Transfers

so this last week was the last week of the transfer! we had a great 6 weeks together and i will always remember this district! our brave district leader, Elder Slade (the one who hid my mattress in the attic when he first got to poinciana) is leaving back to arizona on wednesday! the other picture is what they call a lightning storm! we dont have these in utah! (morgan remember that time when it was super lightningy outside and wherever you pointed there would be lightning? well it was like 10 times that crazy! there would just be lightning webbed accross the entire sky! it was AMAZING!!! i even got a lightning strike with my camera! they dont call this place the lightning capital of the world for nothing!

well good friends! i am getting transfered from kissimmee! i dont know where i will go(probably somewhere up in orlando!) but it is a little sad cuz i wont be able to see Carmen's baptism! she has a date for the 12th and she just has to quit smoking before she can get baptized....she did get your letters though family! and she absolutely loved them! she said they were the most beautiful things she had ever read! so thank you for that! she actually called us right after she got them and said that she wanted to be baptized next sunday! but we had to tell her that she had to quit smoking first! so i know that she will get baptized, and so can you guys keep praying for her?! thanks! other than that we had a good week. i had an experience that really was strange for me that i didnt think would happen but did...but i know from it that families are in all honest truth forever! and that this church is true! and that the plan of salvation is real! i caught myself asking, is this all for nothing? is there actually life after this one or is this it?.....but i can promise that there is and that this gospel is here for a reason and we are never alone and god loves us! that we are given commandments for the specific reason to be able to be worthy enough to return to our heavenly father! i know it!

--
Love Elder Jones

The Funeral

So here is the update.  My father James Lee Wiren passed away on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.  After a few days of crazy cleaning and decision making, we had the funeral on Saturday, June 28th.  My mom was very adamant that we have it on a Saturday, so that no one would have to miss work to be there, and we could include all the local cousins and extended family in the area.  They have been such a support to my parents, that it would not have been right not to consider their schedules.  We had close to 40 people for the luncheon afterwards, so it was great to be able to have a mini family reunion to celebrate the life of my dad.  It would have been HUGE had we been having the ceremony in Vancouver.  My dad touched the lives of so many people there in the Vancouver area, it would have been crazy.  But we were able to get a notice in the paper there, so our loved ones there would be able to hear the news.


The ceremony was simple.  My Uncle gave the eulogy, then Morgan sang "Be Still My Soul" with me accompanying her.  Then I read Stasi's tribute, which was not without tears, and finally my parents home teacher spoke for a few minutes about the 7 years he had spent in New Plymouth. The procession then went out to the graveyard, here in New Plymouth.  It is where a lot of my mom's relatives were interred also.  They got two plots, so we are all ready for my mom ;o).  She doesn't mind having her name on a gravestone already.

My brothers took care of the military side of it, and arranged the military tribute at the end of the procession.  It was a new experience for Jeff too.  He had to give the family prayer before the funeral services, and he was also asked to dedicate the grave.  He did a fantastic job with both of these responsibilities.  As my mom said, "I like the way Jeff does things."

All in all, it was a wonderful way for our family to celebrate the life of my dad.  My mom is doing well.  Her blood sugar and stress levels have been much more tolerable and we will keep her busy for the next few weeks, as she adjusts to the changes that have come into her life.  I know she will do just fine.  She needs to, so she can take care of those two mongrels that live with her.

And we all know how irreverent I can be.  I have to add the the mortuary did dad no service with the make-up they put on him.  Everyone commented on it, so I went up with a tissue and touched him up a bit.  Sydney gave me the thumbs up, that it looked better.  Sydney also wanted to poke grandpa in the belly, because he would always blow up his belly and she would "pop" it.  It is never easy, but know the gospel as we do is a wonderful thing.  He is surrounded by family and loved ones that have gone on before.  I know it, and know that he is at peace.  Thanks for all the calls and words of encouragement.  We can't do it without you!

Good Bye Dad

My dad lost his battle with Leukemia Wednesday night at 6:45.  He was surrounded by family and had a difficult time letting go.  But he is at peace now and so are we.  He lived a great life, gave a great fight, but it was time for him to go home to his other family that hasn't seen him for such a long time.  After he passed I felt such a sense of joy that I can't explain.  I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.  I will be in Idaho for the next little while until we get my mom situated.  Keep her in your prayers as we traverse this difficult time!

Thanks for all the love and support we have felt through this difficult time.

Here is a shout out to Stephen, my brother in law.  He was just diagnosed with Lupus, and fighting to save his kidneys.  So please keep him in your prayers too.  Hang in there Stephen!

More Wild Florida...

 we also went to a place called wild florida! it is like a cool hands on zoo! that was for district Pday!

well this week started out with a trip down to wild florida!  this is a wildlife reserve that a member of the church owns! so missionaries get in free! yaya! it was so fun! then we kept on doing missionary work this week and wow did we have an experience! 

so we were trying to find a less active member of our ward and we arrived at this house with a lot of cars in front of it! as we walk to the door we see that every single one of these cars has a rosary on the rear view mirror! so we were

like hmmm somehting is fishy...but we kept going anyways! we knock on the door and this lady answers and immediatley ushers us inside! so we go inside and there are about 30 people in this house and they are all surrounding a statue of the virgin mary uttering incantations and holding candles and such! and us 2 mormon missionaries are sitting in the back not really knowing what is going on...10 minutes of chanting later they finally stop and then they recognize us and they give us chairs right in the middle of the room and one of the members starts to read from a book and give a sermon! we just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible! but when the lady was done and we thought that the whole meeting was done the leader of the group stopped everyone and asked if we the missionaries had something to say to them....,talk about pressure! we were outnumbered 15 to 1! and one lady said something to the effect of, "dont go bashing religion now ya hear!" (oh did i mention that they were all spanish?) so there i stood helpless because my companion decided he would stay seated and let me have the load on this one, alone....me vs 30 catholics....heart beat quickening...so i decided to go with the most neutral scripture i could think off in that moment...john 3:16! haha i know i wimped out but its all i could think of! but i shared my testimony and got a lot of amens and hallelujahs! and sat down...THEN we had a party and they fed us cake and all of that fun stuff! but man was it weird in the beginning....i think something that we learned that day was that a less active didnt live there anymore! hahahaha wow what a night....

also this week seemed to follow that trend with a lot of catholic influence to every person we talked to it seemed...but we helped them on their way!

also the world cup is going on and i love it! haha jk it is just awesome being a spanish missionary and having almost every single door that i knock on have the world cup playing in the background! we even had a crazy guy try and pull us over while we were driving to ask us if colombia had won! (i think it was because we had a colombian flag in our window) but just another day in crazy kissimmee florida for you!

i love you all and hope you have a great week!

--
Love Elder Jones

Wild Florida!!!

so lots of stuff to show!

1 FLAG DAY!!! oh yeah american spirit!

2 found this poor shriveled up lizard in our apartment...we named him jimmy, and he shortly disappeared after we took this picture! he still haunts us to this minute....haha ;)

that is how tiny he was..."he was only a little child! oh no!"

we also went to a place called wild florida! it is like a cool hands on zoo! that was for district Pday!

Happy Father's Day!

Well, we tried to make it a good one for Jeff.  He had to stay after church and help with finance, but after that, we got him all cozied up in his new hammock.  Unfortunately it was a little cool, so he wasn't able to last too long.

Here is a shout out to Dan and my dad.  Two of the greatest guys we know.  Keep the prayers coming for my dad.  He is not doing well and I think he is done this time.  He put up a great fight, but it is time to go home.

More Updates

A cool miracle this week, 

Well one of our investigators we were teaching has a very special place in our hearts. We had grown to love her so much and we were always happy to see her! Then this Thursday she dropped us and said that she had recieved her answer and it wasn't for her! Well tears fell as I testified to her that this was right for her and the only true church on the face of the planet. Well we left and didn't see her for 2 more days. Then on Sunday she came to church and told us that she was praying about her decision and had a dream where we were talking to her. She couldn't tell what we were saying but she felt something warm inside! She said that The Lord had given her the answer that this church was true! The Lord does love us and we can feel that love most when we are in this gospel!

The gospel is true and I hope you all know it!

See ya next week

Elder jones

After thought:

     The dinner went really well.  Sydney and I decided to cater the even, so we made the food and Sydney and Mason were the "garcons".  It was a lot of fun and we will have to play some more with food.  We will keep you posted.

We Did It!!!!

When we go to Carrabbas Italian Restaurant, we get the bread and olive oil dip.  We have tried on multiple times to imitate it, but to no avail.  Well, it helps to Google it.  And then you get... Carrabbas Recipes .  So now, you can make it too.  We made it today with homemade Ciabatta bread and it was awesome.

Morgan and her friend Kim are making dinner for some "boys", so we thought a fun homemade pasta with homemade bread etc would be fun and easy.  So as Morgan has been working all day, Kim and I have been making all the eats.  Way to go Kim, we made a great dinner!

They are going to be eating outside to make it even more fun...  So we will give you an update after the night is over!  We love the summer time!

Oh Yah!!!!

so this week was awesome! we saw tons of miracles! i think the highlight of the week was that our investigator hugo finally is ready for baptism! we helped him fix his car so that he can come to church and he said that he was done with coffee and all of the other word of wisdom commandments! and he also passed his baptismal interview! and guess what! there just happened to be a baptism for another ward in the chapel at that time so we just kinda dropped in and let hugo see how his baptism was going to be like! talk about a home run!!!! :D :D but still pray for him because satan is going to try to get him super hard this week trying to stop him getting baptized! and its not easy quitting addictions, he is going to have those temptations all week long! so we are doing all we can to help him in his progression!

also Carmen is just doing superb! she is ahead of schedule to try to quit smoking and she just accepts everything that we teach her! she has such a strong testimony and i am going to be so sad to say goodbye to her when i leave this area because she is just such a sweet lady! 

well i cant hardly even believe that it is already june! that is so crazy! time went by so fast! i miss you all but i know this is the lords work and that this is where i am supposed to be! i have never been so happy and my testimony has never been stronger!

!

-- Love Elder Jones

Before the storm... And after....

Lasagne

yeah we made an epic Blue Cheese Lasagna! it was SOOOO good!!! (it was a lot better than we expected it to be! haha)







oh yeah!....

This is our apartment

our study room...

and my bathroom...







closet and living room(taken from the front door)

the view from our porch and our bedroom

this was the infamous 3 man of the week after a very stressful first day of trying to figure things out!!!

News from the Front

 


so this is a good story....we froze some bananas to make some banana icecream and after we took them out there was one leftover and we kinda forgot about it...well after it thawed it looked like this.......and so elder hunt bet me waffle house (a really good restaurant) if i ate it!

VICTORY!!! :) :)