Email Received February 24, 2010

This week has been long. really long.

We have gotten a baptismal date for an investigator that we've been teaching since Hermana Secrist was green. We're excited, and since it's just the other side of transfers, we'll be able to come back and see.

Speaking of transfers, I'm almost positive that Hermana Secrist is leaving. She's been her whole mish (11 months) in Carpentersville. She's looking forward to seeing some other part of Illinois

No I did not send the letter to the branch. I read it, and decided to revise it. I hope to get it out today.

I have to freely admit that I never had the opportunity to see the jazz play. All I know is that everyone loved Myrddun. I think, if the High school ever gets their act together, he should be in a high school play.

As for Myr not knowing what events he wants, that's not surprising. He's never really run before. I think he would like either hurdle jumps or a high jump. no throwing for him. his aim, while not as bad as mine, is a little off.

We had a few days last week where it was quite nice. Of course, The weather quickly turned to snow. While I'm not in the city, the wind and snow are unpleasant. Still, I wonder what I will do in the summer when I no longer have my coat. I'll be pocketless.

Those pictures of Teg are darling. I'll have to get a thumb drive or something to put them on, so I can print them. Also, that Picture of ShuKurimu was taken at the hands of a certain blond little girl, I know; no one else would do that.

In the end, all is well with me. We haven't had to buy real food in longest than either one of us wants to think. we live on crackers, string cheese, and yogurt between meals given us by members. yesterday, we were obliged to eat 4 LARGE meals(those plates they give you in Mexican restaurants are only a slight exaggeration), and essentially had another 2 given to us to save for later. I don't think any amount of working out is going to counteract the sheer volume of food we're expected to eat. It's causing some issues for both of us; even when we're not being fed, the idea of eating is disgusting for several days after a day like that. We're also having issues getting enough water. when the person asks you if you want soda or water to drink, it doesn't matter what you say, you're getting soda. Luckily, when I went in for my doctor's appointment, she told me firmly (in Spanish) that I have to let them know that I am not allowed to drink soda. So I have an out for something that I'm almost sure adds up to 600 extra calories every day.

I find I'm missing little things from home, with an Oxford (NOT Webster) dictionary being at the top of the list. If I ever find a good bookstore around here, I may indulge; you know how I like my words.

I love and miss you all, and pray for your health.

con todo mis sentimientos,

La Hermana Jones.

No candy accepted

Email Received February 17, 2010

Myr says there are many pictures awaiting me. I can't wait.

Harvey car of DOOM will be fixed today. I'm glad you got a chuckle out of that.

Recently, the branch has taken to singing "An angel from on high," or whatever it's called in English. the one that goes "an an-gel from on height/the long, long silence broke." The problem is, these people barely mange to get "I am a child of god" in tune. this one changes meter and rhythm halfway though. oh yeah, and there's no one who can play the piano. the results are amusing, to say the least. still, I commend them for their effort.


Running out of time here; the new e-mail is treating me oddly.

What does one do when the investigator gives you one of the "questions of the soul" when you have 5 minutes left? we're running late from all our appointments.

sorry this is so short.

love you all very much.

Email Received February 10, 2010

Ok, I hope you all are ready for this. Please make sure the following announcement ends up in the blog and is sufficiently talked about.

At Zone conference this past month, we got a special surprise.

President Doll got up in front of the group, and, after saying something about changes, endurance, and faith, announced that the Illinois, Chicago, North mission would cease to exist as of this July.

(Insert panicked silence here)

Instead, we will have the Illinois Chicago Mission, Which will include most of the state of Illinois and a bit of the areas roundabout. Basically, the North and South missions are combining. (Which also means that yes, as of July, Oprah Winfrey is in my mission area.)

As we're all looking around at each other to see reactions, my companion gets up the guts to ask if President Doll will still be our mission president. He is, of course, as he's new to this mission.

That said, my potential to go to the city just got a lot smaller (I'm not exactly unhappy about that,) and the number of potential companions I have just doubled. It will be interesting to see what happens for those first few transfers, that's for sure.

As I alluded to last week, I had my first baptism. Esteban has worked hard to grab on to what little understand of the gospel he could, and despite half the program not showing up, the baptismal service was beautiful and inspiring.
Now we just have to get the poor boy integrated in the branch.

We've got a couple of baptismal commitments in the works. One is way off in the future (Which is better than before; we've been trying to get her a date since I got here) and another is next transfer. We have another that is hanging in the air, and a whole pile of testimonies we need to build.

I have to admit, driving in the snow is not fun... especially when you receive a notice that your car has a recall on it and is now no longer named Harvey, but Harvey, Car of DOOM, and could suddenly accelerate out of control at any moment.

^_^

That said, we've also learned that it is physically impossible to get as many citas in when the snow is this bad. It takes hours to get anywhere, and there are accidents all over.

Side note, way late, Happy Birthday, Daddy; hope you like the picture I sent you.

Love you all, and miss you. Myr, you punk WRITE ME!

And to Teg:

___@__@___
==========

"I always I feel like, somebody's watching me!"

(It’s supposed to be the geico money stack.)

Have a great week.

La Hermana Jones

Mission Boundary Changes

Maren wanted everyone to note the changes.  She mentions in her following letter that this would effect her.

Church News

Ten new missions announced in seven areas; 14 missions consolidated

Published: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010




To better align resources and adjust to the ever changing needs of the Church, 10 new missions will be organized in July, while 14 other missions will be combined with neighboring missions. The resulting number of missions will be 340.




Pacific Area

Combine the Australia Sydney North Mission with the Australia Sydney South Mission. The resulting mission will be named the Australia Sydney Mission.




Combine the Australia Melbourne West Mission with the Australia Melbourne East Mission. The resulting mission will be named the Australia Melbourne Mission.




Africa Southeast Area

Create the Democratic Republic of Congo Lubumbashi Mission from a division of the Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa Mission.




Europe Area

Combine the Germany Hamburg Mission with the Germany Berlin Mission, with headquarters in Berlin.




Combine the Switzerland Zurich Mission with the Germany Munich/Austria Mission, and portions of the Germany Frankfurt Mission. The resulting mission will be named the Alpine German-Speaking Mission, with headquarters in Munich.




Combine the Ireland Dublin Mission with the Scotland Edinburgh Mission. The resulting mission will be named the Scotland/Ireland Mission with headquarters in Edinburgh.




Combine the Italy Catania Mission with the Italy Rome and the Italy Milan missions.




Combine the Spain Bilbao Mission with the Spain Barcelona, Spain Madrid and Spain Malaga missions.




Central America Area

Create the Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission from a division of the Guatemala Quetzaltenango and Guatemala Guatemala City Central missions.




Create the Nicaragua Managua North Mission from a division of the Nicaragua Managua Mission. The name of the Nicaragua Managua Mission will be changed to the Nicaragua Managua South Mission.




Caribbean Area

Combine the Puerto Rico San Juan East Mission with the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission, Puerto Rico San Juan West Mission, and the West Indies Mission. The name of the Puerto Rico San Juan West Mission will be changed to the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission.




North America Central Area

Combine the Illinois Peoria Mission with the Iowa Des Moines, Missouri St. Louis and Nebraska Omaha missions.




Combine the Illinois Chicago South Mission with the Illinois Chicago North Mission. The resulting mission will be named the Illinois Chicago Mission.




Asia North Area

Combine the Korea Seoul West Mission with the Korea Seoul Mission.




Combine the Japan Hiroshima Mission with the Japan Fukuoka and Japan Kobe missions.




Mexico Area

Create the Mexico Mexico City Northwest Mission from a division of the Mexico Mexico City North and Mexico Mexico City West missions.




Create the Mexico Villahermosa Mission from a division of the Mexico Tampico, Mexico Tuxtla Gutierrez and Mexico Veracruz missions.




North America Northeast Area

Combine the New Jersey Cherry Hill Mission with the New Jersey Morristown and Pennsylvania Philadelphia missions.




Combine the Ohio Cincinnati Mission with the Ohio Columbus and West Virginia Charleston missions.




North America Southwest Area

Create the New Mexico Farmington Mission from a realignment of the Arizona Mesa, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Tucson and New Mexico Albuquerque missions in the North America Southwest Area, and the Utah Provo Mission in the Utah South Area.




Philippines Area

Create the Philippines Iloilo Mission from a division of the Philippines Bacolod Mission.




South America Northwest Area

Create the Peru Cusco and Peru Lima West missions from a realignment of the Peru Arequipa, Peru Lima Central, Peru Lima East, Peru Lima North and Peru Lima South missions.




Utah South Area

Create the Utah St. George Mission from a division of the Utah Provo Mission.

Email Received February 3, 2010

SO. Things go on, and I'm not sure what to do.

We have our first baptism this Saturday at 1:00. We're praying and hoping nothing goes wrong...

Our tribe is distinctly lukewarm right now. We're going to try and plan to get them a little more fired up.

We have a baptismal commitment right now, one guy who we're never sure is he's serious or not. He has a couple of word of wisdom issues, so we haven't given him a date... slow but steady.

I've not been sleeping well. I wake up frequently, wondering if I'm up to the task. This is irrational and totally not important (the lord qualifies whom he calls), but damaging all the same. I'm a basket case right now, which is bad all around.

I love the members very much, despite all the frustration in my last letter. I just feel like I'm trying to reach across a gap without falling in. of course anyone who know about my natural grace (or rather the complete lack thereof) knows how much of a struggle that is for me. That said, I do not scold, and I'm not condescending (not intentionally, at least.) just frustrated.

We're trying to cut down of visits to members... but it doesn't really change anything since all our investigators feed us too. We even get fed when out knocking. We're supposed to work out for 30 minutes every morning... at 6:30 am. While I appreciate the necessity, I'm a complete zombie at that hour. Hermana has told me that I often spend 15 minutes staring at the wall, doing nothing. I believe it. I'm trying to improve, but I'm just not THERE at that hour. (No, I don't want to shower first thing. showers put me to sleep, as you well know.)

Hermana Maren M Jones

Email Sent January 27, 2010

What does one do with a branch that's been a branch for 30+ years?

While it is exciting to be trying to help the branch try to become a ward, the fact is that I'm not sure how to help. The main part of the branch consists of easily offended "creentes," or "believers" who don't do more than come to sacrament. Teachers are stuck in the read-from-the-book rut, and the youth are bored out of their minds. And because everyone has sensitive egos, (See the food-fat complex described below) we cannot be the least bit blunt in suggesting they try to do better. There are a few people who have managed to become strong in the gospel through their own efforts... and struggle to understand why everyone else doesn't do the same. The end result is that there is no visiting or home teaching, and poor excuses for mutual and primary activates. We've also learned that there is a distinct lack of testimony. Many of the members believe, a little, or want to believe, but lack the surety about the most basic principles of the gospel that all members need.

It's a real pickle.

Members generally like us, but we're in constant strife. The Relief society signs up to feed us on a calendar. However, there is a strong cultural tradition of offering food to ALL guests at ALL times, and as a guest, it is an insult to the host not to accept the food and then eat ALL of it. Because of this, we are many times obliged to eat several "dinners" every evening. Hermana Secrist, just before I came, had four full meals in as many hours; I've managed to escape with no more than three, thus far.

Not accepting the food has disastrous consequences. Hermana Secrist once related how one member forced several servings on her and her companion. When unable to finish, they were asked point blank why they weren’t eating. They said that the food was very good, and they were no longer hungry. The hostess proceeded to insist they have more, but they simply were not able to, and said as much. The hostess then said "Are you saying I'm fat because I eat this much?!?" and proceeded to kick them out of the house.

While this is an extreme cenario, It's a good example of how delicately we are being forced to choose our words and actions; I simply do not understand the culture well enough to cope. I do not know whether this is a failing on my part, or what.

All suggestions and help (NOT in the form of food) are more than welcome.

Sorry for the negative note; I'll hand write some better news later.

Yours Truly,
Maren Jones

Email Dated January 20, 2010

I don't have much time to write, but I want yo let you know that this has been my best/worst week so far.

The good stuff:
Tribe Lupercio, consisting of about 15 people, came to church this week, for a grand total of 11 investigators at church. (several of the kids are not baptismal age, and we saw a few new people as well). The Elders are jealous, and determined to beat us.

The branch has a goal to become a ward, and attendance has been high enough to validate that goal. (Although we're short 30 members and 4 Melechezedek priesthood holders). We did a lot of knocking, end every time someone would open to us. I've learned a whole lot about the catholic church. (Not the Roman Catholic church. evidently there’s more than one brand. shoulda known.)  President Doll is not transferring any of us Spanish speakers, and has pronounced us a "team" with the project to make this branch a ward.

We have one set baptismal date, two more wavering, and one catholic woman who has all the pieces, but needs to make the decision to change religions. (As of now, she's been "just learning.")  I have successfully escaped several run in with j-dubs. (All you have to do is offer them a card, and they run away screaming. ^_^)

The not so good:
We’ve had a lot of citas fall through. Thus, we've been doing a lot of knocking. We've been encountering a lot of resistance from parents. One little girl, who was able to assert powerfully that she knew the church was true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet, is having doubts about getting baptized because her mom is reluctant to do anything.  A lot of less-active families are having issues, and we've been dragged in as marriage counselors. (Distinctly against the rules!)

We think one of our investigators is autistic, and have had to drastically alter our teaching methods.

One young man, who was going to get married, has been counseled not to by his lawyer because, "Her mom just wants your money." Oh yeah, I'm livid.  Everyone, from Presidiente Urrrutia (branch president) on down is struggling with either work, health, or family. We're both sick.

No more time. Love and miss you all. Hope you are well.

Maren.