Stepping Up

Hello!

This week has been pretty eventful! We got a lot done. Last Monday

night, we met with an investigator who is really wanting to get

baptized, but he's working on making a clean break with his church, so

he's not on date yet. He was really nice though. We taught the Ten

Commandments, with hand signs to help remember them! The hand signs

are something I've been learning since I got out here. They're pretty

fun! We had an appointment with a less active couple after that-

they're working towards the temple! Yay! We talked about the

Commandments with the as well, and I also felt like I needed to share

this one video- a Mormon Message called "The Savior Wants to Forgive."

Now I don't know anything about them, but they seemed like really good

people, so I was a little unsure about showing it. But I did, and I

think it touched their hearts, and maybe it's just something they

needed to hear. Who knows what will come of it!

On Tuesday for our exercise time, Sister Girot and I went for a walk

and we found blackberries growing on the side of the road! They run

rampant here. And those blackberries were delicious. It still amazes

me how green everything is, and how big the trees are. It's been

growing on me this week- trees are pretty great. I love the peaceful

feeling that I get from them. They've been growing for so many years,

against incredible odds, and some didn't make it. But some did, and

they stand so tall, and they're still growing. They just stand still

and do not move, no matter the winds or the rain.

We visited a potential investigator, Myra, as well. She was getting

ready for her daughter's birthday, and mentioned that there was a lot

of weeding to do, so we sort of talked her into letting us help. It

was a small backyard, and with three of us, it went pretty quickly.

She asked a lot of questions about missionaries, and what the Church

believes. She's pretty firm in her church though, but maybe someday.

She was impressed with the fact that we were willing to help out and

get nothing in return. Service is so important, and it's true that not

a lot of people will do things for free anymore. Service is a good way

to form relationships, because the they see that you care about them

and want to help them. So I hope Myra knows that we care about her!

We got a little lost on our way to dinner on Tuesday, and decided that

we were going to get a GPS. It turns out there are three 65th streets

out here, and none of them connect! But the other two are new tracting

areas, so it was okay. We found our way eventually. We had dinner with

Sister H and Brother B- I think that when they got

married, Sister H just kept her maiden name. They are the most

opposite couple I've ever seen, and it works for them. They're very

nice!

We also taught some younger boys- one is baptized, and the other is

working towards baptism. They were full of energy! It was hard to keep

them focused, so we tried to keep it interactive and easy to

understand.

On Wednesday, we had our training meeting to talk about a few rules

and to hear from President Taylor. I learned a lot of cool things from

him. He said that by being here, we are fulfilling a promise we made

in the premortal life. He also asked how wide the strait and narrow

path is - wide enough for Gethsemane.

On Thursday, we were in meetings for a majority of the day. We had

our zone meeting in the morning, and talked about our goals, and then

we drove out to the Vancouver Stake Center to meet with an iPad

specialist from SLC. He just wanted to know how it was going and what

could be improved. We finally were able to get back to work at 3,

starting with an appointment at the R's. With them, we were

talking about enduring to the end, and I felt the need to share D&C

8:2-3, which talks about how the Holy Ghost speaks to us- when our

mind and heart are in unison then we are doing what is right. I know

in the past, when I've done wrong things, I can think back and

recognize that my heart and mind were disagreeing, which created

confusion. That discussion went an interesting direction after that-

they started talking about why they don't make it to our ward on

Sundays, even though we never brought that up. That wasn't even what

the lesson was on! So perhaps they'll be inspired to know what to move

around so that they can make it to church.

I had a thought some time on Thursday about how we need to trust the

Lord and let Him direct us. He can take care of both us and our loved

ones better than we ever could on our own. It's like we're all in a

museum and there's this huge painting, and we're all standing so close

to the canvas that our noses almost touch it. We can only see a few

brushstrokes. But the Master, the painter, He stands back and He is

the one that can see the whole canvas, and He can see that we are the

painting, or that the painting is of us, His children. He knows what

we need better than we do.

We had a wonderful appointment with the J family as well. When we

arrived, Sister J was reading her scriptures, so we thought it

would be better to read with the who,e family, and forego the lesson.

So we read a chapter in Ether. It was amazing to see the effect it had

on the family. At first, they were hanging back a little, and Charlie

was just standing off to the side. But as we went on, they all got

more involved. We stopped every couple verses to explain what was

going on, and they got more and more into the discussion. They applied

it to our day. The scriptures have so much power. Reading them

together brings people together. The scriptures do so much more than

counsel us. They comfort us, and they brought the Jones closer

together, and closer to God.

We've done a lot of tracting this week! Though we did get two

potential investigators out of it. It's mostly just hot, and

sometimes, people are less than polite. But the two we might be going

back to see were awesome! And last night, we ran into an inactive

member. He was pretty funny and I hope he comes to church on Sunday.

We also had a service project, helping a sweet old Russian couple

move. Their grandson is the one who actually called us to help (and a

set of elders) and he's going on his mission soon to.......Fresno

California! So I felt very confident in telling him he will have a

wonderful mission, since the people I know who served there have said

only great things about it.

On Saturday our appointments all fell through so we did some more

tracting, and that night just before the ward activity that we

attended, we got a referral for a new investigator. Sister Girot and

I both agree that we were able to receive that because we were being

obedient and working hard, even when it would have been easy to do

nothing. Then on Sunday we fasted for baptisms, and that afternoon we

set up one appoint,met with a potential investigator over the phone!

Then we went out to an appointment with someone new, and met Stephanie

on the steps near those apartments (hence the subject of this email)

and she seems so ready! She's looking for a church, and trying to find

peace for her and her kids, so we set up an appointment and left her

with a Book of Mormon. I really hope she reads it, because if she does

she definitely will feel the Spirit.

Anyway, I won't make this email any longer- it's already approaching

novel length! But this week has been awesome, and I've been feeling

the Spirit more and more. Our lessons have been getting better as we

work on teaching with unity and by the Spirit, and we've been working

on door approaches as well! Missionary work is not easy, and at times

seems crazy, but it is absolutely worth it and this gospel is

absolutely true.

Stay strong!

Sister Jacobs

PS Send pictures! Missionaries love pictures!