It's Monday another near death experience! 1/13/14

Um so this week. Was like every other week  .__.  So i guess that
should include a near death experience, meeting some crazy people,
getting completely rejected, doing something embarrassing in public,
doing service, and yeah.. So here goes:

-Comp drove through a red light. Two actually :) Then almost drilled a
police car on the highway. All in the same night. Woot woot >:] A few
days before we were in the car with the other Elders, and we had to
turn right to get into the MacDonald's parking lot but we were in the
middle lane. Elder (insert name here) just drove right in front of the
car, very sharply and quickly, and nearly took out the front end of
the car. But, we made it safely, and even though that lady was real
mad, my McDouble and spicy McChicken was REAL good.... :)

-We were street contacting down town. Some guy chillin by himself
outside the coffee shop, thinkin' he was safe from talking with
missionaries. SIKE. We see you buddy!!! So we approached him. And
started talking--

OHHH BOY! so remember that guy i told you about like maybe 2 weeks ago
that we ran into downtown that looked like Jesus? Yeah well he just
walked by!!! And we are in the library. What is he doing here? ._.
Anyways, back to the story:

SO we were talking with that guy about the book of Mormon and
everything.. It was alright, but then there was a silence and he was
acting a little weird. So i asked him "is everything alright?.. We can
help you." And he was silent for like 20 seconds and then proceeded to
tell us how he needs an attorney or sheriff guy to look at his case,
because at night he hears voices and small, steady noises and how is
was the government spying on him. My comp and I just looked at each
other.. Then he said the same things over again, about 4 times.
Finally we said sorry that we couldnt help and walked away :l   It was
 so sad. wish we could be of help!

-As far as getting rejected goes. So many times this week we offered
to give people a card from the church. Just a card, with a website on
it... And they wouldnt take it. Hahaha... I think its funny but you
dont have to.....

-So i was leaving the apartment, singing out loud. I wasnt really
singing though, it was more like trying to make fun of a song in
Spanish because i dont like it, while still having a subtle
beat/melody to it as to appear as if i was actually trying to sing.
When i was getting into the car, i turned around to see our neighbor
(she lives above us) outside her apt just sitting there, smoking. She
was looking at me like a was so dumb... :/ Oh well.

-We managed to give some service. It was fun. We just helped a lady
put a ceiling fan on. (or "in"?) It was fun. I held up the fan at an
angle and felt like i was the monkey that was holding up Mufasa in The
Lion King. It was fun. But yeah... It was fun. :)

We might be moving apartments soon. The Zone Leaders called and made
us go apartment hunting. Thankfully we have a realtor in the English
ward, so he helped us out a bunch. As for now, my address is the same
:)

Gotta go now. If you dont laugh from this or like this email... mmm.
Shame.  Love you, hope you have a good week :)
-Elder James <3
PS: The Church is TRUE!!!!!!!

Great Week 12/30/13

Merry Christmas again, and happy NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!! It was so great to be able to talk to the family on Christmas. Only have one more call left before i go home; crazy!

Christmas here was super fun. On the 24th us and a bunch of other Elders went to a members home and had a feast. I ended up opening all my presents that night... I couldnt really wait and one of the misisonaries was just like "open them, open them!" so i gave in. I felt bad because underneath the wraping paper santa put "No peaking until Christmas ;)" but... Whatever, i ripped those bad boys open anyways hahaha yeaaahh!!!!!! The next morning, for Christmas, we had District meeting. We ended up going caroling (uh cant spell) around the neighborhood. I dont think we sounded too bad but we made a bunch of people smile and it was priceless.

Um idk what day this happened but when we were driving to the store, we saw a man that had a bit of a problem. The stuff that was in the bed of his truck fell out, just a bunch of wood planks and cement stuff. We got out and helped him. Yay service  :) No one else stopped or did anything, so i was a bit disappointed.. But someone did give us a thumbs up as they drove past. I guess thats good for something :)

....We tried to visit a recent converts home. We pulled up to her house and got out and knocked on the door but didnt get an answer so we called her. She answered and we were like "hey what're you doing?" and she said "...taking a nap."  .__. It was like 2pm. We tried to convince her to come out but she was tired... Idk why i felt like writing that. But i hope none of you do that haha. She's 12.

Lately we've been going downtown to talk to people on the street. Its been so legit. We've met some interesting people. A couple of them are crazy and just want to tell us we're wrong. "I really admire what you guys do. You wake up every morning and go and try to preach to people. Thats awesome. But you're still wrong."---Roman Catholic Theologist Homeless Old Man. Thats typically how it goes. But yesterday we actually found a lady that was sincerely interested and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon and she promised us she would read it. Sweet. Uhh and there is also another guy that usually sits on this bench and he looks like Jesus from the bible videos. Idk if i already told you guys that but.. yeah we havent really talked to him yet. Last time we walked by he was kinda angry lookin :/  We have a great idea though. We are gonna go buy some chalk and draw out the Plan of Salvation with the other Elders at a busy place downtown. Hopefully it'll attract some attention and people will be interested. I can just imagine the conversation already.. "Wow what is that beautiful, super realistic, chalk drawing right here?" I will take some pics for you guys.

Okay so this Sunday we had an investigator come to the church for the 1st time in 3 months and SHE LIKED IT. She's the lady that works at Burlington and fixed up 3 pairs of pants and a suit top for $15. Hook ups. But she's been reading the Book of Mormon and is almost done. Sadly, we havent been able to actually teach her because she works so much, but instead we go into Burlington a couple times a week to see her. Her husband actually told us he wants to attend our church once to see how it is. Before, he actually got into an argument with the Elders who were here before. So they are starting to really be interested, its just taking some time. Woot woot!!

We met the security guard at Burlington. He's a retired marine, who served in the top elite force the US has (Yes, above Delta and the Navy Seals). Long story short, he might come chill with us today for a little and teach us how to fight the way he was taught in the military. He promised not to hit us, but said we will end up on our butts a couple times. So mom and dad, if you get a call today or tomorrow about me getting hurt, just know it was because a special force recon sniper told me to try and hit him :) so excited.

Thats about it for this week i think. I hope you have a good New Years! Sorry, no pics this week...  love you :)

-Elder James

Christmas is comomg soon! 12/23/13

Hey :)

 

So this week was a little bit slow. People are so busy these days... But we still had a great week. We got to go to the beach!! It was super fun, especially since the whole north half of the mission was there.

.Uh so we went carolling last night at an elderly folks home! I dont know what its called .It was fun! we sang in Spanish and the old people didnt know the lyrics but recognized the tune and some started to sing along and dance (kinda) hahahah it was toooo gooood... But i think i can wait until im old.

We had a sweet lesson with a part-member family. The parents arent members (yet) but they know its all true. There are just a few things that need to be resolved. It was so awesome when we told them how much we loved them, even though it was my first time meeting them. The spirit was so strong!! :)

umm.. So! another investigator is doing alright but his girlfriend is really mad at him because she thinks he is cheating on her with his ex that lives in Mexico... I just read that and it didnt make much sense but hopefully you understand. We were talking with him outside his apartment and she came outside to go to the store. He asked her if she would bring him some taki's and she flipped out... She was yelling at him and was like "why dont you ask your other woman? She can do that for you," blah blah... We sat there awkwardly. Poor guy... He came to church this Sunday though!! woot woot.

So the ward members here made like a little missionary package for each of the missionaries and I got a girl one. It was really weird. So i gave it to a sister missionary.

Oh so we have FACE BOOK!!!!!!!!! Yay. Its weird guys... I cant believe i wasted so many hours on that before my mission. But anyways, yeah we have face book and its cool i guess. I cant add any friends from home, just family and people who live over here in Florida, in the area's i've been in.

We walked down a busy street to talk to people and stuff. And we saw a man that looked like Jesus. I was like "Hey, look its Jesus!" and the other missionaries didnt believe me until they saw him. He even had Jesus Sandals on. I kept thinking that if he were to be baptized, he would be in all the video's the church makes. But we didnt talk to him because he was bible bashing with some stranger... contention is of the devil my friends.

 

Anyways, sorry this was a completely random email. But as for myself, im doing pretty good. Im excited for Christmas!! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas as well.

 

-Elder James :)

 

Pic: Chillin at the beach!

 

Ps: My addy is 2346 Winkler Ave Apt A104

Ft Myers, Florida 33901

 

You should send me something

Thanksgiving 12/2/13

Happy thanksgivi​ng! :)

	Inbox		x

Jacob James jamesj@myldsmail.net	12/2/13

This past week was reaaally slow.. but thanksgiving was great and we got fed a lot of food, and even got some leftovers to take home. We only have one week left before transfers, we will be getting the calls this saturday to see where we are going. i think im leaving the area but i could be wrong. I wouldnt mind staying even though ive been here for about 6 months now.

There wasnt anything spectacular this week. I let a missionary borrow my bike though but when i got it back the next day the tire went flat. Elder M and I spent some good time trying to fix it. Then as we were about to leave he pointed out that neither one of us had our helmets, other missionaries had them.. so we wasted a lot of precious time. umm... We also gave some service this week and helped a family move some furniture. They originally told us that we would only be moving like 2 couches or something but we ended up doing a lot more than that. They live in a 3 story house thats on the island, and its pretty nice. They have 2 elevators, which was really helpful but.. each elevator only went to 2 of the 3 floors, so in order to get something from level 3 to level 2, you had to first take it to level 1, then take it back up to level 2. kinda confusing.. but we actually did a lot, and we were there for 8 hours haha it was good though! 

Well, i spoke with my mission president and i feel so much better. After fasting and praying a lot, and then taking the sacrament on Sunday, i felt like a new person (and still do of course). I do love him now, and feel silly for perhaps letting my emotions get the best of me. I dont really know how to explain how i feel, other than saying Im happy! hahah :) i seriously thought i would never get over those feelings, but the Lord really made a drastic change in me.. I know people can change and im so thankful that He's so patient and willing to work with us, even though we walk imperfectly. I love Him, and am so glad I get to serve Him!! :)

I hope you guys had a great thanksgiving and maybe even got some sweet goodies for Black Friday! You are all in my prayers; and I hope you know that I can feel when you pray for me. Prayer is real!! I love you.

 

Miracle story and bad hair cut! Nov. 18, 2013

Alright so this week was good but i forgot to write about a little miracle story that happened LAST week, so i will start from there :)

We were doing some service at the island with the Elders. We finished, and Elder M and i had some members on the island so we decided to stay and the elders drove home, and we were left with our bikes to skidaddle around on the island. So they left and then i noticed that my bike tire was completely flat. M has a lil bike pump so i used that to fill it up. After about 100 yards of biking, it was flat again.. So we stopped and talked things over. We were originally planning on going north, which was further away from home, but because of my bike we decided to bike south. So, i pumped up the tire and started to ride until it got flat, and repeated the process for a couple hours. I kept praying that it would last a little longer each time. We came upon a less actives home on the way back, but it didnt look like anyone was there. I told M we should try the neighbors house and see if the person we were looking for lived next door, so we did that. A lady answered the door and was like "you're mormons. Im a mormon. i havent seen missionaries around for like 3 years." Turns out that she was the Lady's daughter, and her mom (the one we were looking for) lived next door. So we found her, actually scheduled a dinner appointment the next day with her and her mother. Then, as we left, i noticed my bike tire was full of air! And when i got on it and started riding, it stayed full! The whole rest of the night (and still until this week) the tire hasnt gone flat. isnt that crazy!?!? some miracle tires right there. 

anyways, this week! So thursday i started feeling bad and so we went to walmart. while there, i noticed a little hair-cutting kit for only $15 and was like "ohh nice i want that" so i bought it, went home, and tried it out. it started cutting for like 50 seconds, then it died.. so i tried charging it, but it wouldnt turn on while charging. so i had to wait.. problem was, we had a hand-off lesson with the other elders in 30 minutes. so i cut like 1/2 my hair and left to the lesson, and was so upset because i looked so ridiculous >:( the elders just laughed, and i kinda did too.. Then Elder and I went to the Ward Mission Leaders home, and he cut my hair for me. pretty embarrassing. but afterwards, we came home and the road warriors (traveling AP's) were outside our apartment waiting for us, so we could do an exchange. They came in and started taking pictures of our apartment, and it was kinda messy, especially with my hair still in the sink! I felt so dumb that night..

Also this week we had a talent show for the english ward. it was really fun. We were going to do something for it, but... didnt. 

Getting sick as well. the medicine i bought didnt really help. Mission doctor said i might have some type of respiratory virus? Whatever though, i will be fine. 

That is all for this week!! Love you guys!!

You cant really see how bad the haircut was.. this is right before my WML cut my hair, in his bathroom... adventures. 

I'm still alive! Nov. 12, 2013

hey time a bit short right now. 

but thats okay because i dont have much to write about other than to tell you that im alive and had no severe accidents since last week. No really cool stories, but we had a very good week as far as work goes. Working with both english and spanish is so weird. We did some service this week which was fun. Also made some cupcakes for the sister missionaries. Uh.. Also got some sweet pictures of the beach because the person we did service for lives right off the beach. 

thats about it. This next week is gonna be so goooood!! I love you all! :)

-Elder Jacob James

Happy Halloween! Nov. 4, 2013

my new address is

4085 43rd ave w apt 2

bradenton, FL 34205

Happy Halloween!! This past week was really different since we were working with English and Spanish. We spent a lot of time trying to contact English people and weren't very successful. Most of the week we tried to organize everything in the new apartment and see what work we had to do; and there is a lot! we are going to be very busy. Sundays are way different. we have to be at the church from 8:30 until 4.. sooo long haha! GOOD for us.  Just trying to adjust to the changes and get things settled out. But i nearly got smashed by a truck on Halloween. then 30 seconds later another car nearly hit me. I'm a prime target i suppose.  I'm worried my Spanish will get worse because we wont be speaking as much of it. Just gotta have more effective studies. I've been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and its helped a lot. gettin close to being finished!  aside from that though, there really isn't much to say. sorry this email isn't that great but this next week we are going to be super busy haha I'm so excited!! i love you! have a wonderful week :)  Here is a pic of Elder M, me, Hermana D and B

This next week will be off da chainnnn! Oct. 28, 2013

Hey so a lot happened this week and i forgot my planner so i cant remember all of it but we got transfer calls on Saturday!!!

So this next transfer is going to be crazy and i cant really explain everything.. So elder M and i will be staying together, but we will be moving apartments a little further south. We are going to replace a set of Spanish sisters, and a set of English sisters. We will be taking over both of their area's. We have been made into a "Zebra," which means Elder M and I can now teach in ENGLISH AND SPANISH!! We will also be a part of the Spanish branch, AND the English ward. So Sundays we will be at church for like 8 hours or so with all the meetings for both the branch and the ward. Its going to be kinda crazy trying to work with both of them, and getting to know all the members. We are a little overwhelmed.. we will be moving into the English sisters apartment, and one set of the Spanish sisters will be moving into ours and trying to put a trio here.. There is no way 3 sister missionaries will fit in our apartment! its a 1 bedroom 1 bathroom, and there isn't room for jack squat hahah but hey, they gotta make it work somehow. The entire zone got switched up; Elder M and i are the only ones staying together, but we are still moving. i don't really know if this all makes sense to you guys, but... that's okay i guess i can just explain it when i get home in a while hahah. I'm just really excited to teach in English and be around the culture I'm accustomed to. it'll be weird! anyways i gotta get going. this next will is going to be off da chainnnn.  We are up for the challenge!

love you so much!  The church is TRUE.

-Elder Jacob James

Here is some pics of my favorite people: the S

 

I got bit by a dog!! It was a full-grown alpha male.. Chihuahua Oct 21, 2013

Hey everyone!

Pretty solid week but I'm a little short on time. We meet with an investigator, who at this point i believe is the only "progressing" one we have, but we've taught her almost everything. we told her that she could be baptized soon and she was super excited! We told her she would've been baptized last month and she asked what happened.. We told her she has to come to church twice before she can be baptized. And that's the big issue is getting her to church. But she's still really positive about it all! 

Um lets see.. so we went to an investigators house Sunday night. the mom told us that on Saturday early in the morning she had to go outside the house for something. When she opened the front door, there was a man in a mask pointing a gun at her, and she quickly tried to shut the door but the man stopped it, and forced it open. She was screaming and at that point, her husband came in, as well as the 2 daughters. They warned the robber that they had called the police and he fled. She went on to tell us how her neighbor behind her had been robbed like 2 weeks before. And how not too long ago, just down the street, a guy got beaten and then shot and killed for no reason. About a month ago, some members got robbed too, and had about $3000 worth of stuff taken. And this is where we do our work... We get warned all the time, and occasionally even asked if we want to buy drugs.. But we are still alive. Oh and did I mention that this area (manatee county) is 3rd in the nation for human trafficking? Something like that. 

Oh and i got bit by a dog!! It was a full-grown alpha male.. Chihuahua. 

Gotta bounce; have a great week!!

-Elder James

here is a picture of me with some ears. 

Busy week! Oct. 14, 2013

Hi.

Dont have a lot of time right now.  We did a lot of street contacting. Lots of interesting people! I wish you guys could see the people we contact hahaha its super funny!  Its great!  Anyways, im still alive and doing well. No injuries but i almost got hit 3 times or so on bikes? Thats always exciting. And a drunk guy demanded me to give him my bike. Uh no. He tried to explain how Christ taught that principle, so I asked him to give me his truck. That shut him up! Got to love it!  Haha but i love you guys!! 

Here is a lil pic of me and the guitar.. We're starting to play guitar. I think my wife will appreciate it one day. 

-Elder James

CONFERENCE was GREAT! Oct. 7, 2013

Hi.

SO here are some highlights of this past week. 

Monday: we went to a museum for p-day last Monday. it was really dumb. bunch of nude paintings >:[ i was so upset and i got my companion and i to just hurry through the entire museum. As we sat and waiting, some lady worker came up to us and started talking to us about the museum. then she started asking us questions about who we were and why we were there. then we spoke a little about our church and missionaries. two other elders then came, and spoke with us. then we left, because we wanted to go spend our p-day somewhere else, so we left the rest of the zone there. 

Then Wednesday came around; district meeting. during the meeting, the English sisters brought something up. they said that on Monday, there was a lady that was giving a tour of the museum and was saying things that they overheard. she was saying to the people she was giving the tour to, "see those guys dressed up in white shirts and ties, and those girls in the skirts? those are missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. they leave there families and friends for 2 years to go preach the gospel to people. They are some of the happiest people i've ever seen!.." when the sisters shared this with us i asked them "wait.. was it an older lady with a black shirt on?" and they replied yes. That was the same lady that my comp and i and the other 2 elders spoke with!! Turns out she went and told the people in the museum about us. pretty awesome! :) always be a good example because you dont know who's watching.  

Wednesday: so nothing major here.. but the night before during nightly planning, i felt that we should visit a recent convert (who is also less active...) at 6:00pm. i fought the feeling because she had told us already that she wouldnt be able to see us because she was busy and stuff. but i finally wrote it down in my planner that we would go by her house at 6, even though she said she would be busy all day. So Wednesday we went through all of our plans. They all fell through... which is normal. but i was speeding in the car to get to the recent converts house, and got a lot of speeding violations from the cars monitor. it was 6:05 and we showed up to the apartment. there was no cars :( i was so disappointed... so i started turning the car around. Then, she actually walked out of the door and saw us! I was like "Hey!... Hey come here!" hahaha and she was like "uh i thought i told you i was going to be busy." and i just told her "yeaaah well.. we were just in the area so we thought we would try," which wasnt really true... hahah. She said she was just going to her neighbors house to get some eggs or something random. she told us about ALL the things that were keeping her busy and we listened to what she had to say. Finally we were able to get to the topic of general conference and gave her all the information about it. We told her how much she is missed and just how we are her friends and stuff. I know you are probably like "uh so what elder J..." but let me tell you that the Lord puts us in the right places at the right times for reasons that we sometimes dont understand. Im not sure anything ever came from this incident, but im happy because i know we did what the Lord wanted. 

OHHH!!! Yeah!! sooo Wednesday afternoon elder M and i had nothing to do so i told him we were going on an adventure... we went west on this street until it came to an end. it led us to a bunch of docks and water and stuff like that.. you know, the ocean or whatever? The sight was really cool. it was in a residential area so it wasnt like a beach or anything. but i told him i wanted a picture so we got outta the car. i noticed two signs that said "no trespassing," but i justified ,"Oh i just want a picture, thats all!" and walked my way onto the dock. The dock was SUPER old and creaked every step. it didnt have any rails or anything, it was just old wood that was somehow held together. I walked out and elder M followed and was taking careful steps. i told him "elder come on, its fine. nothings going to happen." we got some cool pictures, and a sweet video of some small sharks and some manatees. i was happy :) so i started walking back to the car, but midway through the dock i noticed a blue crab which caught my eye. i was awestruck... such a cool little animal. hahah! so i leaned over the dock a bit, and then over to the opposite side where i thought it went. just then, the dock just collapsed under my feet and the words "ohhh crapp" slowly came outta my mouth as i descended into the water!!! i actually landed on my feet and quickly ran out of the water. i turned around to see my companion.. He was still on standing on the dock on the ONE plank of wood that didnt break!!! i was like ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!! i managed to get a picture of him and hopefully i can send it. I was laughing and at the same time so upset with myself. It made me think of how we have these signs that tell us not to go somewhere or do something, but we selfishly go anyways and bad things happen. Kinda like commandments.. like keeping the sabbath day holy. Yet we justify ourselves and say "i just want to buy this," or something. Since when has sin been justified?

Friday: another similar story. we were on exchanges and Elder B was in my area with me. i told him we were going to eat at a fast food place outside. so we did and as i was sitting waiting for him to join me, i saw a car with a flat tire go through the intersection. i picked up my food and walked up to B and said "take your food, lets go." he was like "why?" and i told him someone needed our help. So we ran across the street and surely enough, the car i saw was behind a little market with a destroyed tire. the driver wasnt in the vehicle so we just waited awkwardly.. she came and i spoke with her. she said she had help on the way already and didnt need anything.. soo we just left her with a pass along card with our name and number. I was slightly disappointed but.. you never know, she could've went on our website and watched conference or something?! 

Saturday and Sunday: CONFERENCE!! it was great :) i hope you all enjoyed it as much as i did. Last week a member told me of a situation she had. she was struggling with some feelings that she had for someone, and she didnt want to feel that way.. i didnt know what to say, but i told her that giving service to that person will always help. I knew she might not have been satisfied with that answer so i told her to fast and pray, and that during conference someone will say something that will specifically answer her prayer. Last night she sent me a text and said "thank you." and when i asked what she meant, she didnt respond (or we didnt get the text...). but i knew that she had actually gotten her answer and was expressing her thanks. Im so glad for conference. i wish more people would've watched it.. I was so sad... we invited so many people but no one came :( its okay though. 

I hope you are all doing well. sorry this is really long. i just wanna share my storries with you guys. i love you all. 

-Elder Jacob James

Family blessings! Sept. 30, 2013

hey. check out this week.

-Wednesday: got a call in the morning from a member who lives in the sisters area. he's been less active for 3 years, didnt ever want missionaries over. someone in his family needed a blessing so he called us. told us to come over at 7pm even though he wouldnt be there, so we did. his wife answered and they actually had 3 kids. we spoke with his wife, she told us it was her mom that needed the blessing. she wasnt feeling too well.. so we gave a blessing, which was awesome. after, we just talked for about 10 minutes or so to the wife and she told us the reason for being less active but they want to start coming back. she said the missionaries could come by whenever, and they would like that. turns out the oldest child is turning 8 years old in October and needs to be baptized. the sisters are going to start going to their home and inviting them back to church and stuff so im excited for that! 

      Afterwards, we didnt know what to do.. i felt like we should see an investigator that lives across town for some reason, so we biked over there. they lived in the ghetto, and we've been warned about being shot in that area but whatever. when we got there, E was outside on the porch like usual but she didnt seem happy at all. i asked whats wrong but she just said she was fine. i told her "you cant lie to us, i know something is wrong. what happened?" and she started crying and told us the problem. in short: her mom got really upset, started yelling at her, fell down and started having a seizure. the son, M, picked her up and E called 911 but the mom told her not to and kept yelling at her. she left, but mom chased after her and told her to come back so she did.. then mom just got in the car and left, and E had been outside ever since. she had been gone for hours. once she got done explaining everything, we had no idea what to say. this family has been seriously struggling, and is super dysfunctional. what could we say?.. i prayed in my heart for the Lords help, and it came. The first thing i did was make a phone call to her mom. she didnt answer, but i just left a voicemail. i cant really remember what i said, but i hope that it made some sort of difference. then we shared a message to E and M about family, responsibilities, love, and the Savior. I told them how the Lord guided us to their home and that it was no accident that we came when we did. this was maybe the 2nd time we had both of their attention fully. They listened, and it touched them. The spirit was so key to that whole circumstance!

       That night, i called the sisters to inform them about the less active we gave the blessing to. i asked them about some things and then they told me something SO COOL! so they have an investigator thats really progressing and stuff. they had a good lesson with her and she said "you know im so much happier now that im starting to go to church and read and pray. sometimes i dont understand what i read but i just pray about it and it makes more sense. but it all really started when those 2 guys came over and gave me a blessing. I felt the spirit so strongly then.. and i knew everything would be alright" That was the blessing that elder W and i went to go do!!!! Elder W didnt know what was going on (English missionary) but he felt the spirit there as well. It was so awesome to see the Lord used us to help out like that! 

-Thursday: we had zone conference and elder T from the 70 came and talked with us. it was super cool, and he's a great speaker! Learned a lot :) right after conference we went on exchanges with the zone leaders and i stayed in the area. All the plans fell through but we just street contacted and talked with everyone we could find. we got 1 super positive lady, who we had to like chase down. we were biking away from an intersection and Elder W was like "hey i saw a lady jogging down the road, should we turn around and go talk to her?" i said sure and we did, but she was past the intersection already so we chased after her and stopped and talked to her.  it was reaaalllyy awkward at first hahah but as we shared a brief lesson about the restoration she was very interested. I remember talking about the book of mormon and Joseph Smith, and the spirit was sooo strong! it was ridiculous!! when i stopped speaking we all 3 just kinda stood there in silence on the sidewalk and Elder W said "did you feel that spirit as he testified of the book of Mormon?" and she nodded her head, smiled and said "it feels great, very peaceful and... i dont really know how to describe it." it was so awesome, and she said she would read the book of Mormon! So excited to teach her :)

Saturday- around 7:30pm we were back over in E neighborhood. their family wasnt home, so we biked around for a while. i got tired and stopped, turned to my companion and said "Elder you got that greenie fire, so im following you now" and he was like "okay well... there is one street we havent tried yet so i guess we can go over there?" i was skeptical but agreed so we went. there was 1 family outside, a man with his wife and a baby. Elder M stopped and said "hola!" and that was it.. silence. hahah so i started talking with him and he was pretty cool. we taught him about the book of Mormon and our message and he seemed to like it. he said hes catholic but not very "catholic" if that makes sense. he told us we could come by whenever we want and he would listen! so we are excited to go back and teach him more. 

      Then we left, and it was late so we were headed home on the bikes. we saw 2 kids so we spoke with them. they were teens but were interested. we taught a brief lesson 1, gave them both a book of mormon, and got their info. they were way positive and wanted to know if we had a prophet today! We gave one of them over to the English elders but the other was Hispanic and such so he's ours haha. 

      THEN, about 50 yards after, we ran into another man who was in a hurry. i stopped and said "hey you have a moment?" he said "no i gotta go over here, then back to the hospital." i asked him what was wrong and he said his "girl" was in the hospital. so i asked if she would want a blessing and he said "uh i guess. yeah." so he gave us her room number and we went to go see her haha. by this time it was like 9:20pm or so. We got there and spoke with the lady, her name was brandy. OH MY.. she had quite the story fellas!! got into drugs, husband left her, had no money, went into jail 2 days after surgery, found out she has cancer and hepatitis.. it was so sad.. but we gave her a blessing and she spirit was super strong. we assured her the Lord loves her and is perfectly aware of all of her problems. She just wanted someone to come visit her because she literally has no one. We gave her to the English elders but hopefully they can help her! 

Soooooo... i guess you could say we had a pretty good week?! our numbers were horrible, almost all 0's hahahah but it was such an awesome week! I love doing this so much.. I know that Christ lives, and that the worth of every soul is great in His eyes. I love you all. Have a wonderful week! :)

-Elder Jacob James

Time is going by so quickly! Sept. 23, 2013

Its Monday already! Man time goes by so quickly!

We had a pretty good week. Lots of interesting things happened. We've been focusing a lot on teaching the recent converts, less actives, and part-member families. We went over to a recent converts house and decided to watch a sweet video. He actually fell asleep during the video.. after it ended, i was like "so what did you think about that?" and he didnt respond so i leaned over and saw that he was asleep and i just started laughing, though extremely disappointed because i was excited to share that video with him. We also have been working with another recent convert, who is very less active but has been coming to church the past 3 weeks! her brother, R, isnt a member but we've started teaching him as well. she's 17, and R is maybe 14. anyways, we were teaching about the Restoration of the gospel.. i turned towards my companion and noticed he was sweating quite a bit. he asked "uhh can i use your bathroom?" and they said yeah. The bathroom was literally right next to the couch they were sitting on, and the walls arent very thick. i continued with the lesson, and it was pretty spiritual until my companion lets one rip while he's taking care of business. the teens just started laughing and i just smiled and said "well.. it happens" hahaha it was so awkward :) yay for awkward moments. 

Anyways, i had to give a talk in sacrament meeting.  it was fun, but i didnt really know i had to give a talk until we got to church. Guess we should always be prepared, right? Spanish is coming along slowly.. i actually forgot how to say the word "room" which was sorta embarrassing. 

Another thing is that last week i was assigned to be district leader. Its been pretty good so far, there are 10 missionaries in my district including my comp and i. Im pretty excited to help out the district! As soon as i thought training a new missionary was a big responsibility, the Lord gives me this.. haha I hope i can learn what he wants me to learn!

Overall, everything is going great! But im getting tired of my comp getting mail like every day and i never get any >:( hahahah but its funny so i can manage. I love you guys so much. I hope you can see the Lord's hand in your life's, and how He's helping you. He's real, and He lives, and I know it. 

-Elder Jacob James

Pic: so this is way late but.. happy birthday to myself and C, a member. I will try to take cool pictures this week to send you :) 

Jamrocks..cool vehile! Sept. 16, 2013

Hey everyone!

Good week here. We werent able to visit with any investigators but.. still was good! We've been working with members, or at least trying to. We tried visiting some less actives. It was a funny/sad experience. We knocked on the door and a teenager let us in. We talked with him a little and his older brother was in the house, as well as his dad. It was kinda awkward since none of us had ever met before, you know? so we got talking. then the kid was like "oh by the way, im atheist" then his brother walked by and said "im muslim." uhhhh what?? hahahah and the "dad" wasnt actually the dad, just some guy living there and he was like "im christain, life sucks and im not interested." it was soo awkward after that. we thought they were members!! apparently the only person in the household who is a member was the actual dad, who hasnt been heard from in a long while and basically isnt a member anymore. Lovely. that was a nice surprise. 

We have a new rule as well. We can only eat at members houses once, and when we do, we have to show them the video "hastening the work of salvation." We cant come back until they have a referral for us. However, the exceptions are part member families, less active families, and families that have a referral at the dinner for us. So.... looks like we wont have any investigators until the members give them to us. I told that to our mission leader Sunday.. he didnt really like that statement too much. :/ but hey, its true! 

Oh we got chewed out again Saturday. it was interesting. Apparently, our assistant ward mission leaders wife's sister's daughter's boyfriend was at church and we didnt really know, so she got mad at us and was like "wow. shame on you elders. shame on you." I didnt really know what to say. i felt bad and all, but the girlfriend, or her sister, or the wife, (or just anybody for goodness sake), could have easily told us about the nonmember boyfriend. Missionaries dont just "know" those types of things. We also got told we werent doing our job by some other youth members because we dont greet everyone that walks into the chapel on Sunday's. uh maybe thats because the branch president gave us the responsibility to organize the sacrament and assign people to bless and pass it. I literally asked 4 different deacons who just said "uhh im not worthy to pass." I was so upset and just said "look, if you arent worthy to bless or pass the sacrament, you arent worthy to take it." Then a lot of the members that were there had to leave because they had work. are you kidding me?... Its really frustrating.  Then in the next class, it was awkward again, because the teacher (the same one who chastised us haha) went around the class and asked all the kids "so which commandment is the hardest one for you and why?" Me and my comp just looked at each other and didnt know what to think.. I mean, its great that she's trying her best, but thats simply not a question you ask. One of the kids totally threw his brother under the bus and was like "he cheats all the time and is very dishonest!" right in front of everyone. it just never is a good class.. i feel bad, especially now since i've heard about 5 or 6 false doctrines in the class. i dont want to stand up and be like "hold on, let me clarify what was just said" because i dont want to hurt anyones feelings. Church was still good though. Us missionaries had to sing a special number which wasnt too bad.. the sisters picked one that i really dislike singing if investigators are there. and its literally one of the highest pitched hymns sooo yeah it wasnt too good sounding. haha oh well. it was awesome seeing a less active member that we've been working with there in sacrament, but they left afterwards.. progress though!

Another thing! We had transfers. Im staying with my trainee here in Bradenton. Another 6 weeks! Almost at my year mark, which is kind of weird. thats about all though. love you guys!!

-Elder James

pics:

We see some really cool vehicles here. 

Yikes..our awesome members need our help! Sept. 3, 2013

Hey everyone! P-day was moved to today due to the holiday.

I don't even know what to say about this week. It was pretty good! We taught a lot of solid lessons but.. investigators aren't progressing still. sad. but we've been really focusing on the members a lot. this past Sunday was very interesting. First, it being fast Sunday and all, sacrament was pretty good. Mostly everyone wasn't even fasting though, and never has in their lives, so they don't understand why we even fast.. The next class, with the youth, was not good. Basically a girl punched a boy in the face and walked out swearing all because he accidentally threw a small piece of paper and hit her with it. Yikes.. And in that class, the teacher taught 3 false doctrines :( Ahhh i don't even know what to say.. Next day we taught a member, and they didn't know the plan of salvation, or what the atonement is. and they've been a member all their life!! I was so shocked. And just... disappointed :(  its so hard to get them excited about the gospel. We talked with a teenager about the 2nd coming of Christ, and how excited we are about it, and they just didn't seem to care at all about it. I felt so empty that they weren't excited about it at all.  Without being able to knock on doors anymore, and only relying on the members for referrals, its really helped me see that we have to help these members out a bunch. They don't seem to realize what they have and how blessed they really are. 

We did get a chance to teach morning seminary though. We got special permission to go, and had to wake up at 5:30 and bike to the church, 30 minutes away. So humid in the mornings!! haha but it was pretty fun, but a lot of the students were really distracted and kinda rude.. It was great though! We taught them about missionary work and how they can be missionaries already. After we left, some homeless(?) lady on the street stopped us and basically shared her 2 cents on what she thinks about our religion, specifically Adam and Eve, and yeaaah.. it was really rude, and she was verbally attacking us hahaha but whatever, it was a good experience. 

Um what else.... I cant really think right now. I always forget what i wanted to write you guys! Oh, I'm almost at my year mark!!! isn't that WEIRD!? It doesn't seem like I've been out that long. 

I guess that's all for this week. Sorry it isn't too great, i just cant remember everything. Hope you are doing great, i love you!!!

-Elder Jacob James

Pic: Elder M and I just chillin. I'm trying not to laugh.. I will send some good ones next week!! :) 

 

First week with my Trainee! August 26, 2013

Whats up everybody?! Interesting week over here in Florida. First week with my trainee, Elder M. He's cool, and he's 18. Finally gettin those young ones our here!! I think we will do great together. Right now we don't have much going on though. Our investigators aren't really progressing.. we really need to find some more. But we got a new rule: no more knocking doors. In this area in the past, thats how all the investigators/recent converts were found. Now we really have to rely on the members for referrals. I mean, its a great idea and all.. but we haven't gotten a referral for quite some time. I guess we don't have their trust quite yet?? Past few days we tried going to the members house's that live in our side of the area, using the ward directory. Most of the addresses are completely wrong. Some members aren't even in the list. One guy apparently lives at McDonald's... No wonder some of the people go less active here hahah and the home teaching is a little disappointing. The highest i saw was 53%. But that's what we've been trying to do is see our members, teach them, and ask for referrals.  We basically tell them that no one is going to get baptized unless they give them to us. Sounds a bit harsh (maybe?) but its true! They are missionaries too, not just those of us with a black badge. The ZL's told us to try and see the members we have at least once a month.. For them that might be hard because they have a solid amount of members but we can do that in literally 2-3 days haha so i hope the members don't get too annoyed when we're coming over multiple times a week asking for a referral! We really just need the branch more involved in missionary work and we will be solid.

Anyways, not too much to write about this week.  This week will be better though! The church is trueeee!!!! :)

_Elder Jacob James

Pic: I had no pictures to send that were cool so i quickly took this mid-way through writing this email haha i put a band-aid because sometimes i scratch it and it bleeds. 

cuttin them stitches! August 19, 2013

Hey Everyone!
It was a pretty good week. Didn't part the red sea or anything, but we had miracles nevertheless. Since all the investigators we have are youth, they were all busy doing their summer homework that they procrastinated. We still had some solid lessons though!

My arm and my toe are healing fine.. I was told that after 7-10 days I could get the stitches removed. So 7 days passed, Thursday, and I went to the hospital and told the lady I was there to get them removed. She said they didn't do that there... I was like, well, the lady who sewed my arm and toe said that I could come back here and they would remove them. she just kept shaking her head and said nope, you need to go to your physician or whatever. Then I told her my physician guy is in Arizona and she wagged that head back and forth again. Everything I told her, she denied, even if it was plainly obvious... it was quite comical. Some other lady told me some directions to find a place where I could get them removed. So we left. Couldn't find the place (she told us to go left on a one-way street that only went right, based off her directions hahah) so we were like whatever lets go home. And then it hit me: If I can cut my own hair, I can cut my own stitches! Its the type of logic my father taught me :) So we went to the English elders home and got some sterile scissors (we sprayed them with some.. stuff), bandages, gloves, and I just cut away. It didn't feel too good. It wasn't until I was half-way done with my arm that I realized that wasn't a very good idea because the wound started to open a little bit.. it wasn't done healing hahaha but I just took the rest off anyways. The next day we got a call from the mission doctor. the conversation went a bit like this:

"Hey Elder James its Brother Y, just calling so we can figure out where you are going to go to get those stitches removed."

"Oh, Hi! Actually I already had them taken out..."

"...Oh where did you go to get that done?"

"Well you see its actually a long story.. I ended up taking them out myself."

"Elderrrr James....... Not a good idea."

Hahaha I felt sooo dumb!!! I hope that man never gets to see my face haha. 

Anyways, some other exciting news! We got transfer calls Saturday!!! it was another stressful time. We received our call and basically he told Elder D he was training and that he was leaving the area. This transfer, he didn't tell anyone where they were going. (We are still super confused about that, because some people have to drive 4-5 hours and we don't know how we will get to our areas if we don't even know where we are going). Then, after he was done talking to Elder D, the call ended. I was soooo bummed out because apparently some people were "disqualified" to train or to be leaders, so those who weren't training or leaders were in that category... :( BUT!!! 10 minutes later he called again!! and told me i would be training!!!! hahaha I'm so nervous but so excited. I hope i do a good job. Its going to be an interesting next 2 transfers. Oh, by the way, this next transfer is only 4 weeks. 

Also, thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!! I feel.. the same haha but today we should be having a little party thingy for p-day and I'm going to try and play sports with my arm and toe. I think if I wrap it tight, it'll be good to go. thanks for everything, I loved the letters :) and I love you so much!! hope you have an awesome week. The church is true!!!!

-Elder Jacob James

Pic: cuttin them stitches!! 

Countin Da Blessings August 12, 2013

OHH BOY!! crazy week!!!!!!!! countin da blessings

so much has happened but i will just keep it a brief as possible. we had mission conference last Tuesday and it was great. found out a bunch of stuff about the mission and what's going on. learned that our mission was leading the US in hospital visits or something. i thought that was so dumb.. ohh, the irony that would follow shortly after!! anyways, next day we went on exchanges. had one of the best days ever. right now we have 5 people that want to be baptized, we just have to keep teaching them and set a baptism date with them :) soo. Thursday morning, we were still on exchanges. our apartment only has 1 bathroom. in the shower, there is a hand rail opposite of the shower head where towels are supposed to go. instead, the past elders put a big mirror so they could shave in the shower. the mirror is quite heavy and needs to be moved with some force! anyways, I'm showering and i finish. i open the curtains, and the next thing i know, there is glass all over the floor, with my left foot bleeding. then i looked at my arm and saw it wasn't looking to well. "oh no..." i said hahaha and realized i needed help, seeing how the door was locked and if i passed out right there, i would fall into the glass pile. however, being naked, i somehow pulled my shorts on and opened the door. the English elder saw my arm and said he would call an ambulance. some other things happened, though i wont say.. nothing weird, its just things we don't really talk about in the church. i rested on the couch and put a towel over the arm. i asked "hey elder.... wanna take a picture?" hahaha i know, I'm weird but i knew that someone would want pics. then i asked him for a blessing. he gave me one and i immediately felt at ease. moments later, we hear the ambulance outside the door so i went over and opened it, and proceeded to lay on the stretcher. it seemed insanely bright outside!! they carried me into the ambulance and started taking my vitals and asking "so what drugs are you currently on?" and "how much were you drinking?" geeze.. none. i don't drink or do drugs. "are you sure? this is weird." and said yes, and asked what the problem was. they said usually peoples heart beat rate increases in a traumatic situation like that, but mine was way down in the 40's. Not quite sure if that was a natural thing that happened, or a direct result from the blessing, but i felt perfectly fine as a laid in the ambulance. we actually had a nice conversation. so, i got to the hospital. my companion couldn't come because he didn't have a drivers license.. so i was alone. eventually, my actual companion and them arrived after making 30 calls to members. (members, for the love of everything, help the missionaries.) they got to watch the entire surgery. i must've gotten about 40-50 shots to numb the arm. it just wouldn't numb in a few places, so i told her to forget about it and just stitch me up. she cleaned it all up. it was SWEET, when she opened up the flap of skin, you could see the muscles and stuff. yum yum. turns our she was only an intern and the other guy was only a student.. her hands were so shaky!! and when she cut the loose skin a was super nervous haha. so, 15 stitches to the arm, and 3 to the toe. got out of the hospital and went to lunch, then tried to teach people. haha so I'm doing pretty good now.. sort of. 

anyways. that's a good story for you guys this week. I mean, there is something each week and this seemed pretty legit. now i can say I've survived getting our car totaled, and Satan trying to kill me with a big mirror. yay mission stories!! this is all just a fat blessing, so its whatever; i will always serve Him!  i love you all, have a great week! :)

-Elder James

pic: my arm. don't look if you are easily.. whatever that word is?

Goose Egg Week! May 6, 2013

Hello everyone,

another week has gone by and guess what!?..... we had another goose egg week. no one in our district found a new investigator, with the exception of the sisters. We knocked doors for 3.5 hours on Friday, had zero success. didn't even get a return appointment :( however, we did have a great time while doing work. one story was quite hilarious, and has earned a spot in my "quote book" for my mission. Elder E and I, after knocking 3 neighborhoods, found an apartment complex and started knocking. Due to knocking during dead hours (2-6pm) no one answered, except for one lady. She was black, and roughly 50 years old or so. Said she was a 7th Day Adventist. We offered her service as our door approach, but after declining our offer she explained how she hasn't been doing very well physically, and has been in the hospital for a few things. We told her we held the priesthood authority of God, and we could give her a blessing if she desired. She thankfully accepted, and let us in. We explained the blessing and everything, and proceeded. E anointed, and then I started the blessing. about half way through the blessing, she lifts up her hands and starts saying things like "oh yes. Yes Jesus yes. Thank you Lord, oh thank you!" I was a bit thrown off, and tried my best to continue through the blessing, but she kept praising. Soo, I ended the blessing when I felt prompted to end it, and took my hands of her head. She still had her eyes closed, with her hands up, saying things. Then she stood up, (facing away from us) with her hands STILL up, and still rambling on... "Oh Lord I thank you. Help me Jesus, help me. And as she raises her hands higher, raising her voice she boldly states: --Ohhhh I've been bleedin' out'a my rectum for two days, Jesus! Then the blood just STOPPED!"-- At this point I turned to elder E and couldn't help but laugh a bit hahah and I felt soo bad for laughing but it was so funny! It seems that things like this happen so frequently here. This, and the man "speaking in tongues" could be the two funniest things so far. Anyways, story goes on, we left her with our number, and referred her to the English elders. Yay.

Another highlight. Elder E and I were driving around while it was pouring rain. We drove everywhere, and never felt a need to stop. I kept driving and driving, until I felt that we should pull over. Elder E questioned me, stating that there was no Hispanic people down the whole entire street. I assured him there was at least 1 Hispanic, and we were there to find him or her. So, we started knocking.. No success (apparently people don't want the Saviors Peace and Blessing...) and the people said that there were no Hispanics on the street. I was pretty discouraged. I thought for sure there was 1 Hispanic! So we started walking back to the car, and E said "told you." I didn't think much of it, but I pointed to the house we parked in front of. "We are knocking that door. your turn." So we marched up to the door, and the closer we got, the more I realized this house wasn't where a Hispanic would be living.. Very discouraged :/ a tall white man in his 50's answered the door. We offered to leave the Savior's peace and blessing upon his home. He denied it, and told us he used to be Mormon, left the church 3 years ago and asked for his records to be removed. We asked why he left, and he said it wasn't because of the church, it was just that he was the only Mormon in the home, and the rest were Catholics, and he felt alone whenever he would go to the church. I was not satisfied by this answer he gave us, and tried to listen for the words I should say. He kept talking about him and the church. I asked if he had a testimony of the book of Mormon. He never said yes; he said "well I've read the book of Mormon about 3 times or so for seminary." This was a big hint as to what he was lacking. Without that foundation of a testimony of the book of Mormon, people will surely fall away with time. After his explaining of a few other things, there was a silence for about 5 seconds or so, and I felt to ask about his personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. "Did you ever talk to your father in heaven about this?" He stood, with no more excuses. There was an awkward silence, so I began to testify about the power and reality of prayer, and the book of Mormon. I left him with two things to do: read the book of Mormon again, and to pray. Two simple and fundamental things. I promised him blessings in the name of our Savior, and told him that I knew he had felt the holy ghost before in his life, and that we weren't sent to his door by accident; but that we were representative of Jesus Christ who were sent to invite him back into the fold of God. Again there was a silence, as he had nothing to say. Elder E and I looked at one another, and knew it was time to go. We shook this mans hand, and walked back out into the rain, back to the car. It turns out that there wasn't a single Hispanic on the entire street, but we weren't there for that; we were there for a lost sheep. It doesn't matter what culture or race, we are all sons and daughters of god, and all need to hear the same gospel. This was a humbling experience for both Elder E and I, and surely the highlight of our rather non-successful week. But we had success in other ways.

Hopefully this week will be better. Being exactly obedient can bring the miracles we're looking for, its just a matter of doing all those small things that are so difficult.

Anyways! Happy late Cinco De Mayo! We did missionary work to celebrate. I'm looking forward to mothers day :) Hope you all have a great week.

Sincerely,'

Elder Jacob James :)

 

Picture: It was Elder E birthday on Wednesday. This is my district plus 2 others :)

Left to Right: (Top) Me, W, not in district, not in district, E, R, J, G, (Bottom) Hermana P, F, N.

July 1: We Bought the Pizza :O

Best week ever!! Well, sort of. We have been super blessed, found a couple new people to teach and had some spiritual lessons. Pretty awesome! But anyways, lets start with Monday. It was just a regular Monday.. nothing really happened. I took my bike back to Wal-Mart though, so that was good. While there, we ran into a member who was going to feed us Wednesday. She said she didn't want to cook and told us to bring food. We laughed and just left... So Tuesday comes around. Found a new investigator, though the rest of the day was normal. Then Wednesday comes. Not the best day. taught a couple peeps. They liked it. Then, we went to the dinner that was planned, with the member that works at Wal-Mart. We got there, and her husband opened the door and let us in. turns out, she didn't cook anything, and was like "so are you going to buy pizza or what?" WOW.... So i had to buy pizza for us and for them, AND we had to go pick it up, after the member made us drive 10 miles the wrong way after i told him i knew where the pizza place was located.. This goes to all members of the church: missionaries are broke. they budget their miles on their cars very strictly.  Anyways, Thursday. Awesome day!! 2 member present lessons, 2 other lessons, and 3 new investigators. Friday was slow. But it was good. In the afternoon we had a lunch scheduled with a member that we've never been to because we didn't have a car and she lives kinda far.. We tried calling her numerous times, through calls, voicemails, and texts to try and get her address figured out. We got a little "lost" and somehow ended up next to LEGOLAND!! but we didn't go in or anything. Shortly afterwards, we found her place. We knocked on her door and she opened up and was super surprised to see us. she said she didn't cook anything and said "you should've confirmed the appointment.".... But she was the one who signed up to feed us that day and time, and we tried contacting her so many times. Our ward roster information is all messed up, almost all the address's are messed up, and we only have about 6 of the members numbers. And they never answer their phones. Later that Friday we watched a movie at the church for movie night. Maybe 12 people showed up, 7 being from one family. We watched Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration. It was in English though hahaha soo... yeaah, it didn't have subtitles either. Our bad on that. But hey, it was spiritual regardless of the language. I loved it! Saturday the only highlight was contacting a referral. He gladly accepted the Book of Mormon and was like "yeah i will start reading it right away!" and was super positive! First time I've ever seen someone so happy to receive a B.o.M. We will be meeting him this week. And yesterday, Sunday, was pretty funny. After church, a member called after us while we were leaving. He said there was food in the fridge if we wanted to eat it. Of course we accepted but were a little hesitant because we didn't know who's food it was. They said it was okay though, and that he asked the Bishop of the English ward and he said it was okay. So Elder R. and I, with the Hermana's, just ate the food and took some of the leftovers to our apartments. Later that day, Elder R. and I got a call while we were with an investigator from the English elders. They said "Hey can you guys give us a ride to the church? the relief society left us a bunch of food in the fridge and we want to go pick it up!" hahaha i felt kinda bad but whatever!! it was awkward pretending that we didn't know what happened to the food.. they immediately blamed the Spanish branch, "dumb Spanish branch, always screwing things up." Shut up English elders. haha!

This next Wednesday we get to have a "meet the president" with the new mission president. President C., from Utah i think. This is our last week this transfer, so Its going to be interesting to see what will happen. I really don't want to leave this place! I hope i stay, but its not up to me of course. But yeah that was my week here in Haines City! And a ton of rain and thunderstorms every day. Hope you are doing great, I love you!! :)

Elder Jacob James