❤️Happy Valentine's Day!❤️

Spiritual Highlights 🏻

*We are still delivering A LOT of bibles:) And we were going to
deliver one the other day and the woman said she wasn't going to be
home, but that her aunt would so we could just drop it off to her. So
we went and her aunt answered, and we gave her the bible and were
about to walk away when we decided to ask her name. She told us and
then asked us ours and what church we were from, so we said the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or the Mormons. And she asked
why... And that is our favorite question to answer:) She invited us in
and we talked for like 45 minutes about the church and she was so
excited to read the Book of Mormon, she thought it made so much sense
to have more scripture! And she has been trying out a lot of different
churches lately but hasn't found one that she feels the Spirit in yet,
so we invited her to ours! And it was such an amazing lesson, and I'm
so grateful that we followed the prompting to ask her name, and then
to refer to ourselves as Mormons!:)

*Another experience delivering a bible! We got to one of them when we
realized we didn't have an apartment number... And she didn't answer
her phone, so we were about to leave, but I felt that we shouldn't- so
we decided to tract the building. And the first door we knocked on
this man answers, and we start talking about the church and he is kind
of laughing at us but we keep going. And we talk for about a half an
hour and he is just getting more and more sincere. So we left him with
a Book of Mormon and an address to the church and he said he would
read it, and that we might see him at church sometime. The Spirit
really does soften hearts! And when he shut the door, we felt we had
done our job and didn't need to finish tracting the building, so we
left:)

*Adriane is amazing:) She is a recent convert that we visit once a
week, and this week we decided to talk about Esther's courage. And
after the lesson Adriane said she didn't know how we did it, how we
always talk about the right thing. She said every time we come over
she has been thinkin and studying about someone all week and that is
what we come over to talk about! And we got to testify to her of the
Spirit's guidance:) And I am SO grateful for the Spirit, He is guiding
us even when we don't know it sometimes, I know that isn't us teaching
Adriane exactly what she needs to hear every week, it is God telling
us what to do! Because He knows her perfectly, and He loves her! And I
love that I get to be a part of that!

*We had an amazing lesson with Quiahni and Mathew, I'm not sure if
I've talked about them yet? But it was an accident that we found them,
we were delivering a bible for their mom and she sent it to their
address instead of her own! Anyway, we set up another appointment with
them and we got their and we started talking. And Mathew said that he
had had plans for the day but he had canceled them because he knew our
visit was more important. It makes me so happy to see people
sacrificing in order to hear the gospel- it gives me hope for the
world! I know that this gospel is true and that Mathew was right, the
message He has for us IS more important! They are so awesome, and God
has prepared them for His word!!:)

*I finally got to go to the temple on Saturday! Woohoo:) It was a Ward
baptisms for the dead trip and President gave us permission to go, it
was the best thing walking through those doors, going from the crazy
busy streets to silence- the Spirit hits you like a rock when you walk
in! We weren't able to do the baptisms ourselves but we got to be
there for Delight, a recent convert, and it was her first time in the
temple! It was such an amazing experience!:)

*Sunday was amazing! It was Valentine's Day, so we bought little
valentines and gave them to everyone in the Ward and it was really fun
to see them smile, it's little things that make people smile that make
me the happiest! And it was also amazing because both Delight and
Adriane spoke in Sacrament Meeting! Their testimonies are so rock
solid it blows my mind:) They have such a pure knowledge of the truth
of this gospel and it was so clear as they were speaking. Their words
made it easy for the Spirit to testify to the rest of us that what
they were saying was true!:)


Funnies 

This week was more of a spiritual week I suppose! But I've got one for you:)

~So, Monday was Wyatt's birthday! And, for some reason, I always have
the birthday song stuck in my head- just don't ask why, Sister
Quackenbush will attest to the fact that one of two songs will always
be stuck in my head, the birthday song, or the Klondike Bar jingle...
 ??   So I was really happy that I actually had someone to sing the
birthday song too, FINALLY! Happy Birthday Wyatthan:)

So, that's all for my week!:) I love you all and I'm so grateful for
this gospel and how happy I know it makes people! Have a good week!

Love, Sister Jones

Us and Delight at the temple!:)

She got Wyatt some birthday candy from here. 

  "This is the coolest candy place:) "

                                                                    This is from last weeks p-day.

                                                                             "Trinity Church!"

Another Week in the Bronx:)

Spiritual Highlights of this week:

We had an amazing lesson with a less active family Wednesday night! It
is a mom and her 2 little boys and one of the little boys is deaf! And
their mom wanted us to teach them how to pray, so we went through the
steps of how to pray with them- and the Spirit was so strong when we
finished and asked them to repeat the steps back to us! And I know I
was being helped in that lesson, I never had to think how to sign
something, it just came to me. The gift of tongues (the gifts of
hands?) is real!:)

Planning day! Planning takes up most of our day, but it is so worth
it! But the spiritual highlight Thursday was the conversation
Sister Quackenbush and I had during our dinner break. It was all
focused on Joseph Smith and the early days of the church, and my
testimony of Joseph Smith was strengthened so much in that
conversation! I know he was a true prophet and I know he restored the
true church back on the earth and because of that, I get to have it in
my life and I get to share it with everyone in New York!:) We are
lucky people to have this gospel!

We had a miracle on Saturday! We were on our way to a lesson when we
realized we were a lot further away than we thought and we weren't
going to make it there on time... So Sister Quackenbush called the
woman we were going to visit and told her we would be about 15 minutes
late, and I looked at her like she was crazy because there was no way
we would get there in 15-20 minutes. But she said she just felt like
she should tell her that, so we started on our way. And we had to take
2 buses and 2 trains to get there and each time we got off one, the
next was waiting right where we needed it! On one of the buses we
even missed our stop so we had to take a different train that was
closer to where we got off, but that one was there waiting too! So
what would have normally taken us 45 minutes to travel, somehow took
us only 20 and we were able to have an amazing lesson. This is God's
work, He is guiding it, and He will make things happen if they need
to!

Conference is 7 weeks people! And Sister Quackenbush and I realized
that in a lesson with a less active on Sunday because we were talking
about following the prophet and we shared a conference talk from
President Monson. And we kind of got a little excited about it... And
the cool part about it was that our excitement rubbed off on them and
they are really excited to watch conference:) This gospel is a happy
thing and if we show that to people, show our excitement for the
gospel, THEY get excited about it too! We don't need to sit and bear a
formal testimony to everyone we see, just letting how much we love the
gospel show in our actions is bearing testimony to those around us:)

Funnies:

One of our recent convert's daughters is hilarious! She is 4 and she
is quite the diva:) We had a lesson with them and she took my iPad and
I now have about 80 selfies of her haha! She also is a performer/model
and she entertained us with a rendition of One Direction's "Gotta Be
You"- it was the best:)

Sister Quackenbush and I have decided to run the stairs in our
apartment building every Saturday for our workout in the morning...
And we got to the top floor and were running up the last set of stairs
up to the fire escape. Did you know there are motion sensor fire
alarms? Neither did I.

I went on a split with Hermana Tesch yesterday and we wanted to do
something nice for our companions, so we decided to get them their
favorite treats! So we went to 2 different stores looking for birthday
cake ice cream and a small package of sour patch kids, and neither had
them! But we walked past the register and realized they had birthday
cake gum... And sour patch kids gum... So we got close enough! (Just
for future reference, birthday cake gum doesn't taste the best haha:))

Have a great week!

Hanna sent these pictures later that day.  She got to go out and do "touristy" things for the day! :)

The Brooklyn Bridge!

"Broadway and Wall Street- sound familiar?

 (hint: it's from my favorite movie "

"and BLOOMINGDALES!!"

Zone Conference!

This week was a pretty uneventful week. Well, uneventful for the city!

We are running around all day and trying to find people to teach- and
we are still trying to deliver all the bibles people have ordered!:)
But the most exciting thing this week was the Zone Conference we had:)

It's only once every 3 months that we have a Zone Conference and I
love them. I love hearing from President Smith and having him tell us
how we can be better missionaries! This time he really focused on how
we can work with members in our Wards to help with the work, and it
got me really excited to be able to be a missionary when I get home
haha! I'm excited now to work with members and all, but I'm just glad
I can keep teaching people about the gospel even when my time here is
done:)

I love everything about my mission, I love the people, I love the
places, I love the Spirit. My testimony has grown so much! I know that
this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that
he translated the Book of Mormon so that we can have it! And don't get
me started on the Book of Mormon haha, all missionaries claim the Book
of Mormon is their favorite book- and now I understand why:) I don't
know how to explain how a book can make life so much better, how is a
book going to help me have the energy I need to get out of bed
everyday? How is a book going to keep me safe, or help me feel God's
love? I can't explain it, it just does. And I'm so grateful I get to
carry it with me wherever I go and share it with everyone I meet:)
People don't know what they are missing out on! They really don't, so
it's my job and your job to tell 'em about it:)

The Bronx is crazy and I love it:)

And I love you guys!

Love, Sister Jones

Hanna went to Cloisters for p-day & sent these pictures later in the day.  Cloisters is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It houses their European medieval artifacts. 

"These are from The Cloisters that we got to go to today:) It was so cool! "

This is a tomb in Cloisters

This one is a stinkin NARWHAL HORN!!

It was the best!! :)

 Hermana Tesch, Hermana

                                                              Pressley, me, and Sister Quackenbush:) 

Life in the Bronx 😎

Holy cow, what a week! The Bronx is like a totally different universe

compared to Yorktown! We had so many awesome things happen to us this
week!

Thursday- Thursday night we got to meet Rosa and Jadeden! And they are
AMAZING:) It's a mom and her son and they were tracted into and they
are just so prepared for the  gospel:) We had such a good lesson with
them and the Spirit was so strong, and they are preparing for baptism!
I can't tell you how excited I am for them!

Friday- It was the calm before the storm... Literally! Friday was
amazing weather and we mostly just planned out our crazy week!

Saturday- Yes, the storm affected us haha! The buses stopped running
and we got DUMPED on. But it was probably my favorite day of the week!
We still had to go out and "mish" but I can't say that it felt too
cold, maybe because of all the layers I was wearing haha! And it was
so satisfying to see people that we went to visit, they were so
shocked that we were out doing this in weather so bad. It was an
amazing way to testify of the importance of the gospel, it doesn't
stop even when the rest of the world does! It was a miraculous day,
mostly because it should've been miserable but ended up being
magical!:)

Sunday- The aftermath... Because of the storm, a lot of people weren't
able to make it to church. So I think the final count was about 30
people who came, and we only had an hour of church. I have never been
in a sacrament meeting with only 30 people, but it ended up being
really special. There was a really cool and reverent feeling with so
few people there! And then we went to go visit a few people that day
and they were all so happy that we came! They kept saying how they
felt bad that they couldn't come to church so it was perfect that we
decided to visit:) One of the families we visited was a mother and a
daughter who are less actives that moved from upstate but no one knew
they existed, they were found because missionaries gave them a card on
the street and they recognized it as the church they were baptized
into over 10 years ago and gave them a call! It was a miracle, and
they are just so willing to progress in the gospel! I've met them once
and I love them already haha:)

Monday- Monday was a little rough lesson wise but we did meet with
someone who ordered a Bible online (let me tell you... We have over 50
people who have ordered Bibles in the last few weeks- so a lot of our
time is just trying to get them their Bibles! E'erbody wants a Bible!)
and now she is meeting with us! She has had a really hard life but has
so much faith in God! I think that is what I have noticed a lot about
people on my mission- especially this past week- that people have such
hard lives and they rely so much on God because that is their only
choice. He is the only one that can help us in such hard times, and
they truly understand that!

Tuesday- Nuts, absolutely nuts! We met a lady that the Spanish
missionaries referred to us and she is so solid! We asked her if she
would pray to know if Joseph Smith really was a prophet and if the
first vision really did happen, and she said she already knew it
happened and that it was true. And she was so happy we were there
because she had been praying a few weeks ago and that is when the
Spanish missionaries knocked on her door, and then she was praying
again yesterday and 20 minutes later is when we knocked in her door.
She really took that as a sign from God:) And she is planning on
coming to church on Sunday and she accepted baptism for February 20th!
I know that God answers prayers and I am so grateful that I get to be
part of that answer for some people:)

Wednesday- And now it's Wednesday again and that was the fastest week
of my life! The Bronx is CRAZY, but in the best way:) Sister
Quackenbush and I are having so much fun haha! Never a dull moment!

Love you all!

Love, Sister Jones

"Before" going out in the snow storm

"During" the snow storm!

                                                        "And this was the 132 stairs we walked up to go home, 

                                                            you couldn't tell they were stairs anymore haha! 

                                                                     And... that's me... I fell... :)

Saying Goodbye

Well, looks like my time here in Yorktown is up. It's like leaving
home all over again! But, I am so grateful that it was so hard to say
goodbye! It was a week full of hugging and picture taking, crying and
note writing, and testifying to the family I found here that this is
the true church! And it was a week full of miracles! Heavenly Father
really is looking out for us:) I was wondering how we were going to do
it, see all the people I felt like I needed to see one last time, but
I saw this week that this is God's work! If He wants something done,
it'll get done:)

Two of my favorite investigators (Maria and Jasmine) both work on
Saturdays- we knew they wouldn't be there but we decided we needed to
stop by anyway. And- they both had work off. WHAT!? So I was able to
see them and say goodbye and it was really special:)

One thing about this week that was truly amazing was the baptism I got
to go to! (That's what's cool about serving in 2 areas at once haha)
It was for a man named Anderson and it was one of the most spiritual
experiences I have had on my mission, the only thing was- it was all
in Portuguese so I couldn't understand a word... But I think that is
what made it so spiritual! I wasn't able to pay attention to the
speakers or testimonies because I couldn't understand- so I was just
left to focus on this man and the amazing decision he has made to
follow Christ! The water in the font was freezing, and they had to
redo the baptism for some reason (don't ask me why, I couldn't
understand;))- but his face when he came out of the water showed that
none if that mattered! He was just feeling the Spirit so strongly, and
the rest of us were feeling it too. That's an experience I'm not going
to forget anytime soon!!

Sunday was definitely hard, saying bye to the Ward I've been in for so
long! But it was fun to think about my first Sunday in the Ward and
how I was falling asleep in Sacrament Meeting because I was so
exhausted, and then to see where I am now- loving church like I never
thought I would!!

Monday and Tuesday were CRAZY! I got go to dinner with one of my
favorite members (Sister Mejia) and while we were in the restaurant
two other members walked in and I got to say bye to them too- tender
mercy! I got to say bye to a lot of other people but one of my
favorites was the Lane family. I told them I was leaving and Sister
Lane just said, "Who said that? I didn't authorize this." It was the
best coming from her, and I felt really loved haha! We had an amazing
last lesson about faith that I am never going to forget. Especially
because as I was bearing my testimony to them I just got this feeling
like, "yes". This is true and I know they feel that too, this Gospel
has blessed them so much already and I just LOVE that family!

And early Wednesday morning, I was out!:( We drove down to meet my new
companion, Sister Quackenbush, who just so happens to be my old TA for
sign language at BYU... Small world!! And then we went to go watch the
worldwide missionary broadcast! It was cool learning how to do
missionary work from the best in the field haha! It got me excited to
start fresh in my new area, to become the representative of Jesus
Christ I want to be:)

Oh, and one small detail. My new area is Kingsbridge.

The Bronx

:)

Love, Sister Jones

"It won't all fit!"

"Taxi selfie,

check that one off my bucket list! "

New view in the Bronx!!

Elder Holland! :)

This week we had the AMAZING opportunity to meet and listen to an Apostle of God! We found out last week that Elder Holland was going to be coming to our mission, so we woke up bright and earlySaturday morning (4 AM...) and traveled down to the city (Whoop-whoop)! It was such a cool thing to be able to feel the Spirit as that man walked into the room, and then to shake his hand, and then to hear him speak to us! He requested to shake all of our hands so that he could "interview" each of us, and you could feel that it was an interview- let me tell ya!

One thing he said really stuck out to me though. He told us that he didn't give his life up for a fairytale. And I know he didn't. I'm not giving my life up for this year and a half for a fairytale- this church is true, it's real and Jesus Christ is at the head! And I'm so grateful for that knowledge:) And I love how everyone can know that for themselves! God provides a way for us to know of the truth of this gospel, all we need to do is ask.

I want to challenge all of you to do that:) Do it every night! Ask Heavenly Father if this church is true, we can never have too much conviction!

I love you all and I love this Gospel!

Love, Sister Jones🤓

Our Trio: Sister Hancock & Hermana Larsen

Got to meet & listen to Elder Holland!!

WOAH!

Ok, so I didn't know how crazy this week was going to be when I wrote

last week haha!

We found out on Wednesday night that we were going to be in a trio for
the next 3 weeks! Hermana Hill just finished her mission, so Hermana
Larsen is now our 3rd companion:) She is awesome, and it is cool
having a companion who knows Spanish (especially in an area where it
isn't uncommon to run into Spanish people haha!)! She is serving in
Danbury, Connecticut sooooo, we are now covering both areas! It means
a lot of driving and a lot of switching between apartments! It's been
kind of nuts- but in a good way haha!

Thursday morning we picked up our new companion:) and we spent
Thursday and Friday in our area. Thursday is our planning day so it
took a long time trying to figure out how the next 3 weeks are going
to work! (But again, I'm a big advocate for planning ;) because I am
so less stressed about the next 3 weeks now haha!) But Friday we GOT
TO WORK!:)

Saturday was interesting... We spent half in Ossining and half in
Danbury, but the weirdest day was definitely Sunday! We both had to go
to the Ward in our area and we weren't sure how we were going to do
that! So we had to get a little bit creative! Sister Larsen asked one
of the young women in her Ward if she could be her companion for a
day, we got President's permission and it was grand:) But we had to
leave at 7:15 to drive to Danbury from our apartment and then drive
back in time for church! And then drive back again to pick her up!

Monday and Tuesday weren't any less crazy:) We tried to plan out what
days we were going to be in what area but it didn't really work
because people invited us over in the opposite area of where we were
planning to be...! It's just been very hectic:)

But, my point to all of this is just how amazing our Heavenly Father
is! We have been running around a lot, and we feel like we have no
direction! But we always seem to end up in the right place in the
right time to help somebody, or to share a message with someone who
needs it! I am so grateful for this work, and I'm so grateful that He
is in charge of it and that He is guiding us to where we need to be!
Even when we don't recognize it sometimes!

I love you all:) And I hope you had a happy New Years!

Love, Sister Jones🤓

I just imagined this as Hanna! :)

"One of my favorite members,

Sister Pesantes" :)

This is a video of Hanna celebrating the New Year. :)

(don't know if you will be able to see it)

She said they woke up for 10 min

for sparkling cider, pop-its, 

& right back to sleep! :)