Elder Justin Jacobson ~ CALLED TO SERVE ~ Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission September/2010 - 2012

First Area: La Grandeza,
Companion: Elder Heywood 11/9/2010 -3/15/2011
Companion: Elder Tadeo 3/15/2011-4/5/2011
Second Area: Central,
Companion: Elder Platero 4/5/2011-4/26/2011
Companion: Elder Lira 4/26/2011-6/7/2011
Third Area: San Pablo (in Malacatan),
Companion: Elder Altamirano 6/7/2011-7/19/2011
Companion: Elder Matute 7/19/2011-10/11/2011

Fourth Area: San Sebastian
Companion: Elder Platero 10/11/2011-02/15/2012
Fifth Area: Pueblo Nuevo
Companion: Elder Jack 02/15/2012-
Companion: Elder Velasquez -08/30/2012
Companion: Elder Ortega 08/30/2012-09/13/2012


Monday, November 21, 2011

Cambios




well i can hardly believe it, but 6 weeks have passed since i first landed here in San Sebastian. I have to say that it has been a tough 6 weeks, but i have learned and grown alot, i have seen miracles, and come to love this area alot. In the end im happy, what more could i ask.

so this week started the open house for the temple. on tuesday we were able to go as a zone. its incredible the spirit that you can feel there. i thought alot about the times that i went before the mission, and i really missed it. I think before i took it for granted how special of a place it really is. Alot of peoples lives were changed just by going to visit and hear about all of the things that we do there. i was super excited when we got there because it just so happened that La Grandeza, my first ward in the mission was there. i saw a lot of people i knew and felt a little bit home sick to go back and visit. the best was that i talked to the mother in law of Armando and she says that he is second councilor of the priest quorum, and that he is preparing to be sealed in february. I was so happy. It was a great experience

after that started the busiest week of my mission. All of the members here have really worked hard to bring people to the temple. now our part is to go contact all of these people and start teaching them. my comp and i both agree that we have worked harder this week than in any other time in our lives. Last night we got in the house at about 8 45 and i told myself i was just going to sit on my bed for a minute. ha next thing i knew i woke up and it was 9 30, i was beat. but we are seeing some results the majority of people come back from the temple with the curiosity of what they felt and why our church is so much different, and alot of people have accepted the invitation to hear our message. one cool experience was on friday. our zone did like a call center to call all of the references we got. so we all brought our phones and were making calls. i called a few and most said they would accept a visit. then i called a lady named natali. i told her i was a missionary and she said that her family is all members and that she had heard the missionary lessons a bunch of times. i asked her about the temple and it was crazy how she answered. she said that she always was looking for something to convince her that the church was true. and she said that when she went to the temple she felt something incredible like she wanted to cry or something, and she said that she was sure now that it was true. She isnt in my area so i got her adress and sent it to the area where she lives. but it was awesome for me to see the power of the temple and more than anything the power of the spirit.

in other news the man who wants to be baptized in december is named Macedonio, and everything is still looking good for his baptism. he might even do it sooner. he says he just wants to go to the temple and then we can plan his baptism for any day we want. his whole family is excited and we are super excited. Also yesterday an old investigator named jorge told my comp that he had gone to the temple and had told a member family that he wanted to be in the dedication. they explained to him that he had to get baptized first, so he accepted the invitation (from the member family) to be baptized. on thursday we will work everything out and plan a date.

its crazy, they always talk about how building a temple in an area blesses the church so much, but i guess i never really understood the extent of the blessings. alot of people are accepting baptism, less actives are reactivating and the members are all being strengthened. How amazing.

Its been fun living in a house of 4. its really a good chance to learn to understand people and try to compromise so that everyone is happy. we all get along really well. yesterday we had a wrestling tournament after breakfast ( its not someting that we usually do) but i think you can all guess who won... ha i put my companion in the double jack knife and they all said. when he was in the army he must have had training by the special forces. ha i love all three of them. and good news. no one has changes. it will be another 6 weeks with these locos. here we go again

well hate to say but its time to go. but i love you all so much. right now the radio is playing the song that says "It´ll take alot to take me away from you... theres nothing that 100 men or more could ever do, Ill chase the rain down in africa" ha i dont know if those are the words, but its makes me think of home and the family. weird how little things take us back. but i hope you all know how grateful i am for you and the life you have given me. Im happy.

Love Elder Jacobson

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