{1.17.17} The Next Episode

Yeah, so.. I did it. I honestly didn't feel like I was really going home until last night, despite all the trunky jokes I made and egging on I gave to the trunky-finger-pointers. But it's real, I guess. I'm honestly pretty excited! Some good stuff happened this week though.

We had to go down to Miami for 2 days for Zone Training, on the way down the bus blew out a tire, I got offered weed 3x, and a guy on the bus overdosed on the side of the road. He ended up being okay, don't worry.

Also, TRISTEN GOT BAPTIZED.  It was super hard saying good bye to that kid. I'm really gonna miss him, and he's grown so much in the Gospel. 

I honestly don't know how to put into words how grateful I feel. For my mission, for this transfer, for my Savior, for his Gospel--everything. These last 5 weeks may have been the best of my entire mission. Idk if that's because they were any more special, because I say that every week and every transfer, or just because I'm constantly amazed at the Lord's hand in my life and how he for some reason consistently chooses to use me as an instrument. Doesn't matter how much  I mess up, or how imperfect I am. The Lord has blessed me so immensely on mission, that I'm leaving feeling like I'm indebted to him even more so than I left--and that's after trying to give him my all for 2 years. King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon was right.. we will always be unprofitable servants. But I know God's love for us is infinite. If we do our best to serve him, and to humble ourselves before him, he will provide is with more than we can imagine. That humility and humbleness is pretty key though, hahaha and more times than not I've had to be compelled to be humble. Nevertheless, I have been blessed. I'll just quote Ammon in the 26th chapter of Alma:

Peace out Florida!

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

Elder Juanes

Paradise City

Key West, FL 33040

{1.9.17} Pics or it Didn't Happen

Alex's Baptism

Too Tired to Type so Here's mi Voz (I have attempted to transcribe his voice recording)

Good Morning Friends & Family

Me and Elder Peteresen out here, we’re siting on the members house that we are staying at… we are sitting on their back porch on the deck looking at some turquoise blue water.  Key West is pretty Rad! 

Zone Leaders down chillin with us in the Keys.
If all turns out well, we'll have pics of Fish for next week!

So today we are going to be heading down to Miami, so we’re not going to have much of a P-Day, so I m not really going to have time to type up an email, so I thought I’d just do a voice recording, so you can all know whats going on in the life of a missionary in Key West. But we had a really, really great week this week.

Alex got baptized yesterday, Alex from Venezuela. He’s the 22 year old.  It was an awesome, awesome baptismal service. There was a lot of people from the branch there.  It was after church. We did the whole thing in Spanish which the ward mission leader loved cause he is Cuban. So it’s the first one he actually got to do. Alex was stoked, He was really excited about it. He is excited to officially be a member of the church.  He really feels the love and support from the branch. He is really excited, his girlfriend is working on getting her visa right now from Venezuela and they have plans for her to come down in March as long as everything goes well with the visa and she’s got plans. She wants to get to know the church, and they want to get married. And we taught him about temples last night with one of our members who served his mission in Argentina, and Alex is super stoked  to prepare to marry his girlfriend in the temple. So he is great! he is awesome!  I’ve been really blessed this transfer to get to teach people my own age, people like Alex, who really don’t necessarily feel like people that I'm teaching the Gospel to but just friends, really good friends, best friends, lifelong friends.

As well, Tristen came to church yesterday, and it was fast and testimony meeting so all the members were getting up and sharing their testimonies, and Tristen got up and bore his testimony which you know is…  I mean he is basically a member of the church, he’s just not baptized yet.  But still, to have an unknown member get up and bare their testimony is really cool.  He shared his experience of how he’s always known the church and how, you know, when he came here to Key West, you know, in the military… he was expecting to enjoy the party life but just felt empty, and so he came to church one day.  Started coming to church and he felt that peace that had been missing. He found peace that he wasn’t finding anywhere else and then, luckily, they put us missionaries back in  and we were able to teach him and so he’s getting baptized this Thursday.  And again, its like, it’s not like some of the other people I’ve taught where I’m teaching people who are older than me and I’m just kinda teaching them the Gospel,  just really like helping friends.  Tristen is going to be a life long friend for sure.  I mean all the people that I’ve taught will be, but I mean, Tristen, he is 19, he’s from Preston, ID.  He is gonna go to school in Utah, so I’ll get to see him a lot when he finishes up his time in the military.  But really just feeling super, super blessed with everything that has happened this week.  This has by far been one of the best weeks of my mission. I know i say that a lot but this week was great we taught a ton of people; we were able to help a lot of people to come to church and…  I don’t know… I just feel blessed.

A Key West Horse.. The Deer are small, but the Dogs are large.

The Zone Leaders are up here with us right now.  So they are sitting here on the back porch with us accounting. And we’re headed down on the bus with them here in a couple hours, so I  got to get going, but love all you guys and until next week … talk to ya later

Elder Juanes

Paradise City

Key West, FL 33040

{1.3.17} Last Night Was Awfully Crazy, I Wish We Taped It

I can't even remember what happened the rest of the week. But yesterday was one of the top days of my entire mission. I know I've said that a lot, but this time just know, I mean it.

To start of the day, we went and taught a lesson to our good friend Breklyn. So Breklyn is a LA 18 year old who's hear working for an internship. She had some really big trials in her family where her mom got really sick, so they didn't go to church much for a lot of years and so she never learned those "primary answers" and when she got to Seminary she didn't know anything, got embarrassed, and quit going. But her store managers are super active, super good friends in the Branch, and we did an FHE with them and it impacted her big time even though it went in one ear and out the others for most of the girls. Anyways, we've been teaching her and helping her figure out what her true priorities are ever since. She heads back to Utah in a couple days, buuuut she's decided to get her Patriarchal blessing! Not only that, but she's reading and praying every day and she's got her records moved to her new ward in Maui and she's going to ask to receive a calling. 

Afterwards we had dinner with the Branch President and his family. We brought Breklyn and Tristen along, and had a great time. We taught a great lesson that everyone got involved to help Tristen keep prepping for his baptism next thursday. He's super stoked! But President Rengiil during dinner was cracking the funniest jokes I think I've ever heard. We've really been able to develop a good relationship with him, which is going to be really good for the missionary work and the branch.

After dinner, we were supposed to have an FHE with the Delph family, but they had some things come up and had to cancel last minute. So he calls and apologizes and says "I called my Yacht Club. They're expecting you, and they know to take very good care of you. Don't worry about it, it's on us." whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. So we took Tristen and Alex to this crazy nice Yacht Club for dinner and I taught Alex and Elder Petersen taught Tristen over Mahi Mahi and Lobster...

Alex is seriously one of the coolest people I've ever met. He's really ready for his Baptism on Sunday, so we just reviewed some stuff. We talked a lot about the challenges of living the Gospel. He told me about how when he was 11 his parents split and it was really hard on his family, and his older sister started drinking a lot and partying and his family was fighting a lot and he got really sad. He was raised catholic but had never really went, so when his friend invited him to go to a christian church, he just went for it. Got overwhelmed by the Spirit and was super active in Christian Churches ever since. He basically already lived and understood the Gospel and all the commandments when we taught it to him-we only really added to his conviction in living them. Why we don't drink, have sex, etc, and he loves the Book of Mormon and the organization of the church and that it's lead by Prophet and Apostles. He saw a lot of corrupt churches in Venezuela that turned him of. But he's really been feeling the Spirit a lot, he's solid. To give you an idea, he broke up with his Girlfriend back in Venezuela because she wasn't progressing with him spiritually. Last night, she called him and begged for him back, and he told her that he couldn't do it unless she's willing to wait until they're married and put God more as a priority. She replied, "Fine! I'm going to america, you're taking me to church, and we're getting married!" Alex is a boss.

Life is good. What more can I say?

Elder Juanes

Elder Jace Johns

Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission

7951 SW 6th Street, Suite 110

Plantation, FL 33324