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

Dec 5, 2011

well winter has arrived or at least the cold. Today the high is 27 and they said the wind chill could be as bad as -1. This past week we were able to enjoy a wonderfull mission conference in the which Elder Christofferson spoke to us along with two members of the seventy. Elder Christofferson has such a sense of humor. He was constantly making jokes teasing people. The conference was a question and answer session in which he would allow us to ask him anything we wanted to know. I was grateful that the missionaries kept all their questions appropriate. One sister missionary asked him what his favorite scripture was and his response reminded me of something Bro. Adams used to say all the time. He told us he had many but one of his favorites was in Heleman 6 so we all opened to it waiting for the verse when he said "well I find that sometimes scriptures move around on me and it seems this one has" after a few seconds he responded "yep it did move, chapter 3". I couldn't help but laugh as I thought of Brother Adams in seminary saying the exact samething. It helped me realized that those called of the Lord are not perfect people and do not have a perfect knowledge, they are real people and the Lord uses what abilities they have. He doesn't expect perfection, just as close to it as we can get and the attonement will cover for where we lack. After the conference we left for the parking lot and I noticed that Elder Christofferson has a nice car, a for Taurus 2011 but Elder Holmstrom had the better car, he went for the Toyota Avalon.

transfers have come and gone and Elder Bolivar and I are still in Kearns together. I have mixed reactions about it. I love Elder Bolivar and a lot of the members here but I have been here since June and that is along time for a tiny little area like this. I am excited because I wont have to spend Christmas in a new ward but I think by next transfer I will be ready for a new area. I am now the missionary that has the most time in the zone. They call me the Patriarch.

We had an awesome lesson with Liz and Erik Moran on thursday. Lizeth had brought up the concern that she doesnt believe Jehovah is Jesus Christ so she asked that we explain it to her. Before the lesson she told us that she knows that Jehovah is God. Five minutes and 2 scriptures later a shocked look appeared on her face and the words "ooooh" came out of her mouth. She sat their shocked starring at the chalk board and the drawing we had made to explain the scriptures. She then asked "how did you pull all that out of the scripture?" It is amazing at the things the Spirit can teach us, but it all begins with opening the book and studying not just reading words. We talked about their wedding and they set a firm date for Jan 2 and they are excited about baptism on the 7th of Jan. They both were at church on sunday and loved it. Liz announced in Relief Society that she is preparing to get baptized. Other than that the work is slow. We are still teaching Lucero but she is on the soon to be dropped list in my head unless she stops being ridiculous. She said everything we teach her is exactly what she needs and she feels great every time we teach her but she doesnt like church. She told us of how she was super close to God about 7 years ago but then left him and is trying to make her way back and we have helped her along the way but she still refuses to go to church and baptism. Tonight we have a lesson with her in the which I intend to be blunt a bold. She needs to realize that the Gospel is not just good info. It is neccesary info to do neccesary ordinances. The moment we stop teaching her that "closeness" to God will be gone because the Spirit leaves with us. She needs to understand that where she is now in life is not a place that will save her a spot in the Celestial Kingdom. She may get offended but she needs to hear it so wish us luck...

The Christmas First Presidency Devotional was amazing. When they showed clips from the New Testament videos that are coming out there was a powerful spirit. President Monson gave an amazing talk on how we cannot lose the spirit of Christ in Christmas because without Christ there is no Christmas. Lucero went and loved it so poco a poco. Sometimes the work moves along faster than others and right now is a slow time but as our Ward Mission Leader said "Sometimes the purification of a missionary is more important that the baptism that comes at the end" (in spanish of course). This is a purifying work.

Love,

Elder Jolly

Nov 28, 2011

Well Thanksgiving was an experience I will never forget. We had 4 dinners in a period of 7 hours, the most time we had between a dinner apt was 1.5 hours. We had an amazing dinner/ lunch with Hermana Larson, who sent you the picture, and of course I am minding my manners mom. In the prayer for the food she started crying as she thanked us for being here and for making the sacrifice of being away from our families. She made a really good turkey, yams with brown sugar and oatmeal on top and a wonderful pecan pie. We even had honey butter from the Lion House, I would highly recommend it. Right before that we had a small lunch at Jacky Pauta's with her and her son Sergio and her friend that used to serve in the dreaded Salt Lake City North Mission. He was from Colombia but like a really small city in Colombia and man did he speak some strange Spanish. After he left I told Elder Bolivar that I had a hard time understanding what he was saying. Elder Bolivar told me that was understandable because he was speaking a ghetto version of Spanish that sounded kind of gangsterish. We also had dinner at the Hernandez families house and finished off at Wilfredo Ruiz's house, so we ate food from Ecuador, USA, Mexico and Venezuela what a trip around the world on a plate.

So transfers are coming up and well President called me and already told me what he intends to do. He called and said that he intends to move Elder Bolivar and I to a different district, which would break up our Spanish district and keep Elder Bolivar and I together another transfer so looks like Elder Bolivar and I are spending Christmas together. I am excited to stay together another transfer but that will make 5 transfers in this one area which is a lot. I served in West Jordan for 5 transfers and now 5 here. Now I can start making a list of the families I want to visit for Christmas. I was thinking if I have time I would like to visit the Lindemans.

After being filled with food all day Saturday, I found myself Sunday with out the slightest desire to eat. Saturday Elder Bolivar and I returned to the house at 9pm after a looong day. We were hungry so we ordered some pizza and right after I ordered it I was hit was a bad stomach ache and I knew I was in for a long night. I only was able to eat one slice of pizza, what a rip off. At 12 o'clock that night it hit me full force and I found myself in the bathroom for the next 4 hours with either a case of the stomach flu or I had eaten something that was stomach didn't like. The morning before I had weighed myself at 174lbs and on Sunday morning the scale read 166lbs. I had the wonderful experience of staying in all day (a missionaries worst nightmare). Lol all I ask is no more crackers! Crackers were the only thing my stomach could keep down all day. That night I received a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. I answered it and said hello, the woman on the other side said "Mi querido hijo como esta?" I was like what??? My mom doesn't speak Spanish and why would she be calling me. I asked who it was and she said "your mother". Lol I then understood, Hermana Espinoza (my mission mom) was calling. She said she was making me some jello and some other stuff to help me feel better. You can always count on Hermana Espinoza.

Last Sunday we went to a lesson with Hector and his family who we have been teaching. We were going to talk about going to church but before we started the lesson we were asking him some questions and he opened up and told us straight up that he had a bad experience at another church and was not going to go to any church for a long time. He told us that we could continue to stop by and teach but that he would not go to church anytime soon. In that moment we did something we had not planned to do... we dropped him. We told him that stopping by would not be a good use of our time or his if he was not going to progress. I bore testimony of the things we had taught him and told him they would bless his life. I told him if he ever needed anything to call us and that we would always be around when he decided it was time. As we left out the door he shook my hand and told me that I was a good guy and his house was always open to me if I ever needed anything. Walking out into the night it just felt so good. As I had born testimony to this man I could feel the words as they came out of my mouth. I loved Hector and as I focused on that love that I had for him and the love the Lord has for him the Spirit was able to direct my testimony and my words so they would touch his heart. That is what it is all about, teaching people not lessons. As we focus on teaching the person, teaching to their needs and not just teaching lessons or doctrine the Spirit will guide, the Spirit will teach, the Spirit will reveal to us the needs of those with whom we have stewardship. The Spirit can make even the simplest of doctrine penetrate the soul of the person as it eliminates the unnecessary information and creates a lesson that is exactly what the persons heart is longing to hear. Hector may not be ready now but the seed has been planted. I hope you all have a wonderful week and you plant the seeds where ever you may be.

Love,

Elder Jolly

Nov 21, 2011

Hello,

Well this past week was pretty good except I am really tired. We had exchanges monday night through tuesday night so I was serving in Western Hills with Elder Murillo for the day. It was definitely my favorite exchange because well we had a car and I got to drive. It was my first time driving in nearly 10 months and man did it feel good. Along with that we were able to teach five lessons that day.

Last sunday I had to give a talk and well I decided not to write it out word for word like I usually do. I had a short story written out but the rest I just said occasionally looking at my notes. It felt really good! I was pretty nervous before I got up to speak, so I said a prayer and just asked that the words I needed to say would come to my mind. As I got up to speak the nerves went away and it just flowed. Afterwards the Gospel Prinicples teacher Sister Batty from the Dominican Republic came up to me and congratulated me. She said sometimes she would get in trouble when she would speak while on her mission because she would be so bold that she would offend people. She said I was pretty bold, I hope I didnt offend anybody but if I did well there is something they need to change.

Tuesday I got an amazing call from the Elders serving in my old area. Nicolas and his wife Augustina were getting baptized the next day. Elder Hernandez and I found Nicolas and his wife like a week before christmas last year. I taught him over the 8 months I was in West Jordan but his wife was never interested. She would listen to us teach him while she cooked but she never would come sit down. Eventually we sent over the senior couple that teach english and Augustina slowly began to take the english classes and pray. She began to read the Book of Mormon. From that point she began to progress. At the baptism I was afraid Nicolas wouldn't remember me but when I saw him he recognized me immediately and said Hermano Jolly. He skipped my handshake and went for a big hug.

We had dinner with Jose Hernandez and his family for his birthday. They thanked us for teaching him and helping him prepare himself for baptism. He told us that what made the difference between us and the countless missionaries that had taught him before is that he said we brought a lot stronger spirit and he knew when we taught him what we said was true. They had us sign a journal for him with our address so they can write us and invite us to the sealing in a year, Elder Bolivar will still be in the mission but I will sadly have already finished. It is amazing to see the joy that these people have as the make the decision to get baptized. You can see it in their countanace and in their eyes. It is an amazing experience and I am looking forward to continuing to disfrutar in the experience. The Spirit really does guide this work.

Love,

Elder Jolly