Sept. 22, 2014

Quote of the week: "Be an organ donor. Give your heart to Jesus."

Hello one and all! 

What a wonderful week!! We were able to do so much! We talked to so many people and taught so many lessons! It is just so good to work hard :) Did we reach all of our goals? Nah. In fact we were just shy of most of them. Was that frustrating? A bit. But we know we did our best and that's all that matters :)

Okay. So last week we did a musical # in church, Joseph Smith's First Prayer. I think I shared that last week... but anyway. It was really awesome and the Spirit was super strong :) That night we had dinner with the K. family. They're some of my favorite people. Usually after dinner and a thought, we'll spend a few minutes singing hymns and a couple of jazzed up primary songs. It's my favorite thing :) Anyway. Sis K wasn't at sacrament meeting because she's in the stake primary presidency, so she travels to other wards lots. She asked us to sing our song for her, and she recorded it on her camera. After dinner she came out with us for a lesson. Of course it fell through. So we thought we'd swing by J & M's house with a plate of cookies which we had made earlier that day. Convenient, no? :) So M comes out for a minute and she told us how bummed she is that she and J missed church. So Sis K whips out her camera and shows her! Tender mercy!! So then she's like, "J needs to see this!" So they let us come in and J is drawing this master piece of Christ mounting a horse with armor... something about reading 1 Nephi that reminded him of this dream he had of Christ mounting an armored horse. Anyway. M kindly interrupted him and we watched the video again. Once again the Spirit filled the room and brought J to tears. Sis Adorable and me, too. I know they know it's true. It's just up to them to make the decision. It's comforting to know that they still have good ties to members and missionaries, and they just want a break from the lessons. :)

Then there's our other investigators, M and A. Man. These two. They have my heart :) So we had a great lesson with them on Tuesday! We asked him how he felt about church and he had 2 comments. One related to the lesson. The other was, "Why is it that Mormons have a better ear and can sing so well?!" He explained that when he was in Priesthood, they didn't have a piano, but of course opened with a song and the men stayed in tune! He said that he almost had to stop singing and listen for a minute because he couldn't believe his ears. Oh yeah. M. majored in vocal performance. I almost joked that being Mormon gives the gift of vocal cords. But then I didn't. Haha :) They are so good. They love watching conference talks on lds.org. They love reading the scriptures. They love lessons. They love the restored gospel! Which is great because the restored gospel loves them! :)

We just started meeting with them multiple times a week and this past week they went out of town so we only got to teach once. And as we got ready to leave M said, "I get why you want to meet more than once a week! Having you over only once is going to make this week so long!" Well yeah. For us, too. We're excited to see them again tomorrow :)

The culture of the GANM is changing! We are no longer doing scripture dinner thoughts! *Gasp* Instead, we're role playing with the members! 

We ask the members beforehand if they can think of a friend or family they they can impersonate and then we teach as if we're teaching them! We have had some seriously cool experiences with it. And I love it!! I've always liked role playing, but this is taking it to a whole new level! So fun :) So now... all we ever do is teach! When we're with investigators, we're teaching. When we're with less actives, we're teaching. When we're with recent converts, we're teaching. As we're contacting and tracting, we're teaching. And when we're with members we're --you guessed it-- teaching! :)

In fact. A couple of days ago we went to visit some members and their daughter in law was there. She has some interesting beliefs, but it was cool to get to know her. We presented this idea to the family to role play with them and Sis K goes, "Well. L isn't a member, you can practice on her!" We look over at L. and she was like, "sure!" So we did! It was really awesome. At the end, Sis K walked us to the door and was like, "Every time the missionaries come over, she leaves the room when they share a thought. This is the first time she's ever stayed. AND participated!" So cool. I love role playing :) Heck. I just love being a missionary :)

Well. I think I've taken up enough screen space this week.

It's been a good one and I'm looking forward to this upcoming week as well! :)

I love you all!!

~Sis Jacobs.

Sept. 15, 2014

Quote of the week "God invented the first wireless phone... it's called prayer."

Hello to one and all!

There is opposition in all things. We had a really awesome lesson with J and M on Tuesday. We texted them a scripture of the day on Wednesday, and they responded with the request to stop lessons. We were super bummed. They were really progressing, but knew they were to a point where they needed to make a decision. And, well, they did. Their main fellowshipper is still in touch with them as a friend and he keeps us posted. He talked to J about it and J knows the Book of Mormon is true. He knows it. M is backpeddling a little bit, and they want to do this together. The struggles that they're having can only be figured out on their own. And we understand. It's comforting to know that we have done our best. All we can do is invite and help along the way and then love people enough to respect their use of the gift God gave them: agency. 

I drew a connection with them and 3 Nephi 17. Christ teaches the people in the Americas. They listen. But they start to get tired or zone out or whatever and He tells them to ponder on His words and He'll return the next day. Why? Because His Father's message is so important that they need to hear it when they're paying full attention. J and M hit that point. They need time to process everything that we've taught them in the last 2 months and then when they're ready to listen to more, they'll come back. Or we'll go back. Or what not. Oddly enough, I feel a lot of peace with the whole situation.

Our other investigators, M and A are awesome!!!!! We asked them if we could meet with them multiple times a week and they were like, "We would love that! But won't that be too much for you?" Hah. Funny joke :) We went and saw Momma Debbie 3 times a week sometimes! :) Anyway. They are stellar at making connections! We've been giving them reading assignments and also General Conference talks to watch on lds.org. She loves the emphasis of love that is woven through our lessons, the Book of Mormon and the videos they watch. Which makes me so happy. Because really, that's what it's all about! Not the Hokey Pokey... but Love! :) They came to church yesterday and the talks and lessons were all about Missionary Work and the temple. whiiiiiich we haven't covered yet in our lessons. My comp, Sis Adorable and I were super worried about what they thought. But we talked to her after RS and she mentioned how she wants us to teach her Mom because of the peace and joy that she feels from the lessons and doesn't know how to go about doing it-- Missionary work!! :) Also, we talked a bit about sealings in the temple and she expressed concern that because she wasn't born Mormon, she and M wouldn't be able to go to the temple to be sealed. Sis Adorable was able to share her experience of being sealed to her family in the Salt Lake Temple when she was five. A now understands that the temple isn't only a possibility for them, but our goal for them! :) Soooo.. it was perfect :) Like. Very perfect :)

Transfer news!!! I'm staying here with Sister Adorable!! So what'll happen with us?! Well. We're dying together in this area! Pres Bennion just called another set of Sister Training Leaders here because we have so many sets to take care of. We'll be able to work with the other set of STLs (Sister Trainer Leaders) and conquer so much more!! So blessed. Anyway. By the time that Sis Adorable and I leave, there will be less sisters and not so much of a need for 2 sets of STLs, so we'll just refer all of our investigators to the other sisters in the area and our apartment will either get switched to an elder apt, or... just stay vacant! Crazy, right? I'm quite pleased :)

I love this area. I love these people. I just love :)

Well! Hope y'all have a great week!

Til next time,

~Sis Jacobs.

Having lots of fun at the Clark's!! We make fools of ourselves and love it :)

Nasty bug. It jumps. And is gross. Don't worry. I killed it.

Sept. 8, 2014

Quote of the week: "Ma'am, I may be an idiot, but I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he loves you"

^^ An account of a tracting story from some elders in our zone. This was in response to, "You're all annoying, stop coming by! And anyone that thinks a teenage boy can be an elder is an idiot!" The words of a missionary are powerful. This is His work. And it's real.

Family!

We got permission for all the sisters in our zone to go to Stone Mountain today!! It's barely out of the mission, but we get to go once in our time here, so that was a blast! That's why I'm so late emailing. It was so fun!!

As far as this week is concerned... Oh. S. She's a Recent Convert since March and she'a a doll. She decided to get some family names ready for the temple so she could go on Wed. Aaaaaand we got to go with her because it was her first time! It was so special! She did the proxy baptisms for her mom and sister and then had a brother in the ward do her father's. Afterwards we talked to her about how she felt, "I feel just like I did for my own baptism, but I knew it was my mother, sister and father that were so happy." So special. So tender. The members we got a ride with were doing other temple work upstairs, so we got to read the Book of Mormon in the baptistry waiting room til they were done. I looooooooove the temple

I love tracting. Love it. LURVE IT!!!! So the whole mission has been working on being better and bolder in our contacting and life is just so much more beautiful!! I was role playing at a meeting as an "investigator" and the sister who contacted me told me, "We're not here to tell you to believe in the Book of Mormon. We're here to share with you something that has changed our lives and then invite you to read, study and use that relationship you already have with God to ask for yourself if it's true!" I have said that (or something similar to it) a million times, but once I heard her say it as an "investigator" I realized just how bold that statement is! We have no fear introducing the Restored Gospel and then inviting others to read and pray and find out for themselves, because the message is so true that I know (in the Lord's time) what kind of answer they'll receive! Yup. Bold. It's cool

A few months ago a sister made a comment about letting our real personalities shine through the missionaries we are. Heavenly Father sent us to touch certain people because of who we are, but if we let ourselves fall into the habit of being robots... we'll never be able to touch those people! So in combination of those two paragraphs, I had a really cool experience this week. It was little. But it was cool

Basically we were tracting and a young father answered the door. He was super not interested. But he had a cool Harry Potter shirt on. So we started talking about Harry Potter. And then had the chance to talk about the Gospel. I tried super hard to just be myself, and to share the things that he would need to hear. At the end we invited him to take the lessons and he said, "you know what? Y'all have been real people with me. And just because I've enjoyed having you on my doorstep, I'll let you come back." It was refreshing because I've been working on that. Just being me. A better version of me every day, but still the Sis Jacobs that Father in Heaven sent here

I'm learning how to love better. How to communicate better. How to let go of the things that really don't matter. And how to be who He wants me to be. It's been really cool to reflect and recognize the change of nature that this 'refiner's fire' is jump starting.

I love y'all lots
Til next week,
~Sis Jacobs.

 Hold to the rod, the iron rod! The mtn (*cough* hill) was
super slippery from the rain. We were grateful for the rod 

Lilburn zone sisters! At the top! 

Sept. 1, 2014

Hello, hello, one and all!

Sometimes I feel like nothing happens in a week and then I look back and say, "What? That was this week?!?" Yeah. Pretty crazy.

We had a lesson with a super awesome couple, M. and A. We taught them quite a bit and they're very open and receptive to it all! She grew up catholic and he's currently into music ministry or something. They're so good at asking questions! I love it Questions are the best. Like, ever!

That day we had lunch with Sister Bennion (the mission President's wife) because she loves us I love her!! Our waiter talked to us about our name tags and so we got to teach him a little bit about the Gospel. I love this little black nametag

J. & M. are still rock stars!! They're a little bit slower with the lessons, but it's because they take every little thing in. He has said that he won't get baptized until he knows without a shadow of a doubt that this is what the Lord wants for him, but when he does get that confirmation, we won't be able to fill the font quickly enough. They're getting there We had a really good question/answer lesson with them. Man. I love that couple

We're still meeting with S., a recent convert who got baptized in Feb. We were able to help her with Family Search to get some names and she's going to the temple on Wed She's cute

G. dropped us for lessons, but we still text him scriptures and invite him to church and stuff and he loves learning and praying. Honestly. If I could copy and paste some of his texts, you'd think that he was getting baptized this week. The main reason he stopped meeting with us is because his wife thinks we're crazy and refuses to come to like a dinner or activity with us present.

We're back in with O.! He kinda dropped for a while but we decided to go back. We taught a completely different lesson than we had planned and it was soooo good! We were able to actually sit with him just study from the Bible and Book of Mormon and help him to see the similarities. It was good.

aaaand that's about it!
Love y'all!
~Sis Jacobs.

Lunch with Sister Bennion and the sister missionaries

Sister Paepae. I went on my first exchange with her over a year ago and she's my hero.
She came back with her husband! ( ah!!) and we saw her on Sunday.