耶稣基督爱你

I'm basically fluent in Chinese because I know how to write 2
sentences:) But really, so much Chinese!! This week I got a Chinese
name (熊姐妹)! It means Sister Bear, it was supposed to be something else
but I typed it wrong when Sister Fu told me how to spell it... And it
stuck!;) And we are going to Chinatown today!

I learned an amazing lesson about the Sacrament this week that I want
to share. We are working with a less active who has been home bound
for awhile because she recently had a stroke. The last time we visited
with her she said she wanted to make it to church because she needed
to partake of the Sacrament! She is about a 3 minute walk from her
house to the church so we thought it would be ok and we were really
excited to have her come! So we get there on Sunday, and she actually
came! She didn't look very well and she was telling us how hard it was
for her to get ready that morning and that the walk really took a toll
on her. Her condition kept getting worse and she had to go sit in the
hall, she ended up having to go to the emergency room. But first, she
made sure that she was able to partake of the Sacrament. Watching her
chew the bread and drink that water on the one side of her mouth not
paralyzed by the stroke was one of the greatest things I ever saw. She
taught a powerful lesson to all of us, to partake of the Sacrament is
worth ANY sacrifice. We visited her again yesterday to make sure
everything was going well, and she is doing great! She assured us that
she will, of course, be there next week.

The rest of our week was good as well, every week is a good week:) We
took a member out teaching with us on Saturday, and she returned from
her mission about 2 years ago and she still hasn't lost the spirit of
missionary work:) You can see how her mission changed her! We met this
woman while we were walking around looking for the address for one of
the lookups. You could tell she was a little bit overwhelmed with her
2 really young children running around, so we went to talk to her. It
turns out she just found out she is pregnant again and both of her
other children are under 5. We said a prayer right there with her to
help her feel comfort and it was very powerful! She really appreciated
that and we set up a time to come back to share more with her:) I love
those moments when you can already see a change in someone that you
have just met, when you can bring some comfort right then! The Gospel
blesses lives. It's one of the most exciting things to watch!

我爱你！

Love, Sister Jones

Sister Fu's Birthday! She is my favorite:) 

The young women had a bake sale, we chipped in:)

I don't know why I only get pictures 

with Little Italy when I go to Chinatown...

Things are Happening in the Bronx!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Wednesday night was absolutely ridiculous! We had 3 set appointments
and we had to scramble to get 2 members to come out with us so we
could go on a split and make it to all of them! I went to 2
appointments with a sister in the Ward named Amanda, and Sister Fu
went to Sister Barnes with Nina. Our first appointment was with a
woman named Yvonne and let me explain a little bit how we got into
this mess! We had called Yvonne a few days earlier to ask if there
would be a time we could meet with her because missionaries hadn't met
with her in quite awhile, and she told us that she would call us back
and let us know if she would be available on Wednesday. So we decided
to schedule other appointments at that time because we didn't think it
was too likely that she would get back to us (our bad...). She DID get
back to us and said we could come over, and there was no way we were
going to miss that appointment, people don't call US to confirm very
often! Our second appointment was with a woman named June, and we had
called her a few days earlier as well to set up an appointment and she
said that we could come at 7:15 on Wednesday. But after Yvonne
confirmed that we could come over we thought we could call June and
see if she might've forgotten or if we could reschedule. So we called
and said who we were and she said, "yes, we have an appointment for
tomorrow at 7:15 right?" So, we couldn't miss that appointment either!
In my mind I was like, "why do we have all of the reliable people in
one night?!" No, it was awesome actually! Everything worked out
(almost) according to plan and we had 3 really good lessons on
Wednesday night:) Yay for member splits!!

Anyway, the rest of our week was really good as well:) We talked to A
LOT of people and we met some who were really interested in the
Gospel! I have loved he guidance we have had from the Spirit this past
week. I've really seen that as we just have the fair to open our mouth
to anyone that the Spirit will eventually start guiding us to those
who really are prepared!

A couple of the AMAZING people we met:

*A FAMILY who moved here from CHINA a month ago! I had no idea what
was going on because the conversation was all in Chinese:) But still,
what a miracle!
*A woman named Josie who sincerely thanked us for inviting her to our
church since she had been in the area for 6 months and had not had an
invite from anyone yet. She lives right next door to the church and
she says she is so excited to come sometime because she has met with
missionaries in the past!
*A man who lived in Utah for a few years who is in the process of
reading the Book of Mormon right now!! He told us that he has met with
missionaries multiple times over the years!
*A man riding past on a skateboard who came to a screeching halt so he
could ask us for a Book of Mormon, apparently he has a lot of LDS
friends from where he lived in Florida! Super cool:)
*And my favorite, a woman whose mom's side of the family is all LDS
and live in Utah! She knows a lot about the church already and is
interested! We got her address and phone number and we set up another
appointment with her!

Holy cow there are so many more miracles that happened this week! I am
floored by how many people have already had such significant
experiences with the church. Those seeds that we plant as missionaries
and members of the church DO grow! Keep it up:)

Love you all! Happy summer:)

Love, Sister Jones

One of our Young Women! :)

Our Zone!

Life in New York! :)

Elder Bennett!

I always say I am going to write my emails in advance... And then I
blink and it is already Tuesday night again! The weeks just fly by way
too fast!:) I guess it happens when you are having fun! As someone
very wise tells me all the time, find JOY in your missionary journey!
And there really is so much joy to be found, in any journey:)

I can't explain how 2 days of receiving instruction from a general
authority can change who you are and how you do missionary work so
completely, but it does! I am so grateful for Elder Bennett coming to
speak to our mission!:)

During our conference Thursday, Elder Bennett told us that he had
not prepared anything. That he was just going to go by the Spirit. And
I knew that was true when Elder Bennett started talking about the fall
of Adam and Eve, he said he didn't know why he was talking about the
fall- but I did. He asked us why he might be talking about the fall so
I told him about one of our investigators who was struggling with
understanding how the fall was a good thing and we didn't know how to
help her see that. And Elder Bennett asked if there was any way that
Heavenly Father would have us all listen to a lecture on the fall of
Adam and Eve for one person, and he said absolutely He would! Elder
Bennett showed us that not everything was good before the fall of Adam
and Eve- they were immortal and they lived in the presence of God, but
they didn't know right from wrong and they were unable to bear
children. And after the fall, still not everything was good- Adam and
Eve now knew right from wrong and they could have children, but they
were no longer immortal, and they were not in the presence of Heavenly
Father. BUT, the fall makes our Savior's Atonement necessary. Without
the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can't make it back to our Heavenly
Father, before the fall, the Atonement of Jesus Christ wasn't
necessary. I am grateful for the fall of Adam and Eve not necessarily
because of what they did, but because we now need a Savior! And
through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ALL things are made right- we
will live again, we will be able to return to the presence of our
Heavenly Father, we know right from wrong and can continue to become
better through all eternity, AND we can live with our families
forever, a win win win win! And we explained this to our investigator
on Sunday...... and she understood! She said, "oh well, you never
explained it to me like that!" It was so perfect!

I know our Heavenly Father is mindful of all of us! That he will have
a group of 50 missionaries learn about the fall of Adam and Eve for an
hour so that ONE of His children may be taught the way that she needs
to be taught. I am grateful for Elder Bennett for being so in tune
with the Spirit! I know the men called to lead and guide the church
are called by God!

I'm so excited because today we get to go to the TEMPLE!!!:) Ready for
a Spiritual recharge!!

And a quick shoutout to Sydney and Keauna, I'm so excited for you to
join me in the mission field!:) It will change your life!

I love and miss you!:)

Love, Sister Jones

El templo!

Splits! And Barbara Jean :)

Gray's Papaya- famous hot doggery"

 apparently doggery is a word ;)

Who Turned On The Heat?

Well, it looks like it is officially summer in the Bronx! It. Is.
Hot!:) We have had quite the week this week! It is always fun getting
a new companion, lots to do! Unfortunately, because of the heat (and
on the days where it wasn't hot, it was raining haha!) not very many
people were willing to meet with us. LOTS OF FINDING ACTIVITIES!:)

One of my favorite days of this week was Friday! Sister Fu and I went
street contacting and she is SO GOOD at it! We met 6 people who were
interested in learning more about the gospel on Friday. One of the
people we met was named Lucy, and she sat and talked to us for about
45 minutes. She had such strong faith in Heavenly Father and she
shared so many experiences that helped to strengthen her testimony and
she goes around and shares the gospel with all of her friends, and
even random people she meets on the street. You can tell that the
gospel has made her very happy:) And I started thinking about that,
and a few days later we shared this scripture with an investigator,
it's Moroni 7:13 and it says, "But behold, that which is of God
inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing
which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve
him, is inspired of God." And I started thinking about it more. And I
love how Heavenly Father doesn't just bless people's lives through the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Yes, this church contains
the fullness of the gospel- but there are other things in the world
that "inviteth and enticeth to do good"! I am so grateful for Lucy and
the many, many other people I have met that have showed me that
Heavenly Father can be found anywhere. All we are doing is taking the
good they have, and adding more:)

Church on Sundayy was really good too! Only one of our investigators
was able to make it (rain...) but she got up and bore one of the
sweetest testimonies I have heard, it was so simple! And she said that
she is hoping to be baptized in her testimony and that made us VERY
excited! She is special needs but I have loved seeing and being part
of how the gospel has changed her life, she is amazing!:)

I am so excited for this week, especially tomorrow! We have the
opportunity to have a member of the quorum of the 70, Elder Bennett,
coming to speak to us. We have been preparing all week and I am pumped
to be able to receive instruction from a general authority!:)

Make it a fantastic week! Don't forget to read your scriptures, and
say your prayers!:) I love you all and God loves you more!

Love, Sister Jones

 I ️ Graffiti!

We had a little photo shoot in the rain today:)

Goodbye Sister Gardner☹️ Hello Sister Fu!🤗

It's transfer time again. We had a really busy week getting Sister
Gardner to say goodbye to everyone, and working hard:) We saw a lot of
miracles and I am so grateful for the time I had to be companions with
her. She is on the plane home now, and I am going to miss her! BUT. I
have a new companion! Her name is Sister Fu and she is from China:)
She is so adorable, I love her! We have already had a lot of fun
together. It's going to be a fun 6 weeks!

Some miracles for this week:

We had a member split last Wednesday evening, I was with one of our
young women and Sister Gardner was with one of our recent converts. We
weren't planning on both being able to make it but it was a pleasant
surprise when they did! Anyway, we were on our way to someone's house
when a woman named Marsha called us over to her house. She started
talking to us and asked what church we were from. So we told her and
she said she has been looking for a church and that she would try to
come sometime! One of her family members came out and started talking
to us too, she was getting somewhat argumentative about some of our
beliefs and we were getting a little nervous but we kept talking to
Marsha and she was listening so intently, regardless of what her
family member was saying. And she said she would love to meet with us
sometime because it was something she was sincerely interested in. I
love how Heavenly Father prepares the hearts of His children, and when
they truly are prepared nothing will be able to sway them:)

We called Sister Barnes a couple days ago so that Sister Gardner could
say bye. And Sister Barnes started crying over the phone and thanking
sister Gardner for all she has done for her, so sweet! She also told
us some VERY exciting news!! She told us she has been reading and
praying about the Book of Mormon and that she FEELS something as she
does. That she is starting to know that it is true and that she feels
the difference from when she reads and when she doesn't! We did a
little happy dance while we were on the phone with her, because a
testimony of the Book of Mormon is SO important in conversion! One of
my favorite quotes is in Preach My Gospel and it is by President Ezra
Taft Benson, "… The only problem the objector has to resolve for
himself is whether the Book of Mormon is true. For if the Book of
Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was his
prophet, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and
it is being led today by a prophet receiving revelation." We spend a
lot of time helping others gain that testimony of the Book of Mormon,
because it really is the keystone of our religion, and I know it is
true:)

The first thing Sister Fu and I did together was go street contacting
and we contacted into a woman named Lindsey. She was so cool, she told
us that her friend is a member of the church and that she was starting
to be interested in learning more because her friend's family were the
nicest people she had ever met. She also accepted a Book of Mormon and
was so excited about it being free, she was the sweetest! She gave us
her phone number and she said she was looking forward to hearing from
us, that it was about time she starts learning more about the church!
She walked away and I was just in shock! SO PREPARED! We never know
what our friends who aren't members notice, how our actions can
influence how they feel about the church. It was such a cool
experience that it made me always want to act in such a way that my
example may make someone want to learn more:)

I am grateful as always to have the opportunity to be serving a
mission in New York! It has brought me closer to my Savior than I
would have ever thought possible. He is there and He really does care!

Have a SUPERB week:)

Love, Sister Jones

Me and Sister Fu:) ️