Oct 27, 2014 1st week in field

So just an update, I`m not dead after living in the jungle for a week. I`m doing great so far. Waking up every morning and exercising with a track star is really hard just to let you know. My first companion in the field and my trainer is....... Elder Woolf from Gilbert, Arizona!!!!! I lucked out in getting an American who speaks great Spanish!!!!! He`s amazing. Super chill, calm, knows what to do and the area we`re in, he opened it about six weeks ago. He had five different companions in his first five transfers and they were all Latinos. How awful would that have been no English to speak. He`s awesome. We just had a baptismal service this last Saturday and will probably be doing another this Saturday.  At this moment I can`t upload pictures because the Internet in this place is worse than what the old Blackberry phones used to get. JK I don`t know how well those things used to work. But anyways this place is not good with internet. I was asked to bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting yesterday and I was so afraid. I have no idea still how the words that came out at all. Elder Woolf is an amazing worker and keeps me going. The heat is unbelievable here. About 90ish in the middle of the day, and oh yeah, 100% humidity all day long!!!! I have not been dry in 6 days!!!!!  Well ok we are out of time so until next Monday which is now my P day. Bye. love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New pictures from the Mission president today

President and his wife with Kalen

This may be his new companion and trainer?  I don't know just got pictures with no note from the president.  posted by mom

Oct 21, 2014 Arrived in Bolivia!!!!

Today I have hit the mission field for real and I can’t believe my eyes or my ears. Every Elder here speaks really good Spanish and despite being white and knowing English they choose to speak Spanish. I have met President Willard and he is amazing. Every Elder is super friendly so I am in good hands, no need to worry.  I can’t wait to get started and go teaching. I am so scared, nervous, happy, excited and worried. I’m not that great at the language but I feel that I will be speaking it really well in about two months and then fluently in three months. I might even throw in a little bit of Spanish in my letters either by accident or on purpose I don’t know which. I already know one Elder down here. I went to school with him his name is Elder Alec Garcia. He is a really good guy. I have a meeting with President Willard now so gotta go. I’m ok and the Lord is with me and everyone of you. God bless! 

October 17, 2014

Dear Family,

This will be a short message I want to send some pictures and I only get an hour on the computer. I leave next Tuesday at 1 am.  We will fly to Peru first and then into Bolivia. I have been to the temple 6 times down here.  I have most everything memorized in Spanish.  I am sending a picture of the temple sign.   I love you mom I miss you guys so much.  I love the pictures you sent of KaLani’s party.  Tracee is such a diva and Ally is adorable.  Kelly’s hair isn’t so bad.  I personally like grandma’s hair purple.  I’ll be sure to include you in my 20 prayers a day.  I say so many and they almost always have to be in Spanish so I’ll do my best.   There have been two groups of missionaries here so far here is the second picture.

To Tracee: I love soccer and am glad you are doing good with your team, but it is banned in the CCM because the Latinos get too rough. I bought a Messi soccer jersey. Kelly is going to freak out when he sees the picture of it.   My comp gave me a real madrid jersey too. I am having a lot of fun. But I miss you guys. I love you all.

To Ally: Of course I’m having fun and I miss you more. I love you little thing. I’ll send you pictures later cause right now in the MTC it’s a little hard to do. Well you need to listen to your mom alright. Everything she asks you must obey and do without asking why. Ok? Can you do that? Our parents are probably the smartest people I have ever met and they know what is best for you and your siblings. I wish that I had taken more advantage of their advice and counsel. They really have experienced it all and they pray everyday to be better parents and be good leaders to you. They pray that Heavenly Father will help them lead their children right. So I tell you, FOLLOW WHAT THEY SAY WITHOUT QUESTION.  They know what’s up. Will you do that for me? 

Love always, 

Elder Jones

Oct 7, 2014

So to start off I have some bad news.  I have broke 170 pounds. I am so fat. No wonder everybody says they fatten you up in the MTC.

I could understand some of the words of the Spanish speakers during conference but not all. I thought that was amazing that they could speak their native tongues. I listen to the sessions at the temple in Spanish, and I speak in Spanish too. It is so cool and hard. 

Now I don't have much time because they are real time/email Nazis here. So far it has been a great time. I have met a lot of new people and made a lot of new friends. I went on a tour of the city today with my district and we bought soccer jerseys because you can't live in South America without one. I went with a Messi red and blue Barcelona jersey. If you would like one, they are about $24 bucks or so in American dollars. In Bolivia though they will probably be a little less because it is the poorest country in South America. The weather is always overcast but never rains. We have had one or two bad days but that is it. There is too much to describe about the food. Like in the Book of Mormon how that have too many words that won't fit on the plates of Nephi, same here. It is pretty good though. I can't wait, however, to get in the field and do my own laundry and make my own food. That is the report for now and I will be sending pictures once I'm in the field because it’s just easier out there. I love you mom. I take notes on everything. Every devotional, Conference talk, and meeting. I feel the spirit in the words and I write what is important to me. I will try at least a couple of times to give you guys my testimony. Until next Friday the 17th. 

Love always, 

Elder Jones

October 2, 2014

Dear family, loved ones and friends.

Wow! A month has gone by and it only feels like I left a week ago. I sure miss everyone but I have come to realize that I am right where I am supposed to be here in the CCM, I receive the equivalent of about five mission prep classes in one day. Not to mention all of the language study piled on top of that. I have the opportunity to watch a lot of talks by church leaders and have taken some pretty amazing notes that I didn't even know I was capable of. 

My favorite one was a talk given by Elder David A. Bednar. The talk was given on Christmas Day in 2011 in the Provo MTC. The talk is "The Character of Christ". Elder Bednar quoted Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "There would have been no Atonement or atoning sacrifice, without the character of Christ". From that day on, Elder Bednar decided to understand what Elder Maxwell had meant by "character". The dictionary reference says, character = moral qualities, strongly developed and thorouhly lived. What does this mean? What does the Bible always tell us about Christ and others? What does Christ always do when in the midst of a trial? He turns outward! He turns outward when most of us would turn inward. After the Savior had just finished fasting for forty days the devil comes to tempt Him. The devil then proceeds to tempt Christ three times. On the final attempt the devil again failed and angels came to minister unto Him. However, if you check the footnote next to word Him. The word Him does not refer to Christ, the word Him refers to John the Baptist. John had just been imprisoned and in the midst of His trial, His hunger, his temptations from the devil. Christ sends angels to console and comfort John in prison. Amazing don't you think? 

Elder Bednar also stated that we must not have a testimony of Christ, rather we must become converted unto Christ. Many people have testimonies and some even have really strong testimonies. But still those people can fall away. In the Book of Mormon when Jesus comes to the Americas the people of God (the church of God, the Nephites) have fallen away because they didn't have testimonies. But the Lamanites, those that heard His word, were converted unto the Lord. It says converted not received a testimony because they had seen the Savior they were converted! 

The final story Elder Bednar gave was when he was serving as a Stake President. A woman called him and said, President there has been a terrible accident three girls have gotten into a car crash. We don't know much but we do know that one of the girls has died. We need you to go to the hospital and identify which girl has passed away." Elder Bednar then realized that she had him on one phone and the hospital on another phone in her hand. He overheard the hospital telling her, "I am so sorry to inform you ma'am, but your daughter is the girl that was killed."  She then told Elder Bednar, "President, we need you to call the other two mothers and tell them that their daughters are alright." Elder Bednar was shocked!  Elder Bednar then added that this was this single mother's only child. That is the Character of Christ. 

On the day of the funeral she invited Elder Bednar to come see her daughter with an open casket because the because she didn't want the last image of her daughter in his mind to of her mangled face. She was thinking of Elder Bednar and how she didn't want him to have that lasting image.  Elder Bednar also noted that a sister in the ward called the this mother to inform her that no one had brought her in a meal and she was sick. This grieving mother then made her ward sister a meal and took it to her on her way to her own daughters funeral.

 I give a challenge to everyone who reads this become CONVERTED unto Christ. When the natural man would turn inward, think of others and turn outward. That is my challenge to you and close in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Love Elder Kalen Jones