LAST LETTER (Week 101)

Hey all!

Well, this is weird.  The last email that I will send. I am full of mixed and wonderful emotions as I come to the close of my mission.

We have been greatly blessed this week.  Elder Sonnefeld and I went on a tour of the mission because President is interviewing all the zones.  During the interviews, we did practices with all the missionaries and talked about how the work was going.  It was a wonderful way to spend my last full week on the mission - it was great to see a ton of new areas, so many wonderful missionaries that we have on our mission, and I was grateful to try and pass on some of the experience that I have received on my mission.  

The greatest blessing is that today we will have the baptism of João and his mother, Maria.  Since I got here in the office, we have been working with João.  He was an atheist and on the first visit we like fought with him for lik 30 minutes to say a prayer.  This whole time that I have been here in the center We have passed by to invited him to repent, to go to Church, but he never seemed to be able to let go of his sins.  And then last week, he had a change of heart.  He told us that he stopped breaking the commandments and wanted to be baptized.  He wanted to be baptized on Easter but we told him that he had to wait a little longer to show the Lord that he really repented.  He said that that proved to him that the Church was true and that we weren´t interested in just a number or one more person but with him and his needs.  He was interviewed on Thursday and will be baptized today with his mother.

I am so grateful for the inumerous blessings the Lord has given me.  My whole mission, I was blessed beyond measure.  On my mission I have learned that I am truly loved by the Lord and that I have an important work to do here on the earth.  I know that missionary work is something that changes our lives - it is the most important thing that we can do - to share the love of God and Christ´s atonement to others.   I invite you all to continue on your path to God.  If you need to come back to Church - come back! There are friends and family and happiness wating for you.  If you are on the path but it is difficult to keep going - don´t give up! The blessings of the Lord are just around the corner.  Let us all come unto Christ and be perfected in Him because that is the only and true way to be Happy. 

I love you all!

Elder Jacob