This past week was crazy. President Miller called on thursday, Elder Murillo picked up the phone and I hear President ask for me. I got on the phone and the first thing I said was "Uh oh". He then told me that he wanted some advice on transfers. I went through the companionships with him and talked about each one. Then he asked me a few questions about missionaries in other zones and what he should do. Then he asked me one question "Elder Jolly how long do you have left in the mission" to which I responded "I don't know President, I am not keeping track." He then answered "Dayss you have dayssss left in the mission and this will be your dying assignment". He then told me of 2 missionaries that were prideful and said I needed to go humble them and let them know that the Nephite nation was destroyed because of their pride and the Lord would do likewise with them. It was not a fun assignment to complete but I did it.

Sunday I had my going home interview with President Miller. It was awesome to sit down and talk about the whole mission. It was cool to look back and see how we have both changed. He then asked me what to do with another Elder because the Elder is a big complainer. I told him to change him to the english assignment for a transfer and drop him to Junior Companion to put him in his place, then if he learns his lesson he can work his way back up. Tomorrow President Miller and the missionaries going home will go to the Salt Lake Temple, then we will have a luncheon. In the evening I am going to visit Carmen and Kenny. Carmen recently got her temple reccomend and is preparing to enter the temple soon.

It was 2 rewarding years, it was the best 2 years. I will never forget the people or the experiences. This chapter is coming to an end but the next is just beginning. I love you all! See you on thursday!

Love,

Elder Jolly

Sept 10,2012

This week was crazy and legit! We had a mission tour on wed all day which was fun but time consuming. To make this letter short I will just talk about 2 days, thursday and saturday. Thursday was Zone Leader Council, not normally a fun activity but this time it was legit and I will tell you why. Normally we sit in a gym at tables and council for about 7 hours, this time President Miller wanted to relax. We had to be at the mission office at 6:45 am, we all got into the mission van and the trucks and headed up to Park City. We met President Miller at a Burger King where he bought us all breakfast. Afterwards we all loaded up again and headed out to his brother's vacation home in Kamas (20 min east of Park City). Now saying it is a vacation home is an understatement, it is a mansion. We dropped off our stuff at the house and went hiking for about 2 hrs. We then came back, sat down and President Miller went through all the doctrine in 2 Nephi 2, deep stuff. Then did zone accountability for our numbers last month as a zone. Afterward we played ate lunch and played Rugby, others went fishing and did other games, it was pretty much do whatever you want for 3 hours. Then we counciled about mission business and problems for a few hours and then played around from 5pm until 9pm. President BBQ hamburgers for us while we all had some fun. Sad part though is that we got a call from an Elder in our zone saying his companion had had a seizure while riding his bike and had fallen. The Elder was ok but had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, he had 10 stiches in his chin and his shirt was covered in blood but he will be ok. Back to the Zone Leader Council. We then at 9pm took pictures and loaded up the cars and headed back to the valley about 10pm. I was in the big mission van which just so happened to be flying down the highway at about 95mph, scary experience would be an understatement but it was fun. All in all it was the best Zone Leader Council ever. Although it hit me on the way home that my time as a missionary was coming to a close and it almost brought me to tears.

Saturday, we get a call from the Assistants saying that they wanted to do exchanges that day. I was to go with Elder Mckinney to his area while Elder Armstrong would work with Elder Murillo in our area. Now Elder Mckinney is someone I have looked up to my whole mission. About 6 months ago I prayed that I would get the opportunity to spend a day with him to talk and see how he does missionary work and well I guess Heavenly Father has a sense of humor because I got that opportunity a week before going home. All day we talked about life and the scriptures and our testimonies and it was an incredible experience. The only bad part was dinner. We went to Spice Bistro, an indian restaurant, and man it was expensive, it ate up my last $20. Anyway the best part was seeing him teach. Whenever an investigator would ask a question he would not answer it with his own doctrinal knowledge but every single time he went to the scriptures. It was powerful because we were teaching a man who had fallen back into his meth habbits. Elder Mckinney shared a blunt scripture about being carefully dragged down to hell and then promised the man that if he didn't read the Book of Mormon he would be addicted to meth for the rest of his life. I can't go into detail on everything he told me or taught but it was an amazing day, one of my favorites on the mission. I learned the secrets of one of the best missionaries this mission has ever seen.

I also had a scary expeirence this past week. Lizzeth a recent convert was 9months pregnant and overdue, when on tuesday she was in a car accident and admitted into the hospital. I was more scared than I have been in awhile. Turned out everything was ok and that the baby's heartbeat was still strong. Sunday I got a call from her husband Eric and he told me they were in the hospital and that she was in labor. Around 5pm the baby boy was born, 8lbs 11oz , 21 inches, healthy and strong. My bday was pretty cool too. We ate dinner at the Espinoza's with some members of Olympic Park 3rd and some other missionaries.

Well this will be my last real email home unless something crazy happens this week. I look forward to seeing you all soon and to continuing to share this gospel with my friends back home. I love you all and am grateful for the support I have received. BTW the church is so true!

Love,

Elder Jolly

Sept 3, 2012

Ok this letter will be short.

This past week was full of meetings. On wednesday we (zone leaders) had a meeting with Elder Steven B. Allen, head of the missionary department. Man he is a spiritual guy but he does not play games when it come to missionary work. He beat us and left us battered at the end. He said the only way to get missionaries to change is to change ourself first. He hammered us on planning effectively and how to be real Preach My Gospel missionaries. He taught us of how to be percise and look for deviations in everything we do. It was about 5 hours of being torn apart by him but it was an amazing experience.

Thursday was the day that was hard. We had zone conference and it was werid to sit up on the stand next to President Miller. He constantly would lean over during the meeting and say jokes to me that reminded me of dads jokes, funny but dumb. Right before lunch I had to give a training on how to follow up on reading assignments left to investigators, it went well. Near the end of the conference though was the hard part. Since it was my last zone conference I had to give my departing testimony and President Miller made me go last which was unusual because it is normally alphabetical. When I stood at the pulpit it hit me how much the mission had changed me and how much the experience meant to me. I would be a liar if I told you I didn't cry because I did. They best and happiest part of my life is coming to an end and it hit me all in about the 3 min I was bearing my testimony. When I finished I walked off the stage and President Miller stood up and gave me a big hug and whipered in my ear "I love you". So much has changed in these 2 years. I used to dislike President Miller and now I love him as if he had been my father for these past 2 years. I love this work. I love my Lord and Savior. I know President Miller was called of God to be MY mission president. This is the Lord's church, of that there is no doubt.

Love,

Elder Jolly

Aug 20, 2012

OK so this week was tough but good. Our area is struggling with a small teaching pool so we have been out talking to everybody, knocking doors and working with ward councils (7 to be exact) to find people to teach. We have received several good leads but we are taking the approach of having the ward councils do all the inviting. The ward councils have received assignments on who they are to invite (people they know well) to be taught by us. This approach is more effective than us just knocking their door. They then report back to the ward council on how that went and then the Ward Mission Leader reports to us in our weekly correlation meeting. The process is slower but yields more results. We are in the waiting for the reporting stage so in the mean time we are doing our own finding work. We actually had an amazing experience finding the other day. So we were working in our spanish area and it was 8:36. All day we had been out working our tails off and nothing had happened. We got back into the car and I suggested to Elder Murillo that we say a prayer. We prayed and then sat for a minute thinking. Elder Murillo suggested that we go try and check up on a referral that we have received. We had checked that referral not 2 hours earlier but nobody was home. We decided to trust that it was a prompting. We drove to the referral and nobody was there. Elder Murillo then told me "We are here in this are for a reason, we need to find someone who lives around here". The time was 8:44. I looked and him and said "well we have 16 minutes, we will find someone, teach him and invite him to be baptized with a date before this day is over". Rules are that we finish working at 9pm unless we are in a lesson so we had 16 minutes to get into a lesson. We went and knocked a near by door, the lady was a member and told us her neighbor spoke spanish so we knocked that door, and nobody was home. We heard some music down the street. It was hispanic music coming from a party at a house about 3 blocks away. We started to walk towards the party and then stopped, wondering if it was a good idea. We decided to keep going towards the music. We got to where the party was and Elder Murillo noticed a house that was 2 houses from the party that he thought was hispanic so we decided to knock it. As we approached the door I noticed a truck in the driveway with a campaign election sticker and I told Elder Murillo "This house is definatley not hispanic, what hispanic has campaign election stickers on their cars. Lol right then I saw a hispanic guy get up to answer the door and whispered an apology to Elder Murillo. We did our door approach and the man let us in. It was 8:58! We taught the man a short version of the Restoration. The Spirit was strong. We invited him to be baptized Sept 20th and he agreed. As we left we were shocked how the Lord answered our prayer in the last 2 minutes of the day. The whole day seemed like it had been a waste but the Lord made all that work count for something, and blessed us in the last 2 minutes. It is when we give that last bit of effort that the Lord manifests His power.

Last night we had another tender moment. We had been working in this one neighborhood for about an hour and it was now 9pm when we got in the car to go home. As we started to drive away I noticed a house where I had seen an African lady sitting outside of when we arrived in the neighboorhood. As I drove past I looked in the window and saw the cupboards open and it seemed as if they were mostly empty of any food. I don't know what it was that made me turn around but I can testify that it was the Spirit. I turned around and parked the car. and told Elder Murillo that I felt as if we needed to knock that door. We walked up to the door and noticed that the lady (about 30yrs old) was laying on a mattress outside with her young baby. We asked her if she was alright and she said no. We began to talk to her and she told us of how on sat her family had called from Sudan Africa and informed her that her mother had died. She had taken it really hard. We testified to her of the power of the Atonement and of eternal famlies and that she would see her mother again. We then laid our hands upon her head and gave her a preisthood blessing. She began to cry and thanked us over and over again. Afterward we got in contact with the english missionaries who are going over tonight to meet her and help her. As we drove home the car was quiet after what had just happened and I found myself pondering on what had just happened. It was just this feeling that I had felt that I needed to knock that door and by following it, it helped a women feel peace with the passing of her mother. The church is true, and everything it teaches is true, it is all true and no inteligent person can deny that. If you sit down and really study it out in your mind and in your heart you will know that this is the Lord's church.

Love,

Elder Jolly

Aug 13, 2012

This week was crazy busy. Elder Vela spent most of monday-wed packing and being super trunky so that was not the most effective couple of days. I went with Elder Hirai and we worked his area on tuesday. Tuesday afternoon I got the new organizational roster for the mission and had to make the calls to everyone in the zone informing them of transfers and what would happen with them. My new companion is Elder Murillo. He was a district leader in our zone last transfer and a solid hard working missionary. He goes home 6 weeks after me. I am super glad about having him as my last companion because I know he will push me hard up until my last day.

Last night we were knocking doors in a trailer park and this one ladies son opened the door. There inside the trailer the lady was sitting on the floor. At first she didnt want to talk to us. Then when she finally decided to talk all she said was "I am Catholic and my husband is Catholic". We responded "Great well our message is for everyone whether they are Catholic, Mormon, Jew". After a little bit she let us in and we sat down and began to get to know her. Turns out she had met with missionaries about 2 years prior and went to church several times. She had liked what she learned and felt good about it. Her big question was "with so many churches how do I know which is the correct one?" We talked about prayer and asked her about any experiences she had had previously with prayer. She told us of how she went to a Pentecostal church and some other Christian churches and how the people sang, clapped and how the Pastor would hit them on the head and people would faint. She said she didnt feel good there but that she felt scared. She then told us of how the missionaries who had visited her 2 years ago had asked her to pray to know if the LDS church was the true church. She said she did and felt this feeling of peace and an assurance that it was and it brought her to tears, she had never felt that way before. Elder Murillo and I then testified of how what she felt was the Spirit and it was answering her prayer telling her that this is the true church. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted. After the lesson she was so happy and almost wouldnt let us leave. She even invited us over for dinner on tues. The Lord does prepare people and sometimes we do not recognize it at first.

On monday I had an experience that I will not soon be able to forget. The Crawfords (a service missionary couple in Olympic Park 3rd ward) has a small party for Elder Bowers and I to say goodbye. They invited the other service missionaries and all the people we taught that got baptized in that ward. We ate a lot of food and then afterwards they had Elder Bowers and myself bear our testimonies. I looked at these people I had taught and as I bore my testimony I began to tear up, I didnt full on cry, not yet at least. After that each person we taught got up and bore their testimony. Lizzeth Moran was the first to get up and speak. As she told us of how the gospel had changed her life and of all the things she now knows and of how much the Elder Bowers and I mean to her family I could not hold back the tears. I was overcome by the spirit. It was telling me that I had made a difference. Lizzeth is expecting her 3rd child this month and she is already telling me that I am his Tio (uncle). Her husband Eric followed and he told us of an experience he had a few weeks ago where there son Anothony (7yrs old) ran up to him and said "dad I want to get baptized when I turn 8 and I want Elder Jolly to baptize me." Eric talked about how amazing he felt as a father to see his child have the desire to follow Jesus Christ. Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "Elder Jolly will you do me the honor of baptize my son when he turns 8 in Feb.?" My jaw was shaking and I could only nod my head and squeeze out a "of course". It hit me right there and then how much this gospel means to these people. How they have come to find a treasure in their lives. I was blessed enough to take part in that process in helping them change their lives. This is Christ's church, I know it! I pray I may live by that knowledge.

Love,

Elder Jolly

August 6, 2012

Short letter this week because well no good excuse. This week was amazing! Elder Vela and I had the confirmation of Jennifer, the baptism of Rachel and then I went back to Murray an hour after Rachel's baptism for the baptism of Martin, while at the baptism of Martin I found out that Maria had been baptized the week before. The mission president over the new mission didnt let the missionaries tell us of Maria's baptism so that irked me a little but life is life. All the baptisms and confirmations went amazing!

Tonight Olympic Park 3rd ward is throwing Elder Bowers and I a goodbye party. I love the parties and stuff but I still have 6 weeks left so it feel like I am not finishing. Elder Bowers well he finishes in 2 days so for him it really is goodbye. The work continues to push forward, the work is great. Transfers are this week so stay tuned.

Love,

Elder Jolly

July 30, 2012

This week was good. All week we were daily contacting Jennifer in preparation for her baptism. She was just so prepared. Only once in the month we have been teaching her did she cancel and appt. and that was because she was called in to work. Every single time we left a reading assignment she did it without fail, and she always came to church. Her baptism on Sunday was amazing! The branch came out in full support and filled the room. Afterwards we went over to her best friends house and ate with Jennifer and this family (Fam Favela). It just so happens Jennifer's best friends husband is not a member and is being taught by the missionaries in Olympic Park 3rd. He came to the baptism and really liked it and is praying to know if he should be baptized this Sunday.

On Tuesday my brown mom Sister Espinoza and other members in the Olympic Park 3rd ward threw a party for Elder Bowers and I because Elder Bowers finishes next week and I finish 6 weeks after him. There was some bomb food!

Soo about 5 weeks ago I tweaked my left knee and it has been really tender since then. I finally decided to go see the doctor. She asked me to lay on my stomach and she began to check each muscle in the back of my knee and ask if it hurt when she moved it. When she got to one muscle that I honestly have never heard of, the moment she touched it I screamed out in pain. She did a few more tests and told me that I had torn the muscle. So I have a torn muscle in the back of my knee. Thank goodness though that I was not a full tear so she said surgery is not needed. I have to rest it and I can't play sports for the next several weeks so that the muscle can heal.

There is some really sad news. We received a mission wide text message on Friday asking us to pray for Sister Johnson. Her family were traveling from Texas to Salt Lake City to pick her up since she finishes the mission next week when the family was involved in a serious car accident. Her 2 younger sisters, ages 12 and 14 died in the crash and her 3rd sister is in critical condition in the hospital. I know Sister Johnson very well and I cannot imagine the pain she is going through right now. President put her on a flight home as soon as he could so she could be with her family. Please pray for her and her family.

Love,

Elder Jolly

July 23,2011

We had interviews as a zone this past week with President Miller. Elder Mckinney (AP) and I trained the zone and district leaders while my comp and the other AP trained new missionaries and trainers. It went really well although we had to rough up some feathers. There is a lot of fear in the missionaries so we kind of laid into them pretty hard. I love all the missionaries in the zone but I had to tell them "Hey missionary work can be scary but you can get over that now or later or you can just accept yourself as a mediocre missionary." President called me into Elder Bowers interview and he sat us down together and just talked to us about how much we have grown and changed over the mission. He said sometimes the Lord lets him see our future and something that really humbled me is that he told Elder Bowers and I that he saw us being Bishops, stake Presidents and more if we continued in righteousness. It really made me realize how much I need to rely on the Lord and not on the arm of flesh.

Jennifer is solid for baptism this sunday. We have been teaching her daily and making sure that she is keeping all commitments. She always reads and sometimes reads over the chapters we leave twice. She always prays and she loves church. I am excited for her baptism. She is even trying to encourage her friends husband to get baptized. He is getting taught by Elder Bowers in Olympic Park 3rd ward.

Rachel's baptism got pushed back a week because she fell down the stairs hurt her hip so she couldnt come to church on sunday. She wanted to go and she wanted to get baptized this sunday but the mission president said he wants her to come to church 2 more times before her baptism so it is looking like Aug 5th for her.

This work is awesome, I love it. Sadly it is coming to a close but it has been a life changing experience.

Love,

Elder Jolly

7/15

wow time sure flies! This past week was interesting and exciting for many reasons. On wed. we took our investigator, Jennifer, to Temple Square. We brought along Lizzeth our recent convert to help us out. When we watched the video "God's Plan for His Families" everyone started to cry. Lizzeth testified of the temple and gospel and how she is working together with her husband to be able to enter the temple and be sealed this January. All in all it was a good trip if you take away the fact that it was about 100 degrees and we had to wear suit coats.

Thursday we went on exchanges with one of the district leaders Elder Bowers (my comp from last summer). I went into his area with him and his new missionary went with Elder Vela. If I told you we went to bed at 10:30 that would be a lie because we didn't. We found ourselves talking about the people we have taught in the mission until 2:30 am. It was nice to look back at the past 22 months and see how we have each changed and grown to embrace the gospel more. Elder Bowers expressed to me a little of his fear of going home (he finishes the mission in 3 weeks) and how more than anything he is going to miss the people. The next day we were tired but we were able to teach 5 lessons and set up the baptismal interview for one of his investigators.

Friday was a crazy day and to make it all better it was raining most of the day. We went out in search for Hispanics and around 4pm we were knocking doors when a kid names Carlos opened the door. He invited us in and we began to teach him. About 2 min into the lesson his parents came in the door having just finished a trip to Walmart. They sat down along with another brother and we began to teach the Restoration. They were all glued to the lesson as we talked about eternal families. The dad at the end said that he would really like for us to come back and that when he saw us here teaching his son for some reason he was really happy. As we walked out of that lesson all happy we got a call from Rachel the non-member wife of a recent convert. Rachel was not baptized with her husband because she made a promise with her mother on her death bed that she would never stop being Baptist. So when the missionaries started teaching her and her husband she told them "I will NEVER get baptized". Then slowly it changed to a maybe and finally a "well when I finish getting my tattoos maybe I will be baptized". Anyway she called and asked us to come over so we did. When we got to her house she asked Elder Vela how many days he had left in his mission, he responded "27", she then said "well can you get me baptized in the next 27 days then?" We were super excited and a little shocked so I asked her what had changed. She told us that her husband who had just gotten a job paid his tithing for the first time and when he did that he told her that he felt as if something was lifted off his back. She felt what he said was true and decided to be baptized. So she will be baptized July 29th.

After we left Rachel's house we headed over to do the interview for Elder Bower's investigator Ricardo. I was the one doing the interview so Ricardo and I went into a backroom and sat down and began to talk. We went through all the questions and he had a testimony of every single one of them. At the end I asked him if he had any questions and he brought up one. He said that he knew it was all true but was wondering if he could wait and learn more and then be baptized with his son who is 11. I talked to him for a little bit about it and then brought in Elder Bowers. We told him that it was up to him and we gave him 2 options. Option 1: wait and be baptized with you son. Option 2: be baptized now and work to get the Priesthood so you can baptized your son. Before he decided asked if we could kneel down and pray about it. So Ricardo, Elder Bowers and I knelt down and Ricardo began to pray. In his prayer he expressed his sincere desire to follow Christ and help his kids follow Christ too. He then asked if he should be baptized that Sunday and BOOM..... it hit us like a wall! The Spirit was testifying that he needed to baptized that Sunday. My hairs were standing on end and my heart racing but yet calm. He finished his prayer and then began to say a personal prayer. He sat there kneeling in prayer for at least 5 min and the Spirit continued to testify. Elder Bowers looked up at me and I just put my hands to my lips and motioned for his to not say anything, just let him pray and think. After about what seemed like 10 min Ricardo opened his eyes and said "Tell me what will go on at my baptism". We explained a little and then I asked him "So Ricardo will you be baptized this Sunday?" He just smiled and said "Si". It had been awhile since the Spirit hit me so hard but it was a beautiful experience in the which we learned how important the covenant of baptism is and how we need not procrastinate the day of our repentance. Sunday night Ricardo was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and next week will be confirmed a member. It is so important that we follow the Spirit as we do this work and as we bring God's children back to Him.

On Sunday both Jennifer and Rachel came to church. Jennifer had to work Saturday night from 6pm to 7:30 am Sunday morning but still manage to come to church at 9am and she stayed for all 3 hours. Rachel has a cracked hip but came to church being pushed in a wheel chair by her husband, it was quite a cute experience. I was extremely tired though by the end of Sunday after having attended 5 hours of church. Covering a Spanish ward and an English stakes is hard because you have try to check up on each ward to see who came but it is a good experience.

Coming up this week... Interviews with President Miller. While interviews are going on Elder McKinney (the Assistant to the President and I will be training all the district leaders. Then we will train all the missionaries training new missionaries while Elder Vela and Elder Hess train the new missionaries, then we have to all give a zone training so tomorrow will be a crazy day. Pray for me! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Jolly

7/9

my email will be short because I really need to get a haircut and we have to go to the mission office to get mail for the zone.

This week was pretty good. The best part was hearing that I will be going to Seattle when I finish!!!! Also we had a lesson with Jennifer this morning and she told us that she is excited for her baptism. She was not able to come to church on sunday because she had to work until 5 in the morning sat night but she told her boss that she needs to go to church on sundays and wont do that again.

We taught Lizzeth this past week and it was awesome. She is going through some trials because her husband is not being treated fairly at work and he is having to work 18 hr days. Her husband is trying to start his own business with a few other people but they told him that he needs to buy his own tools and he doesnt have the $2000 that requires. She told us that she knew the Lord would provide a way and that she was going to fast so that the Lord would hear their prayers. We then went over on sunday and taught her and her husband Eric. We watched Mormon Messages and they both started to cry. Eric was so impressed he asked me to make him a copy, I told him I would but in reality I am just going to buy them one.

This past week we had Zone Leader Council and President Miller went through 2 Nephi 31 and explained how in the chapter it explains in depth the process of going through the temple. I didnt believe it but then he showed us and wow it made sense. We also visited this old man named Brother Farnsworth, he is a master of the scriptures. He has memorized over 700 scriptures. He is legally blind, deaf in one ear, has a fake leg and half of his other foot but he knows the doctrine. We sat and talked with him for about an hour and he explained exactly why Jesus had to be baptized, the doctrine of eternal marriage and what the Book of Life is. It is all way to deep to talk about in my email but it was fascinating.

It is super hot in this room so I am going to jet but I love you all.

Elder Jolly

7/2

Freak I just want to know!!!! Well I was called my President Miller on wed and he told me that i was getting transfered back to Kearns but to a different area. He told me that my new companion would be Elder Vela. I was a little confused because well Elder Vela is a zone leader. President Miller said that I was going to be a zone leader! I was taken aback. I was excited but nervous to say the least! Elder Quiroz my comp got moved down to Riverton so he will still be in the south mission with me. As of right now the mission has been divided. It was sad to see so many missionaries I know get stuck in the new mission but that is where the Lord wants them. The second day back in Kearns I found out that Lizzeth and Eric (two people Elder Bolivar and I baptized in Jan) had moved into the area. We stopped by to see them on friday and oh it was a treat. She opened the door and said hi and then she saw me and started screaming! She gave me a big hug and invited us in. We began to talk about what had gone on in the past while and how church was. They have progressed so much!!!! She and her husband are super solid in their testimonies. I remember when we were teaching her she always wanted to know, "Where is that in the Bible? and how come this and that?" And then one day she just told us that yes she has a lot of questions but that she knew the church was true. Not because of the doctrine but because she could feel it in her heart. Because she had prayed and recieved an answer. All her doubts went away from the point. She has gone through a lot of trails since the time she got baptized but she realizes that it is because she is making correct choices and so Satan is tempting her. You can see the difference in her eyes!

Ok so then we were driving on sat down the road where Gabby lives, another person who Elder Bolivar and I baptized and she was sitting outside with the spanish missionaries ( we cover that area in english) so I slammed on the brakes and pulled over. As soon as I got out of the car she saw me and she was just like "JOLLY!" I ran up to her and gave her a huge hug. We talked for a few moments and then Elder Vela and I had to run off to another appointment.

Last night I went over to the Espinoza's house aka my brown family. I was on exchanges with another Elder in the zone. He knocked the door and I hid behind him. Ana, the daughter, answered the door and said "hi elders" then I popped up my head and just like everyone else, she screamed "Jolly Bean"! (my nickname she gave me). I saw Sister Espinoza inside just make a quick turn and she saw my and gasped. I ran to her and went to shake her hand and skipped the hand and went straight for a big hug. I love my brown mom! The Rivera's were there and they asked "Elder Jolly what did you do to make everyone in this area love you so much!?" I had no good answer. It was just amazing seeing these people again.

To top it all of on saturday we taught a lady named Jennifer who is from Peru. We were only able to teach the first 2 principles of the Restoration before we had to go. At the end we invited her to be baptized on July 21st and she said translated "Yes I would really like that! What do I have to do to prepare?" Things are going good and I am super happy. I hope to be able to finish these last 11 weeks strong. I love you all and pray for you.

Love,

Elder Jolly

6/24

This week has been good. We had a family home evening at our church building for 2 of our inv and their less-active parents. If was all about how families can be together forever and several families from the ward showed up to support us. We were able to teach Martin several times this week and we found out that he is not married to his girlfriend who he is living with. We talked about marriage with them and they are praying to know if they need to get married. Martin also came to church on sunday along with Maria, Adan, and Omar, all of which are on date to be baptized in July.

Transfers are coming this week and it looks like I will be getting moved. I am going to miss many members and investigators here. The Elders Quorum Pres came up to me on sunday and gave me a gift saying he wanted to give me something before I got tranfered. Then as I was greeting people before church a sister in the ward told me that when I come back to visit I can stay in her basement if I dont have a place to stay and for as long as I want. The ward is full of great people and I will miss them all, but we will find out tomorrow if I am actually leaving.

We got a call from our Zone Leaders last night saying that in preparation for the new mission all the cars in the central mission need to be turned in on tues at 12pm. They then tried to commit me to have my car at the mission office by 12pm tomorrow, I replied "Nope". They were shocked and said Elder Jolly the Lord has asked you to turn in your car on tues at 12pm will you do it. I really dont like the elder who was talking to me so I said "Elder .... dont pull that card on me. I am sure President Miller did not recieve inspiration for the 12 o clock time to turn in the cars. I am sure the Lord just wants His cars back tomorrow. I have district meeting until 11:45 and then I will make my way to the mission office but i cannot promise I will be there by 12. He was frustrated but hey thats life. It will be nice though to lose our car because well we nearly died the other day while driving it. We were at a light turning right and the light turned green so I preceded to turn. A car taveling towards us ran the red light trying to turn left and slammed into the car right next to us. I jumped when I saw the car next to me start spinning. If the car next to me wouldnt have been there the car would have nailed my door and it would have hurt. On that note the Zone Leaders car got smashed up good when I man feel asleep at the wheel and ran a stop sign slamming into the back of their car. Good experiences.

Love

Elder Jolly

Hey everybody what a good/stressful/alright week,

So this past week we had some weird experiences some amazing experiences and some sad experiences. I will start with what happened last monday. So after pday we went to stop by a referral that a Ward Mission Leader gave us. We went and knocked the door and a Cuban man opened the door and began to verbally attack us in Spanish of course. He was Jehovah's Witness and really did not like us. Now picture this, a tall white kid standing in a door while a short Cuban tears apart everything you believe in religiously and all of this in extremely fast Spanish. Well I didn't think that he thought I was going to be able to hold my own. I kept my calm for the first bit and with every attack I was able to use his bible to prove him wrong. He began to attack us on how we know that Jehovah is Jesus Christ. I opened to Genesis where it is describing how Jehovah made the Heaven and the earth, he cut me off there when he saw that I was going to trap him and asked me who was talking in the scripture, I responded "God". He said "correct" but then tried to wiggle his was out by saying that God was talking about himself. I was not about to let him get away with that. I being a white kid learning Spanish asked him to look at the verb used in the scripture which was the past tense of hacer. The scripture said "Jehovah hizo" hizo is the past tense of the usted or he form. So I asked him "so if God is talking about himself then God would have used the conjugation hice which is the "I" form of the verb but since he was talking about Jehovah who was Jesus Christ it was translated hizo. Then I flipped to John1 where it talks about how the person who made the earth or Jehovah came down and dwelt among us and received a body. He looked stunned! Now this was all a good calm conversation until this point where he had gotten cornered and then he went on the attack saying how miracles have stopped and everything is just luck. My companion and I testified that if he denies the fact that miracles happen then he is denying the hand of God in his life and that his was wrong in not giving Him the credit. This made him mad and he began to attack the leadership of the church and their priesthood, the he grabbed me and began to get in my face. This is where I got upset. Now I do not like bashing and this is the first situation in my mission where I have ever gotten angry with someone who was attacking my religious beliefs, but when someone attacks and speaks bad of the prophet and the apostles of the Lord that is when they have gone to far. I told him that we were done talking to him and that made him more angry. He began to talk bad of the priesthood and continued to talk bad about the leadership and how we have no right to baptize because we have no authority and he does. I looked him right in the face and said "Sir well the person who baptized me doesn't have the car of the year and a big house because he is payed to baptize and preach what he preaches unlike yours." Then I turned and walked away. My companion just stood there stunned and then came running down the stairs after me. When we got in the car I had to take a few minutes to cool down and I talked to my companion about how we should avoid contention but how when the man started to talk bad about President Monson I snapped. That was my only bash and will be my only. But I was surprised how everything just came out in pretty much fluent Spanish.
OK so a few weeks ago I told you of an experience I had with Elder Wilson on an exchange of how we were lead by the spirit to a lady with diabetes whose husband was not a member. We taught him a powerful lesson on the Book of Mormon and baptism. Well were turned him over to the other elders and the other day I got a call saying he had been baptized. He was found by the spirit 100% and baptized a week and a half later. It made my day.

The next story I have to tell is very humbling but helped my testimony grow that God knows everybody's circumstances and knows when and how to help them. So we received a referral for a lady (single mom(I will withhold her name)) about 5 weeks ago and we could never contact her. We would try sometimes 2 or 3 times a day to find her but never could. Little did I realize that the Lord was waiting for the right time. This past Friday we finally were able to contact her and she told us we could come by the next day at 2pm. We stopped by the next day at 2 with Brother Carrasquillo and his brother in law to teach this lady. She warmly invited us in and let us sit down. We began by introducing ourselves as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ and asked a few questions to see needs and previous beliefs. The Spirit was there and caused her to open up. She began to tell us of something that had happened to her a few days before. She had just picked up her 2 kids from day care and had arrived home. She came in the house and quickly realized that someone was there. Before she knew it someone attacked her and started to choke her, they raped her, robbed her and then choked her until she passed out the person then left thinking she was dead. Hearing what happened brought us all to tears but we were able to testify to her of the power of the Atonement. She told us that afterwards she thought about killing herself because everything had been going so wrong lately. Brother Carrasquillo and his brother in law testified of how trials prepare us for great blessings. There was an undeniable spirit there! We realized that we had not been able to contact her for so long because it was not until this moment that she needed us and God knew that. We were able to step in as a representative of Jesus Christ and show her the loved she needed. I will not soon forget this experience.

I testify that God is aware of every aspect of our lives and that he knows when to step in and give us the help we need and also when to let us struggle a little so that we can grow. I know this from personal experience and from seeing it in the lives of others. Missionary work is the most real work there is. It is a work of love and salvation.

Love,

Elder Jolly

6/4/12

This past week was awesome. We decided to start getting our muscles warmed up for when we have no car so we biked a good amount everyday. We would bike from about 12pm to 5 then picked up the car right before dinner and drive the rest of the night. We biked over 100 miles this week and when we lose the car it will probably be close to 200 a week. We are having a lot of success now. We picked up 4 new investigators this week. 1 accepted baptism for june 24th and the other 3 said they need to learn more first so we will keep working with them. We also were able to recieve several referrals for part-member families who are less active. The work is progressing a lot faster now and we are staying really busy. Maria one of our investigators has been meeting with missionaries for more than a year said she picked a date to get baptized but it is in august. She said she wants us to make her a plan so that she can be ready. We told her straight up "Maria it has been a year! We have nothing left to teach you! You know this is all true so get baptized!" She said she would pray to know if she should get baptized in June. She has a hard time coming to church though because she works most sundays, but this past sunday she snuck out and came to sacrament meeting during her lunch hour. Also Brenda came to church for the first time in 6 months and is getting close to baptism.

It is starting to get hot so when we get home we plan, update the area book and then I am outcold. I have been sleeping like a little baby lately and I love it. Elder Quiroz is really awesome! He really knows how to be a missionary and is a great person, we are getting along amazingly. With the mission split coming up soon I wonder what mission I will be in. I talked to Elder Harvey today and he said President called him and asked him to extend 3 weeks, so he knows he will be in the new mission. I haven't been called yet so maybe I will be getting transfered back into the South Mission. It is a stressful but exciting time. I love you all.

Elder Jolly

May 28, 2012

This past week was great! Side note. So right before the mission Dad and I flew down here and stayed in a hotel for 2 nights and that hotel is in my area. I drive by it everyday. On Tuesday we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders and it was an amazing experience. I went to serve in their area for the day with Elder Wilson. We had an awesome experience where we felt impressed to go to a certain apartment complex on the other side of the area and their area so we did. As we pulled in Elder Wilson asked me if we should go left or right, I answered right, he was thinking the same thing. So he turned right and not 5 feet later he parked. I asked "why would you ask me right or left if you were just going to park?" He didn't know why he just felt like this is where we needed to be. We got out and decided to start at the top floor, nobody answered. As we finished the second floor a lady pulled up. I looked at Elder Wilson and told him that we should go help the lady with her groceries. We went down and I asked her if we could help. She accepted and we found out that she has diabetes and her blood sugar was low so she didn't feel good. We helped her get all her stuff inside and she asked us to sit down. Her husband then walked out of his room and she told us that he was not a member. We sat down with him right then and taught him about the Book of Mormon and as it turns out he had been reading the Book of Mormon lately. The Spirit was strong as we testified of the power of the Book of Mormon and then invited him to be baptized on June 9th. He accepted and is now preparing to be baptized. We were guided by the Spirit and were led to one of Heavenly Father's children that was ready to hear the Gospel.

That night we had a lesson with 2 other investigators, Cody and Wade. There are 2 young single adults that have just started learning about and coming to church. I have been a part of some powerful lessons but this lesson was easily the most spiritual and powerful Restoration lesson I have ever taught. There was this atmosphere in the room like no other, you could feel the Spirit as if it was whispering all the words in your ears. The testimony and teachings flowed out of the mouths of Elder Wilson and I and even the members who came to the lesson. We asked Wade what was keeping him from baptism and he said "nothing. When I am reading the Book of Mormon, praying and coming to church are the times when I feel the best!" At the end we invited them both to be baptized on June 16 and they both said yes. The Work is true!

Elder Quiroz continues to improve and grow as a missionary. He is an amazing teacher and is super bold. We were teaching Adan and Alejandro who both didn't read from the Book of Mormon again so I asked them if they really had a desire to read. They said no but that they wanted an answer. Elder Quiroz told them that what they wanted was silly, they wanted an answer with out doing any research or work. We told them that if they wanted an answer that they had to put in their part. By the end Alejandro excitedly asked what the reading assignment would be. The work continues to progress and my testimony and I have no doubts that this is Christ's church had never been more firm. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Jolly

May 21, 2012

So this week was really good. I went to the mission office on wednesday to pick up my new greenie. My new trainee is Elder Quiroz from Dallas although he was born and raised in Mexico City. We have been working super hard this past week and have been seeing the success come as we do our best. We picked up a new investigator named Juan and he accepted baptism for June 10. We also picked up another new investigator named Wendy who accepted baptism for June 17th. Four other investigators finally accepted baptism but said they need more time before choosing a specific date. We are teaching this one lady named Maria and well she has been meeting with missionaries for more than a year and she told us that she is finally thinking about what date she wants to get baptized on. Things are looking up. There is a lot of faith in our companionship right now and so the Lord is blessing us. I wish I could write more but we are going to go play kickball as a zone. Love you all. Oh yea and BTW we are losing our car in a month so 10 stakes on foot! I am going to be in really good shape by the end of the mission.

Love,

April 30, 2012

Hello,

This past week has been one of the harder weeks of my mission. Things are not going well with my companion. I push him and push him but the mission just doesn't mean anything to him. It bothers me that a life changing experience such as this can be taken so lightly.

The highlight of the week was interviews with President Miller. It was probably one of the most spiritual interviews I have had on the mission. The first thing he said to me when I sat down was "Elder Jolly, you have a hard hard district, probably the hardest in the mission". I would have to say I agree with President Miller. There are 10 missionaries in the district 8 of those missionaries are in just split areas 3 are new missionaries so 3 are training, 2 of the 3 new missionaries are struggling. My prayers are a lot longer now, we will just leave it at that. He then looked me in the eyes and said "You have changed so much!" He talked about the difference he has seen in me and the new found confidence I have. I hope that all he said is true. I asked him why he decided that I should not go to school in the fall and finish the last 3 weeks of the mission. He related how he had done everything possible to serve an English speaking mission (at that time English missions were 2 yrs and other languages 2.5) so he could get into dental school on time and not have to wait an extra year. Well he was called English and only served 2 years. He got home an applied for dental school and was denied and had to wait another year before getting in. He told me how he had lost the blessings and he didn't want the same for me. He felt that I would receive special blessings for finishing those 3 weeks and spending the fall with my family. At the end I told him of how I have seen a big change in him since i started the mission. How he has become a humble, spiritual leader. He got up and gave me a huge hug and as we were hugging he said "you are a good son". It was a memorable experience. I am thankful that he was called as my mission president. I know that it was inspiration.

Love,

Elder Jolly

4/16

Well. This past week has been very rough. The work is progressing slow and the other members in the district are struggling with their new smaller areas. It is going to take some time to adjust but everyone seems to be in good spirits.

Last week on tuesday we were all sitting down just about ready to start district meeting when I got a call from the assistants. They were looking for the building and were lost. "Great!" I said to myself. I have no problem giving trainings and doing district meeting but whenever President Miller or the Assistants show up I always get a little nervous. It went well though and I even challenged myself by demonstrating a role play with Elder Mckinney (one of the assistants) who is probably the boldest but also the funniest person I have ever met. We went to lunch at Braza Grill afterwards to talk about the meeting and the district.

We were able to meet with Isaac several times this week and he is set for his baptism this sunday. He is a hyper kid and never seems to be able to pay attention but somehow he remembers everything we say.

At chruch we had an interesting experience. My companion is struggling to stregthen his testimony and as we walked out of Gospel Priniciples this man stopped us and began to speak to us. He told us of some very spiritual experiences and told us of a few things regarding the temple. The spirit was really strong. It left me pondering for several minutes afterwards. When he finished he looked at my companion and said "When I saw you walk out of the class I was prompted to tell you these things and I don't know why." My companion was half paying attention through most of the conversation and I just wanted to hit him on the side of the head. Tomorrow we are going to the Draper temple and I will have several things to ponder about.

In the past few weeks I have really found my prayers to be more sincere. I am often stressed and I have found it becoming natural to just get on my knees and pray. It has been a great help. I don't always get the answers I look for but I get the peace of mind I need. In the bible dictionary under prayer it states:

As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. I feel that I am grasping that relationship and it has been a huge help when I have needed it. The Spirit should guide our prayers and the words we say. As we do this we will have a greater understanding of this relationship and come to love the time we have o our knees in prayer. It will become second nature to pray in times of distress and doubt. I love this work and the things I am learning. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Jolly

April 2, 2012

Ok so this week was awesome. Last sunday when reporting numbers I was examining the district goal we had all set. Near the end of the month we are supposed to adjust the goal depending on what the projections are. Well I was looking at the numbers and we had baptized 7 so far for the month and nobody was on date for the last week. I felt to set the goal at 9 even though nobody was on date to be baptized. At the time it didn't make sense to me but I did it with the faith that the Lord would provide a way. Monday morning we had companionship study with the sisters because they were struggling to baptized and had only baptized 2 in the past 7 months. We went over all the investigators they were teaching and discused what could be dont differently. The conclusion was that they needed to be more bold. They took the advice to heart and executed. The mission was pushing super hard to get 200 baptisms in March and we were extremely close so everyone was trying to get last minute baptisms in on saturday so we could reach our goal. Friday I get a call from the Sister Hermansen and Sister Meyers and they asked what I was doing the next day at 12:30. We had a lesson at the time but I asked what I could do for them and they yelled out "A BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW". They had run into a couple whose had just moved to Murray that same day. They had been meeting with the missionaries in West Valley and the bishop had recently married them. The sisters went in for the first time, taught them and then put them on date to be baptized the next day. It was a miracle! I interviewed them
on saturday and they were baptized that evening at 5. The rest of the night I could not stop smiling because I was so happy for the sisters. They had been on the edge of just giving up and then they saw the hand of the Lord work a miracle and reward them for their hard work. It was not until sunday that those 2 baptism had made us reach the goal of 9 baptisms as a district. This is a work of miracles.

We went over on tuesday to teach a young couple, Ana and Jesus. They had been meeting with missionaries for more than a year and were progressing very slowly. The week before they had accepted a baptismal date for April 15 but they did not seem so sure. When we went in and started to teach Jesus told us how the other day he was thinking about his life and realized that every time his life was going bad and everytime he was about to start drinking again the missionaries would show up and help him. He noticed how his life was always easier and blessed when he was listening to the missionaries. He told us that he doubted baptism when we had extended the date but now he was sure that it was something he needed to do. They prayed at the end that they would be ready for baptism on April 15. We are still working with them but the work schedule makes it hard to meet more than twice a week but the should be getting baptized in April.

Wednesday we went over to teach Gabby for one of the last times before she goes back to Mexico. Her little baby boy is super cute! Anyway, we talked about all that she had learned and about the Sabbath Day. At the end she prayed and it was an amazing prayer in which she began to cry when she gave thanks for her kids and for the missionaries. Then she began to cry harder and she said thanks for letting me have a relationship with you (God). It was amazing and you could feel the sincerity of her prayer. She had learned that God exists and that you really can have a close relationship with him even though we can't see Him.

So on Saturday night I had the opportunity to go to the Priesthood Session of Conference. It was an amazing experience and as I was walking out someone stopped me and asked how I was doing. At first glance he looked so familiar but I could not remember his name or where I had seen him, He told me that he had served in the Totem Lake Ward and then it all clicked. It was Elder Biseger (spelling?). He served with Elder Mitchell and then he told me that he had returned and served in the ward after I left. They were the first missionaries I started to go out with teaching. We talked for a bit and then we parted.

This week was full of miracles and wonderful experiences. I have come to understand the Savior's love even better. I pray we can all come to this same knowledge and realize the love our Savior has for every single one of us. I pray that we may all see the miracles that occur daily in our lives, which miracles are blessings heaven sent.

     Hey so yea. Wednesday I will be picking up a new missionary to train him. I am going to be a daddy!!! I am excited but super nervous.

Love,

Elder Jolly

March 26, 2012

Another week has come and gone and well this Elder is about 10lbs lighter. I quickly realized why I was having such a hard time and had no energy last week. It was because I was getting sick. I got punched in the face by the flu this past week and because of that spent 3 whole days in bed with the worst case of everything terrible you can imagine. Thursday we had a leadership meeting all day and that is when it started to hit me. It was a 6 hour meeting but it felt a lot longer. I woke up that night freezing cold. I took my temp and it was 102.4, it was not a fun night. The weird thing is that besides being sick all week I am doing a lot better and am in better spirits.

Yesterday at church Dyasha was confirmed and a new inv showed up. Her kid was bouncing off the walls and it kind of made me think of my childhood and hope I was not a terrible as that kid, then I was hit by the reality that I was (my bad mom). This was actually a great week, nobody bashed on us which was nice for one. Also the family that bashed on us last week got deported back to Mexico. I honestly don't have much to say so I will end with a dream that I had...

I dreamed that I was about 10 years older and I was married. In this dream I was playing with 3 kids who I quickly realized were my own. Two had brown hair and brown eyes but the oldest who was probably 8 had blonde hair and blue eyes and looked just like me. All 3 were boys and I was running around playing with them and we were all speaking in spanish. My wife then walked into the room but I never got to see her face. It was weird because as I woke up I was really happy and I could not stop thinking about the fact that the kids in the dream were mine, I had my own kids. I am definitely not ready for that now but it made me ponder on my own future family.

A better letter is in store for next week as long as I dont get sick again. Also if I remember I will show something interesting I learned about the connection between "living waters" and the sacrament.

Love,

Elder Jolly

March 12, 2012

This week was a very long and hard week. I got your letter mother and am working on a response. I honestly don't ever have any free time so I write little bits here and there and so hopefully you will get a letter before next p-day. Sorry to everybody else because well I am really bad at writting back. When there is time to write sometimes I decide to close my eyes for a few seconds instead of write letters. I am just hoping that the new bags under my eyes are not a permanent thing.

We had Stake Conference this week and well we had the wonderful privilage of translating everything into spanish. I honestly thought previously that translating would be fun and easy. I learned first hand that it is way fun and NOT easy. You are sitting there concentrated on what the person is saying and as you translate they continue to speak, so you have to listen, speak and try and control those around you. I was getting into a groove yesterday while translating until some gringos walked in and started talking. I just wanted to punch them in the face because I couldn't hear what the speaker was saying. Gratefully nobody was punched. My favorite speaker was Elder Rudy Franco because not only did he give a great talk on establishing a safe home, but he also speaks slower which results in a better, more understandable translation from Elder Jolly.

All week was spent preparing Dyasha for her baptism. We were making daily contact with her to help her feel ready. I have gained a testimony of the importance of daily contact with investigators. It is easier to stay up to date on their commitments and help them see how important the message is.  The baptism went great and there was a beautiful spirit as the primary president testified of how all little girls are princesses in the eyes of God. Afterwards we went up to Issac, her 8 year old brother and asked him if her liked it. He replied with a yes. I told him that he was next and he said "No.... Just kidding, I want to be baptized on one condition. We asked what the condition was and he told us that we would have to hold him under water for atleast 5 seconds. We told him that we would be willing to make that sacrifice. So next week we will begin to teach Issac and the parents.

A sad thing happened today that made me learn something important. I was in the shower and when I got out Elder Pitcher looked at me with a sad face and told me he had accidently deleted all my pictures on my camera while trying to copy some photos to his memory card. All my photos that I had taken since May were gone. He asked me if I was mad. As I sat there thinking the thought came to my mind, "what good will come from being mad". I was a little sad but while he was in the shower I knelt in prayer and I said "Heavenly Father, everything happens for a reason. Help me to learn what I am supposed to." I learned and understood that trials come and instead of being mad and upset with the world we need to look at what needs to be learned, because anger causes us to decline spiritually, but when we focus on what God wants us to learn we can make a bad situation into a learning situation.

I am more tired than ever but I feel as though I am filled with and everlasting happiness. This happiness comes from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It really does bring true and lasting joy. It fills us with a feeling of peace and hope.

Love,

Elder Jolly

2/27

Woah another week is over and the bags underneath my eyes are growing increasingly larger. I have been finding the greatest joy in the work lately. Transfers were last week and well I am now in Murray and Elder Pitcher is my comp again. We are getting along great and working super hard. I say this out of a realization of the blessings that come when we give the work a little push above what we thought we could. The past 8 weeks I have been tired beyond belief because I have been pushing myself to the max and beyond, and have really seen the blessings. In the past 2 months we have had 8 baptisms. I honestly do not say this out of pride because I know the blessings have come as the Lord has seen our sacrifice and obedience along with our willingness to follow the promptings of the Spirit. No person not guided by the spirit could ever convince someone to join a church in which the person must sacrifice everything in persuit of the kingdom of God. Only the spirit can fulfill that task, all he needs is willing hands. I am enjoying my new area and new asignment as District Leader but it is a lot different when you are worried about 4 areas and 8 missionaries instead of just your own area. A lot more prayers have been said and well it is tough working with the hard nose Zone Leaders who only care about numbers and do not see the effort each missionary is putting in.

Rafael and Socorro were baptized this past week on thursday and I had the blessing of returning to Sandy to baptize Socorro. It was a lovely baptism in which we witnessed the parents follow the example thei 2 daughter had set just 2 months prior. The family is almost complete, just one more brother to work with. When I got transfered I went and said goodbye to Rocio Juarez and Lilian Pineda both are people we are teaching. I told them both that soon they would make great strong members of the church (which is totally true!) and they both said they planned on it and were excited to get baptized soon. They both have several challenges in life right now but have a determination to follow their Savior. I will miss Sandy but it is in good hands with Elder Schmidt.

Now to Murray... I arrived in Murray on wed and have loved every second of it, including killing several roaches every morning when I wake up. We live in a retirement home but odly enough no retired people live here, just a lot of weird people several of which do drugs. A few weeks before I got here the man who lives in the room next to us was a little out of it due to drug use. He put on a ski mask, went out side his door into the hallway and started pounding on his own door yelling "It's the police open up!". He is a really nice guy though. I feel bad because someone stole his BBQ. The hallways smell of smoke and well weed. Funny thing is I didn't know what marijuana smelled like until I got on the mission. Meeting and talking to people all day well obviously you run into some strange people. It makes me realize how the gospel has always given me a stable enviornment to grown up in. I am having a blast driving the car we have in the area. It is a 2010 Suburu Impreza with a slap shifter. So I can put it in automatic and just drive or sport and shift up and down by slapping the stick, no clutch! It is a hoot driving up the windy, twisty roads that lead to the mountains. Our area covers 10 stakes so we do quite a bit of driving.

We had another baptism this past week for a lady named April Trigo. She is a single mom with 5 boys all under the age of 7. Now mom if you thought you had it tough, think again. All through the lessons we would be getting smacked, punched, bitten and abused by these out of control kids. We wondered how this lady could feel the spirit amongst all the comotion. We ask her why she wanted to get baptized and she told us that she had met with tons of other religions and never felt anything or seen a difference but with us she had felt a lot when we taught and when she would read. She told us that she has had a lot more patience since we started meeting with her, which has helped her cope with 5 crazy boys. It was a huge testimony builder of how the spirit works in mysterious ways. We are also teaching a man named Juan. He is going to be baptized this sunday. He is a writter so he speaks very poetically and it drives me nuts sometimes but he knows the gospel is true.

On wed night my first night in the area we had a lesson with Brenda and Patrick two 19 year old kids who are dating. They have been meeting with missionaries for almost a year. We read in Alma chapter 7:11-16. We testified of the things the Savior suffered for us because he loves us. The spirit was extremely powerful! Then we talked about how in verses 14-16 it mentions what we have to do to payback and follow the Savior. We then commited Brenda to baptism for March 18th. When we asked Patrick he turned it down and told us we just didnt understand how religion was a new thing to him and he was still learning. They both have younger siblings who they care about. I remeber sitting there thinking about what Patrick needed and a personal story popped into my mind. I immediately recognized it as a prompting from the Holy Ghost. I looked at them and told them about how their younger siblings looked up to them whether they realized it or not. I told them that I used to tease my brother and sister (mainly my sister) nonstop and how the sunday I was leaving for the mission we were sitting in church as a family and I put my arm around my little sister Hannah and she began to cry. As I looked up at my mother I noticed she was crying to and she told me something that has stuck with me ever since that day. I can remember the exact words she said which were "you have no idea how much your little sister loves you, you have no idea how much she looks up to you, you have no idea." As I told Brenda and Patrick this they began to cry, I was already crying. we testified that they would be the example for their siblings. We then said "Patrick, will you prepare yourself to make that same step with Brenda by being baptized on March 18th." He responded with a yes and we closed with prayer. As we asked them how the felt afterwards they responded "amazing, the things I am feeling are amazing!" That is the spirit. It leads and guides this work. It is the convincing power by which so many have come to know the truth of what we teach and the truth of this gospel. I know it! May we all live by that knowledge and live worthily of the presence of the spirit for he truly is our connection between heaven and earth.

Love,

Elder Jolly

Feb 13, 2012

Well this week went by really fast and all is well in Zion (if you can even call Utah that). Lilian is doing very well and is progressing nicely. Her boss did not change the schedule to give her Sundays off work at least until 4 so she was not able to come to church with us. Although she has a friend that goes to the Union Park Spanish Branch and that service begins at 9am so we went with her to that Branch and helped her around. We haven't been able to meet with her since then so tomorrow when we have our appointment with her we will find out how it goes.

In one of the lessons with her this week she said something that strengthened my testimony that the Lord and His angels are preparing people to accept this gospel. Lilian told us of how the missionaries had knocked her door several times before when she was living with her mother. She said her mom would always say she is not interested but the missionaries would persist and set an appointment. When the appointment time would arrive her mom would say "Lilian lets go to the store". Lilian would remind her mom of the fact that the missionaries were going to be arriving soon to which the mom would reply "I know and I don't want to be here". When we knocked on her door a few weeks ago she had been prepared and was listening when the Spirit told her "you need to listen to them". Later in the lesson she told us of how her mom noticed that Lilian had been changing she seemed much happier. She told her mom that it was because she is getting closer to God. Her mothers boyfriend did not like this answer and told her that she was being silly and she was making it up. Lilian snapped back at him one day he would understand because one day he will need God and he will be ready to listen. The senior missionaries (The Birds) are teaching her English and man are they loving her to death and it is great. Lilian is a lot happier now than she was the first time we met her. The gospel changes lives.

We have really been trying to solidify the testimonies of Rafael and Socorro. They are the parents of two girls that were recently baptized. They have listened to the missionaries before and liked it a lot. I believe the baptism of their daughter was the push they needed in order to get them more interested in acting and being baptized. We taught them the first half of the Plan of Salvation focusing on Adam and Eve and The Fall because they believed we were all born with the original sin from Adam and Eve and that's why babies need to be baptized. I have always struggled to teach the Fall of Adam and Eve but for some reason this lesson flowed really well as we worked as a companionship to resolve their doubt. We pulled from 2Nephi 2 and the articles of faith to explain that God knew Adam and Eve would eat of the fruit and that it was all part of the plan. I think a good analogy for this situation is a parents with their kids. Many times because parents know their kids so well they know exactly what their kid would do if they were placed in a certain situation. If the parents put a candy bar on the table and leave the room and then the kid eats the candy bar the parents are not normally surprised because well that's what a kid would do in that situation. Heavenly Father knows us so well that he knew Adam and Eve when placed in the garden would eat of the forbidden fruit. The lesson was spirit filled and they told us they are ready for baptism on Feb 23.

On Saturday night one of our stakes had the adult session of stake conference so we attended. They had 2 guest speakers one of which was Elder Franco from the seventy and the other was Elder Anderson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He spoke on how we are living in enemy territory and how we are living in the great and spacious building. He spoke of how the Twelve and the First Presidency often speak of the next generation and how to help them grow up strong in the church. He mentioned that one of the most important things to do is to keep our homes and what enters them very sacred. We must also have a wakening unto God, or come to the point where we realize how much we really need him. He told us of how he taped the Super Bowl so he could watch it the next day when it was no longer Sunday. He said the half time show was full of glamour and things that he realized brought no eternal value. The things that now entertain the people of this world are things you would find in the great and spacious building. The key to avoiding all this he said was to have a deep and lasting conversion. The 10 virgins had lamps which are a representation of their testimonies and the oil was a sign of deep conversion. Our testimony must be so deep and rich that our children will not be able to deny the words of our testimony because the spirit will leave a lasting impact. The spirit will take the words unto the heart but there we must act and bring the words into our hearts. He truly is a Special Witness of Christ.

I have come to realize and realize more and more the truthfulness of this gospel. I can firmly testify that it is true and is the key to eternal happiness. Faith is where it all begins and I have come to understand that faith is a purifying principle. As we exercise our faith we are purified through the Atonement of Christ. I know this is true!

Love,

Elder Jolly

Jan 30,2012

I have no idea how I got over my anger issues all that I know is that I am hardly ever angry anymore. Being in a car is crazy not good for my health I am gaining weight again... this is not good. There is a lady in my last area who we were teaching who owns a little ceasar so we get free little ceasar whenever we want. We went on exchanges this week with the Zone Leaders and I was with Elder Bolling, he was introduced to the gospel by Mitt Romney because he worked on his campaign 4 years ago. He doesnt speak a lick of spanish. It was crazy we went into a lesson and the Spirit told me to ask her how she came to know Jesus was her Savior and she broke down crying saying how she didnt know because she was so far from God.  It was crazy we... well I since Elder Bolling doesnt speak spanish, testified on the Plan of Salvation and extended a baptismal date which she accepted. All this happened in 10 min and then we met some random guy on the street who we talked to and went into his house to teach him. 15 min later we were back outside and he was also on date for baptism. At the end of the lesson he told us "I feel so relaxed and kind of tired after that lesson, I feel really good". THATS THE SPIRIT! My email isnt long but I am super tired and want to have time for a nap today before Pday ends. BTW we have a new visa waiter, Elder Walker from Pleasant Grove (shout out to Hna. Purziani). Love you all and wow the church is true.

Love,

Elder Jolly

Jan 23, 2012

wow this week went by way too fast! If I can use one word to describe the week it would be... BAPTISM! We had the baptism for one of our investigators last night. His name is Alejandro Becerra. He was originally on date for the 29th of January but when we went over for the lesson with him on tuesday and he said he wanted to move it up to this past sunday and so we did and it was awesome. The work is progressing well in the area and things are starting to come together. Rocio Juarez, someone we are teaching came to church on sunday with her son and daughter. She had only planned on staying for an hour but her kids loved it so much she stayed the whole time. The branch did a great job of welcoming her and helping her feel at home.

How much snow did you recieve? On saturday it began to pour rain after about an hour it turned over to snow and dumped for the rest of the day. We returned home that night cold wet and beaten. Blessing of the day though (Inside joke to Hna. Purziani) is that we recieved a referral from a bishop and we checked up on it and turns out the lady is super interested and her son wants to learn too. On thursday we stopped by one of the potentials on our list and she brought up the fact that she has a strong testimony of the Virgin Mary. For a second I was shocked and didnt know what to say. She told us of how the Virgin had answered her prayer and healed her daughter. I told her that of course God would answer her prayer and it would be according to her understanding and so because at that time she believed in the Virgin Mary that God would answer her prayer in a way she would understand but then I opened to 3rd Nephi where Jesus Chrsit outlines how we need to pray in His name. We then switched the focus of the lesson to Jesus Christ and asked questions to get her to bear her testimony about Him. She did and it was a huge invite to the Spirit, which then took over the lesson. We moved from Jesus Christ to baptism and she accepted a date for baptism and said she knows it is something her and her husband need to do.

I was studying today in an article written by Elder Carl B. Clark, I believe that was his name lol. The article was about looking up to God and not to men around us. Too many people do things and make decisions based on what will bring them popularity or they do things so their friends wont judge them, but the article talked about how we need to look up and think, what is it that my Heavenly Father wants me to do. He relates a story of how he struggled to learn German in the MTC and he felt as if he was falling behind the other missionaries in his district, this left him feeling worried and scared. He knelt down and prayed and the answer he recieved was quite surprising, it was "I did not call you on a mission to speak German well, I called you on a mission to serve me with all you heart, might, mind, and strength. I feel as if too many times we get caught up in the world trying to please our fellowmen when it reality we should please and do the will of our Eternal Judge. The world expects perfection from us while all that our Heavenly Father expects is our best. What hope there is in knowing that perfection is not required, just a willing mind and heart that give their best, so give the Lord your best.

Love, Elder Jolly

Jan 19, 2012

Transfers!!! I have been moved out of Kearns and am now serving in the
Sandy zone. After seving in Kearns for 7 months it is time to begin a
new chapter in the mission. My new companion is Elder Schmidt, a great
missionary from california, who left from Japan for the mission since
his dad is stationed there right now. We cover the Sandy Galena
spanish ward. To give you a little idea of where my area is, if you
look on a map and find Sandy well we cover all of that city and part
of Midvale. Our area goes from I-15 all the way up to Snowbird ski
resort. It is different covering 9 stakes but the beautiful car helps.
When I arrived in the area wednesday we have a 2010 Mazda 3 but we had
to drop it off at the mission office later that afternoon since the
church was retiring the car and we picked up our 2012 Malibu that had
300 miles on it. It is my first time being in an area with a car for a
long time and I am really excited about it. The house we are staying
in is amazing. We have the whole basement of the 3 story house. It has
a full kitchen, a massive table to study at with nice business chairs,
a pool table and a nice bathroom. The landlords (Nelsons) are really
nice. Brother Nelson teaches economics at BYU and Sister Nelson is a
nurse. I am really excited to be here in Sandy. Although it was hard
to say goodbye to everyone in Kearns though, it felt like they were my
family.
We got a call Wednesday night infroming us that 2 visa waiters
were coming to the mission and that we would be training one of them.
He was an awesome Elder from Oregon. Elder Strand was his name, we had
him for 3 days before he was emergency transfered to another area due
to an elder going home. Elder Strand will do great with his new
companion because he will be able to speak more in lessons which will
prepare him well for his mission in Madrid Spain when he gets his
visa.
So this week was great! I recieved a text on saturday informing me
that everything was confirmed and the following day LIzzeth and Eric
were going to be baptized and Lizzeth had asked that I return to
baptize her. They told me of how Eric was not sure if he wanted to get
baptized so they had a lesson on saturday before the interview. They
all knelt down and had Eric pray to know if he needed to get baptized.
They said the spirit was so strong and when the finished the Zone
Leaders walked in and asked who needed the baptismal interview, to
which Eric responded "I do". The wedding was so spiritual and Lizzeth
looked great all dressed in white. The ward came out in force bringing
food for afterward and to help support them. Lucero and Gabby came to
watch. As I sat there watching the wedding I felt the spirit very
strongly and it testified to me that marriage in ordained of God.
After the wedding we all moved into the primary room for the baptism.
Now I thought there was a lot of people there last week but this week
the room was packed. There were chairs from the back of the room all
the way up to the edge of the font. We counted more than 90 people
that had come to support them as they made this sacred covenant with
God. After the baptism I talked with Lucero for a bit and some other
members, some of which joked about being mad that I had not stopped by
to say goodbye when I was transfered. I took some pictures with my
hispanic family the Espinoza's and then went looking for Gabby. Gabby
has been meeting with missionaries for more than a year, but moved out
of the area in october. She texted us last monday saying she had moved
back and needed spiritual help. We met with her tuesday and I said
goodbye. Well at the baptism she came up to me and told me that nobody
knew but that she had decided after church that day that she was going
to get baptized and she told she wanted me to come back and baptize
her. I jumped up and down for joy and everybody looked at me funny. I
loved teaching her but when she moved away it stank, so I was so
excited to see her move back and decide to be baptized. Lucero is
doing great and said the confirmation was amazing. She is excited to
return to Mexico in 2 months and share what she has learned with her
family. All in all it was an amazing week! I am so happy right now!
The work is true and the only way to know it is to live it and
experience the joy that comes from it.

Love,
Elder Jolly

Jan 8, 2012

Wow is the only word I can think of to describe the experiences we have had this week. As I said in my last letter Lucero brought up the doubt on sunday about the Word of Wisdom and not wanting to give up coffee. Well on monday we went back over and gave what I thought was a great lesson listening and asking inspiried questions but she refused to give up the coffee. She said there is nothing wrong with it and that she wants to continue drinking it because it is something she just likes. I told her, that if she knews this was all true why give up all the blessings for a cup of coffee. She didnt budge! We comitted her to pray and know if it was something she should give up. We left that lesson a little frustrated because she has come so so far and now she may reject the blessings because she wants to continue drinking coffee. I knew and had the faith she would get an answer I was just afraid that she would not recognize the answer but I was proved wrong. The next day we went over for the lesson with Lucero and she told us about how when she was praying she didnt get an answer but that the next day as she was sitting on the bus she was thinking of all the other drinks she could drink. She still didnt want to give it up and was pretty stubourn about it. Finally I told her that she has felt the spirit stronger in the past weeks than she ever has in her life and that she would not be baptized if she would not give up the coffee. She looked a little shocked but then we talked about how she knows Joseph Smith is a prophet but she is doubting the revelation he recieved and how that doesnt make sense. We talked about the Spirit and how it has changed her. She began to cry, which means I also began to cry and she told us that what we said makes so much sense. She told us of how everytime we are with her everything makes so much sense but when we leave doubts flood into her mind. We testified of how the spirit is teaching her in the lessons but the spirit leaves with us, she wont have that gift until after her baptism. She began to cry more and asked "and if the doubts still come after I am baptized?" Faith was the answer, you have felt this is true and no man can take what you felt away, it is engraven in you and you will never forget it. She accepted and said you Elders are right. All week long after that leading up to her baptism we would get random texts from her that would say something like "I am so so so happy, I can't wait to get baptized, I wish it was sunday". Everytime the texts would come in it would put a smile on my face.

Thursday came, the day which we usually have a lesson with Lizzeth after the english class. We were greeted by an unexpected surprise. Lizzeth told us that the missionaries in the area which she lives in (5mins away but out of the mission) had knocked her door. She told them she was already meeting with us and that she didnt want to switch Elders.  I told her I would take care of it and that if I needed to I would call up there mission president and explain to him. So other than that everything is a go for their wedding and baptism this sunday.

Sunday was one of my favorite days of the mission thus far. Lucero was so excited for her baptism and you could see it in her face. It was fast and testimony meeting and Hna. Chavez got up and bore testimony to Lucero of how after baptism the doubts will still come but they come for us all but we know this work is true and we cannot deny it. We ran around all church to classes inviting people. After church we went over to Jackie Pauta's with some other people and made Bandeja Paisa (spelling) and natilla. Wow it tasted rico rico rico. We went to the baptism early to set up and prepare. Lucero had asked me to baptize her so I began to get nervous as the baptism neared because the people just came and came and came. I had to run to other rooms to bring more chairs. Then the sister missionaries from Temple Square, who had taken us on the tour with Lucero showed up. They were jumping for joy because this was the first baptism they had gone to. Usually they teach lessons on the phone until the missionaries in that part of the world arrive, but they said they never hear what happens after that. The baptismal service started and there was not even a place to stand. We had set up more than 70 chairs and there was still about 15 to 20 people standing in the back. The first talk was given by Lucero's cousin who is a member in a different ward, it was the perfect way to invite the spirit. Afterward, three ladies from the ward sang her a speacial musical number called "Mi amigo hallare" or 'My Friend I will find". When the song ended the spirit was so strong and as we stepped into the font Lucero had the biggest smile on her face and then stopped half way down the stairs and turned around to hug her cousin Mariana who was waiting at the edge of the font. She began to cry. The ordinance was performed and as she looked at me after the ordinance with tears in her eyes I couldnt help but think of everything we went through together. She was crying as she stepped out of the baptismal font and right as they curtains were closed and I was stepping out she broke down. She just hugged her cousin Mariana for several minutes bawling the spirit testified to me that she had done the right thing and that her family who are not members will be blessed and changed by the influence she will have on them. After a few minutes as I was about to walk into the changing room I looked over at Lucero who was still in her cousins arms in tears and said "Always remember that the Lord loves you, and I love you too" She smiled and I went in to change. After the baptism the sister missionaries, Sister Chavez and Sister Intriago told us how they had talked on the phone with Lucero's mom for over and hour and that Lucero's mom is going to start reading the Book of Mormon, because she saw the difference it made in her daughter. Her influence is already starting to spread!

I will never forget these experiences, I will never forget these people, I will never forget what I felt. It is something that fills me with a feeling of.... well I dont know how to explain it but it is the Spirit. Hermana Espinoza afterward told me "when she came out of the water she looked different, her countanace had changed. Lucero confirmed what Hna. Espinoza said she told us that when she came back up she felt different, she felt new, she felt clean, what she felt was the love our Heavenly Father has for her and I know that! I feel as though my Heavenly Father knows who I am and sent me here to Kearns not to help change Lucero's life but that she could help change mine. She has honestly changed my life, she had helped me understand better the presecence God has in our lives when we strive to grow closer to Him. I pray the Lord will allow me to have more similar experiences during the last bit of my mission. I pray that you may all feel His love and know that our Savior lives!

Love,

Elder Jolly

Dec 26, 2011

Lol no it didn't make me homesick at all, I sadly but honestly have to say I dont think I have really ever been homesick or really missed you guys since I got out on the mission. I love you guys with all my heart but I stay so busy and this is where my heart is right now. I hope when you say I look more filled out that is a good thing and you are not slidding in a fat joke.  I forgot to show you the gifts I got from Jackie and Lucero. Lucero got me this wicked awesome hat that is like the alaskan ones (well it makes me think of alaska) it has the long ear flaps and the "fur" on the inside. I absolutely love it. Lol she walked up and gave Elder Bolivar and I a hug the other day and it was weird but it felt nice to get a hug. The other day this member asked us to give her son a blessing so we went over and as I shook her hand she leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, it is a hispanic thing so it was not like a sign of feelings plus she is like 40 but I am almost positive I turned red and was left shocked and confused at what had just taken place. So I am going to tell of the experience at temple square again so you can put it on the blog.

This past week I have seen the Spirit of God change a person faster than ever. I have seen someone go from believing God exists to knowing He exists and loves her. On moday we had a lesson with Lucero and it will be a lesson that I will not soon forget. She had some doctrinal questions that we had to clarify, thanks to the women in relief society that decided to go super deep in the lesson on Exaltation. She was understanding the answers we were giving her but then I felt prompted and Elder Bolivar picked up on it to that we needed to change the focus of the lesson. I began to testify about how she had felt the spirit very strongly in the previous lesson and testified that it was her answer. I testified that through all the trials she has had recently she should not be happy but she is and that is because she is growing closer to the Lord. Elder Bolivar then gave a great analogy of how we are as a ball of clay and little by little the Lord sculpts us into what we need to become. There was a spirit there so strong that I honestly dont even know how to describe it. Tears flowed freely from all our eyes except Elder Bolivar lol but he was close. Lucero then offered the closing kneeling prayer and as she pleaded and gave thank there was this strong prescence of love. I knew in that moment and will never be able to deny that God loves Lucero and all of us because I felt him there in that prayer. She paused and began to cry and she recognized what she was feeling. At the end of the prayer we stood up and I looked her in the eyes and told her "I know you felt that and you cannot deny it" she responded that she has felt it and then excused herself for a few second to dry her eyes. That lesson and the Spirit felt was engraven into my heart and mind and I have found myself pondering on it over the past week. Amazingly that experience was not the only one to be engraven in my heart and mind that week. We had recieved permission from the Assistants to take Lucero to temple square for a personal tour with the sister missionaries there. The tour started and as we were sitting in front of the Christus statue Lucero whispered to me that we hadnt had a prayer and that she would like to start with a prayer. I told the sisters and we had a prayer. The tour went well and all was great but at the very end we had an experience that well I just dont know how to describe, I will do my very best but I feel like words will never be able to explain in exact detail what happened and what we felt. We went to a demonstration called "God's Plan for Us" in the which there were six rooms with a short video following the life of a family as the kid grew up and as events happened in their life and how families are meant to last forever. As we entered the last room which showed the daughter getting married in the temple there was a very beautiful spirit. The sister missionaries gave Jackie and Lucero some tissues for their eyes. The sisters then bore powerful testimony of the importance of families. I then bore testimony to Lucero about the light that has come into her eyes as she had learned and grown. I told her of how recently I had been praying for some things that I needed help with and that through her the Lord had answered my prayers. Elder Bolivar followed with and outstanding testimony and then Jackie's son Sergio began to cry as he shared his feelings with us. The sisters then asked Lucero if she had anything she wanted to say. She broke down in tears as she told us how she will never forget us and all that we have done for her. She told us how she had felt so far from God for 7 years based on decisions she had made but that now she feels closer than she has ever been before. Right then we kneeled down in that room all by ourselves and Lucero began to pray and that same love overcame us. It was almost as if our Savior was in that room, we could feel Him we just couldnt see Him. As we got up and left Sergio commented how he had neve Lucero looked and me and said "I know you have a question for me" to which I responded "yep" she quickly replied "the answer is yes, I am ready to be baptized". Lucero will be baptized on Jan 8th and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and place herself on the path that will lead her back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I know this work is true, not only is the doctrine perfect but the Spirit is real and it has testified to my heart that all this is true. Once you have had this feeling you cannot deny it because you cannot get rid of the memory of how you felt. Only the spirit can make you feel that way. I know God loves us for I saw and was a witness of Him showing his love to one of His precious daughters. May we all place ourselves in a position to be instruments in the hands of the Lord, so that we may take part in bringing to pass His work and His glory.

Love,

Elder Jolly