Trunky Companion

Well hello mis queiridos amigos y familiares. As always I hope that everyone is doing just dandy! So this week has been a good week! The people here are so so nice! I love the people here in Ecuador! They always want you to be happy and welcomed. Im getting to that point again were some of these people here are really starting to become real friends. I really have to think of how I am going to come back to latin america and this great country to visit so many wonderful people. Thats the goal! 

Anyway, so i think i told you about my new companion elder Da Silva de brazil. Hes a pretty nice guy Really funny! . Hes packed with tons of knowledge! He loves to learn! He practically speaks 4 languages. But if anyone knows what trunky means. That can describe my companion. Tronkisimo! haha. ¨yo me voy y tu te quedas loco¨ is the frase that i hear a hundred times a day when i have to wake him up doing jumping jacks next to his bed, or proselite, or anything.haha. But he really is a nice guy. And i make him work but at least he does it. He always say jokingly ëres demaciado obediente bro, pero esta bien. haha. I just laugh and for now were doing alright. I know the Lords testing me and seeing if im serious. I need to develop diligence in the change!  Its a bummer because hates Spanish and only wants to talk Portuguese and English with me in the street and house  but he does understand the grammar and some of my last little complications with Spanish hes helping me work out.  Like Por and Para. Something so simple. Pero, its been the one thing that i seem to mess up. So ya, for a update on the Spanish. I'm getting it! I still have tons to learn and to improve on. The cosa es that when i talk faster i make mistakes. But that will come with time. I want to talk faster because it helps take away a little of my gringo accent! I know that its practically impossible take away a gringo accent put when i talk to the gringos that all have lots of time in the mission you can hear differences. They all have gringo accents but some develop their accents a lot lot better than most. I dont know. But ya, just trying to learn different phrases and improve my vocab. Thats another problem. Ive gotten so used to saying the same words over and over and over that im very limited. I want to expand my vocabulary. Because i sounds like ive just memorized everything. haha. So ya.- 

Well the works going good. We've just been contacting and contacting like crazy! I think im going to ask president permission to try proseliting in another town a half hour away because were not getting anywhere here in the city of Daule.... 

Well, time to close up. Sorry. No time! Oh, and Im now 20. Yes its a little different saying that but i honestly love just adding on to being a new person. learned a ton from my juventud and im just excited to use all that i learned from my teenage errors to just have the best journey in the 20s as possible in the path of the lord. And then 30s and you get the point! I love this gospel so much! Love it! Live it! Share it! I love you all! 


Elder Jacobsen  

Birthday

Como estan! Well very little time but a few things to keep you updated on! Well Elder Izaguiree was transfered today. But im glad he got to pass his birthday here which was yesterday. I think he had a pretty good day. We ended up having a good companionship. Yes he was a somewhat gangster missionary but we learned a lot from each other and were able to have some success. Anyway I have pretty much already had my birthday.  Yesterday was locisimo! We had two lunches and 2 dinners and 4 cakes!  I have never eaten so much in my entire life.  I was full after the first lunch. But here you have to eat what they give you and man it was hard. But i get to pass my cumpleanos with my new companion Elder Da Silva from Brazil!  Now I have 2 brazileneo companions. haha! Anyway, dont know much about him yet so cant say much but i hope it goes well.  Anyway, were  running late with tons to do. Sorry. But im doing good. Im just trying to work hard and improve as a missionary, as a person, and as a son of God. Always tons to improve on! Always! The work is a little tough  right now.  Isidro knows its true but his family is fighting against him!  He needs help! Keep him in your prayers. Also another young girl Marissa is fighting between following her heart or what the world wants.  Keep them in your prayers please. Other than that were with nothing. We have to find more people! 

I love this work! I love growing and emercing in it! Theres nothing better! And i think its sweet because the year that I have changed as a new person leaving behind lots of things ive learned from in 2012 is the same year that i will be leaving my teenage years and entering a new series. It helps me even more just feel like a new person and can just leave cosas locas atras en mi juventud like they say here.  But i wont lie, I feel really wierd leaving the teenage time just not being able to say im a teenageer. Its scary. haha.  I love who im becoming but i plan on stayin young at heart. Well. Please stay safe and know that i love you all so much and so does our father in heaven! Cuidense mucho! 

Elder Jacobsen 

Funerals

Well that week went by crazy fast! The weeks are going by faster and faster! This is starting to scare me! I have so much to learn so much to improve and so many more people I want to teach but i feel like not enough time.

Well I hope everyone is doing well! I am doing great! Life is good. Honestly, when you decide to live the gospel and put your heart to the will in the lord and trust him, life doesnt get better. There is a huge different between the happiness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the little buzz of happiness with things of the world. Please trust me when I say the joy and peace of living righteously is a 100x better than that of living in the sin of the world. Well, lately we have seen tons of funerals. We've been told that lots die in the rainy seasons because thats when the sicknesses and diseases spread like crazy. And it mainly starts from the air because the drainage system and trash system is horrible here. I shouldn't really say system because there isnt one. So all the crud and trash that sits in the streets and dries up gets blown into the air and when it rains it like steams off in the streets.  Its weird. Anyway, that is the result they explained to us when we asked why there are so many funerals. Literally like every other day we run into a group of like 300 just walking in the streets taking turns carrying the casket and they are all singing and drinking. Its really quite interesting. I guess its tradition or something when someone dies all the people that knew him gather together to have a parade.

Well, today was sweet. We went to the mission office in Guayaquil to drop off some forms and I got to see two of my great buds. Elder Christiansen and Elder Randell from my district in the CCM (MTC). Great friends. Elder C is the secretary and Elder Randell is the Financero (dont know how to say it). We got a good laugh because we talked at the beginning of the mission about who would get called to the office all saying no but they did. And we joked around about some good times. Both of them have gained quite a bit. We were all fairly skinny but they told me that the rice and oil is getting to them. haha. But the best part is when we said ¨remember the last time we were in this office together and we didnt understand a word anyone was saying, and now were all talking fluently in spanish¨. It was sweet. We took a pic with some big hugs and Adios. Gotta love the guys that serve the lord with ya. They are all great examples to me.

Well not much more to say. We have a great investigator that we are preparing to get baptized. His name is Isidro Garcia. He is about 50 years old and really is changing his life. Please pray for him that he can continue to fight his temptations against the word of wisdom and chastity. Weve had a lot of difficulties but i promised him that through the atonement of Christ and the love of God he can do it! I know he can! God loves us and truly is a God of miracles! Keep him in your prayers! Your all in my prayers! I love and miss you tons! Talk to ya soon!

Elder Jacobsen