I wish I had more time to email! You hardly have time to do anything as a missionary, life is very busy. And that is good. Our Pday was changed to today because we were able to go to the LA temple! It was so nice. I love the temple. I'm gona try and request the calling of being a temple worker when I get home. ;) This week has been really good though. Elder Lo is a great companion, we study english every day and he is getting better, more people can understand him and he is able to follow conversations a little better. The people are tough to crack here, we don't have any solid investigators right now so we are mostyl just hitting the streets hard every day. Being district leader is a really neat opportunity becuase you are able to apply a different part of missionary work and that's administering to the other missionaries and helping their needs and areas. It has really been cool to see the living gospel happen. I see why it is the toughest but best years of your life. The weather is still good... in case anyone was doubting.
I will definantly keep dad in my prayers even more now that he will be having surgery. But I bet he is excited to get that taken care of. He will be good to go once I get home and we can go back packing and wrestle. I will keep you all in my prayers, we pray a lot. I love you all!
Love Elder Jolley
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Oct 21, 2013
It is good to hear all is still moving along back at home. Glad to hear everyone is doing well. The work has been good with Elder Lo, there is some challenges but everything always works out for the better. I am glad for this opportunity. The Church is true. After conference it has been reassured that we still have a living Prophet and 12 Aostles. Sometimes God works in misterious ways, and sometimes it is pretty obvious.
I hope you all have a fun safe weekend!
Love Elder Jolley
I hope you all have a fun safe weekend!
Love Elder Jolley
Monday, October 14, 2013
Oct 14, 2013
Dear Family,
This week has been an exciting one. For transfers we trade places with a set of Elders that were living in our area and we were living in their area so that was a good change. I don't know how they are going to fit in the apartment I was in. We had 4 Elders in there when I was there and the new set that we switched with just got a third and so there will be 5 in there and it was already a little squishy but they seem to be getting along good. The house we are in now is with another member, a single guy Adrian Martin. He is really nice and has a pitbull. He is really nice to let us stay with him. My new companion is Elder Lo and he has been out for 18 months but was straight out of Hong Kong. He is a really good guy, he has 1 brother and 1 sister, 22yrs old, and is a good worker. He is still working on his English a bit and so there is a slightly language barrier. Teaching is a little more difficult because people can't understand him 100% but it just creates a really good opportunity to grow though, I am excited for this transfer. We revised his language study to hopefully help him advance some. Cantonese and English are very different and so it would be very difficult, I have a lot of respect for him.
We taught the High Priest yesterday and that went really well, I love old guys and their humor. Also this past week we were stopping by a Part-Member/Less-Active family that we had never seen before and first got in and talked with the non-member dad and his 7yr old son and that was really. He had a few concerns or issues, not about the church just life and it's good to have someone who has been alive for eternity on our side because boy, his wisdom sure comes in hand when you're only 19. He said that we really brought something that he needed and wanted to get his whole family and have a prayer with us so he even called his kids and gathered them all up, even ones that were over at a neighbors. Really cool to see how people honestly have a hungering for the spirit.
And then there is there are apposing situations haha it's always interesting to talk with people who are out on corners preaching with their megaphones or holding signs and what not. (those experiences just grow my testimony of how true the church is) But there was a guy with a sign out by a really busy intersection saying that Jesus is the only way back to Heaven and so Elder Lo and I decide to go talk to him. We tell him we appreciate him spreading the good word and that we have a lot of respect for him because we know how it is to stand up for what you believe. So things start and it is a good convo, respectfully sharing beliefs. After a minute though it becomes very apparent that he is Born Again Christian even though he wouldn't answer what he was (they dodge questions and derail anything that they can't or don't want to answer) But then someone comes up and says "oh I am a huge believer, what are you teaching these 2 kids" and it was funny to see him change. He starts throwing the mud. I don't understand though because they try to show how we are wrong but the truth is never wrong! You can answer everything that they try to throw out and prove to them that you are right. But unfortunately "proving" is not the way to do it. If the spirit isn't there, you shouldn't be there. Those kind of people have hard hearts and doing that is a waste of time. I've learned that you can leave with something positive though, you basically have to shock them and then they might actually think twice and listen for half a second. So that's what we did. I felt bad doing that at first but you honestly have to try and humble them. And then after reading Galatians... there is a right way and a wrong way and you have to do it respectfully and lovingly because you actually care. I think though that we could have made them think twice and gave room for half of a mustard seed. The next night we knocked into another born again and he was really cool. He knew so much about the church, Elder Lo after said that he thinks he knew more about church history and quoted the BOM more than we did haha He is a funny guy. But this guy (Frank) was honestly there wanting to learn and the spirit was there and that is an actual productive time.
I have to go but I hope all is well at home! How are the grandparents doing? I love you all!
Elder Jolley
This week has been an exciting one. For transfers we trade places with a set of Elders that were living in our area and we were living in their area so that was a good change. I don't know how they are going to fit in the apartment I was in. We had 4 Elders in there when I was there and the new set that we switched with just got a third and so there will be 5 in there and it was already a little squishy but they seem to be getting along good. The house we are in now is with another member, a single guy Adrian Martin. He is really nice and has a pitbull. He is really nice to let us stay with him. My new companion is Elder Lo and he has been out for 18 months but was straight out of Hong Kong. He is a really good guy, he has 1 brother and 1 sister, 22yrs old, and is a good worker. He is still working on his English a bit and so there is a slightly language barrier. Teaching is a little more difficult because people can't understand him 100% but it just creates a really good opportunity to grow though, I am excited for this transfer. We revised his language study to hopefully help him advance some. Cantonese and English are very different and so it would be very difficult, I have a lot of respect for him.
We taught the High Priest yesterday and that went really well, I love old guys and their humor. Also this past week we were stopping by a Part-Member/Less-Active family that we had never seen before and first got in and talked with the non-member dad and his 7yr old son and that was really. He had a few concerns or issues, not about the church just life and it's good to have someone who has been alive for eternity on our side because boy, his wisdom sure comes in hand when you're only 19. He said that we really brought something that he needed and wanted to get his whole family and have a prayer with us so he even called his kids and gathered them all up, even ones that were over at a neighbors. Really cool to see how people honestly have a hungering for the spirit.
And then there is there are apposing situations haha it's always interesting to talk with people who are out on corners preaching with their megaphones or holding signs and what not. (those experiences just grow my testimony of how true the church is) But there was a guy with a sign out by a really busy intersection saying that Jesus is the only way back to Heaven and so Elder Lo and I decide to go talk to him. We tell him we appreciate him spreading the good word and that we have a lot of respect for him because we know how it is to stand up for what you believe. So things start and it is a good convo, respectfully sharing beliefs. After a minute though it becomes very apparent that he is Born Again Christian even though he wouldn't answer what he was (they dodge questions and derail anything that they can't or don't want to answer) But then someone comes up and says "oh I am a huge believer, what are you teaching these 2 kids" and it was funny to see him change. He starts throwing the mud. I don't understand though because they try to show how we are wrong but the truth is never wrong! You can answer everything that they try to throw out and prove to them that you are right. But unfortunately "proving" is not the way to do it. If the spirit isn't there, you shouldn't be there. Those kind of people have hard hearts and doing that is a waste of time. I've learned that you can leave with something positive though, you basically have to shock them and then they might actually think twice and listen for half a second. So that's what we did. I felt bad doing that at first but you honestly have to try and humble them. And then after reading Galatians... there is a right way and a wrong way and you have to do it respectfully and lovingly because you actually care. I think though that we could have made them think twice and gave room for half of a mustard seed. The next night we knocked into another born again and he was really cool. He knew so much about the church, Elder Lo after said that he thinks he knew more about church history and quoted the BOM more than we did haha He is a funny guy. But this guy (Frank) was honestly there wanting to learn and the spirit was there and that is an actual productive time.
I have to go but I hope all is well at home! How are the grandparents doing? I love you all!
Elder Jolley
Monday, October 7, 2013
Oct 7, 2013
I was nervous last week that maybe you had joined the original city of Enoch since I didn't hear from you. Haha that is strange though that the email you wrote didn't send. I did get it this week though with the pictures as well. It is always good to hear how everyone is doing. The three girls look like they had fun up in the mountains. I miss the mountains so much. When I first got here I thought that "hey I wouldn't mind living here one day, it would be nice". Now though I don't think I would move here if I had the choice. I miss just having open space, not even to be in but to at least just look at. Everything is so crammed here and packed in. But that is nice for being a missionary, I think there is over 2 million people in this little 20 by 20 mile area. Transfers are this week and sadly Elder Varney is leaving and going to Long Beach. We were here together only 1 transfer but it was his 3rd. Tuesday I am going to get my new companion who has been out 18ish months but can't communicate in english too well. He was straight out of china when he got here. So this is going to be exciting to get him, I am excited. I am in the same district and the District Leader still. I enjoy being able to help people that actually want it! No but really it is an awesome learning experience for me, they have taught me so much.
That was really nice of Sister Simmons to say that about me. She wouldn't be able to though if it was just me that would go into their families home. I had the Elder companion and the Spirit companion (<-- most important one). But they were a really good family, they took very good care of us.
That is sad to hear about grandma Anderson, I hope she is feeling better by now. I will keep her in my prayers.
Conference was so good. I am jealous that you all were able to attend some of the sessions. If that's how they have been all along I have missed alot in my life. There is so much pertinent teachings and lessons to be learned and the spirit teaches you even more. Conference is a really cool experience. I watched it all at the Stake Center.
Well family, I love you all. I hope you have a good week!
Elder Jolley
That was really nice of Sister Simmons to say that about me. She wouldn't be able to though if it was just me that would go into their families home. I had the Elder companion and the Spirit companion (<-- most important one). But they were a really good family, they took very good care of us.
That is sad to hear about grandma Anderson, I hope she is feeling better by now. I will keep her in my prayers.
Conference was so good. I am jealous that you all were able to attend some of the sessions. If that's how they have been all along I have missed alot in my life. There is so much pertinent teachings and lessons to be learned and the spirit teaches you even more. Conference is a really cool experience. I watched it all at the Stake Center.
Well family, I love you all. I hope you have a good week!
Elder Jolley
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