Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me....?

Aug. 26, 2013

Familia!!

I love ya'll so much!

On Tuesday we taught Sis B a new member lesson about temples. She's super excited to get her recommend and go do confirmations! Woot!! :) Super cool, right?! :) It was so cool to see her as a baptized member. She's the best. :)

Wednesday we helped clean for a family that's moving. That was fun. We sang Disney songs at the top of our lungs. Nothin' like a little Pocahontas or Tangled to get your cleaning groove on! :) After that we taught E! We went to a member family's apt and she wheeled on over. As we got started she asked, "Do ya'll believe in embracin?" "Um, yeah..." "Well come now, gimme a hug!" She is the most southern lady I've met here and we're best friends, haha. :) We taught her the restoration and she felt the spirit super strong. It was so great! It was confirmed to me that Joseph Smith restored this Gospel! He did! :) As we walked out of the lesson, Sister Loader goes, "I'm pretty sure you and E were best friends in the pre-existence" Yeah. Pretty sure we were :)

Thursday was Zone Conference! Yay for meetings! :) I love listening to President and the assistants and everyone else talk about their vision for the mission and how much we can do if only we have faith and work hard! I'm always so pumped after meetings :) 

Quote for the week:

The assistants were giving a training and Elder Miller said, "Okay, what are some things we can do for our companion?"

"Elder Hoyt sings to me in the morning!" -Elder MacDonald.

*3 minutes later*

"Okay, now what are some "don'ts" for a successful companionship?"

"Elder Hoyt sings to me in the morning!" -Elder MacDonald.

I died laughing. :)

The other news is that there are 63 Sisters in the mission, 80 by September, and over 100 in October! Woot! :)

That night we taught P and the spirit was definitely there! We're still working on getting her to come to church and to recognize why the gospel is important, but it's been good teaching her! :) 

Friday we helped another member move! But she's only moving around the corner, so she'll still be in the ward, thank goodness! :) Saturday morning there was a member baptism and E came! She said a couple of "oh yes" and "amens" throughout the talks and prayers, haha. I seriously love her. 

Random thought: If Mormons bought out 'Veggie Tales', how would they do the story of Ammon defending King Lamoni's sheep? (from the Book of Mormon) These are things the missionaries ponder over lunch... :)

Happy first day of class to all of my dear Logan-ites! :) (Utah State University started classes this week) Say hi to everyone and everything for me! :)

I love this gospel, I love all of you and I know the church is true! 

Hope to hear from you soon!

~Sister Jacobs

Picture of Ashley and other missionaries at Zone Conference.

Miracles happen once in a while, when you believe...

Aug. 19th, 2013

(In order to respect the privacy of the members and investigators in Ashley's mission, I will be using only the the first initial of their names in this and future emails. Thanks for understanding AND thanks for all your love and support for Ashley.  - Lisa)

Miracles happen once in a while, when you believe...

Hello, all! :)

I love writing to you. It's my favorite part about P-day :)

Happy first day of school for Lexy and work for Mom!! (I got a part time job working as secretary in the high school counseling office) I'm *so* excited for you both! Say hi to PG, Mr. Shelley, Mr. Wilcock and Ms. Smithson (favorite teachers from high school) for me! :)

This week we went on an exchange with our Sister Training Leaders. Sister Hamilton came with me to Webb Bridge and then Sis Loader went to the other area with Sis Nielson. They're like the sister zone leaders, only they're over 2 zones. I was talking to Sister Hamilton and asked if each zone is gonna get Sister TL's and she said that Sister Wolfert wishes they could, but there are so many sisters coming out in the next transfer (20!!) that they need everyone to train! So... I'm gonna be a mommy (trainer)! Probably. I won't get the call til next week if it's for sure, but I'm pretty much expecting it to happen. and. I'm. stoked!! :)

After our exchange, Sis Loader and I checked the mail and we got a package. A combined package!!! It was the highlight of the week for me! (Up to that point... :)) I loved all of Lexy's puns on everything! I was laughing so hard. I told Sis Loader, "My sister is cooler than your sister." And she was like, "um, not possible." Don't tell, but I still think Lexy is cooler. :)

The Elders have been teaching a lady named P. and Sister S. has been her fellowshipper in the ward. After teaching the 3 lessons she dropped of the face of the planet for like 3 weeks. She wouldn't respond to the elders at all. This past week, Sister S. said she had talked to the elders, prayed about it like crazy, and suggested that we try to teach her. The elders prayed about it and then gave their okay. I. felt. awful. for "taking" their investigator, but she let us teach her on Thursday, so that was improvement! We studied like crazy for the lesson, but had no idea where we were gonna go with it. Sister S. drove us to P's home and we let the Spirit take over! We opened with a hymn and then just shared our thoughts and the scriptures that came to mind. Sis Loader shared a suuuper powerful testimony about the truthfulness of the Gospel and at the end of the lesson we had another appointment with her! I still give all the credit to our Elders (after the Spirit, of course). They found her, they taught her the first 3 lessons, they invited her to be baptized, and we're just here to help follow up. I feel like we did the same thing for Sister B., haha.

Friday was Sister B.'s baptism!!!!!! We'd been praying for good weather for like 2 weeks and we woke up to rain. rain rain rain. I was super worried and Sister Loader goes, "We prayed for it. It'll clear up for the baptism, and then rain again when it's over. I'm not worried" And she was absolutely right!! I've learned a lot about prayer from her. :) The program was held in a garage (most spiritual and beautifully decorated garage I've ever been in, haha).

Sis Loader and I sang 'When I am Baptized' accompanied by Elder Eames on a guitar (with permission, of course). We took a video of it after the baptism, I'll send it home eventually :) Anyway, after that we wheeled her out to the pool. Elder Eames and Elder Anderson and Brother A. helped her into a plastic chair, they carried her down the steps of the pool and then set the front legs of the chair on the bottom step of the pool and held the chair so her head and neck were above the water. Bishop Weurgler performed the ordinance and then the other 3 lowerd the back legs so she was immersed and then carried her out of the water! Cool, right?! She was helped back into her wheelchair, covered in blankets and towels and confirmed at the poolside. As soon as we got back into the garage for a closing prayer and song, it started raining again. :) As we drove away Elder Anderson goes, "Man. God has a sense of humor. The one day I get to go in a pool on my mission and it's raining. I'm freezing." I thought that was hilarious :)

E. came to church again yesterday! P. was planning on it as of Saturday night, but didn't make it. We're so calling her next Sunday morning. Anyway, E is the best! We haven't been in to teach her yet because her schedule is crazy, but it's gonna happen! We'll keep calling her every couple of days and it's gonna happen. :)

Funny story. So yesterday after sacrament meeting Sis Loader was talking to some less actives on the carpet part of the chapel, and I was talking to an investigator on the other side, right where the overflow starts. Half way through our conversations, the curtains start to close and we looked at each other like a deer in the headlights as my companion slowly was taken out of my sight and sound... I was laughing so hard! Sis Loader brought the less actives to the overflow to talk so all was well again. But it made me laugh. Oh man :)

Well, that's my week in a nut shell! 

I love you all and I can't wait to hear from you! :)

~Sister Jacobs

Sister Hamilton, me, Sister Loader and Sister Nielson.

It's not that unusual, it's just another ordinary miracle today.

July 29, 2013

Hello!!

I've officially completed my first transfer! :) All 4 of us in the Webb Bridge ward are staying for at least another 6 weeks! That was the best news. Really though. :)

Also, Sister Molly George (Her roommate from college) is now in the mission!! I haven't seen her personally, but one of the elders' investigators was helping someone move in another ward, and he said that she was there!! Yay for familiar faces! :)

Mom, thank you so much for the package! Sister B has asked us to sing at her baptism, so the Children's Songbook came just in time! Thank you!!! :) The CD, Lamb of God is so great!!! Sister Loader actually had it but didn't know what it was. When we opened the CD that you sent, there were 2 CDs!! Sister Loader said, "It's like finding out there's an 8th book to Harry Potter!" Haha. We really love it! :)

I can't believe that you met up with Sister Loader's family! (Her companion's family lives near us) We have been talking about having Lexy look out for Amanda (companion's sister)  when school started, but it looks like you already got that covered! Today when Sister Loader opened up her email she was like, "Um... Sister Jacobs? Those are my parents." And I was like, "what?! And those are *my* parents!" It was super weird to see you all in a picture together. But super exciting at the same time :)

Okay. Highlight of the week was probably Wednesday-ish. We were just finishing up lunch and someone knocked on our door. No one ever knocks on our door. So... I looked through the peep-hole and there was a woman I'd never seen before. I answered it and she's our upstairs neighbor! She came to apologize for something that we didn't even notice. Anyway, she commented "hallelujah!" on our Jesus picture that we have hanging in our window! Haha. What a sweet lady :)

We met with Sister B again and because she's in a lot of pain we can only meet for like 30 mins at a time. She's been through all the lessons, but Elder Buhler wanted us to go over the last lesson and the commandments with her just to refresh her memory. When we told her that, she goes, "can we do that all at once?" Uh... So we did! Fastest lessons of my life! When we got to the commandments it was like, "What do you understand about tithing?" She'd answer with more understanding than I have, haha.  "... will you live it? What do you understand about the word of wisdom? ... will you live it?" She's so great. August 16th is the big day! She's excited, we're excited and the elders are excited! It's gonna be a super tender experience :)

I love being a missionary! It gives me the greatest opportunity to think of Christ and come closer to Him! I love it! and I love you! :)

~Sister Jacobs

PS. The first picture is one Tyler took as he was passing through Georgia and had to stop in a Target store for something a few weeks ago. He sent a copy to Ashley. It was in her mission boundaries.

The second picture is of Ashley in the exact same location recently and she shared that with us.
Ashley's comment in finding that location: Best treasure hunt ever! Haha :)

The first picture is one Tyler took as he was passing through Georgia and had to stop in a Target store for something a few weeks ago. He sent a copy to Ashley. It was in her mission boundaries.

The second picture is of Ashley in the exact same location recently and she shared that with us.
Ashley's comment in finding that location: Best treasure hunt ever! Haha :)

No Song for This Week!

Aug. 12, 2013

Howdy from the South!!

 

Fun fact: I can count on one hand how many people in my area have legit southern accents. One of which is our lady of the hour, Sister B!

 

We had a *super* cool experience with her on Tuesday! She wanted to meet the bishop before her baptism. So we went over with him and had a little lesson and then she asked for a blessing of healing so that she can actually come to the church building on Sunday and "be of use to the church" as she put it. Bishop said that he'd be able to give her a blessing, even though usually 2 priesthood holders bless the sick and afflicted. She asked if Brother B could participate. He's been less active for a loooong time. So they went into the other room and talked for a bit and then came back. Brother B anointed and then Bishop gave her the blessing! Coolest. experience. evar! :) I cried. Fun fact: I cry a lot as a sister missionary. :)

This email is just gonna be all over the place. Forgive me? Thanks. You're a peach.

 

On Monday we went to do something as a district and there was an extra elder! Surprise! Elder B. and Elder A. are now training Elder E. from Kaysville! A member is going to let him borrow a guitar on Friday so he can accompany Sis Loader and I at Sis B's baptism. I'm so excited! :) Sister B is super excited for her baptism and said she wants lots of pictures! How convenient, I do too!! :) I'll have a full report next week! I'm so proud of her! She's showing soooo much faith going through with this! :)

 

On Thursday Elder B. hit his year mark but we didn't find out til dinner... so when we got home Sis Loader and I made him a little card and we gave it to him the next day. It was my favorite thing. Seriously. If you're having a hard day, make something for someone. It is just the best feeling in the world! :)

 

Friday was awesome! We had some less actives that we wanted to visit but they live in gated communities... so we prayed that the gates would just be open or that we could follow behind someone into the community when we got there. And guess what?! It worked!! We drove into the community and there was a sign that said, "caution. private air strip ahead" ooookay? So we find Sis P's house and as we get talking to her, we discover that it's an aviation community. Everyone. owns. a. plane! What the heck? Like... what do you even do with a plane?! Apparently fly to Alabama for a vacation, according to Sis. Hermana Shelton (Ashley's friend serving in Peru) and I are in completely different worlds, haha :) I got pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to attach them :)

 

Other fun facts about Georgia.

It has rained more here this summer than in Seattle.

Paula Abdul lives in our ward boundaries. Like... a mile or two away from our apartment. According to one of our members it's a gated community, and then she lives on a separately gated street. With a security guard. I'm so glad I'm not famous :)

 

Saturday. Oh man. Saturday was great. Sister Loader got a package and we just had soooo much fun with it! Her mom told her to put on her "big girl panties" and then sent her some! We took pictures. Haha.

 

On Sunday the G. Family brought a friend of theirs to church! She stayed for all 3 hours and the ward rocked at welcoming her! She said that she quite enjoyed herself and wants to come back! We're meeting with her probably tomorrow to answer her questions and talk to her a bit more about the church. Oh yeah.

 

Everyone says that we have to have fun as missionaries, right? Yeah. Okay. So for my first couple of weeks I seriously didn't get how. But I'm having tons of fun now! For example: every morning we read 3 pgs of the white handbook as part of comp study. I'm pretty sure every missionary does this. So... we've started reading it in different accents! Southern, British, Asian, and our new favorite... Brian Reagan! The first day we did it I read pg 53. The last line on that page just about killed us, we were laughing so hard. :)

 

Alrighty, I'll calm down.

I love missionary work. I've waited 7 years for this opportunity and now it's here! And as of yesterday I've been in Georgia for 2 months! And I'm coming to love it more and more. As a wise friend once told me, "love the mission and it'll love you back." I feel like that's something we can all take to heart. Love your calling, love your ward, love your job, love your family, love your school, love your situation, and it'll love you back! Being here is crazy! Every night I try to think of one word to describe the day, but I never can! There are so many ups and downs and so many unique experiences that I don't have time to share, but it's all for the best. :) I challenge you all to prepare for next Sunday. Get ready to take the sacrament and pray for the speakers to say the things that you need. And pay attention to how you feel. Yesterday I literally felt myself be filled with the spirit. I have been rejuvenated for the week!

 

The church is true,

the book is blue,

and I love you!

 

Sister Jacobs

 

PS. Thank you for the letters! I thoroughly enjoy them! :)

 

Big girl panties!
'I've lost 500lbs and I'm a Mormon.'

Oompa loompas?

Church on Sunday. Apparently there wasn't enough room in the parking lot... haha. :)

 

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

There must be something there that wasn't there before . . .

Aug, 5, 2013

Aloooooha! This week has been great! And Happy August! Time flies!! 

Sister B is doing awesome! We continue to meet with her and she rocks! We helped a less-active member move this week and it was super fun! We're sad that she's out of our area now, but we're excited for the sisters that get to work with her now

And now, a silly sister (missionary) story.
Every night before we go to bed, Sister Loader and I do 5 Bits of Happiness. We'll talk about a moment in the day when we 1) felt joy 2) accomplished something 3) saw a tender mercy 4) felt peace 5) and then we give each other a compliment. By 7:45am I already had my accomplishment for the day. I was blow drying my hair this morning and I saw something in the mirror that I hadn't seen before. So I turned around and saw this bug on the ceiling. "Sister Looooader?!? Come look at this!" So she comes in and was like, "Ew. We had those all the time in Jackson [her last area]. Good luck killing it!" and she goes back into the bathroom. This.... bug was like and inch and a half long with fifty million legs. that got longer and longer toward the back of the bug. Being the designated bug-killer in our companionship, I was thrilled. Haha. I went back to doing my hair. Then it moved. It was on the wall by my bed. And I was not risking it getting any closer. So I moved my bed out of the way, grabbed a flip flop, and tapped it off the wall. It started squirming on the ground and I finally found the courage to kill it! All the while squealing like only a sister missionary can, haha. It was good times

My favorite thing about being a missionary is the excuse to be bold! The other night we got a text from an unknown number and she asked if Derek was doing okay because she hadn't heard from him in a couple of days. So... I responded with something like, "Hi! This is Sister Jacobs and Sister Loader, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! We just got this phone a few weeks ago, but we hope your friend is okay! We can keep him in our prayers if you'd like!" She said that would be nice, so I continued, "We definitely will! Would you like to hear a message from some of our missionaries about Jesus Christ? I'm sure we have some in your area!" She declined. But it was fun to be bold!

The president just came out with a challenge for our mission! He said that the goals for the mission are 45 baptisms in August. He said that if we get 40+ baptisms, those companionships who baptize someone will get to go to the temple at the end of the month! What?! So... we love Sister B. And we're gonna pray for the rest of the mission!

Quote for the week!
"I was investing too much time in Pabo* and wasn't getting anything in return. So I had to drop him... like an investigator" -Sister Loader. We're such missionaries. It's fun

Anyway, life is muy bueno. Going to church is the best. Members rock. Fasting works! The church is true! Love you lots!!
Sister Jacobs