Are we doing it our way or the Lord's way?

This is a quote that my companion wrote down from Church yesterday. I
like it because, as a missionary, we cannot do this work our way or
nothing will happen. The Lord knows who needs to be found, He knows
who is ready to accept the gospel; we just need to learn to listen to
His Spirit.
It has been a great week! I think I always say that, but it's because
it is always true :) Looking back, I can't really remember what
happened. We had a great lesson with our friend Edmond who we lost for
a while. We saw him again by chance (I say by chance, but God
organized everything about it) on a bus,and we talked a bit more with
him.
We also celebrated Thanksgiving! All the missionaries here in Alicante
brought something to eat, so we had a nice dinner. It was super fun.
We hand mashed a huge bag of potatoes...and they lasted like two
minutes haha they were really good. It's not like Thanksgiving at
home, but it's a good substitute :)
Afterwards we did an exchange with the Albacete sisters, and it was so
fun! It was FREEZING, but really cool. It's this town about an hour by
train from Alicante. It's super cute, and I really enjoy going there.
Saturday was Hermana Evelo's birthday, and it was super fun. The
missionaries surprised her with a party in the church, and I think she
enjoyed it.
BUT, on the way back, the bus started coming and so we ran to catch
it, like we've done a million times...and literally a foot from the
door I fell and twisted my ankle. I haven't done that my entire
mission, even though I have run in the worst shoes to run in...but
anyway, we did actually make the bus, so that was good.
I rested my ankle a bit, and we went out to work. I walked like twice
as slowly, and we were almost late for our appointment, but it was
SUCH a good lesson. The man we taught came to church the next day, and
it was awesome.
The rest of that night, we worked (slowly haha) and the elders came
over and gave me a blessing. They couldn't come into our apartment
without another man, so we went over to a members house and did it
there in their hallway. It was the sweetest blessing of health ever, I
loved it. God's true priesthood is on the earth!
I miss you all! I go home to Washington next week...crazy to think
about, but it still hasn't hit me yet.
Miss and love you!
Hermana Jones

"We're part of God's plan for others."

This is a quote from a sister here, Hermana Olson. I loved how she
phrased it, and it made me appreciate a lot more the roles people play
in my life, and the role that I play in theirs.
We had a crazy, crazy week. So much happened this week...we did two
exchanges, which were super fun. And then Hermana Anderson gets a
call, on Thursday, from the mission president. He said that there was
a sister in Fuengirola that had to go home, and they needed someone to
take her place, and he felt that he needed to ask Hermana Anderson.
So, the next morning, she was on a bus for Fuengirola, an 8-hour bus
ride. We miss her! But it's good that she is able to help the Hermana
in Fuengirola. She is still a sister training leader, so she is going
to be there at the mission council next week, and on the tenth of
December (when I go home haha) she will be back here in Alicante with
Hermana Evelo.
This week we taught a cute Chinese person, she is super cute! I
managed to explain the Book of Mormon to her, using the pictures at
the front and Google translator. She's so cute!
Also, we met a nice guy named Richard, he's from Portugal. But he
speaks Spanish and English perfectly, and is so great. The only
problem that he lives in Barcelona on the weekends...but we'll work on
it.
Also there, is a woman here who is the mom of a convert. She's really
nice, but doesn't come to church, even though everyone loves her and
invites her. Her reason? She has a 16 year old dog who she has to hand
feed every hour. Isn't that sad? She is losing out on her many many
many blessings of knowing the gospel and living it, just for her dog.
It's a major dog excuse.
Anyway, I hope you have a great week! Miss and love you all!
Hermana Jones

One of our last meals together! We had half an hour before we had to
go to the exchange, and we needed quick, fast food, and everything was
closed...it was really good food though!

"Heaven is as close as you want it to be."

President Lopez, the stake president here, said this on Saturday at
the stake women's conference. It was an awesome conference; we got to
go because my companions are super talented and played their
instruments in the conference.
It's all going awesome here! Hermana Evelo got in on Wednesday. She's
from Florida, and she's wonderful. We went to pick her up at the train
station, and two elders were with us to welcome her and take some
bags. She lugged one of her suitcases off, and we ran up to say hello
and hug her...and suddenly the train starts honking and the doors
start closing, and Hermana Evelo goes, "Wait, my bags are still on
it!" I ran to stand by the front of the train to try to wave down the
conductor, and the elders pulled the doors open and ran onto the
train. Thankfully, they were able to throw out the bags and get off
before the train pulled away. So that was an adventure :)
We've had such a good week! Today, we are celebrating Hermana
Anderson's birthday, and it has been super fun figuring out the
surprise. She guessed, but that's okay:)
Here are some fun pictures from this week!
1. Our district at Dominos! We met some British people who were there
for a soccer game, and they were really nice! But I've discovered that
I struggle to understand people from northern England haha.

"We come here to do things. But the goal is that we become someone when we do these things..."

"...we should do the things that will help us become e people we want
to be." An Elder here, Elder Durrant, said this, and I thought it was
so profound. We do what we do to become who we want to be, and if our
actions aren't in line with who we want to be, we should change
something.
What an incredible week! On Monday we had the Missionary Leadership
Council, and it was fantastic. I have noticed a huge change in myself
since then...it's like I have new energy to work, and this week has
been amazing, I think for that reason.
We have met so many great new friends this week to teach, and it has
been so cool. But, it hasn't been without it's difficulties...a less
active member that we work with got mad, but the worst part was
watching his wife cry from how he was treating us. Their two daughters
are serving missions too, and she looks at us like her
daughters...that was a rough time.
But! We had the BEST lesson yesterday, with our friend Juan who came
to church. He is great, but has a lot of affects from all the drugs
and alcohol that he took for a large part of his life, and those
affects make it hard for him to understand sometimes. We have been so
stressed out about him, and haven't know what to do. But he just
understood yesterday...he understood the Restoration of the gospel! It
was such an incredible moment. He said, "Wait. There WAS an apostasy,
the gospel of Christ WAS lost. Do people know about this?" Hahaha we
were like, "Well, that's why we're here." It was great.
Okay, so overall it was a great week...here are some pictures!
1. We got cupcakes for Hermana Anderson's 11 month mark!

"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good..."

"...let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon
my rock, they cannot prevail.
"Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform
with soberness the work which I have commanded you.
"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
"Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the
nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye
shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen."
This scripture is found in Doctrine and Covenants (a book of
revelations given to Joseph Smith) 6:34-37. My companion pointed it
out to me, and I love the first part: fear not little flock. This is
Jesus Christ speaking to us, and telling us that there is no need to
fear, because He's already gone through it all. He has already
overcome it all, already suffered it all, already walked that painful
and thorny path. Now He's guiding us, His flock, down the same path,
and He knows exactly where all the stones and thorns and ditches are.
That is why He asks us to keep His commandments. They aren't just
because He wants to confine us to a box, but because He wants us to be
safe and free and painless.
I have grown to appreciate my Savior so much! And even then, I
understand that I really don't understand even a fraction of what He
did for me--but someday we will all know. That, I think, is when
"every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess" (Mosiah 27:33) that
He is Christ.
It was such a great week! Our friend Paul is wonderful, and He just
loves when we come over to his work to teach him. Sometimes there are
others there, and they will ask us who we are and what we teach
people. We have met so many great people who are so ready to hear
about the Gospel!
Oh, and there is a member here, his name is Tom. He was baptized two
years ago, is the president of the young men's program, and is
amazing. He is the only member of his family. A few days (last week,
or the week before) ago, we talked to his brother in the street, and
we didn't know it was his brother. He said he'd like to hear our
message, so we wrote down his contact information, and he went on his
way. Tom was SUPER excited that we had talked to his brother.
Well, also, Tom's mother is really nice and comes to church with him
every so often. But she never wanted us to go and teach her or
anything. Out of the blue, 5 weeks ago, she invited us to go out to
eat, and it was so nice. She has really sincere desires to know if all
this is true.
We haven't been able to meet with her at all, until last night, when
we made cookies to take to all the members (it's a plan we have to
have better relations with all the members--they're so awesome). So,
knowing that Tom's mom Mary has never wanted us to come in her house,
we called Tom to come down to his door and get the cookies, and he
talked a minute with his mom, and said, "Hermanas, do you want to come
up for a few minutes?" We went up, and had a great talk with them.
Mary is so awesome! She said the last prayer, and said, "God...help me
know which is the right path. If it is this church, please tell me."
It was so perfect :)
We did two exchanges this week, and they were awesome! I went to a
small town called Albacete, and it was so fun, so cute.  And I also
went to another called Elche (which is also adorable--I've been there
four or five times now, so I feel like it's one of my areas). Super
fun!
Transfers are next week! I do not think I will be transferred to
another area, with a month left on my mission...but you never know :)
Miss and love you all!
Hermana Jones

"If we do what the rest of the world does, we'll have what the rest of the world has."

One of the teachers in Church today said this. I appreciated the
reminder that there is a reason that we're different. Something I've
grown to understand a lot better on my mission is the eternalness of
what we're doing and of who we are. If we really will live after
death, if we really will have the opportunity to keep progressing
forever, the pain and suffering we have to go through really isn't
that bad.  If we really will be resurrected, the physical trials and
pains don't have eternal consequences; they're temporary, to help us
grow.
Anyway, this week was INCREDIBLE. And it was incredible for one
specific reason: Paul.
One night, I think it was Friday night, we were walking in our area.
Our plans and back-up plans had failed us, and we going to see if any
of the people we taught a long time ago were home. I had a thought
that we should cross the street, so we did, and passed an Internet
cafe where a person worked who was listening to our message two years
ago, with other missionaries. We stopped and decided to see if he
still was there, and he wasn't. But the guy who we talked to at the
counter was so nice, and we explained that we are missionaries, and we
teach people about Jesus Christ. He said, "I actually have lost a lot
of my faith, but I want to have it back again." We said, "Well, we
have the perfect thing to help you." We gave him, Paul, the Book of
Mormon, and he was so grateful for it! It warmed my heart to see how
open and humble and faithful he was. Ah, he's the best. We met with
him yesterday as well, and we explained the Book of Mormon better. He
asked us how Church was, and said he wanted to come next Sunday. We
left his Internet cafe almost skipping. The Lord is so wonderful, to
guide us to the people who need Him!
But, the most amazing part of this story, is that when I had the
thought to cross the street, I was kinda annoyed. It's been a problem
my whole mission: I just cannot tell if my thoughts come from
inspiration from God, or are simply my thoughts. So, when I had that
thought, I told my companion, "Let's cross," and she, being so
wonderful, didn't even question it. The whole time, I was talking to
God, asking Him, "God, I really would appreciate some clarity here. It
annoys me that I don't know if these thoughts come from Thee or if I'm
just wandering around for no reason, thinking that I'm being inspired
by Thee when really I'm not." Literally less than a minute after, we
walked into Paul's store, and it was all cleared up. It was as if God
were telling me, "Trust in me, and trust in yourself. I will guide
your path in my own way; just keep on following those thoughts, and I
will show you miracles." God is the best :)
Other than that, this week was fairly uneventful. Oh, on the street we
met and talked to a brother of one of he members here, although we
didn't realize it was his brother at first. And he accepted a time to
meet with us! So many miracles.
Oh, and I hit my 16-month mark on Saturday...I've been here in Spain
for 16 months!  It's crazy. It has gone by really fast, but I also
feel like it has been a long time.  We did exchanges with Elche, and
so my companion went there and we all got Smooey ice cream :) It's the
best ice cream I've tasted here in Spain.
I miss and love you all! Have a great week.
Hermana Jones

1. Smooey in Elche...you can't see my name tag because it's being
hidden by the giant Smooey cup. :)
2. Sunrise in Alicante

"Against the Spirit, there is no argument."

Elder Obando from the area seventy said this in the Stake Conference that we had yesterday. I liked the quote, and it is very, very applicable to our work as missionaries.  But Elder Obando was also the area seventy when I was in Malaga and we had a stake conference. I don't remember if I told you all the story, but we had a friend come to church that day, and he had come for a few weeks. He said his friend from Puerto Rico, the one who had introduced him to the church, knew someone named Adonai who lived here in Spain, and we said we didn't know him. Then, as it turns out, Adonai Obando was the speaker in that conference in Malaga, and afterward, he called our friend up to the front to meet him. It was so cool! My companion, Hermana Giler, and I were shocked, but really excited. So, it was good to see Elder Obando again.
Great week! We saw so many miracles, and met some great great people. One miracle: Jessie, a guy we met a while ago with a recent convert, moved to Mallorca to work. But now he's back! We went to the recent convert's house, and there he was. He's awesome.
Also, we met this INCREDIBLE guy named Oliver. We were sitting on a bench Monday night, looking for the address of a less-active member in the member list, and a nice guy passed by and said, "Studying, huh?" And kept walking. I said, "Darn, we should have talked to him, he was nice. God will have to send him to us again." And what did God do? He sent Oliver to pass by us again! So, then we had to talk to him. And he was so awesome! He decided to come with us to the family home evening at the church the next day, and he was going to take us in his car.
So, the next day, we went to pick up a member who would go with us. It had been drizzling a bit, but as soon as she came out of her house, it started POURING. (Refer to the video below.)  we waited a bit for Oliver, and then went and passed by his house. We were so wet...I felt bad that we got his car all wet, but he liked the Family Home Evening at the church and met a lot of the members. On the way home, he said, "Of course I'll come to Church on Sunday, at what time?" He's so awesome.
So, that was my week, and it was great. I hope you all enjoy the coming week! Love and miss you all!
Hermana Jones

Video: the crazy rain while we were waiting for Oliver
Photo 1: prettiest sunset ever!
Photo 2: riding the train on the way to Stake conference...the sister missionaries serving in Elche came and spent the night with us.