Elder Caleb Jones (Doniphan Ward) recently returned in June 2026 from serving in the Ecuador Quito North Mission. He served for two years in the South American country, teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in Spanish.

Teaching the gospel in Spanish was a bit of a challenge at first. Elder Jones was hoping his first companion would be an American who might help him adjust to learning the language, but that was not to be the case.

“I was forced to speak in Spanish 24-7,” Elder Jones said. “It was really hard not being able to communicate, especially since I came with this huge desire to share the gospel.”

During the first two weeks Elder Jones said it was “super hard,” and he even considered going home.

“I was crying and wondering what I had gotten myself into.”

But he didn’t give up. He learned to rely on God and Jesus Christ by retreating to his apartment’s roof top nightly to “talk to God.”

“I could hear Him talking to me [in my mind] and that helped me go one more day. It would have been cool to have an angel come down and teach me Spanish, but I learned about the atonement, and it allowed me to go one more day. Slowly I was able to gain more confidence. That built a foundation at the beginning of my mission to complete the entire two years.”

During his mission, Elder Jones focused on different aspects of Christ. One in particular that he spent time learning about and trying to implement in his life was the attribute of charity.

“I was placed with a companion that was very hard to get along with,” Elder Jones said. “As I studied “charity” in Moroni 7:45, it said, ‘charity beareth all things’ and that someone possessed with charity doesn’t get angry as I was. I haven’t mastered it, but being placed with a difficult companion helped me understand it and put it into practice.”

Elder Jones recognized the role that his family, church, seminary attendance, and scripture study played in helping develop his testimony growing up. He advised prospective missionaries to place emphasis on these things:

“Focus on the Book of Mormon and the testimony of Christ therein. It was extremely powerful. As I focused on the testimony of Christ in the Book of Mormon, it strengthened my testimony that He lives. I invite the youth to study the Book of Mormon to gain a testimony of the reality of Christ’s atonement.”

Elder Jones attributes Jesus Christ for his “why” of serving a mission.

“I can testify that He lives and the love He has for his children is real.”

Caleb will be heading off to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, this fall.