Semana 3

Well to start out i just thought i would mention that in the internet place we are in there are some kids playing mario kart, and i have to admit that its making me pretty home sick. thinking of all the times i pwnd is making me long for those good old days again. but there will be time for that later.

this week was pretty incredible, and its hard for me to believe that another week has already gone by. I think im almost half way through my first change, and everyone says every change goes faster, if that's true im going to be home next thing i know. but a lot of good things happened this week. wednesday was kind of a challenge for me. my companion had to go to retalhuleu for a meeting, and they didnt have any one for me to be a companion with, so they found a young man in the ward to be my companion for the whole day. in the beginning i told him that my spanish still needs work so he might have to do most of the talking, and he seemed to be ok with that. we knocked on the first door and i did the usual greeting, then i introduced him, hoping he would share a little message like my companion usually does, but he just said his name and then sat silently. we sat there awkwardly for a few seconds, then finally i jumped in and tried to explain, i think i did pretty good (they could understand me at least). well to make a long story short, the rest of the day was pretty much just me talking and not understanding much. we met with a less active member, and i kind of had to keep the lesson and conversation going, because no one was really talking. it was pretty tough for me because im not much of a talker anyway. so all in all it was pretty tough, but the amazing thing is that at the end of the day i felt really good because i had tried my best, and i know that Heavenly Father was helping me and giving me words when i had nothing to say. i guess we dont ever really grow until its tough.

The rest of the week also went very well. we found new investigators, including one yesterday, that we met for the first time, taught him about Joseph Smith, and then challenged him to find out if its true, and if it is, to be baptized, he said he is going to pray a lot, and if its true he would have no problem being baptized. we also have 2 families that were working with , the navaro family and the gardonez family. both are kind of tough because its for the past two weeks they havent done what they said they would. but i think they have felt the spirit. so we are just trying to get them to pray to know if its true. we challenged hermano armando (the husband of the member family) to prepare for baptism. im not sure if i understood everything correctly, but i think he said he is just worried about making a commitment to God then falling into his old habits. which is good, i think, because he understands the importance, so we are going to work with him too.

so other than them, we are always trying to find more people, we have knocked a lot of doors, and it seems that people are letting us in pretty well. on top of that, a returned missionary gave a good talk on sunday of the importance of every member helping in the missionary effort. afterwards about 5 people came and told us they knew people we could teach, so that's pretty awesome too.

i received your Christmas package. thank you so much. you have no idea how it lifted my spirits that day. (i got it wednesday). i haven't unwrapped any of the presents yet, but i did help my self to some much needed sugary candy. I haven't given any of the bouncy balls away yet, but we are constantly being bombarded by groups of kids yelling gringos gringos. so im glad i have something now to throw at them to keep them back. i have the bag in my back pack. so once again thank you so much for sending me that and for helping me to think about others this christmas. here they have already started the christmas celebration. last night we were in a house and heard fireworks and the lady told us they were for christmas, ha i guess its not only in the u.s. so i heard its snowing there, that seems crazy to me. did you guys already go to cali? thats exciting, i bet you caught a lot of lizards because they are always slow in winter. Did dad or ernie win in golf this year? i bet it was my dad because he has been going like 3 or 4 times a week since they played last. ha

well im still loving life here. i guess i can say im a true guatemalan on the days that i eat eggs and beans for breakfast and lunch, i feel myself craving them for dinner. the weather is exactly like i like it, nice and cool, but usually pretty sunny, it hasnt rained more than once or twice. i love the people here, they are all so kind to us. its almost impossible to go into a house without getting some kind of food and drink. my favorite thing they give me is the sweet pan(bread) its just like home made sugary bread, but its so good. the members are awesome, i can tell they really want to help us in our efforts. I didnt start this e mail with spanish because i wanted to hurry, but my spanish is coming along great. in most situations i can understand almost everything, and im helping my companion more and more when we teach. every day i study a different grammar principal, and i can feel myself start to pick out that part of speach when people talk, its pretty amazing.

well its almost christmas and that means i will get to talk to you, that will be so great. except im worried i wont recognize any ones voices. i bet jordans voice has gotten a lot deeper since i left, he is growing up so fast. well im about out of time. but again i just want to tell you that i love you all, and as usual this week ive been so grateful for the things you all taught me and the great help it has been in my life. remember that we grow the most through the hard times, but that everything will always work out .i love you. hasta next week.

Elder Jacobson

Para Mi Familia

Otra semana ha pasado como un sueño otra vez. Esta loco como cada semana siente más rapido que la semana pasada. esta semana trabajamos duro para encontrar personas para enseñar. mi español esta mejorando y estoy participando en los lecciones más y más. ayer era domingo y tuvimos un ivestigador ir a la iglesia con su familia quienes son miembros. y tambien creo que encontramos un familia de oro. esta familia fue bien listo para escuchar a nuestro mensaje y les enseñamos sobre José Smith y la resuaracion. cundo les compartimos la historia de la primer vision, senté el espiritu bien fuerte y pienso que ellos lo sentieron tambien. in final esta semana fue muy bien.

so any way this week has been way good and went by crazy fast. its like I wake up, and next thing i know im going to bed. this week we worked hard to find people to teach because we really dont have that many investigators. we walked a lot and knocked a lot of doors. the people are very friendly and they usually accepted a return apt. even though i dont know if they really wanted to, ha but they wont be sad they did.

this area isnt a place for the faint of heart or weak of legs. the entire area is on the side of a big hill, with little hills dispersed throughout it. so basically if were not walking up hill we are walking down hill, and we will be walking uphill to get back. the other day we went with an investigator, he was going to show us where some members and others lived. we started walking and walked for about forty five minutes straight uphill ha i couldnt believe how far we went. but it turned out to be a great experience in meeting a member who hasnt been able to come to church for a while. she promised to do everything she could to be there next week. but the lack of flatness is made up for by the lack of hotness. the weather here for me is perfect. its usually pretty cool in the mornings, but i love it.

in church yesterday an investigator came who is the husband of a family of members. i think his wife wants really bad for him to get baptized, and we told her in our time here we are going to baptize him. so it was really exciting to see him there, and i think he liked the time with his family. on top of that yesterday we went to a return apt. with a family we had taught once before, but i couldnt tell if they were really interested. we were a little late because the lesson before went long. and when we got there the dad said, we were worried you wouldnt come. then we taught them about joseph smith and i think they felt the spirit, they promised to pray about it and we are going back next week. our mission president said we should focus on families, because only as families can the people experience the full joys of the temple. it makes me so excited to think that maybe these families that we are working with will one day be in the temple.

well its hard to believe its almost christmas. i dont know what it will be like here other than that we will eat a lot. but im excited for you guys. just thinking about snow and all the family together makes me excited. I hope that you all can find a way to enjoy it even if im not there, just hire someone to tell stupid jokes and it will be like i never left.

well im sorry but the timers going off which means its time to go. i wish i could write more but thats all for now. I love you all so much. and like when i left before, i dont feel overly home sick. but i definitely appreciate the time we spent together a whole lot more. im already excited for our first time together again. but that will come fast so i dont have time to think about that. I love you all , work hard until next week, be happy its almost christmas. till next week love

Elder Jacobson

Another week has passed like a dream again. This crazy as every week feels faster than last week. This week we worked hard to find people to teach. my Spanish is improving and I am participating in lessons and more. Yesterday was Sunday and we had a investigator go to church with his family who are members. and also I think we found a family of gold. this family was well ready to hear our message and teach them about Joseph Smith and resurrection. When did we share the story of the first vision, feel the spirit very strong and I think they sat down too. final in this week went very well.

premera semana en el campo

Justin and his Trainer in La Grandeza

Elder Heywood and Elder Jacobson

(looks like the tie trading has begun. I don't remember him packing this green tie! Ü)

yo attatched algo fotos de mi experiencia misional. tengo mucho más, pero el computador toma 5 minutos cada foto, entonses solo les dio 5. mi primer semana en el campo ha sido muy bien. esta muy differente del ccm, y me gusta mucho. mi compañero se llama Elder Heywood. el teine como 14 meses en el campo, y El es bien calidad, puedo ver que el esta listo para trabajar, y yo sé que peudo aprender mucho de el. nuestra area se llama lagrandesa, y tambien esta muy bien. estamos los dos nuevos en esta area, entonses no sabemos casi nada, pero estamos aprendiendo cada dia. mi español no es perfecto, pero puedo entender mucho de la genta aqui. Dijo Elder Heywood que despues uno cambio, voy a entender casi todo. veremos.

well thats all my spanish for this week. ha i hope all that made sense to you, because im not sure if it even makes sense to me. so like i said my new companions name is Elder Heywood. He is awesome. he has a year plus a few months in the field, and im his second son. i can tell he likes to work hard and that i can learn a lot from him, and i think that we are going to get a lot done with our time together. our area is called la grandeza. its up in the mountains like i was hoping for, and it is living up to its reputation of being nice and cold, its been real nice for me. our area just got split from another so in a way we are kind of opening the area, so thats way cool. Its been some work because we dont know anything about the area or the people. luckily there is one elder here that has been in the area about 3 months, so he kind of is showing us the ropes, and introducing us to the people. we met the bishop and his counselors, a bunch of members and 1 investigator named hermana monica. we also found 2 people and taught them lessons, and we have appointments to return and teach again. on sunday the attendance was 59 which is pretty good for our little area, but the member roster has like 300 plus, so alot of work is going to be reactivating. elder heywood says it will be a lot of work, but i have a good feeling that we are going to strengthen this area a lot, i think that we can work miracles here.

the people are awesome. the area we are in is quiet, and very calm. a lot of members say that other areas are sometimes dangerous, but ours is very calm and tranquilo. we live in a house with 2 other elders, and they are way cool as well. we live in the house of a family of a mom, and her 3 kids, 2 are older then us, and the other one is 15 or 16. on top of those 4 there is a bunch of people always coming and going, i dont know yet who is related and how, its just like a big happy family. they cook all the meals for us, and its always really good, especially they have this drink that is like vanilla hot chocolate, that they always serve on the cold mornings, its so good.

well i dont have a lot of time left, but ill just say that things are great here. sometimes im not really sure whats going on, but i think my spanish is getting better everyday. Im learning alot to trust my Heavenly Father and have patience. Im so grateful for this chance to learn grow and serve. i love you all, and im grateful to have had such a great family. i hope all is going well there, and that everyone is happy and content with life. enjoy your week. until next week. Elder Jacobson.

Translation

I attatched some pictures of my missionary experience. I have a lot more, but the computer takes 5 minutes per photo, entonses only gave them 5. my first week in the field has been very positive. It is very differente from ccm, and I really like it. my companion is Elder Heywood. He has 14 months in the field, and the quality is good, I can see that he is ready to work, and I know that I'll learn a lot from him. La grandeza our area is called, and is also very good. we are both new to this area, entonses know almost nothing, but we are learning every day. My Spanish is not perfect, but I can understand a lot of people here. Elder Heywood said that after a change, I will understand almost everything. we'll see.

with Elder Bassett

With Elder Evans (companion in the Provo MTC)

With the CCM President and His wife (I think)

With Elder Thornley(Companion at the CCM)

With his Class?

ultimo mensaje del ccm

well i think i only have a few minutes, but were supposed to write and say that were leaving the ccm tomorrow. as far as i can tell ill be somewhere deep in the mountains and its very unlikley that e mail, or even regular mail will be available there, so this may be our last communication for some time. haha just kidding. well it may be true, i really have no idea right now. but im excited to go and i think im ready, or at least as ready as ill ever be. its time to go do work i guess. but i love all of you so much. ill be praying for you all. keep working hard and having faith, and ill try to do thesame. well thats all my time for now. ill talk to you when i talk to you. love } Elder Jacobson

Bubbles

If anyone was curios about what Justin was talking about in his last email, here it is. One of our favorite "Whose Line" skits. Enjoy!

The Last Week

hola familia. lo siento que no he escribido mucho o contestando sus
preguntas. es dificil porque no tengo mucho tiempo para escribir.
pero yo sè que puedo hacer mejor entonses tratare a contestar sus
preguntas. ayer aprendé sobre passive voice se, o en otras palabras
passive voice se fue aprendado por me haha mal chiste. en la mañana
asistí el templo. fue muy bonito. este semana mi presidente misional
nos comprometemos a hablar no más ingles toda la semana. es dificil
pero estoy tratando, yo sé que será mejor cuando empezo en el campo.


well thats all the spanish for this week. i cant believe next week
i will be in the field. im not sure im entirely ready, but i guess im
as ready as ill ever be. sorry that my emails havnt been that
informative lately. its weird, there is all these things i could say,
but when its actually time to e mail i have trouble thinking of
things. also we had a fireside, by the local general authority , y el
dijo that as missionaries we need to always be bringing everyone
closer to Christ, including our family. so he said when i write you
guys dont talk about weather and food, but instead talk about the
important gospel things i have been learning.

ha that being said i know i could definately tell you more about my life here, so you all
dont feel so in the dark. ha but now i dont remember what you asked,
and i dont have time to go find the questions. but if your wondering
if an anderoid took over and is writing you, just ask yourself if an
android could say this --- bubles - was- her - name- and - trouble -
was - her- game- fourty - years - old - and - lovely - as - a - dove
- she- floating - on - water - above. well that waisted some time
but i think it is pretty substantial evidence that it is really me.


well to tell you about my life here. its great. we usually have
sports in the morning, shower, breakfast then personal study. in
the morning is when i read the libro de mormon. after that we have
class, my teachers are hermano miranda y hermana rojas, i like them
a lot, we play a game to help us learn like every day. after that we
go to lunch at twelve. regardless of what the food is i cover it with
about a pound of fresh salsa and this spicy green chili sauce. after
that we have about for hours of time where we decide what to do.
usually we do an hour personal, and hour companionship, and an hour of
language, other than that it just depends. then we have dinner.
then class with hermana alvarez y hermana lopez. thats also always
very fun. then my companion and i go lock all the doors. change
brush, write in journal, pray , go to sleep, repeat. ha thats about
it . its not too exciting but the days are always enjoyable.

well im down to about 1 minute so i will say good buy. i love you all so
much, thanks for the emails and letters from everyone, they mean so
much to me. this week i think im going to study more about the
restoration in chapter 3 so you can all follow along if you want.
well 30 seconds now. ill talk to you all next week. hang in there
and know that im praying for you. remember to always be happy

love
elder jacobson

Google Traslation
hello family I feel it that I have not written a lot or answering its questions. it is difficult because I do not have long time to write. but I sèe that I can do entonses better will try to answer his questions. yesterday we learned on passive voice, or in other words passive voice went away aprendado me haha badly joke. in the morning I attended the temple. it was very pretty. this week my missionary president we commit ourselves to speak not English all the week. it is difficult but I am trying, I know that will be better when I begin in the field.