Week 21: Whoops! I guess this did not send! Merry Christmas...A Week Late!

This week has been pretty crazy, but a lot of fun. On Tuesday, we got
to go to the temple! The Portland temple is absolutely gorgeous, and
it was a blessing to go and to feel that peace. After the temple trip,
we had five lessons (that's a LOT for one day, but we had none the
rest of the week- no one is available at Christmastime!). We had our
first lesson with Felicia! She's someone we met a while ago and this
was the first set lesson with her. We took Sister Child from our ward,
and it was amazing. She promised to read the Book of Mormon and to
talk with her husband about her pursuing this course. Hopefully they
read and pray together! They have a wonderful family. The rest of the
night was lessons with members- Bailey, and the Thompsons (Dylan
received the priesthood!! And he passed the Sacrament yesterday- it
was awesome). Wednesday night, we played minute to win it games at the
Baldwins which was a lot of fun! They are a good family. On Thursday,
we went caroling with the Winks to the houses of some less active
members- we brought cookies and candy canes. It was a lot of fun, and
they loved it! The Winks are a great family- their oldest daughter
comes home from her mission in March. They are so excited. Christmas
was awesome! It was really nice to de litter the room of packages-
it's a small room. It was awesome! We have so much candy. And we got
to Skype home! That was great, to get to see everyone after five
months. I got some good screenshots too...we had dinner at Cortina's!
She is the best. Her kids are super nice too. Then we went by a few
other members' houses.

And, the best part is what I saved for last......we got a car!!! On Christmas Eve Elder Funk called and said they'd be over in half an hour with a present. We thought maybe a package or something....Sister
Funk did wrap the keys though! We are pretty excited about it. We've got it for a month, then it might get taken away. But we are definitely grateful!

It's been a long week for sure- holidays are exhausting! I'm glad it's finally Monday- it feels good to rest a little. We've talked to a lot
of people and it hasn't gone anywhere yet. We keep going though! The work must go on.

As for a spiritual thought this week, I love Alma and the sons of Mosiah, and reading their accounts. I've probably written about them before, but they just don't get old! I love to be inspired by those
great examples, and to see that there is always hope. I realized something for the first time today- the portion of the scriptures describing their transgressions is just a few verses out of one
chapter, where the account of their righteousness and their works makes up much of the book of Alma. These men, who were so wicked, who persecuted the church and feared that their souls would be cast off, they were saved and redeemed. The angel appeared unto them because the Lord knew that seeing that sign would change them and put them on the course to make such a huge difference. These men became some of the most powerful missionaries this world has seen. They preached the
gospel "zealously" or with much energy and enthusiasm because "they could not bear that any human soul should perish." Then they went among the Lamanites- the age old enemies of their people because they recognized something that their people did not. Ammon said:

"Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in
the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto
our brethren, the Lamanites, and they laughed us to scorn? For they
said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the
knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the
Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as
stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding
of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose
ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? Now my
brethren, ye remember that this was their language. And moreover they
did say: Let us take up arms against them, that we destroy them and
their iniquity out of the land, lest they overrun us and destroy us.
But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with
the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps
we might save some few of their souls."

Ammon and his brethren recognized these Lamanites as children of God
and as their own brothers and sisters. Then comes my favorite verse,
one that I have relied on:

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back,
behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the
Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give
unto you success."

The Lord gave them amazing success. The hearts of the Lamanites were
softened. Ammon found success quickly and miraculously among Lamoni's
people. But Ammon's brethren had a harder time. They were rejected and
imprisoned, and if it weren't for Ammon and Lamoni coming to free
them, they might have remained there. But after their period of trial,
of not seeing any visible success, Aaron was able to teach the king of
all the Lamanites. And that king accepted his words and decreed that
the gospel would be preached everywhere. Because of this, nearly an
entire people was converted and they remained strong for the rest of
their lives. My favorite verse that I mentioned is one that I imagine
they found to be true over a long time- they spent fourteen years
among the Lamanites! And they endured much. But by following the Lord,
they saw great success. As a missionary, I am only here for eighteen
months. And I don't have to worry about being imprisoned (as long as I
obey all the rules). But it is still hard, and I must trust in the
promise that the Lord will give me success. He will multiply my
efforts and fill in my gaps if I do my best. It may take a while, but
it will happen, even if that success is only that I am changed, or
that I train Sister Heath and she goes on to teach many people the
gospel. Success is not always measured by numbers- something I have to
remember, but is easy to forget. Success is measured by my being able
to honestly say to the Lord "I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith."

Sorry for the length! Hopefully someone needed to read this. I love
all of you and I know that the Lord loves you even more than I do. He
is always there by your side, waiting for you to reach out. He is with
you even when you don't feel like anyone is there. He fills in our
gaps and makes up for our failings. He gives us peace and helps us to
know how we can improve. He is goodness and peace and joy, and all
progression and improvement comes from Him. Though of discouragement,
of unworthiness, those are not of Him and we shouldn't pay them any
heed. As long as we are striving to follow His way and we have done
all we can, we will feel at peace. We will know we have done all we
can today and we will continue to work hard tomorrow!

Happy New Year!
Sister Jacobs