19 June 2022
VOLUME 10 – NUMBER 457
London’s Father’s Day dinner for Dad
Christian
Uncle Jon surprised us by coming out from Virginia! Aunt Amy wanted to do something fun with all of us, so she took us all with Uncle Jon to watch Top Gun at the theater.
It was a really good movie, easily one of my favorites. After the movie, we went back to Aunt Amy's house to swim. It was fun night!
Children playing Among Us
Monte
Two weeks ago, I started my first week of summer cleaning at Falcon Ridge Elementary. It is so fun, because I just get to talk to my friends for a full four hours (while cleaning of course). I get paid $9.85 an hour for four hours a day, five days a week, for two to three months. I don't want to do the math right now, so I'll just leave it at that.
It is super easy work too. We just clean the walls, wipe down everything, and vacuum really well, then we shampoo the carpet, and do all of that to the other side of the room. That is pretty much the highlight of this week.
Also, last week Gloria got her braces off! We were both talking about how long we each had them on. I think it was four years for each of us. Dad was talking to Gloria about it, and he mentioned that he has never known her without braces. When he first met her three years ago, Gloria already had them on.
Gloria without braces
Endia
Before they headed out to Wisconsin, I was able to meet up with Jen. I got to see baby Israel! He is so cute, and James is so big and has so much energy! It was so nice to catch up with Jen and have some dinner together.
The next day, I went with some of my siblings to see Singin’ in the Rain at Hale Center Theater. That play was incredible! I loved the acting and the singing was beautiful. There were several very impressive tap-dancing scenes and a lot of laughing.
The best part was when they made it pour rain, inside the theater! The actor danced and sang while he was getting soaking wet. He even splashed some of it at the audience. It was magical and I could not stop smiling at how amazing it all looked! Plus, I just love the rain. It usually makes me want to dance or laugh, so I really enjoyed the whole experience!
Cougar was able to come down again this weekend! He came down a little early, so we were able to go to the temple together and then he was there for the Friday night volleyball! While he was here, we went out to dinner with Braden and Brooke and some of the other adult children, and then went back to West Jordan for Father’s Day!
Endia with Israel and James
Ashton
One of the cool parts of this week is that while Braden and Brooke have been here, Braden came up to Provo a couple of times to play basketball with Dallas and some other people.
My new position as a supervisor at the MTC requires a lot of training in the morning, then I go to my teaching shift in the afternoon, and then finish off the day with my evening shift from 5:30 to 9:00pm. It's been a lot, but I am really enjoying it.
This week I also started working at the temple, which was a really neat experience. It is definitely a lot different than just going through like normal, and there's a lot of things you don't think about that go into making a temple run.
Family at Hale Centre Theatre
On Thursday, I went on a date, and it was really fun! We went out to breakfast and then to see the new Top Gun movie. At one point during breakfast, she mentioned that her dad actually passed away when she was about 15. He was in the Air Force, and during a routine training flight as he was training another pilot, there was a malfunction and his plane crashed.
I got really nervous that I had picked the worst movie for this date after hearing that! Throughout the movie I couldn't help but think what she was feeling, and it made the experience that much more real. Afterwards, as we talked, it seemed like she was completely fine, and actually enjoyed the movie!
Get together with Ashton family at park
Alex
Uncle Jon came over this week and we all went to the movie theater. We watched Top Gun. A lot of people said that it was really good and emotional. After I watched it, I thought that it was a really great movie. Also, the theater where we watched it was so cool because it not only had a screen in front of us but it had multiple screens around us.
Then after watching Top Gun, we went to Aunt Amy's house, and we went swimming in her pool. We had a really fun time with each other. The grownups even played pickleball!
Mom and Aunt Wendy playing pickleball
Caleb
Surprise! I've been in the town of Cunco for this past week. We traveled a lot, and starting teaching and finding people was a little slow, because of getting to know the area, trying to get to know the people that the missionaries were teaching before us, and getting to know the branch, but it was still super great!
Last Monday we left from the city named Coronel and the ward and area named Lagunillas at 6:00am. We drove south four hours. Now we're in the small town of Cunco. We live at the foot of the Andes mountains, which are super pretty, but due to the constant clouds, fog, and rain you can't really see them that well.
We have another town in our area named Melipueco, which is more into the mountains and is right next to a volcano! So hopefully in this transfer I'll get to visit a volcano!
Caleb and Elder Jones
You can see a lot more of the Chilean culture shine through here, but you'd be surprised, because it also really gives off the same vibe of a small town in the US. For example, a big city in Chile compared to a big city in the US is a bit different, but a small town compared to a small like where I'm at right now gives off the same country/small town vibe. We got to know our branch a bit on Sunday, and things should be great here!
On Wednesday we traveled to Temuco, which is the big city near me, for district council, and then we stayed at the house of some missionaries for the day, and slept there. At 6:00am the next morning, the APs that are in the south of the mission swung by and picked us up, and we traveled two hours north to Los Angeles, for the zone conference there.
We missed the zone conferences in Temuco, and left before San Pedro had theirs, so we were lucky to be able to go, and I left excited to apply a lot of the things that I learned! Later this week we did, and some pretty awesome lessons happened!
Children playing Among Us
After the zone conferences, President Cardús and his wife drove us back to our house, about a three-hour drive, and then for them, a four-hour return trip to Concepción. That was super awesome to have that time to get to know them more. Also, next month they will be finishing their mission, so that was also the last zone conference with them.
Okay, so Dad asked me a couple questions in an email that I would like try and answer here about challenges on my mission. The hardest thing would maybe be companionships, but I feel like I have been able to conquer differences every time so far and then they just become good friendships.
Also, learning Spanish for a while was pretty hard, but I feel like I've been able to get on top of that, and now I'm just refining it every day. It’s also a challenge actually being able to teach, but I also feel like I've been refining that more and more recently, especially with Elder Jones. At first, we couldn't get on the same page to save our lives! But now it's good, and my personal ability has grown a lot.
London, Ellie, and Endia cooking
Recently, in this new area, everything just felt slower in helping things to progress in the work, mainly just because we were getting to know the area, orienting ourselves, and setting up a foundation with the members here.
Also, kind of random, I'd like to invite you guys to add to your personal prayers for opportunities to share the gospel with people at work or in other situations—simple love, share, and invite opportunities with other people. Being involved in the work in that way will directly bless you and the family a lot!
Dad also asked about what I've learned about people and human nature. There are a lot of really nice people, and a lot of hard, thick people (Ha ha!). People without the gospel really don't live for any significance, and without a love for them, you could almost see a lot of them as no more than a memory that, given time, would just fade away. Luckily, we have the gospel and I know their potential.
Children cooking Father’s Day dinner
It’s truer than ever that without the purpose that comes from God, that's all we would really be—just a bunch of living memories bound to be forgotten. Thanks to God, we really are so much more than that, and more than we can comprehend.
But as far as the world, you can really see a lot of patterns in the ways that people act. When I look at how I was raised and how we live as a family, it is so much more living than what the world does.
I feel that the obedience in our mission is pretty good. Our president is really firm, direct, and close to the spirit. There are a lot of great missionaries, but you also get a mix, and there is a prosses of people adjusting and adapting, because a lot of them have come from different missions.
Quinn, Joanna, Ellie watching Bluey
One funny thing that I heard from one of the Elders is that for him, a mission in the states was like vacation compared to here. Others have said that in their previous stateside mission, you'd have a lot of missionaries just getting to know about the gospel, but here it's like you actually declare it.
I know a lot of the perspectives that come from them really just depend on who they are and don't really emulate how their mission really may have been like, but I just thought that was interesting.
Ha ha! Not at all to bag on Ashton, who was basically living in a mansion for half his mission J, because where I stay, I'm sure is probably like a mansion compared to Braden, Brooke, Yarima, and Dad!
Mom training dogs
My companion, Elder Jones, and I have already been together for about nine weeks. He's very particular and can be a little awkward socially, but he's well aware of that. Sometimes he can be low on patience with people we talk to or with me, but really, he's supper awesome.
He knows his weaknesses and wants to become better, so I admire him a lot for that, and I’ve already seen him progress a lot. Mostly I'm grateful for the friendship and companionship that we have, because I feel like a lot of people don't get to a level where they can really get to know him.
One thing that is a little difficult is that he has to correct me on every error that I say in Spanish—which there are lots—and tries to correct me on other things that may not be in error, but he kind of has a compulsion to do it, and it's kind of crazy that he can pick up on all the stuff that he does.
Family at Father’s Day dinner
Mostly I'm grateful for it because and I've encouraged him to continue to do it so that I can refine and improve, and I have a lot because of that. But I did have to tell him not to do it to me while we're talking with other people or when we're in lessons.
I've been able to improve a lot because of him. He's helped me get better at keeping on track on what I need to be improving, so that has helped me a lot. He's the most obedient companion I've had, and he has helped me improve on that as well.
Children playing Among Us
Kai
Monte got sick this week, so I decided to stay home with him and Troy while everyone else went to the movie theaters to watch the new Top Gun movie. They also went to Aunt Amy's pool after that.
I had a great time staying home with Monte, Troy, Quinn, and Joanna. We watched some Clone Wars, and then I got to play some Spider-Man on Monte's PS4, and it was so fun!
After a little while I joined Monte and Troy in Mom and Dad's room, we watched a little bit more of some Clone Wars and had some treats, but after a little while, Monte asked me to bring in the PS4 so he could play it. Dad also brought home pizza for dinner. I had a great time, and I bet everyone else that was at and the pool party had a great time too. Okaybee!
London’s Father’s Day Dinner