Merry Christmas (Week 83 & 84)

 

 

 

Hey Family!

It sure was wonderful to talk to you on Christmas.  I walked away from that call with my head really light and a feeling of great love.  I will be honest - it was a strange thing to talk to you on Skype.  It was almost like we were in the same room.  Everyone was a lot older and yet just the same as when I left.  I am so grateful for you guys. You guys brought me great joy - the best Christmas Present that I could get! :)

I don´t have too much to tell you guys since we talked just a few days ago! (What a Blessing!)  I got transferred to Santa Lúcia on Christmas day and now I am working with Elder Lima in downtown BH.  It is a lot different than Florença.  But I am really excited.  Really really excited! Like I told you guys in the Christmas call, I feel like I am at the point in my mission that I have to give my all because the end is coming.  Now is the time to dedicate everything that I have to this great cause.

And it is such a great cause! Think about it?  How wonderful it is to know that God speaks to men again on the Earth - that He is doing a great work among us and that the Truth - the complete and pure Truth - was restored to the Earth! I am so grateful to be a missionary of the Lord. 

It was a great Christmas.  Really happy and focused on the Lord.  We ate a ton.  We went to a member´s house to eat lunch and the brother there wouldn´t stop putting meat on my plate.  I felt like I ate a whole cow.  But it was great Brazilian barbeque. 

I know that the Church is true! I love you all and hope that you had a wonderful wonderful Christmas!

Love,
Elder Jacob

Merry Christmas! (Week 82 --we didn't get a letter for week 81 :( Elder Jacob was busy practicing for the Christmas Conference)

Dear Family,

Merry Christmas first of all! :) I hope the Christmas spirit is alive and well at home, because it is in full swing here in Brazil! 

Elder Wensel went home on Tuesday.  We had a great last few days together, getting him all ready to go.  We had a big family home evening with a ton of ward members to send him off and it was really spiritual.  

My new companion is Elder Stadler! From Curitiba Brazil!  I like him a ton.  We are getting along super well.  He is a new Zone Leader but really really animated and excited to work, which I like a lot.  He and I have big plans for the Zone - we want to animate and inspire our missionaries to have faith and believe that God will bless us.  We are talking to everyone about baptism - in our street contacts, we explain that we help people to repent and be baptized like Christ was baptized and the response has been really wonderful.  We have found elect people, people waiting to be baptized.  It is a very inspiring and gratifying way to work. I feel and have felt great joy this week working and helping God´s children.  I have gained a strong testimony that the gospel really is the truth.  In 3 Nephi, the Savior teaches HIS gospel.  What I learned as I read this chapter today was that there are many gospels, philosophies and doctrines in the world.  Even in Christianity, there are millions of doctrines and ideas.  But the fact is that there is only one true gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That is why it is so important to find and follow the TRUTH because the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way that someone can truly be saved.  It is the ONLY gospel that is eternal and has the power to save. I am learning this more and more and I am so grateful for this.  It is blessing my life a lot. 

We didn´t have anyone with a date this week, but we sincerely prayed, worked and exercised faith that the Lord would bless us with someone. We were blessed yesterday with two baptisms.  Jaime, who is the father of a less active in the ward and Breno, the brother of a member here in the ward.  I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this great blessing.  What made the difference was our faith, our desire to have success and our diligent faith that the Lord would bless us.  My testimony grew a lot this week.  The Lord truly blessed us and gave us these two baptisms.  We are very excited to keep baptizing and helping this wonderful ward grow.

On Saturday, we got together with all the ward missionaries and the sisters and we sange Christmas Carols on the streets of Florença, handing out pass-along-cards like President had encouraged us to do.  It was a whole lot of fun! You know how I love to sing, and there ain´t nothing like Christmas carols to bring the spirit! We met a lot of people, sang all the Christmas songs like ten times and had a grand ol´time.  We are planning on doing this again this Saturday.  

Tomorrow is the Christmas Conference! It´s gonna be great.  I am very excited.  Pray that I can sing well and bring the spirit with my words and that all the other missionaries can do the same.  I am very grateful for Christmas and I am even more grateful to be a missionary!

I send you all my love and gratitude and devotion.  Have a very merry Christmas! :)  Love you!

Elder Jacob

Something ´bout Christmas brings out the kid in me! (Week 80)

Hey all!

Today is December 2.  Do you know what that means?  That´s right! It´s time to break out the Donny Osmond Christmas at Home album! The Best complete Christmas album ever made! If you haven´t listened to it yet, get on that.  It´ll change your life. 

It was a good week this week.  We worked hard.  No progressing investigators though - I have learned that our faith and our desire really make a difference on the work.  If you want to have success, you have to desire it for the right reasons.  We are looking forward to a great week this week.

We had an amazing leadership council with Pres. and Sister Fortunato this past week.  It was very inspirational.  To hear Pres. bear testimony of the divinity of the work and the existence of God was a great honor for me.  I can´t tell you how grateful I am to be serving with Pres. Fortunato.  Ever since I have met him, I have felt that he truly was called of God to lead this mission.  I felt that again this past week as we met and discussed the direction of the mission.  

Elder Wensel is going home next week.  This is his last week in the field.  He is a good misisonary and I am glad that I have been able to get to know him.

We are in BH today for another practice for the Christmas Conference.  I will be narrating parts of the program as well now.  Yikes.  Haha, seriously though I am really excited and anxious to do well.  

I love the gospel.  The gospel is the only thing that I know of that tells you what you are doing wrong and need to improve while at the same time giving you the hope, courage and desrie to make those improvements.  It isn´t easy to be a member of the Church, but it is worth it.  I have learned to not give up and get discouraged when you are reminded how mortal you are.  You just keep being humble and the blessings and the miracles will come.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Start wrapping the presents! 

Start hanging the lights!

Start makin´ a list,

and checkin´ it twice.

Start hanging the holly and the mistletoe oh oh oh,

And off I go,

Back to where I used to be!

Something ´bout Christmas,

Brings out the kid in me!

Elder Jacob

Weekly Pão de Queijo‏ (Week 79)

Hey all!

It was  a good week this week.  We worked really hard and found joy in our work this week.  I am very grateful to be serving as a missionary of the Lord´s church.  It is very very wonderful.  To be involved in this work is a great blessing.

This weekend we attended the Belo Horizonte Pampulha Stake Conference.  It was presided by Elder Mozart Soares, an Area Seventy from Pernambuco.  It was an amazing experience and totally devoted to missionary work.  The First Presidency asked that the full time missionaries attend the Saturday Night Adult Session because it featured a training by Elder Soares about missionary work.  The whole zone was there and it was inspiring.  The leaders invited and challenged the members to share the gospel more, to invite their friends to come to church and learn about the gospel.  We watched many clips from the hastening the work website and were inspired by the true stories of members and missionaries working together.  It got me really really excited and I am so grateful that I am here on the mission.

Then yesterday we had our sunday session.  It was packed in the chapel and Pres. and Sister Fortunato spoke.  They both were brought into the gospel because of the missionaries and to hear their stories, and their testimonies of how sharing the gospel can help change the lives of thousands was incredible.  Elder Soares told a story of a missionary who was so poor that when he went on his mission in New England in the 1960´s, the only coat he had was his grandpa´s that he had used in World War 2.  He was a scrawny young man and the Assistants and the President were thinking of sending him to Labrador, way in the north of the mission, and leaving him there for 2 years.  The assistants were afraid that he would affect the image of the Church in Cambridge, home of one of the most famous universities.  But the President had a dream that told him to send this missionary to Cambridge so he did.  About a week later, he got a phone call from the Head of the University of Cambridge.  This man was a great and famous scholar, had been teaching there for over 20 years and was considered the most important man in the city.  He called the Mission President and said, `President, will you baptize me tomorrow?` The Mission president, shocked, said of course and then asked for the story.  The head of the University of Cambridge said that our scrawny, good-for-nothing missionary went to the office of this world reknown scholar and asked to talk with him.  After waiting three hours, the scholar let him in.  The scholar was closing the door when the missionary asked him if they could say a prayer.  The scholar agreed and was returning to his desk when, before anything else could happen, our missionary fell to his knees and bore out his soul to the Lord.  This scholar then told the mission president that he had been studying and teaching about the Holy Ghost for more than 20 years, knew every single scripture in the Bible that relates to the Holy Ghost and yet, in that moment, he felt the strongest influence of the Holy Spirit of God that he knew that boy was a messenger of Christ and his message was true.  That world reknown scholar was baptized, thanks to the humility and faith of a simple poor country bumpkin who was called to the Lord´s work.

I really loved that story.  It helped me realize how important humility is in this work.  It isn´t about me.  I don´t have the power of conversion, that is the Spirit.  But I can be a channel for it.  I felt the Spirit very strongly in this conference.  As the choir sang the last song, Mais Perto Quero Estar, I felt the Spirit tell me that this truly is the Lord´s Church.  We don´t say that to boast or to belittle anyone else but it is the truth.  The Lord is guiding this church.  It isn´t the church of Elder Soares, Pres. Monson, Joseph Smith or anyone else.  It is the Church of Jesus Christ.  And it is through Him and His Power, the influence of the Spirit and the direction of God that we are able to have success.  

I am grateful for this week.  We are excited to go to a leadership council tomorrow morning.  We will be inspired and directed.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Jacob

My Week in Florenca (Week 78)

Dear family,

Hey, how is it going?  We are doing well here in Florença.  It was a difficult week but I really learned a lot, especially about how to be patient and hopeful when things are hard.  I am grateful for the things that I learn every day on the mission.  It is one of the hardest things I have ever done but one of the best.  I am seriously and honestly happy to be here.  It is a wonderful wonderful privilege.  

Elder Wensel and I are getting along well.  I enjoy being around him and learning the many things that he has to teach me about the gospel.  

And the gospel.  One of the greatest things about the gospel is that whatever problem or question or difficulty you may have you can find an answer in the gospel! That is why I think it is called the eternal gospel - it never ends! There isn´t a problem or difficulty that it cannot resolve or help.  Preach My Gospel says that it doesn´t matter what the individual problems of the investigators are, the thing that will help them the most is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know this to be true.  I am so grateful for the chance to learn study and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am going to sing Noite Feliz with Elder Hendrikson at the Christmas Conference.  He was in my very first district and is a great friend of mine.  Gotta start practicing!

Have you guys gotten the new Conference Ensign yet?  I am really dying to get my hands on it.

Well, that is about it from me this week.  I know that this church is true and the gospel brings happiness and peace when we truly live the principles. I love my Savior, I love God the Father and I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost´s influence in my life.  I have felt through this week the importance of the gospel in my life.

I love you all!

Elder Jacob

Short Letter, but LOTS of Pictures! (Week 77)

Hey all!

It was a good week.  We are working hard and seeing success as we work with faith and hope.  It is a great blessing to be a missionary.  

Our stake conference is in two weeks.  We are working to have a big baptismal service right after the conference with all the baptisms.  It is going to be great.  

Elder Wensel and I are getting along well.  He has a few talks by general authorities on his pen drive so I have enjoyed hearing a few of the classics by Elder McConkie and Elder Holland.  

Our ward´s Primary Program was yesterday.  They all did a great job.  Really sang their hearts out. 

Our goal this week is to find some great families to bring to the gospel.  We are animated and excited and grateful to be here.  

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Jacob

Hello! (Week 76)

Dear family,

 

It is a beautiful day today here in Ribeirão das Neves.  We had a great week but before I get started off, I wanted to tell you something crazy that happened three weeks ago that I neglected to tell you about.

 

We were waiting at the bus stop to go to a district meeting. There was a good amount of people on the street going about their business, buying, selling and whatnot.  Then suddenly, this guy comes out of nowhere and throws a firework at the ground right in front of us.  I barely had time to say to my companion ´That is a firework!´ when it exploded right in front of us.  It was extremely loud and  really hurt our ears. The guy just walked away.  He must have been drunk or crazy, one of the two.  Anyway - that was a funny story that happened a while ago.

 

We were blessed with three baptisms this week.  Two of Zelandia´s children were baptized - Willian (18) and Raissa (13).  It was really cool to help them become members of the Church - a really spiritual process.  They started off really hesistant but then really opened up when they started reading the Book of Mormon.  They are great friends and I love them all - the whole family actually! They are a wonderful blessing from Heavenly Father.  We also baptized Dowglas, a grandchild of Dona Mercedes that was baptized a month or so ago.  He had been wanting to be baptized for a while and we had been teaching his mom so that she could be baptized too - unfortunately, she hasn´t accepted to live the commandments yet but Dowglas accepted and he will be going to church with his very active grandma now.  :)  I love the gospel!

 

We had a great meeting yesterday with the leadership of the stake. Pres. Fortunato came as well as the stake presidency and a lot of the bishops.  We discussed how we can better work together as one in the work of the Lord and it was really inspiring to see how many great and worthy men the Lord has called to lead His church.  The Stake President is a really spiritual guy and I felt the spirit really strong when he spoke.  He is all about missionary work too which is wonderful. 

 

This week we are going to work hard and keep the faith.  I have been a lot calmer these days thanks to a concerted effort to exercise faith.  Faith and doubt can´t exist in the same place at the same time and we are commanded to have faith, so I have been consciously choosing to believe and have faith every second that I am tempted to doubt or fear.  It has changed so much already and will continue to change my life.  I know that the gospel is true!

 

I love you all! Share the gospel with someone today!

 

Oh and Elder Cameron Kapp! Congratulations on the successful mission! I loved the inspiring letter you sent me! Don´t go too crazy now that you are home! :)

Elder Jacob