Week 48

July 23, 2012

Why hello there!!

How is everyone doing? For those I've heard from lately it sounds like you are having a great summer! When does school start back up for the majority of you?

Life is going great in Nebraska! It's getting nice and hot here, but hasn't been too humid. I know some of you have asked about how the hair is doing in this weather with the humidity... let's just say people are running away from me on the streets when we go to talk to them. haha! In the trail center I can manage the hair and keep it looking nice and then when we're outdoors I don't even try and put it up normally. It feels like a blanket is on my neck if I try to leave it down. I know you were all dying to know that... so there you have it! :)

This week has come fast! I guess it's only been a few days since I last emailed you because of the weird schedule from transfers last week.

Here some of the events that have taken place over the past few days:

At the Kanesville Tabernacle there is a "Come Home to Kanesville" musical performance that members of the church are putting on. All of the missionaries in the area got to go! It was a lot of fun! It actually felt really weird seeing people sing and dance. It is based on a true story of pioneers that stayed in Kanesville (now called Council Bluffs, IA) for a while and then went off to the Salt Lake Valley. It was just really weird because there was a love story involved and people were making googley eyes at eachother and there was some hand holding... how inappropriate! hahaha! (That's when you know how much of a missionary you are... when you feel super uncomfortable in what is normally a very innocent scene! I was laughing at myself because of how weird it was for me.) Overall it was really good and had a great message of following God and having faith. It reminded me of how much I love musicals!

We are currently getting to do a lot of tracting and street contacting. This week we found some new people to teach! We were out all day yesterday visiting tons of people in the 102 degree weather. Everyone we talked to was like, "What are you doing out in this heat?" or "You chose a bad day to be out talking to people." We normally respond, "It's a great day and we love talking to people!" or "We're out visiting with people every day... no matter what the weather is! :)" Gotta love missionary work! Tracting is so fun because you meet so many different people.

I finished off my 2nd journal on my mission! Yay! Now I'm on to my 3rd and final one! I'm still a faithful journal writer.

I may or may not have been sick the other day... it wasn't bad... just throwing up and all that good stuff. I was able to rest a little bit and then bouce back to work! Good times!

I met some incredible people at the trail center this week. I love family tours with little kids! They are so fun! Some of the kids i meet are incredibly smart! I also took an awesome couple on tour who were not members of the churh but loved the story of the pioneers and wanted to take home a Book of Mormon and read it. Those are always incredible experiences. I'm excited to follow up with them and see how they enjoyed their reading! :)

Guess what tomorrow is?!! PIONEER DAY!!!! All of the sister & senior missionaries are having a BBQ tomorrow. Yeah, I know... missionaries having a BBQ together? Pretty rare, but awesome!!

In celebration of the pioneers... here are two of my favorite pioneer stories to share with people at the trail center.

“I ask you to stop this criticism for you are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the handcart company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and so was my wife… We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation. But did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that company ever apostatized or left the Church because everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities… “ “I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I said I can only go that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there…” “Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then or one moment of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company. –Francis Webster

“I am Amy Sumner Porter… I was baptized with deep conviction, eagerly embracing this new faith. The call to Zion burned within me, and we left our comfortable home… It seems the cold bitter weather will never stop. I am weary and worn. I have promised the Lord that I will give all that I have, even my own life, to build up the Kingdom. I don’t know why that sacrifice would be required, but the Lord knows my heart, and all that I have is His…. My health has deteriorated to where I cannot move an inch. My dear husband takes me in his arms and holds me until my bed is made nearly every day. But now he, too, is sick with the scurvy. Oh how shall we ever go on?! My little children gather around me, but I feel at a loss to help them, for I cannot move myself in bed neither speak out loud. They surely must know of my love for them, and my hopes for their future. If I cannot make it to the land of Zion, I am confident that the Lord will answer this prayer of my heart… that my children will remain faithful, and that through them will come generations of righteousness.” –Amy Sumner Porter

Hope you enjoy them! I love the pioneers and have gained such a respect and reverence for their experiences and  their faith in God. I am so grateful I can serve at the Mormon Trail Center and share their testimonies along with my own. I know that God knows each of us so well and knows exactly what we need in life. I'm grateful he gives each of us experiences in our lives so that we can personally come to know Him and become the person He wants us to become. :)

Have a wonderful day!!

Love always,

Sister Jones