5th P day in Phoenix

Living Water; Tender Mercies


D&C 133:29
"And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living
water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land." (APM
Mission scripture)

This week was by far the best week so far. First off, we taught 15
lessons this week! This isn't a lot of lessons, but it is for us. We
tried so hard to teach and find people to teach. The Lord is blessing
us! None of our teaching appointments fell through, which is almost
unheard of. (I'm aware that I just ended a sentence with a
preposition. Chastise me later!) We didn't have any trouble finding
members to come with us to the lessons either, so that was a blessing!

Perhaps our biggest miracle this week was after our lesson Sunday
night. After our lesson, we had about an hour to kill, so we decided
to visit some people. We both felt impressed to go see Dennis, the guy
who was my first street contact. He seemed really open and promising,
but he never answered the door. We decided to visit anyways. He opened
the door, and we ended up talking to him and his wife/girlfriend for
about 45 minutes. He said that we came by at just the right time, and
that he believes it wasn't a coincidence—neither do we. We have an
appointment with him next Sunday night. He and his wife even said that
they'd be willing to join the Church if it feels right. We didn't even
ask him, he just said it. We look forward to seeing he and his wife's
progression.

On a less spiritual side, this week has been pretty mild! It only hit
100 like once. Yesterday was 80 degrees and it was NICE. There was a
downpour Saturday. It flooded all of the streets so we were stuck
inside from 1 until dinner. The rain was so heavy you couldn't see 10
feet in front of you. Plus, there was 80mph winds. The Palm trees were
almost horizontal. Lots of trees were uprooted. Being from Missouri
and so close to Joplin, I thought it looked like a Spring shower, but
everyone around acted like it was Hurricane Katrina or something haha.
Yeah, I swear the rain and storms are following me—these were the
biggest floods here ever I think. Who knows? The Second Coming may be
nigh. ;)

Well, that's about all of the excitement. P-Day will be on Tuesday
next week because of transfers. I got a haircut today and the lady
said, "Getting all dressed up for a haircut, huh?" I just said, "Well
of course." No worries, I haven't lost my sense of humor. When I say
hello to people on the street or in public and they don't respond, I
just say, "thanks me too" haha. The key is to keep a good attitude
when the people around you don't.

I love you!

Much love,

Elder Jones


another quick email!

SMALL WORLD

So last night we had dinner at a member's home and they asked where I
was from. I said Joplin, MO, and they got excited. They asked if I
knew the Dugdales. I told them that they're in my ward! Apparently
they knew their whole family super well when the Dugdales lived in
Arizona. Please tell Sister Dugdale that I bet the Collins family and
ate dinner with them!! Small world!

Elder Jones

Some things never change!

Kevin also said they closed the stake center next to the temple during the open house and one ward is in their building.  Because of that they moved the computers out of the family history center to use that room so he doesn't have a computer to send us pictures for awhile. Guess we will just get a few selfies!

he sent a picture of him and Elder Jeong and the new Phoenix Temple!!

Phoenix Arizona Temple

Elder Jones and Jeong

4th Pday in Phoenix!

Hey there, my wonderful parents!

This week has been pretty awesome. It's beginning to cool off a bit,
which is nice. However, it's monsoon season (basically like rain every
week for maybe an hour on one day) so it's "super humid" as the locals
say. They will say, "Man! It's like 60% humidity today!" I just laugh.
The highs are topping out only at about 100 degrees, which is better
than the 110 and 115 temperatures it was when I got here. We had
another dust storm the other day, but it wasn't bad at all. We stayed
out and we were fine. OH! And I went to goodwill today and found a
$100 pair of 30x32 Banana Republic slacks. Goodwill price? $9.50. The
pants still had tags on them. Even better, they are washable. I also
found another pair of EXPRESS slacks, 30x32, washable, and they fit me
perfectly. $80 pants for $6.50. The deals at goodwill are amazing.
Elder Jeong said he found a brand new pair of Echo's for like $10.
Crazy. If you can find 30x32 or 29x32 washable dark slacks, I'd
appreciate them a bunch. Dry cleaning is a hassle! Oh,and everyone
loves my white floral tie. And I'm wearing my carpet tie today. Elder
Jeong has a red carpet tie. I'll try and attach a picture of us. :)
In the more spiritual side, we are doing well. I had my first
interview with President Griffin Thursday. He told Elder Jeong and
me, "I like you two. I love all of my missionaries, but I really like
you two. There's just something there and I can feel it." It was
wonderful. He's so awesome. I'm honored to have him as my mission
president. I have my first leading exchange Tuesday night- Wednesday
night. Elder Jeong is going to the Cactus View area with Elder
Syndergaard, and I'm staying here and Elder Buckway is joining me. I'm
so nervous to lead. I don't know the area super well yet, and you know
me. You understand my directional struggles. Luckily, we have two
appointments Wednesday and they're both in the same apartment
complex and fairly close. Phew! Haha. I love Elder Buckway, though. He
just got here from being on medical leave in the Philippines. He
speaks Tougalic. He served there for 3 months and threw out his back.
He's a super cool guy. We're teaching a Hindu guy and he's coming
along well. We are also teaching a family of 5. The dad is from the
Dominican Republic. He's a big black guy. He's SO awesome. His name is
Juan and he used to play in the minor leagues. (Dad, he looks like
Yasiel (sp?) Puig) and the mom is Russian. They love the church and
want to be sealed. Teaching them is so amazing because you can see the
potential they have to be an eternal family. How cool is that?? :)
Anyways, Phoenix is growing on me. It's only 99 right now. Bring out the jacket!

Mission tour is tomorrow, so 6 zones are getting together and Elder
Corbridge of the Seventy is coming down to speak to us. I'm excited.
:)

Laundry and shopping on my own is coming along well. Lots of hot
pockets, apples, and frozen meals for 1! We had spaghetti 2 nights in
a row after not having it the whole time I've been here. Oh well, it
was alright. :) The Lord is helping me! (Side note here Kevin does NOT like spaghetti!  
That is one of the things I told him he had to learn to eat!!)

Another side note. Kevin says he will be in this area for another 7 weeks until his training is done.  
So mail can continue to go to his home there until mid Nov I am thinking.  I will let you know when
it gets close to transfer time.


Much love,

Elder Jones

Elder Jones and Elder Jeong in their "carpet ties"

He does remember what I taught him!  Guess he was listening after all!

3rd pday in Phoenix

Hello, Mom and Dad! Your son is getting a tan! Not Sam, not Charles;
but Kevin! :) It's been hot AND humid this week. We're supposed to get a ton of rain starting  tomorrow through thursday from the hurricane. Apparently there's a
hurricane—I didn't know. Haha.
Every time I tell people I'm from Joplin, MO when they ask they say,
"Oh man, that's where the tornado was..." So I tell them about that.
There was someone in the Moon Mountain ward who served in the Oklahoma
Tulsa Mission and served in Joplin during the tornado. So everyone
here knows about it. His missionary house was destroyed. Funny story,
his name was Elder Jones too.... He's in the YSA ward so I haven't met
him. He heard that the new Elder is from Joplin and his parents say he
wants to meet me. I think he was in Joplin 1st.
This week was pretty slow. We had a great lesson about patriarchal
blessings with our recent convert, James. He's such a great guy. He's
already preparing to get the Melchizedek priesthood. He does family
history and already has tons of names for the temple. We're gonna go
sometime around The beginning of October. James is keeping me going
through the slow week. No one answers when we go visit them, everyone
cancels appointments, no one wants to get baptized. The Lord is
testing my patience, but like Nephi, I know The Lord gives no commands
to His children save he shall prepare a way that we can accomplish it.
The guy I street contacted hasn't answered the door yet. I'm not
giving up! Haha. We biked 28 miles Saturday. It was 108 degrees and
humid. It was insane. I drank SO Much water.
Hahahahahaha that guy who was excommunicated......let's just say he's
not meeting with us anymore. He got super mad when we brought a member
of the bishopric to his lesson (which we have to with excommunicated
members) and he blamed us for his not coming back — we didn't feel bad
at all. He was acting like a baby. He'll come back when he's truly
ready.

I got everyone's gifts. I love them. It was Sister Simon's birthday on
the 14th too! She turned 81 and took Elder Jeong and me out to lunch
to a FANTASTIC Mexican restaurant names Mackayo's. It puts Del Rio to
shame.

Tonight to tomorrow night is my first exchange. I'm going South to the
Cactus View ward to spend the day with our district leader, Elder
Syndegaard. He's awesome. I am gonna learn so much from him! Wish me
luck! And yeah, the swimming pool is really nice :( haha.  (TOO bad he can't swim in it!)  We run about
1 mile a day. I hate it. I'm learning to love it. Slowly but surely.

oh! Can you send my drumlins jacket? Apparently it's gonna start
getting chilly in the mornings. Thanks :) I got the big package, but
not the LDS.org one yet. And thanks for the new shirt—I love it.
Wrinkle free, no iron! Just how I like it!

Have a good one. I love you so much, send my love to my siblings and
Grandma. :) I'll be praying for your surgery, Mom.

Much love,

Elder Jones

2nd P Day in AZ

This was his first note of the day, but he wrote more later.  See Below:

Just got back from the store and the dry cleaner. We gave the guy our
clothes and he said that it was free. Instead of paying $10, he is
doing our cleaning for free. How nice is that? He isn't LDS either! I
got a new helmet and water bottle at the store. Now I'll look good! I
used my walmart gift cards for those. Still haven't used my debit
card. Idk when I'll be getting my bike. The zone leaders said that
someone who went home left his bike, so I might get that one. I love
sister Simon's bike too. I will probably ride it until I leave this
area haha. ;) I got Reese's puffs at the store. Elder Jeong cooks
almost every meal so he thinks it's weird that I love sandwiches and
cereal. Hahaha! We got like 4 inches of rain last night. They
cancelled school here for the rain. I swear, only in Arizona. Haha!
I'll send another email soon. Love ya!

Elder Jones

Hey, Mom and Dad! Greetings from Arizona! This has been a very eventful week.....well, kinda....more eventful than last week. Mom wants to know my daily schedule, so here ya go:

6:30-8:00AM-- Wake up, run (yeah, I know. RUN...), shower, breakfast, get dressed

8:00-9:00AM-- Personal Study

9:00-11:00AM-- Companion Study

11:00AM-1:00PM-- Proselyting (teach/find/tract)

1:00-2:00PM-- Lunch

2:00-3:00-- Online proselyting (I clean out my Facebook at the moment)

3:00-5:00-- Proselyte

5:00-6:00-- Dinner (At home or at a member's home)

6:00-9:00-- Proselyte

9:00-9:45-- Daily planning for the next day

9:45-10:30-- Prepare for bed

10:30PM-- Lights OUT!

Well, that's missionary life. We fasted on Sunday for a new investigator, and 5 minutes before we broke the fast for dinner, we got a call. It was a guy who was excommunicated but desperately needs the Church back in his life. He said, "I'm gonna be one of those guys who all the missionaries dream of. I'm willing to do anything, no matter how long it takes, to come back." We have 3 appointments with him next week....wow. The Lord loves His children, and this guy is on the right path. Maybe he'll be my first baptism! ;)

Last night was super rainy....I guess it rained about 4 inches and everything flooded. the interstate was closed, and 4 freeways around here were closed. They even cancelled school for the kids here......hahaha. Cancel for rain? Only in Arizona. I AM SO EXCITED to hear about Webb and VT. I'm super super happy about that. Oh, and a guy from church said the Patriots lost to the Dolphins? What the heck? Oh well. 

I am getting tan....I haven't burned yet despite the sunny days and 110 degree heat. Maybe all the sweat blocks the sun...haha. 

Well, we have a full week next week. Lots of teaching appointments. We were riding to an appointment and we see a guy walking in the distance. Elder Jeong says, "Elder Jones, talk to that guy." Hesitantly, I agreed. So we ride up beside him and I say, "Hey! We're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Can we leave you with a card? Go to the website on the card and it will tell you a lot of what we believe." He graciously took it and we talked a little. I asked if we could come by and share a message or say a prayer sometime and he said yes, TONIGHT! So we're stopping by tonight at 7! My first street contact set up an appointment! Elder Jeong was kinda mad I didn't get rejected my first time, but he's still happy for me. Hahaha! 

Well, here's some pictures. I've been trying his weird Korean foods....I had kimchi and seaweed, rice, and some Korean beef. It's okay, but I prefer my PB&J's and PB&B's and green bean sandwiches. ;)

WE GOT CAUGHT IN A DUST STORM. We took cover in an investigator's house for an hour and the Zone Leaders picked us up and threw our bikes in their truck. When we saw it, it was too late. We were 7 miles from home. hahahaha. Attached is a picture of it,. Sorry that two pictures are sideways.....

I love you and miss you both. Keep praying for me. :) I'll send the pictures in a new email. not enough space.

Much love,

Elder K. Jones

They are TALL!

dust storm they got caught in

first P day in AZ

Mom and Dad, 

Okay! I'm here! 

To clear a few things up: As of now, we don't have to buy the iPads. That may change, but I'll give you warning if it does. We will be buying my bike (most likely) sometime this week. As you can imagine, we're pretty dang busy! Haha. I included the address and mail info in my last email. Again, I'm sorry that it didn't send; I was allowed to email you Tuesday night, but it didn't send I guess. I went grocery shopping and bought this week's food and I only spent $21. Oh yeah, missionary life is fun.

My companion, Elder Jeong, knows how I feel in the sense that he is small! He is Korean, and wears a 14 1/2 shirt and a 28 waist pant!! Haha. He cooks for every meal, and I just eat a sandwich or something. Not much has changed. However, I do eat salad with every meal!!! Plus I probably drink about a gallon of water a day. 

It's a state law in Arizona that if someone knocks on your door and asks for water, you have to give it to them. That's a plus! :)

As far as the missionary side goes, we are having a slow week. We don't have any investigators right now, which is kinda sad. We are still trying super hard, though. Right before I got here, however, they had a baptism! His name is James Mike, and he's truly a spiritual giant. He already has the priesthood, he blessed the sacrament this Sunday, and he's making preparations to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. He's awesome. 

All of the missionaries in the Arizona Phoenix Mission get to be in the cultural celebration for the new temple! I can't wait! :) 

The temperature usually tops out at about 105-111 degrees. No sunburns yet, though! Sunscreen is the best!!! Put some mint Mentos in my birthday package. I ate a ton of them at the MTC and now I miss them...haha. 

Living with a member is pretty cool. We get a nice washer and dryer and she buys the soap! :)

I don't know President or Sister Griffin's email. We email them through the missionary portal....sorry. We don't have much time to eat at restaurants, so I'll let you know if I need/want a giftcard. 

We're covering two wards, Shaw Butte (Byewt) and Moon Mountain, so that means like seven hours of church every Sunday  Hahahaha.

Love and miss you both. Keep praying for me. Only about a month until I find out why people live in Arizona. In January it's about 70 every day. ;)

Much love,

Elder K. Jones

Elder Jeong and Elder Jones

Elder Jones

 

​OH! And here's the new Phoenix temple! It's set to open at the end of October!
​

He arrived in AZ

Hey family! I made it to my first area. I'm in North Phoenix. My
trainer is Elder Jeong (pronounced Jung) and he's from Korea! He's a
stud and I already love him. My P day is on Mondays, but I am allowed
to send you an email here. We are an ALL biking area. Last night was
my first experience on the bike! We rode about 10 miles. We live with
a widowed woman, with special permission from the mission pres. She
has had missionaries for 4 years now.
I didn't have to purchase my iPad, but I might soon. We will get my
bike next week; I'm using Sister Simon's now. Send packages to the
mission office (the address you sent the other one) in case of a
transfer. If it's an emergency, my address is

810 W Caribbean Ln
Phoenix, AZ 85023

Letters far from transfers can be sent there for now.

It's super hot but it's okay. Hahaha! I love you all.

Elder K. Jones

You can send letters and packages to this address until Oct 1st.  Then we will see if he is transfered