Well last week was pretty crazy! Monday we had our Xmas devotional zone meeting which I mentioned last email. Tuesday we had our District meeting when was our time for a zone conference with the President so I got to have an interview with him. He is super funny and amazing! Wednesday there was a meeting for all the new missionaries in the field so we had to take a train to the mission offices again. All three of these days we had to take the train while wearing suits. Because of the approaching Christmas holiday, they were completely jammed full. I literally had to push and shove and fight just to get on. Sometimes I was half way in the door with my bag hanging outside as we zipped by the towns. It was like that on the busses the night before the 24th of December. Everyone getting their Xmas shopping over with. Tomorrow my companion is picking up a pair of shoes he had repaired and I´m getting some more arpargatas. They´re these super cheap shoes that are awesome and comfortable from Argentina. The only hard part is figuring out my foot size in the metric system here. Thursday was maybe our only somewhat normal day of the week. Friday was Xmas eve and all the people were in their houses. When we walked through the streets of the city to get to the suburbs they were all completely abandonded Xmas day. It was quite eerie. Xmas eve we visited a ton of families and Xmas day we had an awesome lunch with a family Martinez. We sang hymns and shared a special Christmas message with everyone called ¨The Christmas Orange¨.
Just yesterday I had my first baptism! His name was Beto and from what I heard he has a girlfriend and a son and they are members of the church. He was an alcoholic so she left him and now he wants to make things right and show her he can change himself. He has made so much progress that it´s so wonderful to see him follow this path and his covenants! Saturday night I got to call home for a bit and hearing all my Aunt´s and Uncles and Grandpa saying ¨Hi¨made me feel a little ¨trunkie¨. But that quickly dissolved because I love this work and every moment I get to spend here is one fantastic experience after another! After the baptism we had to mop up the church because we forgot to turn off the baptismal font water (oops!). But it was still such an amazing day.
Today I just got back from a mall nearby where we met up with other missionaries for lunch. It´s big here but it´s pretty average compared to malls in the States. My spanish is getting so much better! Althought it was kind of annoying when I tried ordering a bagquette with ham and cheese and the lady didn´t understand me so another elder repeats the EXACT same thing I said to her and she gets it loud and clear. Ha, I´m such a gringo. In South America they call people from the United States ¨Yankees¨. Which I thought was pretty funny. But I didn´t figure that out until yesterday because with the accent here in Argentina it always sounds like they call us ¨Junkies¨. Anyway I´m having a blast and seeing the fruits of my labors along the way and absolutely love it! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season and look forwarding to seeing you all when I get back!
-Elder Trevor Jones
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
December 20, 2010
So I was in the home having lunch with a family and the news was on. The families always have the news on during lunch it seems. They knew I came from a place in the U.S. called Oregon. Then something came up about Oregon on the TV and they prompted me to look. I had no idea what it was saying but they tried to tell me something like a Tornado popped up in Oregon!? Is this true? As far as I know, there´s never been one. So what´s the scoop? Christmas is coming up and it´s starting to affect the peopel here. Every house we visit has a smaller tree decorated. There´s firecrackers going off all the time, loud ones at that. Here they celebrate Christmas like we celebrate 4th of July, with Fireworks! I heard Xmas Eve is going to be crazy with fireworks all night long. For P Day today we had a Xmas devotional at the mission offices with the whole mission gathered. It was a blast and I got to see my old companions from the MTC! It was awesome catching up and enjoying the lunch. We had a little gift exchange where everyone had to buy a gift (max costing 10 pesos, or basically $3.00) and everyone randomly got someone elses. Then one of the Assistants to the Prez read a story, while we all sat in a giant circle, and told us to pass our gift to the left or the right. It ended up where I got a little fuzzy green journal book. There was an Elder close to me who didn´t get anything (because some fools would hoard the good gifts) so I gave it to him. It´s just kind of a silly activity for the holidays in the mission. Each zone sang a song and we saw some mormon message videos and then the translated versions of the Xmas devotional from President Monson. To get to the mission offices we have to ride a train. This morning was insanely ridiculous. The trains were extremely jam packed this morning at the work rush hour. The train was headed towards the capital. I definitely had to fight and shove just to get on. The whole time I was spent on my tiptoes, basically chest to chest with other people while my bag hung outside the doors as the train went to our destination. It was way ridiculous but a funny experience at that. I´m sure the next times I will hate it.
Christmas is a great time for us to work because people are much mroe receptive to hear about our message about helping families with the gospel during the holidays. It´s been really hot lately too, and its only the beginning of summer. My spanish is improving but I still can´t understand any native. The people here are super laid back compared to Americans. It´s like they´re always on vacation. I still have yet to step foot in a carpeted house. Everything is tile here.A very popular sweet here is called Dulce de Leche, which is basically a better version of our Carmel. They eat it with anything. There was a ward End of the Year dinner last friday night at the church which was great but we had to leave before the food because it got too late. It was a bummer but we got to see everyone and they gave us some food to-go. There´s a lady in the ward who served her mission here some years back and now she lives here so I know someone that speaks english who I can ask for help. Some things in spanish can only be explained by someone who knows both languages. Also they call it Castillano here. Its basically a mix of Spanish and Italian. For us, it basically just turns their yuh´s into zhuh´s. There´s also a few words that are different. My area seems to be safe compared to my other MTC companions´areas, and richer, but it´s still pretty low standard compared to the U.S. I hear there´s some areas where the people live better than any U.S. citizen, like in mansions and villas and sorts. I have yet to have a chocolate chip cookie here, althought I hear they sometimes make them. But they´re mostly big on pastries. Sometime soon I´ll head to the capital to do some paper work. If you go on Google Maps to Buenos Aires and look for a super huge road in the downtown with a giant roundabout, that´s basically the central hub of this city of 11 million people. I live like 20 mintues west in a place called Moron (haha yup). There´s some cool shoes called Arrpargatas that are like Tom´s but super cheap and less material and are awesome for relaxing and looking cool. I´m going to snag some pairs sometime.
Anyway that´s about it for now. The week has been no stop walking, teaching, contacting, testifying, and eating like normal. Thank you all so much for your support and reading my posts. It´s hard to imagine I´m 6000 miles away, and in a different place on the map than everyone else. It just makes the experience all the more special. I hope everyone is doing well and staying happy! I look forward to hearing from everyone during the mission or after how life is treating you! Until then.
-Elder Trevor Jones
Christmas is a great time for us to work because people are much mroe receptive to hear about our message about helping families with the gospel during the holidays. It´s been really hot lately too, and its only the beginning of summer. My spanish is improving but I still can´t understand any native. The people here are super laid back compared to Americans. It´s like they´re always on vacation. I still have yet to step foot in a carpeted house. Everything is tile here.A very popular sweet here is called Dulce de Leche, which is basically a better version of our Carmel. They eat it with anything. There was a ward End of the Year dinner last friday night at the church which was great but we had to leave before the food because it got too late. It was a bummer but we got to see everyone and they gave us some food to-go. There´s a lady in the ward who served her mission here some years back and now she lives here so I know someone that speaks english who I can ask for help. Some things in spanish can only be explained by someone who knows both languages. Also they call it Castillano here. Its basically a mix of Spanish and Italian. For us, it basically just turns their yuh´s into zhuh´s. There´s also a few words that are different. My area seems to be safe compared to my other MTC companions´areas, and richer, but it´s still pretty low standard compared to the U.S. I hear there´s some areas where the people live better than any U.S. citizen, like in mansions and villas and sorts. I have yet to have a chocolate chip cookie here, althought I hear they sometimes make them. But they´re mostly big on pastries. Sometime soon I´ll head to the capital to do some paper work. If you go on Google Maps to Buenos Aires and look for a super huge road in the downtown with a giant roundabout, that´s basically the central hub of this city of 11 million people. I live like 20 mintues west in a place called Moron (haha yup). There´s some cool shoes called Arrpargatas that are like Tom´s but super cheap and less material and are awesome for relaxing and looking cool. I´m going to snag some pairs sometime.
Anyway that´s about it for now. The week has been no stop walking, teaching, contacting, testifying, and eating like normal. Thank you all so much for your support and reading my posts. It´s hard to imagine I´m 6000 miles away, and in a different place on the map than everyone else. It just makes the experience all the more special. I hope everyone is doing well and staying happy! I look forward to hearing from everyone during the mission or after how life is treating you! Until then.
-Elder Trevor Jones
Monday, December 13, 2010
Argentina
In my previous posts I didn´t really have much to post about because everyday at the MTC was so similar. But here it just exploded with opportunities and excitement! I haven´t even been here a week yet and I already love the people and the place I live in. The part of Beunos Aires I´m currently in is called Moron. Google map it! The standards are a bit lower than the US so we would probably think of it as kind of ghetto. I live in an aprtment in the urban area and we take a bus almost every day accross the highway to the poorer neighborhoods where people will listen to us and are nicer. My trainer is from Columbia and speaks little to no english. It´s pretty tough trying to understand eachother, almost all the time. But we work it out and we have patience with one another and I´m relishing in the language because of it. He really is amazing with staying obedient and being hard working. As soon as I step foot outside I love it! In the apartment in the morning when we study for a few hours I always have no energy. But then we I see the sun and feel the air I´m ready for anything. Right now it´s spring and absolutely gorgeous! A few times it rained while we were proselyting and got soaked and wet but I didn´t stop smiling or being excited! Standing outside a gate for a house waiting for a reply with the sky falling on us just seems so cliche and horrible that one can´t do anytihng but laugh at the situation. For those of you who would worry (like you Mom) about me getting sick or whatever, I´m fine and its part of the mission. I love it all! I met the members of the church yesterday. They´re all wonderful. I had to teach a short lesson about Jose Smith for Gospel Principles in spanish. It was hard for them to understand me I know but I also know that I was definitely able to invite the Spirit. I had no idea at the time but apparently after my lesson and my companion started to take over the class, he asked someone who was an investigator in the clase the big question. He agreed and just like that we got a date for a baptism! And I had no idea it happeneed until later haha! I usually find things out that happen infront of my face later on. Which is pretty funny. Just like how after church I had no idea there were NINE investigators there. My companion is a capo (stud). Today was the first time I was able to speak in english with someone because we met up with some other Elders in the zone for lunch. Not being able to understand my companion is good for improving my spanish but talking to an english speaker is definitely a good thing at times because theres some things in spanish that can only be explained by someone who can speak both well. Right now I´m sitting in a little store/cafe. Even the keyboard is a little different. I just had to search it to find the slash mark for the previous sentence. I love the mish and everything that comes with it! Heres some few things I can think of that are a lot different than the US:
- People don´t have right of way, buses and cars don´t stop for you unless they will definately hit you haha
- Basically every house I visit we drink only soda or tang
- I love riding the bus because it´s super crazy, honestly it´s a miracle how few auto accidents there are with how they drive. Like they´ll drive anywhere in the street just to get by
- All the toilets are Badettes!! I´m still not used to it and I don´t really like it haha. Several times I got water all over the wall and on my arm because I wanted to check it out first before I used it. It´s pretty funny.
- I just made the connection that no one calls the language here Ëspanol¨but ¨Castillano¨, which is the dialect here. They say it´s from Spain too. I thought it was just the accent but theres also words that are different, like the word for gift in spanish is Don but here they say Regarlo.
- Theres no jugs for their milk, it comes in bags or boxes if you want to pay for expensive things
- Everyone here eats everything with Mayonaisse
- There are Dogs EVERYWHERE. In all of the houses and in the poor areas all over the streets
- Most houses have gates and bars on the windows. For houses with gates, we need to clap instead of knock on the door the get them to answer
- Part of the culture is the give a light kiss on the cheek when you greet someone (of course we´re not allowed to give or recieve them)
That´s about all I can think of from the top of my head. Obviously theres rarely brand things from the US here, besides shoes. Besides the language and the setting in a city of over ten million people, it´s not too different.
Thank you all so much for reading about my mission! I´m so grateful for all of your support and letting me experience such an amazing thing! I won´t let you down!
¡Que tenga un buen día!
Elder Jones
- People don´t have right of way, buses and cars don´t stop for you unless they will definately hit you haha
- Basically every house I visit we drink only soda or tang
- I love riding the bus because it´s super crazy, honestly it´s a miracle how few auto accidents there are with how they drive. Like they´ll drive anywhere in the street just to get by
- All the toilets are Badettes!! I´m still not used to it and I don´t really like it haha. Several times I got water all over the wall and on my arm because I wanted to check it out first before I used it. It´s pretty funny.
- I just made the connection that no one calls the language here Ëspanol¨but ¨Castillano¨, which is the dialect here. They say it´s from Spain too. I thought it was just the accent but theres also words that are different, like the word for gift in spanish is Don but here they say Regarlo.
- Theres no jugs for their milk, it comes in bags or boxes if you want to pay for expensive things
- Everyone here eats everything with Mayonaisse
- There are Dogs EVERYWHERE. In all of the houses and in the poor areas all over the streets
- Most houses have gates and bars on the windows. For houses with gates, we need to clap instead of knock on the door the get them to answer
- Part of the culture is the give a light kiss on the cheek when you greet someone (of course we´re not allowed to give or recieve them)
That´s about all I can think of from the top of my head. Obviously theres rarely brand things from the US here, besides shoes. Besides the language and the setting in a city of over ten million people, it´s not too different.
Thank you all so much for reading about my mission! I´m so grateful for all of your support and letting me experience such an amazing thing! I won´t let you down!
¡Que tenga un buen día!
Elder Jones
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Argentina
The flight was long but I still enjoyed it because I love flying. I met my trainer and got sent to my first area. Our mission president is making us email our families now to so they know we´re safe. Right now I´m in a convinient store on a computer. My area is pretty crazy. Lots of people and graffiti and more peopel and buses and people and smoking and people. But I love every minute of it! I get to meet the bishop tonight and be on my way to helping all these people around me! My apartment is somewhat sketchy in terms of how clean it´s kept but it´s a lot better than I was expecting. SO I had to use a badette for the first time and it was WEIRD!! MY companion is from Columbia and speaks little English, but he´s way tight. That´s about all I have to report for now. I´m sure next week I´ll have some crazy stories for you all! Thanks so much for your support!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I'm In Argentina!
The flight was long but I still enjoyed it because I love flying. I met my trainer and got sent to my first area. Our mission president is making us email our families now to so they know we´re safe. Right now I´m in a convinient store on a computer. My area is pretty crazy. Lots of people and graffiti and more people and buses and people and smoking and people. But I love every minute of it! I get to meet the bishop tonight and be on my way to helping all these people around me! My apartment is somewhat sketchy in terms of how clean it´s kept but it´s a lot better than I was expecting. SO I had to use a badette for the first time and it was WEIRD!! MY companion is from Colombia and speaks little English, but he´s way tight. That´s about all I have to report for now. I´m sure next week I´ll have some crazy stories for you all! Thanks so much for your support!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Final Week in the MTC
Well honestly there isn't too much to talk about. For Thanksgiving we did a service project where the whole MTC made backpacks for under priviledged children around the world! In one day we made 33,400 backpacks! It was way exciting. And in the morning, we got to hear a talk from Elder Holland! Holy cow, that's FIVE Apostles here at the MTC during my time here! Insane! I leave monday so this will be my last message from the MTC! No idea what it will be like in the field. Steven arrived here a few hours ago but I haven't seen him yet. I was at the temple around his arrival time. Also last night Julie Beck came to talk to us. It was really cool. That's about it. Now we're just packing and wrapping everything up.
Next time will be 6000 miles away!
Til then
-Elder Trevor Jones
Next time will be 6000 miles away!
Til then
-Elder Trevor Jones
Monday, November 29, 2010
Week 7?
Well I don't have much to say. But exciting news! I got my Travel Plans! Heres the game plan:
Depart from SLC on Dec 6 at 12:00pm.
Arrive at Atlanta GA international around 5:30 pm.
Depart from Atlanta at 7:30pm to Buenos Aires.
Arrive at Buenos Aires 7:30 am (12 hour flight haha).
Here's a kicker.
January 17: fly from Buenos Aires to Miami, Flordia.
No idea why, but most likely to pick up my Visa.
SO EXCITING!
To answer some questions from Sister Hokanson:
My favorite thing to eat is definitely breakfast. Eggs are good even if they're fake (liquid stuff). The ham is awesome. There's ice cream bars. Lunch I like wraps (which is basically a subway with tortillas). All kinds of cereal as much as you want. During PE I usually play volleyball. I play spiking positions :) I learned so many things from the Devotionals. When all the Apostles came to talk to us, they ALL said before their talks, to right down in our study journals our THOUGHTS and FEELINGS of their talks, not actual notes on what they say. Which I found interesting. I leave in less than two weeks and can't wait!! Steven will more than likely be in my zone! Like a 90% chance! Next Wednesday will be my last guarenteed email to this blog and I have no idea how much time or when I can do it in the field. Thanks for reading and until then!
Elder Jones
Depart from SLC on Dec 6 at 12:00pm.
Arrive at Atlanta GA international around 5:30 pm.
Depart from Atlanta at 7:30pm to Buenos Aires.
Arrive at Buenos Aires 7:30 am (12 hour flight haha).
Here's a kicker.
January 17: fly from Buenos Aires to Miami, Flordia.
No idea why, but most likely to pick up my Visa.
SO EXCITING!
To answer some questions from Sister Hokanson:
My favorite thing to eat is definitely breakfast. Eggs are good even if they're fake (liquid stuff). The ham is awesome. There's ice cream bars. Lunch I like wraps (which is basically a subway with tortillas). All kinds of cereal as much as you want. During PE I usually play volleyball. I play spiking positions :) I learned so many things from the Devotionals. When all the Apostles came to talk to us, they ALL said before their talks, to right down in our study journals our THOUGHTS and FEELINGS of their talks, not actual notes on what they say. Which I found interesting. I leave in less than two weeks and can't wait!! Steven will more than likely be in my zone! Like a 90% chance! Next Wednesday will be my last guarenteed email to this blog and I have no idea how much time or when I can do it in the field. Thanks for reading and until then!
Elder Jones
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Week 6
I really don't have anything excited to say this week. I just want to thank you Sister Hokanson for all your help and charity to support me. I also extend it to everyone in the ward! This week basically the same. I have 2 - 3 weeks left and I'm so anxious to get out of here! My posts probably won't get exciting until I'm actually in the field. So thanks once again!
-Elder Trevor Jones
-Elder Trevor Jones
Friday, November 12, 2010
Week 5 or 6?
There really isn't much left to talk about. Yesterday was my first time teaching a full lesson in Spanish. We flopped a bit but we are constantly told, the gift of tongues doesn't come if you don't struggle in the language. Another district from my zone (hallway basically) is leaving next week and we don't get a new one, so our zone is shrinking a ton. The weather is finally getting cold and it snows frequently, but not a lot of sticking yet. I got the newsletter from the ward and I loved reading about everyone else! It's so cool how we can all get word from each missionary from the ward! You are definitely the best ward ever (and not just because the ward missionaries say so). They started decorating the MTC with Xmas stuff. Only other highlight is that for the fourth week in a row, we got an Apostle to speak to us. This week is was Elder Bednar. He gave a great talk about The Answer is the Doctrine. And for whoever reads this that is coming to the MTC later. When you get in your rooms, check all your fixtures, vents, and any kind of compartments in your room. The previous tenants always leave stuff like toys and ties and candy and cool stuff like that. We had a scavenger party our first night and found so much. Well that's it for now.
Til next week
-Elder Jones
Til next week
-Elder Jones
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Week 4 or 5?
This one will probably be short. I had to type a letter for a friend who just left for the Dominican Republic MTC and I typed his letter to him. Well bascaiiy lthe routine is all the same. Study study study eat study eat study study eat sleep. But something super crazy. For the third week in a row, an apostle came to the MTc to talk during Tuesday's Devotional. M. Russell Ballard came and gave everyone a great talk on communicating. In latest news a member of my already diminishing district got moved to a more advanced spanish class. So my class (or district) consists of five people now. It's pretty silly. Also my zone is shrinking weekly. I'm having such a blast and learning so much. I got a new teacher which made me sad to see the old one leave but this new teacher is a stud. I'm getting along so well with my companions. I also managed to get them eat outside a few times, which is DA BOMB. The weather is so beautiful and the MTC is right near some awesome mountains with snow all along the peaks. I played soccer last monday night and I dominated ahaha! It was crazy fun. I started gaining a few pounds from the unlimited food so I started going back to what I normally ate before I came here and started running at the beginning of every gym period so now I'm getting back down to my normal weight. Basically theres candy and garbage food EVERYWHERE. Every missionary in the building gets packages and goodies from home and we're all sick of it so we just give it away but it's funny because they don't stop coming. Spanish is progressing along just fine. Next week I start teach full on lessons in Spanish. I actually found out some new missionaries that came in a couple weeks ago, a couple were going to Spain Maliga. Makes me think that Steven might actually be put in my zone either right before or right as I leave. I hope I get to see him for a few days. There's lots of people here who went to Argentina so I get to hear all about it and I get super excited whenever I learn something new. Well time is ticking and I can't think of what else to say. But basically I'm half way done and I leave for Argentina in a month! Thank you al for reading this and supporting me! Til' next week.
-Elder Trevor Jones
-Elder Trevor Jones
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Week 3 of the MTC
What a crazy week it has been! I had a blast and learned a ton! I can't believe I'm already approaching my half way mark here at the MTC. I wonder if time moves as fast out there in the real world as it does here in the MTC. This week has been a huge self reflection for myself. My attitude has changed super positively since I first got here.
So major highlight that I didn't see coming at all: Elder Richard G. Scott came for devotional!! That's two weeks in a row and I got to see Russell M Nelson just last week! He had a wonderful talk that left a lasting impact on many people here I believe.
Last night it started snowing! Everyone went super crazy and everybody was outside taking pictures and laughing and yelling. It's like the start of a two month long celebration. Unfortunately now we have to always wear suits because of the temeprature. I got some awesome pictures with a group of us all going to Argentina and we all wore our Argentine shirts that we ordered. The bookstore has the spray on stuff to make shoes water proof. That made me happy. My class (district) consists of ten people and tomorrow four of them are flying out to the Dominican Republic. We will miss them a ton. So here's the loopy part. That will just leave my companions and I with three sisters. Also I've been called as a District Leader, even thought I was already a Zone leader. Basically ontop of being in charge of 50 people I also have to facilitate my own class and prepare lessons for them.
I keep bumping into friends I met at college and get to chat it up. Life moves so fast here. You can get to know some people super well and then the next week they're gone. Everyone exchanges emails and addresses and numbers though. The atmosphere in the classrooms can change so drastically. From laughing and being offtask to still air with tears. It really is an array of emotions and experiences here at the Missionary Training Center. The best moments are every tuesday we get to simulate what we do in the field, which is contacting and then teaching an investigator. This week I dominated the lesson. It was such a powerful experience and I'm so excited to get to Argentina and crack down on it all day long. I can't wait to see the light I can bring to the lives of others and to see them smile at their lives. I know this work is good and I will strive to keep it so.
Thanks for those who read this.
Elder Trevor Jones
So major highlight that I didn't see coming at all: Elder Richard G. Scott came for devotional!! That's two weeks in a row and I got to see Russell M Nelson just last week! He had a wonderful talk that left a lasting impact on many people here I believe.
Last night it started snowing! Everyone went super crazy and everybody was outside taking pictures and laughing and yelling. It's like the start of a two month long celebration. Unfortunately now we have to always wear suits because of the temeprature. I got some awesome pictures with a group of us all going to Argentina and we all wore our Argentine shirts that we ordered. The bookstore has the spray on stuff to make shoes water proof. That made me happy. My class (district) consists of ten people and tomorrow four of them are flying out to the Dominican Republic. We will miss them a ton. So here's the loopy part. That will just leave my companions and I with three sisters. Also I've been called as a District Leader, even thought I was already a Zone leader. Basically ontop of being in charge of 50 people I also have to facilitate my own class and prepare lessons for them.
I keep bumping into friends I met at college and get to chat it up. Life moves so fast here. You can get to know some people super well and then the next week they're gone. Everyone exchanges emails and addresses and numbers though. The atmosphere in the classrooms can change so drastically. From laughing and being offtask to still air with tears. It really is an array of emotions and experiences here at the Missionary Training Center. The best moments are every tuesday we get to simulate what we do in the field, which is contacting and then teaching an investigator. This week I dominated the lesson. It was such a powerful experience and I'm so excited to get to Argentina and crack down on it all day long. I can't wait to see the light I can bring to the lives of others and to see them smile at their lives. I know this work is good and I will strive to keep it so.
Thanks for those who read this.
Elder Trevor Jones
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Week Two of the MTC
Well I just got back from our second temple session. It was really amazing and I'm so lucky to be able to attend. I got several letters throughout the week that really helped me a ton! I will try to make an effort in writing letters back to those of you who sent me hand written letters. But honestly DearElder is really awesome and it's amazing hearing from people through that too. To those of you who thought of me this past week and sent something to read, Thanks so much!
The week has been fairly routine but there have been highlights. I haven't been here at the MTC two weeks yet and as of last sunday my companionship have been called to be Zone Leaders. Theres roughly fifty people in our zone. Honestly we weren't too excited. Being a zone leader means we need to set examples and be responsible for everyone else. Basically, less fun. But we definitely recognize the blessings that come with it! Tonight I will get the chance to escort and orient a group of new missionaries coming into our zone. Being a ZL is a lot of work, meetings, and responsibility, but we are not given tasks we cannot complete and are given them so that we can better ourselves.
Another highlight is that just last night we got a devotional from Elder Russell M Nelson! It was really something to see him and hear him talk live and in person. What stuck out to me in his talk was that we should strive to stay in contact with our converts as missionaries. It made me think of how those who helped me get in the church were already following his advise and made me smile knowing they did so. I thank Elder Crandell, Elder Webster, Elder Bruton, Elder Pulley, Elder Geis, and Elder Baliff for being the studs they were and still are!
I finally ran into my roommate from college, Thomas Cottam. Haven't seen him since then though. I constantly run into familiar faces and it's pretty awesome. Fortunately the field is still open at certain times of the day so it's a good break doing gym outside. You can also get adjustments on suits and pants here. Unfortunately I have to wait about a week to get them back. My district (my classmates) also ordered Argentina shirts to kind of wear and show off where we're going during gym and P-days. They arrived last night and hopefully we will get to pick them up. My knowledge of the gospel and my fluency in spanish are growing like crazy. I remember reading in a blog from Christopher Pedersen about how when he was getting ready to leave he was able to pray and testify in Spanish. They made us do all that the first two days! We are really getting pushed hard, and sometimes we get a little off task, but we are definitely growing and becoming excellent missionaries. A fun experience that happens once a week here is called TRC (Training Resource Center). Basically it's a teaching simulation where you knock on doors, contact, and then return to give a lesson. It really is an awesome experience and really helps you learn what you need to improve on and how to grow closer to your companions so you can teach more effectively.
A funny experience is that on the first day or two when you enter they take you to some demonstrations of teachings. A few volunteers act as investigators (all different kinds) and two missionaries attempt to give them a lesson with the new group of missionaries watching. Theres time for Q&A and it's really funny to watch at times. One of the ones we watched involved a Hispanic man named Daniel. Later this week and a few times during lunch I saw him in the cafeteria and tried talking to him. Saying what an awesome job he did and getting to know him. He was kind of reserved and didn't really want to do anything with me. I after found out that he ALWAYS stays in character, so I felt kind of like an idiot haha. But he is a really cool guy. Sundays we got to watcvh a movie in the gym and this week was the Testaments. Sundays are generally the best days (besides P days), because we get relaxing things like that.
Well that is basically all I have to say so far for this week. I just want to thank everyone who is making this possible for me right now. My parents especially, and the ward back in Oregon. This truly is an enlightening experience and I can't wait to get to the mission field. Until next week!
-Elder Trevor Jones
The week has been fairly routine but there have been highlights. I haven't been here at the MTC two weeks yet and as of last sunday my companionship have been called to be Zone Leaders. Theres roughly fifty people in our zone. Honestly we weren't too excited. Being a zone leader means we need to set examples and be responsible for everyone else. Basically, less fun. But we definitely recognize the blessings that come with it! Tonight I will get the chance to escort and orient a group of new missionaries coming into our zone. Being a ZL is a lot of work, meetings, and responsibility, but we are not given tasks we cannot complete and are given them so that we can better ourselves.
Another highlight is that just last night we got a devotional from Elder Russell M Nelson! It was really something to see him and hear him talk live and in person. What stuck out to me in his talk was that we should strive to stay in contact with our converts as missionaries. It made me think of how those who helped me get in the church were already following his advise and made me smile knowing they did so. I thank Elder Crandell, Elder Webster, Elder Bruton, Elder Pulley, Elder Geis, and Elder Baliff for being the studs they were and still are!
I finally ran into my roommate from college, Thomas Cottam. Haven't seen him since then though. I constantly run into familiar faces and it's pretty awesome. Fortunately the field is still open at certain times of the day so it's a good break doing gym outside. You can also get adjustments on suits and pants here. Unfortunately I have to wait about a week to get them back. My district (my classmates) also ordered Argentina shirts to kind of wear and show off where we're going during gym and P-days. They arrived last night and hopefully we will get to pick them up. My knowledge of the gospel and my fluency in spanish are growing like crazy. I remember reading in a blog from Christopher Pedersen about how when he was getting ready to leave he was able to pray and testify in Spanish. They made us do all that the first two days! We are really getting pushed hard, and sometimes we get a little off task, but we are definitely growing and becoming excellent missionaries. A fun experience that happens once a week here is called TRC (Training Resource Center). Basically it's a teaching simulation where you knock on doors, contact, and then return to give a lesson. It really is an awesome experience and really helps you learn what you need to improve on and how to grow closer to your companions so you can teach more effectively.
A funny experience is that on the first day or two when you enter they take you to some demonstrations of teachings. A few volunteers act as investigators (all different kinds) and two missionaries attempt to give them a lesson with the new group of missionaries watching. Theres time for Q&A and it's really funny to watch at times. One of the ones we watched involved a Hispanic man named Daniel. Later this week and a few times during lunch I saw him in the cafeteria and tried talking to him. Saying what an awesome job he did and getting to know him. He was kind of reserved and didn't really want to do anything with me. I after found out that he ALWAYS stays in character, so I felt kind of like an idiot haha. But he is a really cool guy. Sundays we got to watcvh a movie in the gym and this week was the Testaments. Sundays are generally the best days (besides P days), because we get relaxing things like that.
Well that is basically all I have to say so far for this week. I just want to thank everyone who is making this possible for me right now. My parents especially, and the ward back in Oregon. This truly is an enlightening experience and I can't wait to get to the mission field. Until next week!
-Elder Trevor Jones
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
My First Week in the MTC
Well, I'm here. This first week has been pretty crazy. I got a letter from Steven through the DearElder.com thing and it was really great to receive one. I want you all to know that DearElder.com is really an awesome tool and helps us missionaries here out a lot. But of course nothing beats a hand written letter, jsut remember that the DearElder one is instant and we get it in the mail within hours. I also invite anyone who is curious to ask any questions they have and I will post them on this blog here.
First I'll talk about how it is in the MTC. I only get 30 minutes every week to email, so I'll try to get in as much as I can. My "P" days are on Wednesdays. The first four or five days are insane. I felt dead tired all day long and wanted to sleep any chance I can, but here... you can't do that. We follow schedules the whole time and are beat tired. I finally got used to it to where I don't want to sleep all the time. The first day we were learning spanish within a couple hours of entering. There was a brief orientation and we were guided around with a host. On their first day, every missionary wears an orange dot on their tag to show all they're new. Most missionaries have a companionship of two but I'm in one with three (don't knoiw why). The three of us will leave for Argentina Buenos Aires west in around 7 weeks. I ran into Elder Russell and Elder Wright really fast. They just left last Monday. I ran into several other friends from school here too. It's funny because you can't leave your companion so when you want to catch up with someone you have two missionaries standing to the side waiting. Most missionaries here speak spanish, or learn to speak spanish. The food is probably a 6 out of 10 but the problem is.... it's unlimited. Sometimes it's awesome and sometimes it's mediocre. I just did my first practice contact and teaching the first lesson yesterday. We did well and we had to knock on their door and set up an appointment with them in spanish. My class (or district) has 7 elders and 3 sisters in it. We are already praying and giving testimonies in spanish.
I'll go ahead and answer the questions Steven sent me in his letter:
First reactions: Tired, always tired.
Things you should have brought: Bring more white socks, we have gym every day and I wish I brought more. Bring at least 3-4 shirts and a pair of jeans. Other than that everything else you could need is in the store. You can always go to the store and it has anything a missionary needs, EVEN AIRHEADS FOR 9 cents EACH!!! I highly recommend a spanish vocab book. They first teach you how to pray and give testimony in spanish. Then the grammar. They don't really teach you vocabulary.
Things you didn't need: Well you don't bring your temple clothes to the temple here. They give all of it to you here, but I don't know if you will use them in the mission, most likely you won't.
Visa status: I got called to the office and they told me that I didn't need a visa to get to Argentina! That was a huge relief. I will still need it to live there thought, they said they will send it to me while I'm there. They are on top of travel requirements.
The lessons seemed to have been going through some changes. They tell us now to try to commit investigators to baptism in the first lesson. It's pretty cool. It's only been a week and I already feel like I'm a senior here at the MTC. Try to stay obedient but you also need to have fun. "Find the middle ground", as Tanner Crandell told me. I'm getting kicked off in two minutes from the computer so I'll make another post next week.
Thanks for all who read this and support me while I'm here! Send questions! Send letters via DearElder.com!
From your Medford 2nd ward missionary, Elder Trevor Jones
First I'll talk about how it is in the MTC. I only get 30 minutes every week to email, so I'll try to get in as much as I can. My "P" days are on Wednesdays. The first four or five days are insane. I felt dead tired all day long and wanted to sleep any chance I can, but here... you can't do that. We follow schedules the whole time and are beat tired. I finally got used to it to where I don't want to sleep all the time. The first day we were learning spanish within a couple hours of entering. There was a brief orientation and we were guided around with a host. On their first day, every missionary wears an orange dot on their tag to show all they're new. Most missionaries have a companionship of two but I'm in one with three (don't knoiw why). The three of us will leave for Argentina Buenos Aires west in around 7 weeks. I ran into Elder Russell and Elder Wright really fast. They just left last Monday. I ran into several other friends from school here too. It's funny because you can't leave your companion so when you want to catch up with someone you have two missionaries standing to the side waiting. Most missionaries here speak spanish, or learn to speak spanish. The food is probably a 6 out of 10 but the problem is.... it's unlimited. Sometimes it's awesome and sometimes it's mediocre. I just did my first practice contact and teaching the first lesson yesterday. We did well and we had to knock on their door and set up an appointment with them in spanish. My class (or district) has 7 elders and 3 sisters in it. We are already praying and giving testimonies in spanish.
I'll go ahead and answer the questions Steven sent me in his letter:
First reactions: Tired, always tired.
Things you should have brought: Bring more white socks, we have gym every day and I wish I brought more. Bring at least 3-4 shirts and a pair of jeans. Other than that everything else you could need is in the store. You can always go to the store and it has anything a missionary needs, EVEN AIRHEADS FOR 9 cents EACH!!! I highly recommend a spanish vocab book. They first teach you how to pray and give testimony in spanish. Then the grammar. They don't really teach you vocabulary.
Things you didn't need: Well you don't bring your temple clothes to the temple here. They give all of it to you here, but I don't know if you will use them in the mission, most likely you won't.
Visa status: I got called to the office and they told me that I didn't need a visa to get to Argentina! That was a huge relief. I will still need it to live there thought, they said they will send it to me while I'm there. They are on top of travel requirements.
The lessons seemed to have been going through some changes. They tell us now to try to commit investigators to baptism in the first lesson. It's pretty cool. It's only been a week and I already feel like I'm a senior here at the MTC. Try to stay obedient but you also need to have fun. "Find the middle ground", as Tanner Crandell told me. I'm getting kicked off in two minutes from the computer so I'll make another post next week.
Thanks for all who read this and support me while I'm here! Send questions! Send letters via DearElder.com!
From your Medford 2nd ward missionary, Elder Trevor Jones
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