Fourteen! Woo! Insert Clever Number Pun Here!

Time is a rather fickle flapping falcon. It comes and it goes, building momentum as we bathe within it. Now take ten minutes to think about that. Preferable out of a bus window (best philosophy school EVER!).

Speaking of philosophy, I've come to learn that one of the best ways to let the ideas flow is to scrub a few plates with soap. As we lack dishwashers here, all of the washing is done by hand, which in reality is a beautiful blessing in disguise. In this sudd-soacked pocket of time, one can dream freely, unraveling the mysteries of difficulties and the depths of eternity. And then we have clean dishes, so that's a bonus! :D

The females here are becoming more and more apparent in attaining their ultamate goal. Just a few days ago, a girl shouted after us, "Mi VISA!"
...Well, at least she's honest!

Deluge! We'd another serious of storms hit our area, one of which took the life of my Missionary Daily Planner. WHY CRUEL FATE?! ;D

Oh! Right! We got attacked this week! ...By laughter! (Made you jump.)

Elder Thibault was cooking lunch, while I equalized the time by washing dishes. As I turned to put a plate away, water flew off into the hot oiled pan that Elder Thibault was holding...which apparently makes fire. A freaking benemoth column of heavenly flame burst forth like a culinary gyser of fire, causing our lungs to quickly deflate as their contents beat upon our voice boxes.

...We screamed a little bit. But it wasn't like a noprmal scream! I've no idea why, but we both screamed like two octaves low. Afterward, I laughed hysterically for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

One misconception that I would like to sweep away about missionary service: it is in no way a simple walk in the park. Sacrificing everything for two years of your life (including family, friends, plans, jobs, opportunities, hobbies, school, and essentially yourself) is one of the most challenging things you will ever do in your youth, quite possibly even your entire life (I wouldn't know for certain; I've only come this far down my road). There will be times where you'll feel as though you just want to collapse to your knees and weep until the tears stop flowing. These past fourteen weeks alone, I've been hit from almost every angle, my soul bruised and burned from the bouts with sorrow, discouragement, and anxiety.

A rational person at this point would ask, "Why on earth would you volunteer for something like this?"

The answer is simple, but ultimatly profound: I KNOW IT'S TRUE. And if my sacrifice can bring others to this same knowelege, this same happiness, then I'd be a wicked man to refrain from such. The only reason we can even give such a service in the first place came about because of the Greatest Sacrifice of All. Is this then foolishness to desire to give a sliver of my time and a portion of my pain to the one who gave his entire life and the entirety of his agony so that I might live?

The most fundamental piece of this Church is sacrifice. The irony, however, is that when we give to The Lord, he returns to us One-Hundered-Fold.

Speaking of returns, we'd a miracle strike our chapel this week! Elder Thibault and I have been struggling to get our investigators to church these past several...umm...forevers. Saturday, we mutually decided to turn to a higher power to aid our quest. Thus began the fast!

...AND IT WORKED WONDERS!!! Keep in mind that Dominicans are kind of horrible when it comes to keeping commitments, ESPECIALLY when it comes to coming to church. The most I have ever seen with regards to investagators atending has been two. This Sunday, however, we had TEN investigators show, AND FIVE Less-Active Members attend! FREAKING GLORIOUS! I literally had to use all of my might to refrain from screaming for joy.

The Lord is indeed refining me. When I return to your embraces, I will truly be indefinetly greater than I could have ever aspired to be on my own. (And I'll be Bilingual!)

Peace, Love, Unity, Serenity!

-Elder MK Jones

(Oh, and your homework for this next week is to email something related to Thanksgiving. It's fairly open ended, so go for it!)

:D

Lucky Number 13!

Mark off your calenders, because another week of glory has passed beyond our temporal perspective! I'd a bit of a wacky realization the other day, as I suddenly realized I'm over 1/8th of the way through my mission. ...IT'S WACKY!

I've been a bit of a rebel this past week, doing things I know my mother would never approve of. For example, riding in a car without a seatbelt (as well as riding with seven people in a five seater car [that's Dominican Public Transport for you!]), running across a highway to catch a transport back to Villa Altagracia, and hitchhiking to similarly get back to Villa (this being a seperate situation than the second mentioned). Woo!

But first, A MIRACLE! Last week, we were in a new area, known as "La Cuchilla" (no one seems to know why), in which we've been having huge success. However, the church member who normally gives us a ride was busy that day, so we'd to rely on public transport to get us there and back. However, all public transport ceases at 6PM, so we'd only a pinch of time to our preachy alotment. Like determined Soldiers of God, we got back at 5:50PM...only to be told by a bystander that all of the transports were gone. Stunned, we thanked the man, and began to walk, trying to think of a way to get back home. After a moment, w decided to pray, and put matters in Holier hands. It was not five minutes after we finished that we heard someone shout "Elders!". As we turned, we saw a man walking towards us, who introduced himself as Brother Nobles (in perfect English, no less), and that he's been looking for Missionaries from Villa Altagracia so as to find out what time we have church on Sundays (as where he lives is technically within our Ward boundries, despite it being 30 minutes away). He then gave us a ride back to Villa, and we spoke all the while. He's been a member for 45 years (and counting), picked up English when he lived in the States for a huge chunk of his life, then came back to the Dominican Republic to retire. This actually serves as a double blessing, as if we start up a church Branch out there (and we very well might), we know where to find one member! Haha! Glorious!

The closest thing to a Frecca Story I have: as we were walking to a lesson, a group of three girls walked towards us. As our two parties neared their crossing point, one of the three split from the group to walk towards me, and began doing a robot walk. Yes, you're reading that right. She literally began walking like a robot towards me. ...You know, sometimes, I don't even know... :D

Hitchhiking! Once again, while trying to get out of La Cuchilla (our phone had no service and we couldn't get ahold of our ride), we walked for 30 minutes to no avail, shaking our thumbs at those who passed all the while. After a time, a red semi passed by, we shook our thumbs...and it kept going around the bend. Elder Thibault shook his head, and said, "I didn't think that one would have stopped anyway. As we rounded the corner...it was stopped. :D
The driver gave us a ride back to Villa, and we thanked him magnimoniously for assisting us.

And now, here's a comic to spice up your week!

Peace, Love, Unity, Serenity!

-Elder Jones

Move Over Peter Capaldi, There's a More Important 12 at The Mo!

Ah, that's one thing I miss: being able to make a Doctor Who reference and get at least one grin of comprehension. Entonces!

It's Monday, Monday, gotta write everyone on Monday... 

The land is ours now! Last Tuesday, the other two Elders flew away from Villa Altagracia, leaving 2.5 areas for Elder Thibault and I to juggle. AND IT'S GLORIOUS. We've been teaching so many people! We actually are doing kind of poorly with regards to contacting, as we normally have to move ubber quickly between our appointments! (We're trying to fix the lack of contacting problem, but still!)

Well, I suppose the first place to start is to establish very firmly that "Bible-Bashing" is a weapon that should not be wielded by a Missionary. This past Tuesday (I have to remind myself what the days are called in English), we had an appointment with a fellow, but to our dismay, when we arrived, we learned that he wasn't home. His wife, however, showed interest in our message, so we began to teach her. The lesson was incredibly powerful, and the Spirit was indeed present...up until when the guy we had an appointment with walked in. Almost automatically, he picked up a freaking gigantic stack of his Church's magazines, and initiated the Faith War. He ranted for a while (a loooonng while) about the condition of the spirit after death, and how it becomes as nothing upon it's separation from the body. When he paused for breath, I asked, "So, what is the meaning of life?" He was a bit taken aback, and said that we need to do good things in this life to help others, to which I replied, "But if there's nothing after death, why does it matter? Eventually, we all will die, and if we become nothing, then why does this life matter?" He began to ramble again, and hastily changed the subject.

Here's the thing: debates do not change people. Only the Spirit can ignite that change. From my experiences, debates only set both sides more firmly in their opinion. Now, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a mentally stimulating debate here and there, but with regards to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it's a no-go zone. If you're just trying to prove someone wrong/yourself right, the heart becomes as stone. But when people see that you truly do love and care about them, and that you want them to feel the happiness that you've called your friend for so long...well, that's where the heart is truly touched.

Again, I do not have a Frecca Story! I was not attacked by flirty girls. However! I was attacked by a swarm of Mormon children earlier today. One jumped on my back, the others pulled on my arms, and I was forced to my knees. I hobbled around, making absurd noises and laugh-screaming, and more kids took notice. They just kept pouring and pouring upon me...eventually, I ended up in a fetal position on the floor, with a mountain of niños piled atop me. :D
Little Mormons kind of adore the Elders. We're like superheros. BUT BETTER.

We've an investigator who's been really stuck progression-wise, and she finally confessed to us that she's been really confused by the stuff about the LDS Church she's seen online (DK Anti-Mormon). She then showed us the video, and I had to fight super hard not to laugh. It kept going on and on and on about points that literally had NOTHING to do with what we believe. (Like how apparently we believe that Adam was resurrected to make a baby with Mary, and that's where Jesus comes from. ...Where on earth did you vomit that out of?) We told her to write a list of her questions, and that in our next visit, we would answer all of them out of the scriptures. He then pointed out that if she really wanted to know stuff, she could and should just ask us. We do believe in living "Thou shalt not bear false witness", and would answer any and all of her questions to the best of our abilities.

But then that got me thinking: we are a bunch of barely just Adults, out teaching in a totally different land, and then asking those we teach to ASK GOD if the things we teach are true. Even if I didn't have the Testimony of this Gospel that I do have, the faith that the LDS Church has in a bunch of barely post-adolecents to spread this Gospel AND likewise the faith that God HIMSELF will confirm that what they teach is true would kind of make me wonder if what they're teaching could perhaps indeed be the true Word of God.

To all of you out there going through hard times, I want you to know that God does care. I've heard lately of challenges that a significant amount of you are currently passing through, and really, I just want to take each one of you into my arms, to let you know that all truly will be alright. Well, since I can't do that, I suppose my words will have to be the balm in this instance.

God answers prayers. I can personally testify of this. There've been many instances in my life in which I've felt lost and indeed, quite alone. There have been patches in my life where I've stumbled, and others where I've fallen. Once, in fact, before most of you knew me, I fell into one of the deepest and most bitter pits I've ever dug.

I've heard the cry quite frequently, "why does God let bad things happen to good people?" As one who has passed through darkness, I will tell you rather simply: it is to understand the light. Yes, we will struggle, and at times, we will fall. But it is in these moments of struggle that we become stronger. Indeed, if it were not for the days of difficulty, I would not be who I am. How many of you wonder why I'm so happy? It's because of the challenges I've passed through. So, to clarify a bit: why does God let bad things happen to good people? Because it makes us stronger.

I testify in the name of Him who I serve, that if we turn to Him, we will receive the strength to overcome. I've noted a few friends of mine who have done this same act, called upon God, and indeed received the strength to overcome. You will make it. You are beautiful Sons and Daughters of our Heavenly Father, and you've come too far to back down now. He will aid us through all, if we just trust in Him.

Keep Your Flames Burning Bright!
-Elder Jones,
Master of Inspiration, Encouragement, and Popcorn Making.
(I've been making a lot of Popcorn this past week.)

Insanity Just Got Bumped Up to An 11

Greetings Nerds of all ages! The time has come for you to once again remember that weirdo who left to a foreign country for two years! WOO!!

Alright, there's a twist this time: I've not a single story regarding freaky Dominican Girls. Weird, I know, but there's not such this week. I'm so sorry. :D

Big big changes these next six weeks! The city I'm in, Villa Altagracia, normally consists of two areas, the north and the south, and because of such is shared by two sets of missionaries. This transfer (period of six weeks), the two areas are getting merged into a single baked cookie, of which Elder Thibault and I alone have to devour. In time (hopefully next transfer), two other missionaries will be sent here, the city will be divided again, and it'll be our solemn duty to teach them the ways of Villa Altagracia. ...So, even after I get a new companion, Elder Thibault and I will still be living in the same house. Wack!

And now for a well-baked (and slightly random) story. We often pass by this bakery on our way to a certain part of town. Fortunatly for me, I happen to have a very close relationship with bread, and decided one day to buy a bit. However, as I still wear the Gringo crown, it is at times difficult to fully follow the Spanish soaked conversations, so I occasionally just nod and repeat random words (it works stangely well). Well, I asked for a piece of 25 Peso bread, and she asked me a question that I didn't quite follow. So...I just sort of nodded and said the latter of the two options, not at all knowing what I was buying. ...It was perhaps one of the biggest and most beautiful boulders of bread I've ever seen in my life. Needless to say...well, I rejoiced a bit. :D

Elder Thibault and I have been focusing more on asking Inspired Questions, or rather, following the promptings of the Spirit and saying what the Investigator needs to hear. Such has had beautiful results, as the Spirit has been magnimoniously strong in our lessons, and we've been able to find out what they need to be taught. For example, we were teaching a Less-Active Member of the Church, and after asking an Inspired Question, we learned that the main reason he's not been at Church was because of the lack of support and fellowship he feels from the other Members. Needless to say, we set out to fix such. Miracles all around us!

And Ward Karoake Night! Can't foget that. Elder Thibault and I sang an inspiring ballad of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin (in Spanish, no less). And amigos, a notation for next week! If any of you would like letters from me (it's like the only way I can write replies; I've not a lot of time to email) please reply to this email with your home address. Woot!

Paz!
-Elder Jones