The Best 2 Years

Well that's all folks!

Tomorrow I go home to Texas.

Sister Wanlass found us and gave us breakfast(at night)

This was an amazing last week though. We found 4 new investigators and set another 4 on baptismal date. A great final week. These have been the best 2 years of my life. I'm short on time, as always, so if you want to know why, ask me!

Mexican meal

I hope everyone has a great week!

If you would like to contact me, my email address will be np.jones.tx@gmail.com

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Last Week

This week we went to Eureka for church, and it was mega awesome! We got to stay for all 3 hours, and the members were pretty happy! They were doing the primary program, and so that was the most adorable thing ever. The Spirit was there!

We got to attend and participate in 2 baptisms this weekend, and that was pretty special. Always awesome to see people take those special ordinances upon them and see the look in their eyes.

Our ghetto-present

We went to a kids birthday party that someone we're teaching invited us to, and we made a ghetto-gift-bag! It had a Kids Spanish "Book of Mormon Stories" in it, and some Star Wars action figures that we found in the apartment. #satisfactory
But we were kinda just chilling there at the party awkwardly because we didn't really know anybody, and then I decided that I hate being awkward so we started up a convo with some random peeps and had a grand old time! We invited some of them to play soccer with us, and we might start teaching one of them in the future!

Food because food is life

Not much else happened this week. Some interesting developments went on that I don't think I can talk much about because it has to do with Immigration, but it was a unique experience to console a family in their time of sorrow and need. It felt good to "comfort those that stand in need of comfort!"

This is my last full week of service as a missionary, and I am determined to make it my best week yet! It doesn't really feel real! But yeah, it's gonna be a blast and I love being a missionary.

Hope everyone has a great week! Bye!

Teaching Families

I love missionary work!

Elko Zone Conference

We found an awesome family of 4 this week! Street contacting is the best!
As well, we had a zone conference in which Elder Ochoa of the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke to us! It was really fun and pretty motivating.

We also are doing more biking so that we can afford the miles to go to Eureka twice this month! Work!

Flower gardens in Elko!! All cared for by a man named Raul! 

The friendliest pitbull ever!!!

Biking dangers (those things in my tires are called goatheads and they're from Satan)

The members of the branch all went to the Salt Lake Temple this weekend and that included Joaquin who was baptized two weeks ago, and 5 non-members who got to tour temple square! #success!

K not much else went on!

Have a bodacious week yall!



Last Week

Not much time today, but we had Joaquin's baptism, and it was amazing!
He had his whole family there at the baptism and as well yesterday at his confirmation!

Elder Flores baptized him and I had the opportunity to confirm him. I love the spirit at both baptisms and confirmations. I am so grateful for the restored priesthood and the fact that I can participate in those sacred ordinances and feel the truthfulness and Spirit of it!

Have a great week!

Quite a fair fair!

Gugugugreat week this week everybody!

Booth pics!

We are super excited for the baptism of Joaquin Flores, and investigator, this week! He is super ready and can't wait for his big day!

As well, I can't remember if I included this in my last email, but the Fiesta was a blast! Like almost 200 people there probably! We made brownies and cake, and had a ton of fun!

It's super hard to fast across the street from this...

This past weekend we got to participate in the Elko county fair, and omg was it a blast. We had a booth set up and we had all the missionaries in Elko there rotating out so that there was always missionaries there! It was a great success! At one point we how a power team of 6 missionaries there just talking to everybody and their dog! So many referrals! and I think we handed out over 300 copies of the Book of Mormon too #humblebrag

Ryndon roads

Random illegal house-castle in Ryndon, NV 

Our Ward mission leader Rigoberto just out of the blue told us to meet
him at Marshalls where he bought us new shoes. #blessed

We found 3 more people to teach this week, they all seem super prepared.

I literally can't remember anything else that happened.

Have a great week!

EUREKA IN EUREKA!

What a wonderful week!

Had a ton of fun this semana with Elder Flores.

Kind of Eureka, not the best picture

Sand road in Eureka that we almost got stuck in

Joaquin, our investigator, is progressing great. Still livin' those 'mandments, and still comin' to church! He is on track and we are pumped!

We are also pumped for our huge FIESTA this weekend! I'm pretty sure I have mentioned it before, but our Branch is putting on a big party for the 10th anniversary of it's existence, so we are doggone going big! There's gonna be mexican folk dancers, tons of food, carne, dancing, bounce houses, you name it! So we are really hoping a lot of people come, and we are gonna be ready to talk to everyone! Pictures of it next week, don' worry!

Some pretty effects with the smoky air.

Fat weiner dog

Check it, we went to EUREKA this week! BBBBoom! And do a double take; we found THREE new investigators there!!! DDDDouble Boom! So Eureka is a tiny little old mining town in the middle of nowhere, and there's a Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there! And we cover it! So we go out about once a month, and this time we set our selves up nice and worked extra hard and found ourselves some pineapples out there! The branch is super pumped, because that's like the first investigators that have been found in a very long time out there, and each of them could easily be baptized within a few months. So we are super happy about that.

"They see me rollin' "

Not much else going on. Just having a blast in Nevada and loving every minute of serving the Lord!



From last week

Woah! Not a lot of time, so here are a few highlights!

- Found 2 new investigators this week, things are great!
- There are literally all of the spiders in our apartment. We just got a bug fogger and its about to go down...
- There are just some awesome people we are teaching that are really ready to change their lives, so thats the sweetest.
- Really sore because Monday's we go kinda crazy: Cross-Fit in the morning, soccer with investigators right after, and then sports with the other missionaries later in the day. #GettinFit
- Hmm I'm not thinking of much else to mention. But I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Our weekly planning spot. #nofilter 

Elder Flores holding a fake-looking cat

Drove up to where a mountain of sagebrush had burned.

Aaaand thats where all this haze and smoke came from!

Wells, Cross-fit, and Miracles!

OH YEAH! Hope yall have have a r-r-r-radical week this week!

We have been having a blast here in Elko. Tons of things getting up and running, and we are so pumped. Our branch is going to be putting on a massive fiesta for the 10th anniversary of the branch's creation, and it's going to be tubular. There's going to be food trucks, latino dancers, music, activities, and our Branch President is expecting 200+ non-members there! Like the goal is to get every Hispanic in Elko to be there! So we are super animated and ready to get it going.

Elder Flores and myself during a break.

As well, our investigator Javier got his drivers license so he can begin taking his Less-Active grandma and brother and himself and his non-member sister to church! Can you say, "Cha-ching?" Jackpot's don't only happen in Casinos you know!
But yeah, things have been awesome!

Walking around Wells!

Elder Flores during our daily commuting.

As well, here's some other fun news. In our mission there is this thing called "morning program" where missionaries can get together every morning and play sports at a church building for their exercise. Well President Godoy has been attending a few of them, and feels that it's not effective for missionaries to do any more, so he cancelled it. Now this caused some legit mass hysteria, but everything is leveling out! We as well were un poquito bummed, but we noticed some people working out in a garage across the street from where we live. So we walked on by to check it out and say hello, and they asked us if we wanna work out with them! So this lady is a cross-fit trainer, and she just runs  a full cross fit gym out of her garage, so we have been working out with them! It's a lot of fun and hopefully will pump us up every morning! Also, I'm fat so maybe this is a blessing in disguise!

OMG I ALMOST FORGOT WE WENT TO THE STAR (look it up)

We got to go down to Eureka for church this week, and it was so good to see everybody there. When we began sacrament meeting, there were about 15 of us there. But as the Lord says, "Where there are two or three of you gathered together in my name, there will I be in the midst of them."  And that's how it was! We got up to introduce ourselves and bear our testimonies, and in that little living-room sized chapel, I felt the spirit re-confirm to me the importance of gathering together in His name to partake of the sacrament. Awesome trip.

Not much else crazy this week, but I hope everyone has a magnificent week!

Another Great week in Elko!

Greetings from Elko!

Zone Conference in Elko!

Last week we got transfer info, and Elder Johnson was transferred to Carson City, and I received Elder Flores! He was raised in both Honduras and Colombia, but moved to Florida about 2 years ago. He obviously speaks Spanish natively, so it has definitely helped getting to talk to him a ton. We honestly probably speak 60% Spanish to each other, which it selfish on my part because he is trying to learn English! So we are both helping one-other and it's working out great. We got to go down to Eureka this week, and so we saw some fun sights!

Wells panorama.

As well, our weekly trips to the small town of Wells are going fanstasmically! We are finding new investigators every time we go out there, and it's just a blast!

Some impromptu service last week.

Piggy!

Drug dealer cars in Wells (in a pretty poor area).

Things are going just dandy, and I am loving this branch. The members are so focused on the work and are helping us make this area great. We have a couple that aught to be married here soon in August and then subsequently baptized. So we are pumped!

I will keep everybody updated!

Adios until next week!

Until after the trial of your faith

IT'S MIRACLE CITY-CENTRAL HERE IN ELKO BABY!

Hike pictures from last week! 

Last week was hard, things werent going through, and we werent finding!
But we put on our faith hats and got to work, and this week we saw miracles! 3 new investigators, one out in Wells, which is like 45 minutes away!

Biking in Wells. I hit 40 mph!

Loving being a missionary, sorry, not a lot of time for a blog today!

Hola!

Spam and Eureka

An AMAZING week this week, tons of just fun stuff going on!

Eureka, Nevada

We have been coordinating with our Branch President and Mission Leader and are putting together an awesome Branch Mission Plan(6 months late haha). It's going really well though! Tons of great ideas and goals flowing. If there is one thing I have been able to learn these last few transfers, it has been the importance of having a purpose and vision, setting goals, and making plans to arrive there. So much more can be accomplished in life if we actually set some expectations for ourselves and strive with all our might in the little things to get there!

Eureka, Nevada

"E" on the hillside

Downtown

Main Street

Ski lift in the offseason

We got to go to Eureka this week, which is a little English branch in the middle of nowhere, and it is so adorable! There's Masons, Mormons, and Mennonites there! Such a fun little place, and we should be finding a new investigator there soon!

So I always thought SPAM was like a big joke and that nobody ever ate it, but wow have I been proven wrong! There's a family here, la familia Ramirez, who we visited and somehow got on this topic. They were so astonished that I hate literally never had SPAM before that they made me a SPAM and egg sandwhich and ohmygosh those are actually amazing! I feel like Oliver and Joseph in the Kirtland temple; my eyes have been opened!  

Saying goodbye to President and Sister Chesnut

Zone Conference - Elko

We had zone conference this last week, and it is President Chesnut's last round of Zone Conferences before he ends his mission in July. It's actually been super sad and super hard to watch this happen. Like I'm legitimately sad that we are going to lose President Chesnut. He is such a great leader and example and disciple of Christ. But it's alright. We know President Godoy will as well lead this mission in righteousness!

Like my homemade haircut?

Elder Johnson

Well, not much else going on. Jennifer Sahlberg, who you might remember, will be getting baptised this weekend  in the Cold Springs ward. Well apparently when going through her program, she decided she wanted me to give a talk at her baptism, even though I'm about 250 miles away! So I will be writing the talk out and having Elder Schloemer read it there. I am pretty pumped, and I've never done a talk-by-proxy before!

Hope you all have a great week and remember to follow the Prophet!