9.4.12 email

Hey all,

How's it going? Had a sweet week and a good end to my last transfer in Warren.

I just got moved to Tecumseh! Don't ask me where it is, ha! I just know it is the bottom left hand corner of the mission and that I'm in the country and I'm loving it :) My new address will be at the bottom of this e-mail! {contact Taffi if you want it!}

This last week on Saturday we had a baptism, his name is Frank and he's great! Worked with him for my whole time over in Warren. the ward has really reached out to him and he is gonna be a great addition to the ward! I am now with Elder Jackson, I served around him back when I was in Bloomfield so we already kind of know each other! He is from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. He's pretty chill and an amazing cellist (someone who plays the cello).

Well I guess that's about it, hope you all have a great week!

~ Elder Jones

8.13.12 email

Hey all,

What's up! Been a sweet week!

On Wednesday and Friday we had our specialized training and that was awesome, there was a lot of great things that were covered and it was sweet to see the eyes light up in the younger missionaries' eyes when some of the older missionaries told stories of Detroit as we covered, "How to teach in the city". Kind of brought them to a realization of what goes on and how it's different. Unless you've been there and taught and interacted with the people, you wouldn't understand or believe it.

Had a great chance to go on an exchange with another elder in the North Shores ward and we rocked out 9 lessons in one day! It was awesome, we just followed prompting after prompting and it just flowed. Just showed me that it is possible to do what needs done as long as I am doing what is right!

This next week is gonna be legit too, lots of set appointments and meeting some new people! Hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jonesie

7.30.12 email

Hey there!!

This last week was awesome! We blew it up with 26 lessons and a man named Frank is on date for August 24th! I'm stoked for him! We also were able to help a family set a date to go and be sealed together in the Temple on September 24th! A lot of sweet things are happening!

We were on bike a lot this last week, well actually the whole week, haha, because our car was in the shop getting the door dent fixed that our lovely neighbor put into it. So we did some nice bike riding down in Detroit, got to show Elder Stark what was up with Detroit tracting, it's a lot different from tracting up in suburbia!

Welp, I'm sorry but my time on the comp is up! Hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jonesie

7.23.12 email

Hey there,

This week was alright!

Got the transfer call and I'm staying, along with Elder Stark, here in Warren for another 6 weeks guaranteed. Ended up being sick for like 3 days (something along the lines of stomach) but I'm back on top now!

We had a GREAT finish for the week, got 5 referrals in a matter of a half hour! Already contacted 3 of them and they are super ready to learn! This week is gonna be great.

We were in Sacrament meeting and the last speaker said something that touched me so I figured I'd share it with you. He said, "The purpose in this life is to have a purpose." So I'm gonna add to that by asking, do you have a purpose, and do you know what it is? Just something to ponder :)

Have a good week!!

~ Elder Jones

7.16.12 email

Hey all,

This week was sweet! We hit all of our goals this week except for 1! Hit over 25 lessons so it was sweet!

Last week was pretty busy too, but it's all good. This week is gonna be hard, but I'm looking forward to it! The car is gonna be in the shop from Tuesday till Friday, so we'll be on bikes! But the good part of this week is gonna be the Tigers vs. Angels game on Thursday!! Good finish to a good transfer!

So I have been called upon to speak at a funeral of a member that I have met once, that'll be on Tuesday. I've already prepared my talk, but I hope and pray that the Spirit will guide me on what I can say to help the family!

Hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

7.2.12 email

Hey all,

This week was hot! We were on bikes all week because some other missionaries didn't quite plan the best way, so we got to go ride the bikes out in 100 degree weather! Haha way fun! Lost some weight, so that was the nice part!

We stayed pretty busy, bouncing around from one corner of the area to another. Oh! and we had a random old investigator call up and say he wanted to be baptized!!! It was an awesome experience! One of those moments where you just kind of sit back, look up and say, "thanks"!

This week we're gonna stay busy, any holiday is hectic, trying to see people in between parties, but we'll figure it out!

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July and keep in mind the reason why we're celebrating!

~ Elder Jones

6.25.12 email

Hey all, whaddup! This last week was good, pretty long but it was fun! Short on miles, so we were on bikes all week! It's a wonderful opportunity to stop and chat with people! So we got 11 potentials and 3 new investigators! It was sweet! Got to talk with some interesting people too... talked with this one guy, I think is name was Cameron or something like that, he honestly, 100% believe that he is 1/4 Human, 1/4 Demon, 1/4 Demon Slayer and 1/4 Roman God.... he was pretty sweet. We'll see where he goes! Warren is an awesome area! We have Detroit in it so that makes it Legit with a capital L! haha I love that place so much :) Elder stark is awesome, he's like a work horse, just plows through everything! Can't wait to go tackle this week too! ~ Elder Jones

6.18.12 email

Hey all,

Hope you had a good week like we did! Found 4 new investigators and had the chance to meet a lot of people at church!

Transfers is transfers, nothing new there, ha!

Um.... not much I can think about to report, I don't even know what you all wanna hear from me about the week! Maybe some feedback would help, haha.

Hope you have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

6.12.12 email

Hey all what up,

So I am now in Warren. Just a little more south and east of where I was in Bloomfield. My new companion’s name is Elder Stark, he’s from Auburn, Alabama and he turns 20 in 8 days. He seem pretty cool - I'm excited for this transfer!

If y'all wanna write my new address is… {message Taffi for the new address!} :)

Or you can always send it to the mission office and they’ll get whatever you lovely people would like to send to me, to me!

Haha that addy again is…

33505 State St. Ste. 101
Farmington, MI 48335

So yeah! Transfers were fun, was kinda warm today so that made it fun moving all the stuff from one car to another.

Hope you all have a good week!

 ~ Elder Jones

6.11.12 email

Hey all. Guess what! I'm getting transferred again.

So transfers are tomorrow, I should e-mail tomorrow and let y'all know where I'm at.

This last week was good, was sick quite a bit but it was good, gave me a chance to study some more.

Hope y'all have a good day and a sweet week!

~ Elder Jones

6.4.11 email

Heya,

This week was good, had zone conference so we played catch up for most of the week but we managed to clean up and felt good about it.

This next week will be good, have some sweet plans to pump out the best week 6 ever!

Hope y'all have a good week!

 ~ Elder Jones

5.30.12 email

Hey all, whaddup!

Sorry no e-mail for the last couple days, Monday was a holiday and then on Tuesday we had zone conference!

This last week was good, got to talk to a lot of sweet people so we'll see if anything comes of it! Memorial Day was alright, had our preparation day and then went to a barby-Q! The steak was great! Then after that we went and played exercise ball volleyball with the YSA after we shared our message. So it was a good day, all-in-all.

It got hot early this week, not looking forward to the 'super'-summer we're supposed to have, but we'll see how it goes!

Well, hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

5.21.12 email

Hey all, what's up!

This week was sweet, we have two souls on baptismal date which is sweet, they will be the first in over a whole year! They're solid and ready to go!

This week we were able to talk to a lot of sweet people too, it wasn't like it usually was. It was just easy conversation and everything just flowed. Goes to show that the Lord will provide in His own way!

Hope you all have a sweet week!

Elder Jones

5.14.12 email

Hey all. This last week was aight! Received a lot of referrals which was sweet, they'll definitely turn into something more! Not quite sure what all to say, haha - got to talk with family yesterday, so that was sweet, weird to hear everyone's voice but it was still nice! Guess that's all.... hope you all had a happy mother's day! ~ Elder Jones

5.7.12 email

This is actually Elder Jones' mom - he sent me a short email this morning letting me know he was having computer issues, and asked me to send out his email for him. :)

He had a great week and wanted to share a quick story - "We had a lesson Saturday night with our investigator Bro. F. He's 81 years old and legit! The sisters found him in Feb. of 2010 and he's been taught ever since. But we had a lesson with him and our ward mission leaders, and at the end we had to get going and it was time for a prayer. Well, over all this time no missionaries have been able to get him to pray. He says he prays at night, and I believe him, but we never got him to pray aloud. Every time you'd ask if we can leave with a prayer, he always picked one of us and would never say it, he always said "maybe next time". Well an idea popped into my head, and I was like are you sure? and it was like ya! so I did it. I asked him what do we do at the end of a lesson/meeting, and he said we pray. Then right after that I said, thanks for volunteering and I put my hands together and put my head down. The others there did what I did and we sat there in silence for a few seconds and he was like 'I haven't prayed vocally in over 30 years' then with out looking up I just quietly said, 'Brother, you're with friends.' Then right after that he offered one of the most beautiful, open and honest prayers I've heard any investigator say. Then he said we might see him show up at church, but probably not till next week, because he said he needed his suit tailored. Then the next day he walked right in! First words out of his mouth were 'Elder, I haven't wore a tie in over 20 years' haha it was the best! But here's the best part. We overheard him talk to bishop right after sacrament, and he told the bishop he was going to be baptized in the next couple of weeks! It was awesome!"

Keep him and his companion, Elder Hunt, in your prayers, and pray for Brother F to get baptized!

4.30.12 email

Hey, what up doe's! This last week was good, got a lot done and had some sweet experiences with Elder Mitton. Oh, but... I'm getting a new companion again. Haha yup! Elder Mitton is getting transferred and I get a new comp on Tuesday morning! sooooo... yeah! This next week will be good, we have a couple people on date for baptism coming up in a bit, so I'm looking forward to that. How are you guys doin'? What's new!? Hope y'all have a good week! ~ Elder Jones

4.24.12 email

Hey all!

This last week was good! Been busy but it's all good!

Got a new companion, I'm now with Elder Mitton, he's from Pocatello. He's pretty cool, hard worker which is a plus!

We don't have hardly any miles for the car and so we'll be on bikes all week. I'm stoked! The area is huge, so it'll be rough, but I know the Lord will bless us and I'll have fun!

Hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

PS - we went to a YSA activity last week - the theme was "Recess!" It was awesome!
 

4.16.12 email

Hey!

This week was sweet! We were able to meet with most of our investigators, and had a chance to hear Brad Wilcox give an adult fireside! He's in the General Sunday School Presidency, I think. It was about "the infinite Atonement", learned lots!

Church is way long for us here, haha - we have a guaranteed 6 1/2 hours of church because of the two units we cover, and then you throw ward and branch council on top of that, plus other Y.S.A. events and correlation - we be a church goin' people! Haha - but I'm loving every minute of it!

This week is going to be sweet, too, because we have interviews with President Holmes, and as of right now, we have 10 lessons already set! Gonna be sweet!

Hope you all have a good week! :)

~ Elder Jones

4.9.12 email

Hey all. This week was good!

Kinda sketchy with seeing everyone, but we were able to see some of our investigators, and we got to set up a lot for this upcoming week. Looking forward to it!

We're also going to a Tigers game Thursday -- that will be pretty sweet!

Hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

4.6.12 letter

{Finally got a paper letter from our Elder!}

3/31/12

Family,

Hey! Figured I would take a couple minutes and finally get a piece of paper in the mail to you. So here ya go! :)

Everything is going good; this area is sweet! I'm loving every moment of it. I'll be honest, I was a little irritated when I was taken out of Livonia, but the second I heard & saw my name up on the board under Bloomfield, I had this peace come over me and I just had this thought, 'This is it, you're called here now, so go and work.'

Covering both the Bloomfield Hills family ward and the Young Single Adult Branch is fun; 6 1/2 hours (at a minimum) of church on Sunday is awesome. We're doing a lot; it's a good thing I have my planner, or else I'd be lost!

So, how is Spring treating everyone? Anything new or exciting that doesn't get to me by email? Just curious! :)

Well, hey, I'll be calling home on the 13th of May. Can you let Todd & Corine know? I'm not sure what time I'll be calling, but I will be!

Speaking of that... please don't talk about coming home, how many days I have left or anything. I don't wanna think about it, k? :) I wanna stay focused.... I don't wanna come home! Sounds bad on your side, but if you could see & feel what I (or all other missionaries) do, you'd understand. :) Brett will find out soon enough! :) Hope you all understand and are willing to submit. ;)

Well, hey, I gotta bounce. Looking at the mailbox for ANYTHING. :D :D :D Love you ALL!!!!

Elder 'Nye-Nye' Jones 11-13

D & C 101:36... "Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is FULL." Don't worry about a thing, for your joy will be full as long as you continually come unto Christ. Love you!

fun video

So, Elder Jones is now in the same ward with one of my good friends (the same ones that used to pick him up to go grocery shopping a few months ago). Today she had him and his new companion, Elder Shill, over for lunch, then Elder Jones did a cool trick, while her hubby filmed it - this is how she prefaced the video she sent me: "Before the video, my son backed out once, but Elder Jones asked him to have faith and he promised he would not let him burn. Mason got a little scared as the fire got closer but we held him to his faith. Elder Jones went on to explain that just as the heat started really getting hot on his hand, the paper lifted just as the Lord lifts our burdens after we have proven our faith. This was after we fed him chicken fried steak and gravy, mashed potatoes, bacon green beans, and buttermilk pie. We like to fatten our elders up! LOL" Thanks for sharing this, Vina!!! :D



She also sent a cell phone pic:

4.2.12 email

Hey all!

This week was good, lots of meetings... LOTS of meetings but we still had a positive upbeat week and managed to have some great lessons! General Conference was awesome though! Definitely the highlight of the week and transfer! :) Not too much to really say other than that! haha.

This next week will be good, will be able to apply different things I learned at both zone conferences and general conference.

Well... hope ya'll have a good week!

Elder Jones

3.20.12 email

Hey all! Hope you had a good week!

Been crazy for me here in Michigan. Sorry I didn’t e-mail yesterday, I got the transfer call Saturday night and yesterday I figured it would be easier just to e-mail you and give you my new address along with it.

It is: {let Taffi know if you'd like the new address}

But this last week was good. Stayed really busy with the Gladys Knight referrals and other people we were teaching. This week is going to be way good! I’m now in the Bloomfield Hills ward and the Singles branch, we cover both. Can't remember the exact names right now but it's all good. We have a busy week ahead and I’m totally ready to take it on!

Oh! The Michigan Detroit Temple is also in our area, it actually shares the parking lot to the Bloomfield Hills stake center which happens to be our church building. So that’s pretty sweet, will be able to see the temple darn near every day for at LEAST the next 6 week! Haha!

Well I gotta run, hope you have a good day!

~ Elder Jones

3.12.12 email

Hey there...

We were able to attend the Gladys Knight fireside(s)! The firesides were AMAZING, really powerful and bold with telling people what's going on with the church.

Gladys's husband was there, he said "We are not here to convince you that this is the true church. We are here to inform you of that fact. It is now up to you what you do with that information." It was just really cool!

Had an amazing week besides that. Got to see Dad which was awesome! Then just was busy with lots of different appointments.

This next week is going to be crazy! Lots of people are now a lot more interested in learning more, so we will have a lot of referrals! Gonna be sweet!

Hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

3.5.12 email

Hey all whaddup!

This last week was good. Full of miracles, and they all came from lots of finding (tracting) and they are all super prepared! I'm excited to go teach them and see where they progress to!

This next week will be good too, lots of teaching appointments set up and many more to come.

The Gladys Knight firesides are this weekend too! We are privileged to be able to go to two of the firesides! Taking some people who are really open to the spirit and ready to learn! That's the best kind of people! haha :)

Well, I gotta run. Hope you all have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

2.27.12 email

Hey all, what up! How's it going?

This last week was good, been enjoying a good snow flurry here and there, keeps us on our toes for sure! But it warmed up today and that always nice for a prep-day!
This next week is gonna be good, got our zone conference coming up along with some sweet set-lessons, looking forward to it!

Hope you all have a good week!

-Elder Jones

2.21.12 email

Hey all!

Hope you all had a fantastic week! We did! The weather was nice for most of the week and we didn't really have too many issues with meeting with people! It's been awesome! People were just so willing to see us, it was awesome!

This next week is gonna be good too, already got some stuff lined up and I'm looking forward to it!

Oh, hey - we're getting a new car today. The one we have is way old (for the mission, at least) and so later on today we are gonna go pick up a new-ish Chevy Cruze. I'd be much more happy if it was a Ford, but I'm grateful we have a car : )

Think that's about it!

Have a good week!

~ Elder Jones

2.14.12 email

Hey all! How’s it going!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Haha that’s so weird! On this day last year I was only 2 days away from walking into the M.T.C.! Whoa! Actually, a year ago on this day I was set apart as a missionary!

I'm doing good, been a hectic week this last week but it was good. Stayed really busy, which was nice but the ice is killing me! Can’t do the speed limit to get anywhere on time! Hahaha, but it's all good... I'm not driving, Elder Kirkman is!
Been snowing off and on for a bit, but the road workers are pretty good about getting it all cleared.

So… in two days I hit my half-way mark! It's been a long and wonderful journey to be able to travel on, I’m lovin’ every minute of it :) I'm not even quite sure how else to describe what it feels like.

Gotta bounce, love y’all.

~ E. Jones

2.6.12 extra

hey you should throw this up on da blog!



also, I'm not gonna do the weekly report today, I'll do it tomorrow when I bring my new companion tomorrow to e-mail his family :). had a good week though!

1.30.12 email

Hey all.

This week was sweet, got to see a lot of progress, not only in the new people we’re teaching but also in the members of the church that we are privileged to work with. It's an awesome adventure!

Winter has definitely hit here! FINALLY! Hahaha! But it's all good, I'm staying pretty warm.

This next upcoming week is gonna be busy! E. Hoffman is getting ready to go home and everyone wants him over! Not looking forward to playing the role of time keeper! But it’ll be fun and a good experience.

Gotta go! Think we’re going to go to Greenfield Village! Look it up, it's sweet! :)

Con mucho amor,
e. Jones

1.23.12 email

Hey all.

This last week was sweet! Lots of snow! Had fun doing some shoveling service tracting! Definitely a good way to get people to talk to you! Rained all last night and took the snow away, but it was fun while it lasted.

I got introduced to a lot of the members of the church here in the Livonia ward, been pretty fun. The members are way stoked to do missionary work and are excited to make their own Mormon.org profile! It's an amazing proslyting tool!

Well I gotta run, doing a district activity today of volleyball and ultimate frisby! Should be way fun!

Much love,

- Elder Jones

letter to the MOFia 1.21.12

{For those of you who don't know, the MOFia is a group of LDS Moms that hang out online. (MOF stands for My Online Friends.) In October of 2010, one of my favorite MOFia members surprised Elder Jones and I by going behind our backs & passing the collection hat, as it were, and presented us with a check for about a quarter of the money we needed for his mission. I think I can safely say that if it weren't for the MOFia, Elder Jones would not have been able to go on his mission when he did. We love the MOFia!}

1/16/12

MOFia Family,

What up, doe-ettes! Hey there! I wanna say sorry for not writing you in so long! But, here I am now!

Today I've been out for exactly 11 months. Feels like only 4 or 5 to me. And you know what? There hasn't been one day thus far that I haven't thought of you all. "Dat be dat truff!" (A little Ebonics for ya!) I really am eternally grateful to all of you for what you have done for me and my family. I know the Lord blesses those who help missionaries, because He's kept me from a lot, so there is definitely a buffer!

As you all know by now, I've been transferred and am now outta the D. Not too far away, but far enough to feel uncomfortable around all the white people! There is a night and day difference in how people treat you - I'm going to miss that about Detroit, being able to talk to everyone! Here in Livonia / Westland / Redford / Garden City, it's a bit different - you get a lot of doors slammed in your face; but hey, it's all for the experience, right?

But I really am loving it here in the Livonia South area. We have a constant good pressure to always do better; the APs and the Mission President are in the ward, too, so we are always subject to a 'stop by'. This ward is amazing - they are on fire with missionary work, it's sweeeeet!

A special shout out and thanks to Monty and Vina L. for all of their support, help and wonderful car rides to and from the grocery store. And especially for the birthday cake! It was wonderful! The Spirit is wonderful around them!

Well, MOFia, I hate to cut this short, but my eyes are a little heavy and we got a long, hopefully way fun day ahead, so I'm going to try and catch a li'l snooze.

Stay fresh and stay cheezin!

Love you all.

Elder Jones

{Mom brag}

{Elder Jones also forwarded this email to me, with this note attached: "Sister G. wanted me to send this to you." Awwww.}

We were so excited to have Elder Hoffman and Elder Jones in our home last night. They bring such a great spirit and are truly making such a difference in the lives of so many people! I thought you would also be very pleased to know that in addition to being very fun and understanding of the chaos in our home (we were babysitting two kids for another couple in the ward and had seven kids under the age of eight at the dinner!) they also taught a wonderful lesson and bore very powerful testimony of the need to share the gospel with those around us. They bring such a beautiful spirit to our home and to the ward. You should be so proud! :)

Also, you have clearly done something right. We sent the elders home with the left overs from the roast dinner and they not only brought the Tupperware back to us CLEAN at church the very next morning, they also had thank you notes not only for Andrew and I but also one for each of our children with pictures and such. The kids were so excited!! What treasures. Anyway-- good job mom! You did something very right! :) We will sure miss Elder Hoffman and Elder Jones when their time here ends.

Love,

Ruth and Andrew G., and family

PS Please find attached photos with the elders. My husband took them on the phone, so they are not the best quality. Sorry. :)


Elder Hoffman


Elder Jones

1.17.12 email

Hey there!

This week was sweet, gonna be a short e-mail I fear, but we'll see where she goes.

Had some sweet finding experiences and had some sweet lessons with people all around.

Went to the car show here in Detroit, the HUGE one at the Cobo center; it was pretty legit if I say so myself, got some sweet pictures of some cars y'all never heard of yet! Had a good time.

So we got a little snow last week and it was sooooooo nice to know that I didn't have to get on my bike and go out in it! Yay for cars! :)

This next week should be sweet, got a lot of appointments set up!

Well I guess that about does it!

~ Elder Jones

1.9.12 email

Hey all!

This week was sweet! Opening up a new area is a challenge, but well worth the effort! I’m lovin E. Hoffman too, I’m having a blast! He’s way funny and still super focused for him only having 30 days left on the mission. We (together) have been able to see some sweet miracles because of our goals that we set!

Just a quick example…. So we got our bikes from the assistants because we don’t wanna go over on miles, well the day we got them we had actually gone more than what we had planned. So we had like a half hour till we needed to be in, and we parked outside of a house that a member no longer lives at, and pulled the bikes off the rack! Well we started riding, and soon enough after a left turn, and a couple right turns, we found ourselves in front of a house that was the only one on its street with a porch light on. Well, we walk up to it and it had a HUGE “No Soliciting” sign on it and my first thought was “Well, we were led here for a reason” and we knocked! This lady came to the door and I spoke, but I couldn’t tell you what I said, to me it felt like gibberish but I guess everyone else understood it hahaha, that’s because she invited us back on Tuesday to share our message with the whole family. It’s sweet! And as we were riding away Elder Hoffman said to me, “Man, as I was following you I said in my head we need to turn here, and then here, and then I thought ‘that house!’ and without saying a word to you, you did it!”. So we were definitely guided!

This next week looks really good, finally gonna get some snow on Sunday! This last week we hit 60 degrees!! :O Ha! We haven’t had more than a half inch of snow on the ground at a time! It snowed more when I was on bike than now!

Well hope you all have good week!

~ Elder Jones

1.7.12 letter

1/2/12

Dear Mom,

Hey there! :) Happy birthday!! Sorry I didn't get to tell that to you today! You'll have gotten an email by the time you get this, but I had to tell ya anyway. :)

How's it going? How was Christmas and the New Year's party? Hope all went well & you guys had a good time!

I've been doing well. I'm opening up a new area, it's called 'Livonia South.' We cover 3/4th of the Livonia ward. The North area is covered by the APs (Assistants to the Mission President), and they don't have very much time to proselyte, so they get a smaller area. :) I'm now companions with Elder Hoffman. He actually was just released from being an AP and I'm killing him off (meaning, he goes home at the end of this transfer). He flies home 8 days before I hit my year mark.

I'm having a blast with E. Hoffman; he's way funny and super hard-working. It's a tough thing to open an area - we don't really have much to work with, or anyone to teach. So, we are pretty much starting from scratch - no area book, no nothin'! Ha!

I've been super tired lately. More than usual, actually. Been tracting between 6-8 hours a day!! But I'm loving it. It's the exact polar opposite of Detroit. No one is inviting and no one is accepting at first! But if we just keep talking and working, the Spirit softens others' hearts. :)

Kinda cool thing - President Holmes is in our ward! It's way weird to pass him in church or driving down the street!

OH!!! I'M IN A CAR AREA NOW!!! :D :D :D I'm so stoked!! It's hard to keep track of miles, but I think I'll manage. ;)

So I kept track - I lost a total of 27 pounds while serving in the city on my bike. Hoping to stay healthy and somewhat fit for the remainder of my time. (I promptly plan on joining a gym when I get home.) :)

Well, I'm 20 now. That's weird. Nice to know I'm not a teen anymore, but amazing how fast time goes by when you don't think about time, and just work.

Well, I'm outta stuff to write about, and I wanna take a nap! :) Love you!

Elder "Nye-Nye" Jones :D

1.3.12 photos

{Mom here. In a separate email he sent me a few photos - here they are with his captions.}

1 & 2 - birthday cake from Vina :D

3 - Christmas Eve, our district

4 - me and the Bowens with our sweet shirts and stockings

5 - Sweet! :)

6 - Me :)

1.3.12 email

Hey all!

Hope you had a Wonderful New Year’s Eve and day! I did! We got to unpack! Haha.

Had an awesome week! We got our apartment on Wednesday and got to move in on Friday the 30th. Then we got to work! And eventually here and there we got unpacked, don't think I am fully yet though!

We (Elder Hoffman & I) got a lot done for starting fresh in the area. We’ve been tracting a lot which is always a pleasure. :) We have found a good number of potentials and found some sweet part-member families!

We were also definitely guided by the spirit on where to go, too! We saw some sweet miracles! I’ll share a couple with ya, they were just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. So the first one was, we were planning and we were looking at some names to stop by off the ward roster, and this one name kept coming up, over and over and over. So we wrote it down. Well, that night we ended up getting out of an appointment pretty late but we still felt like we needed to go by. Well we did! And the son of a less active (lives with his mom) opened the door and we introduced ourselves, and he just had this puzzled look on his face, we asked if everything was alright and all he said was, “I just got off the phone with my dad (who is a member) and he told me I should go to church and be baptized.” Well, we talked with him a bit and asked if we could come back when his mom was there and so now we’re seeing them tomorrow night!

Another one happened kind of with the same circumstance! We felt impressed, so we stopped by, and he (a less-active member for about 3-4 years) let us in and told us that his mom had just passed away two days prior and wanted to re-learn about the plan of salvation! So we had like a POWERHOUSE lesson with him and he is doing awesome. We’re going to the 2-part funeral tomorrow and Thursday.

So yeah, I'm loving Livonia! Haha! I hope you all are getting your own opportunities to share your beliefs in your own ways! :)

Well I got a new address for ya’ll!

{get ahold of Taffi if you'd like the new address}

I’d love to hear from ya!

But I gotta run, hope you all have a fantastic week!

~ Elder Jones