
We are very grateful for Lenn and Gonzalo! :) They are truly a couple blessings in our lives that have helped us to keep the work going here! We were able to adjust the way that we teach them a bit this week. We´ve been passing by and teaching things that were great but wanted to focus on things that were best! We evaluated where they are at and how we can help them build a testimony. With Gonzalo we´ve seen a huge change in him as he continues to try and incorporate good habits in his life. He is having troubles a little bit with the Book of Mormon, but in giving him small parts to read and sections more focused on what he wants to learn, he has told us that this week he has made time to read! YES!!! :) Haha also this week I´ll have you know that we had a SUPER SABADO... unfortunately the results haven´t changed from Fiorito! HA we had like a total of 9 people. One day we´ll have success as an "activities committee." We watched 17 Miracles (INCREDIBLE movie)! Gonzalo came and loved being in the church!
With Lenn this week we had a great lesson! I had fasted to know what it was that we could do to help him progress and that day we had a lesson with him about the Holy Ghost and the guidance that it provides for us. He had been worried that by making this change in his life by getting baptized that it was like, he changes and then left alone to try and stay on the path. When we taught about the Spirit there was a different look on his face and you could tell that he was paying attention and that something had changed. We rehassured (spelling ?) him that following Christ isn´t as hard as we imagine it to be. I love in how Nephi describes that by receiving the Holy Ghost we will be guided to do all that we should do. Really our lives become easier as we summit our will to the Lords and choose to be dedicated and is especially blessed by the companionship of the Holy Spirit. So in the end it was a super good week! We saw progress where the Lord wanted and we grew in ways that we didn´t expect. I have been so grateful for a journal.. I wish I could go through each thing that I learn because it is life changing! However, I´ll be excited to share them after. (Up to this point in my mission I´ve missed 8 days of writing in my journal so there will be lots to share).
Well time continues to fly and we get to go back to work! :) I hope that you have a great week. I have a testimony of this Church and know it to be true. I know that we are blessed with a the true principles and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Chirst and by applying and obeying them we are brought to an everlasting joy. I know that the Sacrament, when prepared to partake of it, will leave us clean and blameless before our Father in Heaven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That was and continues to be its purpose!
2 Nefi 26:24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
Have a fantastic week! :)
I love each of you very very much!
Elder Jolley
Wow! haha thank you so much for the great pictures! I got a good kick out of each one and a great laugh from the minions! :) It´s crazy how much everyone has grown! I didn´t recognize little Cooper, took me a couple minutes to figure out who he was! Glad to hear that you guys are all so good and that you had a good time!
Another week and A YEAR! It´s a weird feeling but it has given me great time to look back and see how far I´ve been blessed to come! The Lord truly is so merciful in all of His work and truly has our progression as a priority! This week we´ve been keeping super positive! The ups and downs come a little bit in the area, but we know that we can give more! :) We were able to find earlier in the week a couple of families that we had great experiences with and truly felt the spirit guiding our lessons. With a lady named Adriana we invited her to be baptized and she accepted! It was a special lesson to be able to understand how the Gospel truly can relate to each situation. She had told us that everything was fine for her and that all she asked for is that things would stay the same. She believes in Christ and at one point in her life attended a church, because of things in la vida she had aparted from the church. We explained to her how by maintaining a faith in Christ we have the promise that through the ups and downs we can have a steady hope! She loved what we had to say and ya we left with a smile on our faces and a cita the next day!... Next Day: Adriana no se encuentra mas! Ahorra she doesn´t answer her door. Hmm? Ha I know that this Gospel is true and pray that we´ll be able to find people in Villa Elvira that have to hear our message!
We are very grateful for Lenn and Gonzalo! :) They are truly a couple blessings in our lives that have helped us to keep the work going here! We were able to adjust the way that we teach them a bit this week. We´ve been passing by and teaching things that were great but wanted to focus on things that were best! We evaluated where they are at and how we can help them build a testimony. With Gonzalo we´ve seen a huge change in him as he continues to try and incorporate good habits in his life. He is having troubles a little bit with the Book of Mormon, but in giving him small parts to read and sections more focused on what he wants to learn, he has told us that this week he has made time to read! YES!!! :) Haha also this week I´ll have you know that we had a SUPER SABADO... unfortunately the results haven´t changed from Fiorito! HA we had like a total of 9 people. One day we´ll have success as an "activities committee." We watched 17 Miracles (INCREDIBLE movie)! Gonzalo came and loved being in the church!
With Lenn this week we had a great lesson! I had fasted to know what it was that we could do to help him progress and that day we had a lesson with him about the Holy Ghost and the guidance that it provides for us. He had been worried that by making this change in his life by getting baptized that it was like, he changes and then left alone to try and stay on the path. When we taught about the Spirit there was a different look on his face and you could tell that he was paying attention and that something had changed. We rehassured (spelling ?) him that following Christ isn´t as hard as we imagine it to be. I love in how Nephi describes that by receiving the Holy Ghost we will be guided to do all that we should do. Really our lives become easier as we summit our will to the Lords and choose to be dedicated and is especially blessed by the companionship of the Holy Spirit. So in the end it was a super good week! We saw progress where the Lord wanted and we grew in ways that we didn´t expect. I have been so grateful for a journal.. I wish I could go through each thing that I learn because it is life changing! However, I´ll be excited to share them after. (Up to this point in my mission I´ve missed 8 days of writing in my journal so there will be lots to share).
Well time continues to fly and we get to go back to work! :) I hope that you have a great week. I have a testimony of this Church and know it to be true. I know that we are blessed with a the true principles and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Chirst and by applying and obeying them we are brought to an everlasting joy. I know that the Sacrament, when prepared to partake of it, will leave us clean and blameless before our Father in Heaven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That was and continues to be its purpose!
2 Nefi 26:24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
Have a fantastic week! :)
I love each of you very very much!
Elder Jolley
Monday, October 8, 2012
Hello hello! :)
How we all doing!? Thanks so much for the great emails and fun experiences! I love all of them!! Wow... can the church be more ture?? Te das cuenta después de escuchar la voz de nuestra profeta. I was so grateful for conference! It passed by so quickly though.. I swear before the mission that conference seemed a lot longer. 2 hours was a big thing for me! Haha times change. We were able to see almost all the sessions, we missed the 1st hour of the first session on Saturday because at the last second Gonzalo decided to bail on us. President Stapley had invited us to bring an investigator to both sessions on Saturday and if we couldn´t find one that it would probably be a better use of our time to go out and work in our areas. We were super bummed to have received the text message from Gonzalo at 12:55! Ha! Bajón. We knew that we had to be obedient so right as President Monson got up to make the big announcement about the Missionary Program (how crazy was that by the way?!- Skyman is gonna be able to leave super quick after I get home if he decides to). Leaving the church was a bummer, but we knew that it was the right thing to do to get out there and get to work. I have a huge testimony and I felt it in that moment that each thing that happens to us in our lives happens for a reason and that there is something Eternal behind each deciding moment. I left praying my lights out that we would be able to understand His will and if possible that we could get back in and listen to the Prophet. As we were walking back Lenn popped into my mind... we had forgotten to check in with him again to make the invitation!! Quickly we called him up and asked if he wanted to listen to a prophet!! Ha luckily he was super chill and told, "yeah, why not! I don´t have anything better going on." Haha whatever it takes right.. the seed of faith is planted in many ways! It was a great great miracle from our Father in Heaven! We watched the conference in our stake center (about 3 blocks from our apartment) and I believe it was a great experience for Lenn and later Gonzalo. In the afternoon session he was able to come and also on Sunday Lenn and Gonzalo were able to come!
I loved the theme of service that I got from the conference. So many talked about the need to show compassion through loving service. Sister Burton gave a great talk about the need to observe and then serve! Also I loved how tenderly President Monson talked about prayer and how miraculous it is to be able to communicate with our Heavenly Father. I loved what you said dad, that each talk had a special highlight and I truly saw that! President Eyring is the bomb! What he talked about was similar to what he talked about when he was here for the rededication, how God truly is in our lives!! Most of the time we think that He is hiding from us!! How opposite that is. When we can come to repent, pray fervently and don´t INSIST on a time limit, WE uncover our hiding spot and come to understand better the will of Him! That touched home for me!
Like all the apostles and prophets, I loved most feeling of their special witness of the Savior! If there is any testimony to receive or any doubt that remains we need only observe these men and feel the spirit that they transmit! As representatives of Jesus Christ they bear testimony of who He is and how He would be if He were with us now! I love my Savior Jesus Christ and know that He lives, I am grateful to understand more about WHO He is by following the example of His special witnesses. This week passed by super quick!! We were packed with meetings all the mornings and then were running around in the afternoons trying to find and invite everyone we could to hear the voice of the prophet. This week was the end of a transfer and Elder Mines and I will be staying together another round! I´m super excited to be able to have a consecutive transfer with a companion again, it brings a huge blessing of experience in our work. We've been able to learn a lot and hope to apply and get more and more comfortable this next transfer. We are working on finding investigators right now. We feel that the Lord is helping us to see from another angle in our missionary efforts. Things are kinda slow right now and most of those who we were working with have asked for more time to think about what we´ve taught them... It will come as a blessing as we are patient! :)
Well I gotta get going, I hope that you all have a great week! Saludos a the Campbells! Get pictures of mom camping!! Hehe just kidding I know it has happened before! :) This week I loved reading in Romans about the blessing and miracle of the Atonement in our lives. In the scriptures it mentions many times what our Savior went through in His
life to prepare himself for the Atonement, a few things are His obedience, willingness and the suffering that He went through in order to understand us better. I loved what President Monson said about making sure that we don´t Condemn others! Also what a blessing to know that God doesn´t condemn us for our weaknesses.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
In the end, if we choose to follow the call of Christ to repent and make the necesary changes in our lives then we are assured that we will not be condemned in the last days. We should also know that it isn´t good to condemn ourselves or dwell on those things that we lack in. If Christ accomplished what He said He did then we should live in peace and only work to be better disciples of Chirst!
I know that this church has living prophets and that it has been restored to its fulness as the Lord promised it would!
I love ya tons! :)
Elder Jolley
As you´ll see in one of the pictures, I got a haircut! :) I don´t know if you remember back to when I was in Longchamps and our stories back there but we had a repeat! :)
How we all doing!? Thanks so much for the great emails and fun experiences! I love all of them!! Wow... can the church be more ture?? Te das cuenta después de escuchar la voz de nuestra profeta. I was so grateful for conference! It passed by so quickly though.. I swear before the mission that conference seemed a lot longer. 2 hours was a big thing for me! Haha times change. We were able to see almost all the sessions, we missed the 1st hour of the first session on Saturday because at the last second Gonzalo decided to bail on us. President Stapley had invited us to bring an investigator to both sessions on Saturday and if we couldn´t find one that it would probably be a better use of our time to go out and work in our areas. We were super bummed to have received the text message from Gonzalo at 12:55! Ha! Bajón. We knew that we had to be obedient so right as President Monson got up to make the big announcement about the Missionary Program (how crazy was that by the way?!- Skyman is gonna be able to leave super quick after I get home if he decides to). Leaving the church was a bummer, but we knew that it was the right thing to do to get out there and get to work. I have a huge testimony and I felt it in that moment that each thing that happens to us in our lives happens for a reason and that there is something Eternal behind each deciding moment. I left praying my lights out that we would be able to understand His will and if possible that we could get back in and listen to the Prophet. As we were walking back Lenn popped into my mind... we had forgotten to check in with him again to make the invitation!! Quickly we called him up and asked if he wanted to listen to a prophet!! Ha luckily he was super chill and told, "yeah, why not! I don´t have anything better going on." Haha whatever it takes right.. the seed of faith is planted in many ways! It was a great great miracle from our Father in Heaven! We watched the conference in our stake center (about 3 blocks from our apartment) and I believe it was a great experience for Lenn and later Gonzalo. In the afternoon session he was able to come and also on Sunday Lenn and Gonzalo were able to come!
I loved the theme of service that I got from the conference. So many talked about the need to show compassion through loving service. Sister Burton gave a great talk about the need to observe and then serve! Also I loved how tenderly President Monson talked about prayer and how miraculous it is to be able to communicate with our Heavenly Father. I loved what you said dad, that each talk had a special highlight and I truly saw that! President Eyring is the bomb! What he talked about was similar to what he talked about when he was here for the rededication, how God truly is in our lives!! Most of the time we think that He is hiding from us!! How opposite that is. When we can come to repent, pray fervently and don´t INSIST on a time limit, WE uncover our hiding spot and come to understand better the will of Him! That touched home for me!
Like all the apostles and prophets, I loved most feeling of their special witness of the Savior! If there is any testimony to receive or any doubt that remains we need only observe these men and feel the spirit that they transmit! As representatives of Jesus Christ they bear testimony of who He is and how He would be if He were with us now! I love my Savior Jesus Christ and know that He lives, I am grateful to understand more about WHO He is by following the example of His special witnesses. This week passed by super quick!! We were packed with meetings all the mornings and then were running around in the afternoons trying to find and invite everyone we could to hear the voice of the prophet. This week was the end of a transfer and Elder Mines and I will be staying together another round! I´m super excited to be able to have a consecutive transfer with a companion again, it brings a huge blessing of experience in our work. We've been able to learn a lot and hope to apply and get more and more comfortable this next transfer. We are working on finding investigators right now. We feel that the Lord is helping us to see from another angle in our missionary efforts. Things are kinda slow right now and most of those who we were working with have asked for more time to think about what we´ve taught them... It will come as a blessing as we are patient! :)
Elder Mines and Elder Jolley
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
In the end, if we choose to follow the call of Christ to repent and make the necesary changes in our lives then we are assured that we will not be condemned in the last days. We should also know that it isn´t good to condemn ourselves or dwell on those things that we lack in. If Christ accomplished what He said He did then we should live in peace and only work to be better disciples of Chirst!
I know that this church has living prophets and that it has been restored to its fulness as the Lord promised it would!
I love ya tons! :)
Elder Jolley
As you´ll see in one of the pictures, I got a haircut! :) I don´t know if you remember back to when I was in Longchamps and our stories back there but we had a repeat! :)
Monday, October 1, 2012
Hey Family!!! :)
SOO good to hear from you guys! I loved all the emails and thank each of ya for all the great experiences that you shared. Dad, bummer with the car! Did you park it in the "Fiorito" section? Hehe... little Argentine yoke :) Glad that all was made better by Apple! Ah, what a week! It passed by quick, but Sunday we received great news from all sides. Our mission has found and baptized more people that this part of Argentina has seen in "centuries" and our Zone continues to surprise and blow me away. The Elders and Sisters were able to work harder and achieve more goals than all the weeks that I have been here (I know it doesn´t make that long but still)."And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God." I´m soo happy and love this work!! :) This week has been a refining one, but I can only express how thankful I am for the Savior and His desire to fill our hearts with joy! I truly know that He lives after this week! :) What a great a Gospel we have in our lives!
To answer a couple questions: The tummy is great! :) Haleluya! Thanks for all the concern, you guys are so great! PACKAGE!! :) Thank you so much for the October 1st birthday celebration! haha I guess it had been in the offices for a little bit, but the important thing is that it arrived. The Zone got together today and played some hard-core fútbol... I´m out of shape! But the Snickers were a great re-fuel for the group and WOW, thank you so much for everything else that was in there! Also Papi, you asked about President Stapley, unfortunately he´ll only be here for a couple more months and in July we´ll be getting a new President. I should be with the new President from July to the end of my mission. I´m sad obviously that he´ll be leaving, but have learned that God has planned things out perfectly so I know that we´ll be able to grow as a mission and as missionaries from both Presidents! Also CONFERENCE weekend! I´m so excited. We will be able to watch it at the same time as you guys up there.. just a couple hours later. The only bummer is that priesthood session starts at 9 o´clock down here and well.. doesn´t really fit in with the missionary schedule so we won´t be able to watch that for 2 years! ... I´ll have the Pastrami Burger with a strawberry milkshake from Burger Supreme, please! :)
This week went by flying!! We had a great week though and were able to get a lot done in the first part of the week. President Stapley came to our district meeting and we ended up getting paired up to do some practices. Elder Jolley and Elder Stapley- imagine that! Haha I was a lot bit nervous to teach with him for fear of equivocation, but it was actually one of the most powerful "fake" lessons that I´ve taught! :) I learned a lot from President and am so grateful to have learned to put off what I wanted to happen in the lesson and really focus on the spirit and what it was telling us about these investigators! Both were able to feel the spirit strongly and teach according to the spirit. The whole zone left the meeting really excited and filled with the spirit! The second part of the week was a little bit slower. Seemed for a minute like everything that was happening in the area, and in my life had the brakes slambed.. on them? (grammatical errors.. ¿no se?). We had a couple families, Lorena y Favio y a great lady that we found named Rosario loose interest a little bit and just stop progressing. We felt pretty confused as to how things stopped so quick. We kept working hard trying to find other investigators, contact people, work with the members but nothing was giving us a lot of success. I learned a lot about patience this week! :) We have 2 years on a mission to work and to progress (also in our lives) - can´t loose a second of it- but we also have to be willing to understand that the Lord doesn´t do things in great heaps rather gives to us line upon line. I think we were wanting to see a lot of "perfection" with our investigators and to become the missionary that God wants me to be ¡YA! but we needed to learn to continue forward with patience and diligence. I love the talk by Henry B. Eyring about taking on the next Mountains in our lives, always wanting to take more upon ourselves. I know that it is important to learn and become all that we can in each trial that we are given and instead of asking for the next trial to prove our ability, I have found great blessings in asking the Lord to teach me ALL that He would have me learn before I feel like I am strong enough to move on! We continue to find miracles in Villa Elvira. We have a couple appointments tonight with these families (Luisa y Lorena) and we are sure that the Lord will help us to bring the Gospel where it is needed in their lives.
Well I love you guys very much, sorry this week is a little bit short.
I love you guys so much and give my assurance that the Lord wants to lead and guide our lives and that we truly can become instruments in His hands through our dedication to His commandments and through humble but fervent prayer. I know that He is aware of each concern that we have and that if we can approach Him and His beloved son with our burdens we will find the way to progress in our lives in order to experience the JOY that this Gospel is. I know that Jesus Christ is the center of our Father in Heavens work! :) Have a great conference weekend and let's listen closely!
All my love,
Elder Jolley
SOO good to hear from you guys! I loved all the emails and thank each of ya for all the great experiences that you shared. Dad, bummer with the car! Did you park it in the "Fiorito" section? Hehe... little Argentine yoke :) Glad that all was made better by Apple! Ah, what a week! It passed by quick, but Sunday we received great news from all sides. Our mission has found and baptized more people that this part of Argentina has seen in "centuries" and our Zone continues to surprise and blow me away. The Elders and Sisters were able to work harder and achieve more goals than all the weeks that I have been here (I know it doesn´t make that long but still)."And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God." I´m soo happy and love this work!! :) This week has been a refining one, but I can only express how thankful I am for the Savior and His desire to fill our hearts with joy! I truly know that He lives after this week! :) What a great a Gospel we have in our lives!
To answer a couple questions: The tummy is great! :) Haleluya! Thanks for all the concern, you guys are so great! PACKAGE!! :) Thank you so much for the October 1st birthday celebration! haha I guess it had been in the offices for a little bit, but the important thing is that it arrived. The Zone got together today and played some hard-core fútbol... I´m out of shape! But the Snickers were a great re-fuel for the group and WOW, thank you so much for everything else that was in there! Also Papi, you asked about President Stapley, unfortunately he´ll only be here for a couple more months and in July we´ll be getting a new President. I should be with the new President from July to the end of my mission. I´m sad obviously that he´ll be leaving, but have learned that God has planned things out perfectly so I know that we´ll be able to grow as a mission and as missionaries from both Presidents! Also CONFERENCE weekend! I´m so excited. We will be able to watch it at the same time as you guys up there.. just a couple hours later. The only bummer is that priesthood session starts at 9 o´clock down here and well.. doesn´t really fit in with the missionary schedule so we won´t be able to watch that for 2 years! ... I´ll have the Pastrami Burger with a strawberry milkshake from Burger Supreme, please! :)
This week went by flying!! We had a great week though and were able to get a lot done in the first part of the week. President Stapley came to our district meeting and we ended up getting paired up to do some practices. Elder Jolley and Elder Stapley- imagine that! Haha I was a lot bit nervous to teach with him for fear of equivocation, but it was actually one of the most powerful "fake" lessons that I´ve taught! :) I learned a lot from President and am so grateful to have learned to put off what I wanted to happen in the lesson and really focus on the spirit and what it was telling us about these investigators! Both were able to feel the spirit strongly and teach according to the spirit. The whole zone left the meeting really excited and filled with the spirit! The second part of the week was a little bit slower. Seemed for a minute like everything that was happening in the area, and in my life had the brakes slambed.. on them? (grammatical errors.. ¿no se?). We had a couple families, Lorena y Favio y a great lady that we found named Rosario loose interest a little bit and just stop progressing. We felt pretty confused as to how things stopped so quick. We kept working hard trying to find other investigators, contact people, work with the members but nothing was giving us a lot of success. I learned a lot about patience this week! :) We have 2 years on a mission to work and to progress (also in our lives) - can´t loose a second of it- but we also have to be willing to understand that the Lord doesn´t do things in great heaps rather gives to us line upon line. I think we were wanting to see a lot of "perfection" with our investigators and to become the missionary that God wants me to be ¡YA! but we needed to learn to continue forward with patience and diligence. I love the talk by Henry B. Eyring about taking on the next Mountains in our lives, always wanting to take more upon ourselves. I know that it is important to learn and become all that we can in each trial that we are given and instead of asking for the next trial to prove our ability, I have found great blessings in asking the Lord to teach me ALL that He would have me learn before I feel like I am strong enough to move on! We continue to find miracles in Villa Elvira. We have a couple appointments tonight with these families (Luisa y Lorena) and we are sure that the Lord will help us to bring the Gospel where it is needed in their lives.
Well I love you guys very much, sorry this week is a little bit short.
I love you guys so much and give my assurance that the Lord wants to lead and guide our lives and that we truly can become instruments in His hands through our dedication to His commandments and through humble but fervent prayer. I know that He is aware of each concern that we have and that if we can approach Him and His beloved son with our burdens we will find the way to progress in our lives in order to experience the JOY that this Gospel is. I know that Jesus Christ is the center of our Father in Heavens work! :) Have a great conference weekend and let's listen closely!
All my love,
Elder Jolley
Monday, September 24, 2012
Hey Family!!
Okay... maybe the whole hospital thing came out a little "critical", I´m doing good I promise! :) Thank you so much for your concern and for your love! I think one of the things that characterizes so perfectly the plan of our Father in Heaven and of this Church in general is LOVE! I couldn´t be more grateful for this special attribute and for the many ways that it is felt in my life. From what I´ve heard and what the people think is that because of how "heavy"the food is here in Argentina and the amount of flours and other types of ingredients that are used here that it could be that my body had some allergic reaction that in a way "paralyzed" the regular movements of my intestines causing them to be... full... and to swell up! They´ve had me on some pills and other medications to stimulate the normal rhythm of my intestines again and to help things move along. Haha we´ll talk about the treatments when I get home, they should make for a good family laugh! There is nothing like a mission to help you to be able to experience, like you guys put it, new things that all have a lesson! I´m doing well though and not anything long lasting! If anything I´ll just have to check if it was some kind of allergy.
Shoot, time flies so quickly! It sounds like you had a great time at Lagoon and.. Go Riser (I´ve done some soliciting down here to put in my part for the open house that ya had, so we´ll see if we can land ya some projects)! Thanks for all your stories and great experiences that I get to hear about! :) I love to here about em all! Things right now are great and to answer some of your questions Pops, right now we are doing great as a zone, we came off of a great week! We had 4 great baptisms in the zone and was a really rewarding thing to hear of the experiences that they had in helping others to come unto Christ. Responsibility wise, I feel like I´m still in the fast seat, trying to learn as I go. Elder Mines and the rest of the zone leaders are a huge help in giving me support and being examples in how we can manage the Lord's vineyard. I´ve learned that unity is a key ingredient to a successful team. If all gears are not spinning at the same time then our productivity begins to slow down or can end up causing further damage to the other members of the team. As a leader it is important to learn our duties and then to act in all diligence so that our part of the vineyard is well taken care of. I feel humble in the calling that I have and really blessed to be learning so much from everyone else. I love the scripture in Proverbs 27:23: Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Right now I´m learning how to center my mind on others. So many times I believe we can feel unqualified and unprepared for the responsibilities that the Lord sees fit to give us. We all have been given special lessons and gifts even from the counsels in heaven to be prepared for all service that we would give in our time here. I have learned that the best way to progress is to center all that we do on the needs of others. Study for them, work for them, love them and when we do this we progress in our own lives. It is a great blessing to be able to be serving a mission! :)
Well this week we had a super great week, we found GOLD! Since I´ve been here I´ve had the strongest feeling that there are people who are waiting for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to come into their lives, I´m so sure of this knowledge, not only for us but for the whole Zone. (In each occasion that we can talk with them we try and emphazise this point!) We found here in Villa Elvira a couple great families! One lady that we found is named Luisa. She was a contact that I had the other week when we went out on divisions- the truth is that I didn´t know the area really well and thought it was the house of where our appointment was- but it turned out well!! We passed by again and before we said anything she was opening up the gate and inviting us to come in.. not to shabby! She is a perfect investigator!! She listens so well, asks questions when she doesn´t understand and takes our invitations to read the Book of Mormon as if her life were depending on it! We met with her a couple of times before she left for el campo to spend the weekend. Tomorrow we should have a lesson with her again! I´m very excited to see how much she has been able to progress.
The other family we found has been a little bit longer of a process. At first the family was a reference from a member in our ward. When we passed by the first time she was just leaving, but got the chance to talk with the mom named Lorena. She talked a million miles per hour and just about the most depressing things... kinda a stress case! We listened to her for about 15 minutues (I guess the errands weren´t so important which was a blessing) and really grew to have empathy for her and the things that her family was going through. We expressed to her that we understood her and just tried to express how much we cared and wanted to help. At the end she looked at us really weird and said,"ya know, you guys are strange. You transmit a feeling of peace that I´ve never felt in my life." Apparently something had changed her mind and she set up an appointment with us for the next day! We´ve been back to see the family a couple times. They are 4 in their family and all are great. The dad, Favio, Lorena, Juan Cruz and Constansia! Each time we go over there we experience the most hectic household that you could imagine. The kids are all over the place and won´t listen to the parents and the parents are ripping their hair out cause of work and kids and who knows what else but at the end, I can feel the spirit stronger than any other time in the day- they have gone quiet and are listening intently and there is a peace that can´t be explained. I have gained the strongest testimony with this family of the witness of the spirit and the power of this companion that we have! His presence is essential in our lives and without Him we really are left "in the world." I´ve come to appreciate the family that we have and the peace that is in our home, but even more the power that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has to change and accommodate the environment for this special witness of our Heavenly Father to testify of the truth. I´m so certain that we are going to help them with all we can so that they accept baptism and this peace into their lives daily!
It´s a beautiful spring season right now and we are enjoying all the new signs of live here in Buenos Aires! :) Temperatures are coming up and there is a new hope for what is possible in our lives. Yo se q estamos en La Iglesia Verdadera. Sin ninguna duda nosotros tenemos las ordinanzas necesarias para la eternidad de nuevo restauradas en la tierra. Jesucristo es nuestro esperanza por el nuevo comienzo que estemos buscando en nuestras vida y la única esperanza por lo que queremos lograr en la vida que viene. Yo se que mi Salvador ha resucitado y ha roto las ligaduras que nos tengan cautivos, podemos progresar y llegar a ser como El Hijo de Dios.
1 Corinthians 15:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Yo se que Cristo se ha levantado y ha tomado sobre si la gloria de su Padre para hacernos herederos y ganadores en nuestras vidas!
Que tengan una semana maravillosa!
Elder Jolley
Okay... maybe the whole hospital thing came out a little "critical", I´m doing good I promise! :) Thank you so much for your concern and for your love! I think one of the things that characterizes so perfectly the plan of our Father in Heaven and of this Church in general is LOVE! I couldn´t be more grateful for this special attribute and for the many ways that it is felt in my life. From what I´ve heard and what the people think is that because of how "heavy"the food is here in Argentina and the amount of flours and other types of ingredients that are used here that it could be that my body had some allergic reaction that in a way "paralyzed" the regular movements of my intestines causing them to be... full... and to swell up! They´ve had me on some pills and other medications to stimulate the normal rhythm of my intestines again and to help things move along. Haha we´ll talk about the treatments when I get home, they should make for a good family laugh! There is nothing like a mission to help you to be able to experience, like you guys put it, new things that all have a lesson! I´m doing well though and not anything long lasting! If anything I´ll just have to check if it was some kind of allergy.
Shoot, time flies so quickly! It sounds like you had a great time at Lagoon and.. Go Riser (I´ve done some soliciting down here to put in my part for the open house that ya had, so we´ll see if we can land ya some projects)! Thanks for all your stories and great experiences that I get to hear about! :) I love to here about em all! Things right now are great and to answer some of your questions Pops, right now we are doing great as a zone, we came off of a great week! We had 4 great baptisms in the zone and was a really rewarding thing to hear of the experiences that they had in helping others to come unto Christ. Responsibility wise, I feel like I´m still in the fast seat, trying to learn as I go. Elder Mines and the rest of the zone leaders are a huge help in giving me support and being examples in how we can manage the Lord's vineyard. I´ve learned that unity is a key ingredient to a successful team. If all gears are not spinning at the same time then our productivity begins to slow down or can end up causing further damage to the other members of the team. As a leader it is important to learn our duties and then to act in all diligence so that our part of the vineyard is well taken care of. I feel humble in the calling that I have and really blessed to be learning so much from everyone else. I love the scripture in Proverbs 27:23: Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Right now I´m learning how to center my mind on others. So many times I believe we can feel unqualified and unprepared for the responsibilities that the Lord sees fit to give us. We all have been given special lessons and gifts even from the counsels in heaven to be prepared for all service that we would give in our time here. I have learned that the best way to progress is to center all that we do on the needs of others. Study for them, work for them, love them and when we do this we progress in our own lives. It is a great blessing to be able to be serving a mission! :)
Well this week we had a super great week, we found GOLD! Since I´ve been here I´ve had the strongest feeling that there are people who are waiting for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to come into their lives, I´m so sure of this knowledge, not only for us but for the whole Zone. (In each occasion that we can talk with them we try and emphazise this point!) We found here in Villa Elvira a couple great families! One lady that we found is named Luisa. She was a contact that I had the other week when we went out on divisions- the truth is that I didn´t know the area really well and thought it was the house of where our appointment was- but it turned out well!! We passed by again and before we said anything she was opening up the gate and inviting us to come in.. not to shabby! She is a perfect investigator!! She listens so well, asks questions when she doesn´t understand and takes our invitations to read the Book of Mormon as if her life were depending on it! We met with her a couple of times before she left for el campo to spend the weekend. Tomorrow we should have a lesson with her again! I´m very excited to see how much she has been able to progress.
The other family we found has been a little bit longer of a process. At first the family was a reference from a member in our ward. When we passed by the first time she was just leaving, but got the chance to talk with the mom named Lorena. She talked a million miles per hour and just about the most depressing things... kinda a stress case! We listened to her for about 15 minutues (I guess the errands weren´t so important which was a blessing) and really grew to have empathy for her and the things that her family was going through. We expressed to her that we understood her and just tried to express how much we cared and wanted to help. At the end she looked at us really weird and said,"ya know, you guys are strange. You transmit a feeling of peace that I´ve never felt in my life." Apparently something had changed her mind and she set up an appointment with us for the next day! We´ve been back to see the family a couple times. They are 4 in their family and all are great. The dad, Favio, Lorena, Juan Cruz and Constansia! Each time we go over there we experience the most hectic household that you could imagine. The kids are all over the place and won´t listen to the parents and the parents are ripping their hair out cause of work and kids and who knows what else but at the end, I can feel the spirit stronger than any other time in the day- they have gone quiet and are listening intently and there is a peace that can´t be explained. I have gained the strongest testimony with this family of the witness of the spirit and the power of this companion that we have! His presence is essential in our lives and without Him we really are left "in the world." I´ve come to appreciate the family that we have and the peace that is in our home, but even more the power that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has to change and accommodate the environment for this special witness of our Heavenly Father to testify of the truth. I´m so certain that we are going to help them with all we can so that they accept baptism and this peace into their lives daily!
It´s a beautiful spring season right now and we are enjoying all the new signs of live here in Buenos Aires! :) Temperatures are coming up and there is a new hope for what is possible in our lives. Yo se q estamos en La Iglesia Verdadera. Sin ninguna duda nosotros tenemos las ordinanzas necesarias para la eternidad de nuevo restauradas en la tierra. Jesucristo es nuestro esperanza por el nuevo comienzo que estemos buscando en nuestras vida y la única esperanza por lo que queremos lograr en la vida que viene. Yo se que mi Salvador ha resucitado y ha roto las ligaduras que nos tengan cautivos, podemos progresar y llegar a ser como El Hijo de Dios.
1 Corinthians 15:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Yo se que Cristo se ha levantado y ha tomado sobre si la gloria de su Padre para hacernos herederos y ganadores en nuestras vidas!
Que tengan una semana maravillosa!
Elder Jolley
Monday, September 17, 2012
Querida Familia!
Hey!! How are you! So.. we´ve got royalty in the family! :) Skyler with the studly face to win the crown! Haha sounds like you guys had such a great week. Thank you for sharing it with me!! This week was great. Life throws us things that I think we´re not always able to imagine or that we thought could have happened. I have been so thankful for this week and for the will of our Heavenly Father! Many times we are asked to do things or be okay with things that aren´t exactly what we had in mind!
Monday and Tuesday were normal days out in the mission field. We´ve been working with a couple families really closely to help them through some problems that they´ve had while also being able to teach family members and friends about the gospel. Right now in Villa Elvira we have been finding the most success with part member families! They have been saving us and helping us to help the members as well. One family in particular we´ve visited a lot this week. The Family Arroyo is a menos activo family that we´ve found 2 incredible people. Maria y Gonzalo! Maria is a 14 year old girl that has been through a little bit of everything in her life and was kicked out of her house by her mom.. she didn´t want to deal with anymore problems so one day she sent Maria a message that her things were on the steps and that she needed to come and get them and find a new place to live! Just a terrible situation for her, we were able to teach her a couple times. She was really sad to be neglected by her mom and came to be so sincere in her prayers. The first day we invited her to begin praying so that she´d be able to have that "friendship" that we are offered through prayer. After a couple visits she was asking to pray and I loved her prayers. I felt closer to God from just hearing her! Unfortunately her mom this weekend called her and wanted her to come back... we are just praying that her mom can take care of her this time (I guess this isn´t the first time she has been kicked out). Gonzalo is a cousin to these members and has been an active member of an Iglesia Evangélica. We were able to have a great conversation with him, he has talked to missionaries before but never wanting to really be engaged in the conversation so this time we were super grateful that he was willing to open up and to talk a little bit more. Something that I´ve been learning this week is about the purpose of this gospel and the purpose of the message that we share. A lot of the people that we talk to are found without hope and don´t have anything to really look forward to that is good and lasting. I loved Moroni 7 - this week I´ve been trying to help our investigators to have this greater hope in their lives, to be free from worry and free from guilt so that they can live in a better world!
40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
So Wednesday!! Big 20 :) We woke up headed off for a normal day working and it went really well. A couple fechas that we have invited us to visit each with them for a great Peruvian lunch. That morning I woke up pretty sick, or just had a pretty bad stomach ache. The food was super good and it was so nice to be able to spend time with them! The rest of the day went pretty normally. I don´t know if I´ve told you guys, but right now we are living in a 4-man apartment. That night the Elders had bought a cake and surprised me with a lot of singing and a faceful of cake!! It was a great surprise and made the Big day complete!
Thursday we went to district meeting and had to come right back cause my stomach was in shambles! After a couple hours my stomach had swelled up pretty good and with a good stomach pain I was taken to the hospital! After taking some tests and x-rays they found that my intestines had stopped working. President Stapley at that time had come down to La Plata to be with me and help me out! It turned into a very long night and in the end they kept me in the hospital for the night to do some treatments! All ended up fine and I left the next morning without problems, but it turned out being an intersting end to some great birthday festivities! No worries at all, everything went well and I´m doing good and am happy! :)
It was interesting to be in the hospital and to have a minute or two to think about the things that happen to us and how involved our Heavenly Father is in our lives. I don´t necessarily understand why things happen or what things are going to happen, but I learned and know without doubt that whatever happens, God is in it! He does not leave us alone, even for 1 minute of our lives. I know that was with me in the those moments and that each moment and each decision that we take has an Eternal Significance, helping us to grow in our ability to accept what comes and choose to put our faith in Christ. I was grateful to have you all there with me and to have you in my life, I know that it is for a reason! This life is a process of being optimistic and hopeful for the future. The way to progress is accept the Savior's role as our Redeemer and to trust that one day we will be perfected in Him. :)
I thank you all for your love and for being there for me as an example! I hope you have a great week :)
Elder Jolley
Hey!! How are you! So.. we´ve got royalty in the family! :) Skyler with the studly face to win the crown! Haha sounds like you guys had such a great week. Thank you for sharing it with me!! This week was great. Life throws us things that I think we´re not always able to imagine or that we thought could have happened. I have been so thankful for this week and for the will of our Heavenly Father! Many times we are asked to do things or be okay with things that aren´t exactly what we had in mind!
Monday and Tuesday were normal days out in the mission field. We´ve been working with a couple families really closely to help them through some problems that they´ve had while also being able to teach family members and friends about the gospel. Right now in Villa Elvira we have been finding the most success with part member families! They have been saving us and helping us to help the members as well. One family in particular we´ve visited a lot this week. The Family Arroyo is a menos activo family that we´ve found 2 incredible people. Maria y Gonzalo! Maria is a 14 year old girl that has been through a little bit of everything in her life and was kicked out of her house by her mom.. she didn´t want to deal with anymore problems so one day she sent Maria a message that her things were on the steps and that she needed to come and get them and find a new place to live! Just a terrible situation for her, we were able to teach her a couple times. She was really sad to be neglected by her mom and came to be so sincere in her prayers. The first day we invited her to begin praying so that she´d be able to have that "friendship" that we are offered through prayer. After a couple visits she was asking to pray and I loved her prayers. I felt closer to God from just hearing her! Unfortunately her mom this weekend called her and wanted her to come back... we are just praying that her mom can take care of her this time (I guess this isn´t the first time she has been kicked out). Gonzalo is a cousin to these members and has been an active member of an Iglesia Evangélica. We were able to have a great conversation with him, he has talked to missionaries before but never wanting to really be engaged in the conversation so this time we were super grateful that he was willing to open up and to talk a little bit more. Something that I´ve been learning this week is about the purpose of this gospel and the purpose of the message that we share. A lot of the people that we talk to are found without hope and don´t have anything to really look forward to that is good and lasting. I loved Moroni 7 - this week I´ve been trying to help our investigators to have this greater hope in their lives, to be free from worry and free from guilt so that they can live in a better world!
40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
So Wednesday!! Big 20 :) We woke up headed off for a normal day working and it went really well. A couple fechas that we have invited us to visit each with them for a great Peruvian lunch. That morning I woke up pretty sick, or just had a pretty bad stomach ache. The food was super good and it was so nice to be able to spend time with them! The rest of the day went pretty normally. I don´t know if I´ve told you guys, but right now we are living in a 4-man apartment. That night the Elders had bought a cake and surprised me with a lot of singing and a faceful of cake!! It was a great surprise and made the Big day complete!
Thursday we went to district meeting and had to come right back cause my stomach was in shambles! After a couple hours my stomach had swelled up pretty good and with a good stomach pain I was taken to the hospital! After taking some tests and x-rays they found that my intestines had stopped working. President Stapley at that time had come down to La Plata to be with me and help me out! It turned into a very long night and in the end they kept me in the hospital for the night to do some treatments! All ended up fine and I left the next morning without problems, but it turned out being an intersting end to some great birthday festivities! No worries at all, everything went well and I´m doing good and am happy! :)
It was interesting to be in the hospital and to have a minute or two to think about the things that happen to us and how involved our Heavenly Father is in our lives. I don´t necessarily understand why things happen or what things are going to happen, but I learned and know without doubt that whatever happens, God is in it! He does not leave us alone, even for 1 minute of our lives. I know that was with me in the those moments and that each moment and each decision that we take has an Eternal Significance, helping us to grow in our ability to accept what comes and choose to put our faith in Christ. I was grateful to have you all there with me and to have you in my life, I know that it is for a reason! This life is a process of being optimistic and hopeful for the future. The way to progress is accept the Savior's role as our Redeemer and to trust that one day we will be perfected in Him. :)
I thank you all for your love and for being there for me as an example! I hope you have a great week :)
Elder Jolley
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