Final Thoughts

Jared’s Mission November 19^th, 2017

Final Thoughts:

I am happy with the service I was able to do.  I am looking forward to moving on with the next chapter of my life.  I am going to continue on doing most everything that I did on my mission except for the Bishops storehouse and Deseret Industries.  It’s going to be fun practicing my teaching skills to help my mom learn how to index.  And it will be fun for us to go to the Temple weekly when we can. 

I enjoyed getting to meet lots of new people at the Bishop’s storehouse and the Deseret Industries and being able to talk to them and get to know them better.  I think that’s what I will miss most.  I was the youngest person on my shift to work at the DI. 

At the Family History Center it’s always interesting to hear about their trips as they are trying to find names and information on family members.  They take trips to Scotland and Ireland and other places in Europe to try and find info about their ancestors.  I really find indexing to be interesting work.  All those I worked with were very kind and helpful.

I loved having my own one on one time with my Mom when we went to the Temple each week.  That was my favorite thing to share with her.  It was good to be able to help those that have passed to the other side.  And afterwards, Mom and I would get a dinner treat, either at the Temple or somewhere else we were craving.

I enjoyed getting to know the different missionaries that came and went from our ward.  We would sometimes go out to find people who wanted to learn about the Gospel.  Other times we would help people in need by doing lawn work, pulling weeds, and carrying off old fences to be built with new ones.  I plan to keep going out with the missionaries when I’m able.

Friday I will continue to work with the Gentleman in my ward that needs extra help.  I cleaned out his garden for the winter.  We also did some maintenance on his barn, and I helped clean out a small area of cow manure.   I am happy I get to continue working with him. 

Next Fall I plan on entering the BYUI Pathway program to continue on with my college degree.  And in the near future, possible getting a job at the Forest Grove Goodwill, or we might try the Gaston Library.

I encourage those who may not be able to serve in the traditional way to consider a Young Church-Service Mission.  It was worth every second of the time I spent with those people.  They all helped me to learn and grow, and I made new and great friendships.  There is a mission out there for everyone.  I know this church is true and I’m happy to be a part of it!

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Elder JJ Markham

PS.  Final notes from Mom:  

We are all so very proud of JJ and the way he worked hard without complaining about the task ahead.  He served his mission with valor and heart.  He never wanted to be late to an assignment, and tried his best every time.  I know those who got to work with him, could feel his love for the Gospel and Jesus Christ, and the love his family has for him.  He will go on to accomplish great things!  We will stand in awe of him once again, and try and stay out of his way, or help where we can, to help him reach his highest potential!  He is a special Spirit of our Heavenly Father that proved himself worthy in his pre-earth life before he came to this Earth.  And we are forever thankful to JJ for choosing us and for Heavenly Father for sending him to our family.  It would not be complete with him.  He makes us laugh, cry and rejoice when we accomplish a task!  He loves celebrating our accomplishments just as much as we love celebrating him!  Thank you for going with us on this journey and for all the love and support he felt from each of you to get him through it!  Go JJ! GOOOOO!

Back out with the Missionaries!

Jared Mission Oct. 15^th, 2017

I guess the only new thing I have to add is that I went out with the missionaries for the first time in a few weeks because we haven’t had missionaries in our home ward for a while.  We went looking for people that might possibly be interested in hearing the Gospel.  Then we stopped by and checked in on an older lady in our ward to see how she was doing.  As we were walking around looking for people, I talked to the missionaries and found out that all three of us have read and like the same book series… “Kingdom Keepers” as well as the “Percy Jackson” series.  It was really interesting to talk to someone who had not only heard of the “Kingdom Keepers”, but had read it as well. 

I’ve enjoyed helping a man in our ward do yard work, harvesting and making grape juice.  I’m glad that I can help him get some of his work done.

I like doing my work at the Family History Center and going to the Temple with my mom.  It makes me feel good that I can help those who have passed on and who may not have had the chance for Temple blessings here on this Earth. 

I also lost my missionary name badge again this week.  But my mom and I prayed that I would find it, and I found it yesterday.  It had fallen between the mattress and the box spring.  We were very thankful that I found it.

I had my Regional Bowling tournament for Special Olympics yesterday.  It was fun!  My family came to cheer me on.  Our scores will be sent into the State to compare with the other regions around the area, so I will find out later if I qualified for a medal.

I tried out for our ward Christmas pageant and I got the part of a fireman.  It should be fun!

I have just started reading about the account of Zeniff, which breaks off into the people of Limhi and the people of Alma in the Book of Mormon.  I am currently with the people of Limhi, as they have just met Ammon, who is the descendant of Zarahemla.  I enjoy the accounts of the two groups of people who were able to make the necessary changes in their lives that ultimately lead them to repent of their sins and find their way to the land of Zarahemla to join the rest of the Nephites.  I encourage everyone to read the Book of Mormon to help understand the Doctrine of our church as well as to find answers for questions that you may have.

Elder Markham

** Mom's Note: I am having trouble transferring pictures to my computer to add to JJ's blog.  I just want to get updated for now and I will add pictures later!

Serving others is a blessing

Jared Mission Sept 10^th, 2017

On Thursday I worked with a man in our ward that I used to help with the missionaries.    We went to a lumber yard and we loaded up some saw dust into the back of his truck.  Then we took it to his house and unloaded it near his corral for his cattle.  He had me take a bucket of saw dust into his corral to make a bed for his cows.  We also trimmed a bush that he had, and put the branches into a wheel barrow so that he could use to feed his cattle the next day.  He also had me move some rocks around and lay them by the trough that his cattle used to drink from so that his cattle had something to step on to reach the trough.  I am going to go help him every Thursday now, even though the missionaries have been moved out of our area.   He is a very kind man and I am glad I get to help him.

On Saturday I started my bowling practices for Special Olympics.  I am really excited to participate in this.  The season is shorter this year.  Instead of going into November, we will be done by mid October. 

Everything else is still the same.  In my scripture study I am learning about different parables of how sin estranges us from God.  It teaches me that I want to try everything I can to stay close to Heavenly Father so that I can receive his blessings.

Elder Markham

Total Solar Eclipse of 2017

Jared mission August 27, 2017

The eclipse was fun (August 21^st, 2017)!!  I got to spend the day with my family because the Bishop’s Storehouse was closed due to traffic issues from a lot of people coming to Oregon to see the totality of the Solar Eclipse of 2017!  We played games and watched the eclipse from our driveway.  Dad and Areah and David drove to Amity to see the full eclipse.  We saw about 99.7 % of it from the driveway.  The whole experience of it was very cool because it was my first, and probably my last one to see.  I could tell it got “dusky” outside, but it didn’t go completely dark.  We wore special eclipse glasses so we could look at the sun without hurting our eyes.  We were able to see the dancing shadows of the solar rays, and the half moon shadows through the trees. 

The storehouse is closed tomorrow so I will go in later to work at the DI.  I have been doing the same thing that I’ve done the other weeks.  I help fill and get ready food orders at the Bishop’s Storehouse and I pull and hang clothes to be sold at the DI.  I’ve met some new people at the storehouse and DI.  One friend works with me at the storehouse, then goes and works with me at the DI.  He is a Youth Service Missionary as well.  I haven’t had a chance to talk to him very much as we work in different departments at each place.  Hopefully I can get to know him better.  At the DI there is one new lady that works there and I have enjoyed getting to know her. 

I still enjoy working at the Family History Center on Tuesdays.  The people there are all very nice and it’s been pretty busy.  There have been a lot of people come in to do Family History.  There are a couple sets of Elders that come in to do their numbers (track how there areas are doing).  I like hearing the stories the people I work with tell about the troubles they have finding certain people, because sometimes they are on one census recorded under one name, and on another census recorded under another name, then all of a sudden they seem to disappear without a trace.  The people at the Family History Center do the best job they can of tracking down records of these people to connect them with their families.  I’m so glad I get the experience to work with them and learn from them!

I’m enjoying doing proxy work on Wednesdays at the Temple.  It may not be a direct line, but at least I’m connecting someone’s family together and that makes me feel good inside and it makes me happy to know that I am helping in the work of the Lord! 

I find it interesting that no matter where I’m reading in the Book of Mormon, or the Bible, that it talks about a small group of people being preserved by the Lord. Whether it’s Nephi in the Book of Mormon talking about his vision with the mixture of his seed and the seed of his Brethren (Laman and Lemuel), and how they were preserved to keep the promised land of America.  Or in the Old Testament talking about the Jews being invaded by Babylon and other countries, and being taken captive, and a small remnant of them being left to keep the land of Jerusalem, that was promised to them. 

I know as long as we are righteous, Christ will continue to help us and our leaders make the right decisions. 

Elder Markham

Family Reunion and Garrett's wedding

Jared’s mission August 20, 2017

We had written about the reunion and Garrett’s wedding, but it somehow got lost on my mom’s computer so we will rewrite about them.

We had our Johnson Family reunion (My Mom’s side of the family) from July 3-6 in Garden Valley, Idaho at the Glenwood Girls camp.  It was fun to see everyone that could be there.  For the 3 days we were there, we played games, ate lots of food, talked and caught up with each other.  I stayed in a cabin with my cousins Kyle and Dustin.  We had different activities like water baseball, water balloon games, bingo, and group games.  I got to give a report about my mission to everyone.  And my Uncle and Grandpa led us in a ceremony to retire 3 flags.  It’s always fun when we all get together.

At Garrett’s and Maddie’s wedding, it was fun to be a part of the sealing session and I was best man.  I felt good that I could be in the Temple for their sealing and I was honored that Garrett asked me to be his best man.

I went to a basketball camp at Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation Center.  It was fun to see a lot of new people and some of the friends that I see at my Thursday night basketball games.  Terrance Jones was there as a special representative from the NBA for the Special Olympics.  It was cool to have an NBA player there. 

The missionaries in our ward got transferred out of the area and now we don’t have Elders in this area, so I won’t be able to go out with them on Thursdays.  My mom and dad will check to see if I can possibly go out with the Elders from our old ward.

I’m thankful for all the opportunities I’m getting to serve as a missionary and be home and participate in my family activities.

Elder Markham

Working hard and serving well!

Jared’s Mission June 4, 2017

It’s been quite a while since I have made an entry.  Everything is going well.  We have moved into our new house.  It’s very nice and large.  I am no longer working at the Bike Shop because they hired a new employee to work there full time.  They couldn’t get the larger working area they wanted so they had to cut back on volunteers to make room for the employees.  I am still waiting to hear for another opportunity to fulfill my Friday assignment.

We moved into our new home in April and I like that we have more space to do things and have big group gatherings.  We have a shop area that we have set our ping pong table up as well as a pool table and other fun things to do there.  This move put us into a new ward and Stake.  I have still been going to the Forest Grove Young Single Adult ward, but when Garrett gets married in July, I will transfer to my family’s home ward. 

I still love my missionary work.  The one change that is coming is happening at the DI (Deseret Industries).  Two of the job coaches are switching places.  One is coming to run the clothing department and the other is going to move out and run the sales floor.  I still like talking to my co-workers.  We’ve had a few new employees join our group and I’ve liked getting to know them.

They are remodeling the Bishop’s Storehouse all this last week so it should be different when I go in tomorrow.   I didn’t have to go to the DI or Storehouse last week since they were closed on Memorial Day, but I still fulfill the meat orders and normal food orders, if we finish the meat orders.  One of the other volunteers had his last day there a couple of weeks ago, as his mission ended.  He was an older gentleman.

I am still enjoying my time at the Family History Center on Tuesdays.  I do indexing and find names and dates of births, deaths and marriages etc.  This helps families put together their genealogy and helps them find names of their ancestors who need their temple work done.  I like working with all the people at the Family History Center.

I have been going with the new missionaries from my family’s ward on Thursdays.  We have been doing service projects for the past 3 weeks.  We have helped a man with yard work, stack wood for the upcoming winter, move rocks to make more parking space for him.  We also pulled weeds for a couple getting ready to sale their house.  Last week we helped paint some of their house.  I have liked being able to do these service projects with the missionaries.

I have been practicing with my Special Olympic Track team.  We had our Regional meet yesterday.  I got third place in the 200 run and First place in the Long jump!   One of our relay team members for the 4x100 wasn’t able to come, so we had to scratch.  It was a lot of fun and good weather for it.

In my scripture reading I have learned from another author who wrote a Book of Mormon Study Help manual that the way Joseph Smith wrote about the destruction in Ancient America is proof that he could have not written the Book of Mormon, instead translating it, due to the lack geological activity where he lived at the time, as well as the books that he would have had access to, along with the little formal education he received, would not have given him the ability to write about such things.  It helped my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  I’m thankful that this opportunity came to me to serve in this capacity because it would have been more difficult for me to serve away from home in the typical mission setting.

I have 5 months left to serve and I will put all my heart and soul into the service of the Lord and my ward and community!

Elder Markham

JJ, Elder Gordon, Elder Beckstead getting ready to do some service.

I'm grateful for my Savior

Jared Mission March 19, 2017

It’s been a while since I have written.  I have had lots of interesting things happen like one time at the Bike shop, we had to take down a lot of bikes just because they were not worth selling because they were super old and beat up.  And it wouldn’t be fair to those who buy them.  There was one bike frame that was super sturdy because we tried to do all the different stuff to it, including taking two people and stepping on it, and the combined weight still would not bend the frame.  We take those bikes apart and recycle all the pieces for money to help run the shop and pay for expenses.

At the DI I have been working on hanging clothes onto racks so they can be tagged and put on a rolling rack to be moved out to the sale floor.  These clothes replace other clothing items that are pulled because they aren’t selling.  I like working at the DI because it’s fun talking to all the people I work with.  We talk about books we like to read.  We also talk about stuff that’s happened in our lives and we all have immense trust in each other.

At the Bishop’s storehouse I have been continuing to fill food orders and sometimes we have to fill dock orders which is everything that’s not fruits, nuts, meats and dairy.  It is set up in rows and it’s anything from canned foods to hygiene stuff that needs to be put in bags and then we put them in bins for people in need.  In the back of the warehouse where we work, there is a refrigerator area that has food items that might not sell well at Costco and we get to take it home to our families.  I have picked cake rolls, and cookies and my family always loves the treats I get to bring home.

I have been able to go to the Temple with Garrett, and my Mom and Dad.  We usually switch off doing an endowment session and initiatories every other week.  It’s a great experience and I love going to the Temple.

I have been visiting investigators with the missionaries and have enjoyed being able to go out and teach with them. 

I have been enjoying YSA activities.  Last week my team won 3 out of the 5 big prizes in the Jeopardy game.  I like spending time with my friends there.

My Special Olympics basketball is over and I’m sad I didn’t get to play in any of the tournaments since they were on Sunday.  But I enjoy going to my basketball scrimmages on Thursday nights.  A couple of weeks ago, I was awarded Player of the Game because I showed great leadership skills and team work.  I am also enjoying listening to my books on tape.  I re read “Kingdom Keepers” series 1-7 and I’m waiting for number 10 to come out on audio book.  I am also enjoying watching March Madness NCAA basketball tournament. 

I have just begun Matthew in the New Testament because I finished the Old Testament.  I just finished Matthew 27 which is the end of Jesus’ mortal ministry and His suffering in Gethsemane and His crucifixion.  I’m glad that Christ loved us enough to go through that for us because it wasn’t easy and He did it for each and every one of us.  It’s interesting that it doesn’t mention in Matthew how one of the thieves that was crucified with Christ tells Him that if He is the Savior, then why doesn’t He save Himself.  Then the other thief says that Christ has to do this and asked Christ to please remember him when he gets to Paradise.  But then Christ tells him not to worry because he will be in Paradise with Him.  This is recorded in another book of the New Testament, but not in Matthew.  This shows me that even after we commit a sin, He will allow us to return to Him through Faith that we can be made whole again and be forgiven of our sins.  I love my mission and all the things that I get to do.

Elder Markham

JJ and his Dad at the Temple

Watching a basketball game in his down time