Week 6: I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ

March 6, 2017

Hola hola!

My New Pet

It's been another great week out here in the San Tan Valley. This week Sister Sorenson's grandma sent her a letter with our address as "Sun Tan Valley" and we laughed for days about it because it's so true. The tan lines are gnarly. And it's still winter here. This week temperatures were hitting in the 90s though...so I'm not sure if this really qualifies as "winter."

Last Monday we had Family Home Evening with the Mitchells! It was phenomenal. Brother Mitchell has such a unique testimony of Joseph Smith because he played the role of the prophet. The Spirit in the room was amazing and I learned so much from him. One thing that he told us is that Joseph Smith wouldn't have been half of the man he was without his interpersonal relationships, like his relationship with Hyrum or Emma or his parents. It really got me thinking that I am who I am today because of the people I have been blessed to associate with. He also told us that yeah, he played Joseph Smith in the film...but he's more concerned about the name that he took upon himself when he was baptized--Jesus Christ. He encouraged us all to remember that each of us has taken Christ's name upon ourselves, and encouraged us to ponder what that means to us and what that means for our lives.

Service Activity
w/ Hermana Anderson

This week was a little slow. We went on exchanges three times. Exchanges are awesome because you get to get out of your area and spend time with a new person and learn from someone else...but they are so DRAINING. And they can be a little frustrating because it kind of kills the momentum that you have with your companion. I feel like every time Sister Sorenson and I are together we see miracles but when one of us leaves the area the work just halts and suddenly no one is home and we spend all day knocking doors, ha-ha. I went on exchanges with Sister Anderson twice this week and then with Sister Cedeño, who is my STL. Sister Cedeño is from Venezuela...she is an INCREDIBLE missionary. She's also the only sister from Venezuela serving outside of her country right now. She goes home next transfer. Every time I'm with her I learn so much and we laugh a lot, because she's hilarious.

Sisters Cedeno, Sorenson,
Anderson, and Me

When I was on exchanges with Sister Cedeño we taught M one of the new member lessons. M had to cancel her lesson last week so it had been a while since we'd seen her. Also, she decided to bring her husband, K and her son, A. K just had his records removed from the church and is very...aggressive. It's a hard situation and when I found out that K was coming I was nervous because Sister Cedeño speaks great English but with K you have to be quick on your feet because he will take anything you say and twist it and make it sound horrible. I was really worried that he would overpower the lesson and we would lose control. When we started teaching I was getting annoyed with K because he kept interjecting unhelpful things into the lesson and I just wanted to be like...this isn't about you right now. This is about your wife, M. We were teaching the plan of Salvation and I said something like "if we live a good life, then we will be rewarded" and he just jumped all over that and started talking about all the things he's seen in his life (he's in the military...been deployed three times...he's seen a lot)...and how he thinks it's total BS that we will be rewarded for living a good life because so many people are terrible. In that moment, the Spirit hit me so strongly and I realized that these lessons are just as much for M as they are for K. I felt so much of God's love for K and I knew, KNEW without a doubt that Jesus Christ completed the Atonement so K wouldn't have to carry the burden of the pains of his life. I interrupted K and started bearing testimony to him of the power of the Atonement. I promised him, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that Christ suffered and died for him so that he wouldn't need to endure his trials alone. I promised him that if he reached out to God and Jesus Christ then they would be waiting for him with open arms. He told me that it didn't feel like that. I told him about my junior year, when Cam died and dad was diagnosed with cancer. I told him that I hadn't been to war, that I hadn't seen half of the things that he's seen...but I told him that I have felt utterly and completely alone, and that I've felt like God turned his back on me...and then I told him that it is in those times, when it is hardest to pray that we need to pray the hardest. The spirit was thick in the room and it was really emotional. If you know me then you know that any time I talk about the gospel and feel the spirit, really feel the spirit, I get really emotional and cry. Ha-ha, anyone who was at my farewell should know that. It's been weird because ever since I was set apart as a missionary I have been so stoic. I've felt the spirit more than I ever have before but I've been a rock and haven't cried at all...until this night.  K got all quiet and it was clear that something had touched him. It was an amazing moment and definitely something I'll never forget. 

Check Out My
Super Cute Bike Helmet

So Sister Cedeño and I also had dinner with a family who is literally Jaime's family. It was weird. I walked in and I was like....am I actually in Farmington? Ha-ha, anyways, we were leaving dinner and we were on our bikes when this dog comes OUT OF NOWHERE. He starts barking and yapping and biting at my skirt. I start screaming and pedaling faster and then I got smart and put my feet up on the seat. The dog then went after Sister Cedeño and she was screaming. It was so funny but then the dog ran away and we were fine. It was terrifying for like a good....45 seconds of our lives. But we're all okay and now I can say I was chased by a dog ha-ha!

Gilbert AZ Temple

This week we also got to go to the temple!! Wednesday morning we had the 7 AM session and the temple is about 30 minutes away. Ha-ha the alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. and I wanted to die, ha-ha it was sooo early. But the Gilbert temple was beautiful. After our session my zone stayed in the celestial room for about an hour. It was so peaceful and so needed. I love the temple. I love the peace and clarity it brings into my life and I love the promises we make with God within its walls. I can't imagine my life without the temple, and I don't want to imagine a life without the temple! 

Also this week I realized how childish it is when people slam doors in our faces or just walk away as we're talking to them. Before this point it just hurt my feelings...but I had a moment this week where I was like...we are nineteen year old girls. What are we going to do to you?! What are you afraid of?? What propels you to be so rude to us? If we weren't missionaries they would talk to us just normally. I realized that they don't like us because we are bold. We go out and we talk to people two, three, times our age--something that would scare just about anyone. We declare loudly and boldly that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that He lives and that His gospel has been restored to the Earth today through the prophet Joseph Smith. We call people to repentance and teach that God loves them no matter where they've been or what they've done. We bear powerful witness that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and that it is the word of God. We are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ and we are so secure in our knowledge that it makes people uncomfortable, but just because they're uncomfortable doesn't mean we have to be uncomfortable. We have an amazing gift to share...so why don't we share it more, no matter the consequences?

That's my food for thought this week! 

I love you!

Sister Jacobson

Spanish Crash Course

Stickers from Some New Friends