Monday Oct. 20, 2014

Quote of the week:

Neophyte: A person new to a group or religious practice.
So the Lamanites who repent and are baptized are (wait for it...) Neophyte Nephites! 

This week was pretty much full of miracles.

We're developing a really good relationship with the W. Family (less active). We always visit when she's making dinner so it can be crazy, but we decided to tell scripture stories to get the whole family involved. We told the story of the 2000 stripling warriors and it was so good!! It reminded Bro W. of another story (not from the Book of Mormon... but it means he was listening!) and somehow we got on the topic of Star wars. So our challenge to them was to find a star wars story that would relate to the Book of Mormon. Haha. We'll see how that goes :)

M. & A. Them folks are great! We had a kinda intense lesson with them on Friday. We were on an exchange so Sister Adorable wasn't with me... which is always hard. We teach really well together. Anyway. We were working on setting a date for baptism and a couple of things came up. One of which was the Word of Wisdom. A. likes her tea and coffee every once in a while. And Sabbath Day observance. M.  works at a church on Sunday. And after we taught about not working on Sunday, he began to realize that his work, even though it was at a church... is work. He feels torn about leaving because he's doing so much good there and doesn't want to leave them.

I realized how similar I am to him. I talked to them about the decisions I'm facing with school. I don't want to think about it, but the truth of the matter is, January is going to come and I need to have made decisions that will determine that chapter in my life. Going home doesn't mean that my mission wasn't right, or wasn't worth the time, or that I didn't make an impact, or that I will forget the lessons I've learned or people I've met when I move on to that next step. It just means that the Lord will need me elsewhere. M. made a comment that he's been thinking similarly. January is coming whether he likes it or not, and at that point church start time will change to 9am and he'll have to choose between this or that.

Last week Sister Adorable super-powerfully promised them that as they observe the commandments that we teach, they will receive an answer for sure. So I brought that up again. I don't even remember how it all went down. I just remember inviting them to strictly keep those commandments and when they did, that's when they'll receive their answer. I asked A. to stop drinking tea and coffee. And I asked M. to quit his job. I remember walking away from the lesson... scared. I didn't want them to be offended. But I knew that those were promptings and I'm here do the will of the Lord. I thought of all the people that came soooo close to baptism and at the last minute turned away. And then I remembered something that M. said in one of our lessons, "You don't dwell on the things you don't know. But you always testify of what you do know. I don't know if I have received my answer, but I do know that I have felt more peace in my life since we've met y'all." When his words came to mind, I shut out the negative thoughts. And I focused on what I do know. I know that we are here for them specifically. I know that the Lord loves them. I know that I love them. I know how I have found happiness. And I know that my purpose is to help them find that same happiness. And even though I was worried on Friday night, Sunday came and they both were at church. I am so grateful for the power of the Spirit. And the knowledge that I'm not on my own errand, but His. We're seeing them again tonight :)

All day Friday I had been making lots of phone calls trying to fill Saturday morning with a fun activity for Sister Castleton since she was visiting my area on exchanges. To no avail. So I asked her if she happened to bring a pair of pants and her service shirt. She had! So we set out Saturday morning "Service Tracting." Basically we just tract in pants and a tshirt offering to do service. I don't know what feeling was more overwhelming, the excitement of being able to fit in my jeans, or the discomfort of the jeans themselves. Who needs 'em?! Haha.

Anyway. We prayed about a certain road and started driving there. It was in a developing neighborhood and the street was reeeeally long. No houses for a good bit. We got to the end of this loooong street and there were 2 houses. Two. I looked at Sister Castleton and I was like, "Well. I guess one of these 2 people really needs help!" We knocked on the first door and we saw a little girl run up the stairs... no answer. So we walked over to the 2nd house and a woman was pulling out of her driveway. Greeeat. We walked up to her window and we were like, "Hey! We're missionaries and we're in the area just to serve! If you need any help with raking leaves or cleaning the house or..." She looked at us with wide eyes, "Are you serious?" "Yeah..." "I'm just on my way to buy some paint for the garage." "Really?! We love to paint! Can we help?!" Yes. Yes that just happened. She asked us to come back in an hour to start painting with her. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Can I get an Amen? Haha. We came back and met the lady who was so excited to have us there! At the end of our painting extravaganza she asked us what we wanted for pay. We just asked for a return appt to talk about the Gospel and she said, "That would be awesome. I've been trying to get closer to God lately and have been wondering how I can do that." Miracle! :) We're going to see her tomorrow. Super stoked.

Wow. I don't think I've written this much in a long time. Heavenly Father is good to me. I see miracles every day. I know it's true! :)

Sis Jacobs

Painting for service. The dark color is the new one. :)

Halloween Dinner at a member's home. Meatloaf and potatoes! Mmmm!

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Oct. 14, 2014

Quote of the week: "Fall for Jesus because He never leaves!"

Happy fall, y'all! Sorry for the late email! Columbus day had all the libraries closed, so we're doing Pday today! Yay! :)

We've been working with a less active family, the W Family. They're awesome! We just stopped by and asked if we could practice the lessons on them and this is like the 3rd week that we've seen them. They're great! They watched a couple of conference talks and we helped the mom download the Gospel library app so she can listen to the Book of Mormon on her way to and from work :)

Tracting is so good! I know I talk about it a lot... but it's amazing to me how much better my days and weeks go when we make it a priority :) Every night we pray about where to tract and kinda narrow down to a couple of different streets. We felt prompted to go to a certain one and knocked a lot of doors. We didn't find any success and it was about time to go to our next appt. We knocked on one last door and a woman opened the door. She was exhausted because she had just moved in and couldn't lift anything because of her back problems. So we got to help her! I was so grateful for the opportunity to just... help someone on the spot! :) Did she become an investigator? Nah. But we got to help and that's all that matters :)

On Saturday, the Elders had a baptism and our investigator M. came to it! His wife, A., was at work so she wasn't able to come, but it was perfect. He turned to us and mentioned that he's been to lots of different baptisms for lots of churches, but on Saturday the person getting baptized wasn't just giving something, but he was receiving something, too. It was really cool :) Church on Sunday was perfect for them! Sometimes us missionaries hold our breath on testimony meeting Sundays because we never know what'll be said... but it was perfect! Tender mercy for sure :)

Yesterday we had another lesson with M. & A. and I love them :) They are sooooooo close! A. has the Gospel Library app on her phone and uses it all the time. He prefers the paperback copy. It's always a race between the two to see who can open up to the scripture faster :) The last few lessons that we've had in members' homes have been so good. We'll leave to go to our next appt or to get home on time and they've stayed talking with the members til like 10 or 10:30pm each time! Go fellowship! They're getting close. Sister Adorable and I know that they are one of the reasons that we're companions. We just connect with them real well :)

Life is good! I can't complain! I am so happy here. And I am so grateful every day for the people that the Lord has placed in my life. Sometimes I wonder why He loves me, but I never question that He does.

The church is true my friends!

~Sis Jacobs.

 I love the South in the fall! It's pretty. It's funny. This is pretty funny :)

The souvenir I got from biking on Tuesday :)

Oct. 6, 2014 - General Conference Comments

Quote of the week: "Sometimes we may be awkward..."

^^ Elder Bednar nailed it. But really though :P

Hey y'all! Can we just talk about General Conference for a minute?!

So good, right?! When Elder Bednar started speaking, I dunno if you thought, "Man. I wish our investigators were here!" But I know I wasn't! M. and A. were sitting right next to us and listening to every word. Those two are great :)

'Meet the Mormons' Movie is more of an informational thing than a proselyting opportunity, so we won't be going to see it in theaters after all! We got to watch it on Tuesday! So good. So very good. We laughed. We cried. I sure hope y'all are near a theater that is showing it! The Spirit is way strong. Especially in the last one. But I'm biased to the whole missionary thing... haha

My testimony is always strengthened when others try to tear it down. It doesn't happen a lot. But it does happen occasionally, and I'm grateful to stand up for what I have learned to be as truth.

Once again, conference was great. I got a lot of answers to questions I had, and a lot of answers to questions I didn't realize I had. Heavenly Father is cool like that :)

The church is true! And even when we're awkward, the Spirit still testifies, thank goodness! ;)

Love y'all!
~Sis Jacobs.

Sept. 29, 2014

Quote of the week: '1 Nephi 2:15 really stuck out to me . . . "

Aloha one and all! :)

Well. This week flew by.

M. and A. We missed them. A lot. Glad they're back in town :) They're doing really well! We've mapped out all the rest of the lessons they need to take and things and they're ready to do it! I just love them :) They're loving the Book of Mormon and have lots of questions. The quote of the week is actually from M. He was like, "that's such a random verse. Why did they put that in there?" And I was like, "Easy scripture mastery." Jokes. I didn't say that :) A. came to the General Women's Broadcast on Saturday! Was that not the best in the world? I think it was great! So A. is sandwiched between Sister Adorable and me and we kept leaning over to explain things at the same time, hah. It was funny :) It was a miracle! We asked her after it was over if she's receiving answers to her questions and she told us a cool story. The other day she was at work and a co-worker came up to her and told her that another co-worker commented on this new glow that A. has about her. "I didn't think anything of it until that talk about glowing. I've noticed the change inside of myself, but I didn't realize it's something that other people can see, too! Is that a sign?" Yes A., it is :) Miracle? yes. I believe so. :) The Spirit is real. Revelation is real. The Church is true, my friends! Surely it is :)

Our investigator C. is a rockstar! I don't even think we've talked about her. And by we I mean I. Hah. Go mission life. Anyway. She grew up in Arizona and she and her young family moved out here in May-ish. She was having a harder time finding friends than she thought, so her LDS friends in Arizona called up someone in the church and asked if we'd go by to let her know about the activities in the area. Well. That referral happened before I even got here. One of my previous companions, Sister Winegar, and I tried to meet her a million times. No luck. So then Sister Adorable got here and I was like, "heck, why not?" So we tried again and actually met her! She didn't really grow up with a religious background, but she knows that Christ is important and she wants to know how she can apply that in her life so her kids (4, 2 and 6 mos) can have that foundation. This last week she's been practicing prayer the way that we've taught her and she felt the spirit for the first time. She was lying in bed, half praying, half sleeping and she thought, "Are you really there? Do you really love me?" And an overwhelming warmth came over her whole body that she completely woke up and she said she almost felt silly for asking those questions, "Of course he loves me. Of course He's there." We had a really awesome conversation about listening to the Spirit. She's cool :)

I love it here. I look around this quiet library of people that I don't even know and I feel love. What on earth would ever give me such an opportunity to feel love? The calling of missionary. I am ever so grateful for it :)

Love y'all! Have a happy conference week! :) Prepare and I know you'll receive the instruction that you're seeking. 

~Sis Jacobs.