Email, Rceived July 28, 2010

So, I'm severely irked, and a short on sleep.

The fire alarm in our bedroom started chirping on Friday last week, about 3 AM. I moved out to the living area to sleep on the couch. That morning Hermana got upset, and told me I should have woken her up so she could come out with me. We tried to change the battery, only to find that the alarm is hard-wired into the house. We called the issue in, and they sent someone out to change the battery, explaining that the alarms were both hardwired and battery driven. The next day the alarm started chirping again, this time around 1:30. I called the office, but they didn't get back to me until about 3, at which point they told me I needed to call Q-net, the company they've outsourced their alarm system to. The opportunity did not present itself to make the call, and their offices are closed Sunday. I called Monday, and they sent someone over to change the whole unit. However, Tuesday at about 3:30, I woke up hot. I bumped around the apartment a little, turning on the fan, and about 4:00 AM, the alarm went off again. I tried calling q-net several times, but got no response. Last night, the alarm did not go off, but this morning, they came to do a monthly inspection. I told them what happened, and they left. I'm going to wait for a bit to see what happens, but needless to say, I'm tired. I understand that diagnosing an intermittent problem is hard, but I'm losing sleep, and that makes me cranky.

Happier thoughts to follow:

Antonio, And older man who Hermana Mendoza had been teaching for a while, is back from DeKalb. He's on date, and has a firm testimony. We're both thrilled. We were both worried for a bit, because he disappeared for 40 days. In Mexico, it's traditional for family to assume all a mother's responsibilities for 40 days after the birth of a child. Antonio was doing this for his daughter. but now he's back, and ready to be baptized.

That's about all that's really going on here. But I'm wondering: Hermana and I have seen a lot of flags at half-mast this week? Someone die, or something?

Email, Received July 21, 2010

I am being eaten alive.

Ok, obviously being out in the middle of nowhere means more mosquitoes, but dang! I've got a collection of about 25 bites. We’ve wanted to do the permetherin treatment on our clothes for a while, but with all the chaos of the mission leaders re-organizing and re-training, we've not been able to get any. I'm really starting to wonder if it might not be easier just to get an oatmeal bath instead of coating my legs with hydrocortisone cream.

That said, I'm sleeping well, although I'm having a harder time waking up in the morning. Hermana Mendoza is always worried about me getting enough sleep, because I wake up and stagger around like a zombie. I tell her that that means I'm sleeping well, and she doesn't seem to believe me. I don't think she understands that some of us just aren't morning people.

I'm still getting to know our investigators, and members, but I love working with the youth in the area. They’re enthusiastic and completely willing to help. This includes 19-year old Nephi, who's working on his mission papers while holding callings as ward clerk, councilor to the branch president (don't recall which) and branch missionary, this scattered with a couple others. He and a few other young men and women are willing to do anything to support the work. We're planning a week-long mini-mtc to help them get the tools they need. We're super excited, and we pray that the youth will attend.

I love receiving your letters, and I'm thrilled to know you're all doing well. You're all growing by leaps and bounds in your various ways, (Gramma's using skype?!?) and I can see plainly how the gospel is blessing your lives. Keep on rockin!

Love,
Hermana Maren Jones

Email Received July 14, 2010

Um.... Did you know I'm halfway through my mission?

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!???!!!????!

Freakishness aside, it's traditional in the mission to burn something at such a major landmarks. Elders traditionally burn:

• 6 months - a tie
• 1year - a shirt
• 18 months - a pair of pants
• 2 years - a jacket

I don't know why this is. All the elders acknowledge that this is rather silly, and that it also smells relay bad, and the last two are frequently replaced with other ties. But the tradition remains.

I don't think I'm going to burn anything.

So for the first time in a few weeks, I have enough time to really write you all. I'm sorry for lack of details about the Loop. Quite frankly, I was rather lost until that last week.

OK, New Companion: Hermana Mendoza is originally from Peru, but has spent the last 10 years or so in Utah.  She is a competitive Salsa dancer (with her brother) and has friends from all over the world. She's been in Woodstock for about 8 months now, and she knows the branch really well.

Speaking of the branch, unlike Elgin, this branch is new. They've got new leadership in everything, and are trying to become a ward. Since the restrictions that this different stake has placed are looser, we should be able to do it in the next year or so. We've already in this past week spent some serious time helping with organizational issues in the branch. Today we hope to introduce the concept of the Meeting Agenda. The leaders are super cooperative, and Hermana and I are super-excited to see what we can do.

I was able to go back to the loop for the Baptism of Ofelia Montelongo - the investigator who asked if she could invite her children to her baptism before we had asked her to be baptized. It was a wonderfull experience, and I hope to send you all pictures soon. Her son, the one with Autism, offered a beautiful and heartfelt invocation. Her other children did not attend, regrettably, but she has hope that the missionaries can one day teach them as well.

President Doll did, eventually, contact me. However, it was the week of transfers, and the first transfer that we had with the missions combined - add to that, the fact that we got in the largest batch of new missionaries since he started, and he was very busy. He was startled by my mild, but sober amusement in reaction to his day-late call.

I would like to mention that I have, in fact, ridden through thunderstorms and 90 degree weather on a bike already. We even had one day where the sirens went off. Luckily, we were only 2 blocks away from our appointment. (I'm not sure how that slipped my mind. I should have mentioned that before.)
I did in fact get my temple bag. I am grateful for the additional clothing as well. All the clothes fit very well, and I am using them all except the green shirt... which, as you probably are now remembering with some chagrin, was of the exact shade of green that makes me look ready for my own funeral. Hermana Goodman found this hilarious, and asked me to demonstrate this repeatedly. Still, I'm thrilled that you tried to include my favorite color. It just so happens I can't actually wear my favorite color. I've since exchanged that shirt with Hermana Mendoza for a lovely tan-olive colored one that she couldn't wear for the same reason. It goes brilliantly with both of my red skirts, so all is well. I'm also glad to be able to use my own temple clothing (and I will. Woodstock is only a little farther north than Carpentersville, and we can car-poll with the zone-leaders or something) instead of the rental clothes. They only had 1 small/tall, so I usually got a medium, which fits my like a tent.

Your description of the new computer thrills me. I haven't heard the word terabyte in ages. I'm also glad to know windows 7 is good. I'm extremely surprised you got a liquid cooling system. are you planing on overclocking or something? and when did we hit USB 3.0? I'm going to be sooo outdated when I come back.

On a side note I need snail-mailing addresses for the following:

Pasco YSA
Uncle David
Jemille


Also, tell Myr that If he doesn't get me Josh & Joel's address soon, He will get another scathing letter. I understand that he has a lot of girlfriends, and that he simply must he hopelessly charming and debonair at all times, but that I deserve a note once in a while too.
Yes please put that comment in the blog.

I love you and miss you all, but I'm quite happy here. Hope everyone got their cards. Apologies go to Jemille, but I can't mail a card when I don't have an address.

Love
Hermana Maren Jones

Second Email, July 7, 2010

Once again, I've spent a large time doing personal replies, so I don't have a whole lot of time for a personal e-mail. which is fine because....

I JUST GOT TRANSFERRED AGAIN!!!

I am now In Woodstock. I'm kinda miffed because I had just barely (as in, as of this Monday) gotten used to the bike, and we had 2 investigators on date. (I will include a snail-mail rant on that count. oooh, sometimes people try too hard.) but I'm glad I'm not going to be on the bike for July and August - I'd already overheated a few times.

But now, I have the phone.

You see, one person is supposed to drive, and the other mans the cell phone. I'm not driving this time, sooooo.....

Not sure exactly why, but service out here kinda stinks. I can barely understand when I talk to someone in English, so I definitely can't understand Spanish, especially not in the soft-mouthed dialect you get from panama and northern Mexico.

Out of time. Love you all.

Email Received July 7, 2010

While I am sad at the passing of Gamma McKinney, there's also a large sense of relief. I'd not seen her for years, but whenever Mommy came back and told me that Gamma couldn't even remember who she was, It made my stomach feel weak. I often thought to myself that it was barely a step away from how Grampa was when he died - just a body without anything but the traces of the soul in it. Moreover, I was never sure if she was a step better, or a step worse, only that she was getting worse every day. I'm glad that she's out of that situation, and hope that she has been received into a state of rest. it's almost a relief to know that, in a year, her work can be done.