12-15-14 Feelings without Explanation............

The Mission...... Let me tell you about it.

The days go by, the weeks, the months, and eventually the years. Can two years really shape the life of a young man like me? Does one mission really mean anything at all? Why would a teenage kid waste his life doing this thing called a mission? What does it mean? Why did he go? What is he doing? Will he come back? When will he come back? Is it false or true? 

My dear Family and Friends, a lot of these questions I have heard here in the mission. Time after time I feel the constant urge to get on my knees and cry joyfully of the blessing that it has been to be here in this country serving this mission. Some people here that I have talked to think that I'm wasting my time, think that I'm in it for money, think that I want a girl, think I should go home. For our beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it wasn't a waste of time, he wasn't in it for the money nor the fame, nor the glory, his mission changed his life. 
My mission is changing my life, I have never been so grateful, never felt so much love, never had so many hardships, never felt so much joy, never have I helped so many people find hope, peace, and purpose. 
The mission really does change lives. It has changed mine and I'm extremely grateful. 
A guy drove by us the other day in a car while we were walking in the street and shouted,"Those two men are liars!!!". 
He had never met us, didn't know my name, didn't know anything about me, and just because I'm representing Christ he called us liars. 
Christ was called a liar, a winebibber, a fornicator, and a false Christ. 
I have been called a liar, an adulterer, a coward, a thief, and every day I come to understand more and more the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It wasn't easy for him and it hasn't been easy for me.

I love the mission and I love hearing the people who say, 

¨These young men saved my life¨.....I have heard that.

¨These young men changed my life"..... I have heard that.

¨These young men have brought me peace and happiness.....I have heard that

I have seen so many miracles, blessings, and changes in my own life and in the lives of others. It makes me want to cry remembering all the great moments and spiritual moments. I have learned how to love, I have learned how to treat others, I have learned how to be like Christ, I have learned patience, how to serve, how to act, and how to be. I have tried so hard to do my best and when my body begs for rest and mercy, the Saviors example helps me to keep going. I assume it will be like that before he comes. 

I know that our Savior lives. His atonement is real and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is his church. I know it, I live it, I love every second of it. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS. See you on Skype family!

Elder Jessop

​We painted a wall for our converts. The Sanchez Family.

​Ward Christmas Activity

12-8-14 The Very Best Days of My Life

Hello Friends and Family. This week was full of ups and down. I have felt sincerely humbled and tried this week by the Lord. I have learned though that when we have a positive attitude about our afflictions and when we humble ourselves to accept the will of the Lord, we really can see miracles and blessings in our lives even when Satan tempts you so much that you feel that you cant handle it. Christ is the way out, Christ is the help we all need, Christ is the way we all must follow, Christ is my Lord and I am grateful for him. As I strive to be like him and come closer to him, I feel the change he makes in my life. He destroys my natural man and refines my edges so that I can become smooth and perfect one day.

Tuesday: I did a division with an Elder Paul. He is from Garden Grove, California and he is a new missionary in the field. He lives like 20 minutes from where I live in Los Angeles which is pretty awesome! We had a super cool story. I am new to my area right so I am still getting to know it. I did this division in my area with Elder Paul and we got off our bus after our district meeting and started walking to our lunch appointment, or so I thought. We kept walking and walking and I didn't recognize anything until I heard a voice, "Elder!!". Elder Paul told me that it was the stake president, but the stake president doesn't live in our area. I that was when I realized I was lost and we had been walking 15 minutes in the wrong direction in an area of other missionaries haha. It was pretty amazing because of anyone we could have found it was the Stake President and he knew exactly where the person lived where we were going to go eat lunch. He drove us there. That was our mini miracle to start the day and the division! 

Wednesday: We met a really famous person. This guy is named REY DEL BARRO. In English that means, KING OF THE MUD. This guy is an artist that make sculptures out of clay. He is good at it and he gave us a free little clay pot so that we could remember him. He has some really cool stuff that I want to buy, but he isn't married, doesn't have kids, lives in his house by himself, and works. He travels a lot, but this man needs the gospel so that he can have an eternal perspective on his life. He was a super cool dude and when he has the gospel and accepts it he will see the blessings from it.

Thursday: I BOUGHT NEW SHOES!!! My old shoes are wrecked.

Yep those are my old shoes, but shoes in Paraguay are way cheap. I bought 2, 100 percent leather shoes, for 50 bucks. It was awesome and those should last me the rest of the way.

Friday: We did a service project with the Arzamendia family. We moved rocks.... hahaha. They want to make a cement floor and here they use rocks.

​After the service we had another division. This time I went with an Elder named Elder Gibson who is also from California. This division was rough. WE knocked doors from 1:30 to 8,no one was home and all of our appointments fell, but our perseverance paid ff when we finally got into a house a 8!! It was a miracle. A lot of afflictions and trials ring a lot of miracles and blessings if we suffer them with a good attitude and with faith in God.

Saturday: We made lunch. It was super American which makes sense because we are American. Chicken, Mashed taters, carrots with peas, and Mango juice.

This week was a hard one, but I am grateful for afflictions because we can learn from them. When we feel like we want to give up, like we deserve a break, or want to throw it all away. We can always look at the example of the Lord to press on. He loves each and every one of us and I know that if we follow his example we can endure to the end and become like god. sometimes he gives us trials to test us only to make us better. I love him and I am grateful that he is molding me into a better son, a better friend, a better brother, a better missionary, a better servant, a better man, a better future father, and a better disciple of Christ. He is the Christ and only through him and his Atonement may we be made whole. Matthew 12 states that all who come unto him will be given rest. He helped me so much this week and I am grateful for it.

I love you all! Thank you for the support and the letters.

Elder Jessop 

12-1-14 El es la dádiva

Hello Family and Friends alike. Today is December 1st and we had a crazy week to say the least. We were very busy and there was a lot of stuff we did so I guess that I will just start with the most important part that I learned this week, about Jesus Christ.

Wednesday: We had an emergency mission leader meeting with all the zones and our mission president. The church is launching a campaign called "He is The Gift". Elder Huntsman and I had to go to an emergency meeting and we learned about this initiative that the church is doing. The church made a video that you can all look up on christmas.mormon.org. It is a video that talks about Christmas and how easy it is to get caught up in all these worldly things during this crazy time of the year and forget about the most important part, Jesus Christ. The video is really awesome and I invite you all the watch it. It is 2 minutes long and members and non-members alike can benefit immensely form this video. After you watch it, you should share it on some social media website so that other people can also see it and benefit from it. It has strengthened my testimony immensely of Jesus Christ. I know that he is my savior and that he lives and loves each and every one of us. I have learned that if it wasn't for him, it wouldn't be impossible to become perfect and reach our godly potential that God sees in each of us. I am re-reading the four gospels in the bible to learn more about the life of Christ and his works. I learned reading in Matthew 6 that God wants us to be perfect and in that very chapter we can learn of the attributes necessary that we need to develop and how we can become like him. If you don't have a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and that he lives, I invite you to look for him. Pray to him, discover him, accept him, and if you do see you will be blessed. I have been so blessed by doing so. The peace and joy that I feel daily reminds me of the need that I have for him in my life. 

Thursday: Thanksgiving. Last year we didn't have lunch on thanksgiving but this year, WE DID. We had a good lunch. I had lasagna for the first time in Paraguay with pasta. Then I topped it off with a half of a watermelon :DD Not as good as Grandmas watermelons, but it was really good. 

Friday: We had our Zone Conference. I'm in Zone 2 with my companion and due to the lack of time we had our Zone meeting with Zone 1. We shared about the video and the initiative that the church is launching this month. We have to show this video to everyone, invite everyone to get on the Internet and look for it, invite people to learn more about Christ and to be baptized in his church, we helped the 2 Zones get into the "Christmas Spirit"!! It was awesome. The spirit was super strong and we put it into practice!! Elder Huntsman and I in 3 days found 10 new investigators 16 people accepted a baptism date to get baptized in the month of December, and we have seen a lot of perspectives change by sharing this initiative with EVERYONE! SHARE IT PEOPLE! :D

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Saturday: Was a great day!! David, Jacqueline, and Yamila got baptized!!! IT was awesome. Jacqueline is super excited about young women! Future missionary right there. The other 2 performed in the primary performance last week and they love going to church.

Sunday: I gave a talk in church to present myself to the ward. I shared about the visit of Christ to the Americas in the Book of Mormon. In that scripture the Nephites are invited to touch the hands and feet where the nails held him on the cross. I thought about that for a long time. How would that have been for them? Scary? Awesome? Humbling? I don't know, but what I do know is that every one of us will have that chance and that if we are baptized and confirmed in the true church of Jesus Christ, we can be ready to meet him the day that he comes.

Christ is everything. Everything that I do, say, think, feel, know doesn't matter if it wasn't for Jesus Christ. It blows my mind every time. I truly do love him. I am far from him because I am imperfect, but I know that I can become like him one day. He loves me, you, and everyone. That is my testimony and it is of him.

Elder Jessop

P.S. VISIT christmas.mormon.org!!!

11/17/14 - Sister Mission Finished..‏....

Hello everyone. Family, Friends, and all those who read this letter, 
I want to tell you that I had a great week. :) That is all. I have learned a lot that it is really hard to have a bad week when you have such a good and positive attitude about everything! That has been my goal. Be positive about everything even if life has been going hard for a while, but this week was very fulfilling and I took a lot of pictures I think. Now the week:

I got my 14th agenda this week.The changes are on Wednesday and I am leaving this area that is for sure. I have been here for 6 months and I am very grateful to have been sent here in Tayuasapé. I have met a lot of people, a lot of missionaries, almost the whole stake knows who I am, and I have learned a lot from a lot of different people because of it. 

Tuesday: We went to district meeting and I realized that if someone doesn't feel peace, happiness, joy, or any other fruit of the spirit, it is because they are doing something that they shouldn't be doing. I have had a lot of opportunities to meet missionaries and leaders in the church and you can tell the difference. The people who keep the commandments, keep their covenants, and strive to be Christlike, feel peace, love, joy, and have a strong desire to share those feelings with others. Something that I share a lot with people is the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. I share it a lot because it has brought great peace and joy to my life. Every time I read it, I feel more and more the spirit of the Lord testifying to me that is a true. Members and missionaries alike, we should share the gospel and share these truths with others!!

On Saturday: the youth had an activity to raise money for something called PFJ. It is like EFY  I think, I never went but I am sure that it is awesome!! They sold chicken and rice, so I ate chicken and rice for lunch on Saturday. This ward is awesome!! I took a picture of my bishop!

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My bishop!!

Sunday: Church was awesome! If someone asks me what do you normally do on Sunday the answer is pretty easy "I´m going´to church.". I love church. It is nice to relax, listen to the classes and talks, and the sacrament prayers are really spiritual. There is a girl here in this ward that runs around screaming sometimes haha. It is pretty funny. Church is super important. This is the true church.

This week I learned the importance of living gospel principles to be blessed and when I don't live them the Lord takes his hand out of my life. The gospel is amazing. It is perfect and really makes me happy. I love inviting people to live it and it is a privilege I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know that he lives. His atonement cleans me and redeems me! 

thank you for the support and love. Sorry I didn't write much, but there is always next week!

P.S. I built a wall this week

​ We are going to finish it Next week.

Love you!
Elder Jessop



Eating Food!
La Pollada!
People That I Know!
More Families!

11-24-14 New Area, New Companion, New People, New City, New Life!!!!

Hello My Family and Friends and all those who are reading this letter. I'm very grateful for your love, support, and encouragement as I have been here on my mission. I have good news, I left the area of Tayuasapé and I have been moved to a place called Ybaté. It is awesome here. It is back in the city and of Asuncion and now far out in the Boondocks like some of my old areas. We live in an apartment (I will send pictures next week) and my new companion is from North Ogden, Utah. 
His name is Elder Huntsman and he was my MTC companion! It is fun to be together again. It was definitely the last companion that I thought I was going to get. I have learned the importance with him of establishing strong family relationships in our lives so that we can receive eternal blessings as a family. He has told me that if he didn't have such a strong family he probably wouldn't be in the mission. It has been an awesome past couple of days, of which I will share. I forgot my camera..... I will send pictures next week :).

Changes: On Wednesday we had our changes which are when we get new companions, areas, and things like that I left my companion Elder Hampton, I am going to miss him a ton. We were together 3 changes, but it was my time. I have met a lot of great people here in Ybate already. The area is relatively small. We can get from 1 side to the other walking in about 1 hour. The people are awesome. It is a big city, I am in the capital so it is a lot different. I am looking forward to this opportunity though to be here and work my tail off.

Capilla Abierta: We had a open house in one of the chapels in the stake and we were invited. The open houses here are like the visitors center in the temples. It was pretty fun and we lead tours and stuff with the people who came and saw it. I will send photos next week.

Thanksgiving: Elder Huntsman and I tried to buy a turkey here in Paraguay to celebrate Thanksgiving, but they cost over 100 dollars!!!! It was a joke haha. Thanksgiving doesn't get celebrated here, but we will have lunch that day so that is a blessing. 

I'm enjoying my mission. I will try harder next week to have something to say, my mind is tired and is going blank. We have a lot of activities this week so I will have a bigger letter next week.

I can feel my relationship with Christ grows daily as I read the scriptures and talk with him. I have realized that strict obedience to the commandments and mission rules bring blessings and fills our lives with peace. I love the mission. I have loved every second. By no means has it been easy, but it has been well worth it. I love my savior and I know that he lives. I know that I was with him before this life. I know that I chose to follow him then as I have received countless blessings as I have strived to follow him here to. 

Thank you for everything. I love all of you very much. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Elder Jessop