December 11, 2017
Helllllooo!
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| Transfer 7 comps |
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| Transfer 7 in the books! |
Hope everyone's had a great week! With transfers, MLC, and
Mesa Lights this week we had a crazy busy week...and this transfer's lined up
to be super busy as well so it's going to fly by. To start off, transfer news!
My new companion is...SISTER SMALL!! She's from a small town in Washington
called Royal City and she's been on her mission for just shy of eleven months.
We were in the MTC together and we are super excited to be companions! Our MTC
companions are also companions so we're just having a blast re-living the MTC
haha. She's a great missionary and we know it's inspired that we're companions
together in this area right now. Sister Small was actually in this area for six
weeks at the very beginning of her mission before the areas in Desert Ridge
were realigned. That means that she knows two of our four wards really well!
It's been super nice because we've been able to jump in to this transfer with
both feet, since she already knows fifty percent of our area! Also, Sister
Small is allergic to corn, dairy, and cane sugar AKA everything I
like/everything missionaries are ever fed so this week has been amazing. I
never knew that the people in the Arizona Gilbert Mission were capable of
making salads!!! It has been very impressive and a much needed change in diet
for me and Sister Utsch. After months of casseroles and enchiladas we are very
excited to eat fresh leafy greens every night! Thus far the trio life is good.
We feel like a mob cruising through the streets of our area, and we think that
people are a little intimidated when three of us ride into their driveway and
start talking to them...but overall it's been fun. Sister Utsch goes home a
week from tomorrow and I'm really going to miss being her companion.
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| Best tri-panionship |
Last Monday L received a priesthood blessing! The past few
weeks as Sister Utsch and I have been pondering ways to help L, we've thought
multiple times about asking her if she wanted a blessing. The last time we met
with her we finally asked if she wanted a blessing and she said yes! The
blessing was amazing. The Spirit was so strong, and the YSA bro who offered the
blessing was so in tune with what she needed. It was amazing sitting there,
knowing everything that she's gone through as she's been investigating the
gospel, and knowing where she was at, and hearing a Priesthood holder who knew
some, but not a lot, of her story say exactly what she needed at that time. The
Priesthood is real. Over and over in the blessing he just emphasized trusting
in the Lord--trusting His timing, His will, His servants, His gospel, and the
answers she's already received. It was so simple, but at the same time so
profound. I know she was definitely touched. We have a lesson with her tonight
and we are excited to hear her thoughts on the blessing!
We also had a lesson with Le this week. I've taught her
three times since being in Desert Ridge and up until this week she's honestly
been one of the flakiest investigators I've ever met haha. This week we were
thrilled because we showed up to this lesson and she had actually kept the
commitment to read the Book of Mormon! She was on 1 Nephi 17. She told us that
she keeps feeling a "pull" from the book, something that is telling
her to read it. We had a great lesson on the Book of Mormon, and we were able
to help her see that this "pull" that she's feeling is the Holy Ghost
telling her to keep reading. Also as we kept talking she realized that she's
gained a small testimony of the Book of Mormon. She was so excited to keep
reading it! We're hoping to have another lesson this week.
This week we had a couple of lessons with the K family. On Thursday
they had us over for dinner and we had a Christmas lesson. We talked about the
attributes of Jesus Christ and how we can try and be like Him. We talked about
how we will never be perfect like Him, but how even our littlest effort is good
enough for the Lord, and He blesses us for our efforts. We also talked about
how Jesus Christ set the example for us. The Spirit was really strong. At the
end of the lesson we asked LK if he wanted to be baptized and he said, "SO
BAD!!!!" Haha I wish all investigators would respond that way! CK said,
"Well, I would love to see him be baptized with his father..." and
then MK said, "Yeah I'll be baptized...I've been feeling like I need to be
for a while now." CK started crying and was sooo happy. We put LK on date
tentatively for December 23!! That is very soon, but he's ready. He knows
everything he needs to and he loves coming to church.
We are unsure about when MK will be able to be baptized....I can't remember
what I have and have not shared about the K family so I guess just a brief back-story:
MK was raised in the church but never really had a testimony. When MK and CK
were married MK was Less-Active and CK wasn't a member. About six years ago
they reactivated and CK was baptized. They were like a powerhouse couple in the
ward, but they had a few really big concerns that were unresolved. One of these
was whether or not the prophets and the apostles were really called of God. CK
fasted and prayed for two years to receive a testimony of the prophet, and felt
like she received an answer that he was not a prophet. She was really upset by
this, but she and MK felt a strong desire to go to the temple and be sealed so
they kept working towards that. Around two years ago they were still struggling
with various things, the word of wisdom being the biggest thing, and the bishop
told them that they could not have a temple recommend as long as they continued
abusing various substances. This was the breaking point for MK, and since they
were already struggling with the line of authority, MK removed his records from
the church. They stopped coming to church and for a really long time MK was
super anti. It's crazy because you talk to the missionaries who served in this
area just a year ago and they will tell you that the meanest person to them was
MK. But around a year ago, MK started seeking direction in his life. He started
praying. He had a couple of really cool dreams, where a man gave him a Book
of Mormon and told him to read it. Initially, he refused to read it, but
one day...about eight months ago...as he was driving along the side of the
road, he saw a sister missionary wipe out on her bike really bad. He says that
he thought about that sister missionary nonstop for multiple days. He was so
worried that she was hurt, and he says that he realized that the reason why he
was so worried is because he knew that she was a set-apart representative of
the Lord, Jesus Christ. Get this...that missionary...the one who crashed her
bike...was Sister Small! As a result of her crashing her bike, MK gained a
testimony that the missionaries are servants of the Lord. This opened the door
for the next set of missionaries to get into the K home and start teaching
them. During one of our lessons with them, their home teacher left a commitment
that has literally changed their lives. He said, "Take the good of the
gospel, and run with it. The rest will straighten itself out." Ever since,
they have come to church every Sunday. It's been over four months. They read
the scriptures, they pray together, and for the first time in his life, MK has
a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants to be re-baptized!!
MK met with the bishop yesterday to begin the process of re-baptism. From what
we understand, it should be a pretty painless process considering the
circumstances in which he removed his records...but obviously we don't know the
specifics because that's not entirely in our stewardship. We went by last night,
and they brought up the same old concerns. CK is really frustrated about the
line of authority...she's angry that MK has to meet with the bishop...she's
upset about the organization of the church...etc. It was a really intense
lesson. However, the difference between these concerns two years ago and these
concerns today is that now they have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They've felt the Spirit in settings that matter, and as a result their hearts
are softened. MK is going to continue to meet with the bishop, and we are
hopeful that he will continue to be humble. We are also hopeful that CK will
soften her heart. Nowhere do I feel the mantle of a missionary more than in the
K home. I testify that the mantle is real. I know that missionaries are called
of God. The authority that we have is real. I promise you, we are sure as heck
not trained on how to deal with situations like this. I am not equipped to help
them resolve these concerns. Half the time the only thing I know how to do is
bear testimony! But as we are sitting in their home and they are asking
rapid-fire questions...I feel the Spirit come over me and I am able to be a
conduit for Him. I am able to get out of the Lord's way and let Him do His
work, through me. I have a testimony of this work. I know that it is the
Lord's. No one knows His children better than Him. Countless times on my
mission I've been sitting in lessons and scriptures I didn't even know I knew
come into my mind and it's exactly what the person needs. I've felt of His love
for His children so deep and so poignant, and I have such a deep-rooted
testimony of the reality of His love. Last night as the K family were freaking
out, we had the opportunity to tell them that Sister Small was the missionary
who crashed her bike in front of MK. They both started crying. MK said,
"Thank you for being a catalyst in the road of my conversion." and we
were able to testify of the evidence of God's love. The Lord knew that this
point was going to be critical for the K’s. He knew that they would need
something to help them to trust Him...why else would Sister Small come back to
an area that she's already served in?? It's for them. It's the coolest thing.
Please keep them in your prayers. They are so close.
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| Nativity at the Mesa Temple |
This week we also had MLC. Of all the MLCs I've attended I
think this one was my favorite. We read a talk by Lynn G. Robbins given at a
BYU devotional in August called "Be 100 Percent Responsible."
Probably one of the best non-apostle talks I've ever read. In the talk, Elder
Robbins talks about "doctrinal pairs" that the adversary tries to
divide in our lives....things like mercy and justice, faith and works, and
agency and responsibility. For the purposes of MLC we talked a ton about agency
and responsibility, and how the two need to go hand in hand. It was all about
accountability, which is something that I've been thinking a lot about! It was
a life-changing meeting and I would strongly invite everyone to read that
devotional and ponder how Satan is dividing doctrinal pairs in your life!
I love you all! Have a great week!
Sister Jacobson
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