14

well, im here again. ha it was a good week. tomorrow i complete 14 months in the mission. its weird to me. its not really weird to think about how long i have been out, the weird thing is thinking about how fast this last month has gone by, actually the last two months, it seems like it wasnt that long ago since i said that i was finishing the first year.
but like i said it was a good week. i think ive written it before, but the work is always moving ahead. sometimes it doesnt move in the pace, or even the direction i want it to go. but i can tell that as long as i work hard good things happen, peoples lives are changed, the kingdom of God grows, and on top of all that, i can tell that i am progressing and changing alot. another crazy thing that i am seeing as time goes on is that every time i learn more about a certain topic i just come to realize that i really know nothing about the topic. For example, ive been studying alot about faith. I remember in a general conference talk one of the Apostle said that Christ used faith to create the vast expanses of the universe and also to make the building blocks of matter. in the scriptures it always says that if we have faith in christ we can do all things. so then i have to ask myself, if i have Faith in Christ how come i cant do all of the incredible miracles it talks about in the scriptures. ha its pretty cool, ive come to like studying alot. the scriptures are full of knowledge that is the key to happiness and salvation. the trick is learning how to unlock the mysteries found in them.
well in other news, our area didnt have a baptism this week, but one of the areas in our district did. her name is leticia. i was super happy when she was baptized because i had gone to help teach her a bunch of times, and with the combined work of our two companionships she finally took the step. after her baptism she bore her testimony of how grateful she was to have made the decision. she was the mom of some other members, and now the whole family is members. how cool.
another cool thing is that we started teaching the mom and cousin of marvin. his mom mainly was only listening because she wants her neice to listen to our message, but now she seems more interested every time we come. it was actually pretty cool with his cousin (her name is ana mariah) as well. we talked to marvins mom (Alejandra) and she said we could come talk to ana mariah, but she said she didnt think it would help because she had been really rebellious her whole life, and would never go to church with the family. so we put an appt to come talk to them both the next day. then we showed up and found them in the house and taught them about the Doctrine of Jesus Christ (5 dollars to the person who can explain to me correctly what is the Doctrine of Jesus Christ) and challenged her to be baptized. well long story short she accepted. but the cooler part was yesterday. we went at nine to go remind her about church (which doesnt start until ten) and she was already and started walking out the door. we explained that we were there just to remind her and that we would come back a little later to bring her. then we went to invite other people. but when we got back like a half hour later they told us that her and marvin had already left. ha it was a cool testimony to me to see how after being rebellious and not going to church all those years she went without any one even telling her. Its the power of the Gospel.
well we are super busy getting ready for the temple open house. the mission rule is that we have to be present when the buses leave for the temple, and when they get back so we can get to know the people and make appts to go talk to them. each member family is going to pay for a bus and invite as many people they can, and we need to get to know them all. it really is a big sacrifice for every family, but its amazing to see how they are so willing to sacrifice just because of their faith, and their love for God. some are going to have to sell refrigerators or tv´s to be able to go, but they are all willing. its awesome.
well i hate to say, but im low on time. we have an appt at 5 today so that means we have to get stuff done early. but i love you all. i hope that everyone is really grateful this thanksgiving season. enjoy the cold weather for me and i will soak up some rays for you. have a good week. Hasta la vista
Elder Jacobson