Elder Kevin Jones: Biking in the Rain 15th P Day in Peoria, 38th P Day in Phoenix Mission

Biking in the Rain 15th P Day in Peoria, 38th P Day in Phoenix Mission

Hello, everyone! We had a great week here in Peoria! Apparently this
is the most rain we've had in Arizona I'm May for a long time. Well,
here was my week!

Monday: P-day! We did the normal routine then we went to the stake
center and played some sports with other missionaries. I then saw
three Elders playing the card game ERS and I joined in and dominated.
Haha! Then game went 50 minutes and I emerged victorious. We then had
a lesson with Alberto. Well—we were planning on having one. We showed
up at Bishop Crump's home and waited for Alberto to come. He didn't
show up. We learned later that night that his truck broke down in
Prescott so he had no way to get there. He's in Mexico this week, so
we probably won't be able to meet with him for a little while. We
talked to Bishop Crump about the Work in the ward instead.
Temp: 93°F

Tuesday: We biked around all day. Not too much luck, sadly. My back
and chest were hurting pretty bad. I'm not sure why but it put me out
for a little while. We had a lesson with the Reese family! The mother
and daughter are recent converts and are active, but the dad isn't
active. He has expressed his desire to become active again and to
advance in the priesthood. He feels it will help his family and
himself. We are teaching their family the missionary lessons weekly.
They set their goals toward the temple—I'm honored to be a part of
such a great goal. Brother Reese prayed at the end of the lesson and
it was one of the most powerful events that have happened during my
mission. Anyone who was there would have felt the Spirit as we did.
Temp: 92°F

Wednesday: We went and helped at the thrift store during the daytime.
We sorted through and hung up lots of pants, ties, and pajamas. My
companion for the service was Elder Bunn, the new zone leader. He's a
pretty cool guy. We had dinner with the Moore family and we had super
good fettuccine alfredo. After dinner we went out with a member to
visit some people. No one answered until we tried a phone referral we
got from Church headquarters. We had his name, phone number, address,
AND email address. We knocked on his door and seemed like he had never
even heard of us. He said that wasn't his name, but it was totally
him. Dude, if you hate us so much why did you request missionaries to
bring you a Book of Mormon? Haha. Oh well. It was a pretty funny
experience.
Temp: 90°F

Thursday: Weekly Planning. We took a little break from planning and
played some ERS. I was beating Elder Bradshaw 15 games to 0. He
finally beat me and was so happy. I think the record now is like 20-2
or something. Yes, Jessica, Elder Bradshaw has beaten me more than
you! ;) We didn't have a dinner appointment, so we ate at Culver's for
dinner. My craving was satisfied. Leah's lesson had to reschedule so
we went and knocked on Dion's door. He was there, and he saw it was us
and looked through the screen door and said, "OH, HEY FELLAS!...UH, IM
GETTIN IN THE SHOWER RIGHT NOW BUT UH.....I GOT A PHONE! MY NUMBER
IS....UH....OH, JUST COME IN!" Haha so we went in and he was in his
underwear. He was so embarrassed but we assured him it was okay. He
gave us his cell phone number, told us that we'll meet next week, and
said he's going to keep Sunday open so he can come to church. It was a
HILARIOUS experience. He's a good guy. As we were leaving, Elder
Bradshaw saw that he had a thorn in his tread. He took out his knife
and pryed it out. We heard a pfffffff...... It punctured his tube and
he had a flat tire. We were about 3 miles from home, so Brother Pottle
came and rescued us. It was a pretty crazy night haha.
Temp: 82°F (WINDY.)

Friday: We had a great district meeting. President Juchau (pronounced:
"Jew shaw") came to the meeting and led a very great discussion about
building bridges with members rather than walls. After the meeting he
drove us to the bike shop to get Elder Bradshaw a new tube. We had
dinner with the Hunsakers. He tried to stuff us with pizza. He's
notorious for insisting that the Elders eat a ton. We held our ground
pretty well! After dinner we had a lesson with Chris. We answered some
more of her questions. It was raining when we left, so we biked home
in the rain. We were pretty dang soaked. Haha.
Temp: 70°F (rainy)

Saturday: We went to Chris's house to help her and her parents move
pictures, clean/repair ceiling fans, and to change some vent filters.
It was pretty fun. Elder Bradshaw loves working on ladders so I left
that part to him. Haha! They fed us some fried chicken and strawberry
shortcake after we finished working. Thank goodness we didn't have a
dinner appointment; we were stuffed! We had a great lesson with
Britney at the church building. We taught about missionary work, and
she told us of some experiences she's been having at work where she's
shared the gospel! She encourages all of her coworkers to pray. They
see the light in her eyes. It's hard to miss.
Oh—Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on the Alger's door and we opened ours.
They were pretty nice. They gave us a Watchtower thing. Pretty funny
experience.
Temp: 73°F (nice)

Sunday: Church...after church we taught Chris, we finally got into the
Restoration. We almost finished it! She made cookies, and I cuddled
with her dog. I'll attach pictures. :)

Arizona is awesome. I'm loving it here and I'm loving the experiences
that I'm having! I've been reading the Book of Mormon in Alma
recently. I just finished Alma 32. I encourage all of you to read it
or reread that chapter. It is always inspiring.
I love you all and appreciate all of the prayers and support. I can feel it.

Much love,

Elder Jones
Oakwood / Centennial Wards
Arizona Phoenix Mission