Officially Legal in Portugal!!

Hello Everyone!!

We had a great week here in Faro!! It was one very spiritual and uplifting week!!

It started off with zone conference! It was so good to receive direction and help from our leaders in the mission and then resolve to do better and apply these things into our work. One thing that president spoke a lot about is how important our role is here in Algarve to help this district grow into a stake. All the members really want a stake here and they are willing to work hard and help us, but a lot of the responsibility is on our shoulders too. I really

felt the pressure to help this area grow and strive and I know the Lord trusts us a lot to work here in the area.

After zone conference and interviews with president we got a ride to Lisbon with them. Us and a companionship of elders piled in a minivan with president and his wife for a 3 hour family road trip. But when I arrived here in Portugal president drove us to the mission home, and he is such a scary driver. I think people drive different in Brazil than the United States because I was SO scared of him. I mentioned this to my companion before we left and she told him. SO the whole car ride was just jokes about how scared I am of him, but with just a few close calls and a miner heart attack on my part we made it to Lisbon safe and sound. We were all together joking and squished in this minivan. It was a good time. I really do like president. I had to do my residency this week. We had to stay in Lisbon for a long time for this which took a lot of time out of our work and area.  We got to hang out with the senior couple, the Hoffman’s. They are literally my favorite people and we have permission to speak English with them and it’s SO good. Sometimes I just really miss English ya know. But yea we basically just passed the day with the Hoffman’s and elders and couldn’t do anything.. it was really boring and kinda frustrating but we tried to make it fun. The next morning we had SEF and we had to take lovely passport pictures again.. they get worse everytime. But after that we could return to our area and really work.  I am officially legal here in Portugal so that’s all good things. Also it was fun to see a few people from my MTC group again!!

We got to watch all sessions of conference Also this week we had lunch with a lady in our branch who only speaks French, some English, and very little Portuguese. The only problem is that one of our investigator works for her so she came along too and she only speaks Portuguese so there was a lot of hand gestures and translating and I really don’t think she understood like anything we said.. but she we didn’t really understand her either but it was so fun! She picked us up and we went a resturante on the beach here. She ordered us this HUGE plate of food and it was all seafood, and the weirdest thing happened.. I actually liked the fish?? I don’t know what is happening to me?? But I have pictures of that crazy food we ate. It was seriously SO huge and SO yummy.

Then we came home and had the chance to watch all sessions of conference this time!! Here it’s 5 to 7 and then 9 to 11 but we had permission to watch all of them. They also had a room with English so we stayed there. I really did like conference a ton and it always just goes by WAY too fast. But also crazy to think that its already been 6 months since last conference. It feels like just a few weeks ago.. but at the same like a really long time ago.  It was so good and I am SO grateful for conference!! I had so many questions that were answered and I felt the spirit whisper to me many things that I need to change to follow the counsel of the prophets and have the spirit in my life more. I am so grateful for revelation the prophet receives and the chance we also have to receive personal revelation to guide our lives and help us become the people that our Heavenly Father wants us to be.  I really liked Sunday night conference for investigators but sadly none were there at night because it was really late and they had to work the next day, of course. So that was sad. I don’t have my notes with me but I really felt like the themes of conference were the importance of learning, studying, and growing closer to Christ, and also the importance of the Holy Ghost. I am excited and ready to make goals to apply these teaching in my life and become better everyday.

The work here in Faro is continuing to go good! I love this little city and all the good people in it!! This work is too good, but more importantly this Gospel is just too good and I am just SO grateful for it! One of our investigators is Maria Gra;a. She is one of those shy

people who will just show up to church and doesn’t want to be found or be taught.. but we finally cornered here and forced her to have one lesson with us a few weeks ago and now she is calling us to schedule lessons!! She is really amazing and is marked for baptism on Saturday! But she has also been having some problems with health so every prayer

for her helps!! That she can feel confident about baptism and not let these health issues hold her back!! She really is amazing and a great example of strength through trials.

I used the JetBlue card this week to buy new shoes.. they weren’t that cheap.. sorry! But you can take money out of my personal account also.. I just didn’t want to pay the fee. Sister Tavares saw my shoes this week and did not like them because they are really warn out right now and she said they look too much like tennis shoes.. I also wanted to buy sandals that are closed toe for the summer. We were in Lisbon for the day because I had to do my residency and they have a shopping mall HUGE so we got permission to go shopping and buy new shoes while we were there. The sandals were pretty expensive but they are SO comfy and good solid shoes.. so I wont have to buy more in the future for sure. 

Funny:

This week we were too busy to prank the elders (April fools) and they didn’t prank us either which was really surprising. But then yesterday we were making cookies during the priesthood sessions *its Sunday morning here) and we had to use their brown sugar so we went to their house and while we were there we decided to put salt in their toothpaste.. They still haven’t said anything to us though. I don’t know what they means.. that they don’t brush their teeth or that they like the taste of salty toothpaste! Haha!

Love you all! Thank you for all of the prayers and support!!

Sister Jones

Pictures of our yummy lunch with Imra Lulu and our investigator, Marline

A selfie with the sisters at Zone Conference. Sister Foster was in the MTC with me and I just love her!

The Week of Miracles!

Hello everyone!! 

Sorry I don’t have much to write about this week!! It really has been a week of miracles! I have been reminded so many times this week that this is truly the Lord´s work and when we are doing what is right and being obedient he will bless us and put people in our path!! We have found some AMAZING people recently and have had some really good lessons! Our first week together we were really nervous about how we were going to do this whitewash and find people to teach, but since then we have found SO many new people and have had so many people just fall into our laps! It has really been a humbling experience to realize that the Lord is mindful of all of His children. 

But yea this week was full of finding people and teaching them. It was a really good week and I learned a lot! We are having a good time out here in Faro. I wish I could explain the amount of times we almost pee our pants from laughing so hard, but I think that they are more “had to be there” moments hahaha. One thing I have learned here is just the fact that we are expected to work really hard and give our all to the Lord but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun and laugh everyday. We are always finding ways to make each other laugh, which has included pulling pranks on the elders, or Sister Aiono trying to convince me that there is someone in our apartment late at night haha. Its been a good time! 

Our church is really close here! We never have to use a bus here in Faro which is really nice! It’s like a 5 minute walk its a blessing for sure! And yea the zone leaders serve here also.. Its fun with them... They made us lunch yesterday after church haha 

But other that that I don’t really have any cool stories from this week that I can think of right now.. Sorry for the lame email. 

I think my toe is doing good. The swelling is down but it still hurts to bend it all the way but I can walk on it without any pain for the most part so that’s good. The senior couple was blown away that I was still walking and working on it but I was like dude its a toe it’s not even that bad I can just continue on.. hahaha 

Last week for Pday we went to the church of bones.. It was literally a building made of only bones... it was so creepy and so gross but also SO cool. We made some funny jokes inside and acted pretty immature and then other people showed up and so we had to put our serious faces on and act in a reverent manner haha. Also one of the people whose bones are in that chapel has the same birthday as me... I felt a connection to her for sure.. 

We actually have a lunch with a member for Pday today and also we scheduled a lesson at 5 so we are ending pday early. We are just hanging out until the lunch.. it should be fun. They are good members. Also we had daylight savings on Sunday and we are SO tired so a day of rest is well needed for us for sure!

Journals are so good! I have been writing in mine every night until this transfer.. I am slacking a little but its like every 2 nights now. I have almost filled that huge journal I brought and will have to find another good one soon. I really like writing in it and also reading back on like my first transfer and stuff and seeing how much I have changed and learned since then. 

Have a great week this week! Enjoy conference! i am so grateful that we have a living prophet to guide us in our lives and I am so grateful for this week that we have to listen to the teaching of these inspired men of God!! They don’t translate women’s conference until next week so they are playing it next Saturday before conference because conference doesn’t start until 5pm here. We will see if we can make it.. we actually may have a baptism that day so we will see. I am so excited for conference!! IT will be so good!! 

Love you all! 

Thanks for all of the support and love! ~

Sister Jones 

 Church of Bones:

Lunch with another set of sister missionaries

Vamos só continuar

Hello Family and Friends!!! 

We had a good week here in Faro! The subject of this email has basically been our most common phrase during this whitewash. Whenever we are in an area we don’t know, or don’t know what we are doing we stop for like 3 seconds and then were like "Okay vamos só continuar" or in English "Okay lets just continue". SO yea maybe we have gotten kinda lost a few times.. but hey it works the majority of the time!! 

But yea this week was good! We are trying really hard to find new people and it seems like all of these really awesome people are just falling into our laps!! The Lord really is hearing our prayers and blessing us a lot! One person we found this week is named Sandra. We were just knocking doors and she opened the door and let us in right away. She already had a Book of Mormon and 3 pamphlets because someone she worked with gave them to her, but then he changed jobs before he could explain them. She said she liked them so much and has wanted to learn more about the church ever since. It was so cool and she has SO much faith! I am so excited to continue to teach her!! 

We also have another investigator, Maria Graça. She showed up at church last week and she said she has already been to church like 5 times. SO this week we taught her and after church yesterday she told us she wants to be baptized!! It’s really hard to mark times to meet with her, but we are excited to work with her and baptize her!! 

Other than that we are working hard and trying to find a bunch of new people!! We had some struggles this week that slowed down our week a bit, but it’s been a good week and I really like this area!! They think I broke my toe last p-day hahha. I dropped kicked a football barefoot and it hurt so bad but I thought I just jammed my big toe so I continued messing around and didn’t do anything about it. I woke up the next day and it was so purple and SO swollen I couldn’t put on my shoes. But I didn’t want to stay in that day so I was like no we are still working. But then on Wednesday after walking a ton the day before my toe was so so bad and I couldn’t lift it up. So the Senior missionary couple came over and said they think a small bone is broken inside my toe, but there’s not much we can do about it now. They brought me this miracle working anti inflammatory cream, I iced it, wrapped it, and stayed off of it all day. The next day it was still bruised but felt so much better. It’s still a little purple today but it doesn’t really hurt to walk on it so that’s good. I am telling you I have the WORST luck. All because I kicked a football hahaha!   It’s all good.

Another crazy thing that happened this week was that my companions hair caught on fire.. You can’t trust the stoves and ovens here in Portugal. SO yea that put some adrenaline through our veins and she has a way cute haircut now. Also our apartment smelled like burnt hair for a good few days haha. Oh the mission adventures. 

My district is really big here! There are like 10 people and a senior couple that came last week! They are so cute! The wife is Brazilian so she speaks fluently, but she has lived in the US for more time than Brazil. Elder Scholffman is from Idaho and really American haha but they have saved our lives this week helping me with my toe!  One of the elders in our district was in the MTC with me. And sister Foster is in my Zone so I will see her when we have zone conference in a few weeks!!! Sister Aiono grew up in California and Utah but now she lives in California. Close to Oakland so not anywhere close to us haha. She didn’t go to school before her mission and doesn’t know where she will go when she returns. 

I am way jealous of the temple! The first thing I do when I get home will be go to the temple. I miss it so much!! I know that the temple right how has some progress, but it’s pretty slow. But the members are all SO excited! It will be really good when they finish it! I haven’t seen the site because right now I am way far from Lisbon but other missionaries have and they say it’s really cool! They actually have a Facebook page and someone will post a picture of the progress everyday which is way cool. 

Our area is a lot smaller than Seixal, but bigger than the city of Mafra. It’s bigger than Ladera for sure but it’s not HUGE. Its not too green.. its like a city with cobblestone and stuff, but its more green than Lisboa. Its a lot more calm and laid back here than it is closer to Lisbon. 

Love you all and hope you guys all have a great week! Always remember to keep the commandments and you will be blessed more than you can even imagine!! 

Com Amor,

Sister Jones 

Portuguese pastries at a Relief Society event

Sun, Changes and Elevators

HELLO EVERYONE!!

Hope you all had a great week!! We had a good week here in Faro! 

Thank you for all the kind words and letting me rant everything last week. Also I received a ton of emails this week of encouragement because of mom’s post I think haha. BUT actually changes happened!! 

SO after a week together last Monday we learned that my comp, Sister Rubio, would be transferred. She has problems with her foot and it was really hard for her to work, so she was sent to be closer to the mission office in Lisbon. SO now I have a new companion, SISTER AIONO! She’s American but her family is from Samoa and she’s so cool!! I really like serving with her! She only has 2 more transfers too but she is dedicated to working and really excited about the work. She is literally just like Krista Moody. She is outgoing and loud and lots of fun! It’s been a good week together! We have been trying to work hard, find people, and help this area! I am really excited about the work here. She is so fun and we are enjoying ourselves out here in FARO!

Speaking of Faro it is SO warm and SO sunny and I am SO happy with that. It is also really close to the ocean so we get the salty smell whenever we have a breeze and it’s the best feeling ever. Like the sun is shining everyday and i don’t need a jacket ever, its the GREATEST thing ever!! I love it here! 

Also my back is feeling better, I think that I just had to get used to it but now I am fine, if I have problems in the future I will say something. Also I passed the sickness and am putting on the weight that I lost last week hahaha

But we are doing a full on whitewash! Talking to everyone and just on the search for new people! I have basically memorized the map and learning how to read it really well!! It’s been hard but I have a HUGE testimony that the Lord qualifies who He calls and I have felt that SO much this week. I know that He has been helping us with the work out here in Faro and I am SO grateful for that!! 

Also we have had some great adventures this week (like every other week of my mission).. This week it was getting stuck in an elevator. We were trying to use the elevator to go to the 7th floor, but it wasn’t doing anything, I decided to do an intelligent thing and just push all of the buttons and see what would happen. Well the elevator dropped hard to the negative 2nd floor. We were like what the heck! We tried getting out of there.. but it wasn’t lined up with the wall so the door would not open (elevators are different here). We low-key started panicking a little, tried everything we could and we could not get out. SO finally we called the elders and they ran over to help us (after laughing for like 10 minutes.. rude). But they decided there was like nothing they could do.. besides call the fireman. So after an hour of being stuck in that small elevator (talk about Closter phobic am I right?) SIX fireman ran down, opened the door, and we walked out. Don’t ask me why 6 firemen were needed? But we thanked them all for coming and went on with our day. We didn’t use an elevator for the rest of the day... 

SO yea that was an adventure. But other than that this week has been a lot of street contacts, door knocking, and area book using. Its been hard but I know that as we work hard and be obedient the Lord will bless us and help us do His work here!! I am so grateful for this time I have to be a missionary and learn SO much everyday!! 

Thank you to everyone for all the prayers, support, and love. You guys are the BEST! Thank you for all the words of encouragement and the support. I have the best fan club!

I am so much happier! We had a good week and I really learned how much I love to work hard here!! 

Com amor,~

Sister Jones 

 

A Castle in Faro

Faro Beach

Sister Jones and Sister Aiono

BBQ on the beach for PDay!

Sister Jones made this chicken.  In her words: "Don't ask me if it was good, I didn't eat it so we will see if the elders get sick tonight!"

Missions Can Be Hard

Madalyn was going to send a group email out then changed her mind.  However she accidentally sent a blank group email out- Sorry. She has discovered this week that her experience is not always full of roses...the thorns are out there too!  It will be good for her to grow and learn patience in this area. However she could really use encouraging emails and maybe advise from those of you who have been in similar situations on your missions and what you did! Below is a piece of what she wrote me.  She probably doesn't want me to share, but I know that there are others out there who have had similar struggles and can probably give her some advise!

Okay I dont really want to complain but I just have to say it.. this week was probably the hardest week of my mission.

We arrived here in Faro really late on Tuesday so basically started "working" on Wednesday. The sisters didn't leave anything to help us. They have no investigators.. we dont know anything about the area.. it is literally terrible. What is most annoying is that in my other 2 areas I made sure that I left the area ready for the sisters to work and know things about the area and things about the house also. But here we are all alone. So yea I know we were going to have to work hard to find people to teach and just learn about the area. 

Also Sister Rubio tore a ligament in her foot a few weeks ago and she can barely walk. She is also way dramatic about that (and you know I don't have patience for people complaining about injuries). So we basically never leave our house. We have stayed in our house literally all day for 2 days. I cannot do it anymore. I have done everything I can to plan our days, study the maps, work with the area book, and try to work while we are at home but it is literally the worst. Yesterday after church we had lunch, and we  have one hour to eat lunch and then we leave and normally dont return until 9:30. So at the end of lunch I brushed my teeth and got ready to go and then I entered our study room and she was on the couch asleep.. I didn't know what to do because she is senior companion and so technically she has control. SO I just studied for some time. We didn't leave our house at all yesterday. When she woke up a few hours later I asked her when we would leave and she said her ankle was hurting and so she didn't want to leave. This is literally SO hard for me.. I am dying here. 

I think this area is a good area but I literally don't know because we haven't have a chance to explore it. We had a day where we left and did a service project for a less active all day, and then another day that I planned to meet with some less actives and recent converts but other than that we haven't done anything. I know there is nothing you guys can do about this situation.. but just pray for me because I am going crazy. She is also way trunky and only talks about home and what she will do when she  gets home.. and she still has until May!! 

It's just hard because I bonded so well with my last 2 companions but I think I have found my problem companion here... We will see what happens and what I can do to motivate her to leave the apartment and teach people!!!

Other than that the beds here are so unconfortable and my back hurts SO bad. Also I got some kind of sickness I think and went almost a full 2 days without eating because everything I ate left like 30 minutes later (gross I know) but I ate some chicken noodle soup yesterday and think I am getting better so that's good. 

But yea I really like Faro! The branch has like 40 ish people that come every week. It should be good to work with the members, they are so sweet. It is a lot hotter here and the sun is always out so thats so good!! I didn't get your package and it will probably take a long time for me to get it because Algarve is way far away from Lisbon but during this transfer I'll get it.. probably in like 2 or 3 weeks. 

But yea sorry for complaining so much its just SO hard. I keep beating myself up over the lack of work we are doing but I just don't know how to motivate here to work and dont want to force her because she is injured.. but yea. I am trying to love her and get to know her. She likes to talk a lot about herself haha

But yea I love you so much and have been missing you a lot. Have a great week!! 
Sister Jones 

Elisangela's baptism that Madalyn couldn't attend because it was three hours away.

Handwritten letter from Sister Jones as she procrastinated packing!

Yoo-hoo Familia!

Well its been sometime without a letter and I should be packing up my stuff right now, but am avoiding it (nothings changed). So I was like, hey I'll write a letter for my family!

Well I am still here serving a mission- I can't believe that its already been almost 7 months.  It seems like every month and transfers goes by faster and faster.  Also weird that right now I am fluent in another language.  I never thought I would arrive at this point.  One thing I learned is that no matter how good us Americans talk, people will still have a hard time understanding us.  Dang accents!  But todo-bem.  I am already praying that Trevor will serve in Brazil (or Meredith!) because then we can talk (with accents way different) but also he can baptize BUEY!  But yea, I have learned that we are all on our missions for a special reason.  The people here in Portugal are like eggs.  They have a really hard shell, but once we crack it-they are straight gold.  The challenge is cracking the shell!

Some other things about Portuguese people:

-They are literally always sick- if they don't want to do something its always "oh I am sick" or "I am caring for a sick person".

-If you are talking and they want to say something, they will just talk over you in a louder voice.

-There are SO many Jehovah's Witnesses here.  The worst mistake you can do is try to contact a "TJ" (Testemunho de Jehovah)- they will go into a huge rant about the name of God.

-It smells bad here.

-The word for congested (like when you have a stuffy nose) is constapada- I literally thought people were saying they were constipated my whole first transfer! haha!

-People here LOVE tea "vamos tar um chazinho" literally everyday

-Beijinhos- so many kisses- sometimes I'm jealous of Elders

-People here always eat with the fork in the left hand and knife in the right.  It makes more sense, but it is so hard....still.

-If you let yourself out of the house of someone it means you won't return- so if you want to leave you have to stand by the door and wait for people to open it for you.

-People work so much- literally everyday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and only have one free day a week.  It is pretty sad to be honest.

-People here LOVE to talk!  Its good because I have to talk less, but also annoying during lessons.

-People here are so honest.  If you gain weight, they'll tell you, if you have acne, they'll tell you, if they don't like your haircut, they'll tell you.  Its a good thing I don't get offended about these things here- a few days ago someone said my haircut makes me look like a boy haha!

-They LOVE to give directions!  They are so funny about it too.  It's an honor for them if you ask for directions.

Okay, that's probably enough for now.  but yea, my mission has been the hardest thing I have ever done, but I have also felt so much happiness here- real happiness that comes from helping people receive the blessings of the gospel.  I am so grateful for all the experiences I had growing up.  All the hard times I went through and all the things I have learned to prepare me for this time I have right now.  There is nothing better, and also very few things harder, than giving your whole will to the Lord.  Putting off your desires, fears and needs and letting the Lord take control of your life.  He can do so much more with our lives than we can alone.

Love you all so much and pray for all of you everyday!

Con muito amor,
Sister Jones