This Week was awesome

Here is me out with our ward mission leader getting to know our area a lot better and I liked the way my hair looks so thats really why I sent it. Then the next one should help explain the area. Its a gorgeous picture and the two islands in the distance are Manono tai (closer) and Apolima (farther). WE cover the villages inland of those two islands 4 to be exact and then Manono tai as well. so it really is just a massive area.

The computer is struggling today so I might not get to send much out but this is my try. The week was awesome besides two things. 

1: Taro makes me sick now. It hasn't my whole mission and its my favorite thing to eat out here but for the last 2 weeks especially this one I eat it and then have diarhea for 1 day and half. Super lame...

2: The screen on my camera broke internally. I guess it got smooshed in my bag or something but it still takes pictures and still works and about 40% of the screen still shows clear picture so Its useable but ya that was the other dumb part of the week... I think God just wants to make sure I come back to see these people later on in my life rather than just remember them through pictures and journal entries but man thats lame. 

Also this week was pretty spiritually powerful for me. Although I can do al

ot with my language abilities I still am very limited but thats the beauty of the brand new area and me training is that God just wants to show me how much betterthis work is if I truly just rely on him. So all this week every word that comes from my mouth, well most of them have only come out of reliance and trust on the spirit and all the promises that God puts in his scriptures for His missionaries. I'm here to tell the world that they're all true and if Elder Sewell and I don't get to do much "missionary work" in this area then I know that God at least worked miracles within my heart and my companions. The mission is so cool! I recommend it for everyone because they're available to everyone nowadays. Youth and seniors so GO and preach but don't do it your way because God's is was better. 

I love you guys and thanks for all the support.

Love Elder jones

Lalovi and Manono

So a lot has changed Mommy Jones. Elder Afuvai is all the way back in washington and I've got a new companion that I picked up from the airport. THe two pictures on here are with Elder Afuvai the day he left. The one of them has my old house with us two our ZL's and the two Elders that are going to be serving in Tuana`i now because I got transferred to Lalovi. Crazy huh? I know. Our area is huge!!!!!!!! WE cover Lalovie, Satuimalufilufi, Apolima uta, Manono Uta, and Manono tai. Its a total of a 2 wards and a Sunday school thats going to be a branch soon...Its nuts. Plus just reading this you don't even know thta Manono tai is one of those smaller islands inbetween the two big ones of Savaii and Upolu. CRAZY HUH? I KNOW. All is well though we've just been getting familiar with the area. Luckily we have bikes because I would not want to walk all of this day to day. You should look it up on a map... THis area is HUGE!!!! I really do love it so far though. WE have a freat ward mission leader who's been a huge help and the rest of the memebers we've metare great so far!

My new Soa Elder Sewell is from North Dakota but he grew up in Philadelphia. Hes a really cool guy. He worked on, in... an oil field for the last year and 8 months I think it was... Crazy huh? He turns twenty a day after I turn 19 so He's like basically and old man already. ;) He's a good guy thoguh. He's handling all the beautiful messes Samoa has had in store for him so far and I'm super proud of him. He's sure making my job as a trainer pretty easy. Thats pretty much it for the change... 

The week was cool too. Monday through half of Wednesday was in my last area, the other half of monday was spent with Elder fifita and his tongan trainee, and then from late in the night on until now we've been in our new area. So much new and different to experience. The new area is pretty different from the last. I'm still on the main road but not nearly as close to town so theres hardly any commotion on the road all day like in my last area which is nice. Everything is a ton more peaceful and I'm enjoying it so far but its also weird to not have all the sound... Oh yeah!!! The night I got my companion We all went to a hotel and ate at a place called Aggie Grays. It was cool Just six of us where we did a little mini training session with president and the ZL's. We got so spoiled! That place was like the nicest place I've ever been it feels like. It didn't even seem like Samoa anymore. Its a super nice hotel resort thing. Sooo cool! 

Afuvai is all the way on the left.. THe other one took too long to load sooo yeah... sorry.... THis one took like 25 minutes to load. I love ya tons mom and family!!! Take care outthere in Utah and just keep praying for my Soa and I to be able to accomplish thats in store in our new area. I'm always praying for you guys!!!! I love love love ya all!!!!!

Elder Jones

6 months out

This week was pretty fun! We were doing stuff with our district all week long and man that is a blast! Monday we went into another area and played billiards at a members house, TUseday we had our Zone meeting and I got to catch up with Elder Fifita and Elder Murray which was super nice. I really love those two elders. Wednesday we went to a missionary house in Malie tai to clean up there house for the sisters that we got added to our district. That house was filthy when we started and a little dirty when we left. THe sisters complained about it but they should have seen all the junk we pulled out of that house for them! It was a pretty fun time just cleaning the crap out that house with all the district. you would have been amazed at the filth though. we were all a bit worried there was mold in the wood that they built the house with, stupid choice for Samoa, but who knows. Plus I found a sweet necklace while cleaning so i was pretty pumped! On htursday we did something that I can't remember because it feels like ages ago... but Thrusday night the ZL's gave us a call and threw on our district a musical fireside that we did last night in faleula tai. So that means that on Friday everyone came over in the morning and we pieced it all together in a couple hours. Plus that day was already going to be busy due to baptismal interviews for us and our district. My soa was pretty burnt out by all the work but we stayed happy because of all the time with the district. Then Saturday we had our baptism of these two little girls who had lost their membership records and a convert baptism in Faleula tai which no one showed up to. We were all so frustrated!!!! The attendance to the turning point of someones life was literally 8 missionaries, a bishop and 2 other members... So my invitation to you and nayone hwo gets to read this is to go and attend baptisms. It makes or breaks someones conversion into the church!!!!! A baptism should never be an empty meeting that no one really cares about. Conversion, well actually preaching the gospel is the whole purpose of the restoration. to gather israel so I may be a naive missionary but I really don't see much of an excuse not to go to a spiritually powerful 2 hour long meeting where someone steps through the door to the road of salvation. Sorry to go off about that but really it was heartbreaking at that baptism... Anyways after the baptism the ZL's came and met us at the house in Faleula tai and we practiced our songs with them for an hour before we all left for pizza with a super nice(super wealthy) member family from that area. It was awesome! That pizza was super good! Then of course Sunday was awesome. It was just a great time for me during the sacrament because this week was spiritually hard for me. I was getting pounding by temptations and had given in too many times this week so I woke up and needed that renewal of my baptism. I just knew i would feel so pure again and boy did i. It was so cool. Nothing overwhelming or emotional but the difference in how I felt from the time I got up till the end of sacrament meeting in our first ward was a dramatic difference that I won't ever forget. The sacrament is so powerful. Then of course that night we did our musical fireside all about eternal families and I felt super ready because of my Experience in the morning. It went so well! For only the 2 days we had in advance to prepare we flipping killed it and I know at least one person felt something while being there. It was meeting for all the nonmembers in the area and their member friends so it was sweet.So ya thats my week for ya! I loved it a lot.