Sister Jacobson's Glimpses of Gilbert: July 2018

July 2, 2018

Hello everyone!!

Sister Jacobson

It has been an INCREDIBLE week!!! I swear, the Lord reserved His choicest blessings for us this week. His hand was 100% visible this entire week.

At the temple with J!

This week we had the opportunity to go to the temple and do baptisms with our recent convert, J. I have been looking forward to this day since the day J was baptized! He was STOKED to be able to go inside the temple. As soon as we walked through the doors he turned to me and was like "Sister Jacobson I can feel the Spirit so strongly right now." Since J is a Priest, he was able to baptize Sister Jensen and me!! There really aren't words to describe how special it was to have one of my own recent converts baptize me in behalf of the dead. Definitely one of the more tender memories of my mission! J has a fear of reading out loud in front of others, so he was really stressed about reading the baptismal prayer...but he did awesome! By the end of my names he was saying the prayer perfect and he was like "I'm getting the hang of this thing!" When we left he told me that he just felt good knowing that he'd helped people make their first promise with God. He's so good.

C's baptism!

We had some really bomb lessons with C this week! We had a lesson at the church where we went over her baptismal interview questions and then walked her through exactly what would happen at her baptism and at her confirmation on Sunday. Man, I'll tell ya, that woman is a TROOPER. She has been through a LOT, but if you give her a challenge she will definitely rise up to meet it. She passed her baptismal interview with flying colors and was baptized on Saturday! She didn't want anyone to come to her baptism, but we were able to find a couple of people in the ward that she already knew to come out and support her. There was such a sweet Spirit there. I know that her deceased son was smiling down on her; his death is what initially introduced her to the Church...there are no coincidences! Yesterday she was confirmed and she stayed inside the chapel for the entire sacrament meeting! Bishop even brought her up on the stand and the whole ward recognized her as a new member and she still stayed. I love her so much. Her life is still crazy, and she's still working through some pretty difficult trials, but I have a firm testimony that God will provide a way for her to make it through.

Polaroids from this last weekend

We also had a fantastic week with T! We had a lesson with him early on in the week all about prophets. T had expressed concern to us about whether or not there is a living prophet on the Earth today, so Sister Jensen and I took an entire lesson and talked with him about the pattern of God calling prophets since the beginning of time down until now! We used a lot of visual aids and by the end of the lesson he understood. He committed to read President Nelsons most recent conference talk and biography and pray to know if he was a prophet, and the next lesson he told us that he definitely has faith that God has called a prophet to the Earth today!

During that lesson with T a thought popped into my head that I am 100% positive was revelation from God. Each lesson T is always eager to share with us what he's read from the Book of Mormon that day. I realized that T had easily read half of the Book of Mormon...but he'd never shared anything with us from 3 Nephi 11, when Jesus Christ comes and ministers to the people in the Americas. I guess it just kinda hit me that T had read the vast majority of the BOM, but he hadn't even read the most important chapter yet. For our next lesson we decided to read 3 Nephi 11. The Spirit was powerful. This lesson was a game changer for T. He was on the verge of tears multiple times. The verses that changed it all for him were verses 33 and 34:

33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.

When T read those verses he immediately said, "I know this is true. I need to be baptized as soon as possible. I know that if I were to die today I wouldn't be saved because I haven't been baptized." It was crazy! It was seriously like a light switch went off in his mind!

So we left that lesson with T and called our mission president. We were basically like "Okay President here's the situation. We've been teaching this kid for about five weeks now. We meet with him on average 4-5 times a week, he's read more than half the BOM, he knows this church is true and he loves the gospel, he wants to be baptized...he just hasn’t come to church yet because he can't get work off...what do we do??" and kid you not, President Wheeler literally laughed and said, "Sisters if he knows it's true and he wants to be baptized...is God really going to deny him the blessing of baptism because his manager won't give him Sundays off? Baptize him." I never thought I'd heard those words come out of my mission president’s mouth haha, but the Spirit confirmed to our hearts that what he had said was true...that God wouldn't deny T the blessing of baptism and neither should we.

Our next lesson with T we met him at the temple and sat outside as we taught him about temples. He told us that as soon as he walked onto the grounds he felt the Spirit in greater abundance than he'd ever felt in his life. He LOVED everything about the temple and he is stoked to be able to go inside soon. At this lesson we dropped the bomb that he could get baptized on Sunday, even if he wasn't able to make it to church, and I can't remember the last time I saw someone so happy. T was floored. He kept saying "This feels right. This is the right timing. I know it's true." and he even said that regardless of what his family thought about him, he knew what he was feeling was true and sooner or later they'd come around.

T's baptism

So yesterday we had an awesome baptismal service for T. He showed up in his work uniform...and he works at Bush's chicken...so following his baptism he was confirmed in his Bush's chicken uniform haha it was kinda funny and we were so embarrassed, but T was okay with it so I suppose that's all that really matters! He'd only met a handful of people in the ward, but we invited tons of people and the ward pulled through. He had a huge group there supporting him. He felt so loved! When he came out of the water he was very emotional and right there in the font he turned to the audience and bore his testimony about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's already changed so much since we first met him and I know that the light that he has is only going to grow brighter. When he was confirmed, he was blessed that he would be a missionary to many people...and afterwards he started asking all of us about our missions. The future is definitely bright for T!

L's baptism!

This week we met with L and B one last time to make sure L was ready for her baptism on Saturday. She was so excited. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation and they both loved it. B especially opened up a ton and started asking Sister Jensen and me a ton of questions about ourselves. B was amazed when he heard that it actually snows in Idaho, and his mind was blown when I showed him a few pictures of Idaho winters. At the very end of the lesson he goes "I have two questions. 1. Adam was on earth before Eve right? 2. When do you think is a good day for me to be baptized?" Sister Jensen and I about died...we were not expecting that! We told him he could be baptized next weekend and he was SO excited. He had a blast on Saturday seeing his little sister get baptized, and he said it helped him feel more excited for his own baptism. His heart is slowly softening! Seriously the miracles will not cease.

When the pull on the drain breaks

Friends and family, at the start of this transfer Sister Jensen and I had just been dropped by our most promising investigator and we had virtually no one progressing fast enough to be baptized within the transfer. This weekend we had three baptisms, and there will be another next week. Things like this don't just happen. I haven't served my mission in South America, this isn't the norm haha. I've served my mission in Gilbert, Arizona, in small proselyting areas that are fairly affluent, densely populated with members, and where missionaries have already talked to everything under the face of the sun. Weekends like this are not a result of the merits of me and Sister Jensen. The success this weekend is 100% the Lord's. I am a witness that this is THE LORD'S WORK. Nothing in this work is possible without His guidance and direction. I know that the Lord provided a miracle for us this weekend.

Transfer 12 in the books!

Last night transfer calls came in and it's officially official...I'm being transferred home. I cannot believe that my mission is coming to an end. I've been very nostalgic this week as I've reflected on my mission and the things I've experienced and the miracles I've seen these last eighteen months. It seriously feels like just yesterday that I left for the MTC, wide eyed and terrified, but with a little bit of faith in my suitcase. I've watched the Lord take that little bit of faith and multiply it over and over again. I cannot begin to explain how much my faith has grown on my mission. Amidst all the miracles this week, there have also been a lot of tears shed, and a lot of goodbyes said. I am truly leaving a piece of myself behind here in Arizona. My life has forever changed as a result of serving these people here. I am not the same person I was when I left home--I know that I have changed as a result of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have learned so much about myself and about my Savior.

Every day on my mission I have seen God's love manifest in a new way. I know that His love is the most constant, unchanging, REAL thing in the whole word. He loves us, so He gave us the gospel of Jesus Christ to help us get through the difficult times in our life. I know that as we learn about the gospel and rely on our Savior we can change and grow and become the person God intended for us to become. I know that it is only through living the gospel that we are able to return and live with God someday with our families--eternally. I know that God continues to communicate to us today, both through the words of living prophets and Apostles and through personal revelation. He always answers our prayers. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that He saw God and Jesus Christ. I know that despite Joseph's imperfections, God was still able to use him as an instrument in His hands. I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that it contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That book has changed my life, and I know that it has the power to change the life of anyone who picks it up with an honest and sincere desire to draw closer to God.

Most of all, I know my Savior, Jesus Christ. I have never felt closer to Him than I have on my mission. I know that He has walked right beside me every day. I know that He knows us individually, by name. I know that His great Atoning sacrifice in the garden of Gethsemane changed each of our lives and opened the door to countless opportunities for each of us. I know that He lives and loves us. I testify that this is His church, the only true and living church upon the face of the Earth. He stands at the head of it and directs every aspect of it through our prophet today, President Nelson. Jesus Christ is truly our Savior and Redeemer, and I love Him so, so much.

Thank you all once again for all of the love and support as I've been serving my mission. I've felt every thought and prayer! I love you all!

Sister Jacobson