July 20, 2011

Well so another week in the good ol slc of utah has gone by and guess what!!!??? We have a baptism this week!!!! One of our investigators who has been taught for over a year came up to us at church on sunday and said "Elders I am ready to take the next step, when can I be baptized?" We were shocked but Elder Bowers asked when he wanted to be baptized and he said this friday. So this friday we will have the baptism of Sergio Figeroa.

   Sadly the Moran family didnt come to church so looks like they will have to be baptized August 14th the week after Lulu which is August 7th. We have been teaching a less active girl and her friend, well she is not less active because she does everything she needs to to be considered active but she lacks that testimony. Anyway, her friend Christian is a member but also lacks that testimony and well the church cant find his records, so we are trying to help him find his testimony and then we will have to rebaptize him. He seems ok with the idea although he is not super excited. They love us coming by though and I am not exactly why because Elder Bowers and I are just 2 goofy missionaries, but I feel like they really trust us. Yesterday they asked us when we were leaving (transfers) and we told them we dont know but that we will both probably be here until september at least. Liz the girl seemed excited and asked us if we would come back and visit them after we finish our missions. We told them of course. I think after my mission I will come visit the wards I have served in often.

    So our friday night dinner was a pretty cool experience. I attended my first ever Quincinera. It was for a girl in the ward and was held at the church building and was fun. It was crazy fancy, catered food, practiced dances, tuxes, professional photogrpahy and videos. It was cool because the family loves the missionaries and so well they signed up to feed us friday and so we had to attend the quince.

    Other than that it was just a normal hott week it the wonderfull valley of utah. A few weeks ago we went up to Park City for p-day and wow during the summer it is gorgeous up there, green everywhere, but not trees more like green bushes everywhere. I took some pictures for you mother and will send them up on my memory card in a few weeks. I have really gained a fancy for taking pictures recently and I dont know why. I think it is because Elder Bowers is addicted to pictures. Sorry this email is not crazy spiritual, it was just like a normal week in utah, but I often found myself staring at the sky and mountains and saying a little prayer in my heart about how beautiful this world is. I dont know if you guys have ever caught yourself doing that before but it was cool. I just walked and it felt like I had a lil conversation with God about the beauty of the earth and how I know it was all created for us. Well I gtg because I just got an email from President Miller asking me to call so we can have a little chat, hope it is a good thing! Love you all! Remember the most rewarding blessings can only be found in the true church of Jesus Christ! There is no other way to reciecve the blessings of Salvation and Eternal Life .... well..... cya!

 

Love,

Elder Jolly

July 20, 2011

Well another week has come and gone and this week was exceptionally fun and overwhelmingly tiring. So this past week Elder Bowers and I continue to find success in hard work. We found 7 more new investigators and 2 more so far this week. It is actually becoming a problem because we cannot keep up with them all in an area this large when we are walking. We talked to President about it on tuesday when we had interviews. Our teaching pool has now exceded 40 people and in order for investigators to progress they need to be contacted 2 to 3 times a week if not daily. This task is impossible since, well, our investigators are spread out over our whole area and those 40+ inv live in 27 different households. President said we need to just focus on those who we really think will progress and then come back to the others later or he said he may split the area so we would have 4 missionaries in this one spanish ward. Whenever we are running a little late Elder Bowers loves to just start running even if we have just left from our dinner appointment, so I have been getting back into shape from all the running we have been doing. The weather here recently has been about 90 and extremely humid so it is not the best running conditions.

     We had a cool experience this past week. We were invited by President to come up to his house sunday night and sit down and just talk with him and celebrate his sons birthday with him. We had some heart to heart talk with President ate some cake and stuff. Afterwards he had to drop his son off at the airport and he took us along. It was just a neat experience to ride along with President and just talk about life with him and talk about the mission. I am starting to see him as a real person now. He has definitely earned a lot of respect from me!

    Yesterday we began teaching a young couple and their two little kids. I believe that this couple was the most prepared people I have ever met in my life. She bore testimony of how she knew she was guided to Utah by the Lord so she could find this church and raise her kids in it because she said she knows that this is Christ's church. I tried to give the baptismal commitment but they said yes before I even started. They should be getting baptized July 31st if everything goes well.

  We started teaching a less active part member family and they were very receptive. There seems to be a key similarity with the people we are teaching right now, which is that they all want to raise their kids with a strong belief in God and good principles. Now of course all these things are found in this church. We put the daughter on date and the parents were very supportive, so she will be baptized August 7th. We are still trying to work on the father.

    Another investigator that was being taught a few months ago but decided to stop taking the lessons randomly showed up to church and she is almost done reading the Book of Mormon so we are hoping things will go well with her tonight as we try and extend a baptismal date.

     During this past week I have pondered often on the church and why so many people love the church and the principles it teaches there children. I can firmly say that the church teaches the exact principles and the exact way we should live our lives in order to be happy, which is why I know I will raise my kids in this gospel. I hope I can give my future kids the same foundation for success that my parents gave me as we focused on the little things of the gospel. I dont remember many Family Home Evening lessons, but I always remember doing it every monday night and I remember the time we spent as a family. Just as it is with teaching investigators, it doesnt always matter what you teach them or what the lesson is, but it is how they feel. As we strenghten our family relationships and as we set our sights firmly on Christ, the Spirit will always guide our path. I thank my parents for having showed me this path and for having raised me they way they did. Love you all!

 

Love,

Elder Jolly

July 6, 2011

hola hola hola,

Well this week was good. To answer your question mom, on holidays
they lock us all in a building and we have a speaker come and talk to
us and we play games and stuff. It was a nice 102 degrees the other
day and we were out knocking doors and visiting people for 9 hours and
didnt get any success besides the fact we now know who not to visit.
We are having a problem getting inv to show up to church but I imagine
this is a problem all over the world. President heard about our good
week we had and he pulled us aside to talk to us about it. He invited
us up to his home sunday night so we can talk and he said he is going
to see what he can do to get us a car. Now you may ask why do we need
a car. Well our area (in comparision in this mission) is huge. We
found ourselves literally running from appt to appointment yesterday,
like not jogging, full on running because we had a long distance to
get to the otherside. I felt like I was going to puke at the end of
one of the run because we had just left our dinner appt. We then
taught a very powerful lesson about the atonement with a less active
and her bf. It was probably one of the most powerful lessons I have
experienced. I walked out and felt great afterwards because I could
feel my own words as I said them and Elder Bowers bore testimony too,
it was awesome and we knew they could feel the love that was present
in that room.
I know you wont like this mom but I think everyday I come home
sunburned. Sorry, but i dont have much time and it always slips my
mind. We had a cool lesson on the 4th of July. A professor from byu
came and taught us about all the scientific evidence that lines up
with the creation period as described in certain places and in the
pearl of great price.
I have come to learn that the only way one can touch someones
heart is through teaching with power and authority, because it is this
power and authority that makes missionaries who they are. As we teach
with power and authority the Spirit will guide us to the needs of our
inv. Some of the people we are teaching as missionaries are people we
knew on the other side and are people we promised to find teach and
baptize. I love you all and until next week.

Love,
Elder Jolly

June 29, 2011

Well, I love my area! The area is really big and we dont have a car but Elder Bowers and I are still killing the area (in a good way) last week we picked up 13 new investiagtors and everyone was shocked. We put 2 more people on date for July and things are looking up. In the past 2 weeks we have picked up 21 new spanish inv and 3 english. Sorry if it seems like I am bragging, I am just excited. The only bad part about this area is the blisters on the bottom of my feet. We had a great experience the other day tracting. All our appts sunday night fell through so we decided to tract out this street. At about 9pm right as we were finishing up we knocked a door and a man stepped out and then his wife followed. We talked for awhile and then the lady said "Can you come in and say a pray for my son who is in the hospital with cancer?'' Turns out they have been to church several times and are very interested in being taught. We also found some kids in a park playing baseball so we joined in and told them we would play if they would listen to a lesson. Afterwards we taught the kids and the mom. The mom then told us of how she is strugglin with diabetes and is dying from cancer. We introduced them to the english elders and they are all now being taught.

   I love working with elder Bowers because we work crazy hard but we have fun doing it, we are litterally always laughing and joking around (appropriately). Elder Bowers was a wrestler before the mission and so he is kicking me into shape, we start off every morning now doing a million pushups and dand I am sore all over. Oh man so we just had to move to a new house and well yea in the begininng it was gross. It smelled like pee and was crazy dusty and dirty and so the first day we were up until like 1am cleaning. The other day I got out of the shower and saw a huge dust bunny under the toilet. I looked closer and realized it had claws, it was no dust bunny, it was a dead bird. By the looks of it the bird had been there for several months. This could have contributed to the smell. My backpack also broke this week and so I had to by a new one so that is why I have spent so much money this month mom. It is a really nice backpack, kind of expensive but it comes with a lifetime warrunty (sp). we have also had to by a ton of things for the house since we didnt have cleaning supplies or even lightbulbs. Anyway I love this area and I am having sooo much fun. I hope everyone is doing great back home. The power we have as missionaries is amazing, but we cannot use it if we are not doing our part. We have the authority but how much power we have as missionaries is all up to us. Work hard be good and love you all, like always.

 Elder Jolly

June 22, 2011

Well another week has come and gone in the life of Elder Jolly. This week was awesome by all standards! Some of it I will not explain but just trust me, the week was awesome. I feel like a new person. So this was the first week in my new area in Kearns and I absolutely loved it. My new companion Elder Bowers is from the great northwest, to be more exact he is from Yelm. He and I get along great, we have the same personality the same likes, we are always laughing but also we love to work hard. This is going to be a fun transfer. The first day with Elder Bowers he bore some powerful testimony that probably changed me for the rest of my life. He is an excellent missionary, he knows how to work hard and how to also have fun. The amazing part about this ward the Olympic Park 3rd Ward (spanish) is that they are actually doing the ward mission process and who would have thought that it is working. We have recieved 4 referals for less actives that all accepted the invitation to be taught when a member of the ward invited them so we are going to start teaching them starting this week. In the past week Elder Bowers and I have just been going through all the investigators that we have and giving them dates to see how they will take it. Many have been receptive and many have been staight up well not so receptive and so they are going to be the first to be dropped because we are looking for the elect. As we walk from lesson to lesson we have literally been talking to everyone and from that we have set up over 15 appts this week and since last wed. we have picked up 12 new investigators. The work is exploding here and it is great to be apart of it. The only hard part is the fact that our area is like twice as big as my last area and we are still walking and it is very hilly. The Olympic Oval is in the middle of our area and looks amazing as the sun goes down. I have noticed that just in the past week as both me and my companion are native english speakers that my spanish has begun to improve at a faster rate as I have to express my thoughts and I dont have a native to fill in for that which I dont know. The Spirit has helped me too and I have felt its influence and guidance a lot in the past week. I will go into more details next week about inv. as I get to know them more and more and as we get a clearer idea of where they are heading. The gospel is continuing to roll forth and to be a missionary at this time is amazing. I love the mission I was called to serve in and I feel like my mission president, President Miller is always recieving revelation for the mission and for me as a missionary in his mission. I know this church is true and I know we are guided by a living prophet today, just like the primitive church. Everything we teach as missionaries is real and true and I get to live it everyday for 2 years. I love you all, work hard and dont forget to read your scriptures.

 

Love,

Elder Jolly

June 15, 2011

Well Well Well,

 

I have now finally been transfered! After seven months in my greenie area, I recieved a call yesterday telling me I had been transfered to Kearns. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone and I will miss the area a lot. When I went over to Rubi's house to say goodbye she cooked me a special dinner and told me that whenever I want to come over that I can. She told me I was one of her fav missionaries because of how humble she felt I am (hard to believe that one right mom). Jk no she said her house is my house. I was crazy touched as everyone said goodbye to me. I had a little bit of a shock when I went over to say goodbye to Savanah and her sister. I walked in and sat down and we began to talk and she told me to write her. I told her I would need her address so we could keep in touch. She then got a picture from her senior pics/ dance pictures and wrote her address on the back. Sis Estevez has a crazy wall of pictures and Savanah told me that if I had a picture wall I could put her picture up. We said goodbye and she promised to invite me to her baptism. As I got up I went to shake her sis hand and her sis stood up and just gave me a hug out of the blue, I did not see it coming. Savanah just then walked up and hugged me too. I stood there shocked, not having recieved a hug in 9 months and having just not intentionally broken a mission rule. I left content because I know they will be baptized and to just have had to opportunity to be (with my comp) the first missionaries to talk to them and help them get started was an amazing feeling. They both are going to girls camp this weeek and loved their first week in church.

       My new area. I am serving right around the Olympic Oval in Kearns just east of Bangator. It seems like a good area and we live in a really nice house. No car but that is ok. I am excited to work here and am also excited to be able to return to my old area soon for upcoming baptisms. I would not be surprised if my old area has 4 of 5 baptisms this next transfer from people we were teaching. The area is flourishing and I know Elder Santiago will do a good job taking care of it. I didnt get your letter by the way because ZL dropped off mail on tuesday because of transfers, although I did get a letter from Hna. Purziani. Her letters are always well.... amazing!!!! She always knows excatly what to say in every letter. It is like she writes a letter of revelation. So Hna. if you are reading this, props! One thing I learned this week. Missionaries are not here to be peoples friends or even be like family to them. I will draw it out for you

 

Savior

 

savior

 

Angel

 

Family

 

Friend

 

Aquantiance

 

We are here to be peoples savior because we cannot be their Savior because only Jesus Christ can take that role. So we are called to be their savior (lower case s) anything less than that is unacceptable and will not help them experience true conversion. True conversion can only take place when we come to know our Savior and we come to understand him and our relationship with Him. This gospel is so amazingly and beautifully true and I love you all.

 

Love,

Elder Jolly

June 8 2011

 

Hola, hola, hola,

    This week was a lot better besides the heat. It is getting up into the upper 80's and we hadnt hooked up our swamp cooler, so last night I got on the roof and hooked it all up. This past week has been fun and went by very fast. Friday night all the missionaries in the mission hopped on the TRAX and went to the tabernacle center to see a chior of 400 adults and 200 children and 200 person orchestra perfom Messiah in America. The words of the concert followed word for word verses in 3rd Nephi about the coming of the Savior and his appearence in the Americas. It was AMAZING, the spirit was out of this world. The best part was at the very end they did an encore where all the children sang a beautiful rendition of Beautiful Savior. I was crying the missionary next to me was crying and wow people everywhere were crying. Our mission president was in the chior and at the begining he came up to the balcony where all 200 missionaries were seated and told us we could take off our suit jackets. As we did so everyone in the tabernacle applauded us and stood up, it made me feel loved.

    Saturday we did exchanges so I was in Taylorsville working with Elder Gomes from Cape Verde while Elder Hughes (district leader) and Elder Santiago worked in my area. It was a fun day. Elder Gomes is a very hard working and so we got along great. We visited a lady who did not understand the priesthood but she asked for a blessing so it was the perfect time to explain it. We then grabbed the bikes to ride across town to our next appt. I had to use Elder Hughes bike which would not have been a bad thing except it could not shift out of the lowest gear. So riding up hills was not to bad but in every other part I had to pedel crazy fast to keep up. We taught this family who had about 6 million question but they were honest real questions. They went to church the next day and seem like they are prepared for baptism. We ended that day extremely tired and ready for bed.

    Mond mrning Elder Hughes randomly showed up at our house during personal study. He had had a long talk with Pres about our area. President had actually called him to talk about our area. We havent had a baptism in awhile and President told him that Elder Santiago and I are too good of missionaries to not have had a baptism in so long. He told us to be more bold. Elder Hughes told us everything pres wanted us to do and so we decided we would do it. Yesterday we started our new teaching idea where we tell people straight up the first time we meet them that our purpose is to help them gain their testimony and them baptize them. If the get angry well then we know they are not prepared. This way we dont get stuck with investigators that long term dont want to commit to anything. So yesterday when we went into our lesson with Alberto we taught the Restoration and told him that we are here to help him be baptized. We were extremely bold, but we care about him and when you are bold the spirit will testify. It worked. He accpeted the idea and agreed to be baptizd July 17th. We have another appt tonight with a new investigator so we will see how it goes this time. Pres has his eye focused on this area so we have to preform. It is more fun this way too because people know why we are there and they know we are expecting something in the end, we are not just there to teach, we are there to bring people to the waters of baptism so they can make so neccesary covenants to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.

      We also found 4 more people to teach this week and one said he would invite his friend to sit in also. The work is progressing, the spirit is strong. I love the mission. I know that baptism is necessary for every single soul. Not just baptism but baptism by the proper authority into Christ's one and only church. This is that church, we are building his kingdom. Enjoy your week and look for the miracles in everything around you.

 

Love,

Elder Jolly