Week #30: Transfers, quilts, family history, and knocking optimistically!

Okay, the news you've all been waiting for, I'm sure...I am getting
transferred! I am going to the Vancouver 3rd ward. It will be a lot of
fun! It'll be really weird and sad to leave though. And I still have
to pack!

As for the rest of this week....it was an odd week. Monday was
Cortina's year mark- it's been a whole year since her baptism! So we
had a little party, with brownies.

Tuesday was a slower day- we didn't do what we thought we'd do,
really. We sewed in the morning- finished the top of the quilt! We
visited some people, bought some Girl Scout cookies (from a member who
didn't really want church contact- good reason to meet her!) and then
we dropped by the Adams (Sister Adams is a less active member). Sofia,
her daughter was standing outside- she was locked out and her phone
was dead! So we sat outside with her until her dad came by to open the
door. It was a lot of fun- she's a fun girl! And now we get to meet
with them regularly, which is awesome. Well, Sister Tauala and Sister
Heath get to meet with them regularly..... Anyway. Then we got to meet
with Alisha which went really well! I think it was really good for
her. She's been really overwhelmed and she really needs to feel God's
love for her.

Wednesday we walked a whole lot! And no one was home. Well except one
of our investigators who we haven't been able to get in touch with for
a few weeks- she dropped us. Decided to get baptized into another
church. Then dinner, another meeting and we dropped by Mutual- late
though! We missed Gordon and Patrick- we weren't even sure they were
coming! Anyway, we called the, back and set a time to meet on
Thursday!

So, Thursday, we walked a whole lot but it was sunny and warm, which
was awesome! We had kinda a weird experience with our dinner
appointment....not sure if they had a bad experience  with
missionaries in the past or something? Anyway, Thursday night we met
with Gordon and Patrick! And it went really well. We took the Morgan's
because they have boys the same age. Also Brother Morgan is super
smart and they're a lot of fun. We had a good discussion- we taught
the first part of the Plan of Salvation. They have a lot of trouble
believing God loves them, because of the hard life that Native
Americans experience- we think Gordon has been holding on to some of
his last, kinda holding a grudge. They have a pretty grim outlook- our
goal right now is just to help them have a little hope! And to feel
loved and cared for. Anyway, he invited us to go see this exhibit
about Native Americans that's up at the community college and we got
permission to go! Next Monday though, so Sister Heath and Sister
Tauala get to go.

On Friday, we got a car again! Surprise! It was really nice. We got to
talk to a really nice guy who, coincidentally, was named Adam! He
actually seemed pretty interested, even though he doesn't actually
live in our ward- he was just visiting. We talked to a bunch more
people and visited so,e less active members too. And we ended up going
in early and then staying in on Saturday, because both of us came down
with a cold! So Saturday was a day of rest- lots of sleep and
sniffles.

On Sunday we went to ward choir! We found out last week that we are
allowed to do that, and so we went and they're just starting for the
Easter program. The music is beautiful! And later that night we met
with the Adams for the first time- they are so fun! Sister Adams had
some questions that we were able to answer and they agreed to let us
come meet with them weekly! She wants to get back into church, I
think. Then we went to the Thompsons- you might remember that their
dog was my best friend? Well, she must have known I was getting
transferred because she shunned me...it was pretty sad.

So far today has been awesome! Zone BBQ, transfer news, a cool
adventure at the cemetery that I will elaborate on in a minute, and
also it's cold outside. But we have hamburgers and chips! And we have
a fun night planned, and a whole lot of packing tomorrow!

Okay, our cool cemetery adventure! This doubles as my spiritual
thought. So, Sister Heath and I really like looking at our family
trees. Well, I was looking at my great grandma's grandmother, Alvira
Lucretia Young, who married John Stanley, and it said she died in
Vancouver WA, Clark County- which is where I am!! So I got on
FamilySearch and I looked up the death records, etc, and found out
that she was buried in the Park Hill cemetery, which just happens to
be inside our zone. So, on Sunday, since, you know, we have a car now,
we got permission to go! This morning, we drove over to the cemetery.
Well we went by the office and it was supposed to be open, based on
the posted hours, but the door was locked. So we just wandered around
and looked for it...well, the Park Hill cemetery is huge. So we found
nothing. Last ditch effort- we went by the office again! I was kinda
frustrated so I banged on the door (well, knocked on it,
optimistically). Then someone came out! I guess they just keep the
door shut for some reason. Anyway, we asked about Alvira (which on the
grave record was spelled Elvira for some reason...) and so they looked
her up in the index. Well, she was only in one of them- the rest just
had her daughter-in-law Anna and her son Newell (not the son I'm
descended from). So yeah guy we were talking to called in someone else
who was an expert and he said that she wasn't interned there- they
have no idea where she was actually buried. But her name is on the
gravestone, as a memorial! So we got a map and went and found it. And
got pictures! The moral of the story is- family history is fun. And
putting things together is fun,me peen if sometimes frustrating.

The prophecy in Malachi 4 is real-

5 ¶Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the
earth with a curse.

The Lord is making it possible to find our ancestors! It was neat to
put together the story.

I love you all! Next week- Van 3rd!
Sister Jacobs

Week #29: Don't Forget Why You Are Here!

This week has lasted a long time. It feels like it's been a whole
month! I have been out seven months as of today so maybe that's part
of it. Anyway, it's been fun. Adam and Alisha were sick which is why
they didn't make it to church! The same for this Sunday- something is
going through their house. But we met with them Tuesday night and read
a chapter in the Book of Mormon and they are still sincere! We also
were able to visit with Sister Cruze on Sunday. Brother Cruze got a
total knee replacement a few weeks ago and he's still out for the
count.

 On Wednesday, we got to give a thought at Mutual- we've really wanted
to start reaching out to the youth more. It was awesome! They almost
forgot that we were going to do it though....anyway, it went well.
Then we got to meet with Bailey and Jordan, and that is always fun!
They are doing awesome. It rained a whole lot too and soaked through
our boots so we changed our socks and shoes before dinner!

On Thursday, all our appointments had to cancel so we ended up walking
in the rain for around five hours (looking back, we really should have
taken a break sometime in there) but we talked to a good number of
people and visited someone Brother Winks had told us about- an old
neighbor of his, James, who is pretty nice! He has a lot of beliefs
that line up well with the plan of salvation. Anyway, that night was
the Relief Society activity and we went! It was chocolate themed and
two members of our ward brought their friends! Those activities are
always worth going to. We also had interviews with President Ferrin on
Thursday morning which was a lot of fun.


Friday was our day of service! We sewed in the morning- we're close to
finishing the quilt top! I'll have to take a picture next week. It
looks really good. Then we had our weekly planning- we were grateful
to sit down! And then we helped Cortina do some cleaning! It was
pretty awesome.

On Saturday we did a lot of walking again. We had a lot of people to
visit but they lived on opposite sides of our area. So we arranged a
few rides. We ended up not having dinner until 7 because of our own
scheduling goof. But then the appointment that we scheduled funny
wasn't even there (Nadya and Victor- the Ukranian couple we met). We
met their family and left a Russian Book of Mormon for them and we
will have to try by again later. So we walked around some more and
found a few cats, that did not like being petted! Two of them tried to
scratch me....my own fault for trying to pet them! Might have been
better if it was light out. Anyway, for dinner we went to the
Crothers' and had hot pot, which was absolutely delicious! It's a
giant pot of broth on a burner and you just put the meat you want in
the broth to cook it, then you dip it in sauce and eat it! And repeat.
It was so good. We had a really good discussion with them as well.

Sunday, we were pretty exhausted again (I got a pedometer last Monday
- finally! I've been writing down the step count too.) So we were
grateful for the meetings! Then we just walked around and talked to
people and tried to track down some new move-ins. And then we had an
awesome dinner at the Kulins! Ham and salad and French fries, and
otter pops for dessert. They are a ton of fun. We walked around some
more, made phone calls, did training, and crashed. And so far today
we've mostly just napped.

I think the step record for this week was Saturday- we ended up with a
little over 19,000 steps! It was pretty awesome. Anyway, it's been an
amazing week. We got two referrals through the church system, and we
set up an appointment with one and we're still trying to make contact
with another. It was pretty great. So it's been a good week, even if
things are crazy!

Thought for the week: Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly
I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

I've been thinking a lot about the Plan of Salvation recently and I
was thinking about how important it is to remember that we signed up
for this. We knew it was going to be hard. We don't know what kind of
details we knew before we came, but we must have known how difficult
it would be. When things go wrong, it would be easy to blame God, but
we can't forget that we signed up to be here. And we learned and grew
in the premortal life and shouted for joy when we knew we'd be able to
come here! I always wonder, of all the people I meet each day, who did
I know before?

Don't forget why you are here! Love you all!
Sister Jacobs

Week #28: I've Never Seen A Live Possum.....But I've Seen Three Dead Ones!

I've been meaning to use this subject line for a couple
weeks....finally remembered! We keep finding dead possums on the side
of the road for some reason. It's kind of gross, but pretty funny,
because neither of us have seen a living possum.

 As for this week, it was a wild ride. We had a lot of cancellations
for various reasons. Brandon dropped us...sounds like he's got too
much on his plate right now. We tried to help him see how much it
would help him but no luck. He's still going to come to mutual though-
maybe someday! We also finally got to meet with Gordon (someone we met
around New Years and we haven't been able to meet with yet) and he
brought his grandnephew Patrick! It was awesome and also insane
because our members kind of took over the lesson- they just kept
talking about all kinds of stuff, and some of it got a little deep-
did you know that apparently the Native Americans are going to build
the New Jerusalem? Neither did I. And I'm a bit skeptical about it
still. But, in the end, I think it went well and they could feel the
Spirit, especially Patrick. He's had a really hard life and he needs
this! They came and visited Mutual the next day just briefly, but we'd
forgotten it was the court of honor so they didn't stay too long.
Maybe next week!



Wednesday was the really wild day though, part of that being Gordon
and Patrick coming to Mutual. But it started earlier in the afternoon.
We were knocking on doors and we met this Russian couple, kinda later
in the afternoon. Anyway, we got to talking (sort of- through a thick
language barrier) and I'm pretty sure they thought we didn't believe
in Christ. Anyway, in the end we got at least that point across. But
they invited us in and we talked about the Bible and the Book of
Mormon, etc. Then they insisted on feeding us. It started with what
we've taken to calling "turkey jello." It was the consistency of
gelatin, or just cold gravy, but it tasted like turkey soup. So that
was interesting. Then she comes up to us and asks if we want regular
milk or sour milk? Well the sour milk was homemade yogurt. It wasn't
too bad, I thought, but Sister Heath said there were bugs in
it....glad I didn't notice! And we had pork sausage, which was good,
and really great homemade bread. It was an interesting experience!
Though we had to take a break and rest our stomachs afterwards! Then
we went to Mutual briefly and as we were leaving, we saw an ambulance,
two police cars (those without sirens) and a fire truck pull into the
cul de sac directly across from the church, in front of the house
where one of the young men we are working with lives. So we run back
and let Bishop know just in case. Well as we're leaving the second
time, the young man's older brother is walking across the street to
the church and he just looks angry. His mother is walking about ten
feet behind him so we ask if everything is okay and she just motions
for us to go away, get out of the way, whatever. So we're kinda
worried so we call Bishop and tell him. Well, nothing really happened
in the end- at least too bad. I guess it was a drugs thing. Anyway, it
was wild emotionally. But everyone is okay!

Thursday was fun- we had zone meeting! Hooray! I definitely felt
uplifted and heard a lot of things I needed to, even though they
weren't really a specific topic. It's funny how the Lord speaks to us
in small and simple ways to let us know He loves us.

Friday night, we were walking down the road and Adam and Alisha drove
past us! They said they'd just been talking and they were going to
come to church on Sunday. Well, we were having a regional conference
at the stake center. So we gave them the address and we saved seats
and everything.....and they didn't come. So we were really
disappointed about that one. And they still haven't texted us back!
Best reason: they got buzzed and Adam went in for a heart transplant.

Or it was just too crazy. Anyway, the regional conference was really
good! We got to hear from Elder Hamula and Elder Grow of the Seventy
and Sister Oscarson, and Elder Renlund, who is my favorite. His talk
was really funny- I might talk about it more in the spiritual part of
this letter.


On Saturday we met with Jean again and she is doing great! We are
really hopeful for her. She wants to go to the temple! So that is our
goal with her. It is so exciting! She is so lonely though- we're
hoping to have the ward really reach out to her.

Oh and I almost forgot! We got to do some service Saturday morning-
helping clean a park near one of the elementary schools in our area,
and then picking up around the church building. We found a baseball!
And we found some other really really weird stuff....I don't know what
people  do in those bushes, but it is not good. Not good at all.
Anyway, it was a crazy experience. And we chatted a lot with Danielle
Lorange who leaves on her mission next month! Her mom is pretty
nervous and trying to get everything ready. It's pretty exciting!

And then...Valentine's Day. It was the least Valentine-y Valentine's
Day ever.  We had the regional broadcast and then we had lunch and we
did all our normal stuff. We walked all the way across our area which
was fun. And shorter than I thought it was- just barely under three
miles. We tried to visit some less active members- we got to talk to
Liberty which was great! And we talked to a lot of new people. It was
a really good day. We were able to talk about the Book of Mormon a
lot. It was a good day. And dinner at the Baldwins! My favorite
people! Breakfast for dinner, and just a lot of fun. They are really
great. They even got us chocolate.

Okay, on to the spiritual stuff. So in Elder Renlund's talk, he told
some stories where he and his wife had chances to share the gospel.
The first one was about Adam-Ondi-Ahman. So they were visiting and two
girls came up and said they felt a special Spirit there, and what was
the significance of this place to their church? Sister Renlund said
something along the lines of "The short answer is, we believe that in
1820 a young boy named Joseph Smith went into a grove of trees and
prayed to know which church to join. There, he saw God the Father and
Jesus Christ and they told him that none of the churches were true and
that he would be called to restore Christ's church through revelation,
and it's on revelation that our church is built. My husband will now
explain the rest." And then Elder Renlund got to explain what
Adam-Ondi-Ahman is. But he talked about how important it was to start
with the foundation that our church is built on- active modern day
revelation from God to guide us and help us grow. And it is so true!
Without that active revelation, everything would fall apart- just as
it did in the time between Christ and Joseph Smith when there were no
prophets on the earth! People would be lost and confused. This gospel
brings so much of that truth and spirit into my life and that is why I
am here in Vancouver Washington (a city no one has heard of- even in
Seattle) walking in the rain and the cold and talking to complete
strangers- because I have something that they need. They need to know
that there is a prophet, that God still provides revelation for all
His children, that He leads and guides His church, that we are here to
learn and to grow and that we can repent of our mistakes through His
son, Jesus Christ. Everyone needs to know this! It is an amazing
truth. And I have also learned so much- by meeting so many people and
interacting with them, and by learning more about the gospel. Someone
yesterday asked us, "You're out here at nineteen and you have no
regrets?" No I do not! This is the best thing I can do- to serve the
Lord. I hope that you all can feel His hand and His spirit in your
lives! I love you all so much and I am always praying for you!

Have a wonderful week and remember you are loved!
Sister Jacobs

Week 27: What's That Big Lightbulb In The Sky?

This week got a little rainy again- pretty wet, but not as bad as
around Halloween! And it wasn't too windy so we used our umbrellas.
Then, yesterday and today it's been sunny. It was actually really
weird- I was just waiting for it to get overcast again. Even when it's
dry, there's often clouds. It was so odd to see the blue sky that we
started joking, asking if someone had wired a light up there! It was
really odd.

In other news, a lot of our people had to cancel this week. Mostly for
forgetfulness, but Adam and Alisha just ended up staying out on
vacation for an extra few days. They did call and reschedule which was
really nice! Adam is definitely taking this very seriously- Alisha
will come to it eventually, but it will take some time! And she loves
to talk, so we're figuring out how to work in lessons around the
conversation. A lot of people are like that! They just love to talk.


We met with a member of the ward that's been coming back to church-
her name is Jean. She's an older lady, and she is so sweet. She has
had such a crazy life and she's been out of going to church for a long
time, but she has such strong faith and she really wants to get back
into the basics of the gospel. We want to see her go to the temple!
She could definitely make it! It was great to get to meet with her.

On Saturday I got a bit sick so we had a slow morning- I rested for an
hour or two until I was feeling better. Then we went out and had an
amazing afternoon! We talked to lots of people and met some new less
active members of our ward- the Adams. They are awesome! They have
three schnauzers and two Guinea pigs. The Lord definitely made up the
difference!

Then on Saturday night, we got to go to a baptism in Hazel Dell!
Freeman York got baptized! It was fun to go back and to see all the
people from way back at the beginning. We did have to leave a little
early to get to an appointment but it was so great to get to see him
take that step. He was definitely ready, and when he commits, he will
be all in! I wish I had pictures- I'm waiting for Brother Baldwin to
email them to me. Hopefully soon!

On Sunday we got to meet with the YM/YW presidents and we talked to
them about some stuff we've been wanting to do with the youth to help
prepare them for missions and for just sharing what they believe with
their friends. It's going to be a lot of fun. And then we had a
spectacular dinner at the Mallicoats'. Brother Mallicoat made
fettuccine Alfredo, chicken Parmesan, and spinach and mushrooms. It
was so good. And then we had FHE with the Thompson family, and their
dog adopted me! She's usually pretty cuddly but this week she was
ready to follow us home. It was pretty funny.

It's been a fun week! I'm learning how to not push myself too hard,
how to take it slow. And this area is really coming along. It has come
a long way since I first got here! I'm excited to see it continue to
grow. This is an amazing ward! I love being able to do the work of the
Lord! I love being able to see what effect the gospel has had on
people's lives. It is amazing. The Gospel is amazing and it is true!

I love you all! Have a great week!
Sister Jacobs

Week #26: Pizza For Days...

Hello to all! Hopefully February is going well so far- of course, it
hasn't had much chance to go bad yet.

This week was great for us out here! It's begun to rain again, but not
as torrentially as before. We've had a few really exciting things
happen!

First of all, on Monday night we get this text from Danielle Lorange
(who leaves on her mission in a month) and she's asking if we can meet
on Saturday. Well, turns out she invited her friend Brandon Steele to
take the discussions! He's friends with a lot of the youth and has
been going to Mutual for a while (and he has a bit of a crush on one
of the young women...). So we had our first lesson with him on
Saturday and it was awesome!! He is partly doing it because of the
girl he likes, but he's also sincere. He really wants to know if this
is true! And he said if he finds out that it's true, he's willing to
be baptized! So on Wednesday we're going to talk about setting up a
time to meet his parents so we can be sure that we have their
permission (and see if they want to participate as well).



On Wednesday we got to go on exchanges, so I got to be in the YSA ward
for a day! It was a lot of fun. It's the first time I've left Mountain
View in five and a half months, which was good because I was getting a
bit of cabin fever. So it's fine now! It was a lot of fun and we took
some great pictures. And I gave a training at district meeting. It was
pretty great.

In other news, to explain the subject of my email, I had pizza four
nights this week- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was kind
of crazy. It's a good thing I like pizza! It was half Dominos and half

Papa Murphys. On Saturday, we went to the Winks for lunch and
correlation and Lo and behold, what came out of the fridge but
leftover pizza? We laughed a lot. I didn't eat any, but I almost did
just so I could say I had pizza five days this week. Then, Sunday, we
had baked potatoes, meat, and really good Brussels sprouts, so it was
all good.

That's the majority of this week! We also got to sew again on Tuesday
and we're  going again this week to start putting the squares
together! We didn't get to meet with Adam and Alisha this week- they
had a surgery and then vacation, so next week it is!

Spiritual thought: Alma 5:16. Can you?

Love you all! Enjoy the month of February!
Sister Jacobs

Week #25: Six Months and Still Going Strong!!

This past Friday was my six- month mark! I can't believe it has been
half a year already- the time has flown by. It has been so good to be
able to be out here and see myself, and the ward, grow. I love being
here in this beautiful state, and being able to serve the Lord!

We lost our car on Wednesday, but it's worked out okay so far. A few
days of being a bit stiff whole we readjust, and then it's back to
normal! I do love getting to walk, especially since we've stopped
getting torrential rains. We ended up walking to ward council
yesterday morning and got to see the sunrise- it was stunning. There's
quite a few pictures. I won't send all of them, but I'll attach a few!

Adam and Alicia were both able to get priesthood blessings this week!
It was amazing. They got us cute little gifts too. They are really
working hard and are really prepared for this. They need it so much.
They weren't able to get to church yesterday, but Adam has some crazy
health problems and we're hoping everything is okay! They are doing
awesome.

We had dinner with the Cruzes on Tuesday. That was awesome- it was the
best orange chicken ever. And then we had a really great discussion
with them. They ask a lot of questions, but it's always sincere. They
honestly desire to know for themselves. They really want to strengthen
their testimonies, and that is so amazing! They are a great couple.
They've lived in the neighborhood longer than I've been alive....

We finally got to see Liberty! She's twelve, and she was baptized a
little less than a year ago. She has a hard time getting to church
because her family isn't the most supportive. Her dad will drive  her,
but won't wake her up. But she made it this week, and she brought her
friend! She's been having a rough time, and I think she really missed
the Spirit. She is an amazing girl.

And we got to quilt on Friday! I was so engrossed that we forgot to
take any pictures...but we're  helping again on Tuesday so we'll get
some then. They're for a sort of halfway house thing- I forget the
name- people come and live there and everything that is in the little
apartment is theirs, so they have things that belong to them! And when
they leave, it's because they've found better housing elsewhere. So
the stake furnishes one of those and that's what the quilts are for.
It's a really fun service project!

We had a few interesting experiences this week. The weirdest had to be
getting hit on by a 60-odd year old black guy. He was outside so we
started talking to him and it was just weird. He had that southern
twang. The first weird part was when he asked about our phone number-
"I'll put it in my wallet, I can always use more ladies on my list."
Then he kept talking about how much money he had (lives in a tiny
duplex though). We gave him a Book of Mormon and he said "Well maybe
I'll come to church, then take you girls out for a nice dinner and a
shopping spree, to thank y'all for being so kind and considerate." And
he offered us money. Of course we said no. And then we left. And we
just laughed all the way to our dinner appointment. So now I can add
that to the list of odd experiences in my life! We won't be going
back, for sure.

It's been a really good week overall! A little slower, which was nice.
We're planning to work really hard and meet a lot of new people! I had
a really good study this morning, and part of that is what I want to
share as my thought for the week. It comes from Alma 5:

16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the
voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye
blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness
upon the face of the earth?
26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced
a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming
love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

These two verses represent, to me at least, a goal. To be able to
constantly feel the Lord's love and presence in my life, and to live
just as verse 16 suggests. I want to go forth and serve Him with all
that I have, to truly say I would and did give it all for His cause. I
am so glad to be a missionary here in the WVM! I am so glad that I get
to serve the Lord, to witness His gospel change the lives of those
around me, and to be that mouthpiece! This is an amazing work and I
feel so privileged to be a part of it.

I love you all, and hope you have an amazing week!
Sister Jacobs