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