Your Wonderful Missionary: Christmas Eve E-mail from Brother Winks

Your sweet missionary had fondue dinner with us and helped frost angel sugar cookies for goodie plates. Now we are ready to go caroling.

Glad to be working with her in our ward.

Scott Winks (ward mission leader)
Rebecca,
Linnise (blonde)
Clarissa
Charlotte (glasses)

Week #20: Then Cometh the Blessings

Hello! And Merry Christmas!

This week has been pretty spectacular! We've seen all the blessings
just come in a flood (along with some literal flooding- luckily
nowhere near us) and we've been able to just have a lot of fun! We
have also had a lot of meetings- a trainer/trainee meeting on Tuesday
(President Anderson gave me a yellow motorcycle) and zone conference
in Gresham on Wednesday which was amazing! It's been a pretty crazy
week.


First story- A few weeks ago, Sister Slattery and I met this really
nice lady, Felicia. She was busy right then but had said we could drop
by again in the afternoon sometime. Well we went back this week and
she meant It!! She invited us in and we had an awesome conversation
with her and she promised to read the Book of Mormon and invited us
back tomorrow, even though it's nearly Christmas! It was pretty
amazing. Hopefully her family will be on board as well.

Second story- we were out and had about an hour left before we headed
home, and we weren't sure where to go. So we prayed and we walked down
a street and we turned around to walk back and go a different
direction, and I saw this door. It was just a little thought, just
that it looked welcoming, so we went and knocked on it. An older woman
opened the door and she just was so excited because she'd prayed less
than 48 hours ago for sisters to come and here we were! Her name is
Leva. She thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses at first, but she was no
less excited when we explained who we really were. Her son has been
going through a hard time and he's married with two sons of his own,
and so she wants to be grounded and for him to be grounded too. Her
son Adam actually got home while we were there, just after that, and
we had an awesome conversation with him. He asked us a lot of
questions and we answered them and we told him about the First Vision
and the Book of Mormon and we left them a copy! They know the Bible
pretty well, and said the First Vision made sense. Adam promised to
read it before we come back (after Christmas). It was really amazing.

Oh and that was the night we almost crashed a wedding too! Sister Reed
is now Sister Judd and we had gone by to see if maybe they needed help
cleaning up (Brother Judd's daughter was in charge of everything and
seemed kind of frazzled on Sunday) and we walked up and towards the
gym. There was a camera flashing so we quieted down and I peeked
around the door. Then I turned to Sister Heath with wide eyes and
mouthed, "She's walking down the aisle right now!" So we skedaddled.
Kimberly called us right after we left Adam's house and she did need
help, so we went and helped really quick before we had to go home.

Third story- Last night we were walking around and just tired out and
wet and freezing and we knocked into an older lady who let us in. So
we sat down and showed her the Christmas video, and asked if she went
to a church and she said "yeah, yours!" Turns out she was baptized in
Canada a long time ago and hasn't been in a long time, and now it
would probably be too hard physically. She was very nice and said we
could come back!




The funny part about all of these door knocking miracles is that zone
conference was entirely focused around working more with the members.
President Taylor actually read us off the statistics about how
efficient knocking is compared to members inviting their friends and
it is a huge difference- with knocking, it's about 1 in 30 interested
people who get baptized. With members, it's 1 in 7. That's pretty

crazy! So, the way I look at it, if the two of us can see miracles while knocking a lot of doors (around ten before each story, on average) think about the miracles we could see from others just reaching out to their friends! This ward has seen it- two of the convert baptisms this year (about half) came from one family inviting some very close friends to activities and then inviting them to learn more. We as missionaries have a harder time talking to people because
we wear the name tag. And I know I would find it hard to trust or talk to anyone at my door with a name tag, sent by someone. But I trust my friends. That's something I've been learning more about. We also talked a lot about goals at our zone conference- setting them and keeping them visible. It's when we set goals and strive to achieve them that the Lord can trust us enough to lead us to those people He has prepared! And I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach. I
love the people here so much- this ward has been amazing. I'm excited to introduce others to the people here and help bring them in. It's been amazing.



Anyway, this week has been good. Very wet for sure! I think my bills
might be growing in. It's a lot of fun, being a trainer and getting to
work with someone new, who still has so much fire! It's helped get me
more excited. I'm looking forward to much awesomeness to come!

Love you all,
Sister Jacobs

Never Forget Him. He Has Never Forgotten You

Hello!!

Merry early Christmas! This week has been a very wet one- we keep
joking that Noah is on his way over. It's also been pretty eventful!

On Monday, we made Christmas cookies with the Willits (members of the
ward- so fun!) and I played pretend with their four year old. So now
we're buddies. Anyway, it was pretty awesome! Tuesday was a normal
day. Then Wednesday was transfer meeting! So I have a little more to
add to my epic story from last week. Sister Slattery and I both
thought transfer meeting started at ten. So we left, thinking we'd get
there at 9:30 and be early. Well, it turns out transfer meeting does
not start at 10, it starts at 9! So it's a good thing we aimed to be
early! My new companion is Sister Heath and she is awesome. We have
had a lot of fun the past few days.



The first day she was here, it was very wet. Luckily, members keep
passing us and then stopping and offering rides! We walked around a
lot and talked to a lot of people. We met someone who could be a
potential investigator- his name is Alfonzo. He answered the door and
we asked if we could share a message, and he said he just had a few
minutes, but sure! So we showed him the Savior Is Born video and
talked about how important Christ is. Long story short (because I
don't recall all the little details) we ended up giving him a Book of
Mormon. He said he's been looking for a church to attend! And for
dinner that night, the Thompsons picked up Olive Garden for us, since
it's out of our boundaries (it's across the street in the other stake
so we can't go...). It was awesome! A good first dinner for Sister
Heath! And Sister Slattery was so mad- she was the one who really
wanted it. Olive Garden has always been just out of her boundaries for
all ten months of her mission. Heavenly Father has a sense of humor!

On Thursday it was actually just sprinkling, and then someone invited
us inside so we missed the worst of the rain! We just knocked on her
door and we got to come in and it was awesome. Her name is Margaret.
She had a few misconceptions about the church- she thought maybe we'd
already baptized her! So we had to explain how baptisms for the dead
work. We also talked about the Restoration because, even though she's
from Idaho, she'd never heard the Joseph Smith story before! It was
really cool. And we missed the rain. Apparently that day (or maybe
Friday) there was a huge storm and a tornado up in Battleground and we
didn't get any of it! It was a great day.

Friday was fun too- weekly planning! We went to visit some people
afterwards and they were just leaving (sad) and their street was
totally flooded! So we took some fun pictures (thanks for the rain
boots, Mom!) and then talked to some more people. I'm still getting
used to this whole training thing. Luckily, I know this area really
well, so that's nice. On Friday night, we dropped by Steve and Leah,
who we've had some trouble getting in to see, and they were there! We
had a good conversation with them (Steve offered us a knife since
we're out walking...) and invited them to the ward Christmas activity!
They didn't make it, but it was short notice.

Saturday was definitely a different day! We had some names to visit
but nobody was home. Then we helped out with the ward Christmas party!
We got there to set up, and they were already almost done. So we
helped finish up (the Fifes were in charge and their little boy James
was telling us about when he's going to be a missionary. I'll attach
the video! He also said we were his missionaries- so cute!) and then
Sister Takis took us to Baja Fresh, which was really nice of her! We
were the greeters for the actual activity- we had sleigh bells and we
told everyone where to go. It was a great activity! The service
auction was awesome, and the photo booth was adorable.

On Sunday we had two missionary homecomings, Jordan Morgan and Emily
Rogers, so Sacrament meeting was really full! They gave awesome talks.
It was hard to tell who was there and who wasn't because there were so
many new faces. It was awesome though! Then we walked around until
dinner, even though it was pouring rain....probably a bad idea. We did
better that night though- we came inside and called some people that
we are hopeful to meet with! A few of them answered and some sound
promising. It was great! We had dinner at the Arbuckles. Sister
Arbuckle is a recent convert- she'll be able to go to the temple
soon!- and her daughter is basically a member but she's not allowed to
get baptized until she's 18. The others are not members. We had a good
dinner with them! They're a really nice family!

Anyway, it's been an awesome week. Getting to train is a lot of fun,
and Sister Heath is awesome!  It's fun to go through all this training
stuff and think about how much I've changed, just remembering who I
was when I was first here and looking at what I've learned now. It's
interesting to see. I can't wait to look back at the end of my
mission! And even further down the road. It's amazing how much more I
feel like a missionary. I used to think the District videos were
really cheesy. But now, I'm watching them, and I understand it. I
really do love these people,that much, and I'm excited to see them
grow and go to the temple someday!

I hope you all have a great week! Remember the real reason for
Christmas- the Savior who came and lived so we could know how to live,
and died so someday we can live again! Never forget Him- He has never
forgotten you! I love you!

Sister Jacobs

A Mother and A Baby

Hello everyone! Hopefully you have all had a wonderful week!

Transfer news is in! Before the suspense kills anyone, I'm staying in
Mountain View....and I'm training!! So I get yet another new
companion, this time straight from the MTC. There's a funny story that
goes with how we found out, so I'll tell that first!  So this past
Thursday was our sister study, and last transfer, they just delivered
our transfer letters there. Well, this time, they said they weren't
ready yet! Okay fine, we'll get them in the mail Friday. We check the
mail Friday, and there's the letters! One for me, one for Sister
Slattery. We're freaking out, we run inside (because it's raining) and
open them. Well, they weren't transfer letters. They were "Yay! Bailey
got baptized!" letters. We were understandably disgruntled.

So Saturday morning, we can't even focus. We're stalking the mailbox out
our window waiting for the mailman. He comes and we rush outside and-
nothing for us at all. We're starting to wonder if maybe we're
staying, but I still have this very definite feeling that something is

changing. And we texted our district leader and our sister training
leaders, and no one else has gotten their letters either. Then, at
10:20pm Saturday night, we're at home spending time with the sister we
live with. It's almost bedtime (I was actually passed out on the
couch) and suddenly we get a text message. It's the zone leaders! The
text went something like this: "Sister Jacobs, you're staying and
training! Sister Slattery, you're leaving but we don't know where
you're going or who you're with." So I'm freaking out a bit because I
am training! And we still don't know where Sister Slattery is going.
The letters are due to come today, so we're stalking the mailbox
again. But it's raining outside and the street is a tiny bit flooded,
so we're worried it may not get through. Hopefully soon! Anyway, it's
been a crazy few days. And I get to be a mom!! I'll find out who she
is at transfer meeting on Wednesday.

This week was pretty fun- we met a new less active couple that were
hoping to meet with! The Garners in our ward actually live across the
street and recommended we go visit. So we went by, and they are the
nicest people! They basically said they'd help us out with anything,
and we were welcome back whenever. So we're hoping to go over again
this week! They might not be ready to come back just yet but we can
establish contact for sure. They're pretty cool!

We also had our stake night of music! One of the part member families
in our ward came. Sister Colin is a member and we've started teaching
her- Bishop Nicholson asked her to, since she's preparing to go to the
temple! Her husband is super nice and he came to the night of music as
well. It was probably less spiritual than it could have been since
they have a two year old (who is so adorable) and she was putting
stickers everywhere and then taking them off and putting them
somewhere else, etc. It was still great though! The music was awesome.

We had mostly appointments with less active members this week. We're
still adjusting to tracting and contacting in this weather, but this
next week, we are going to work hard and do great! And I'm going to
have to really take the lead on things with a new missionary coming.
I've been trying not to worry too much. I figure, the secret is just
to love them. But there's a lot of other things that come with
training too, so I've been really praying for help with this. I'm
almost glad I didn't get any longer to freak out!

Our recent convert/ returning member temple trip was on Saturday
morning! We didn't get to go but it's still a highlight of my week.
Bailey got to go, and Cortina and the Thompsons- all recent converts.
And Sister Colin went as well! And each of them had an amazing
experience. Each one of them had a special spiritual moment of some
kind, where they felt the people they were being baptized for saying
thank you, or a hug, or just joy and the Spirit, or revelation. Each
one of them had a powerful experience. The power of the temple is real
and it truly is a place where saving ordinances are performed. The
temple truly is where we are closest to God. I'm so grateful to have
been able to hear those experiences and to be able to do my best to
help these people continue to feel that Spirit and to grow closer to
God.

Anyway, those are all the big points! I'm sad Sister Slattery is
leaving, and I'm excited to meet my new companion! And Christmas is
coming soon!! I love you all!

Sister Jacobs

It's All A Blur

Hello all!


This week has just flown by. I can't believe transfers are a week and
a half away already- it's gone by so fast. Time just keeps speeding
up!

This week we did a lot of finding- trying to talk to people and
knocking on doors. We met one guy at the end of last night who said we could come back at some point! And we finally got to meet with Steve and Leah again- we haven't seen them in three weeks or so. We had a great lesson with them! Leah's son was excited to participate too- he wanted his own copy of the Book of Mormon and before we left he asked me where does God live? And does he take care of the humans that died?
It was so cute!

And of course Happy Thanksgiving!! We had an awesome time here. We figured knocking doors probably wasn't the best idea so we visited a few less active members. Then we visited some active members because we needed a bathroom, and their daughter in law, who is not a member was there! And she is one of the coolest people I've met. We had a
great discussion with her. Then we went to the Muraskis for lunch- and there was this less active member we've been trying to meet with! He doesn't want to meet with us, but it seems like he can't get away from us. We're not pushing it though. Then we went to the Sinsays for dinner, and the Nicholsons for dessert (their son just got back from a
mission in Colorado Springs!). So we rolled home, basically. It was a pretty exciting day.





We had an interesting experience on Saturday night- we had a missed call from a mystery number, so we called back and left a voicemail. A few minutes later, we got a call back, and we answered. The guy introduced himself as Ivan and said his family had given him a quad, and he had a few questions for us. After that, it got interesting. He had some deep deep doctrine questions. Need I remind you, we are 19
year old girls, not scriptorians. So we didn't have all the answers.  But we tried to set up an appointment for a later time, but he wouldn't give us his address because "we couldn't answer a few simple questions over the phone." And he wouldn't really let us try to answer them- he kept interrupting, with more questions, just picking at
phrasing. Well, I could try to logically prove that the Church was true all day and get nowhere. The Spirit was definitely not present there. So we just invited him to pray and ask God and we ended the call. It was a really interesting experience- I've never really been in that kind of a situation before. It was interesting to see how the Spirit left. With someone who is genuine, it's easy to feel the Spirit and to teach and testify. With someone who's all brain and no heart, it's impossible. In D&C 42:14 it says "if ye receive not the Spirit, ye shall not teach." The Spirit is essential to all we do.

A lot of good has happened this week, and yet it still feels like
we've both been through the wringer. There's been a lot of opposition
coming our way- it must mean something amazing is about to happen!
Hopefully that something isn't one of us getting transferred (knock on
wood) but whatever it is, the Lord knows what He is doing!

Stay safe and stay warm! Love you all!
Sister Jacobs

Four Months!!

Yesterday was four months since I entered the MTC! It's hard to
believe I've been out for that long, even though there's still a long
way to go.

It's been an interesting week! We had our mission tour on Thursday-
Elder Johnson of the Seventy came and spoke. He talked a lot about
cleaning out our area books of people who are not progressing- someone
will be led to them when they are ready, and then we can use that time
to reach out to people who are ready. Thinking of that, I've been
looking at our list of investigators with new eyes and seeing that
some of them are not moving forward like they need to be.

We have had a lot of time to find people- we knocked on a lot of doors
this week! And we got two sunny days, which made a huge difference-
people were actually outside! It was cold, but cold and dry is much
better than cold and wet.

We found one new investigator- we were knocking doors right before
dinner and she answered and we talked for a bit and then she asked if
we had a message, and so we shared the Restoration with her, and then
she asked if we had any pamphlets, and we said we did, and gave her a
Book of Mormon and set up a time to go back! She seemed pretty excited
about what we shared, and it will be interesting to see what she says
when we go back!

Other exciting things this week- I went on splits for the first time!
Sister Slattery had a bad cold, so she stayed in Friday and I went
with Sister Winks to visit some people and to our one appointment. We
had an amazing lesson!


The funny part was, I met with two different people this week named
Mary (one with Sister Slattery and one with Sister Winks) and I had a
fascinating experience. Both women began our meetings by bringing up
the handbook changes (which I'm sure you've all heard so much about by
now). Now, keep in mind, one Mary is reading her scriptures and coming
to church, and the other is not. The first Mary we met with- the one
not reading or attending church- she was aghast at the changes, and
even as we tried to explain them, we could tell her ears were not open
to hearing it. She called it discrimination, and talked about how
people can't help who they love, etc. The second Mary- the one reading
and studying- she asked about it, but only so she could better explain
it to her nonmember husband. She had accepted it- she said, and
rightly so, that it wasn't really anything new, it was just a
clarification since in our day and age, certain situations are more
likely to arise. It was interesting to see the contrast. I know I've
gained w testimony that the Church is right through faithful study and
prayer, and through the influence of the Spirit. We did still have a
good discussion with the first Mary, and we read the beginning of
Ether 12. We talked about Paris as well. As we read, when we got to
Ether 12:4 (which, incidentally, is my ponderizing scripture this
week) all I could think of was the phrase from the verse in Ephesians
"tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine." So
I shared that with her. And I'd like to share it with all of you too
because it is such a valuable principle, and I know the Spirit was
teaching me as I shared.

Ether 12:4- Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope
for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which
hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which
would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works,
being led to glorify God.

Ephesians 4:11-15- And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ:

The world would have us be in turmoil and confusion, jumping from one
extreme to the next. There's all sorts of examples of this, most
recently with the attacks in Paris, but also with the reaction to the
handbook changes, things we see in the media, and as election time
grows closer, we will see much more. But these verses remind me that
we don't have to be in turmoil. We don't have to be confused or lost.
We can have peace and temperance and tolerance and faith. If we follow
the gospel and trust in our Father in Heaven, in our Savior, and in
the prophet, we will always go right. We will be sure and steadfast.
Faith truly does make an anchor "unto the souls of men." If we follow
the gospel, we will have that anchor and not be "tossed to and fro" by
the wild whimsy and confusion of the world. "This is the way; and
there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be
saved in the kingdom of God." (2 Nephi 31:21). I'd just like to share
my own testimony and witness that I know that the handbook changes
were inspired, that they are for the protection and benefit of all
people and a guide to our leaders. I know that each of us can gain a
witness by prayerfully studying the words of the prophet, and not
relying on the opinions of others, but relying only on the Spirit of
God that bears witness of all truth. In the end, all will be made
right. I don't know exactly what that means yet, but I will trust in
my God because He knows what is right even when I do not.

Anyway, that's my thought for the week. It has been an amazing week
for me, as far as study and spiritual experiences are concerned. I
have felt my testimony grow in so many ways and I am so grateful for
this gospel and for the chance I have to be here and serve my Lord in
His work.

That reminds me, we also got to visit the temple visitors center this
week! We had a trip for recent converts and returning members, as sort
of a prep thing for the baptism trip in December. Only Sister Thompson
came but it was still amazing and she definitely felt the Spirit!
Hopefully she and her family will get to go back. It was great to just
be on temple grounds for a bit- I miss getting to go to the temple! It
truly is the house of the Lord!

I think the most amazing experience of the week happened on Saturday
night. Again, right before dinner, we'd been talking to people, and we
were headed to the Baldwin's house. We passed this guy on the side of
the road and we almost didn't talk to him- but we did, and it was
incredible! We found out he's a member from our neighboring stake, and
he told us he's been going through some hard times and he hadn't been
to church in a while. Well, just before this, we'd visited a member
for water and of course shared a message. That same message- my
ponderizing scripture- popped into my head again and we shared it with
him. He told us his conversion story and we all just bore our
testimonies and it was easy to see that the Spirit touched this
brother. He almost was getting emotional. He said it was exactly what
he needed to hear. Hopefully he acts on it and gets everything worked
out. It was incredible- the Lord put us right there at that time to
help that specific man get back on track and remind him what is
important.

That's all for this week. Trust in God and in good things to come!
With love from Washington,
Sister Jacobs

The Bird Whisperer and Youth Whisperer

Wonderful E-mail received today!

Hello. Your daughter is serving in our ward. We fed them last night. My daughter pulled out one of our birds and we had fun holding her. I snapped this picture for you guys! We are glad to have sister Jacobs in our ward. My 12yo daughter even quoted her in her first talk she ever gave a few weeks ago! I hope you are all having a nice sunday! Take care, Tessa

Keep Walking

Hello all!

So...I typed this once and it wouldn't send and then it erased. So
this is try number 2! Story of our week....we've had a lot of
appointments fall through, where people just weren't available and
whatnot. And we've had trouble getting in touch with some of our other
people as well. It's been a bit rough! Tracting in the rain for hours
every day is not easy. It's also been fun though- Sister Slattery and
I have had a lot of bonding time, and I got some really good pictures!

The highlight of the week was, of course, Bailey's baptism!! It was
wonderful- the Spirit was really strong. She was so ready to be
baptized! Her mom came, and hopefully she was able to feel the Spirit
at least a little bit. I'm excited to see her and Jordan prepare for
the temple!

Since this week wasn't super eventful, the focus is on the thought for
the week- from 2 Nephi 4. These verses actually go really well with
some of my other favorite scriptures, 2 Nephi 22:2 and Alma 26:27.

 16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart
pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in
showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O
wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh;
my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.
18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins
which do so easily beset me.
19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins;
nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine
afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the
waters of the great deep.
21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
22 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.
23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge
by visions in the night-time.
24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my
voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto
me.
25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away
upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great
things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I
should not write them.
26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his
condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much
mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of
sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of
mine afflictions?
27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should
I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to
destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine
enemy?
28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and
give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my
strength because of mine afflictions.
30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will
praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and
the rock of my salvation.

I love these verses! When we think of Nephi, we usually think of this
great spiritual giant, this totally righteous dude, this happy guy
with no problems. But Nephi had struggles! He struggled with his
brothers, he struggled through the wilderness, and here, he is kind of
breaking down a little. He is sad and a bit depressed because of his
sins and imperfections. Nephi was a good guy though! And he remembers
the Lord in his struggle and he awakes his soul to remember the
goodness of God and have joy. So this is what I try to remember when
missionary work has me down, or when I feel like there's more I could
be doing. Even Nephi struggled! So it's okay for me to struggle as
well. And for everyone- that's the point of the Atonement! So that we
all can repent and be clean again.

I love you all! Have an amazing week!
Sister Jacobs

Wise Old Leaf Says...

Wise old leaf says….

......when you go to Washington in the winter, buy really good boots!

Leafy proverbs aside, I hope that everyone is doing well! It is
definitely fall/winter here. The cold isn't so bad, except we're
always wet! Even my rain coat has started soaking through at the
shoulders! And I'm likely going to invest in rubber rain boots since
just waterproofing my brown boots isn't quite cutting it. Sister
Slattery (since she's awesome) helped me blow dry my toes last night
after we got home! (I'll attach the video too :)) It's definitely a
new experience but it's been a lot of fun.

We went on exchanges on Tuesday! We found out maybe two or three days
before, so it was a little crazy. Sister De Leon and I had fun walking
around talking to people, especially since the weather was pretty
nice! We had dinner and a lesson with Bailey right after we exchanged
back- since Sister De Leon was one of the sisters who first started
teaching Bailey, they gave us a ride over and they had to drop in and
say hello! Little baby Julian is getting bigger! And Bailey is doing
so awesome. She is getting baptized on Saturday! So we're just
finishing up the lessons and getting everything set up. It's so
exciting!!! I can't believe how fast time goes- seems like just
yesterday, we were asking her to pick a date even though it was a
month ago. She's ready though, and I don't think anything can stop
her!

We actually had quite a few people cancel on us this week- mostly for
sickness. With the sudden change in seasons, everyone's catching
something!

Cool story time- so we were walking to an appointment and we'd just
knocked a few doors nearby. So as we're walking away, someone comes
out of one of the houses and yells after us. It went something like
this:
"Heeyyyy!!! Hey!!"
"Yes?" (That's us)
"Are you missionaries??"
"Yeah....!"
"Do you want some decaf tea??"

It was so funny. We were worried (or Sister Slattery was) because she
thought someone was just going to yell at us or something. We had our
lesson to go to, but afterwards we went back and we had a great
conversation with her! And we're going back to see her next week! We
did give her a Book of Mormon and so we'll follow up. We're not sure
how interested she is, but sometimes it's just nice to know someone
wants you around! We've had a lot of that this week- lots of members
honking, stopping to say hi and thanks for all we do. It's been nice.

Oh! Another cool story! So we're walking to Cortina's because she's
giving us a ride home, it's like 8:45 at night, and this lady stops
and asks if we're missionaries and if we need a ride home. And then
she says "I was a missionary once!" So it turns out she's this less
active member who served her mission in Australia (how cool is that?)
and just had a really hard time when she came back from her mission.
She pulled over and we talked for a good fifteen minutes! We gave her
our number and she said normally she wouldn't call is, but she had a
good feeling about the two of us! We're still waiting on her to call,
but it was an awesome experience!

We had a stake breakfast on Saturday with the missionaries in our
zone, which was pretty fun! We had French toast! And Sister Slattery
decided that she and Elder Robbins are best friends. Actually, it
might have been last Monday- Sister Slattery, Elder Robbins, Elder
Smith, Elder Partis, and I spent a good chunk of time playing card
games- Scum and Karma! We were just having so much fun. So our zone is
still awesome! Last P-day, we went shopping with Sister Willits (she
gave us a ride) and then she drove us to the stake center and we were
having so much fun just talking and laughing that we got lost! And
then the GPS was taking us in circles...we were dying. Sister Willits
is awesome. She and her husband are a younger couple in our ward. They
moved here from BYU-I, and they have the cutest four year old girl,
and a little one on the way! Brother Willits just got called as the
Gospel Principles teacher. It's a lot of fun, especially since one
member of our ward is married to a man who is Muslim, and he comes to
church as if he were an active member. And sometimes he makes comments
in Sunday School that just aren't quite what we believe...he is
expressing his belief, but not in quite the right setting. Brother
Willits did a good job though- it's an art, letting him have his turn
to express himself but also keeping the class on topic and in
accordance with what is church doctrine.

Anyway, after the breakfast, the other sisters asked us to sub in for
them- they volunteered to help their ward clean the church but then
had an appointment come up. So we covered for them!


Oh, and on Friday, Sister Baldwin was nice enough to invite us to
"Time Out for Lunch" with the ward! She was hosting it. So that's what
we did with our lunchtime. It was so fun! The theme was comfort food,
so everyone brought their comfort foods and we ate and talked. It was
so fun, and also it's helping us build a good relationship with our
ward! That's actually where we found out that the Internet was blowing
up over the handbook changes. Our news is interesting- all we get is
word of mouth and whatever is on LDS.org. (And that didn't pop up til
Sunday- I was watching!) So it's a good thing no one tried to talk to
us about it before then! We live in a missionary bubble, which is
kinda nice, actually.

Sorry it's so scattered! Those are all the major things that happened
this week. Sister Slattery and I have had a lot of fun getting to know
each other and walking and figuring out the best way to get rides,
etc, especially in the rain! It's a blast! And missionary life is
finally starting to feel normal- it's not something strange or new
anymore. That's been really nice!

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sister Jacobs

Singing in the Rain

Hello, hello!

I hope everyone is doing well! This week has been a real adventure
over here! Lots of new things. Transfers were Wednesday!! I got my new
companion, Sister Slattery, and she is awesome! She's from Las Vegas
and she's a lot of fun to be around. It's been a little crazy to not
have a car- my legs are constantly stiff and sore! But it's been
getting better gradually! The weirdest (and probably most stressful)
part for me is that I'm the one that knows the area right now, so I
have to kind of take charge! It's odd not to be a greenie anymore! And
we've been getting used to walking, and taking time to do that. We try
to get rides as much as we can, and luckily our ward is awesome. They
sent around a sign up and we had some names before transfers even
happened! That was a tender mercy for me- I've been really nervous
about this whole adventure. It's nice to get some fresh air though.
Most of the time.

The seasons are definitely changing! It is almost constantly raining.
On Friday we got stuck outside in this huge downpour! We had to run to
a members' house and luckily they were home and they let us in to dry
off. We called someone to get a ride and ended up making an emergency
trip to Wal-Mart. Sister Slattery has these really cute ankle-high
rain boots, but as you'll see in the pictures, they just didn't quite
cut it! Anyway, it rains all the time. I've been so grateful for the
rain jacket that Sister Forsyth made me buy last Monday! It's kept me
warm and sort of damp, which is better than soaked! The biggest
surprise is I'm actually enjoying it still. It's so beautiful up here,
even in the rain.

Halloween was fun! Most of the day was basically normal and then after
dinner, we were told to go in for weekly planning. Well, we had dinner
with the Thompsons, and we made a really funny video that I'll try to
send! They're really funny!

Yesterday we were at the church for forever! We walked to the church
in the morning and stayed through all the meetings (we got to teach
the Young Women about being missionaries!) and then we had our
correlation meeting with all the ward missionaries for an hour. Then
we stayed and finished our weekly planning for two hours, until our
meeting with Bishop and Brother Winks (the ward mission leader)! So we
were there for about seven hours total. We walked home and just tried
to talk to people. We knocked some doors around our dinner appointment
with the Hardys. We had dinner at 5:30, on Fast Sunday! So we were
starving. It was so good. Sister Hardy came with us to a lesson with
someone who is less active that we are trying to start teaching! She
has the most charitable spirit I have ever seen! She was so sweet.
Anyway, then we went to visit people nearby that we'd been asked to
find. On our way, we met this cat who just followed us around for ten
or fifteen minutes! We named her Kitty. She might have followed us
home but we started talking with someone and she might have gotten
bored and left, or gotten too far from home. It was pretty funny!

Anyway, that's the meat of what happened this week! It has been
exhausting and I feel like I'm learning at an increased pace just
because now I really have to take charge and remember things! I'm
excited to work with Sister Slattery! I love you all, and I hope you
have a good week!

Sister Jacobs

Three for Three

Hello!

I'll start with the exciting news. Transfers are almost upon us again
and so we got our transfer letters on Friday. And....Sister Forsyth is
being transferred! So I get to stay here, but I'm getting a new
companion. The joke is that no one can put up with me for more than
six weeks, but in truth, it's just what the Lord wants. I feel like
I've learned so much in the past twelve weeks and I'm excited to keep
growing! Sister Forsyth is going to the YSA Ward and she's going to be
an STL (sister training leader). She's actually still in our stake and
in our district, so she's not going very far! Her ward even meets in
the same building! My new companion will be Sister Slattery. Sister
Forsyth actually trained her, back when she was a new missionary, so
I've gotten to hear a bit about her and she sounds awesome! Oh, and
they're giving our car to another area that needs it more, so we'll be
walking/biking/begging for rides. It will be an adventure.

Besides that, this week has been a little odd. We've had more
appointments fall through than ever before. But we also had some cool
things happen. We were able to put someone new on date for baptism!
Her name is I, and she's younger. Her mom is a member but her
dad isn't and she and her brother been taking the lessons for a long
time. It's hard to commit them to come to church since both of them
are young, and there's no parental support- dad goes to another church
and mom works. Hopefully she'll pull through though! They live two
seconds from the church, so it's not too bad.

We also were able to get into contact with L, who we haven't seen
in a few weeks because they had to go out of town. We had a great
visit with her, and she was really excited for church and the trunk or
treat! She didn't end up getting to come because her daughter got a
fever. But we'll keep reaching out!

O is doing well! He missed our lesson on Wednesday, and we
couldn't get in touch with him, but we stopped by on Saturday night
and ended up getting to have a really good lesson for him and his
boys. He is so ready for the gospel and he really wants it for his
whole family. He's been encouraging us to meet his wife so we're going
to drop by again this week and see if we can catch her! She might need
Spanish missionaries though...as much as I want to teach them, we have
to do what's best for them. But we'll wait and see, I guess! Saturday
night was actually really interesting. We had an appointment with
B the car guy. So we went and they let us in.....and then they
dropped us. They didn't want to commit to anything or convert to one
church or the other. That was kind of sad. But it was interesting to
see the contrast between them and O- one unwilling to commit,
not opening up, and the other, totally humble and ready, and wanting
to have his whole family take part.

Anyway, that's sort of a brief rundown of the really interesting
things that are happening! It feels like I've been here forever, and
yet it's hard to believe it's been nearly three months. Time does fly
by! We've got some exciting plans for the next week, beginning with
pumpkin carving for P-day today!

I love you all! Stay close to the Spirit and remember to rely on Him,
and everything will fall into place. He has a plan and He knows what
you need to do. The greatest thing I think I've learned this week is
that if I act, even if I have no idea what to say, God will make up
the difference. As long as I am worthy to have the Spirit, loving the
people, and doing my best, He will provide! The promise in the
scriptures is real! Have a great week! And Happy Halloween!

Sister Jacobs