May 28, 2018
Hello hello!
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| Got our trunky packets :( |
Tuesday night Sister Rowley and I
had dinner with K and C, our newest investigators. They prepared a delicious
meal and it was way cool to see how the Lord guided our conversation at dinner.
Sister Rowley and I had prepared to teach the Plan of Salvation, and our whole
conversation over dinner was centered on the sufferings and hardships we face
in life, how we get through them, and what comes after this life. It was the
smoothest transition into teaching the Plan of Salvation. This lesson was
probably the closest to a perfect Plan of Salvation lesson I've ever taught on
my mission. It was so guided by the Spirit. I felt like everything I was saying
was being given to me. It was incredible to watch C and K's reactions. We
started teaching the pre-Earth life and initially it was a foreign concept to
them, but the longer we talked and the more Sister Rowley and I explained it,
the more they began to understand. Multiple times C said "it just makes
sense!" K commented that knowing that God knew us before our life here on
Earth means that God knows exactly what trials we can/cannot handle, and that
provided her with a lot of peace. After we taught about the Spirit World, K was
on the edge of her seat. She goes "What's next?!" haha, she was
completely enthralled. You could just see the wheels turning in their heads and
all the various bits and pieces they'd heard from other religions were clicking
together. It was a moment where I realized just how miraculous the restoration
of the gospel truly is; I think that growing up in the restored gospel it might
be easy sometimes to take the precious restored truths for granted, but being
able to teach people who have never had all the doctrines pieced together and
seeing the difference it makes for them really puts things into perspective.
Long story short, they loved it. We asked K what it would mean to her to know
that the things we've shared with her are true, and she got scared. She told us
that she knew she would need to give some things up. The look in her eyes said
it all...she knows that it's true, but her faith isn't sufficient enough yet to
make that leap of faith to baptism. We told her to continue reading and
continue praying and that she would get there one day. Man they are so golden.
Unfortunately they left town Saturday morning and will be gone until July 7th.
I'm so bummed! But they asked me to make sure my new companion stops by after July
7th so they can keep learning. And they reassured us that they would be taking
the Book of Mormon with them on their trip...good news!
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| Sister Jensen and me |
We had the STL meeting this week!
Five of us STLs are going home this transfer, so five of us gave trainings at
the STL meeting. It was a great meeting! It was awesome to get to learn from
some of the best missionaries I know and to hear some of their experiences and
things they've learned.
Sister Jensen and I were in the
apartments one night trying to contact people and we rounded a corner to see a
guy sitting at a picnic table. I made eye contact with him and he was
just...dark. You know those people who you can just tell have been through hell
and back? He was one of those. I was initially really scared to go and talk to
him, but the Spirit was so calming and reassuring. We started talking with him
and within the first 2 minutes of the conversation he asked why we were wearing
badges. We explained they were name tags and we were missionaries. He perked up
and said "So you're believers?? So am I." We started having a great
gospel conversation with him, and he told us a little bit about himself and how
he came to believe in God and Jesus Christ. Eventually he told us that he's
looking for a church. We invited him to come and check out our church, and gave
him a copy of the Book of Mormon. We got his number and a return
appointment for this week! While I was writing down his number, Sister Jensen
asked him about his tattoo on his arm. He kind of chuckled and goes, "Are
you ready for that one?? That...is the molecular makeup of LSD." and then
he went on to explain how he's made some really bad choices in his life, but
those choices have all led him to God in some way shape or form. It made me
think of Alma 24:27, "the Lord
worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people." This guy has had
a rough life, but through his experiences he's been able to find God. I don't
know why some of us pass through seemingly harder things than others, but I do
know that God has a higher purpose in mind with the trials He gives us. God
might place us all on different paths, but ultimately His end goal for all of us
is the same--He wants us to return home to Him!
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| Missed a patch with sunscreen |
1. Saturday morning we had breakfast
with our stake president, President Derrick. He is a great example to me of
Christ-like love. He shared some spiritual experiences with us missionaries
serving in the stake, and we shared some miracles with him. It was a great
time!
2. The Lord gave me an opportunity
to see how much I've grown. Saturday morning we had a conversation with a guy
for probably about 45 minutes. Initially the conversation was an awesome gospel
discussion, but towards the end he started anti-ing us. It became very clear he
did not agree with the church, and more specifically he was attacking the Book
of Mormon. I've been antied a lot on my mission, but it's been probably
about three months since I was last antied. I was surprised to find myself very
calm. I was sitting there talking to this guy, who was trying to be very
hostile, but I was so calm. I was comparing it to the first time I met someone
disagreeable on my mission and how unsure I felt about everything, and I
realized the reason why I felt so calm was because I KNOW that the things I'm
teaching people about are true...and nothing this guy would say could ever hold
a candle to the things I've already come to know. I know the Book of Mormon
is true and that Christ's church has been restored, simple as that!
3. We dropped by a former
investigator and she committed to come to church! She'd never been before so
she said she was willing to check it out...and then she ended up showing up yesterday!
Miracles!
4. At the end of the day we decided
to stop by a family that Bishop asked us to visit a while ago. I've knocked
their door so many times and they've never answered...but Saturday night they
answered, let us in, we had a great spirit-filled conversation, and they ended
up committing to befriend one of our investigators! It was awesome! It was a
great way to end the long hot day that we'd had.
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| 100% diva with my mask |
I love you all! Have a great week
and happy Memorial Day!
Sister Jacobson
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| YSA FHE |
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| Temple View YSA for life! |
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