20 October, 2014

Hey guys!

It was great to hear about your trip to Arizona. I hope you had an awesome time. I think I'll have to make myself a homemade o- lineman sometime. Sounds delicious.

Our week hasn't been too interesting.  J. is still on date to be baptized but we had to move his baptism to the 26th because this week is stake conference, so we're going to baptize him on a Sunday.

This week the weather got down to 70 degrees for the first time, which was nice. Apparently there's still a huge problem with the drought though, so I hope we get some more rain this winter.

Other than that everything is going well. I have to translate for stake conference, so pray for me! It's going to be hard going from English to Spanish rather than the other way around.

This Thursday we're going to be doing something called a missionary blitz in Live Oak where all the missionaries from our zone go to work in a single area for the whole day. In theory this will kind of jump start the work in that area by visiting a ton of people and getting everyone excited about the work

One awesome experience that we had this week happened while we were in Live Oak. We were about to leave to head back to Gridley when a name popped into my head of someone else we could go visit.  At first I figured he'd probably still be at work, but I felt like we should go check anyway, so we went over. Turns out he was just getting home and he had some bad news. He's getting divorced from his wife because of differences over the church (he's the only member in his family). We shared a scripture with him (2 Nephi 4:26-31) and he broke down and told us how much he'd been needing to hear something from Heavenly Father and had felt like he wasn't getting any answers. We talked about testimonies and how the adversary is always looking for chances to pull us down if we let him, but that if we focus on moving forward with faith he can't do anything to hold us back.

So that was a powerful testimony to me of the spirit's guidance in missionary work, and I would encourage all of you to study that chapter if you get the chance. It's a good one :)

So that was my week. It was a pretty good one.

I've heard there's supposed to be a record snowfall this year, which hopefully means good skiing?

Mom:

I got the package! Thanks a ton! It was just what I needed. I also got Jess's letter and the 10 dollars. Thanks for adding to my food stores! Maintaining this much muscle mass isn't easy on a tight budget.

Let Jess know that after much consideration I've decided to be a missionary for Halloween, as the candy payout from members will likely be 50% higher, mitigating the doors slammed in my face and still allowing me to do missionary work.

I miss you guys too and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again!

Love,

Jake

October 13, 2014

13 October 2014

Hey guys!

This week was pretty uneventful, apart from getting a traffic ticket, which was lame. We did some service, moved a piano, and did regular missionary stuff. Friday was interviews with President. He told me I'm probably going to train next transfer, which should be fun.

J. is still doing well. He struggles sometimes, but he has a sincere desire to be baptized. He'll definitely make it to his baptism if he keeps it up. It's been cool to see the changes in him as he's learned about the gospel. His other son D. came to church yesterday, so I'm thinking we'll try to teach them both next time we go over.

Were also teaching O. M., a recent convert in our branch. He's from Cuba and tells us all about life under communism. It's pretty interesting to hear it from someone who's actually been there.

My spiritual thought for the week is about the Prophet. I've gotten questions before on my mission about how we "elect" the Prophet in our church, and it's always interesting to watch how people react when we explain the Prophet's calling and how members of the Twelve become the Prophet. I think it's a principle that resonates with a lot of people because they understand the value in receiving continuing revelation from Heavenly Father. To me it's a testimony of how much Heavenly Father cares about us and our progression. It takes faith to follow and sustain the Prophet, and to study his teachings like modern scripture. I'm grateful for President Monson and all the work he and the other general authorities do. With that in mind, I want to spend more time studying general conference talks, so I'm going to read through it again this week. I invite all of you to so the same with at least one or two talks that stood out to you. I've received answers to personal questions through general conference more times than I can count. It's a huge blessing.

I remember learning subjunctive in the MTC. Now that I think about it again, it's pointless and dumb. But to be honest I can't really imagine Spanish without it now. It's just a part of the language. Haha I was pretty discouraged by it at first. I remember wishing they had just told me about it from the beginning and saved us all a lot of time.

We actually got to watch meet the Mormons last Wednesday after Zone Meeting. I enjoyed it a lot. It seems like critics will always find something to criticize though. It's their job, after all. Those Pharisees.

The point of the movie isn't really to explain doctrine. We have the scriptures and church materials for that, and lds.org. The point of the movie was to show that we aren't a bunch of polygamists living in the desert with horse drawn carriages. That's unfortunately where the church has to start, rather than explaining doctrine, because it's such a common misconception.

Love you guys

Here's to Oktoberfest solving all the world's problems,

Jake

Baptism Date Set!

6 October, 2014

Hey guys!

So the biggest news this week is that J. R. has a baptismal date for the 25th. We had a really great lesson with him last week - he gave us all of his coffee and cigarettes to throw away! So here's hoping he can stick with his commitment to keep the word of wisdom. His son, J.R., Jr. is a member, so it's been cool to see him helping his dad learn. Make sure you keep them both in your prayers!

Other than that this week hasn't been too interesting. We got out and saw a lot of people. I've noticed that my Spanish is doing better than ever. I think The Lord is helping me out a lot. My companion doesn't talk much. I've been trying to give him time to talk in lessons, but I feel bad because it just seems painful for him. His Spanish is still at MTC level even though he's been out almost as long as me. Do you have any thoughts? Should I just let him go at his own pace or keep trying to push him along? How can I help him?

There's really not a whole lot to report on for this week. General conference was great, like always. I especially liked Elder Klebingat's talk. There was a lot there I needed to hear. I also liked the one about "which way we face". I can't remember who gave it off the top of my head. I took a lot of notes though, which helps me pay attention to the talks from start to finish. 4 hours can be a bit much sometimes.

All in all, flying solo hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, especially when I have the gift of tongues. Things are going well.

I'm sorry to hear that things didn't go so well at the BYU game. Hopefully byu is better next season when I'm home.

I'm looking to experiencing all of the culinary delights that Swig and the Greek Food Truck have to offer (Sam tells me that lamb gyros are for "real men" by the way), and spending time with you guys when I get home. For now I know that I'm doing something worthwhile and important, and that I have Heavenly Fathers help. This week has been a big testimony builder for me.

Love,

Jake

Hey everyone!

I'm staying in Gridley for another six weeks, which means I get to enjoy our sweet house awhile longer. My new companion will be Elder H. He's a nice guy. I know him already, like most of the Spanish missionaries. There aren't that many of us. 

Everything is going well. We have a good teaching pool, and one guy in particular, Jesus Robles, looks like he'll probably get baptized if he keeps doing as well as he has. It's great to see someone with a sincere desire to learn. He even invited us to come every day and teach him, which is great. We've also been talking to Miguel, the son of a recent convert in the branch. I don't know how interested he is, but he said he'd read the Book of Mormon. I'll keep you posted. 

Other than that, things are the same. The weather is finally cooling off, which feels great. We might go hiking for p day today. I'll take some pictures if we do. 

Anyways, that's about it. Love you all!

Jake 

22 september 2014

September 22, 2014

Hey everyone!

This week was pretty slow, but transfers are coming up and it seems like this transfer has gone faster than usual. Both V. and M. are doing well. I have a feeling I'm going to be transferred, so I have to make this last week count. But who knows? It looks like a whole lot of people are going to have to move around for things to work out.

The weather has been cooling down this week, which is great. I'm excited for winter and weather that's not over a hundred degrees. Maybe some rain.

I guess you could say that our week was pretty uneventful too. I've been hearing about some crazy stuff going on the world though, like some new strain of Ebola in Africa and problems not the Middle East. It made me think about my mission scripture, Ether 12:4. I remember one day in high school thinking about all of the stuff that was happening in the world, and what kind of environment I would have to raise my kids in someday. I remember thinking that things were looking pretty bad for the most part. When I did my scripture study that night before bed, I found that scripture and it was a bit of personal revelation. It reminded me that as bad as things get, if we have faith we can have hope. That's all that matters. And the more people who have faith, the more "good works" get spread around.

So that's my spiritual thought for the week. I'm glad we have the gospel, and that we were chosen to share it with everyone. It's an awesome responsibility, and one that I'm grateful for. It's taught me so much in these past 15 months that I would never have been able to learn at home. It's crazy to think that I only have 6 transfers left. When did that happen?

There are a lot of things I miss about home. I miss Mountain biking in Dutch hollow (something we should do when I get home Dad), and video games, girls, and yes, I even miss you lot.

But my mission has helped me grow so much that giving those things up for two years doesn't really seem like a sacrifice, or even a fair trade. It's been a huge blessing to me. I'll have time to enjoy college when I get home, but for the rest of my mission I'm going to focus on the things The Lord wants me to learn.

Sam, you look like quite the stud in that there Homecoming picture. Way to go!

I hadn't heard anything about the Ogden temple, but that's cool that you saw the dedication. I'd like to go there when I get back.

Keep me updated on BYUs season will ya dad? Here's hoping they go undefeated!

Love you all, and have a great week. I'll be on for a bit

Jake

Mom,

I did get my package :) the food is really good, as the homies will agree. They've partaken liberally of the toffee. I'm hoarding the granola to myself though.

Also, thanks for being such a great mom. Not all missionaries get packages from home. Plus thanks for preparing me to be a Spanish missionary. I think if it weren't for you thinking Spanish is so cool and helping me understand the value of other cultures I wouldn't have been as prepared as I was.

P Day on Wednesday

17 September, 2014

Hey everyone!

Well, today's our P Day, and while it's kind of weird to have a P Day on Wednesday, it's been a good one so far. We woke up early this morning to go help teach the seminary class at the church. It was pretty fun. We got free cupcakes out of it too, which helped. Today we're driving down to Sacramento because Elder R. has an appointment.  It’s nice to get a change of scenery.

P Day is today because on Monday we went to a half-mission conference where Elder Nielson from the quorum of the 70 instructed us on how to use members more in missionary work. According to our numbers, over half our baptisms come from talking to less active members and getting referrals from them. So now we've been told to visit every less active on our lists before we even think about knocking doors, which is fine by me.

He also shared a quote from Elder Holland that I liked a lot. He said that the natural man is like the natural river. It's unhelpful unless ditches are dug to direct its energy toward useful purposes like irrigation, etc. therefore I submit that if all else fails, you can always dig a moat around Jess to minimize her damage to society.

All joking aside, I like the principle behind it. If we don't have the structure of the gospel in our lives, we'll never reach our full potential. And Heavenly Father is all about our potential. I think to Him our potential is more important than where we're at right now. That's why we have the gift of repentance.

This is week 5 of the transfer, which is crazy. It's gone by so fast. I've been told by President that I will probably be transferred after this one. Also, we were never given a mail key for our house and it looks like it'll take a while to get one, so I might not get mail until next transfer regardless of what happens (just so any interested parties know, like Mom or grandmas or attractive young women who want my address. Just covering my bases).

V. is doing well. We also found this guy named M. who's been reading the Book of Mormon on his own, and was actually willing to talk to us about the gospel, so we'll see where that goes.

I don't know if I ever told you about the Peruvian member that I ran into during exchanges back in Chico, but he's been on my mind lately. Just some guy that came up to me and another Elder asking for pamphlets in Spanish, and turned out to be a member recently arrived from Peru to work here in the U.S. At the time my Spanish wasn't that great so I struggled having a conversation with him. I always wonder whatever happened with him. Just goes to show that you have to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.

That's my random thought for the week.

Anyways I love you all and it was great to hear from you. I hope you're in the middle of a fun week. Give Jess a hug for me.

Love,

Jake

Cosecha - Harvest Time

1 September, 2014

Hey guys!

It's great to hear from all of you. Things are going well in Gridley.

Nothing really unusual or interesting happened. We taught V. She's doing ok. She really wants to be baptized, but I think she's scared to ask her husband. So keep her in your prayers!

We've moved into our new house now, and it's sweet! Super nice. The only problem is that we're living with this Elder named who thinks he's in charge of everything. He tried to tell us what rooms we were all getting (even though we were there first) and got all up in my face about it. So I got one of e-homies to tell him I did time in juvy before the mission for beating a kid up and he believed it. I haven't gotten any lip from him since. We've all been having a good laugh about it.

The harvest season is in full swing right now so the work is super slow.

I got your package mom! Thanks for the cookies, they were delicious! Thanks for sharing your temple experience with me. I think the temple is where I've always felt the spirit the most. I think the veil is really thick for me. I don't feel the direction of the spirit as much as some people, which has helped me focus on just building my faith. But in the temple I can always feel the spirit's presence, and it's really refreshing to just take some time and reflect on things. 

I'm doing great. Life is good. The Lord blesses us with so much, it's hard not to be happy.

Love you all!

Jake