Bwaynos deeaz, fuhmeeleeuh!

 

That was Idahoan Spanish, for those who need translation.

Well, the sleepy train pulled into the station this week.  Unfortunately, I was sitting on the tracks and it pancaked me.  However, despite the brick wall of tired that hit both Sister Barnett and I this week, we were able to work as hard as ever!  And holy cow, we've seen miracles this week!

We thought this was going to be an incredibly slow week, given the exodus of BYU students for 7 weeks (and with them half our area).  So moved into another apartment complex that the other Sisters cover, so we're not teaching her anymore.  And at first it kind of was slow, but dang.  SO much happened!  

We decided that we needed to get to know the members in the South Stake a lot better, especially because we actually have time to do so now!  We decided to look at the ward directory and "tract" out the members on this one street in this one ward to get to know them, share a message, ask for referrals, etc.  We found so many less-active people, even people who aren't members!  We ended up teaching 38 lessons this week!  We also found an awesome new investigator!

Her name is Kari, and she comes from a part-member family, where the mom is the only member.  Though no one goes to church, she goes with her friend's family every week and has a solid testimony of this church!  She even gave a talk in sacrament meeting this past sunday!  She's incredible.  It's just a matter of seeing how comfortable her family is with her learning more and joining the church.  But we know that as we keep sharing spiritual thoughts and lessons and such, the family will feel the Spirit of the doctrines and hearts will soften.  The Spirit is the author of all good change.

We also started visiting this family with girl who wasn't baptized.  We're taking it slow and getting to know them more.  They're pig farmers!  Super cool.  Turns out, pigs never stop growing until the day they die.  And you can tell--some of their pigs stood up to our rib cages!  You can't really tell from the picture.  But they're monsters!!  I love Idaho!

This church is SO true!  It just isn't not.  It just IS!  I've learned for myself through prayer and listening to the Holy Ghost.  And I keep asking, and I keep getting the same answer: it's true, it's true, it's true!  We've been so blessed and cared for by our loving Heavenly Father, and I'm so happy for this opportunity to serve Him with all my time, efforts, and everything I have!  John 3:16-17.

 

I love you all SO much!

Katie and  her companion, Sis. Barnett

-Sister Jacobson


 Sister Exchanges

Baptisms!

Hellooooo, family & friends!!

Pretty dang incredible week.

So friday night, all our plans fell through, backups and backup backups and all.  So we're on BYU-I campus, 15 minutes away from our family stake, wondering who we could see at 8:30 at night in town.  After a lot of head-scratching, Sister Barnett suggested we call up a student (who happens to be both our trainers' trainer) and ask to teach her a lesson.  She had pity on us and invited us over.  

She had two friends over, and they were both returned missionaries as well, so it was a spiritual lesson in general on overcoming trials through using the Atonement of Christ.  After the lesson, one of her friends said that she felt that Heavenly Father was blessing her through us, that she was going through a really hard time and really needed to hear that message!  It demonstrated to me just how aware Heavenly Father is of all His children.  He guided us to who really needed help at the time and guided us in what to say during the lesson, since it was all impromptu.  He loves us all so much.

Then saturday.  Oh my gosh!!   

Wele's baptism was beautiful!  So many people came to support her!  The opening song was "I Am a Child of God," and Wele started crying as we sang.  The Spirit hit us all just like a sack of bricks!  It truly bore testimony to me that yes, we are all children of God, and He has sent us here.  It was so amazing to see a dear sister of mine take that step into the waters of baptism.  We saw her last night and she said she just felt so relaxed, so good.  The gift of the Holy Ghost is so wonderful.

Katherine's baptism was just as beautiful!  Again, lots of people showed their love and support for her there.  She looked absolutely beautiful, before and after, and she's such an amazing example to me!  They both are!  I feel like in "teaching," them, I didn't do a dang thing!  They taught me so much more than I could ever teach anyone.  I'm so grateful we were so blessed to get to know these two wonderful young women and their friends!

Things are changing here!  BYU-I's letting out for 7 weeks.  Luckily, Wele and So are staying, but everyone else is splitsville.  But we have a lot of great things going for us in our family stake!  

I'm about out of time, but Brad Wilcox's "His Grace is Sufficient" has cropped up several times this week in lessons, thoughts, studies, etc.  Give it a read (or another read).  It's amazing.

I love you all so much!

Oh, and the first picture is with Shalese Cordon.  Who knew?!

Love,

Sister Jacobson

Happy Heart

Hey, family!!

 

So fun to hear about your mega trek to Utah and California!  Loved the pictures and seeing you all together!  Does my heart some good.

It also does my heart some trauma when some guy I've never met comes up to me and calls me "Squirt."  Thanks, Danny. :p (Katie's oldest brother Danny  has always called her Squirt. His friend called him the other day while on the BYU-Idaho campus and said "I'm about 50 feet away from your missionary sister, want me to tell her anything?" Danny told him to yell hey Squirt to her and see what she does. He did, Katie looked at him in panic mode and asked if she knew him. He told her he was Danny's friend and he was currently talking to her brother on the phone. Katie let out a squeal and went back to work!)

Crazy things happened this week!  There's just so much good happening!!

We found a new investigator!  His name is Tyler, and his situation is pretty interesting...  He remembers being baptized when he was 8 (and his family never went back to church, so he was less-active his whole life, basically), and he and his girlfriend recently moved into our stake, but they can't find his baptismal records anywhere.  So they want us to baptized (rebaptize?) him!  He doesn't really know a whole lot about the church since he didn't go all that much growing up, and he and his fiance (who are getting married this week!  woo!) both have some Word of Wisdom problems, but they both want to get to the temple.  We're going to help them every step of the way!

We also are going to start teaching this family!  The mom and three kids are not members, but want to join the church!  They're super busy with rodeo things now, but we're hoping to stop by regularly!

This guy named John called us Saturday morning and wanted to know more about the Church.  He's been a performer all his life and has just roamed around with his pack and his music everywhere he goes.  He's investigated all sorts of religions, and someone pointed him to Mormonism, so he made his way to the Idaho Falls Temple Visitors' Center who pointed him to us.  We taught him on a bench outside the Rexburg temple about the Book of Mormon, gave him one, and answered some of his questions, and he's super prepared!  This Gospel is exactly what he's been searching for his whole life!  However, he said he's probably going to move on to somewhere else, so that was probably the only time we could teach him.  But we know the Lord will continue to lead him where he needs to go to continue hearing the truth!

Skyler got baptized!!!!  Wooooooo!!!!  A ton of his family was there, and it was a wonderful service!  He's such a sweetheart!  Love that kid.

We found out the Kamryn (I think it's been a while since I've mentioned her--she's the 12 year-old girl with less-active parents that we've been helping.  They've been coming to church as much as they've been able to lately!) will be baptized possibly this coming Saturday, but most likely the one after!  Aaaahhh!!  They're just wondering when her other sister is coming to visit, and they'll do it then!

Welecele is preparing for baptism for this saturday!!  AAAAHHHHHH!!!

And now we come to Sunday.  Every lesson but one fell through.  So after our plans and our schedule is kind of in shambles, I said to Sister Barnett, "Either there's a lesson we need to learn or there's somewhere we really need to be right now."  She responded, "Or something really great is about to happen."

Last night we got a really interesting call.  

Katherine left a voicemail during the day that there was something she wanted to talk to us about.  I don't think I've mentioned her for a few weeks either; she lives in California and her family doesn't really approve of her investigating the Church.  Throughout our lessons, the last of which was in a coat closet because there were no spare rooms (no big deal), she has strengthened her resolve so much as to what she wants to do: be baptized.  Seriously, she did all the work.  The Spirit confirmed to her what was true.  The past few times we've met with her, she's told us she's been going to the temple grounds to read scriptures regularly (oh my gosh!!) and that she wants to be baptized, it's only a matter of time.  She's amazing.  She's so strong!  But yeah, the call.

After spamming her phone all day with texts and calls to try to reach her, she called us back last night after we got home to tell us that she's been thinking..... and she wants to be baptized before she goes home. 

 

Cue silent screaming and dance party.  She's getting baptized this saturday.  

We've been so blessed lately, I feel like I don't deserve half of it!  But even though I'm imperfect, I know that as long as I'm following the Gospel of Jesus Christ the best I possibly can--exercising faith, repenting, keeping my baptismal commitments, following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and keeping the commandments-- I'm good enough.  Compared to God, we are nothing, but TO God, we are everything.  Just as long as we're striving to improve ourselves and make ourselves more like Christ each day, or, in essence, repenting every day, that's all He asks us.  Our best.  Nothing less, but nothing more.  He will always love us for who we are, but He will always push us to be better also.  And I want to be better.  

I love you all so much!  Read!  Pray!  Go to Church!  It makes your life, here and hereafter, better.

Love, Sister Jacobson

Pics: 

1. More exchanges!

2. Skyler's baptism!

3. As per President Clarks request, me in a field.  It's not potatoes, but it's agriculture.

Week of Miracles

Hey, family and friends!  I love you!

Miracles!

Skyler's getting baptized this weekend!  Wele's getting baptized next weekend!  So recognized the Spirit, Levi's grandpa went to all three hours church despite a bad back injury and participated in Sunday school, one of the less-actives we teach on campus wants to serve a mission, I got to see Manuel on my exchange in Driggs (!) and fully commit him to live the Word of Wisdom and then I got to see Julio at a fireside in Idaho Falls (and Teva there as well!), John recognized that he might need something more in his life, we got an all-day P-day on July 4th (which was super fun), and things are just great here!

In Mission Leadership Council, we talked a lot about not just setting good goals, but actually achieving them.  We've been trying our best to make that happen before, but that just inspired us to redouble our efforts!  We're seeing amazing things happening as a result!  Faith is not just belief, but putting that belief into action.  

Sister Barnett and I may or may not have had a wrestling match last night.  She's awesome!  We're having so much fun, and she's such an amazing example of hard work and perseverance!  

Sister Zhang, the Chinese Sister I got to go on exchanges with this week, told an awesome joke:

Why is the ocean blue?  Because all the fish go "bloobloobloobloobloo!"  She's in the first picture and the Driggs Spanish trio is in the second!

I love my job.  This Gospel makes me happy, and sharing it makes me even happier, because it makes others happy.  And this is true, lasting happiness.  Happiness that will never depart, despite trials and afflictions.  I know my Heavenly Father loves me, and I know He loves all His children enough to provide the path to live with Him again right here, right now.

I love you all!

-Sister Jacobson

Life Changing

Hello, family & friends!

The days and weeks have been blurring together since the beginning, but I can barely remember what happened this week!

Great lessons with everybody.  Everyone's just so great!  Just.... I just love it!  I've never seen so much progress take place in investigators in between lessons, not just during our lessons.  Hearts are changing and the Spirit is manifesting the truth of these things to these wonderful people.  As they've been diligently seeking truth through scripture study and prayer, it has been presenting itself to them!

We found a new investigator this week, too!  His name is Skylar.  He's 9, he's a boss, and he wants to be baptized!  And I may or may not have compared the priesthood authority to a video game controller during our first lesson with him.  (Don't worry, it worked!)

Since Sister Barnett came to this area mid-transfer, we have to do all 7 Sister Training Leader exchanges in these last 2 weeks.  The first one was a few days ago (pictures!).  Then we have 3 both this and next week.  Holy dang.  But it's cool; I love exchanges!  It's just really hectic, is all.

Also, I didn't take a lot of pictures this week, so I included a "lovely hair day" one from last Monday.  

This Gospel is LIFE-CHANGING!  For real!  I am a different and better person after having fully embraced this Gospel and the truths that it bears.  As I tell a lot of people out here, I would NOT give up 18 months of my life to talk about Harry Potter, as good as it is; I've devoted 18 months of my life to preach about the best, truest, purest, most life-changing set of books that exist.  The Book of Mormon will change you, if you let it.  And you'll like it.

This week, read Helaman 5.  Boss chapter.

I love you all more than you could ever imagine.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Love, Sister Jacobson!