Lessons From Cancelations - 26 May 2014

So this week did not go as I thought I would. You know how I said I was so excited to see two apostles. Well it got canceled because of some riots and stuff here in sao paulo. The city police were going in to a lot of the cities for security reasons and so all of the busses and trains were closed. All of the missionaries in the mission were directed to stay in our houses the entire day. Nothing happened in Franco da Rocha but we were all really sad about missing the conference.

However, we made the best of it. The night before we were confined to our house we bought everything you need for a nice barbeque in Brazil CHUHASCO!!!! MEAT, SAUSAGE, CHICKEN, A NICE SALAD, GARLIC BREAD. We used our oven as a grill and had a feast all to our selves.

This is the last day of the transfer and I know that I am going to be staying in Franco da Rocha But with who has not been made known yet.

This transfer I have to admit did not go the way I thought it would but I know that I learned so much about my self and really about the missionary that I want to BECOME.  When  got to Franco da Rocha with two senior companions and one of them being  a district leader I thought that this was going to be 'The District transfer " Where every missionary is working perfectly in harmony.....

But after the first few weeks of the transfer something changed. My companions would not get out of bed in the morning. I would wake up study, AT 9 they would sleep on and on and on.... until I was done with my personal study. companion ship study would come around and I would find myself sitting alone as my companions slept on. And so I studied with my companions by myself as they slept on..... until 10. when I would open my language book and practice the language. At about 10:30 they would get up and start getting ready for the day and go to lunch like all was normal......

YES these last three week did not go as I was expecting but there was something that I needed to learn for myself that I think has been one of my biggest trials and definitely something that is apart of who I am.

I like to feel like I fit in with the group. I like to feel like I get along with my companions. And sometimes I would LOOSE sight of what is truly important and would be  willing to do anything just so I wouldn't  have to feel alone.

At the beginning of the transfer I wanted so badly to feel like I had a place in the trio. BUT then I learned what was really important. I think back on the life of the savior and how much of his life time He had to spend ALONE. As I looked back into Jesus the Christ, I made the chose that I would rather be alone With Christ then included With out Him. As I had the opportunity to study ALONE I learned more about my savior and about my purpose as a missionary and my purpose here on earth.

Nothing is ever going to be easy. There are going to be times in our lives when we need to walk alone. I have been praying to God everyday that I can be made stronger so that I can BECOME a better example and not be afraid to walk alone on the path that Christ walked before me.

One thing that I have really come to realize is that every trial in our lives has such a big purpose in our journey back to our Heavenly Father. Sometimes I forget that My purpose is not just to make it back to my Heavenly Father but to BECOME more like him each and every day. 

No matter the trial or the difficulty never forget why we are truly here on this earth.

I love you all so much!!!!!! ;):) I am looking forward to this next chapter of my mission and I pray that the lord will keep helping me to become who he needs me to become.

Photo one and two; This is Jenine and Sergio our last baptism. They are awesome. They have already visited the outside of the temple and had a great experience their. And they made a stop at the book store by the temple and bought all of books and movies made by the church. They read the Book of Mormon every night together and are just learning so much.

The third one is Neilsa. She is going to be our next baptism in a few weeks. She loves the church and is inviting all of her friends to come and hear the lessons. We are working with two of her friends as well.;)

                                                           I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

                                                           eLDER Jacobson

Team S - 19 May 2014

Hello everyone,

 

This is going to be a very special week for my mission because we are gong to be having a conference on Wednesdays worth 2 apostles!!!! NELSON and ANDERSON!!!!!  How cool is that!!! I am so excited!! and i am going to understand every word!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Sunday e had a very special night as we saw the fruits of working a lot with the ward come forth.

I was working with a member of the bishopric to visit some of the families on his home teaching rout named Junio. He is about 20 and is a less active member that is having trouble getting to church because of work. So i had the opportunity to share a message with him about the Book of Mormon. The spirit was strong and we set a goal with him to get to church once a mouth. But that is just the first part. Junio is living with his best friend named Daniel. So we talked to Daniel about the Book of Mormon. He said that he would like to learn more. We are hoping and praying that this will help Junio be stronger in the church. We made one more visit that night to a person that has been investigating the church for a long time know and shared a message to invite the spirit, Then Elder Marroy invited him to be baptized............. And he said YES  He is going to be baptized on the first of June!!! (holly cow I just realized its may!!!!)

                We have been working with a Sister named Neilsa for some time know and had an awesome lesson with her and a member family. We talked about the importance of baptism and read in second Nephi about baptism and why it was so important. AT the end of the lesson she bore her testimony telling us that she knew that the church was true and that by reading the Book of Mormon and going to church and praying to know the truth she received the strength she needed to be baptized.

We are seeing so many miracles here in Franco da Rocha. And I just pray that we can keep being strong in our diligence so that the lord can bless our work and multiply the effect.

 

I don't have any pictures for you guys because my cord for my camera broke. (it wont charge, connect to the computer, nothing.) so I'm going to have to start looking around for a new one.

 

I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!!!!

I finally got my Sao Paulo shirt today!!!! its awesome. I also collected a Brazil flag!!! nice and big to put on my wall next to my bed. I have pictures and will try to get them out next week!!!

Week of Reflection - 13 May 2014

This week has been a week of a lot of reflection for me. I have been thinking a lot about the work that I have done, the things that I have learned so fare, and the things and goals that I want for myself. I took my journal and Wrote some of the things that I know I can do better and some goals to help my companions and I work more together.

      And It has been such a rewarding experience for me. I know that I will never be a prefect missionary but I know for a fact that if we take out weaknesses to the lord, he CAN turn them into strengths. I think sometimes in life we are afraid to do things because we don't know what could happen. I feel this has the case for me. Being here with two senior companions for some reason made me feel insecure about the way I teach, my language skills and the way I interact with the ward. I felt intimidated and took a back seat in our trio. And then I started feeling that what I had to say did not really matter.  And everyone knows that when you are down, that is the time when Satan is going to work his hardest on you try and drag you down.

     I felt like hell was breaking loose on me. So many negative thought were coming into my head that, I could not do this work, and that I would never be the missionary that I want to become. When ever this kind of thing happens on the mission and in life we have one choice and one choice only that will determine in the end if you failed or passed in the eyes of God; weather you turned to God or weather you don't. 

     Every day we are going to meet a new trial in our life. We are going to be tested ,for that is why we are here. And it is my testimony that we have only truly failed when we stop putting our faith in Heavenly father and praying to just do his will.

This week as I had the opportunity to face some hard trials I have been filled with a heart of gratitude for the hard times because it is just another chance I have to turn to my lord and savior and have a nice long conversation with Him.

    The night before I went to the temple I just pored my heart out to Heavenly Father to please let me know how I am doing and what I can do better and how I can better overcome the struggles.

    the answers always come in the temple. As I sat in the celestial room I thought about why I was here on earth and why I was on a mission. And once again My testimony of this gospel was strengthen. I know who I am and I know why I am here.

I know that I am a son of God and he has a perfect plan for me. I know that this gospel is the only thing that matters in this life. I know that the hard times are to help us grow and be closer to our father in heaven. I know that I WAS CALLED TO BRASIL BY MY FATHER IN HEAVEN.

I think that sometimes I let my fears get in the way of letting god work through me to become the best I can become. But I know that I must let go of all my fears and just let god do his work through me. Let go of all the droughts and just go with faith.

 

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THY HEART AND LEAN NOT UNTO THEY OWN UNDERSTANDING IN ALL THEY WAYS AGNOLIGE HIM......  AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATH.

 

I know this is true. IM OUT OF TIME 

I love you all so much have a great week!!!!!

 

                                                                   Elder Jacobson

!!! - 5 May 2014

Hello family!!!!!

I am so excited for next Sunday!!!!!!!!!! We are going to be at a members house at 4 pm Sunday afternoon to skype!!!!!!!!!! and I think I have the information written down in one of my planners;) In my new ward we have a mom here with a son on a mission. Mom she reminded me of you. She id freaking out because she is going to be talking to her son on skype next Sunday as well. She was screaming in the church hall way as she told the story of her last skype call with her son. haha It was Hilarious.

This week has been great for the work!! we had the baptism of Rebeca a 18 year old that has so much energy. She loves the gospel so much and jut wants to learn more and more. all the members were baring their testimonies at her baptism and a lot of tears were shed. Her Parents which are not members were there as well to watch the baptism. They also were crying. The next day in sacrament meeting she received the Holy Ghost And bore here testimony.

picture one: this is the picture with the bishop, parents, and the friend of Rebecca.

It has been hard finding my place here in franco da rocha in a trio but the power that comes from three is so awesome. We have worked out the rough spots.... for the most part and are having a great time working together to teach and testify. It truly has been such a blessing and I have learned so much from my companions.

picture 3: here is a picture of our pizza party after the baptism!!!

the next three are of me and my companions in FRANCO DA ROCHA

AND THE LAST GROUP:

I had the wonderful opportunity to eat chicken feet. YUM YUM

I just want you all to know that I love you so much. hope you have a great week and ILL see you on SUNDAY!!!!!!!!

                                                                         LOVE

                                           Elder Jacobson (BRYAN)

First Few Days in FRANCO DA ROCHA - 28 April 2014

This week I have been transferred to Franco da Rocha. It is a huge area practically in the mountains!!! It is so cool, I have tons of pictures for you guys. I am working in a trio with Elder Marroy and Elder Lucas. They are both from Argentina. Elder Lucas is our district leader and was my second district leader in Pillar do sul. So it was nice to have already known him. This is going to be such a learning experience for me. The first couple of days it was difficult to teach with three but with a little time we will get the hang of it. The power of three testimonies of the same truths is awesome when trying to help investigators. We already had a baptism this week for IVO one of Elder Marroy´s investigators. And we have two more marked for this week and next week. the first is Rebeca. She is a 17 year old girl that was a referral from the young women. last night we taught her the plan of salvation, it was funny because she watched the plan of salvation movie that i watched in seminary about the play and the three acts. She new everything before we taught her. I felt like she was teaching me! It was awesome you could just tell the she utterly thirsted for the gospel and when she found it she could not get enough.

 

we have another date marked for Jennine e sergio. they are an older couple that live on a huge "shakera´` Just like the Claytons in Ohio. We taught them the commandments on Saturday and they said that they felt that they had already been prepared to live them.

They are going to be a great add to this ward.

The ward in Franca da Rocha is very strong. they have so many members and a great bishop. I look forward to get to know as many of them as I can.

These are just a few pictures of my new area. I have not had time to get some good ones of the houses. next week I'll will get a better view. and some pictures of my companions.

Surprise Transfer - 22 April 2014

Hello family!!!!! 

Yes everything was shut down for the holidays and so would did not have an opportunity to send emails yesterday so we talked to our leaders and they said that we could come and send an email today!!!!! 

This week has been awesome!!! We had the first baptism in pillar do sul in 3 months!!!! ANTONIO!!!!! He is going to be a strong member of the church and help the branch in pillar a lot! We have also been working a lot this week with the members and getting them to our lessons with investigators. members  add so much to the lessons and just help everything go a lot smoother. We had a great lesson the other day with Nino and Luciane. They lived in the united states for a few years and Nino has driven through Utah many times for his work. They speak a little English so it is a lot of fun to talk to them. But yesterday we had a great lesson about the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The lesson was very good and i know that they felt the spirit but Luciane said that she really wasn't sure if she wanted to make such a big change in her life. 

After that it was just up to us to testify, promise blessings and let the spirit do the rest. They are going to read the Book of Mormon together again and say a prayer to know for sure. I know that one day they are going to join the church it is all just a matter of time. Making changes like this is very hard, but the lord always provides a way. However I will not be teaching them more because much to my surprise I GOT TRANSFERED. I still don't believe it. I have grown to love the ward in Pillar do Sul and leaving will be hard. my new area is FRANCO DA ROCHA and I'm going to be in a TRIO with elder LUCAS and elder MARROY. How cool is that!!!! I am very excited to work in this new area and serve the people the best I can. I Know that the lord has  a special work for me to do just as he had for me here. 

I look forward to all of the things i will learn in this next chapter of my mission. Every week has brought something new. and every experience is helping me learn more and more about my strengths and weaknesses and what I can do to be better.

 But the best of all is the growth in my testimony of this gospel. I know that it is true with all my heart and I know that we have a father in heaven that is overlooking every event in our lives. I know that we can put our trust in him and he will lead us through the times of difficulty. The key is that we have to follow him for him to be able to lead us to light. The gospel is our way back to our father in heaven. It is through our savior that we can be freed from all difficulties and return and live this out father again. 

I love you all so much!!!!!!! 

                                                    have a great week!!! 

                                        Elder B. Jacobson

We had a night here when the moon was red!!! 

This is the family of Antonio at the baptism. They are not members...... YET 

this one is special for you mom. the baby dolls in Brazil are a little special

we got a chocolate heart from a member in the ward!!!! 



it was a very good strawberry filling on the inside!!!!! yum!!!!!



this is my "Dad" Elder Jacobs



my last district, I don't know why it came out so bad on the computer

Working With the Ward - 14 April 2014

At the beginning of this week we had a meeting with our branch president, he gave a list of recent converts that had not been to church in a long time and asked if we could make some visits to try and get people back to church. We looked at the very long list of people. It was sad because most of the people had just been baptized into the church. 

So this week we have been working mainly with recent converts and less active. I has been so fun working more closely with the members as well. We been visiting members of the branch here that have been in pillar do sul for a long time and know about a lot of the members that haven't been in church. 

You know how back in Ohio how we had that long list of members in the ward directory but every time you look through it you don't know who half the people are.. Well its the same thing here. The branch has a list of 140 members but we only have 40 people in church each Sunday. So we talked with 3 sisters that have been in the ward forever and got all of the members information and whether they still lived in the house listed on the directory. After three visits on Tuesday we had all the information we needed about what happened to these members which one´s moved and so on.

sorry I don't know why it sends every time I push tab... 

This week we had tons of lessons with members and less active and the results were awesome!!! This Sunday we had more people in church that I have ever seen in the 3 months I've been here!!!!!!! 

At the beginning of sacrament meeting the branch president made an announcement for the parents leaders and missionaries to meet after sacrament meeting. When we all gathered he said that he needed everyone's help to plan activates to help the ward. The result was great. We have planned a ward activity every week to take the place of youth night. We hope that having an activity all together as a ward will help the members get excited about going to church make friends and invite more people to come. 

            We have a group of members in charge of food, one in charge of decorations and activities, and the Missionaries' are in charge of the spiritual thoughts!!!  I pray that as we work together we will be able to invite more people to join and STAY in the church. 

           Tomorrow we have the Baptismal interview for Antonio!!!!!! he is going to be baptized this Saturday by a new priest that is the oldest son of the family that helped us integrate him into the church. We had an awesome lesson with him last night as we taught the commandments with sister Delva.

        The power of working with members is outstanding We taught 7 lessons this week with members. It has been such a blessing to see just how much a member adds to the conversion of the investigator. 

          But truly the biggest blessing of all is the growth of my testimony. If I can convince no one else of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ  i have convinced myself for truly I know that it is true and the path that we have to return and live with our Father in Heaven again together with our families. The gospel is true, it is Gods plan for our happiness here on earth. Fallow the example of Christ and you will be blessed. Choose know to choose Christ. Stand as a witness of him in all places, in all times and in all things. 

                                 I love you all so much, have a great week!!!! 

                                              Elder Bryan Jacobson

me with a lizard at a less active members house!!!!