July 28, 2014

Quote of the week: Sometimes, when you are a seester, you wear streshy skirts . . . Eets for fun!

Well. This week has been good! :)

I don't remember if I told you... but we live in a member's basement and they're awesome!! Last Monday after we got in for the night Bro Lohnes called down the stair to us, "Hey! We have a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses up here, why don't y'all come talk to them?" Um... okay! So we walked upstairs aaaaand... it was the Empty Nesters Family Home Evening! Haha.

In honor of Pioneer day, they were all talking about their pioneer heritage (I'm telling you. They're all Utah transplants, haha). And Vanessa's voice (dear friend from previous area) came to me, "Tell the story." When the whole Family History miracle went down (When Sister Jacobs learned about her Armenian ancestors and their miraculous escape from persecution in Syria), those words stuck with me. "Wherever you are, their story needs to be told. Tell the story." So I did. And as I shared the incredible story of my wonderful Armenian ancestors I cried. No surprise there.

Sister W. said, "As you say that, I know that they made it here for you. So you could be here on your mission in Georgia to touch specific lives." I know that's true!! I've felt it from the moment I learned of their heroic escape and hearing her say it just reminded me of how wonderful our Father in Heaven is. I am here for a reason. I know that Father in Heaven planted this desire in my heart at an early age so I could prepare. And knowing that they made it for me to be here just heightens my sense of urgency. That whole experience was a super tender mercy! Man. I just love the spirit :)

Our newest investigators are... J & M!! J. retired Pastor and actually originally introduced himself as "Pastor P" and we called him that for like 3 weeks til he asked us to just call him J. So. If I accidentally refer to him as Pastor P. or just P... it's the same guy. Aaaanyway. We were a bit apprehensive that he just wanted to bash. BUT! He didn't! He and his wife are seriously interested in learning! It was such a great lesson! The Spirit was super strong and we're way stoked to see them again tomorrow! :)

This week I got to exchange with a newer missionary. She's been out about 2 months. And I just loved it!!! 'Greenie fire' (a new missionary) is the best. And I miss training, haha. I loved teaching with her because of her simplicity. It reminded me when I worked so hard just to get down the basics! And now... I make things WAAAAY too complicated. Spending a day with her reminded me to keep it simple, follow the Spirit, and bear testimony as He directs :)

Yesterday I had some funny spots on my legs and arms so we went upstairs to talk to the Lohnes' about it and Bro Lohnes gave me a blessing. The priesthood is such a blessing. The spots didn't miraculously heal up, but the instruction I received was so special. I love blessings. :) (I'm pretty sure it's just some sort of Georgia bug bite, haha).

I love the miracles we see every day. I love the peace that comes from the Gospel. I love the Spirit that comes to any environment ready for it. I love to testify of the Book of Mormon and of my Savior. I know there's always more I can learn about who He is and how much He loves each of us, and I'm grateful for the chance I have to learn of Him by trying to be like Him. We're not perfect. But He loves us anyway. Tender mercy, right? :)

Well. That's all for this week!!

Love y'all!

~Sis Jacobs.

 Sister Jacobs, Sister Porter, Sister Winegar & Sister Anderson.  

Yes. Yes, He is.

Praise the Lord . . . and then take a snapshot!

July 21, 2014 - Miracles are around every corner, all you need to do is look for them.

Hello to one and all!

We've seen lot of miracles this week. One of which was Bro C. His wife is a member, he's not. They have 3 super adorable little boys. Their oldest just turned 4. Bro C. has been an investigator for forever. So we wanted to focus more on the temple. Sis C. hasn't gone through yet, so we figured it'd Miracles are around every corner, all you need to do it look for them :)a good lesson for them both. Anyway. We had planned on watching this
https://www.lds.org/church/temples/why-mormons-build-temples?lang=eng

Bro C. pulled up the Mormon Channel and it wasn't there, so we ended up watching this
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages/topics/temples?v=1198212594001

Well. Father in Heaven knows what He's doing. Toward the end when the families are all together, the Spirit was suuuuper strong and Bro C. quietly stated, "Wow. I wish I would've seen this a lot sooner." Um yeah. It rocked. We don't completely know the needs of people we're teaching, but the Spirit does. He knoweth all things!

We have talked to a LOT of people this week and it's been a great experience! I love going on exchanges with the sisters in the zone because I get to see how they talk to people and learn from a new sister twice each week! Most of the appts we've set up are for this coming week, so we're excited to see the miracles that will come with hard work and active faith!

Oh yeah. Interviews were this week! Yay!! I love Pres and Sis Bennion. They're rock stars. There's a reason I'm serving in the zone they live in. Once again, Father in Heaven knows what's up! He knows our needs and He makes sure we are where we need to be when we need to be there. Think about it. As missionaries we are called to a certain mission and we go to various areas. For me it'll be 4 areas. So all of the people I promised to bring the Gospel to in the pre-existence, Father in Heaven placed them in GA, in the 4 little areas I would be, within the 18 months of May 2013 - Dec 2014 so I can find them. Um. Hello! That is a MIRACLE! Not only that. I have gained my foundation and structure from the Wolferts and now I will have a greater opportunity to use music with the Bennions. That's not even to mention the miracles of the timing of me coming out here. Oh my heavens. I could seriously go on and on about how much of a miracle life is. I just wanna be like Nephi and Alma and glory in the Lord all day! And guess what? I get to Yet another miracle!

Oh. One more miracle. Once upon a time Sister Lisa Bray got baptized last August. I haven't been the best with keeping in touch with people after I leave an area (surprising, right? haha). Well. As her anniversary of church membership approaches, I was thinking about her and decided to finally write her a letter, hoping that she hadn't forgotten me. I got an email from her this morning. She can make it to church about once a month. That's a miracle (she was a special pool baptism. She's in a wheelchair and has a hard time sitting up for more than 30 minutes at a time). After she got baptized, all she wanted to do was help in the ward the best she could. And now she has a calling with Visiting Teaching Coordination. Not only that. But the ward missionaries and the temple matron and workers have figured out accommodations for her planned endowment in the fall. Sister Bray is going to the temple!! Despite all of the obstacles in her way, she knows this is what the Lord wants her to do, and she's determined to make it happen. Heavenly Father loves all of His children. I know he does!

Miracles are around every corner, all you need to do is look for them
I love y'all! Have a happy week and a festive pioneer day!!
~Sis Jacobs.

Sister Ashley Jacobs - July 14, 2014

Yesterday President Wolfert and his wife, Ashley’s mission president, returned home to Utah from serving in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission for the past 3 years. Lincoln, Lexy and I were able to attend their Sacrament Mtg. and hear about their mission. Afterward, we had the chance to hug them and thank them for watching over our daughter with such love and care. It was a very tender experience as they shared with us what a great job Sister Jacobs is doing in the mission field. ~Lisa

Hellooo,

This week I've been really looking forward to Pday. And I don't even know why!! I just woke up sooooo excited to read emails and stuff. Then I heard from you guys!!

I'm so glad that you got to meet the Wolferts!!! I love, love, love them. I always assumed that there were so many missionaries that they could never really know each of us individually, but when they came to Elberton and Pres. told me I'd be getting an STL call from him the next week (a leadership position in the mission - Sister Trainer Leader), Sis Wolfert looked at me and said, "Look at you. You have come so far. I knew you could do it!" Which meant a lot.

Sister Wolfert told me to take what I learned, and let it propel me. And I did. As soon as I was done being trained, I trained. And then I got a 3 month old missionary. And another 3 month old missionary. The Wolferts showed me trust and love. If they can love 230 missionaries individually, one of which being a broken Sister Jacobs, then who’s to say Father in Heaven can't love us individually, too? And the best part? That love has propelled me throughout the rest of my mission. I work through love. I learned how to love through my first companion, and I was shown much love and trust from the Wolferts. I believe it has built a foundation for the rest of my life as well.

(We are going on our Stake Youth Pioneer Handcart Trek this week to Wyoming.) Have so much fun at trek!!! :) Good times. Such good times. Hm, advice for Lexy... love it. (Ashley went 4 years ago and we asked her to share advice to help Lexy get the most out of the experience.)  I am all about the attitude. If she comes to the conclusion to love her family and love the trek and who she's trekking for, then she will grow a million times more. She'll get 100 times more out of it. There was one mission area here that I wasn't thrilled to go to. I decided it wasn't going to be as good as my first area before I even got there. So I half-heartedly loved it at first. And it was harder to full heartedly love it. More recently, I was sooo worried about leaving Hartwell. That I would compare it to my dear Elberton branch. Soooo when I got the call, I decided things I would love about it. A ward! Lots of houses! Being fed more than twice a month! Hanging out with other missionaries on Pday! Meeting in a chapel! Having ward missionaries! The list goes on. And guess what? I. love. it!!

Here's a more relevant analogy for Lexy. My sophomore year I had the best homecoming date ever. It was so fun!! My date, the group, our activities, it was all perfect. I doubted I would ever have that much fun at a dance ever again. So I didn't. Luckily I pulled my head out of the sand my senior year and I decided that every.single.date I went on would be the best date in the world. And it was. If she can focus on the love that she has for her Ma, Pa and family, then she won't compare her family to anothers'. She won't want to be elsewhere. She'll be so grateful for her own experience and because of that gratitude; she'll be blessed with strength. Alma 29. We ought to be grateful for the things which we have been called to do. A lesson I've learned over and over out here in good ole Georgia :)

Exchanges are good. I'm still working on building a relationship of trust with the other sisters (... and with the members, haha). But it's going well. Investigators are slow, but we're doing an awesome activity with the members to help them reach out to their friends. Not necessarily to get referrals, but to help them talk to whomever they can.

Ooookay. Have fun! I love y'all!! :)

~Sis Jacobs.
Here's a photo of the Sister Trainer Leaders with new mission President Bennion & Sister Bennion.

Happy 4th of July! - July 7, 2014

Quote of the Week: Carry on, carry on, carry on! :)

Alooooooha!  What a week!

It all began with meeting President and Sister Bennion! (The new mission president & his wife) It was really cool to see them. They're super awesome and tender. Sister Bennion loves music. For one part of the meeting, we met just with her and she had us all sing! Like a choir! She told us that one of the things she's most excited to start up is a mission choir! So obviously I went up to her afterwards and told her I'd been waiting for this my whole mission and she's an answer to my prayers. :)

While that was fantastic and wonderful, the thing that stuck out most was when Pres. Bennion bore his testimony. As he stood there in front of us, his missionaries, I saw the mantel of a mission president. He's new, but we're all new at one point or another. I remember what it was like to be new. I remember what it was like to have a new missionary. And It's all the same. He's the mission president, he has the keys, and I'm super stoked to see what they can do with this mission! :) I love them already, imagine that? :)

The 4th of July was fun! We heard so many fireworks!! Haha. We tried to go outside and see them, but there were too many trees where we were at, but it was fun to talk to people on such a patriotic day :) 

Most of the Youth in the ward went to Gainsville for EFY (Especially for Youth Program) this last week so testimony meeting was like a youth fireside. Sooo good! It reminded me just how much I love the youth and how much potential they all have :)

I love it here. I really do. The work is fixin' to pick up! Just like in my last area, right? :)

Til next week! :)

~Sis Jacobs.

Ps. These people are in my ward. It's fine :) 

http://www.mormon.org/sherri

The New Mission President
President & Sister Bennion & Sister Jacobs

June 30, 2014 - Transfers!!

Quote of the week: "If I had known then what I know now, I would've let them in a loooong time ago"

My goodness! So much can change in a week!! Like I said, I'm back to the city! This ward is fantastic! It's like a real ward! In a real building! With families! And youth! And tons of Utah transplants! haha. It's about as opposite as you can get from Hartwell. Except for one thing, and that's the love that I have for my new area. I am so blessed. I thought the transfer was going to be soooo hard. And it was a little hard. But Father in Heaven blessed me with the ability to love every area I've gone to. And I love this one as well. :) I have no doubt that Dacula will become my new family. That has made all the difference.

My new companion is Sister Winegar! She's from Sandy! We actually came out at the same time, so that's always fun :) We get along really well! She's way cute and we're working well together, so that's good :)

Oh yeah! I forgot! We got our new mission president this week! President Bennion! We haven't met him yet. We'll have a mission meeting tomorrow, and then Sis Winegar and I will be going to the mission office on Thursday for various reasons. (She is having an opportunity to serve in a leadership position with the sisters.) So I'll have plenty to report on next week. It was sad to see the Wolferts leave, and I love them dearly. But I know that now Pres Bennion has the keys to the mission so I'm excited to follow his council! :)

Well. I didn't realize how short this was gonna be. But the work continues on, all is well, and that's all that matters, right? :)

Loveyabye!

~Sister Jacobs