6/30/14 - DJ

Hola Everyone!

So.  This week I don't have a whole lot to tell. Diego is excited as a new member and now has an assignment helping our ward mission leader keep track of what we are doing. He also likes to go with us on visits so his testimony is getting reinforced all over the place. He's also introducing us to several of his friends and family members, so we're having success there too. 

 

We are also teaching another family. The oldest daughter is progressing a lot faster than the rest of the family. She's been to church 4 times already (and you only need 5 before baptism here), but the rest of her family has been busy Sunday mornings, so they've only been to 1. We'll keep working with them.

That's really all the stories I have for this week. nos Vemos!

-Elder D Hill

6/30/14 - Jordon

Well, send some of that rain our way. We haven't had any rain since the Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration (March 1st).

This week was very dull for missionary work. Not much is happening here at the moment. To be honest, I don't have any cool stories or anything to tell you about. Much like we don't have rain, we're sort of in a "drought" for missionary work in our area, as well. But, we press forward with full purpose of heart. I'm not done here, yet. Keep us in your prayers.

In other news, tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the Arizona Gilbert Mission. WOOT!!!  Today we got together as a mission and had a breakfast, followed by some fun activities. Much water was involved. One of the games we played was really interesting: Each companionship got a towel and went out into the field. The objective: Catch the incoming water balloons. Several missionaries were in charge of launching balloons into the crowd of towel bearing missionaries. On various occasions, several of us started shouting "mine" like the seagulls in Finding Nemo. It was a lot of fun. The closest I got to catching one, though, was one hitting my hand and splashing my shoulder. Oh well.

Tomorrow, we have a Mission Temple Trip, followed by a meeting with the Temple President. I'm looking forward to that.

Oh! Also, President Nattress has decided that we're going to read the Book of Mormon together as a mission. Each day we're being given an extra hour for reading. This will go from July 1st until August 29th. (60 days.) It works out to about 9 pages a day. We've also been asked to invite our families to do this with us.

>Would you (each of you reading this email) be willing take this 60 day Book of Mormon challenge with me?<

Interestingly enough, this goes right up until I'm about to come home. You could kinda use this as a countdown. Once you finish, I'm about to come home. I'd like to know who has decided to take this challenge. Let me know.

Other than that, I don't have anything more for you. I'm doing alright for the time being. I love you all!!! Until next time.

Con amor,

-Elder Jordon Hill-

6/23/14 - DJ

Hola Everyone!

So, this week was cool and normal all at the same time. It was normal because it was more of the normal routine for us; it was cool because we had some really powerful lessons. 

One example, we are teaching Diego's Aunt and cousins (Diego was the baptism from last week, if you don't remember).  They had a death in the family about a year ago, and they've been having problems ever since. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit came strong. They expressed that they felt a tranquility and a hope that they haven't felt for a long time. At the end of the lesson, Diego's Aunt said the prayer. The Spirit came super strong, and she began to cry from the feelings during her prayer. It was a very special moment for all. 

 

Also, for those interested, I'm not coming home early like my brother. I'm due home Oct 13, so that's another 16 weeks for me.

That's all for now. Nos Vemos!

-Elder D Hill

6/23/14 - Jordon con't

Oh! I finished Meganium too. (Pictures below.) It's ok, you don't need to send me another one.

                                               Missionary set

[FYI:  This started as a way to help Jordon in the beginning to relax and handle some anxiety.  He would relax at home by making these paper crafts.  I would send them out with scripture verses written on the back to help with scripture study.  He had to look up the verse before putting the piece in place.  He got the last 3 (top shelf) for Christmas this past year.)

6/23/14 - Jordon

Wow! Where did this week go? I don't think I really have that much to report this week.

 

We're continuing to follow up on former investigators, and we've started trying to visit the majority of them. Not much contact, yet. It seems like there isn't really much going on in the ward, for the moment, but we press onward, ever faithful. We've been working with the leadership in the ward by visiting people they feel would benefit from us stopping by. We're keeping busy. Sometimes, it seems like we're a little too busy to get everything in. Other times, we blow through all our plans in an hour and a half. How does that work?  

 

Now for the information everyone is looking for. I've come to a conclusion about my return date. Contrary to the vision I had at the beginning of my mission, I've decided that I will be returning home...September 2nd. The vision I had was that DJ and I would go out together and come back together, but that will not be the case. And before you ask, yes, I've told both the Mission Office and President Nattress about this decision. There's no backing out now. For those keeping track, I'll be returning home 10 weeks from now. Spread the word. (By the way, Ashley Groll really wanted to be there at the airport to welcome me home with a big hug. Make sure she knows/Make sure she knows she can't hug me until I'm released. I'll write her a letter, too.

-----------------------------------------

As for the Mario Kart challenge, Tyler, unless the controls are exactly the same for Mario Kart 8 as they are for Mario Kart Wii, I'll need a little bit of practice first. Granted, I think I'm going to need a little refresher for Mario Kart Wii as it is. But, ¡Desafío Aceptado! I'm sure we'll have plenty of match time when I come home.

-----------------------------------------

 

That's all I have for this week. Tell "everyone" I return the "Hi" and add a "How are you?"

Until next time.

Con amor,

-Elder Jordon Hill-

6/16/14 - DJ

Hola Everyone!

Firstly, Happy Fathers Day! I have no Idea when Father's Day is in the US, but here it was yesterday. 

 

Also news this week, we had another Baptism! Diego, who we've been teaching for several weeks, got baptized on Friday! (see below). The baptism went great. We had more of his friends and family there than we had members! We are teaching about half of them and the other half had a great spiritual experience at the baptism. At the end of the baptism, Diego shared his testimony which was powerful and grabbed the attention of everyone since Diego doesn't like to talk in front of people. Overall a wonderful experience for all involved.

 

Diego is the one in white without the tie.

 

 

We are also teaching a new family. The Perez Family. At first they didn't seem very interested, but after we talked about the restoration, they got excited over the idea of a living prophet, and now are learning more and more about the gospel.  They also came to Stake Conference yesterday and there were a lot of good talks given. We'll see what else follows in the coming weeks.

That's all for now. Nos Vemos!

-Elder D Hill

6/16/14 - Jordon

Well, this transfer brought some interesting occurances.

 

I was transfered out to San Tan Valley. Here's my new address:

Elder Jordon Hill

195 W. Brangus Way

San Tan Valley, AZ. 85143

Does it look familiar? If it does, that's because I've lived here before. I'm back in the Brangus House. I lived here when I was companions with Elder Macfarlane. Want to know something interesting? It was this transfer, a year ago, that I was moved into this house the first time.Crazy, huh?

 

Welcome to Transfer 15, Companion 13, Area 7. I present to you my newest companion: Elder Cairns. (See below.) He's from Longmont, Colorado. He's been out now for about 6 months. He's a fun Elder. Always keeping me on my toes. This is going to be an interesting transfer. Also, we only cover one ward. Desert Hills Ward. Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I'm still in English. (I'm not bitter. Honest!...No, really, I'm ok with it. )

 

 

 

Funny tid bit for you: There is a Hill family that lives in the ward. Every member I meet asks if I am related to them. My response: "No, those are the 'desert Hills'. I'm more of a flat-land Hill." It usually gets a laugh or two.

 

Oh, I almost forgot, I'm not District leader anymore, but I still am.  President Nattress told me that he had a special assignment for me (which I won't divulge at this time). In his call he said that the district I was moving to already had a district leader, so he didn't need me for that at the moment, for the next transfer at least, but he never actually said I wasn't a district leader anymore. At transfers, I asked him for some clarification. He said that I didn't need to worry about being district leader for the moment, but he was going to leave me as "District Leader" status in the computer system. Strange. I've decided that I'm still a district leader, but I'm not assigned over a district. Hehe.

 

As for the work in the area...There isn't much to say. When I got here, we didn't have any investigators, and there wasn't really anyone we were working with. in essence, we have to build up from nothing. Fortunately, we have an area book. We decided to go through the formers, and contact all the fellowships to see how each former investigator is doing. We are still in the early stages of this plan, but we're starting to make some headway. Hopefully I should have more to report next week.

------------------------------------------------------

So, as you know yesterday was Father's Day. Do you remember how the Church put out videos for Easter and Mother's Day? Well, the Church has put out another............(wait, what?) Oh, nevermind. Sadly there is no "It was Dad" video for Father's Day. Sorry, Dad. And I was so looking forward to seeing what they'd do. A few of us were thinking, "Exploding grill." Oh, well. Happy Father's Day!!!

------------------------------------------------------

 

That's it for this week. Until next time.

Con amor,

-Elder Jordon Hill-