Sister Jacobson's Glimpses of Gilbert: Week 68: The Power of Godliness (The K’s Got Baptized!!!!)

May 16, 2018

Hola hola!

Yes, I'm an AGM missionary!

Happy Wednesday! Obviously today is not Monday! We had the opportunity to go to the temple with our zone this morning, which was amazing. We have been looking forward to our temple trip all transfer. We had to wait until week six for it but the wait was worth it! I love the peace that the temple provides!

Okay so, SO much has happened since I last emailed...this has been one of the greatest weeks of my mission! We have hardly had a spare minute to breathe, but what else is new?

Exchanges with Sister Jensen!

Last week I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with two sisters. The first exchange was with Sister Jensen--who has been on her mission for ten months! I've been her STL her whole mission and I absolutely love her. I love when you can see how much someone has grown, and I learn so much from her every time I'm with her. We had an awesome day spent teaching some investigators, finding some new potentials, and setting up some return appointments! Miracle of that day: We taught the Word of Wisdom to V via Skype and V was SO excited to live the WOW!! She told us that a few months ago she realized that she felt gross and dependent upon coffee and tea so she quit...and then she said that she sees now that that was the Lord preparing her to be baptized months down the road!

Exchanges with Sister Coley!

The second exchange was with Sister Coley--a sister who has been on her mission for about a year. I've been her STL for a few months now, but somehow we've never gone on exchanges together! It was really fun to get to finally spend a day with her. We were in her area, a bit further South than my area, and we did a ton of finding! We were able to contact a part-member family with over-age youth in their area and set up a return appointment, which was way awesome. Miracle of that day: Our dinner gave us a referral for one of their friends who actually lives up in my area. It turns out that the address is actually in the Elder's area, so I sent the referral over to the Elders. They were able to contact the family, get in, build a good relationship, and are going back tonight for dinner and to teach them more. Blessings! It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord places us right where He needs us to be in order to help His children.

This week we had the coolest thing happen to us! We had an appointment set up with two of our investigators on Friday, and when we showed up, one of their kids was like "Oh, they're already asleep...come back a different day." Okay let's make this clear...it wasn't even a little bit late. It was MAYBE 6:30 p.m. Sister Rowley and I got back out to our car and got inside and were a little bit frustrated. We were trying to decide where to go next, when Sister Rowley was like "Let's go knock on K's door." We talked to K on the street back in March and have been trying to get back in with her ever since without any luck. So we go and knock on her door. K answers and is like "Oh my gosh! It's hot out there, come on in!" (Thank you Arizona heat!!)

The comps

We asked her if she had a few minutes to sit down and read with us, and she was super excited! We promised that we would only be about ten minutes, and both Sister Rowley and I were planning to give her a little bit more background on the Book of Mormon and to read the Introduction. Straight out of the gate K goes, "How do you know that the Book of Mormon is a sacred, religious text that we should follow?" Haha so we started talking about prayer, and how the Holy Ghost works/speaks to us. K was literally hanging on our every word. We start reading the Introduction to the Book of Mormon, and about a paragraph or two in she goes, "Well, we know that Christ appeared to the people in Jerusalem...but what about people in other parts of the world?? Aren't they important to Christ?" And Sister Rowley and I were like yes!! Absolutely!! We kept reading, and seriously like three sentences later it described Christ's mortal ministry in the Americas. K was fascinated. She said that it just makes sense! And then...we get to the part where it's talking about Joseph Smith in 1823 and she goes, "Well...this is in 1823, but what happened before 1823??" Haha so at this point, Sister Rowley and I were like "Okay, let us teach you about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." She loved it! She told us that she had always wondered why there were so many different churches. And she told us that she had always been curious about the Book of Mormon and how it came to be. As she was reading the last two paragraphs of the introduction she told us that she was absolutely, 100% going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Then, her husband, who had been doing some work at the kitchen table, spoke up and said, "And just so you know...I've been listening in, and there's nothing I've heard that I don't agree with. I will also read and pray about the Book of Mormon." So cool!!! They are so prepared, and are honest seekers of truth. The only downside is that they are going to Minnesota in two weeks for the entire month of June, but they told us that they want a solid foundation before they leave! It was just cool because there Sister Rowley and I were, super salty because our appointment fell through; when in reality the Lord was preparing the way for us to pick up two new investigators that night!

Last week we also realized that J’s baptism date was rapidly approaching and we still had to teach him all of the lessons except for the restoration and plan of salvation. We were pretty sure we would have to push his date back, which we were bummed about. We called J to talk with him about it and he says, "Sisters. I'm ready. I am prepared to meet with you every day next week if that's what it takes for me to be baptized next weekend." Haha I've never had that happen before! So last Friday we taught him the first half of the Doctrine of Christ and the Word of Wisdom. It was a bomb lesson! J had had a really cool dream right after he prayed about if he should be baptized or not, and to him it was a sign that he needed to trust the Lord and be baptized as soon as possible. And he was stoked to live the word of wisdom! He told us he was a little bummed to have to give up sweet tea, but he also said that it would be a small sacrifice to make. We met with him yesterday and he's doing great--hasn't even felt the temptation to have tea since he committed to live the word of wisdom.

At our lesson last night we finished the Doctrine of Christ and taught the Ten Commandments. J was really tired from work, but he kept saying how excited he was to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost! We brought our ward mission leader with us and he was floored at how well J understands everything. Afterwards he texted us and told us that J is totally prepared and ready for baptism. After last night we feel confident that he is ready for baptism this weekend. As of right now he should be getting baptized on Sunday! Please keep him in your prayers; we still have a couple of lessons to teach him.

And finally...potentially the best day of my mission, and perhaps the best day of my life. On Saturday I had the opportunity to go back to Desert Ridge and see three of my favorite people get baptized! It felt like coming home! It was so good to be back in Desert Ridge and to see so many people I love and care about. I miss that area so much!

P got baptized!

Back in August, a family of seven was baptized. Their youngest daughter, P, was seven years old and was unable to be baptized with the rest of the family. However, she was arguably the most excited out of all of them to be baptized. When our district leader interviewed the family, P was the first one to volunteer to be interviewed. We didn't realize that she was being interviewed until she was finished--passing with flying colors, might I add! Haha P was so sad she wasn't able to be baptized with her family, but she turned eight this month so she was able to be baptized on Saturday. She was soooo excited. She gave me a huge hug when she saw me and her eyes were just glowing. It was extra special as well because her dad was able to baptize her. That was the first time that her dad has used the Priesthood to perform an ordinance, and he was super nervous, but the Spirit that entered the room was pure. I love that family, and I know that God does as well. I am so excited for their sealing in the temple in August.

K's w/all the Sisters who taught them

The K's!

Then, a few hours later, MK and LK were baptized!!!!!! I taught the K family the entire time I was in Desert Ridge...which was about eight months. That's a long time to spend in an area, and an even longer amount of time to spend teaching one family. It was a really special day to be able to see them be baptized. I have never seen the Spirit work in the lives of a family more than He worked in the lives of the K’s. Their story is long, intricate, and has many moving parts--I don't have the time to put it all in this email. I know I've told it in previous emails so if you want to find it you might have to go looking haha, but the main overarching theme is this: God is aware of each and every one of us in our lives, and LOVES us more than we can comprehend. Multiple times while teaching the K’s I had the opportunity to feel of the overwhelming love that the Lord has for them. He never once left them alone as they were working through their various challenges and concerns; instead, He was right there beside them, leading them and guiding them to the truth. Honestly, the K’s baptism had nothing to do with anything that us missionaries, or ward leaders said or did--but it does have everything to do with what the Spirit whispered to their hearts. I remember on multiple occasions receiving texts from MK or CK along the lines of "Hey, I read this part of the Book of Mormon, I liked it because of this" and then elaborating on what they learned. Or I remember another time, when MK saw my companion and me biking and stopped his car to tell us that he'd read 3 Nephi and knew he needed to be baptized. Or another time, when MK watched General Conference and bore powerful witness to us that the prophets and apostles were truly men called of God. Or another time, when the family was sick and couldn't come to church, when they decided to stay at home and read Jesus, the Christ. Or another time, when after years of fasting and praying, CK got up and bore her testimony of the reality of a living prophet on the Earth. I could go on and on and on. The miracle of Saturday was that their baptism was truly the result of a lot of little tiny miracles over the course of many, many, MANY months of studying the scriptures, offering heartfelt prayers, attending church with an open mind, applying the good of the gospel, and genuinely trying to live a good life in line with the Savior and His teachings. I have a testimony that conversion doesn't happen all at once, but occurs over a long period of time with constant, consistent effort. The Spirit at their baptism was so powerful and so...lasting. When CK saw MK in white she burst into tears, and as the K’s ministering-teacher (formerly known as home teacher) baptized both MK and LK he began to cry as well. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure if there was a dry eye in the room. Bishop hit the nail on the head in his closing remarks. He said that the reason why the Spirit was so powerful was because of D&C 84:20: "In the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest." As we make promises with God, we draw closer to Him. We learn more about Him, which in turn, teaches us more about ourselves. I testify that the Spirit felt at the K’s baptism was of God. It was truly a celestial day. I love this gospel. I love this church. I know it is Christ's Church restored to the Earth today. I know that Jesus Christ is the only way to find true, everlasting happiness.

I love you all! Have a great week

Sister Jacobson