Feb 23 2015

Hey there everybody 24 wks (6 months) in the mission field already gone. Well I have passed a Carnaval here in Bolivia without too much trauma. The only terrible thing was that we couldn't leave at all. We studied all day every day. It was very nice and I had a very uplifting experience. We have set some new goals and we are working hard. We have another baptism scheduled for this Saturday. The investigator is a girl who recently moved from the middle of nowhere to her grandparents’ house. They are members who have been sealed in the Temple. She last night confirmed in prayer, ``Dear Father thank you for the missionaries, I know that the Latter-Day Saint church is true.´´ In prayer before us and God!!  We are very excited. She also said last night that she wants to serve a mission too.  How cool!?!?!  It was a short week in the field so that's all I have but I am doing well. Tell Sis Dodson thanks for the letter I am so thankful someone from the ward hasn't forgotten me.  I am going into the rainy, cold, winter so if you could send a few sweaters that would be great. Thanks mom   Love you all!!!!!

Feb 16 2015

No letter this week because of Carnaval.  They weren't allowed to go out in the town or have P-day.

But a HAPPY 19th Birthday last weekend to this awesome kid.
Love Mom

Feb 9 2015 one more thing

Quick story. This is Manuel Martinez. We met with him over a week ago and taught the first lesson about the Restoration and the BoM. Then we invited him to be baptized but he denied us saying he´d already been baptized. Two days later he watched the movie, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. He said that it touched his heart and that he knows that the Church is true, the BoM is true and Joseph Smith was a Prophet. He is going to get baptized by Misael his buddy who is about to leave on his mission to go to Mendoza, Argentina

Feb 9 2015

Mom,  we have now been apart for 5 months and I actually didn’t know if you would make it this far but I pray every day that you will have the strength to carry on. haha I am eating dinner and I feel a little bit better in the health department. I want to wish a nice Happy Birthday to you this week. You are getting pretty old right?   I have had some pretty awesome success stories lately. We have now had three people walk up to us, say something that once prevented them from getting baptized, say they have conquered that thing and want to get baptized on a Saturday that is within 6 days. Paula Flores was Evangelical and didn’t know if the Church was true, went to a baptism of someone else and felt the Spirit, then asked to be baptized. Limber Añez came up to us yesterday in the chapel, said he had just gotten married 8 days ago and was ready to be baptized. I haven’t seen him in over a month and a half. He came to church out of the blue and now wants to be baptized. Crazy. This really is Bolivia, Santa Cruz, The Mission of Miracles as it’s called. I am going to have a baptism on my birthday!!!!! I am so excited. I thought I would have to be in the house but now we get to go to the church.  The weird thing is that he has wanted to be baptized for the last 3 years, since he first met the missionaries, but because he was living with a girl, who is a member, and never got married that prevented him from joining. They have also had a goal to go to the Temple since November but now that they are married and he`s getting baptized their goal is for February of next year. Limber and Denise, they are so awesome. 

     I have been having a fantastic time here in Bolivia. While I have been here I have had the opportunity to help bless the lives of four special people. The four investigators that I have helped come to baptism are Juan Carlos, Janet and her daughter Natalia, and Paula Flores. They are so very special to me because it is a manifestation of the work of the Lord progressing faster than ever. It is also a testament to how blessed I am. I have only been in the mission for 5 months now and I have helped more people make this covenant than a lot of missionaries here have done in their whole mission. I pray to continue to have success. To find my brothers and sisters that are ready to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ with open arms. I am so overwhelmed that God has so much love, and that He loves each and everyone of us individually. Please always remember to share the Gospel because you may never know if you will touch a life and a heart. Keep the missionary attitude at the front of your mind always and forever. Our purpose here on Earth is to be happy and there are many of our neighbors, friends and family members who are not experiencing the same joys that we have. Please share the Gospel with everyone you meet. A smile, 5 minutes of assistance or even as much as to share your testimony. Whatever you do, remember the Lord Jesus Christ came to SERVE. I love all of you and I am very happy to be in the service of my God and I hope that everyone will develop a desire to share the Gospel with every single person that you meet. I know that our Heavenly Father lives and His Son Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon helps us come closer to God. This is the most correct book of any here in the world. God loves us, Jesus Christ loves us. Let us all share that same love with ALL of the children of God. This is my prayer every day, In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 with much love, Elder Kalen Jones

Jan 26 2015

To start off we just had two baptisms this past weekend and a rescued family of 4. We are doing great here.  This is Paula and Juan Carlos. They are super awesome. I am speaking pretty well as far as I can tell. The people understand me that's all I know so maybe I am doing something right. We have been finding a lot of new people by talking in the street to everyone. We have a new investigator named Juaquin and he is so funny. He has a date for the 21st of February to get baptized.  This is the Paniagua family who just got rescued and they baptized their daughter. I have been working with them since I got here to Bolivia. They are the best. This month of February coming up is gonna be awesome. This month there is a celebration here called Caneval. If you saw Rio the movie, that is Caneval in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That is the biggest Carneval celebration in the world. Here is a little bit smaller but still crazy. We are going to be staying in house for three days. The 14th at night is when it starts but it goes from the 15th to the 17th of February. Yay spending my birthday in house doing nothing. It's all good though. I have come to learn a lot about myself and I realize that only through and by the name of Jesus Christ our Savior can we be saved. I have seen a lot of lives change just through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everybody needs to know that there is someone always looking out for them. I have seen lives change here just by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have seen people stop drinking, get married (cause nobody here gets married, they just live together and think that qualifies as marriage), people quit jobs to be home with their families and people have taken the steps to keep the Sabbath Day holy. It is amazing what Christ can do for our lives. I love being a missionary and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I am a servant of Him for two years and it is the best time in the world.  I know that my Savior lives. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have now read it in two languages and I know that it is true. I encourage all of you to read it from cover to cover. Sit down and take the counsel in its pages to heart and then become a better person. I love all of you but right now I am on the Lord´s Errand. See ya when my service is done. I love you all. 

 Love, Elder Kalen Indiana Jones