Police

Muy buenas tardes! Como estan! I hope everyone is doing great back home! Well first off i want to say thanks again to everyone for sending me letters and xmas cards and just your love and support for the holidays. I recieved a few this week and it really means alot. You know who you are. Thank you so much! I am so lucky to have such wondeful family and friends! Well this week has been pretty good week. Really weve just been contacting a ton... We dont have much. To tell you the truth, we have one investigador thats truley progressing. So please pray that we can find some new people to teach. And dont want to be picky, but maybe add to find a family. haha. But we have had some fun contacting. Contacting is something that some missionaries dread, like, are have to be in the mood. The good thing is, we have been making the best of it and just having contest who and doing daring games and just things to make it go by fast. 

We had some funny experiences and ill share one real quick. Well, lets say we got to know the police. So we were knocking doors and we come across a door and the a man answers who has a gun in his belt and i was like flippin out because there was no uniform that said police but he was nice and said how can i help you. I was like what? Just confused... We both didnt talk not knowing what to say. He asked agian what we wanted or if we had a problem. I just decided to tell him who we were. He practically said ok cool what do you want me to do. Lets just say we were walking under the signs and never saw the sign that said police station and i said what we want is that you listen to our message. He opened the doors and somewhat frusterated but nicley expalined and we just said sorry and walked away laughing feeling so dumb... But its all good. You learn really quick here in the mission to forget yourself and get over embarassment and just give what you can to the lord. 

Something that i was studing the other day was an article on missionaries. And somthing that i came across that i loved and i really want to improve. It was about what kind of person we are. Are we the kind of person that sees the multiple blessings that we recieve everyday or the kind of person that focuses only and that one bad thing or negative. Everyday we can choose to be happy or sad. Its that simple. Even when we mess up. Nobody is perfect. Im as far as it comes from perfect and have messed of a ton. But a quote that i read is something like this. Sorry for the man that does not make mistakes. Because every mistake is a chance to learn and improve. Though i dont like making mistakes and im not proud of any of my mistakes, Thanks to the love of god and the atonment of Christ and the agency to choose to be happy and live the gospel we can truley live and love life! So have a great day! Viva la vida! I love and miss you all tons! 

Elder Jacobsen 

P.S. I attached a few pictures. First is of some of the members! The others are to answer a question that it seems everyone has been asking me. Yes there are a lot of mosquitos! And Yes they bite me! HAHA ... Ignoring my WHITE feet (havnt seen the sun in almost a year) and my hairy legs and feet(you can teas me all you want haha) here are some average bug bites that i get on a day to day basis here in DAULE ECUADOR. Gotta love it! But honestly, its all worth it! Theres nothing better than serving the Lord! 

Bugs

Hola! Como estan! I hope everyone is doing well! Well its been a good week! Im finally starting to get to know me new sector and how to get around. Its a very big sector. Bigger than Monte Sinai and has a litle bit of everything. So in all of our lunches we have had just tons of rice. Tons! And of course i am told that Daule is the capital of rice fields in Ecuador! Haha! Rice rice rice! wahoo! If anyone offers me rice when i get home i will smile and walk away. Dont get offended. haha, just kidding. But there is tons of rice here. Tons of rice fields! Also i dont know if i mentioned but this should also be the capital of mosquitos! Holy cow there are so many mosquitos and crickets here! Just bugs!!! I pretty sure its all becuase of the river daule that goes through here. 

Well, the work is going well. I will be honest and say that its a little tougher in this zone. Our zone was 10 elders and is now 8 because one of the sectors was closed down because it has been 3 months without baptisms. And i guess its a rule or somthing to shutit down for a while. But i know that the lord is preparing his children to hear the gospel. We jsut have to find them and teach them. But teach them with love and the spirit. If you dont love the people, you will never get anywhere. As i am learning to love my brothers and sisters in ecuador i am really starting to see the joy and love that our father in heaven has for us. Well me and elder Izaguirre had our first baptism as a companionship, which is always fun! But we had a little challenge before. When we went to get the font ready we had a suprise when we walked in (ill try to attach a foto). We had lots of little friends to clean up. I forgot to tell you! I had my first Wedding! WAHOOO! we finally got someon married. His name is sergio! Great guy! haha. Oh, so i was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting and it went well. I love the power of prayer. I can honestly promise that when i prayed that the lord will help me and then i went up to speak and before i knew it i wasnt the one speaking. it is somthing i cant explain but i love it. I testify that our loving father in heaven is a god of miracles. He has been, he is now, and he always be! I have seen, heared, and witnessed many in this short 8 months. If we open our hearts a little we can seek and find miracles every day! In my talk i invited all the members to ask in the personal prayers that god will give them oppertunities to share the gospel. I invite you all as well! The lord is preparing them and will put them in our paths. And we are promised that the spirit will help us speak! Dont be afraid! I love you all so much! This is a great work! 

Hasta luego! 

Elder Jacobsen 

Baptism

Crickets in the Church

Wedding

Duale

Buenos Tardes! I hope everyone is doing great!  First off, I want to thank all of my friends and family for all the love and support! You are the best! This holiday season I recieved many Christmas cards, letters, and some packages, all full with love and support. Thank you so much and it was the best just reading how well everyone is doing and truley just making the best of life! 

Well, things are going good here in Ecuador. Im sure your a little curious whats up in my new sector so ill try to share a little bit of what I know so far.  Well our zone is only 10 Elders rather than my last zone of 20. Our district has 6 of the 10. And our sectors are all HUGE! I will never get to know all of my sector because the majority of it is all fields and and cantones or pueblos that take half an hour to travel to. The interchange we had this week to go to the other sector took 2 and a half hours in bus! So the whole zone and sizes of everything has changed a lot. My sector is called Daule and we are all around the river Daule which is a big river that passes around here. 

From what i can see my sector consists of all three catigories. Field and farm, Poor like Monte Sinai, and Rich. Our house is rich! We live in the city area where the majority of the people are and its a lot richer than my last sector. But what they havnt got yet is paved roads so its all mud mud mud!!! Tons of mud, because we have now entered the rainy season! And it just rains on and off for about 5 months! Crazy! 

So i thought Monte sinai had a lot of mosquitos.. I was wrong! Living by a river there are millions! And at night you see them on any light and it looks like a moving cloud at each light. I have never been bitten so much in my entire life! They all tease me because i show them my arms and it looks like i have some disease and they say i have new blood. Oh, and if your wondering if i use spray. Yes, i do, but it doesnt seem to do much. haha... Oh and some of your letters have asked what the wheathers like. And i can almost promise you that the answer will always be about the same. HOT! haha. Hot and humid. And i never thought rain would make the wheather hotter. But it does here. I keep tricking myself out becuase im so used to rain always being cold or refreshing. And i go out expecting to cool off and bam just another heat wave. haha... But its all good. 

Que mas... i dont have much time but of course ill keep you updated as time goes. Oh, its not a ward here. Its a branch. An average of about 100 on the Sundays. So we got work to do to make a ward! Well, still trying to get to know everything. I thought that id only say im homesick of home in the mission but i will admit that i am homesick of Monte Sinai! I wasnt given anytime to say bye to anyone.. I miss all the members, converts, and families! And just houses of Cana. Theres not as many here and when i see a house of cana i just miss Monte sinai. But thats the misison and i got to get over it. My goal is to return back one day. so i plan and visiting these great people in ecuador! Well, no time. Love and miss you all so much! Chao! 

Elder jacobsen 

p.s. ¨SHOUT OUT TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE GIRLS IN THE WORLD... HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACQUELYN! LOVE YOU!!¨

Also I attached a couple pics of inside our house. Its honestly a way nice house... Nicer than my dorms in Chapman Hall! hahaha! And the other is of my companion Elder Izaguirre... 

First Change

So new years was pretty CRAZY and loud here! It was like a 30 min firework show wherever you looked! And I was in a poor sector... they say its crazier in other sectors. They just set off fireworks like its nothing and everyone is running around burning their giant dolls and burning the ano pasado (last year) away.  It was impossible to sleep!  Anyway, it was great to pass into the new year. This might sound wierd, but i truley feel like a new person just fresh in a new year. Its great to learn from all your mistakes and make goals to better your year, year after year. I know 2013 is going to be a great year. I know it will be for you all too! Attitude is everything right!  

Well, I was changed!  They called us at 7:00 this morning and told us we had to be in the terminal at 10:30 which is like asking the impossible haha. It was crazy and worse because we didnt have power so I didnt have time to bath and my suitcases look like balls.  Im going to have to start getting rid of things. haha. Too many books and what not. 

Well, what to say.  I feel wierd not being in my sector.  I am now with elder Izaguirre from Hondurus who has more than a year in the mission and seems to be a good guy.  Dont know him yet, so cant tell ya much, but im sure he is going to be great!  Im still in the provincia Gauyas but not out of Guayaquil and in the city Daule.  And our sector is called Daule as well.  There is a little bit of a change in the sector. In this sector from what I have seen coming here it is huge with tons of fields, a big river, and my companion was explaining that it is half rich and half poor.  I would say we definity live in the rich side because our house is actually a house. Im finally going to live under a roof again and i asked him if the power goes out and he said no!  WAHOOO! hahahaha... 

I really dont know anything yet so i will update you more next week!  I love you all so much! Please be safe and start off a great new year!  

Love and miss you! The Church is True!!!

Elder Jacobsen

Happy New Year

Wow, what a geat week! I hope you all hada wonderful Christmas and are enjoying a great new year! This week was great! Started off with talking to my love ones which was the best! One thing this mission is really doing is making me realize how lucky i am having such a great family and the best best friend in the world! Life isnt life without you guys! Your so far away but yet i honestly feel closer than ever to you! Its wierd! Now i know the amazing gift and plan of God to have eternal families. Theres nothing better! Haha, and I might add that i wasnt the only one the loved the skype. Pretty much the whole town of Monte Sinai loved looking at a bunch of gringos. Haha, just kidding but there were like 20 people in the room watching. We tried to explain before hand about the privacy and just the companions but that went down the drain as soon a Jacquelyn and Lauren popped on the screen! They were all taking pictures! It was so funny, awkward, but all worth it! Thanks to you guys we now have 2 new investigadors. I had no idea at the time because i was talking to the fam but while we were talking a man and his daughter stopped by and asked what was going on. They explained to him about the mission and he was really interested and they began to explain the church and all that and he now wants is to listen to us! Awesome! Thanks guys! Haha! Well I love this gospel! And i love family! I have heard the phrase a few times from different people like the morgan family, other elders, and other people that we give 2 years to share what we have been so blessed with so that others can have it for eternity. Its so worth it! I love seeing the changes in these peoples lives! Well i wont hide it from you this week because we are very happy and excited to have finished the year with 5 more baptisms. Oh I might add for my family that the girl i showed you that was behind me in the doctors room that lives there with him that has been listening but way hard. She was baptized! Ill try to attach some fotos. Anyway, it was a great week! The spirit of this holiday season has been strong and has helped us achieve some great goals. I know the lord and our father in heaven love us! May god be with you all especially for this new year of 2013! Make it great! Its wierd to think that this is my only full year away from home. 2012 i was home and 2014 i will return. Be great! Like you all are! Remember that ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING! Every day you have the choice to make it the best day possible! Life is 10% whats given to you and 90% what you make it! Make it the best and with the lord!  Love and miss you so much!

Elder Jacobsen 

P.S I might add that we can not go out to work tonight or tomorrow. Kinda a bummer and i didnt understand why until today traveling in a bus. They have some crazy tradition here that for the new year tons of guys dress up like girls and just go around doing anything for money. You give them a buck to go kiss a guy across the street and theyll do it! Pretty funny and just wrong all at the same time! I was hiding for my life when two of them entered our bus! Luckly they didnt bug us! Haha! Oh and ill tell you about toniht next week! Ive been told its just crazyyy! Love you! 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! Hows it all going! I asume your all enjoying the great Christmas season as always. Its always such a great time of the year. Its honestly crazy that were about to pass through christmas. I honestly feel like it was just a couple months ago I was coming home from a semester at college for Christmas. Its crazy how the year flies. Well it was a good week. I was able to learn a lot this week! Some really good learning experiences! Also some really fun xmas moments! Well the work is great! Im loving it more and more as i get into it. Were in a little bit of a challenge right now not having too many people to teach. Being in the holiday seasons everyones having tons of fiestas or traveling and want to hear a message about Christ but dont want anything else. Haha, but we did find a family that seams really interested but they were not able to attend the church yesterday so that was a bummer. But were fighting for them. The familia Valera. Keep them in your prayers por favor. Well I am not going to write too much because of two things! First, me and my family have a sweet pday today. Going to the parque de iguanas and second because I get to talk to my family tomorrow!!! Wahoo! Way excited. Ill tell you one thing, the misison sure does open your eyes to a lot of things. And one thing for me is that i truley have the best family in the world! Love you all! Be safe and know that Elder Jacobsen and Ecuador wish you all a merry Christmas! 
I love and miss you all! 


Elder Jacobsen 

Somehow the members convinced me to dress up as papa noel (santa clause) because the wanted a big white papa noel is what they told me! haha It looked some what like these pictures. Merry Christmas! 

No Changes

So i cant even tell you how happy I am. I wasn¹t changed! Hardly ever are you in a sector more than 6 months but I don¹t know if President or God is just being way nice to me and letting me pass the Christmas here in Monte Sinai. I have at least another 3 weeks here if not a full 6 weeks! We were waiting for the call last night and next thing I know its morning and I jumped out of bed and was like wahoo! Haha. So It was a great little Christmas week here in Monte. Me and Elder Barragan had some fun going on some xmas runs being little elves and dropping some things off to some of our converts and families we know here. It was great to see how happy they were just to get a simple box of chocolate or a mini xmas tree with lights and just little tiny gifts. I love the Christmas spirit of joy and happiness. Theres nothing better than just being able to think about Christ and how lucky we are that through his love we can return with our father in heaven. At first I was kinda dreading Christmas time knowing that I wouldn¹t be able to spend it with my family but I am now starting to enjoy it realizing that I really only have two times in my whole life to spend Christmas in another country in a completely different experience and as a representative of the Lord. It¹s a very humbling experience and something I will never forget! Well, the work is good. After our noche blanca weve been a little short on investigadors and were workin our hardest to find new people that are that are being prepared to come unto Christ. Well the mission is going to change in the year. Big time! I shouldn¹t say the mission. I should say the mission work in the world. We got word that as of a couple weeks ago there are over 12,000 in the process of putting in there mission papers to get their calls. That is nuts! So crazy! And the other news we got is practically that sisters are going to take over. Haha. Just kidding. But in the next few changes over 30 sister missionaries for the least will be arriving. We don¹t even have 30 sisters in the mission as it is so it will be interesting how it all plays out. Its an exciting time the obra misional. Well I love you all so much and I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season! I love and miss you all tons!

Elder Jacobsen 

Pics:Me and Elder Barragan as elfos! haha.  

One of my favorite familys that just got baptized with pictures and testimonys from the Leibheart family! I didnt forget! I translated your testimonys and shared them with the Zambrano family! They loved it and wish you a merry christmas! 

The last picture is with another favorite family of mine. The familia jara with our little xmas tree (thanks fam!)