Learning to be non judgmental when being a missionary.

1. When driving back and forth to Johannesburg is it long and populated or barren of people kind of like going through Scipio to Nephi?

1.Well It's barren for the first 3 hours, then it gets really crowded as you go through the city of Pretoria. you actually hit standstill traffic sometimes. Speaking of which we are going toJohannesburg tomorrow. I'll explain further down.

2. The skype cost what happened there?

2.I'm still not sure, I haven't heard anything concerning it.

3. What was it like to have dinner with a General Authority you never told us.

3.It was really nice actually. Myself I didn't really get to talk much with him because he was sitting on the other side of the table. I did get to talk with the Public Affairs Representative. That kind of got me excited because he's the one who produces the church videos and stuff. That was actually the third time I've met Elder Watson on my mission now so it was kind of becoming normal thing by dinner, but he paid for it so that was nice.

4. Have you eaten snake meat Z wants to know.

4.Nope I haven't eaten snake meat yet. I'm not really sure if I will. People are just really afraid of snakes around here.

Well this week has been exciting, and yet it has seemed like we keep running out of time. Starting with Monday. Last Monday was scheduled to be our deep cleaning day, but Sunday night President Poulsen called me so that I could set up Missionaries interviews with my district on Monday morning. So we set up interviews and that went well. President just asked me how my spiritual self is doing and asked about all of the missionaries in the district. He asked about how I have liked serving in Tzaneen and I told him it has been my favorite area so far, maybe because I've been here so long now. Anyway after the interviews we rushed to do our shopping and e-mailing, which was short (sorry!) and then we rushed to our flat so we could clean before Proselyting time. We cleaned with much vigor and yet we didn't finish the list, which made for our having to wake up very early today. Very early!

Tuesday was a normal Proselyting day with some excitement's and challenges and the same was with Wed., actually it turned out to be a very humbling day, at least for me. We were doing our regular Proselyting and we were going to take one of our young members, Mungoni Manzini, to teach with us so we called him and he told us that he couldn't come now because his Mom had to take his Dad to the hospital because he was feeling sick. That also cancelled our last appointment because it was going to be with his family. After hearing that I let the natural man get in and the thoughts I was having were "O my heck, people go running to the hospital when they get just a little bit sick and it ruins everything" That kind of put me in a sour mood, until I realized it was making things difficult. After a while the humbling part came into place when we received a phone call from a very for lack of better word, Drunken sounding, Bro. Manzini. He told us he wasn't feeling so well and we were the only ones he could contact to come and give him a blessing. We told him we would come and give him a blessing. When we got to the hospital we found a very big man in a very humbled condition. He had tears in his eyes and was struggling to speak. He told us that he was just having a normal old day and then suddenly he was struggling to move his legs and he couldn't speak. He told us that he was having some blood pressure issues and needed a blessing, so we pulled the curtains around his bed and he asked me to do the anointing.

Before I could do the anointing I had to ask a repentant little prayer and ask that I could be worthy to give the blessing. We later found out that Bro Manzini had suffered a stroke. He's out of the hospital now but he has no use of his left arm. Boy was I humbled by that experience, and I hope I'll be a little less judgemental next time. Thursday was a normal day, then Friday I was on exchange in Modjadji for Baptismal interviews. The day was good and the interview went well, other than we found out he had to leave on Sunday before church because his Aunt was forcing him too. It's a long story I'll have to fill you in a little later.

The next day, Saturday, we were finishing up our exchange by doing morning study together when the phone rang. Elder Palmer answered and it was President Poulsen asking Elder Palmer if he would become a District Leader in Botswana. I think he was kind of excited because his ears turned red and he started breathing really fast. I gave him my congratulations and then we continued our study. After study I was gathering my things and ready to exchange back to my regular area when the phone rang again. After a minute Elder Palmer came handing the phone to me so I got on and heard the voice of President Poulsen as well. He said " well Elder Jones this transfer I'll be sending you away from Tzaneen and I'd like to ask if you will be a Zone Leader?" With a little bit of shock I said " I guess so" and he continued to say I would be finding out where I'm going at transfers on Tuesday. So today I'm packing my bags, leaving my son (Elder Rasi) (this means the companion that he has been training) and leaving Tzaneen. I've been really mixed with the way I feel about leaving because I feel like I'll be missing out on alot of cool experiences, but at the same time I'm ready to serve in a functional branch where I don't have to be the clerk. Saturday was a normal day, with some disappointment and excitement and then Sunday I was released and another was called in my place. I spent the time during Sunday school training him on how to be a clerk. I said my good byes after church and then we went to service in Motupa and we had the same kind of go round. We had some good appointments and then we finished the day. It was kinda sad because it was my last day teaching in my area, because tonight I'll be in Lenyenye for some interviews and the we leave tomorrow morning. I've got to say I'm leaving a little piece of my heart here in Tzaneen.

Love Elder T. Jones

Dear Elder Jones

Well I told you this year the kids picked to help give some money towards that little girl who needs a service dog. I thought that it could maybe take at least a few months into the new year to have anything near enough happen for her in the funding. It takes 6000.00 to get the dog trained and acclimated to the little girl, her family and everything so that the dog knows how to sense that she is having trouble. Well this week because of several friends that read the mothers blogs, and many are not members of our faith, they are only 1000.00 away and this could change by the time I send the letter and she might even have the dog.Those caring people made it jump from 700 to only need the last 1000.00 in two and a half days. I made a separate blog for my weight loss support system and several of the people there on my facebook donated also. It is really been an amazing thing to see. The little girls family has really had it tough with the Mom having a mental break down to the little girl being normal and then all of a sudden not normal and now the Dad lost his job and they had to move. All right before Christmas this year. So to see the outpouring to help this little girl get the service dog all from word of mouth and facebook requests was really cool.

I on Thur went and ran laps with the Jr. High wrestling team for 5 min they all made sure I didn't pass them but for one half of a lap I did and then they all started booking it again. Mc and K had bet me that I couldn't do it. I had already ran 2 miles earlier that morning so 3 miles total for me that day.

Dad tried all weekend to go watch C do the 2A duals and every time just before he was supposed to get on the mat Dad would get called in. It happened again today when C was supposed to do the last one against a kid who is the son of one of Dads cousins Fawn from the Jones side of the family. C didn't even know that they were related because it is a different last name. His score was 9 pins and one loss. The team took 5th out of 11 teams. C said that he had about 5 kids that tried to throw punches or elbow him after when he was trying to help them up off the mat. Two got yelled down by the referees really badly. The national ranked kid on Wed. was beating him again by 5 points and then C didn't think and he got himself into a spot that the kid was able to pin him in. Its the first kid this year to have gotten a pin on C he was bummed because it was his goal not not ever get pinned. After that the coach decided to switch him to a kid that was 112 and older to keep C working harder. Mike got C ipod all set up with a focus mental talking thing that he listens to all night before the matches. Like doing a wrestling yoga kinda. It helped because he was much more relaxed and as he said really back to the way he used to wrestle before the rib breaking happened.

J went with Ts family to his little sisters baptism this Sat. then they went snowmobiling. In our little bit of snow compared to all the other areas around us. Its very very cold here and today our area finally got the snow and nowwhere else got it. This year its so cold the kids even have a hard time getting into the mood of sleding but today they finally tried the sleds out with the new snow just before going to do chores. Of course Dad just got down there to start and they had to finish without him because again he got called in. He was really having a rough time of it today with getting called in but he went anyway.

So I had a laugh when you said a bike would be nice. Have you forgotten that it gets dang cold here in this state. Everyday this week it has been -4 at night and maybe 20 degrees pushing it during the day. I left a container of soap in the trunk of the car and it froze its been so cold. So are you sure that a bike is really a very good idea here my son who is sweltering in the African sunshine. Maybe the heat has made you forget the coldness that would seep into you and after getting half way to your destination you would fall over frozen, ya thats how cold it is if you ride bikes here.

Today Jer gave his first talk in primary and he did pretty darn good. At least he repeated everything I told him to say. J gave the lesson in her young women class and she was just glowing and said it felt so good and she would love to do it again. Also she bore her testimony and that doesn't happen often. Her leader came and told me that it was such a great lesson and made her feel tingly all over with the way J taught. In her blessing it tells her hat she will teach often so she just got the greatest taste of it today.

Travis went tracting with the Missionaries the other day and it made J feel really good that he would go and learn that with them. Travis is such a good influence for her.

Tonight I was reminded of what it was like when you put the kids to bed at times. C had them all laying on the beds doing the Ipod thing that Mike made for wrestling. Its all about breathing and focusing on each body relaxing it was so cute.

We also hope you have time to tell us what you have been up to lately too.
Love the Family