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 

Song

Hooooolllaaa! Como estan! 

Wow, you just gotta love life. As life goes on I’m beginning to realize more and more poco a poco the love that God has for us and how he truly just wants us to be happy. So I hope your all just making the best of life and working hard in school, church, work, sports, and just everything you all do! 

Well we had a great baptism with a Senor named Carlos Rodriguez! He is awesome! We have been working with him for a while but we always lose him because he doesn’t really have a set place to live at. But he is a man that truly loves the Lord and looks always to do the Lord’s will. We had no trouble teaching him the word of wisdom, chastity, or anything. He has had a huge background with lots of other religions and studies doctrine like crazy but says he has always been so confused with all the churches and always looking for the truth. He knew God existed but he didn’t know where to go. Anyway, it was a perfect story of a guy looking for the truth and two missionaries finding him and now he’s a member de la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias. He actually has a strong testimony and says it all makes sense now. Anyway, that made me really happy. We want to talk to the members and see if we can build him a house of cana but we’re not sure if it’s possible. We´ll have to see. 

Well not to long ago I was able to get a couple songs that just recently came out on the church lds.org website two of which are called “Glorious” and “Its a New Start”. I have come to love them both! I realize how much I love music but I don’t know what it is with those two songs but they have really, really helped me! Both of these songs and the meanings that I have taken out of them have really been able to apply to my life. I would love to talk about each one but not enough time right now.   So, I’ll share a little bit about the song “Glorious” because “It’s a New Start” is a little easier to understand. I have taken the song “Glorious” in somewhat of a different way I guess you can say. I love the song and its lyrics but I have taken my own meaning from it. One of the parts I love is when it says, “ITS  A SYMPHONY”. As a few of you know, at times I like to make my own music on the piano and like to play around and come up with a song. I have been thinking about this song and how it can apply to life. I’ve come to think of life in somewhat of a different way. That each one of us in life is creating our own personal symphonies or songs you can say. There is a purpose as the song says. We each have a purpose here and as we live our lives we have to find the pieces and notes that all come together. It’s a process. We can’t do it all at once but we improve each time or each day. When I would play with songs I would often get lost or not know what to play next and that happens often in our lives. As I tried to find the right notes I often messed up and had to try again. And I had to truly listen. In life it is ok to mess up. I testify that we are not perfect. We mess up. And though it’s hard we have to keep trying and keep progressing. And we have to listen. But not just with ours ears but with our heart. If we listen to our hearts and the sweet spirit of the Lord we will be guided and know what to do next. God loves us, and he wants to guide and help us even when we make mistakes. But we have to listen. Sometimes in my song I will think something sounds good for a moment and as I continue I realize it doesn’t match at all and it would ruin the whole song! Now, Satan exists and will try to present things that for the short moment seem interesting or good. But in the grand picture it’s not the best and in the end of the song or life it will mess it all up. We have to find these notes and take them out. They might be all over and it’s hard to get rid of them but it’s worth it in the end. Or maybe you have a piece of the song that you like but if it doesn’t fit it doesn’t fit. You got to take it out! That could be like addictions or sins. We have to take out the sin of our life and progress and do the will of the Lord and not of the world! And to finish up. Lots of times I have the song where I like it and it does sound good but as I listen more and play more I find something better to put in or exchange out. In life, we shouldn’t be afraid to improve. We might be doing something that’s not bad but its not the best. As we get older and live life we need to be willing to adjust and humble ourselves before the Lord. It’s a process but we can enjoy it. I like playing around on the piano. I enjoy it. We need to enjoy life and do our best! I have dedicated a couple of songs and it is the same in real life. We dedicate our life to God and will have to play it to him. Though it will not be perfect if God sees that we have a sincere heart and are trying our best to improve he will erase and forget our many mistakes. I love that! The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and is something very big for me and my life and for all of us. I love this gospel and know there is nothing better. I invite all of you to make your song but never forget who you’re making it for. I love you all so much!  Take care! 

Elder Jacobsen 

Weather

Well hello my wonderful family and friends! 

How is everyone doing! Hows the weather. I imagine that in Cali its pretty nice. Im sure you can guess how the weather is here! haha! ITs Hot, Humid, Rainy, and hot and more humid! haha! But actually im way excited because today at least for right now it is bright and sunny which i like a lot more than the rain. Being here in Ecuador for a little while i have realized a couple things on how i like the weather. So if i had to pick one type of weather to live in for the rest of my life it would definitely be the sun but not scorching hot (you can say southern California) but i will not say i am one of those people that do not like rain or snow or cold. I love the snow and i dont dislike rain. Its just a matter of how much time! I love to throw in little change and i would love a month of snow here in the mission but ya i dont know were im going with all this. I guess i just say you can find joy and fun in whatever type of weather your in! So ya, just enjoy life! haha. 

Well this week was the carnival which we were given permission to leave but we ended not leaving do to a weak gringo. Yes i was a little under the weather. (Geeze, enough of the word weather.) ha! But its all good. Dont worry! Im doing a lot better! I was sent to a clinic in Guayaquil and will see what they say (Im still good with my goal of not going to the hospital! wahoo!) But unfortunately i wasnt able to see to much of the crazy ecuadorian  carnival! The next one! I hope! But we did leave to eat lunch and i saw enough to be abe to tell you guys that its crazy! And i wouldnt have been able to take pictures anyway because the camera would get destroyed. What else... Oh the elections were yesterday! i dont know who won yet but well see. Jeeze they go nuts here with elections. TOns of parades and street meetings and whatnot. THe streets yesterday were packed like crazy because the whole country has to vote all in one day! And if your grew up in Daule but moved to Gauyaquil (as an example) you have to come back to Daule to vote! Its nuts so the traffic was just a reck! And we got word that all north americans have to avoid as much as possible and be in the house at 4! Dont know why but thats what they told us. So ya. 

Well not much else to say. I wont lie to you and say we had the most amazing week of work because it was a little slow but i did have a lot of time to study more about this wonderful gospel! I love it so much! It gives me so much hope! Hope or Esperanza is becoming a big big word for me and my life! I have been learning and realizing that with out faith and hope there is nothing. I dont have a chance! Im done! But there is faith and there is hope! And i love it and am trying my best to increase my faith and hope. We can all do that everyday through HUMBLE prayer with our father in heaven and really SEARCHING the scriptures! I have found SO MUCH comfort in those two things i cant even express it. I wont go into it today another day! But they are amazing sources of help and love that can really help us. I will tell you that they have literally Saved me. I know god loves us and truly wants the best for us! Take care! I love and miss you all! 


Elder Jacobsen 

Ps. I attached one picture for the girls that like to brush there hair! Dont play with your hair and a comb while watching tv. THis is what happens. haha) 

Carnival

Well hello family and friends. How is everyone doing. Well here in Ecuador its the time of year they call Carnival and its a little bit crazy! haha. It started yesterday and last to Wednesday.  Here in Ecuador everyone goes nuts with music all day, and its really just a Giant water fight, mud fight, silly string fight, paint fight, powder fight, you name it.  They just go crazy with it and then jump in the river or a little plastic pool to clean up and then they start over again. haha. Its crazy. So yesterday going home from church they got us. But not bad at all. The silly spray does the least damage and thats what a few boys sprayed us with. Anyway, the past year the missionaries were not allowed to go out but this year we are allowed to leave according to our own judgment but if we get hit with more than water we have to go back. Haha, so i think we will go out tomorrow and try to avoid as much as possible but I'm almost positive well get sprayed with something. Who knows. 

Well, i have been studying the doctrine of Christ this week for most of my personal studies and I have really loved it. It has helped me a lot! I love 2nefi 31! its great! The doctrine of Christ is all over the book of mormon and the bible but that specific chapter is just packed. And i love it because it just repeats over and over and over again the process of what we need to do to receive the great blessing of the eternal life with or loving father in heaven. I dont have time to write everything so i invite all of you to read it. It repeats the 5 simple steps that we need to follow. Have faith, repent, baptism, holy ghost, and endure to the end! If we humbly follow those steps and with a sincere heart and love for our father, we have the promise. I love that! I love you all so much! I hope you are all enjoy life and living it up to the best. God bless you all!

Elder Jacobsen 

Gangster Missionary

Well its rainy season! haha. So hows everyone doing! Can you believe that January is already gone! This is nuts! But as i was saying, its rainy season! January was a little teaser. And i guess now in Feb and March it just gets crazy and lighting begins to come as well. Well time is flying! And its wierd because this week was not the easiest week but yet i cant believe its already monday. I guess im just starting to get used to things a little bit better. 

But ya, this week was a little slower. We had to contact like all week and thought we found some great people but then they all fell through or the ones that we committed to church didnt come to church. I have catholic friends and i love and respect you but ill tell ya that im not likin the cathlics to much here in Daule Ecuador. hahaha. I didnt think this was a shut the door in the face mission but it is here. Maybe its because were in a richer city but still. Has caught me off guard. Ive been thinking of what im doing wrong but i realize that we just got to push foward and do our best and the lord will do the rest! 

So my companion is doing good. being his ¨gangster missionary¨self. haha. Im doing my best trying to get along and so far we havnt had any big problems. But he cracks me up at times telling me all his gang stories in honduras and how gangster he is. He told me how his last companion who he apparently didnt like much because he told his companion in front of the asistants that if he wasnt in the misison and had a gun he would turn him into dust. I was like, thats real comforting. haha. Anyway i have a lot of other funny stories from this guy but i wont drag on from it. Im learning a lot from him and i hope that i can help him in a few things. (like avoiding his plan to kill the guys that killed his uncle when he gets back) Lets just say that companionship study will be on Perdon (forgivness) tomorrow. 

Well i love this work! I really do! Theres nothing better than just sharing this great gospel that literally changes lives! I love and miss you all so much! 

Elder Jacobsen 

P.s. Heres a picture of my companion that he took while i was in the bathroom. 

The Other picture is the coolest thing in the world! Out of two Carls Juniors that are in our misison one of them happens to be in our zone and i couldnt be happier to see this sign.! Coolest thing ever! By one Combo get another full combo free! Haleluya! I was in heaven! Life is good! Dont worry! I just ate 2 Western double bacons!