Week #33: Strange Lights in the Sky

This week was quite odd. For one, it was sunny for three days! And then, last night, there was actual lightning, which is surprisingly a first since I've been here.
Beyond that, it was a good week! We talked to a lot of new people. We had dinner with some investigators- Amy, Kristy, and TJ. TJ and Kristy are married and Amy is their friend. It was great- Sister Allen was able to answer their questions and help them to commit to really reading the Book of Mormon! They're headed to Africa to do charity work soon, but they are definitely willing to listen!



We met with Megan as well- I finally got to meet her fiancé! Cody is pretty funny. They make a cute couple! It's weird to think that they're our age. s doing well- she understands really well, and knows the gospel. We didn't get to see Stephanie this week because they were sick-something is making the rounds.

We stopped by Nicole's and had a good conversation with her! They have a lot of craziness going on- her son and daughter are both in football, and her daughter is team captain- yeah, she's pretty tough. The variety show was Friday night! It was awesome! No investigators came, but a few less actives did- it was really fun! I've got some great videos from the performances- hopefully I can send those. We had a lot of service this week as well.

Spiritual thought for the week:

"Another lesson taught by death concerns the importance of eternal families. Just as there are parents to greet a newborn on earth, the scriptures teach that caring family members greet the spirits in paradise and assist them in the adjustments to a new life (see Gen. 25:8; Gen. 35:29; Gen. 49:33). While I was standing before the casket, the thought came that separation was not only a shock for the parents, but also for the young man as he suddenly found himself on the other side of the veil. I suspect that he would like to tell his parents once more how much he loves them. Brothers and sisters, heaven only exists if families are eternal." ("The Power to Heal From Within," Merrill G Bateman, Ensign May 1995, italics added)

I love you all! Have a fun week!

Sister Jacobs

Week #32: A Little Bit of Everything

This week has been an absolutely wild ride- it feels like it's been
two or three weeks! I have no clue where to start. So Monday it is!

On Monday we made contact with Nicole, who the missionaries recently
started meeting with. She didn't make it to church Sunday- turns out
it was crazy work stuff going on. Then we walked around a lot.

Tuesday, we did service for Sister Kahm- she needed some help around
the house. So that was a lot of fun! We had an appointment with the
Wieses (less active members) and we played a Ten Commandments matching
game. Then we had a scripture study- they have that weekly. We heard
some interesting comments from Mike Dison about his theories on the
premortal life (that we all lived on a planet and as it exploded God
gained his powers and snatched up our souls and gave them new bodies
on this planet....so Krypton) so we might be talking about the plan of
salvation with him sometime soon! He's a funny guy- great testimony,
loves the Lord, and very unique.

On Wednesday we did wapis! Always fun. And then we got Panda Express!
That was exciting. Elder Read was doing this magic trick and Sister
Arnett was trying so hard to figure out the trick! It was, of course,
super simple. Anyway, that was a lot of fun. Then, lots of walking.
Met a bunch of nice people, including someone who just moved in to the
ward. After dinner, we met with the Pears and Brother Pears actually
admitted he likes when we come over- a first, according to Sister
Dearden! He likes to pretend he doesn't have a testimony, but we're
pretty sure he does.

Thursday, we had zone meeting- that was fun! Lots of good trainings
and a bunch of mind games by the elders. Then they went to clean
windows at the soccer place, but we had to go to an appointment with
Sister Carter (another member). She's had some struggles lately but
she's close to coming back to church! That's exciting! We had dinner
with the Burgoynes (they're office missionaries) and that was so fun.
Their daughter sent them Merlin on DVD and they just started watching
that. We also saw Stephanie again! She's doing alright- just pushing
through! She's really tough. She was telling us about how she got all
dressed up very professionally and she was talking about how she felt
confident and beautiful, even more that she ever felt wearing short
skirts or low shirts or stuff like that. That was awesome to hear! She
is on her way for sure.

Friday was normal planning stuff. Then Saturday we set up a regular
time with the Morrises- they just recently returned to activity and
are working on going to the temple, but they're still working on
understanding some of the basics. They were really excited when we
proposed it! We had correlation that night- lots of planning for the
ward variety show this coming Friday!

Sunday was a long day. Daylight savings made ward council at 7am
miserable. Then I got some bad news- I found out that Adam passed away
last week. That was rough. So after church I got a blessing. We walked
around a lot- the first door we knocked on turned out to be a less
active member! His wife is not a member- apparently he's been trying
to convince her to be baptized forever, yet he never comes to church
or prays. So we're thinking we'll ask him to walk the walk before he
talks the talk. We went by our dinner appointment and she'd forgotten,
clearly, so we just didn't mention it. She had signed up to have us
over for FHE though so we set that up! It felt like it lasted forever.

Anyway. That was the week! Sorry for rambling on so much. It's been
pretty crazy! This ward is pretty awesome, though different. The
members are really nice and the area is fun. We walk a whole lot but
it's okay because Sister Dearden and I are into a lot of the same
things! Music, shows, etc. So we always have something to talk about.

Thought of the week: it's a long quote from Elder Holland (Nov 2003
Ensign, "The Grandeur of God")

"There, in the midst of a grand vision of humankind which heaven
opened to his view, Enoch, observing both the blessings and challenges
of mortality, turns his gaze toward the Father and is stunned to see
Him weeping. He says in wonder and amazement to this most powerful
Being in the universe: “How is it that thou canst weep? … Thou art
just [and] merciful and kind forever; … Peace … is the habitation of
thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is
it thou canst weep?”
Looking out on the events of almost any day, God replies: “Behold
these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands. … I
gave unto them … [a] commandment, that they should love one another,
and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are
without affection, and they hate their own blood. … Wherefore should
not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?”
That single, riveting scene does more to teach the true nature of God
than any theological treatise could ever convey. It also helps us
understand much more emphatically that vivid moment in the Book of
Mormon allegory of the olive tree, when after digging and dunging,
watering and weeding, trimming, pruning, transplanting, and grafting,
the great Lord of the vineyard throws down his spade and his pruning
shears and weeps, crying out to any who would listen, “What could I
have done more for my vineyard?”
What an indelible image of God’s engagement in our lives! What anguish
in a parent when His children do not choose Him nor “the gospel of
God” He sent! How easy to love someone who so singularly loves us!"

Coming to know more about the nature of God has been one of the great
blessings of my mission so far. I have come to know my Savior even
more, and also learned more about my Heavenly Father and His plan. I
came to the realization that not knowing the nature of God, not
knowing who He is, believing in some ethereal force or cloud, leads to
a loss of faith, a loss of respect and reverence. But a real,
immediate God- one who cares for us and is involved in our day to day
life, that is the God we truly can worship- and that is who He is! He
is there for us- He is not some impersonal CEO so high up the ladder
that we never cross paths. No, He is our Father, our best friend, our
aid in troubled times. He loves us! And that is so important to know.

I love you all! But not as much as God does :)
Sister Jacobs

Week #31: "You Can't Get There From Here"

So I'm writing this email as we sit in Buffalo Wild Wings. All the

sisters in our zone decided to have a lunch date! That's right- all

the sisters. There's more than four! In fact, there's fourteen sisters

in our zone. Partly because we also have the ASL sisters and the

Hermanas. It's kinda a lot of fun!

Anyway, this week's been crazy. Tuesday was mostly packing and saying

goodbye to everyone! And Wednesday was mostly unpacking and meeting

some people. We have some great people that we're teaching here! Megan

is on date for baptism in July! She is super fun. Her fiancé is a

member, so it's perfect.

Anyway, the biggest surprise was that the Vancouver 3rd Ward is a

walking area! So I'm still on foot....this area has more hills too.

But it also has more stores and restaurants, so that's fun. The people

seem really nice, and the Ward is great. And they meet at the mission

office! Which means I get to go to the office all the time. Which is

awesome! So we get our mail faster, and they always have candy there.

We live with Sister Barnum, and she is super nice. She's at work a

lot, so most of the time we have the house to ourselves.

Sister Dearden is awesome! Turns out we like a whole lot of the same

things. So there will be much baking and since we watch a lot of the

same shows we have that to talk about too. And I am learning to knit!

So that will be fun too. So far it's a blast! And this is the seven

week transfer, to accommodate the MTC time going back to three weeks

instead of two.

Thought for the week: Psalm 46:1

The Lord is always present in our lives! He is always there to help us

even if it's not the way we want, or the way we expect.

Love you all! Sorry the email is so short :P

 Sister Jacobs

 Broken Church Window and Rock Face :0

Bailey and Baby!  Got the pout face figured out!

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